Day 14, 15, 16, 17 & 18- I've made it two weeks already!!

Day 14

Omg, I've made it two weeks without grains!

Today was so crazy busy that I really didn't get to eat much. I had a banana and coffee for breakfast. But then I didn't eat again until dinner time because I was working on building a playground with SIFE. We got rained out! So close to being finished. Afterwards I treated myself to a watermelon juice. Seriously the best drink!

When I got home, I had some banana chips but I was so engrossed in making a trifold board for SIFE that I kept putting off eating, but not on purpose. Before I knew it, it was time to get ready to go out with my friends. So I made my go to salad - star berries, sunflower seeds and baby spring mix. It's so easy and quick to make.

Party time! I only had one drink while out and I had so much fun.

Day 15

I did not want to wake up early today even though I had told a friend I'd meet her to work on her classroom before I went to finish the playground. But my plans to finish the playground fell trough and my friend luckily didn't want to wake up early either.

I decided to reward myself today for doing pretty well on this new diet so I got a Starbucks iced coffee with whole milk and another banana for breakfast. Is it possible to have too many bananas??

Yay, one of my good friends recently got engaged and she invited me to go wedding dress shopping with her today. Yay! But hmmm..... What can I eat for lunch?? I shopped with them for a while then we were all hungry so we looked around for lunch. They decided to go to a bubble tea place that had food. Not too much food to choose from if I don't want to go off my diet too bad. I got curry chicken. It was delicious. It came with rice so I ate a little of it but I tried to focus on just eating the chicken and avoiding the potatoes. Ugh. Bad choice. I immediately felt bloated and super full. It was the first time I've had grains in two weeks and if that's the way I'm going to feel after eating grains, I will gladly skip them!

For dinner I had a salad with ground beef, guacamole and salsa. Paleo is doable. Sometimes it's hard to not add cheese and sour cream and beans to taco salads, but I feel much better about the eating habits that I'm forming. I'm nervous about tomorrow though, I start school and my schedule is already busy. I will need to find time to make food and things that I can take on the go.

Oh and obviously I didn't get to make the chili today that I had planned to do. Maybe next weekend.


Want some Whole30 approved spices?  Check out this link: Whole30 Approved Spicehound

Day 16

First day of the Fall 2012 semester! I am so not ready for this.  These first few days will be crazy busy for me.  I have morning classes, then head to work, then home to work on homework or stuff for my tutoring.  How am I going to manage sticking to paleo?  I need to buy a lunch cooler to keep my food from spoiling while it sits in my car during class.  Houston is crazy hot and the heat would seriously over cook my food....and I don't wanna cook lettuce or strawberries.  Gross.

So I just picked up a Bacon Chicken Salad to bring to work and some beef jerky if I need a snack.  Oh and I bought a cool lime refresher from Starbucks this morning because I was in need for some serious caffeine after my macroeconomics class.

Around 1pm my stomach started to hurt.  It was a weird feeling, like hungry, kinda painful like I had worked out my abs hard in the gym (but I haven't recently) and uncomfortable.  Not sure what's wrong.  Ugh.  I ate my salad but it only made the feeling go away a little.  Maybe it was from yesterdays rice? or the cool lime refresher? or maybe the beef jerky....can beef jerky go bad?

No working out tonight.  I have to buy school books online, finish the SIFE trifle board, buy a printer and my tummy hurts.  I just grabbed a smoothie after work for dinner because I was hungry and had to run some errands.

Day 17

Is it possible that today is busier than yesterday?  Half a day of work, class, tutoring then homework.  I seriously feel like I'm living off of smoothies right night.  I had a protein shake with some coffee mixed in for breakfast.  On the way to tutoring I picked up a fruit smoothie.  For dinner, I needed to eat something more nutritious and substantial.  I made grilled chicken and had my go to salad, by now you should now what type of salad that is....strawberries, sunflower seeds and baby spring mix. 

Day 18

I need to get back to eating regular foods.  A protein shake with coffee for breakfast on the way to class. 

What can I pick up to eat for lunch and a snack at work?  My Fit Foods!  I just need to make sure to avoid any dish with rice, pasta or grains.  It's doable. 

