Weight Watchers VS Paleo Challenge

So challenging myself to exercise and be on a strict diet for 30 days was a big fail!  With my schedule, planning is a must and I failed to do that, therefore I totally failed my own challenge.

So my friend, Stella George, decided that after researching the benefits of the paleo diet, she wanted to do the Whole30 challenge and asked me to do it with her.  I said no to the Whole30 challenge, but that I'd do the Paleolithic Diet.  Well let's just say, she didn't make it through Day 1.  She decided that Whole30/paleo wasn't for her and that she would just stick to Weight Watchers because it worked for her before and she didn't have to give up her beloved grains.

Thursday morning, Stella sent me a text, challenging me to a Weight Watchers VS Paleo duel!  Okay, now this is what I'm talking about.  I can do this.  I am 9 lbs down from my post-Awesome Adventure road trip weight.  Which is amazing!  My friends have noticed the weight loss.  :)  Anyway, I accepted Stella's challenge!  I believe that Paleo is a healthier lifestyle than Weight Watchers because while you are on the paleo diet, you are eating nutritional food - meats, veggies, fruits, and nuts, and on Weight Watchers (WW), you can eat anything you want as long as you stay within your points for the day/week.  I don't see how WW will help you achieve a healthier lifestyle.  Yes, you may lose weight on WW but what happens after you lose the weight?  You were able to eat anything you wanted while on WW but following their point system.  After you lose the weight, you are still craving/addicted to foods that don't have much of a nutritional value and without your point system, will you mindlessly eat these bad foods and gain all of your weight back?  Will being on Weight Watchers become a lifestyle for you?  I tried WW before and it worked for about a month and then I hit a weight plateau.  I stopped subscribing to WW, only to gain back all that I had lost.  No bueno.  I'm by no means huge but I'm not skinny mini either.  I'm curvy....which I like, but maybe a more toned version of that.  I would love to get into amazing shape, like Jennifer Nicole Lee, bikini fitness model shape.  That is my goal.  I believe that following the paleo lifestyle, will help me achieve my goals.  On paleo, you aren't allowed the bad foods, which yes at times can be hard but allowing yourself one cheat item a week/month won't kill your diet.  And after a while, you will feel so good - mentally and physically - that you won't care about those 'bad' foods as much anymore.  Oh and did I mention that you just eat when you are hungry, no counting calories or points??  Sounds nice, right?  You will lose the cravings and addictions to the bad foods and lead an all around healthier lifestyle.  This sounds way better than WW to me.  I have seen that some people try to do WW while on Paleo.  Interesting concept, but I don't think it's for me.  I hated having to count points and I'm not even sure if I counted them correctly half the time anyway.

Stella, I accept your challenge. 

WW(Stella) VS Paleo (Petunia) guidelines -
Follow your assigned diet/lifestyle.
Weigh in each Friday morning and send your challenger a picture of the weigh in.
Winner for each week: whoever loses the most percentage body fat for the week.
Our goal: lose 5% body fat.  Whose diet will get them there?

So does the winner get something?  I'll have to discuss this with Stella.

Stella August 2012

Pictures of us at our starting weight.

Want to see comparisons for WW vs Paleo?  Check out this link



Petunia October 2012

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.

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.