Week 2 Results

Things are still going strong over. I'm feeling much better, although I can't seem to shake this cold. Overall, I feel like I have more energy and my cravings are barely there. I still want something sweet, but the craving is not nearly as strong. I am trying not to eat too much fruit during this cleanse because I know I need to monitor natural sugar intake to lose weight, especially since it has been basically impossible to work out these last few weeks due to the "wheat flu" detox hell and then this stupid chest cold.

I'm getting excited for meals after the cleanse and the occasional Paleo friendly treat. It is the only way I will be able to maintain this lifestyle. That and the occasional cheat meal. I have faith that I can do this and make it work for me in the long run, 80/20.

I'm also really looking forward to running again and seeing how this diet works with my half marathon training schedule that starts in February.

Oh and I'm down another 3 lbs so that always helps matters. 10.5 in 2 weeks...not too shabby fronds.

Week One Results!

I'm going to keep this post short because I'm writing it from my phone on public transportation. I really wanted to get this done last night but making my breakfast and lunch for the next day took priority. So yesterday was my first official weigh in! A couple things before I get to the results.

It's been a rough week, but not in the way I thought it would be. I expected to be hungry or craving foods I couldn't have.  I can honestly say the only thing I really wanted this week was juice, which is odd because I rarely drink juice. I think that this wicked cold is to blame. My raw throat just wants something cold and sweet to soothe it.

I am proud that I went a week without cheating. Every single food or drink item consumed was Paleo (to my knowledge).

The withdrawal symptoms are mainly gone (thank you sweet baby Jesus). I still have a lingering headache and my leg muscles are constantly fatigued.  I read somewhere that the sensation is similar to what you might think walking through oatmeal would feel like.  That is a perfect explanation of what my legs are experiencing.  I have a feeling I will feel a million times better once I can kick this stupid cold!

So, are you ready for the results?
I am down 7.5lbs!

My reaction to this when I looked at the scale?  Shut the f up. Ha! I even weighed myself 4 or 5 different times because I thought my new scale was wrong.  I am beyond stoked.  When you don't cheat, you will see results. 

Now before you make a comment about how I won't be seeing these results in the future/every week blah blah etc etc...I know.  I'd be happy with 1-2 lbs from this point forward. This was an unexpected number and I realize that my body will adjust and weight loss will slow. I've been down this road before. I'm happy it happened and I have realistic expectations for next week.

So there you have it, a successful first week is in the books!  On to the next!

Detox=Death

This is going to be short.  Still killing the Paleo diet, haven't cheated yet, but good God am I experiencing major withdrawal/detox symptoms.  I thought maybe I was getting sick but research shows that I'm going through withdrawal from gluten/sugar/carbs.  I even read that symptoms are similar to opiate withdrawal... WHAT!?!

I feel like death.  I am coughing, I have a sore throat, I'm exhausted, my whole body aches and my headache is unbelievable. My back is so achey and sore that I cannot sit comfortably or lay comfortably, or stand for any extended period of time without pain. It's a constant ache that is making me go crazy because I cannot get comfortable in any position.  I may or may not have cried last night... it was that bad. I finally caved last night and popped some pain medicine (gluten free!) for fear that I wouldn't be able to sleep. I can't thank Omar enough for coming over and rubbing my back and helping me take care of the dog last night.  I am lucky to have him in my life!

If what I'm experiencing now isn't proof that refined carbohydrates and sugar are addictive and poisonous to our bodies, then I don't know what is! 

Read this article for more information.  For now, it's time to buy some more gluten free sugar free medicine and try to get some rest. I can only hope this passes soon because everyone raves just how wonderful you feel once you are finally detoxed. FINGERS CROSSED!

Let's Talk about FAT, Baby!

Yo, I don't think we should talk about this
Come on, why not?
People might misunderstand what we're tryin' to say, you know?
No, but that's a part of life

Come on

Let's talk about you and me.
Let's talk about all the good things and the bad things that may be,
Let's talk about FAT
Let's talk about FAT!
Please tell me you get my song reference...