Are red potatoes paleo friendly?  I looked this up before stopping for food because I wanted their bbq chicken which comes with green beans and a red potato mash.  Seems like red potatoes are a touchy subject in the paleo world.  This blogger goes more into depth about red potatoes and if they are paleo.... Mark's Daily Apple - Are potatoes paleo?  He says that "Evidence exists for human consumption of roots and tubers from multiple sites spanning multiple time periods: Northern Europe (specifically Poland), in the terminal Paleolithic and early Mesolithic."  So I've decided I will get the meal with the red potato mash, but I won't do it very often.  I'll limit my spud in take since I'm trying to get into better shape.

Snack time!  I have egg salad with nut thins and celery from My Fit Foods.  So good.  But do not eat the nut things if you are trying to stick to paleo foods.  I made the mistake of eating them, THEN looking at the ingredients.  I thought that the Almond Nut Thins would be made from almonds. Well they have almonds, rice flour (fail) and some other paleoFAIL stuff.  You live you learn to look at ingredients before you eat something.  If you aren't trying to eat paleo, but are just eating healthy, Nut Thins are a tasty cracker replacement.  Oh and the egg salad....does have some mayo in it.  Another paleofail but at least it's nutritious since who knows when I will get dinner tonight.

Dinner time - egg drop soup, chicken and a little brown rice. I knew I shouldn't have eaten any grains. I don't want this to spiral out of control and start eating more grains little by little. Just need to cut out grains cold turkey.....again. I don't need them, they just taste good.

Day 12 & 13

Day 12



Lunch

I cant believe it's been almost two weeks of eating paleo. Still no grains. I'm almost shocked with myself and how well I've done. I've cheated a little except with grains. I've had a few beans, Starbucks refresher and Smoothie King but for the most part, I've stayed on track. I had a protein shake for breakfast, strawberry sunflower seed salad for lunch, and munched on some carrots as a snack. I'm still trying to figure out what I want for dinner. Maybe some eggs with squash, mushrooms and bacon, or maybe squash and mushroom with fish. Both sound really good.

I've had a dull headache since this afternoon and I'm super tired. Headaches really drag me down. I'm thinking the headache is from being so tired because of the extra long days I've had this week. I was planning on exercising today but I think I'm going to relax tonight.

Dark Chocolate Almond Butter Cups
Not 100% Paleo but at least no peanuts
and it's organic.

Dinner

I tried dark chocolate almond butter cups tonight. Amazing! I found them at Kroger in the organic section and thought I'd treat myself for doing so well on this diet.


I finally decided what to make for dinner.  Eggs, uncured bacon, sauteed mushrooms, squash and onions.  It was very delicous!  I didn't finish all the bacon or egg, but I cleans everything else off the plate.  I love mushrooms and squash.  For dessert, I had some fresh strawberries.

Day 13

Happy Friday!!  I did not want to get out of bed this morning but I feel fresh and in a good mood today.  I'm very excited about going to Zumba tonight.  The instructor is great, I'm covered in sweat by the end of class and I'm having fun!  After Zumba, I'll work out my triceps and shoulders.  I like to perform 3 different exercises per muscle at 3 sets of 8 to 12 reps for each exercise.  I choose a weight that will be hard to lift by the end of each set.  I'm trying to follow the exercises that are in my Jennifer Nicole Lee book. 

For example:
Today is Triceps and Shoulders, so I'd do:
TRICEPS:
Seated Dumbbell Extension - 3 sets at 8 to 12 reps
Dumbbell Kickbacks - 3 sets at 8 to 12 reps
Skull Crushers with bar - 3 sets at 8 to 12 reps
SHOULDERS:
Seated Dumbbell Press - 3 sets at 8 to 12 reps
Side Raises - 3 sets at 8 to 12 reps
Bent Over Raises - 3 sets at 8 to 12 reps

I switch up the exercises each time I hit the gym so I don't get board and neither do my muscles.  I also have the Kindle App downloaded on my iphone so I can just refer back to my book if I need any extra help.  Read her book Fitness Model Book.  It was the first book I bought on my kindle and I read it all in 3 days.  It's inspirational and she gives you so many tips and tricks.  I love her. Jennifer Nicole Lee's Website

For breakfast I had another protein shake from BSN Lean Dessert.  I think it was Banana Nut Bread flavor.  I think I like it almost as much as the Whipped Vanilla Lean Dessert.


