Bringing it Back

The blog is back: Alright, I decided (and realized) that constant blog posting is the best way for me to be accountable for what I eat....so it's back for the next 37 days. Again, my goal is to keep it as a simple food diary (which never works because I always end up babbling on about how I feel etc), but I need to give paleo/primal another honest shot.

Breakfast:
-coffee with cream - i need to get to the store and buy some soy/dairy free So Delicious creamer if I'm going to continue having coffee
-1 harboiled egg

Lunch:
-1 hardboiled eggs
-sauteed squash/zucchini with a mix of spices
-grilled chicken (pre-packaged....it's all that was in the fridge this am)

I've also had a handful of almonds throughout the day

Snack (split in half) was an apple with almond butter

WOD: 3 round for time (10 DL @185/50 double unders). Did 140# and single skips at 10:42.

Dinner: turkey burger made with egg, ground turkey meat, zucchini, carrots, thyme, garlic. Sprinkled some gorgonzola cheese on it.

Made a lot for my lunches/dinners. Also bought jerky, eggs, turkey bacon, almonds and 2 grapefrutis @ Fresh Market.

Good purchase, good dinner, and a nice start to bringing back the blog!

:)

I've got a few changes to make... (Tuesday/Wednesday thoughts)

Save it until a day that you feel huge and fat to start making realizations…onto that in a minute. Lunch I ordered grilled salmon (no sauce) and the waiter said, it might already be soaked in sauce…..made me think I sure as hell hope a piece of salmon has not just been sitting in a sauce for 10 hours. Regardless, got that and fruit as a side. They also gave me green beans but I didn’t touch that (legumes I think). They actually put a small dapple of sherbet on my fruit!?!? WHY? Why ruin something so good. Anyways, ate about ½ my salmon and all my fruit.

Onto more of a rant. I realized while doing some research that I’m probably now pumping my body full of paleo foods, but ones that are high carbs and fat. I’m eating more fruit then I did the first 30 days and eating all my apples with almond butter. That stuff is good – and good for you, but not good in the quantities that I’ve been having. The quantities haven’t been huge, it’s just more then a serving. I mean, I scoop every apple slice in the butter. Alright, I need to do more then just eat all the paleo foods I can. I need to start working on my portion control. At least I have the mindset now that I *want*, not all the time like, but want to workout.
………
Dinner was leftover grilled chicken and my salmon leftovers from lunch. I got in town in time to go to the DMB concert with a girlfriend. Going into it, I had the mindset not to drink or eat, but I did end up having 1 draft beer and some of her popcorn. Not bad at all. In older time I would have had more drink and suggested we go out after, but not last night. I didn’t feel guilty about the stuff I had at the concert – it just seemed to compound with everything else I was feeling yesterday.

Anyways, woke up this morning still feeling blah. I have no gum on me (at my client site) and no apples/almond butter to eat. The only things I have are eggs, chicken, veggies, and some berries. I’m currently starving. I guess that’s because I’m used to eating more of the ‘bad’ paleo stuff in higher quantities then necessary. Anyways, had a good chat with a fellow primal friend this am and she agreed, it’s all a learning process, but I am eating too many apples and too many nuts. I’m going to work on scaling down on this. It’s nice to have a community that is always willing to help you when you are struggling!

Anyways, meal updates:
Breakfast – 2 hardboiled eggs and a few cups of hot tea
Lunch – leftover grilled chicken, some veggies, and an egg.

I had no other snacks between the two meals. Although I felt like I was going to die of hunger, it clearly didn’t happen and now I’m full after lunch. I think I also need to find a balance between when I’m hungry/full and when I just ‘want’ to eat.

