February 24 – DAY 9

Day 9: February 24

Breakfast:

Homemade grain-free granola ~ this stuff is to die for and PROMISE I will post my recipe this week!!

Coffee black ~ this whole black coffee thing is growing on me.

Juice: (of course I mean a blend of fruits, I am not actually juicing anything)

4 oz coconut water

1 whole apple

1 whole banana

Strawberries

Blueberries

Blackberries

Raspberries

2 cuties

Pineapple

Lunch:

4 oz chicken chopped

1/2 avocado

Sprinkle of homemade salsa on top

Salsa:

Tomatoes

Cilantro

Green Onion

Garlic

Lime

Jalapenos

Green Chiles

Dinner:

4 oz chicken chopped

1/2 avocado

Sprinkle of salsa on top

…..when you crave it….eat it!!n I honest to gosh loved my lunch so much that I really wanted more for dinner. So, why not? There is nothing wrong with eating the same thing two times in a day 🙂

Beets for dessert – yum!

High – 54 windy

Today was a positive day. I am feeling really really really good. I feel strong and just pure. I have not felt this healthy on the inside and out in probably my whole life! I am very excited about this positive change in my life.

February 23 – Day 8

Day 8: February  23

Breakfast:

Banana

Handful of raw mixed nuts

Coffee with shake of cinnamon

**So what I realized is that I usually do better starting my day with a big high fat nutritious breakfast. BUT also, if you aren’t hungry then don’t eat. Just because it is “breakfast time” doesn’t mean you are required to eat.

Lunch:

4 oz Grilled Chicken Strips

4 Strawberries

Chicken made with cayenne pepper, black pepper and lemon squeezed on at the end.

Snack: raw nuts

**I need to figure out eating less nuts and fruits. Although I am not gaining weight or anything! I think if I have an issue where living this way of life ends up with me gaining weight, THEN I would need to address this nuts/fruits issue.

Dinner:

Beets

Rotisserie Chicken

HIGH 63* – rearranged entire garage trying to make room for my handsome fiances belongings that are being shipped here in about 10 days! YIKES. Organize, organize, organize. I am just happy because that was an effective way of “working-out” – bending, squatting, lifting, etc.

Slept so well 8 hours. I think the cleaner I eat the better I sleep. Hmmm, maybe that is a theory to look into.

Have a good day everyone! I hope you all make positive choices that positively impact your day and your mood.

February 22 – Day 7

Day 7: February 22nd

Breakfast:

Juice

4 oz coconut water

1/2 cucumber

Carrots

1/2 apple

1 whole banana

Raspberries

Strawberries

Blackberries

Blueberries

**Okay I need to clarify when I say juice I do not mean I juiced these things. I use my Blendtec and blend them all together! I thinking “Blending” is better than juicing because you don’t lose any of the nutrients. I will include a picture soon.

Starbucks coffee: Venti blonde roast. I was running late and out of coffee and Starbucks was really my only option!

Lunch out at Accenture Match Play:

I am not going to lie, this was HARD. I went with my office out to the Accenture Match Play golf tournament in Tucson, AZ. There was delicious looking bread and cheese and dips and cookies EVERYWHERE. I will say that I stuck to my guns and did not break my challenge. I am so proud of myself and at the end of the day I didn’t have any less fun for not indulging in all of that food. The things I did find were:

Raw Carrots

Raw Celery

Raw Cauliflower

Brisket without any sauce

Dinner out at Bistro 44:

Okay, okay I went out to eat TWICE in one day ;-/ that is the reality of life sometimes. You know, you have to just roll with it and make good choices.

Plain grilled salmon

Plain steamed vegetables

*I told the server that I had strict dietary restrictions. When my plate came out everything was FRESH with no sauces or butters or anything and looked absolutely delicious. I squeezed lemon over everything and truly enjoyed my meal.

Dessert:

Dark Chocolate

High: 60 – warm in sun, cold in shade. I was cold all day out at the golf course. We have had crazy weather in Tucson this week. It really does play with your attitude.

Slept 8 hours – Crappy. I really need to focus on good sleep. Maybe I should use a sound machine like I put in my daughters room? Or soft music? I think I need something to relax me more for bedtime.

It was a good day. I proved that sometimes you are at places and don’t have a ton of options to eat and sometimes you can go out to dinner and have a completely healthy, clean, fresh, delicious meal.