Delicious!

I was totally in love with my lunch yesterday, so I'm having the same thing again today.  I seriously can't get enough of this strawberry, sunflower seed and baby spring mix salad.  It's that good!  I only had about a tablespoon of dressing, but the strawberries are so juicy that it didn't even matter.


 

Lunch before mixing it together

Okay, so I'm already thinking of what I could make on Sunday for next week.  I'm thinking a Paleo Chili in a Crockpot.  Should I make regular chili or maybe green chili.  I haven't had green chili since my roadtrip with Stella.  Stella & Petunia's Awesome Adventure blog   I'm gonna start looking up recipes.

Day 9, 10, 11 Paleo

Day 9

Banana with Sunflower Seed Butter
Kiwi, and Blueberries

Woo Hoo!  I made it through the weekend.  Yesterday was really hard.  Non-Paleo protein shake from breakfast.  Chicken Salad for lunch.  Protein shake for pre-workout.  Hit the park with my friend and run into 3 other friends.  I always love when that happens.  I only ran about 3/4 of a mile because my buddy wasn't feeling to well.  I did get in 3 miles though.  I love the feeling after you work out.  Post workout - banana with sunflower seed butter, kiwi and blueberries.  Yum!!

Kobi is ready for his run at the park

Day 10

I'm already wondering what I'll be doing for dinner as I have a meeting tonight with SIFE to work on our trifold board.  I ask for suggestions from another paleo friend, he says Luby's.  I'm told I can get meat and veggies there.  I've never been to Luby's and it doesn't sound all that appealing.  For lunch, I need something other than chicken salad!  I stop at Wendy's and get a side sald with a small chili.  Yes I know the chili has beans which is a paleo fail, but at least I still haven't had any grains!  Although, they put a million saltines and croutons in the bag with my salad and chili, but I tossed them to the side.  :)



One of our SIFE projects.  That's me on top in leopard.

I had a meeting with SIFE to work on our trifold board for recruiting, and I was in a rush so dinner on the go - green tea tango smoothie with no extra fruit from Smoothie King.  Yum.  SO delicious but has dairy and sugar.  Ahh.  I need to get back on track.  No legumes.  No dairy.  At least I'm starting to miss grains and fried food less and less. My SIFE peeps had Popeye's chicken and french fries.  Surprisingly I didn't leave the meeting craving fried chicken or french fries.  Win!  I had some mango and kiwi when I got home.  Mango is a pain to cut up!  Maybe I'm doing this wrong.  My friend told me I need to finess the mango.  Cut it into slices off the pit, then cut the skin off.  I'll try that tomorrow.  I was cutting the skin off with a knife, like peeling a potato or something.
Day 11

My parents back in maybe 1985 or 1986?
With me and my brother.

Happy 31st anniversary to my parents! They've been together for such a long time and just moved into a new house!! Love you guys!



I wake up feeling like I need to get back on track.  No dairy.  No grains.  No legumes.  No sugar.  I felt blah this morning and my weight went up a little.  I am going to allow myself protein shakes though.  I use BSN Lean Dessert.  Whipped Vanilla is my favorite.  It tastes kinda like whipped cream. 

Lunch time - Chicken and bacon on arugula mix with balsamic vinaigrette.  Good?  Well it was yummy, but ugh, the dressing had soy oil in it!  Oh come on.  I just won't use much of the dressing.  I'm still getting a hang of this whole paleo lifestyle. 

Serious cravings today.  I want a cookie, or a cupcake or frozen yogurt!!!  I'm going to try to push through these cravings.  I don't want to cheat on my new lifestyle.  I know eventually it will happen, but I want it to be good and worth it and PLANNED!  Not just because I have a craving for sugar.  Maybe I'm having this craving because of my smoothie from yesterday.....  :(

Check out this link about cheating on paleo:  Paleo Plan - Cheating

I didn't have time for a real dinner, so I got a smoothie again.  I know I said no dairy, no sugar, but I was starving and seriously had no time to sit down and eat.  I did at least have some beef jerky so I didn't finish the smoothie.  I am teaching someone how to use AutoCAD and I had to go straight to her house from work.  I really enjoy teaching others how to use the program.  I start teaching a new group of people new week.  It's just something I do on my own.  Maybe it's my future career?  AutoCAD Teacher?  Possibly.

