Life goes on... with healthy eating

With the loss of my father nearly two weeks ago, I admit that I did not concentrate much on healthy eating.  It was (and is) a painful time for me, but it has also reaffirmed my belief in taking good care of myself.  My father was sick for a long time, much because he made bad choices when it came to his health.  Towards the end I realize that he knew there was nothing that could be done, so he wanted to do the things he enjoyed the most and not worry about it (smoking cigarettes, eating things that were not good for his body, etc).  I want to live a long life so that I can be here for my friends and family and to enjoy all the world has to offer.  I did indulge more than I'd like to admit these last couple of weeks.... comfort food at its best.... but I know I can't live the life I want to live if I make those choices every day.  SO, I am back on the wagon.... back to CF, back to paleo (or mostly paleo), and time to find my way without my dad.  It will be tough, but I am grateful for all of my friends, family and co-workers that have really stepped in to show their support.  I am truly blessed.

This weeks menu:

breakfast:  breakfast bowl from  http://www.masteringtheartofpaleocooking.com
      *There is also a recipe for the turkey sausage used in this recipe on this same blog

snack: 1 cup yogurt

lunch:  meatballs, cooked baby carrots, small salad (baby spinach, cucumbers, peppers), possibly some fruit... depends on how full I am...

snack:  1 piece of fruit and almonds

dinner:  I'm make the stuffed peppers from my last blog because I only ate one and then got the bad news.  Those peppers were delicious, but went untouched the rest of the week.

I'm hungry just reading this menu!  I better eat before I go to the store!

Menu time

I haven't posted much this past week for a couple of reasons.  First my internet wasn't working well (if at all)... second it was not a great week.  I ate everything I planned and I worked out like crazy but I went up a pound!  :o(  I knew it was going to be that way too because it was just a cranky week and I didn't get much sleep.  It's amazing how stress will affect your body no matter what you are doing!

Hopefully this is a better week!

Breakfast:  grain free breakfast burrito http://www.primal-palate.com

Snack: 1 cup yogurt and a piece of fruit

Lunch:  salad with spinach, mixed greens, radishes, sliced carrots, grilled chicken and red peppers

Snack:  1 orange and almonds (I'm addicted to oranges lately, what can I say)

Dinner:  Stuffed Peppers (CANNOT WAIT to make these!!)  http://www.primal-palate.com

I'm altering the breakfast and dinner recipes some to fit my taste, but the bulk of it I will be following.

Wish me luck!

it's the little things

I am having a tough week this week... my body is achy and I am exhausted.  I want nothing more than to eat a darn cheeseburger and fries!  BUT, I came home and ate my stupid healthy chicken and veggies instead.  I just reminded myself on the way home from the gym that it's all those little slip ups that will cause me to gain instead of lose and to feel gross on the beach this summer instead of feeling strong and proud.  It helped... for tonight....

burpee squat clean thrusters

I'm not going to lie.... burpee squat clean thrusters suck!  They undeniably SUCK!  I will have to think long and hard before I decide to go to CF on a day that it's posted as the WOD again!  The panic set in the minute I read the WOD on the website... then I looked it up on youtube so I would know what exactly a burpee squat clean thruster would look like.   THEN I walked in and watched the 4:30 class completing them.  I SHOULD HAVE turned around right then and there, but NOOOOOOO!  I stuck around.  When it came time to try one I was already more nervous than I think I've ever been for a CF workout.  I tried one and let's just say it was not pretty.  The weight BENT and all I could think was that I would have to do this fifty times!  Certain movements make me especially nervous because of the jarring it does to my back so that is where this panic began.  I kept thinking how much pressure I was putting on my back when I jumped out to do one burpee... how would I do FIFTY???  Luckily, Donna and Andrea convinced me I could do it and Brendan (our fantabulous trainer) showed me how to do it in a way that was not so hard on my back.  Of course my knees have mat burn because of it, but my back is grateful.  I did it... fifty bleepin burpee squat clean thrusters in 10:59!  I do not wish to try it again to beat that time!  So I hated it, but I did it!

I also killed my personal record on back squats!  I went UP 30 pounds!  Those of you who don't CF may think that's no big deal, but often a personal record goes up by 5-10 pounds (maybe even less).  It just goes to show you that I was not bullshitting you when I told you how much my back was hurting me before the procedure.  It's not 100% better by any means, but it is so much better than it was!