Lesson of the day: Always carry snacks that you can use in situations where there is not much variety for you to chose from. This will help keep you satisfied to get through the moment of temptation.

February 21 – DAY 6

Day 6: February 21

Breakfast:

I threw some bacon fat in a skillet with chopped red bell peppers and red onions. Once they were sauteed to my liking I added in 2 scrambled eggs.

Juice:

4 oz coconut water

Blueberries

Strawberries

Blackberries

Raspberries

1 whole banana

1/2 apple

Spinach

Carrots

Wheatgrass

*I use my BlendTec. I am in love with this machine.

Homemade coffee with a shack of cinnamon

Snack – 2 cuties and 12 raw almonds

I was FULL and not hungry for lunch. I find that when I eat a satisfying breakfast I really don’t need lunch. If I have some healthy snacks I am good to go until dinner.

Workout:

Lower Body Pyramid workout (from previous post)

50 Crunches

50 Bicycles

1 minute Superman

1 minute Plank

 

Dinner:

Rotissierre Chicken

1/2 large beet

2 peeled carrots

It was a cold day in the old pueblo, only 50*. One thing I have learned is that you cannot let the weather get in the way of your workout. You need to be adaptable. If you had planned on a hike or run or bike ride and the weather doesn’t permit that activity then change it and do something inside like a timed circuit or pyramid.

I am feeling AMAZING. Is it hard to change your routine and your life? Yes. But it is worth it, and I am only on Day 6!!!

 

February 20 – DAY 5

Day 5: February 20th

I feel like after dinner last night I ate way too much yesterday! So today I am going to try and fast from my juice/morning through dinner. I have read a lot about the idea of fasting with the Paleo diet but always thought if you deprived yourself for 12 hours or so that you would mess with your metabolism. But I truly believe in the idea of fasting, as long as you do it in a healthy way.

Breakfast:

Juice:

Spinach

Wheatgrass

Strawberries

Raspberries

Blueberries

Blackberries

1/2 apple

1 whole banana

4 oz coconut water

Coffee – homemade with 2 shacks of cinnamon

4 cuties

20 almonds

It is SNOWING in Tucson and I was planning in going home to change my mindset for lunch! Don’t you just hate it when your plan gets messed up…….BUT the snow was absolutely gorgeous in the desert!

Fasting from my juice/breakfast through dinner was easier than I imagined. I do believe that we keep and use the energy from our foods when we eliminate the grains and sugars.

Dinner:

Rotisserie chicken – YUM

Sautéed spinach

-lemon

-olive oil

-pepper

-garlic

Simple. Easy. Delicious

Workout:

Cardio sets (7)

20 squats

20 sit-ups

10 push-ups

20 lunges

40 flutter kicks

20 various exercise

-biceps x2

-triceps x2

-cobra

-shoulders

-jumping jacks

I was dizzy after my workout and had to eat an apple and drink lots of water. It is interesting because I get dizzy easily and my solution in the past has always been to eat carbs, in particular grains OR sugar to get myself out of the phase. This choice of a natural sugar and getting really hydrated worked better than going and eating half a bagel as I used to do! Love it!!! I am loving life today. It was a good day.

Slept a good 7 hours. Excited to see what kind of snow we wake up to. My daughter is just thrilled.

Hope everyone has a great day.

 

February 19 – DAY 4

Day 4: February 19

This girl is getting lazy and it is ONLY day 4! I didn’t get up and run! My bed was just TOO comfy. I really need to work on this. Since I had a good nights sleep you would think I would be roaring to go in the morning……but I wasn’t.

 Breakfast:

Juice:

4 oz coconut water

Strawberries

Raspberries

Blueberries

Blackberries

1 whole banana

1/2 apple

Spinach

Wheatgrass

6 pieces of ice

(then I shared 1/3 of it with my daughter)

COFFEE from HOME with a shake of cinnamon.

***Seriously this is just delightful if you love coffee try and brew a delicious pot of coffee and at a few shakes of cinnamon to it. DELICIOUS!

Morning snack: 3 cuties and grain free granola. This granola is to die for. I will post the recipe this weekend. I have to be careful not to over indulge with this yumminess.

