It's not a diet. It's a lifestyle!

I’ve been trying to keep from talking too much about our diet and exercise routine on this blog. I don’t want to be that girl. The one that is always “Paleo this” and “Crossfit that.” You know, the Paleo Wedding Blogger. It’s a big part of our life, but it’s not like it’s completely informing our wedding related decisions.

Sure, we wanted to have a menu that we could actually eat and we didn’t want to give out sugary favors that we wouldn’t eat. And yeah, our changes in diet and activity have helped us become more in shape than ever. But it’s not like we’re forcing our guests to eat beef jerky and bacon grease. And even though it would be amazing, I won’t be tossing my bouquet in kettlebell form. 

That said, it’s driving me crazy when people say “Wow you’ve lost a lot of weight for the wedding!” or try to explain “Miss Rucksack doesn’t eat sugar because she’s getting married soon.” Ugh, no!

Image by Bye Calories

Depending on the offender, I’ll either smile and nod or I’ll get up on my pedestal and explain that actually we are making a lifestyle change based on what we’ve learned about our bodies and all this cool sciencey stuff. I don’t eat sugar because it’s bad for me. I don’t eat soy because it makes me break out in hives. I don’t eat gluten because the cramping it gives me is so not worth it. I lost weight because I was getting kind of chubby from sitting on my butt and eating cookies all day. Giving up cookies and starting to work out naturally meant extra weight lost. I’ve stuck with this “diet” for 8 months because it makes me feel really damn good.

Image via Quick Meme

Of course, the aesthetic benefits are there too. I lost twelve pounds within the first couple of months through Paleo and then started changing my body through Crossfit. I sort of had to stop looking at the scale because muscle weighs more than fat and all that stuff, but I know my weight yo-yoed a little in the beginning. But all sorts of other amazing things happened that the scale didn’t show. My butt got higher and tighter. I developed abs! It started with 2 and I’m now up to 5. Sometimes I just stand half naked in front of a mirror and flex my abs because it still just blows my mind. The circumference of my legs is so much smaller. I use so much less lotion now! I have biceps and really awesome triceps. I still like to rub them just to make sure they’re actually there and not a figment of my imagination. And you guys, I actually completed a 5 mile race over father’s day weekend.

Considering I was the girl that faked menstrual cramps every day of high school gym class, this is such an amazing accomplishment. My family still can’t believe I ran the whole thing. And I was shocked that I didn’t come in last!

Winning! / Photo by Capstone Photography

I plan on sticking with Paleo for the rest of my life. Now that we’ve been doing this for awhile and we know how different foods affect our bodies, we have a much better sense of the sorts of treats we can allow ourselves. (He’s fine with soy, I’m not. Occasional dairy hasn’t hurt me, but gluten is painful for both of us.) So I’d say we eat pure Paleo 99% of the time with the occasional treat of goat cheese on a salad or chocolate that’s not quite as dark as it should be. Oh - and alcohol. I do like to treat myself with a glass of wine or hard cider after a particularly long day. So really, I don’t think I’ve given up too much. And the fact that I get to walk down the aisle being the best version of me is such a reward.

Have you made any lifestyle changes recently?