Episode 171, Making Paleo a Habit

• Intro (0:00)
• News and Views (0:56)
  • Stacy is doing well and really looking forward to her two-day work week ahead
  • Sarah's kids are off for the entire week of Thanksgiving, and the change in schedule has thrown her out of her routine loop at the start of the week
  • The late nights that Sarah has been having as of late, and what she is doing to put a stop to them before it impacts her health too much
  • How excited Sarah is to have the Crandalls arrive
  • Wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving
  • Matt and Stacy's Friendsgiving, see the full post on what they served and who came here
  • Sarah is really looking forward to having help with Thanksgiving dinner prep this year, and the plans to hopefully smoke two turkeys
  • If both turkeys don't fit into the smoker, there will be a turkey showdown between Russ and Sarah - check Sarah's Instagram feed to see what happens
  • Stacy's love for Thanksgiving
  • The Healing Kitchen arrived at Sarah's house this week and her feelings on it, and what Stacy enjoys about it
  • How and Why Sarah and Alaena simplified the look and feel, and there emphasis on making the book very clean and easy to use
  • This is the time of year that Stacy enjoys her 20%, eating the gluten-free foods and maybe a little more nuts than she typically would, knowing that her stress is lower and her body will have plenty of time to rest
  • This week's show is about challenges and making choices on how and where to alter the usual routine, and how to get it back when the time comes
  • The goal is to avoid treating paleo as just another yo-yo diet, and to make it behavioral not just about food priorities
  • For Sarah she is finally at that place where making the healthy choice is a natural habit, which has come with a long-term commitment
  • So how do you make paleo a habit so that it is your default?
• Science with Sarah (26:45)
  • The biggest myth when it comes to habits is that it take 21 days to make or break them
  • Habit formation is a huge field of research in the science community
  • The length of time that it takes to form a habit (defined as performing a task without thinking about it) varies from person to person and varies based on what the task is
  • The average habit formation time frame ranges from 18 days to 254 days (8 months), with the average peek hitting at the 2 month mark
  • There are a lot of 21 day and 30 day challenges out there, and that amount of time isn't actually enough to make lasting habits by the end of that challenge, which is why people early into paleo find themselves on and off challenges a lot
  • Step one in being successful to form a new habit, is to acknowledge that it is going to take commitment beyond 21 or 30 days
  • It is also important for habits to be action centered
  • The protocol to making a habit, as found through research:
    • Decide what the goal is - what is the habit you want to form
    • Chose what the action is that will progress you towards your goal, and is something that you can do on a daily or routine basis that this habit would be performed
    • Plan when and where you will do that action
    • Every time you encounter that time and that place, do that action
    • Understand that it is going to get easier with time - keep at it and you will eventually reach your goal
  • Thinking of health goals in terms of habits because habits are conducive to health and they won't be something you stop - this is a more lifelong approach to health journeys
  • Reframing your mind and the power this can play when creating lifelong habits
  • How Stacy has empowered herself when faced with gluten to simply tell herself she doesn't want that and to feel accountable, responsible, and good about the choices she is making, as opposed to making emotional ones
  • As a reminder as we are entering the holiday season, if you have eaten something that you didn't intentionally set out to make the choice to do, remember that there is no emotion in food - it is neither good nor bad, move forward from the choice that was made and avoid creating a habit around food shame
  • What do you want? What makes you feel good? What gets you to a good place with health? And then set about creating habits based on the answers to these questions
  • Learning to identify where your lines are, making a choice, and being ok with your choices
  • Those who decide to paleo YOLO on holidays, especially when you do not have certain food allergies - and there is no shame that needs to be associated with the choices you make
  • If you are someone who doesn't yet know where your lines are, Sarah encourages you to go into the holidays with the mindset of - if I choose to have the pie than it is an opportunity for me to challenge wheat and conventional dairy, and I am going to find out how my body reacts to it
  • Set yourself up to feel in control when making choices
  • When you are approaching the holidays, if you know certain foods will make you ill, problem solve that ahead of time
  • For the foods you are making the choice to enjoy that are not the usual foods for you, make sure that your decisions are conscious and empowered, and not emotional
  • It is so much easier to bounce back/move forward when you make the choice to indulge
• Questions & Answers (47:35)
  • Patricia - recommendations for snacks when traveling on a plane?
    • Stacy usually packs something sweet, salty, and then a protein
    • Steve's Paleo Kit
    • EPIC Bars
    • RxBars
    • Steve's Dried Strawberries
    • Dark Chocolate
    • All of these go really well with Stacy's boys, but they also back more carb dense snacks for them as well, like plantain chips
    • If Stacy is out and about and doesn't have something, salad and a bun-less burger is her go-to
    • Sarah noted all of the AIP friendly products:
      • EPIC Bar Bison, Bacon Cranberry and the Beef, Apple, Bacon
      • US Wellness Meats jerky
      • Pouched tuna
      • Packed salad, raw veggies, fruit
      • Dried fruit
      • Plantain chips
    • For Sarah's kids, she mostly packs them nut based products, Power Balls are a new favorite
    • US Wellness Meats pork rhinds
  • Justin - I don't have access to a kitchen, are there AIP-friendly pre-packaged foods?
    • Be sure to look into the items mentioned in the answer to the first question
    • Check out Target, Costco and Wal-Mart, they may have a lot of great options
    • If you have a mini-fridge, you will likely be able to find a rotisserie chicken without seasoning
    • You can also get salads without a pre-made salad dressing
    • Keep some olive oil and balsamic vinegar on hand
    • Fresh fruit
    • Canned seafood
    • Canned cod livers with some plantain chips
    • Dehydrated liver in pill form
    • SeaSnax
    • Refer to the Paleo Parents Costco shopping list for a lot of convenient ideas
    • Amazon Prime is a huge help with the items listed above, especially the subscribe and save feature
• Have a wonderful kickoff to your holiday season!
• Thank you for listening everyone - share the love with those you are close to!
• Make sure you are working on those lifestyle factors to de-stress this holiday season
• Outro (1:13:40)

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