A screen shot of AutoCAD

Day 8

Today is hard. Im feeling lazy and don't want to cook and it's rainy outside, so I don't want to go anywhere. I have plenty of stuff at home to eat.

Another salad with fruit on it. Luckily it's so good that I don't mind having another. Cantaloupe as a snack. I am also trying some Bolthouse Farms Orange + Carrot juice. I think it's paleo friendly. The ingredients are all fruit purée or fruit concentrate. Although I'm not to sure what Acerola purée us. I'll have to look it up. It tastes pretty good though.

Watching Hunger Games. I really like this movie, but the food scenes were a little rough! All that dessert got me craving for something sweet. I bought some 85% dark chocolate the other day for cravings like this. It's good but strong and a little bitter, probably not a bad thing because then I won't way to eat much of it.

It's bedtime and I've managed to survive another day without cheating. It is so hard at times. I hope it gets easier sooner. At least I am feeling better and no headaches, just cravings.

Such a great quote!
"Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great." - Mark Twain

Day 7!! I've made it a whole week.

Wow. I can't believe I've made it 7 days on the Paleo diet! I'm surprised and impressed by myself.

I had a great workout this morning. Zumba and I worked out my legs. It was rough but I felt great after and my legs are sore already. I pressed 230 lbs with my legs. I also did calf raises, and hack squat. My legs felt like jello.

Best part of my day was at the grocery store, my cart loaded with fruits, veggies and uncured bacon, the cashier asks me if I'm a runner. I saw no, I walk and do weights and Zumba. She tells me I look great and have a flat stomach and that she is trying to get that. :). Made my day. Thank you.

Had another strawberry salad for lunch. Spicy guac with carrots for a snack. Had hamachi tataki on plantains for dinner. The sushi was mostly paleo. There was some sort of white sauce on it that probably had a mayo base. It was pretty tasty though. I managed to not have any rice at sushi and I didn't eat any of my friends edamame.

I'm feeling great. I can do this!!

Day 4, 5 & 6 - Still going.....kinda strong

Day 4

Wow, I surprisingly made it through Day 4.  Had a lot of car drama today which made me want sugar and carbs....but I didn't grab any carbs.  I had a cool lime refresher from Starbucks....which I'm sure had sugar in it but atleast I skipped the caramel macciato that I normally get which has dairy and lots of sugar.  BTW - the cool lime refresher is soo good!  Lime, mint and caffiene extracted from green coffee beans.

The rest of the day was filled with salads, veggies and protein.  yum!  I didn't feel tired today, walked around the park with some friends.  When I saw walk around the park - I mean walk around Memorial Park which is a 3 mile loop.  No shortcuts.  I'm going to start running around the park next week.  My goal is to run 3 miles straight no stopping!

Day 5

Still not sure what the exact problem is with my car.  I was super tired this morning and I have a busy day today so I gotta figure out how to stick to my diet.  I am still using protein shakes in my diet until I can figure out quick meals for on the go.

I carried apples, beef jerky and banana chips with me today.  And yay, I had time to go home and eat dinner before going to my tutoring job.  Left over pot roast and a banana.  Okay, I have to freeze the rest of this pot roast.  I think I'm burnt out on it although it was super tasty.

I broke and had a cranberry vodka while out for a friends birthday and boy did I immediately felt like crap!  So it was my one and only drink of the night.  It's amazing how one drink could make me feel so blah.  Ok, I can just go without the booze from now on.  I can have fun with or without it.  I'll just order myself a club soda with lime.  Ta Da.  Looks like an alcholic beverage, but it's not.  :)

Day 6

Awesome.  I got my car back.  Not a major problem, just had to replace a hose and my car is working again.  I love my Jetta.  :) :)

Even better news, I'm down 6.5 lbs from when I returned from my awesome roadtrip.  And 4.5 lbs down since I started eating Paleo.  AWESOME!!!  I'm sticking to it!  I know the cravings will eventually go away.