Lunch:

I had a working lunch today at Paradise Bakery (aka Panera) so I looked at their website ahead of time and found their HIDDEN MENU JACKPOT!!!!!!!

I got the Power Mediterranean Chicken Salad with:

• Anti-Biotic Free Chicken
• Baby Spinach
• Romaine
• Tomatoes
• Apple-wood smoked Bacon
• Diced Eggs
• Fresh squeezed Lemon
•  Extra virgin Olive Oil – I was too distracted and didn’t put this on…….but it was delicious even without it.

Dessert –

2 squares of 72% Dark Chocolate – OMG I found my Dark Chocolate Heaven from Trader Joe’s!!!

Trader Joe’s Fair Trade Organic 72% Cacao Belgian Dark Chocolate Bar

150 calories

11 grams of fat

I am on a dessert kick…………probably need to come down

Growing up I had “Coffee Time” a few times a week with my mom and her best friend. It was like tea in the afternoon, but we drank coffee and ate Peanut M&Ms. Oddly enough even as an adult I still try and catch coffee time as often as possible.

I went to coffee time today!!! Well I had water and they had coffee because I wasn’t especially thirsty for black coffee. They had delicious cheese and guacamole and chips. I wasn’t hungry but seeing that food was hard! At that point where it would have been SO easy to dive in and join them in the guacamole/chip festivities, I reminded myself that the way I would feel AFTER was why I was making the choice not to take part in the snacks. You know what, I still had so much fun at coffee time, even without snacks and coffee!

Dinner –

Shredded Chicken

1 whole avocado

1 stalk celery chopped

1 stalk green onion chopped

Pepper to taste

Boiled one LARGE beet for 1 hour ~ brought water with beet in it to a boil and reduced to medium heat.

-ate about 1/3 of it unseasoned

B-12 Supplement

L-Lysine Supplement

Probiotic

I slept okay! Not great, not horribly! My daughter woke me up at 3 am and it really harmed my night. Went to bed at 12 woke up at 6:30. This is on my list of things to figure out. How do I get a good night’s sleep?

High 70* and windy today. Beautiful day in the desert!

 

February 18 – DAY 3

Day 3: February 18th

JUST ANOTHER MANIC MONDAY ~ no seriously! Why are Mondays so evil?!? Maybe it is just me 😉 Going back to work trying to be good and follow a diet is hard…..you see other people eat like crap and it is SO tempting to just join in. There are cookies on the kitchen counter, sodas in the refrigerator, etc……..but I must have WILL POWER!!

STARBUCKS coffee – I am trying something different because I need my coffee to get through today. I ordered a Venti Pike’s Place roast with two shakes of cinnamon. YUM….. ready to go! I will say one thing about this choice….I believe having a VENTI coffee is a little American/obnoxious, I realize but I like my coffee and do not think it is unhealthy.

I wasn’t super hungry so I juiced for Breakfast!!!

Juice:

4 oz coconut water

1 whole banana

1/2 apple

Strawberries

Blackberries

Blueberries

Raspberries

Carrots

Wheat grass

Spinach

5 pieces of ice

I poured my juice into my large Nalgen bottle and took to work with me.

This is perfect because now I had my Nalgen at work. This is a great way to track your water in-take. If you don’t track it there is no way to know if you are drinking enough water. I cannot express enough how important staying hydrated is for our health.

Snack – 12 almonds and 3 cuties. I believe I am developing an obsession with cuties. They are just so easy to peel and eat and they leave me so satisfied.

Lunch:

Shredded Chicken

1 whole avocado

1 celery stalk chopped

1 stalk green onion chopped

Pepper to taste

~ I am very aware that I am getting boring with my food selections! I need to research new meals!

Today I am feeling tired/sluggish – but not nearly as bad as yesterday! I think the Starbucks this morning helped! Now someone may frown at my Starbucks decision, but in order to sustain you have to continue to give your body what it needs. If I didn’t allow the Starbucks I may not be very happy right now. And I am happy 🙂 so thank you Starbucks.