Alright- holding my head up high and I’ll keep working and tweaking the diet. I’m thinking of trying this recipe tonight (sans bread of course): Turkey Burger

Tuesday Rant

Tuesday:

Breakfast – hot tea and 2 hardboiled eggs. Mid-morning snack, I was really craving sweets or gum, so I had an apple and almond butter – feeling decently full now. So now my question is – how much is too much paleo food? I’m hungry all the time it seems like, so I try and have snacks/small meals every few hours between lunch and dinner and making dinner an actual meal with a meat/fish component and veggies or a side if possible. Is that too much in the morning? I’ve been up since 6:15, and it’s almost 11 now. I’m on the road so my team is going to Bahama Breeze for lunch. I’ll order a fish and nothing else, but then I’ll most likely have a snack later in the afternoon and some chicken for dinner. Would that be too much food if I’m eating almost all paleo and usually only drinking water/tea/some coffee throughout the day? This is my normal workweek routine, but I feel like I’m stuck in a rut which is frustrating. I’m not noticing any changes like I did in the beginning, maybe it’s just getting through this point of powering through paleo eating and keeping my workouts up. Fat is stubborn. I don’t like it. I’m working on getting over the fact that I may not get the fastest results, but I want SOME result. Maybe it’s just one of those days…

Thoughts?

Weekend Recap

Friday dinner we ended up going to Roswell and eating at The Bridge (yummy Mexican food). There was a group of 8, friends and family there when we arrived. I was able to resist all the chips and dips throughout dinner and ordered 2 margaritas. (No worries, I definitely think there was more tequila then mix! J ) I ordered a soup and had about ½, it was a green tomato soup – pretty yummy, but also had high sodium contents – I won’t do that again. For dinner I split fajitas with Chris – no rice/beans/tortillas. I only ate the veggies and meat! So good. Afterwards I did have a few beers, but that was it. Sat AM was a GT football game -at the tailgate I had some gluten free crackers and salsa, eggs and sausage, and fruit. Oh yea, 2 mimosas. No other food – which there was plenty of. During the game I only had a water. Post game I needed to get a workout in to feel better about myself so I did Friday WOD: 5 rounds (15 OHS, 400M runs) I ended up doing 45#, which seemed too easy when it was all over with. Next time I’ll try and do more. Otherwise, it was a good workout. Sat pm Chris and I grilled garden turkey burgers and I made some veggies sautéed in olive oil, spices, and a bit of balsamic vinaigrette. We ended up staying in, which led to minimal drinking, a glass of wine or two while relaxing. But then…..we cheated, and a decently big cheat – STEAK AND SHAKE. I ordered a shroom burger (mushrooms, onions etc or something). I took the bun off, ate ½, had a few fries, but demolished my cookies and cream milkshake!! YUM! Well, there’s my big cheat. Sunday am had a breakfast casserole and some snacks around the house, also had an apple and fruit. Also did 3 rounds of the Blake WOD (15# plate, 18-20# box, 14# wallball, 2 abmats – 17:47, and it was killer.) Again, I just felt like I needed to get outside and be active. Dinner was a disaster – went to Geisha house for sushi – don’t ever go there, it’s AWFUL. Anyways, my sushi was not fresh and had way too much rice, I didn’t even finish it. Oh well, after the few cheat I had this weekend, I didn’t need to. Monday was coffee in the am, a banana for breakfast, baked chicken that I marinated in a teriyaki sauce, and some veggies. Snack was a honeycrisp apple and almond butter. Dinner I met a girlfriend at La Parilla. I had no chips and ordered the chicken and steak fajitas (only pico and guac). Ate no other sides, no tortillas and NO MARGARTIAS. Oh well. Got back to my place and didn’t plan to workout – my body needed a rest, but after doing some work, I got up and made a workout up for my apartment gym: 4 rounds (400M run, 25 situps, 10 burpees – 17:38). Again, not too bad, and I feel better being active. I ate some fruit (strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries) when I got back and drank water. Overall, I definitely think I’m understanding how to manage this sort-of paleo lifestyle.

On a side note, I’ve been chewing a LOT of gum lately, and I think it’s because I’ve been missing my sugars. I don’t need gum and I want to stop chewing it. The first goal is to not buy anymore. So, for the rest of the week, I want to not chew any gum – see how I do on that. I’ll try and drink water or tea or do something else instead beside chewing gum. The goal is to keep those unnatural sugars out of my diet.

Less than 2 months now until Hawaii – crunch time.