They (I mean the paleo liftstyle people) say to just eat when you are hungry.  You don't have to have 6 small meals a day like other diets.  It makes it easier and I'm not counting calories either.  Just eating when I'm hungry.  So far breakfast and lunch have both been fruit smoothies and I had some beef jerky.  I think I'll make myself a salad and some tilapia for dinner tonight.  Yum!

Ok so I ended up making strawberry almond salad and a side of sautéed mushroom for dinner. Really good. I smelt French fries earlier and omg, I wanted some so bad, but I willed myself not to. So proud of myself.

Day 3 Paleo

Didn't wake up to a headache this morning, but I did feel a lot more tired and thirsty than normal.  Had a smoothie for breakfast with a little protein powder.  I don't think the protein powder is paleo friendly but hey, it's my diet and I was in a rush.  Sorry!

I was thisclose to getting a sugary sweet yummy iced coffee this morning but I willed myself not to do it.  I know this will get easier!  I packed some fruit, nuts, and beef jerky to take to work.  I also grabbed a grilled chicken salad to bring for lunch.  I have caesar dressing for it.  I'll have to check more into dressings for salads, but at least this is better than me picking up some subway sandwich.

I decided to opt out of meeting my friends for Taco Tuesday.  I know I'll want to eat some chips and tortillas and I don't think I'm strong enough right now to say no.  Maybe next week!

Paleo Do's and Don'ts

 

The Paleo Diet Recipes solution mimics our hunter and gatherer ancestors. So if you can find or kill it in nature, you can eat it…essentially. For those of you that would like the hard core rules ironed out, keep reading.

Eat Your Vegetables: Eat as many and as much fresh or frozen vegetables as you want. Go organic and live it up. 
This sounds good to me!  I love veggies, except for raw tomatoes.  I can't get past the texture.

No Dairy: Nope. Did you know that humans are the only species to continue to drink milk after infancy? Did you know that dairy is an immune system stressor and everyone is allergic to cow dairy to some extent? The Bottom Line? Avoid all Dairy – this includes milk, butter, cream, yogurt, ice cream, cheese, etc etc.
NO DAIRY?! Oh snap.  I used to drink milk like crazy.  Good thing they make Coconut Milk and Almond Milk or I might go nuts.  I did hear that eliminating dairy from diet should improve your skin.  I'll be really sad to say goodbye to TCBY and cheese!

Go Carnivore:Try to focus on moderate to high animal protein. Your body craves it and your waste line will thank you. If you don’t have serious PETA morals, eat meat. And yes, that means even fattier cuts like bacon and ribs. We eat a variety of poultry, seafood, red meats and eggs – all wild caught or grass fed (as the hormones will mess up your system…have you seen how big kids are today??? Not. Natural.)
My body better thank me for doing this diet.  I wasn't a huge meat eater, but I guess I will be now!  Bacon? Ribs? Don't mind if I do.

Avoid Most Starches: No corn products, no potatoes, no rice, no breads. If you feel you need rice, try cauliflower. You can food process it and spice it up to help you get over the hump…its surprisingly good! The exception here is tubers like sweet potatoes, carrots, parsnips and plantains – these are OK. Try to think “Can I Eat It Raw?” and if the answer is YES, then you can eat it on the Paleo diet. See our recipes for other ways to mimic the foods you may miss (including cookies!).
Gosh, this Do's and Don'ts is making me want and miss all that bad stuff.  Trying to do an out of sight, out of mind approach to the sugary sweets of my past.  I love chips and rice....what will I ever do without them?!  I have found some alternatives.....Cauliflower Rice, Kale Chips, and Zucchini noodles.  I'll have to try them out and let you know how it goes.  I'm so glad I can still eat sweet potatoes, carrots and plantains.  Yum!

No Processed Foods: If it comes in the freezer section or in a box, you probably can’t eat it. It is most important that you avoid nitrates. So watch out for those (especially in things like bacon and sausage, as they make some that is grass fed and without nitrates).
This doesn't seem to bad.  I don't eat that much frozen food except for fish and the occasional Totino's Pizza.  I haven't bought bacon yet because I'm not sure what's a good type to get.