Dinner:

Asparagus soup made in blender and heated on stove

Asparagus

Spinach

Avocado

Celery

W/ bacon chips

Salad:

Grilled chicken

Tomatoes

Avocado

Lemon for dressing

Workout:

2 sets – 20 lunges with 5 lb weight in each hand

2 sets 20 squats

1 set with 5 lb weights in each hand

1 set squat thrust with twist

100 crunches

100 bicycles

100 hundred flies

60 second plank

Arms: 2 set of 20 each

Curl and press up above head

On back press above chest

Triceps behind head

Dessert: 1 – 73% dark chocolate square

Today our High was 71* and partly cloudy. Loving this weather.

We are going to have really wet and cold weather Wednesday! I need to get on the treadmill tomorrow before that dreary weather sets in! I am feeling a little more full of energy today, Was it the coffee? Or am I just getting used to this way of life???

February 18th – Slept 7.5 hours un-interrupted!!! SCORE!!! I am a mom, so getting a restful nights sleep is not the easiest thing to come by. I will take it 🙂 Onto the next day, I am feeling very optimistic about what the future of this challenge holds for me!

February 17 – DAY 2

Day 2: February 17th

Cup of coffee with almond milk – I drank about half the cup again. I really need to figure this out because I am a 3+ cup of coffee a day kind of girl! I typically have vanilla creamer and Splenda in my coffee. I realize that a lot of Paleo people limit coffee drastically or do not drink it at all. I personally do not feel that coffee is a bad thing for us, especially if you don’t drink it filled with coffee creamers and fake sugars. My goal is to figure out this week how to enjoy my coffee.

2 eggs scrambled with onion and red bell pepper – cooked in bacon fat

2 pieces uncured bacon

This is a really easy breakfast. I warm up my skillet, use some bacon fat from previous mornings bacon, saute whatever vegetable you want and then dump those into your scrambled eggs and cook.

Bacon I prefer in the oven. I put the bacon on a cookie sheet (covered in foil). Put the bacon in the oven and turn it to 400* (do not preheat). Then usually 18 minutes later you have perfectly cooked bacon.

Juice:

Wheat-grass

Spinach

1/2 banana

Apple

Raspberries

Blueberries

Blackberries

2 Cuties – orange

5 pieces of ice

4 oz coconut water

Lunch – I had left over beets from last nights dinner warmend up. I realize I am eating a lot of sugars right now, but they are all natural sugars and this is my way of satisfying myself to ease into this lifestyle.

Lunges and Planks during breaks of the U of A/ Utah Men’s Basketball game. I am a huge University of Arizona sports fan!!! U of A won by 4…….we should have blown them out of the water. The exercise actually helped with my anxiety from the close game. Ask yourself this….how often can you get up during commercials and do something to better yourself, your body, and your health?

Snack: Almonds raw

Went to park for 30 minutes with my daughter to play – she did most of the playing. I was tired. I chased her around a little, not as much as I should have though.

Dinner:

Cobb Salad –

Romaine lettuce

Tomatoes

Cucumber

1/2 Hard Boiled Egg

Avocado

Bacon

Grilled Chicken

Lemon for dressing

***I ate out and it was pretty easy to eat Paleo. I was trying to decide between a burger with no bun with avocado, tomato, onion and lettuce and the cobb salad……..salad just sounded more appealing. I have learned over the years, you HAVE TO go with what really sounds appealing. Otherwise you will still feel hungry after you eat because you aren’t satisfied. Obviously this rule has boundaries.

Dessert – at home

3 squares of dark chocolate w/ almonds – 150 calories

(not sure if this is allowed – i know it is allowed on the Primal Blueprint – I need to research. It was 70% Cocoa)

Women’s 1 A Day Supplement

L-Lysine Supplement

I am feeling good. A little tired! I cleaned a ton around my house this weekend. Which believe me cleaning can be a work out. Get down on your ground and scrub the floor, tell me that doesn’t burn a ton of calories!

All of these count as being active. Lifting, squatting, working

arms with the floors.

Today was a success. I did not have any cravings today.

February 16 – DAY 1

You know when you wake up and are so excited you can hardly sleep any longer because you are catching a flight to some awesome city for the weekend, or going to your best friends wedding, or simply just have a fun day ahead? That is not at all how I felt waking up today. I kept pressing SNOOZE hoping to avoid DAY 1 of my challenge. Eventually I forced myself to get up out of bed and commit myself to this challenge. I started my day with the following workout:

Incline Walk/sprints

42 minutes

570 calories burned

3.7 miles

treadmill

Ab workout – 300 count

Alternated a variety of abs until I reached 300 total

Crunches, bicycles, full sit-ups, frog-ups.

