Paleo, Day 3 — cell phone pictures because I’m lazy.

Breakfast: Asparagus, avocado and two chicken-apple sausages, but I could only finish about 1.2 of them — I was full.

Lunch: Leftover pecan-crusted chicken with mustards for dipping, huge salad with romaine lettuce, tomato, cucumber, dried cranberries, avocado and a bit of olive oil for dressing.

Snack: The leftover sausage from breakfast, a few dates (not pictured).

I know I said I wouldn’t post about everything I ate, but someone messaged me to say that seeing what I’ve been eating so far encouraged her to try eating paleo as well! So I might post about it a little more.

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Again, I woke up today without an alarm at 6:50! I could have gotten up, but went back to sleep till 8:15 instead… just because.

As I made breakfast, I realized how much I’m enjoying this paleo thing for the following reasons:

* For every meal, I’m chopping, sauteeing, baking, roasting, etc. I’m cooking! I’m not usually big on cooking, but I’m loving it.

* I’m thinking about what I eat. Take my breakfast, for example — I purposefully put sausage, asparagus and avocado on my plate so that I’d start my day with a protein, a vegetable and a healthy source of fat. It left me satisfied and feeling full till 12:30!

* I’m letting myself get hungry before my next meal. Not starving hungry, but just that little feeling your stomach gets when it’s all like, “Hey, I’m ready to eat soon!” Before, I would eat just because it was “time to eat,” whether I was actually hungry or not. I think waiting until I’m legitimately hungry is helping me view food as fuel rather than something just to eat out of habit.

* I’m not counting calories, restricting portions or lamenting over all the foods I can’t eat. What I really like about eating paleo is that it’s a lifestyle, not a crash diet. I’m eating real food that’s good for me, and I’m allowed to eat as much of it as I want (within reason — obviously not a pound of bacon at a time). So far I’m content with the food I can eat and I haven’t missed bread, pasta, etc. at all. I’m sure there will come a time… and I’ll let you know.

And, pssst… I snuck in an unofficial weigh-in this morning just to see if anything has changed — I won’t post an official weigh-in until Wednesday — but just FYI, I’m down a 5K… as in 3.1 pounds. Wooo! I won’t celebrate too much until Wednesday, though, when I’ll see if that loss sticks.

Now, off to Aaron’s place for dinner!