Oils: Good oils to use (and use them plenty) include coconut (our favorite for cooking), palm, avocado, sesame, grape seed (also great for cooking without the flavor of coconut) and olive oil. Avoid corn, cottonseed, peanut, soybean, rice bran, and wheat germ oils. Avoid any foods made with these oils (yes, that means in foods like chips and mayo…whether it is organic or not).
I bought some coconut oil, which comes as a solid.  I haven't used it yet. Hmm....what can I put in my tuna instead of mayo.

No Grains: None. Nada. Not even corn (yes, corn is a grain). And I’ll tell you why. Wheat has gluten and all grains have a very high glycemic index – which means that these foods carry sugar too rapidly into the bloodstream. For more details, read “The Paleo Solution” by Robb Wolf. He details the internal effects of going Paleo in length and it’s really a fantastic read.
No tortillas. No Chips. No flatbread. No wheat thins.  Gotta think of alternatives, not what I can't have.  Coconut pancakes could be substitutes for tortillas if it's a must.  Kale chips, banana chips, and sweet potato chips sound good.  Crackers....they make almond crackers that will hopefully be Paleo friendly.


Legumes (Beans, Peas, Peanuts):You might be thinking these are ok, but consider: even though I can find it in nature, can I eat it raw? And the answer to legumes is no. Go ahead, eat a raw kidney bean and tell me if it’s tasty. Prior to agriculture, legumes were very rare and were not a staple in our diets. They contain lectins, saponins or protease inhibitors that are bad news for our hormonal and immune system. See Rob’s book again for more info.
¹Peanuts aren’t actually tree nuts like cashews, almonds, etc. In It Starts with Food, the Hartwigs note that peanuts are actually legumes—they grow underground, not on trees. They are in the legume family, and have protein structures that can be hazardous because of lectins. Cooking legumes kills lectins, but lectins in peanuts aren’t annihilated by heat. They enter your system with all that nastiness intact, so your body treats them like a foreign and unwanted substance, which causes an overreaction of the immune system.
This one really sucks.  I love me some legumes!  Are chickpeas legumes? I must figure this one out.  Green beans are still okay.  No more peanut butter. ...that means no more peanut butter cups.  Boo!  I have tried almond butter and sunflower seed butter....a different texture but still taste pretty good.

Fruits and Fruit Juices: We eat all the fruits we want, but again, if you are trying to lose a vast amount of weight, I would limit your intake, as fruits contain a lot of sugar. Remember, the sugar is natural, but its still sugar! Go organic. If you are drinking juices, go for organic, not from concentrate, non-blends. If you are in for the weight loss, see our Glycemic Index to see which fruits are higher and lower in sugar.
I am trying to lose weight so I will try to eat more veggies than fruit.  Luckily I cut out fruit juices a long time ago when I tried MyFitFoods.

Nuts: If you can find it in nature, you can eat it. So cashews, pecans, almonds, walnuts, etc are ok. They have essential oils, fats and proteins that are good for you, but keep it to a minimum. The logic behind this is that nuts contain phytic acid (commonly found in grains and legumes), which interferes with enzymes we need to digest our food. Moderation is OK, but if you eat a lot, it can lead to mineral deficiencies like osteoporosis. Think Caveman: How many nuts could you find in nature, crack, and eat before you gave up? …about a handful I’m assuming, which is about right.
I love nuts.  I don't really eat them that often but at least I like them.  Could be a nice little source of protein for before workouts.

Salt: Do not use iodized salt, go for sea salt instead if you need it. Salt was not common in the Paleo era, nor should it be in your diet.
I'm not a huge salt fan in the first place, and I've been using sea salt instead of iodized salt anyway.  No problem!

Booze: Let’s be honest. It’s hard to give up the booze. But you can’t give it up, you can do it Paleo-style. We drink wine (as it is gluten free) that is organically grown and beer that is gluten free or hard ciders. Some recommendations are Bards (made from sorghum) and Woodchuck (made from apples). Rob Wolf also recommends what he calls the “Nor-Cal” Margarita. Its soda water, lime and 100% agave tequila. This is also something that we drink occasionally.
This one won't be that hard for me because I can still have fun without drinking.  I think it might be more hard for my friends to accept than me.  I know they'll be trying to get me to drink.  Maybe I'll just hold a water with a lime and say it's vodka water.

