My Whole30 Journey

In June I purchased a book - It Starts With Food - a guide to a 30 day Paleo food journey intended to help people change their lives and improve their health by following a few basic paleo rules. My personal paleo journey has been haphazrd at best for the last 6 months (did great in January and then...) and I felt like this book would help me make some additional changes. Even knowing the paleo "rules" and following them some of the time, there were things I was doing (or not doing) that I know I should (or shouldn't...) Artificial sweetners still entered my diet on a daily basis. I am addicted to cheese (love cheese...) and even though I don't regularly count calories, when I do they are always too high, paleo foods or not.

Enter Whole9.

The Whole9 Life, Whole30 challenge rules are simple.

1. Paleo foods - Meat, fish, poultry, vegetables, fruits, nuts & seeds (but only if they do not set you off)
2. no "paleo" substitutes
3. No dairy (except for ghee)
4. Food has to conform to the 5 Whole30 rules (all described on their website)
5. No paleo substitutes.

For me giving up cheese and other dairy will definitely be hardest, and I will admit right now that I am not giving up my 2Tbs of heavy cream in my coffee. I keep trying black coffee and hate it, and now that I am officially a teacher in New Orleans and am lesson planning far into the evening and up very early to start my school day I will NOT give up my coffee. But the rest is doable for me.

Today was my official day 1. I will be taking pics of my meals and uploading them - the winners and losers - with any recipe or recipe link. I will be updating my LoseIt account daily to keep myself on track, and I will start running and strength training again. I have a half marathon coming up in October, and I will not be able to complete it (or the Disney Goofy challenge in January) if I do not get on the ball with training.

I wish I had thought about pics and updating before I had nearly finished my dinner tonight - it was so good!

This is the last 2-3 bites of seriously good thai style shrimp I made for dinner

Thai Almond-Coconut Shrimp - serves 1

3-4oz shrimp (mine were frozen and I thawed them completely, fresh would be even better)

1/4 large onion sliced

1 small bell pepper, sliced

1 jalapeno diced

4-5 sliced crimini mushrooms

fresh basil (to taste - grabbed a stalk or two)

fresh cilantro (same as the basil - but maybe 4-5 stalks)

lime juice

minced garlic

4tbs coconut milk

2 tbs coconut oil

splash fresh squeezed OJ

1/2 tbs almond butter

heat skillet or wok, add all ingredients except 1tbs coconut oil, coconut milk, almond butter, OJ and shrimp. Heat on medium until soft, then simmer with the coconut milk for another 10-15 minutes on low. Should smell fantastic. After simmering, remove tails and de-vein shrimp. Fresh shrimp will take longer to cook, if using frozen or already cooked shrimp, toss them in at the last possible minute - just before plating. Add shrimp and OJ, cook for 60-90 seconds Plate and add the almond butter, give a quick stir. Try not to inhale it all in one bite. So very very satisfying, and one of the only times I have cooked shrimp and not left it on too long. Will be making this again very soon - don't be surprised to see it turn up again in the next 30 days. 

Day 1 down, and I feel good.

Goofy Plans

I have mentioned before that I want to do the "Goofy" in 2013 - Disney World Half Marathon on Saturday, followed by the full on Sunday in January 2013. And possible the 5K or 1M kids fun run with the Monkey, he loves to run with me :)

So I am going to train for long runs. No tempo runs, no track, no speed work - the thought leaves me cold. Just 4-5 days a week of hills with a long (1-2 hour) run on Saturday and an even longer (3-4) run on Sunday.

For April, my goal is 4 miles a day, every day. Some runs, lots of walking. May it will be 5 miles a day, with of course longer weekend distances. Some 5-10K races thrown in when I can find and afford them. June 6 miles... you can see the progression right? Every month I will increase the daily mileage to match the month. I will be going s l o w... to decrease injury, and building overall stamina and speed. And I will keep eating a Paleo-Primal diet. No grains, lots of meat, veg, fat, some fruit and the occasional sweet potato (most likely on long run days).

I reserve the right to adjust this when I need to, but right now, this plan makes me feel good.



