Whether you are a student yourself, have a student/s returning to school, or are a teacher (like me)--a "back to school" mentality can be just the thing after summer. I know that extensive travel and special events made my summer eating not as clean as I would have liked, so going "back to school" and re-educating myself on eating a "new age" paleo way is just the thing for this time of year. So here's some basics--the foundations of learning when it comes to eating in a paleo way that fits our modern living.
This time between summer and the holiday season is especially important for getting a good pattern of eating and health routine established. View it with the same excitement of going "back to school" and it will be a breeze.
--Yours in learning, Lisabeth
- A good place to start is to think about eating more whole foods and fewer processed foods. You want the bulk of your diet to come from vegetables (more non-starchy than starchy), fruits, nuts/seeds, meat/fish/poultry and eggs.
- Make water your main beverage supplemented by teas, herbal tisanes, and coffee. Lay off any juice or sweetened beverages--and taper back on or eliminate alcohol (if drinking try to stick to simple drinks, not mixed ones with lots of sugar and/or additives).
- Do all your eating before 7:00 p.m. More and more research, and even traditional/conventional wisdom of ancient healing systems, recommends eating more of your calories early in the day. Night time eating is difficult to process.
- If you do get hungry at night, satiate with a comforting tea (I like decaf chai with almond milk and stevia added) or a warmed almond/nut milk with a bit of tumeric, honey (or stevia) and ghee, if you're looking for a bit of fat to satisfy.
- With a busier schedule, I'm going to rely more on the crockpot. Try out some slow-cooked meats, soups and stews.
- Schedule in exercise. Regular walking and weight-lifting will help you maintain your energy into fall.
- Get to bed early! I'm not a night owl anyhow, but I know that I will need to make sure I'm asleep by 10:30 most nights since I get up at 6:15. I will not feel any guilt about going to bed even earlier.
This time between summer and the holiday season is especially important for getting a good pattern of eating and health routine established. View it with the same excitement of going "back to school" and it will be a breeze.
--Yours in learning, Lisabeth