Sticking with Paleo. Mission impossible?

I love the way I feel when I stick with the Paleo diet and I love the way my body is transforming. I've been trying to stick with it and at times I could have tried harder to stick with it. I don't think I can go to Paleo cold turkey. That kind of blew up in my face. So I'm thinking I will try to stick to Paleo 80% of the time. That seems reasonable and doable. In time, I would hope I can raise that percentage to 90% or even 99%. But for now I'm going to take baby steps. I still love my iced pumpkin spice lattes from Starbucks but I will try to limit those to only a day or two a week and to use whole fat milk in them as no whip cream. Luckily, that latte is a seasonal thing!

Today I've been pretty good. I had a protein shake early, then had steak, egg whites and red potato mash from myfitfoods. They were out of the small size so I just bought the medium and didn't finish all the egg or mash. He steak was too good to not finish. If I pick up food from myfitfoods, I don't have too many options of food because a lot of their dishes have rice or pasta or oats, which aren't paleo friendly. Atleast they have started carrying items from a local chef that creates meals from raw products. I need to try some of those meals next.

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Paleo fail!

Okay so since I challenged myself to not eat grains for thirty days....I've cheated a lot. I try to stick to paleo for the most part but when I'm tired and hungry and don't feel like cooking, that's when I cheat. Or when I'm super busy and running all over, I've cheated. But I have really been feeling the positive affects of the paleo diet and I want to see more results. My clothes are fitting nicer and looser. I've had friends comment on how I look like I've lost weight. It's a good feeling. I need to prepare more, especially for those days when I'm feeling lazy and do t want to cook.

I found a coconut water that I actually like. Coconut water with mange purée. Really good! I went to the grocery store today and bought a bunch of fruits and veggies. I have meat in my freezer, I need to set some out to thaw.

I hate that I've been so busy and tired that I haven't been able to exercise much lately... Well at least not in he gym. I do seem to walk at least a mile a day because of school. I am all over that campus so at least it helps since I'm too busy to exercise. Im really not a morning person but i might have to start thinking about waking up early to exercise.

Getting back into gear!

'On a Mission' Challenge - Starting today.

9/12/12
So I've made it through my first 30 days of paleo.  It was rough and towards the end I definitely cheated more than I should have but I feel much better than I did before I started the paleo diet.  I really love it, but it takes planning to really make it work.  Maybe I cheated because I didn't plan well enough the last two weeks because I was so crazy busy.  But 8 lbs down in one month, I love that.  My clothes are fitting better, especially my jeans.  My skin is clearer.  I feel happier.  And when I do cheat, let me tell you, my body tells me I've done a bad thing!!  I also get full much quicker than before.  Even when I did cheat, I'd get not even half way through my meal and I'd feel full....like overly full, about ready to pop full.  I need to stick with it and cut out the grains again. 

Last night I went out to a Mexican place in celebration of my new car.  :)  So happy about it.  It's a 2008 Saturn VUE.  I kinda feel like I have a grown up car now.  haha.  So anyway, I did eat chips.  :/  BUT for my meal, I ordered grilled shrimp.  It came with rice and beans but I asked for none of that and sub in grilled veggies.  It was delicious.

Down another 8 lbs in the next 30 days?  Let's see if i can do it.  I'm challenging myself to stick with this and absolutely NO grains in the next 30 days.  What better time to start than NOW.  Call me out if I've cheated.  I CAN do this.  There are much harder things in life than no grains.  This next year, I will get in the best shape of my life with the help Whole 9/Paleo Diet and Jennifer Nicole Lee workouts.

My 'On a Mission' Challenge:


9-12-12 to 10-12-12

NO grains - NO wheat and all processed foods made with wheat or wheat flour, rye and all processed foods made with rye, barley, rice, oats and corn.  So no more tortilla chips at Mexican restaurants, no more rice with Chinese food.

Exercise at least 4 days a week - Hopefully more, but that is the minimum.  Follow Jennifer Nicole Lee's Fitness Model workouts.  Make sure get to get full body workouts each month.

80% paleo 20% non paleo minimum.  Meaning little to no sugar, no candy unless it's dark chocolate with 85% cocoa, little to no dairy or whole fat milk (use almond milk or coconut milk substitute when possible).  Eat lots of veggies, fruits, meats and nuts!

I've got this!

Wow, is it Day 25 already??

I know I've missed a few days but school started last week and I've been so crazy busy.  I enjoy everything that I'm doing, just wish I could focus more on school right now than working.  I'll try to recap what I can remember.

I'm on Day 25 right now.  I can't believe I've made it this long.  I'm pretty happy with myself and the results that I've seen so far.  I've lost 8 lbs so far and I've been feeling pretty great.  I've also noticed that when I have cheated, I immediately feel horrible...I mean my stomach hurts, and I feel bloated. 

While I haven't been 100% paleo every day, I have tried to stay 80% paleo 20% non paleo and I've been pretty successful at it for the most part.  I've found a way to eat at my favorite restaurants and still stick to 80% paleo.  On Day 22, I revamped my chili recipe to make it paleo friendly.  I didn't have to do a whole lot to change it, switch out the kidney and pinto beans for extra veggies.  I'll post the recipe for the chili later.  It was pretty good although I did kinda miss the beans, cheese and cornbread that I usually have with it.  I went for a 3 mile walk later that evening and then decided to go see Lawless.  Bad idea on an empty stomach.  Movie theater food is the opposite of paleo food....and I was sucked it.  I was starving because I didn't eat dinner.  I ordered a small popcorn and a small soda.  I didn't finish either item and my stomach really didn't like me after that.  :/  Next time I will come prepared with some munchies in my purse.


The start of my Bison Paleo Chili

Day 23.  I had some left over chili for lunch.  MMmmm.  I have been craving sushi for a while now and I am finally getting to go!  My friend that is also on paleo came with me.  It was like a meat smorgasbord!  We had a ceviche appetizer, then 4 different tapas plates and short ribs.  The tapas plates at 6 piece of raw fish in soy sauce with added garlic or citrus and sprouts or onions.  All very tasty.  I know soy sauce isn't paleo friendly, but I haven't found the soy sauce substitute yet.  Remember 80% paleo.  It was all delicious and rice free.

I had a mini break down last night because I was stressed with my car, work and school.  I had Cheetos AND noodles for dinner on Day 24.  Talk about paleo fail!!!

Days 19

Day 19

I had My Fit Foods for breakfast - Steak, egg whites and red potato mash.  It was really good. 

I've been thinking more about the whole potato and paleo thing.  Why are potatoes so controversial in this community?  Is paleo just the name of this lifestyle or are they really trying to eat as cavement did?  Here is the wikipedia defination of the Paleolithic Diet.... "The paleolithic diet (abbreviated paleo diet or paleodiet), also popularly referred to as the caveman diet, Stone Age diet and hunter-gatherer diet, is a modern nutritional plan based on the presumed ancient diet of wild plants and animals that various hominid species habitually consumed during the Paleolithic era—a period of about 2.5 million years duration that ended around 10,000 years ago with the development of agriculture. In common usage, such terms as the "Paleolithic diet" also refer to the actual ancestral human diet.
Centered on commonly available modern foods, the "contemporary" Paleolithic diet consists mainly of fish, grass-fed pasture raised meats, vegetables, fruit, fungi, roots, and nuts, and excludes grains, legumes, dairy products, salt, refined sugar, and processed oils" By this definition, I would assume that potatoes are ok.  I don't think it's a bad thing to consume red potatoes, but I don't want all the extra carbs so I'll limit my intake.