I'm goofy, and next year, I'll have proof :)

Kettlebells and Cold Baths

Okay, so I don't want to brag or anything, but I am looking hot lately. Like super hawt :) I have energy galore, I don't want to pass out and fall asleep in the middle of the day (as long as I avoid dairy) and I am running again - and I am going to do my first half marathon in 6 weeks. :)

But back to becoming a rock star paleo running mom. Kettlebells. Kettlebells are awesome! My neighbor and I have been doing them for about a week now, and I can see some toning benefits in my lower body. I need to make them heavier (I made my own kettlebell so I could adjust the weight) to get more out of the upper body, but this is just the best workout. 8-12 minutes and I am done with strength training. Another 20-40 for a good walk/run and I have hit all my fitness goals for the day.

And my upper body is losing fat. My weight really hasn't changed it is staying steady at about 249+-1lb, but I can almost see my overall body fat percentage dropping, so I know that the weight will eventually have to follow. Right now I am doing my best not to freak about it, keep eating my healthy Paleo-Primal diet, and enjoying the want/need/desire to move and be active again.

Mad

I am mad. I am spitting nails angry.

What am I angry at? Conventional Wisdom. The conventional wisdom that told me at 17 and 5'11 I should weigh 113lbs. The conventional wisdom that has told me throughout y adult life that I must be a lazy glutton because I could not eat little enough or workout long enough and hard enough to lose weight.

The conventional wisdom that constantly tells me that I can save money by cutting back on my credit card spending (don't have any), go out to eat or for entertainment less each month (haven't gone out to eat in except for with family that picked up the bill in 4 or more years, haven't seen a movie in 5) by cutting back on things like TV and internet (haven't cut back on internet, no cable, no satellite TV...).

I am mad at the conventional wisdom that never told me that the problems I have had with my teeth and my nails for the last 20 years have a direct correlation to my weight, energy, overall health...

I wish I had found and stuck with primal style eating 15-20 years ago. I am happy that I have found it now, and I am glad that I will be rebuilding the next 2/3rds of my life to be optimally fit and healthy, but I am angry that it took so long. I am going to use this angry to change me, change my family, and eventually change the world!

Cartwheels

I could never really do a good summersault. My belly got in the way. And handstands or headstands were far beyond the ability of my upper body to support the rest of my weight. But I could pull off a decent cartwheel. I was known to do a random one out of sheer happiness and excess energy now and again. I have not done a cartwheel in at 13 years.

But I feel like I could do one today. I am too scared to attempt it right now, but I have the energy and joy that I used to have when I would do them.

The joy comes from seeing my stepson for the first time in 10 years - and finally introducing him to his little brothers.

It comes from finally bouncing off my stalled weight plateau and incrementally headed down.

It comes from eating well, being satisfied and NOT craving junk at "that" time of the month.

It comes from being on the right path and knowing it. :)

Goals not met so far...

Okay, I have been having serious trouble meeting my goals for January - as evidenced by the fact that I have not been posting everyday as was my initial intention. I have not been working out very much either.

On the plus side, I have been following my primal WOE (way of eating - I like this so much better than "diet") with a good 80/20 success rate. I know I eat more dairy and nuts than recommended (I have been keeping it full fat and organic as much as possible) and I have nibble on hot dogs (not recommended) and ranch dressing (has "modified food starch - a clever way to say "wheat") which I suspect has stalled my progress somewhat. I gained 5lbs the first week on PB (Primal Blueprint) putting me at 259, but that has come back down to 253.4 - and I suspect another pound or two has come off since I weighed myself last week, but as I have no heat right now (ran out of oil for the furnace, can't get a delivery until Monday, been 35-45 in my house for 4 days!), I am not getting undressed to weigh myself any time soon!

When I have low carbed and tried Paleo or clean eating in the past I have never let go of my splenda, or "Atkins approved" treats... so I had never had the taste bud shift. This time (while I still use Stevia in my coffee) I have avoided treats in general this month. So the other day when I made a steak for dinner and dipped a bite in steak sauce, my first reaction was "OMG how much sugar is in this stuff!" - apparently 2g per serving, and a serving ain't all that big! My new preferred steak sauce is a dash of sea salt and a pat of organic butter, so good - I could eat my weight in steak when it is prepared right! :)

So, I will eventually LHT (Lift Heavy Things) most likely using ChaLEAN Extreme, I will sprint using Turbo Fire, and I will get in lots of movement running or using my NordicTrack Ski machine. I know if I follow these PB "laws" I will see the success I want!