Nix the sugars: No soft drinks, no koolaids, no processed fruit snacks, etc. Remember, if it comes ready made, you probably shouldn’t eat it.
Adios Dr. Pepper.  I used to hate soda when I was younger, the carbonation killed me.  I can go without it again.  Can I drink Ice Tea, or hot tea as long as I don't add sugar?  What about crystal light to go packets??

Portion Control: Eat as much of these foods as you want! If you need to seriously lose some pounds, you may want to consider limiting you intake of fruits and nuts, but otherwise, go wild!
Yay, no more calorie counting! 

Supplements: Are not entirely necessary, but we have several recommendations that have worked out great for us. See the supplements section for more details.
I'll have to go check out their supplements.  I still want to take my daily vitamins and some other supplements.  What about protein powder?

Eating Schedule: Don’t keep a schedule. Eat when you are hungry, don’t eat when you aren’t. You will have days where you go all day with no food and others where you eat every few hours. This is normal. Just do what feels natural.
Sounds good to me!  I'm more worried about the food on the days that I'm running all over the place and need on-the-go foods.

The above information is from Paleo Effect Website - Quick Paleo Guide.  I just added my own commentary.

I CAN do this!

Day 2 - Paleo Diet (killer headache a.m.)

I woke up this morning with a nasty headache.  :(  Was I really eating/drinking that badly before??  Ouch.  My body is detoxing already.  I heard the first week is the worst.  I just need to push through.  It really made me want to reach for my sugary coffee, but I didn't.  I did reach for my tylenol, which I doubt is Paleo approved but man my head was killing me.  Maybe I should look up some natural remedies for headaches, so I'll be prepared the next time I get a headache.

I had a banana with sunflower seed butter and water for breakfast this morning.  It tasted great and filled me up.  I'm going to make some sort of egg frittata muffins tonight that I can easily nuke and eat for breakfast since I'm so not a morning person.  I need something I can grab and go!

Banana with Sunflower Seed Butter.  Yum!

I packed my lunch plus snacks and a 1 liter water bottle to bring to work today.  Leftover pot roast plus veggies, blueberries, apples, raisins and mixed nuts.  I feel like I packed a lot but I wasn't sure how hungry I'd be or what I should eat before my workout tonight so I over packed just to be safe.

Day 2 Lunch

My boss said my lunch smells damn good.  :)  haha, it sure does.  I'm feeling much better than I was this morning.  I feel light, refreshed and a little tired.  I snacked on some almonds and raisins.  But around 5pm I was feeling so tired that I could barely keep my eyes open!  I was going to hit the gym or park, but instead I went home to take a nap.

Sleeping, didn't make me feel any better.  I really just wanted to stay asleep.  Had some paleo friendly dinner.  While watching TV, I did find myself wanting something sweet or some animal crackers, but I managed to get past this craving by eating a banana and drinking a lot of water.

Made it through Day 2!

Day 1 - Paleo Diet

Today is my first day on the Paleo Diet. I was going to do the Whole30 Challenge but I'm too chicken.  I don't think I'm quite ready for that.  But I am ready to start the Paleo Diet.  I would like to make it into a lifestyle.  Maybe after 30 days of Paleo , then I will try the Whole30.  I have subscribed to the Whole30 Daily and I have their book "It Starts with Food", so I am going to try to follow it as closely as I can but I'll go more by the Paleo lifestyle rules for sure.

Check out Whole9 for more information

I've cleaned out my kitchen, read my Whole30 Daily, and went grocery shopping for Paleo approved ingredients. I weighed myself this morning and I need to take a Day 1 photo of myself to see how my body changes over the next 30 days. So far I feel great and I haven't cheated.

Ready for some Paleo cooking!

I started a pot roast earlier and it's smelling amazing. Can't wait to eat it.  I found the recipe on nomnompaleo.com but modified it a little bit because I didn't have all the ingredients.  I didn't have 8 leeks so I used 4 leeks and 1 medium onion.  No vermouth.  No Thyme.  I also used a bone in pot roast because I couldn't find one without bone.  I've never made pot roast before or used a crock pot so I did as best as I could.  I also added some squash to the pot.

