Things are still going well on my low-carb, mostly paleo diet regimen. I hate to admit that my sugar cravings continue, but I keep them in check using stevia and monk fruit, both of which make excellent substitutes for sugar in my decaf coffee, or sprinkled on baked green apples with a pinch of cinnamon. I don’t think I’ve lost anymore weight, which is a good thing, because any smaller and I’d be out of a size four and then it’s back to obsessive shopping on my favorite fire-sale sites like Hautelook and Rue La La. I am incorporating more fruits into my diet–my favorites are the green apples that grow in our backyard, blueberries, figs, grapes, strawberries and blackberries. I have to be careful with the figs and grapes, because of their high sugar content, so I mainly consume them prior to my workouts to make good use of my elevated blood sugar levels.

But there’s more perks to my newly adopted lifestyle that don’t have anything to do with weight. At forty-years old, I regularly get mistaken for a woman in her twenties. (I’ll take that all day long, thankyouverymuch.) And since giving up caffeine and drinking alcohol during the week, my sleep is greatly improved and I’m knocking out at 10:45 and sleeping like a log until about 7. No more wheat means I no longer have those “fuzzy” days in which I can’t concentrate. Bottom line, the data may be mixed, but I can say for certain that cutting out wheat and processed sugar has made a world of difference, both physically and emotionally.

Things lately I can’t do without…

Hate the packaging, because it reminds me of the stuff muscle maniacs use to bench press off their foreheads. But what’s inside makes up for it. Paleo Protein is protein derived from eggs and beef, not whey, which is a diary product. My favorite flavor is triple chocolate. I mix it with unsweetened vanilla almond milk, a handful of organic spinach, some blueberries and ice and I have a scrum-delish morning smoothie, so smooth, rich, thick and filling. There’s nothing gross or artificial…all good stuff.

As I mentioned, the apples in my backyard are ripe, so for a little more texture and sweetness I switched from peanut or almond butter, and go the extra mile with going raw and organic. Consuming raw nuts ensures you get all the minerals and other nutrients that often get cooked away during the roasting process.

Ground buffalo or bison burgers are much lower in fat, and mostly sold without hormones or antibiotics, because people are out in the wild, hunting them like in the old days. Of course that could change, but for now, it’s a better choice than ground beef. Because of the lack of fat, you’ll have to cook on a lower heat. But other than that, there really is no difference in how you prepare it. Substitute this meat for hamburgers, meatballs and meatloaf. Because it crumbles easily you can use it for a stir fry with veggies like squash, bell peppers and tomatoes.