Also, following my meal plan that I posted yesterday kept me full, so hopefully it's the right combo to help me lose weight too.  :o)

YAAWWWNN!  That's my cue!  

This weeks menu

Last week, by following the menu I created, I managed to lose 3.5 pounds!  Let's see if I do as well this week.  I did my best, but paleo is difficult to follow because I do not like seafood so that eliminates many options.  Plus, I am only willing to eat certain kinds of meat.  SOOOO... I am doing my best to provide a variety of food that I will WANT to eat.  Last week was great and I was not hungry once.  As a matter of fact, there were times I went to eat my next meal and was barely hungry, but I forced myself to eat so that I wouldn't get to the starving point later.

Breakfast:  fauxtmeal (found this recipe on lifeasaplate.com)

snack:  orange and almonds OR coconut milk

Lunch:  Pizza Salad (recipe from  http://www.health-bent.com/salads/pizza-salad )

snack:  turkey roll ups and kale chips (recipe on http://feedmepaleo.blogspot.com/search/label/snack )

Dinner: Chicken Apple (paleoplan.com) and veggies

I did my best to pick the right combo of food that would keep me full and be satisfying to my taste buds.  I am going to make some of the recipes today to make sure I will really enjoy eating them!

I am essentially eating the same thing M-F for a couple of reasons.  First, because I don't usually get bored eating the same thing all week, plus it's easier!  Also, because I am shopping for just one person so I don't want to go overboard buying food that might go bad if I don't eat it fast enough.  Fresh veggies, fruit and meats get expensive and it's more costly if it goes bad!  If you have a big family that you are cooking for you may want to change meals up a bit more.  I may switch out my snacks here and there, but it will be to change what fruit I eat if anything.

Oh, AND I will be adding a boost shake or other snack to eat following any of my CF workouts this week which I eat on my way home.  This helps me refuel and I am not starving when it's time for dinner which helps me to not overeat or splurge on dessert.

Feel free to send suggestions or meal/snack ideas.  :o)

If you kick ass and you know it, clap your hands!

I'm tooting my own horn today!  I lost 3.5 pounds this week, which I believe is the most weight I've ever lost in one week!!  I know it doesn't sound like a lot to some people, but that is a lot for me!  I don't have THAT much weight to lose, so it's almost harder to lose for me than someone who might need to lose a bit more.  I know, poor me, but it IS annoying!  I work out so hard and try to eat healthy and NOTHING!  I stuck to paleo as much as possible and it really helped and I didn't feel hungry at all because I was constantly eating!  I can't promise to stay as strict every week, but I sure am going to try.  Tomorrow I start planning my menu for next week.  :o)

and on the 7th day we rest

Ok, so it's not really the 7th day, but it sounded good!  After 3 days of work outs (2 being exceptionally hard), I needed a night of rest.  My body is achy (borderline overtraining kind of achy).  I am no stranger to exercising by any means, so I know when to listen to my body.  I will push myself when I feel tired or a little run down, but when this kind of ache sets in it's time for a night off.  I will be back to the grind tomorrow though because my body gets equally as mad at me when I take too much time off. 

On a good note... I managed to go out to eat for dinner with my mom and feel like I made a good choice (which is NOT easy to do).  I got a salad with baby spinach, roasted red peppers, tomatoes, eggs and pieces of steak cut up.  It was supposed to be served over roasted potatoes, which sounded weird to me first of all, but also not very paleo friendly so I asked them to leave them out.  Go Me!  My first "weigh in" since I started this craziness, is tomorrow.  Can't wait to see the results!

Thou shalt not compare yourself to others

One of the hardest parts of being on a weight loss/improve yourself (or whatever you want to call it) journey... and even for those whom aren't... is NOT comparing yourself to those around you.  Everyday I see other woman whom somehow manage to get that flat stomach (even after having kids... bitches)... or whom can work out better or harder than me.  It's very frustrating because I know that this is not the right way to think.  It's fine to admire a quality in someone else, but comparing yourself to them is stupid and doesn't change anything.  We are all genetically different so there's really no point.  I suffer back trouble and come from a family where obesity or being slightly over-weight at least, runs high.  I may never have the six pack ab thing going for me... but damn it I'm going to TRY! 

Honestly, the best part of working out and losing weight is how strong I feel.  That is why I loved hearing the term, "strong is the new skinny."  I don't want all of my focus to be on getting rail thin (not that my body would ever allow that).  I want to focus on being the strongest, healthiest person that I can be.  So far, so good.  :o)