Paleo Pot Roast - Beginning

Paleo Pot Roast in the works

Finished Paleo Pot Roast in 4 QT Crock Pot

My Paleo friend came over for dinner to be my guinea pig.  I had to have someone else try the pot roast with me.  He loved it. I love it.  It was a success and plenty leftover so I can bring it to work for lunch.  We also made coconut flour pancakes from the nomnompaleo.com website to go with the pot roast.  It went very well together.  I just wish I had the avocado to go along with it.  The coconut pancake had more of an egg flavor but it was still good.  Good enough that I didn't get a picture of it before I gobbled it down.



Paleo Pot Roast

My friend showed me some Crossfit videos and wow.  It looks rough!!  I give them HUGE props cuz I know I'd be huffing and puffing.  I love to lift weights, but I'm not so good with cardio.  Maybe I will eventually try Crossfit.  It for sure intreges me, but one step at a time.  I don't want to overwhelm myself with too many new challenges that I just end up just wanting to quit.  I'm on a mission for a better, healthier, happier life.

Next I'm going to try and make my own ghee and coconut butter. I saw the recipes on nomnompaleo.com. Can't wait to try it. 

Taking the first step to a healthier life, a Paleo life.

Friday August 10, 2012

Ok, so I've decided to try, no wait, DO the Whole30 Challenge.  I've been hearing about the whole Paleo Diet for some time now and it's definately peaked my interest.  I've read a lot about it.  I've checked out recipes, the dos and don'ts, the health benefits and honestly it looks tough!  I have a friend that does Crossfit and told me that he was trying the Paleo Diet.  I told him to go for it and he's been keeping me updated about it.  At first he complained about not feeling like he had enough energy.  I suggested that many he wasn't eating enough calories or protein because I heard him mention fruit and nuts more than meats.  After a week, he said he wouldn't do it anymore because it was tough.  A little discouraging for me because I think he has a lot more discipline than I do.  But by the end of the weekend, he was ready to give it another go.  Awesome! 

So I started looking into the Paleo Diet again with new found hope.  This time I found a food truck facebook page for Cultured Caveman.  Cultured CavemanPDX Facebook Page  I checked out pictures of dishes they serve, recipes they had posted and I found myself thinking that I wish Houston had a paleo food truck.  The truck owners looked happy and healthy and made me want to look for more tasty looking Paleo recipes!  This really can't be all that hard, can it?  Paleo's eat meat and plants.  Yes, I can do this!! 

After a little more digging, I found another website/blog.  Nom Nom Paleo!  Nom Nom Paleo They make Paleo look really good and doable!  I read and salavated over many of the recipes.  I need to buy myself a crockpot and if I plan out my meals for the week, I can really make this happen.  While reading the Nom Nom Paleo recipes, I kept seeing stuff about Whole9 and Whole30.  Of course I was curious, so I clicked on the link.  Whole9 Life website  Wow, a wealth of information! I love it.  I read about the Whole30 challenge and decided that I am ready to do this.  I'm back from a long road trip and no more excuses.  I want to be healthy and happy!  Today I ordered their "It Starts With Food" book for my kindle.  I plan on cracking that sucker open as soon as I get home from the gym tonight.  Whole30 is more strict than the typical Paleo Diet/Lifestyle, which I think is what I need to get this kick started.  This is going to change my life and I couldn't be happier and more excited to try this.

I've signed up for the Whole30 Daily to prepare me, keep me motivated and ensure my success.  I'm planning on starting this Sunday after I purge the bad food from my kitchen, plan some and grocery shop for some new yummy foods.

I realize this will be difficult, that's why I could use all the encouragement possible.  As Whole9 says "It is not hard. Don’t you dare tell us this is hard. Quitting heroin is hard. Beating cancer is hard. Drinking your coffee black. Is. Not. Hard. You won’t get any coddling, and you won’t get any sympathy for your “struggles”. YOU HAVE NO EXCUSE not to complete the program as written. It’s only thirty days, and it’s for the most important health cause on earth – the only physical body you will ever have in this lifetime."

My only job for the next 30 days is to make good food choices.  No cheats, slips or special occasions.  Man Whole9 really knows all of our tricks!

Wish me luck!