:)

Thursday:
Got into the gym for the WOD!! Was out of town the last 2 days so unfortunately I missed the 30 minute WOD, shucks. Yesterday's was 5 rounds (15 burpees, 10 KB #35). I did it RX!!! First time I think doing a WOD RX! Very exciting to have that next to my name. My time was around 12:08, no the fastest on the board, but a good time for me. I'm very thankful that Mike and Veronica were cheering me on - it definitely helped.

For dinner I had part of a chicken and veggie kabob from Fresh Market and then we went to Cypress Street to watch the Falcons game. There I had meatball sliders, with no bun, and 2 mojitos.

Friday:
Coffee with creamer (I need to get back to the store and get the soy/dairy free stuff) and cinnamon. 2 hardboiled eggs and 3 pieces of turkey bacon. Mid morning snack was some almonds. Lunch - again, 1/2 of the chicken berast + the sauteed veggies.

Keeping up with the paleo diet post challenge

Okay, so I’m back on the blogging bandwagon and back on the paleo diet. After a weekend off + a few extra days off on top of that, I realized how much my eating really affected me. I felt bloated, sick, not to mention I really struggled through Monday’s WOD. And I mean STRUGGLED. My goal for the next 30 days is to go back to a paleo(ish) lifestyle and to get in 3 CF WOD’s a week. For the next 30 days I plan to just use the blog as a food diary. I already know how I feel when I eat certain foods, and I’m sure everyone has heard me go on and on and on with that, so here’s my food diary since Monday:

Monday:

Coffee

Eggs and turkey bacon

An apple with almond butter

A sautéed garden turkey burger (from fresh market)

Tuesday:

2 hard boiled eggs and 3 strips of turkey bacon

½ of a grilled chicken breast (marinated in sweet chili oil from fresh market)

Pecans

A piece of Hawaiian salmon (from fresh market)

An apple with almond butter

LA fitness for some runs/squats while not in ATL

Wednesday:

2 hardboiled eggs with the leftover chicken breast

Snack throughout the am - almonds

Lunch out with a friend at Artisan Bakery – I ordered the VIP sandwich with turkey. I took of the bread, asked for no mayo, and chose berries and cream as my side. After I took off the bread, the sammy was so small. Turkey, bacon, avocado, and a tomato slice. (I took off the greens because I didn’t like them). Other then the lunch being small – it was great.

Afternoon snack – gala apple with almond butter

----since my team is traveling, we did a happy hour at Bahama breeze – I only had a water – no food and no drink

Dinner was salmon with sautéed squash, zucchini, and mushrooms

I also went for a jog outside later that night – 2.3 miles

Thursday:

Coffee and a banana for breakfast

Morning snack – almonds

Lunch – ½ of a grilled chicken breast I made last night + some leftovers of my veggies I sautéed last night

Fat Test Tank Day - 11/3/10 (and overall thoughts)

So I haven't written for awhile, my last blog was on Thursday after Urban Pl8 dinner and today is Wednesday. For a quick recap - the weekend was a bust. House birthday party with a keg (Sweetwater Schweat - YUM) Friday, Halloween + not great eating Saturday, and Sunday included some pizza and a beer or two. Monday came and I felt heavier then I had in awhile. I felt sluggish and blah. So that's my take on the weekend, that would have made it through the month of October (although I started 5 days early). Regardless, here are my thoughts and reflections on the last month or so of eating paleo.

So when I started this competiton I was scared as hell. Scared at failing another 'fad' diet, scared of letting myself down, letting others down. Scared of not seeing results. Shoot, I was just plain scared. I had originally put my name down on the previous challenge (it was months ago where we'd have to keep a food log, get points for doing workouts etc etc), but somehow I came up with the excuse that I'd be traveling 2 weeks a month and it just wasn't possible to do. So, putting my name down for this one was scary - it meant that I was 'oficially' signed up and participating.

