Not too bad this week, although I over did it on almonds and sunflower seeds. Also I am missing my Greek yogurt.

It seems like I’ve finally shaken off Week 1’s sticker shock and Week 2’s cravings. I pretty much stuck to eating a protein, produce and healthy fat for my meals. I decided not to worry too much about organic foods or “clean” meats. If they were on sale at the grocery store, fine. If not, that’s OK too. With that anxiety out-of-the-way, this week was a lot easier.

For the most part, I’ve been eating paleo style since I started my weight loss journey. I’ve pretty much eliminated grains from my diet for the first 18 months. And other than cheese, I was dairy-free too.

At the urging of my trainer, I did add in steel-cut oatmeal and quinoa on weightlifting days. I also added back in Greek yogurt (doctor recommendation) with fresh fruit. It was one of my go-to snacks. However, I cut it out for this challenge.

Without yogurt, I tuned to almonds and sunflower seeds for snacks.  But this past week I think I over did it. My little snack bags were too easy to grab. I’m limiting myself to no more than 2 servings for the week.

Overall, my energy level was certainly better than last couple of weeks, but not noticeably different from my normal, healthy diet. To be fair, since I’m not eating a “strict” paleo diet of grass-fed, pasture-raised and organic, I can’t fairly contrast Paleo with my low-carb lifestyle.

I’ve read lots of articles by people professing their newfound energy and feeling so much better when eating “clean” meats and organic produce. That may be true, but I’ve wondered if their love of clean eating was more of a placebo effect.

For example, last year the hubby and I purchased half a cow from a local Virginia farm. The cow was grass-fed, but finished off with grain for the marbling. The cow lasted for about 7 months and it saved us at least $300 on our annual groceries. To us, it was the best tasting beef and so much healthier than what we bought weekly at Wegmans. But was it really healthier and tastier? I have no way of proving one way or the other. Maybe we took it on faith that the beef was better since we shelled out $700 up front for it.

I agree that eating meats free of antibiotics is preferable. When my doctor prescribes an antibiotic for me, I want it to work. I just don’t know if there is a real health benefit of “organic” compared to my similar, non-organic diet. And studies are showing there isn’t much health difference between organic and regular produce. I’m not sure if there are enough studies on the meat side of the equation. Common sense tells me that grass-fed beef is better, but common sense also says to eat lots of carbs and live on a low-fat diet.

I did that for 40+ years and all that got me was fat.