*At this point I didn’t realize that I probably didn’t need to kill myself on the treadmill, but don’t you worry all of these lessons are ahead.

Then I decided it was time to get some fuel in my body. Personally I prefer to eat after a workout, not before. But whatever works for you personally is how you should schedule your workouts and meals.

Cup of coffee with Almond milk (unsweetened) – I only drank about half the cup because I am what you would call a French Vanilla coffee creamer junkie. This was really hard for me because I live for my coffee in the morning.

Breakfast:

2 eggs scrambled with onion and red bell pepper – cooked in bacon fat

2 pieces uncured bacon

Morning Juice ~

Wheat grass

Spinach

1/2 Banana

Apple

Raspberries

Blueberries

Blackberries

Cutie – orange

5 pieces of ice

4 oz coconut water

3 slices pineapple

Today I went to my daughter’s soccer game. It was really windy, but being out in the sun felt really nice.

I wasn’t hungry for lunch but was exhausted!!! Took a 2 hour nap and I am not a napper. I am starting to worry about how this whole thing will effect my work week. I can’t afford to be dragging at work. My days are full and I need my energy.

Dinner:

Shredded chicken salad:

Shredded Chicken

1 whole avocado smashed up

1 celery stalk

1 stalk of green onion chopped

black pepper to taste

Boiled 2 Beets – white and yellow.

Bring water to a boil add pinch of sald – reduce to medium heat and let simmer covered for 45 minutes. Removed from heat, put cold water over beets and scrapped off skin with knife.

Eating plain (b/c I love the way they taste). Beets are like candy!

After Dinner:

Chopped up all of my veggies (red bell peppers, brocolli, carrots, and celery) so they are easy to snack on and grab some for work lunches/snacks.

B12 Supplement

L-Lysine Supplement

Probiotic

February 16th slept 10 hours – had my daughter, my dog and my parents dog in the bed. Although I went to bed at 9(ish) and woke up around 7 I was still tired because of poor sleeping conditions. Everyone always says how essential good sleep is to your health, complexion, life, etc…I need to figure this one out. As a mom there are just some things you cannot control!

Day 1 I would call a success. Beyond the exhaustion I am doing good!

February 15 – Eve of My 30 Day Challenge

You would think since I had decided to embark on this Paleo journey that I would realize the importance of eliminating grains from my daily diet but at this point I didn’t. I was thinking of this as more of a phase, challenge, opportunity to purify my body for a time period. Over the course of the 30 days and beyond you will find how drastically my mentality changed. Follow me along my journey.

February 15 – I am sitting here running through all of the things I will miss so dearly: bread, cheese, coffee creamer, splenda, did I mention cheese. Was I making a good decision? Once I start and everyone knows I am doing the challenge there is no way I can give up. All I know is that if I am going to deprive myself of these precious foods for the next 30 days I need to eat a delicious dinner!!! A big bowl of spaghetti, meatballs and cheesy bread seemed like a good choice.

Time got away from me and I didn’t have enough time to go home and make a huge pot of spaghetti and a loaf of cheesy french baguette. So, I decided on Subway. SUBWAY as my Last Supper. What was I thinking?? All I was thinking was that I needed to eat bread and cheese.

Dinner:

6″ Subway Oven-Roasted Chicken Breast on Honey Oat toasted with pepperjack cheese and the works with Southwest Chipotle Sauce.

Jalapeno Chips

Sprite

Milk Duds for dessert

Seriously! I mean I haven’t had Milk Duds in YEARS. But I thought it was essential to eat them on the eve of my challenge. YIKES, I went all out on the grains, dairy and sugar, that is. The crazy thing is that I don’t normally order chips with my sandwich. But that night, I needed them. This was a mental/emotional “Last Supper” and I am totally okay with that reality.

The first reality I had on this journey came on the EVE of my challenge. About 30 minutes after stuffing myself with my Last Supper, I was hungry. How after eating ALL of that was I hungry? It just didn’t make sense.

February 15th I went to bed full of dairy, grains, and sugar. Acne on my face and back and ready for my journey to begin. My goal is not to lose weight, it is to feel better about my body internally and externally.

Here goes nothing………