As you read, my first few days (make those 2 weeks) were miserable. I was hungry, craving sweets, wanting to devour cheese and milk and bread and beer - all in one sitting :) But I made it through. I'd happily say I made it through 30 days of 'as strict paleo as possible'. No, I never cut out wine or tequila. I did however cut out beer. As you're probably thinking, wine and tequila aren't paleo, that's right, so here's my reasoning. I definitely tried to go as paleo as possible. I wanted to try and cut out things that I can or would be able to cut back on for a lifestyle change. Now sure i could have not had any wine for 30 days, but really what would that have done for me during the 30 days and for me in the future. But, it really didn't make sense to cut this out, if on day 32 I'd just reintroduce it as it had been in my life previously. There was no need to go 30 days without it, lose an extra pound or 1% of body fat, just to put it back on. I wanted to make REAL changes that I could keep - and I really think I did that.

I realized I don't need to have a bagel with eggs, bacon and cheese every morning for breakfast (I never did that, but if a bagel was available from my work - i'd grab one!), I don't need to have a bag of chips with lunch or for a snack, there's no need to eat pasta for dinner X amount of nights a week. These are things I can cut out and did cut out. I went as paleo as I could for 30 days, and I feel that I could stay that paleo for another 30. On that note....I do plan to try and stay more or less paleo for the next 30 days. It's not a challenge, just another month for me to integrate into more of a lifestyle. Like I said, I feel better and have noticed changes. Not huge changes on the scale, I'm at an ending weight of 132, but I've been wearing clothes I haven't put on in awhile (jeans, shirts etc). I feel more confident because I feel like my arms don't look as fat, AND because I finally feel like I have control over what I eat, and I realize how I feel when I eat different foods.

So, as for my goals for this challenege - I'd like to say I met and exceeded them. I have a better knowledge of what I eat, why, and how foods make me feel. I can run 3 miles. I can sit down in front of a bowl of chips, or a loaf of bread and not eat it. I have willpower. This challenge helped me realize that. So, for everyone who supported me, encouraged me, and helped me make it through the past 30 days. So many times, I just wanted that 'one bite', that 'one piece' - but so many people wouldn't let me, and that helped show me that I didn't need it and I could refuse it. An even more special thanks to Chris, in so many ways he pushed me and helped me through this. He had confidence in me when I wanted to give up - I credit a lot of my success to him. Anyways, thanks to everyone! I did it - so, what are my results....?

Well, I took my after pictures and when I first took them I was really disappointed because I didn't see that huge change I wanted. But, when I got them on my computer and did that ALT/TAB combo between my before pictures and after pictures I was able to definitely see differences. I think I may have started to cry, small differences, but small ones here and small ones there build up to be bigger ones. So, it's not all about the scale people, it's hard to remember that - and I'm definitely working on it. But, like I said again and again, I feel better, clothes fit better. I can see in the pictures why my clothes fit better. That's a great accomplishment, and making through the past 30 days was one as well. Now for one more question...What's in store for the future?

I must say I don't really have a super non-paleo meal planned. Like I said, I want to try and keep as paleo as possible for another 30 days just to try and bring it into my daily routine. One goal is that I want to workout (preferrably CFPT WOD's) 3 times a week. Now, that may not seem like a lot, but between travel for work on the weekdays and personal travel on the weekends, it's super tough to get in there. I'm lucky Chris' garage is a full CF gym with all necessary equipment, but it's always better being in the gym for that extra push. I think I may have only made it into the gym less then 5 times in the past 30 days due to travel and such. That's not great and I'm sure I would have had better results if I had gotten in there. So, let's see what another month of [more or less] paleo can do for me. I'll plan to take pictures again in another month - hopefully I'll be able to see more small changes. I also plan to make bigger strides at CF. I've finally been able to do 3 kipping pullups in a row - let's make it 5, or 7. I'd also like to be able to lift more weight and not feel like I'm going to die when I run (god i still hate running). There's so many more things I want, and I feel empowered enough to go get them.

I did Bali's body fat tested today and I am 80.7% lean body mass with 19.3% body fat (25.45 lbs of fat and 106.55 pounds of lean body weight). He marked me at optimum health and said that I can move up into the healthy range by losing more body fat. I wish I had done this test before the challenge as a benchmark - but looking forward I can always do it again in another 30-60 days. I can do this and make myself leaner and meaner.

By the way, I have this awesome trip coming up in January where I'll be spending 6 days in Hawaii - so, like I've read other CFPT member write "we do this to look better nekked!"

So - who's ready for another 30 day blog?

:)