ChaLEAN Extreme and Turbo Fire

This is what you get when you let a four year old monkey boy pick your workout programs. He likes the ones with the girls best :)

I have not gotten out to run since Sunday. I am hoping that I will be able to tomorrow. Food has been pretty good., Higher carb and a bit of sugar today - but the sugar was in the form of craisins and a tsp of honey instead of the nutter butter bar that smelled so good...

I have done 2 days of CLX and 2 Turbo Fire HIIT workouts. I think I am going to do INSANITY too at least for January. Might as well go hardcore for the 4 weeks that I do not have anything else taking up my time.

All I want for Christmas...

... is a treadmill. Seriously. Any treadmill companies out there that want to set me up with a treadmill to review and use for the next few months or the year or whatever, I will be grateful! I need a treadmill because I have not been able to get out for a decent run in about 2 weeks. seriously, my last good run was on the treadmills at school, and that was 2 weeks ago. The weather around here has not been awful, but it has been too cold/damp most of the time to take 2 squirmy boys that have been sick out in the jogging stroller for a decent run, and the hubby has been more less out of town for 2 weeks. The days he has been home, the schedule has not been conducive to getting out to run - but if I had had a treadmill those days, I could totally have gotten a super awesome run in anyway.

I of course have DVDs I can workout to at home, but the thought of using them has left me so depressed I cannot even put on my workout clothes. Getting back into strength training is also taking far more effort than I would like. It seems to me like everything is taking too much effort these days...

I am still working on the Paleo eating, and most days it is going pretty well. I am not stressing myself on trying to be perfect through the holiday season, but I am striving to do well every day indulge only in things I really love. No eating something junky just because it is there. And through some wonderful forums and websites and blogs devoted to the Paleo lifestyle, I am getting some fantastic ideas of things to eat, ways to cook them, and so on. So many great ideas that I think I will be able to shop very well for the coming month when I head to the store next week.

As the year comes to a close (and another "fat" birthday has passed) I am feeling a bit better than I have in a while. I am not where I want to be, but I finally feel like I am on the path to get there.

So 'Licious - Mamavation Monday

"So 'licious, so yummy" ~ the Moose "Mommy, my dinner is very alicious tonight" ~ the Monkey.

I had a tough week. Tuesday the boys starting throwing up while we were an hour from home grocery shopping. They continued all night Tuesday night. Wednesday the Moose was better, but the Monkey was so bad I got scared enough to take him to the emergency room. 7 hours (3 on an IV drip) later, he finally looked, talked, and felt like himself again. He still did not want to eat though, so on Thursday, when he told me he was hungry I was trying to shove whatever food I could into my little boy. 

I made him hot chocolate, macaroni and cheese, plied him with granola bars. No go. Grilled chicken, a big fat salad, and some Paleo style eggs worked. My carb-rific kids did some paleo eating of their own this weekend as I adjusted to eating differently. They drank all of my coconut milk (darn them!) They kept eating all my eggs, they gobbled the veggies out of my salad, and stole broccoli cooked in coconut oil off my plate. All the while they told me it was so alicious or so yummy.

My week overall was not good in terms of general stress level, workouts, or anything else. I got kicked out of one of my presentation groups at school (last minute, on Wednesday when I spent the day at the hospital) and told I would have to find something else to do for that grade. It's okay now, I got it taken care of, but it was one more stress that I did not need. I tried to get oil for my furnace, only to be told that HEAP benefits have been cut and it has not been opened yet this year. I am lucky to have an electric blanket and a space heater in the boys' room, because my house will be chilly this winter. I caught attitude from a grocery store cashier when I tried to get all natural peanut butter using WIC (my family is struggling hardcore while I am in school, so I use every available means to keep us afloat and look forward to June when I will have graduated, and pray to the gods that I have a job) when they tried to tell me I could only get the store brand - which isn't true, and I contested it. 

My head is all over the place, and I feel like I am falling behind in my life, trying to do everything I need to do. My mamavation Monday post today is late, rambling, doesn't make a whole lot of sense, so I appreciate the efforts of everyone who took the time to read it. Next week I will be more coherent, I promise.