Anywho, before we get to the big talk about f-a-t let's talk about the food first!

Yesterday (day 2) was a leftover's kinda day (There will be plenty of leftovers this week because I bought enough food for two people. I didn't realize the recipes were for two people, not one, so I have double of everything... ahh yup oops.  I need to pay better attention to detail.  I won't make that mistake next week)

Breakfast was the quiche and two smaller pieces of chicken.  I was really feeling nauseous on day 2, so I decided to add a piece of fruit. Sadly, the only fruit I had on hand was an orange (higher sugar content then I would have preferred).  The orange tasted absolutely delicious and I think it was exactly what my taste buds needed.

Lunch was leftover flank steak, veggies and a mixed green salad. Steak salad is so delicious (even without french fries).

Dinner was my first unplanned meal.  I needed something quick before I headed to volleyball and I just didn't want any leftovers.  So I whipped up a little omelet. Two eggs, a splash of water, salt and pepper, a large handful of spinach chopped up.  I then topped it with some fresh salsa. Yumz. I also ate a small (very small) spoonful of almond butter before heading out the door to play an hour of competitive volleyball. 

I was warned that the first few days might cause a lack of energy and slight dizziness during physical activities.  It wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it might be, but I was a little light headed at certain points of exertion.  It was nothing to worry about, but I could tell that I wasn't 100% during the games.  When I got home from volleyball I felt pretty good.  I was tired, but not hungry.  Usually after volleyball I'm starving, so this seemed like a good sign to me!

Day 2 was probably the worst day when it came to how I felt.  I woke up feeling pretty terrible, but as the day went on it got better.  I know it's going to take a few days for my body to adjust to the low carb diet.  From what I've researched on the web, if your diet has consistently been a higher carb, lower fat diet, it takes a little bit of time for you body to adjust to the higher fat, lower carb diet.  Your body needs to transition from using carbs as energy to using fats as energy. 

So let's talk about fat!

Almost every diet I've ever done has been of the calorie restriction, low fat variety.  Ya know, eat the whole grains, lean meats, lean dairy, keep it low fat, lots of veggies and fruits, and some nuts.  The goal was to eat balanced with all food groups in mind.  I've had success on such diets.  I lost almost 25 lbs by counting calories, tracking my food, exercising and eating under 1200 calories a day.  It was really hard to do and I was basically always hungry.... and when I get hungry, I get angry.  Or, hangry, if you will.  Urban Dictionary defines hangry as:

hangry
	When someone becomes irritated, angry, or cranky when they haven't eaten and are hungry. Allen: I hate you and I want to punch you. Randy: Why are you so angry with me? Allen: I'm sorry, I haven't eaten since breakfast so I'm just hangry, bro

My poor family, friends and loved ones consistently had to deal with being hangry.  The low calorie diet worked but was very, very hard to maintain.  Eventually one cheat day would lead to a month of eating junk because it made me happy. So I've done the low calorie diet before, but maintaining said diet was almost impossible for a girl who loves to eat. That's one of the reasons I like this diet so far.... I haven't been hungry yet.  It's a nice feeling!  

So do you know why I haven't been hungry yet?  Because of protein and FAT.  Fat is our friend. 
Woahh, yup I just said it... fat is our friend!  Coming from the girl who has tried every fat free dressing, low fat cheese product, skim milk and low fat dessert, these words are practically sacrilegious!  

I've been doing research and reading up on low carb, higher protein diets like mad and I've found some interesting reads.  Obviously, I am not a health expert, so the more research the better, right?  One of the better (in my opinion) Paleo/Primal lifestyle websites is Mark's Daily Apple

He posted an article explaining the reasoning behind why a high fat diet is healthy. 

Top 7 Most Common Reactions to Your High Fat Diet (and How to Respond)

Take a few minutes and read this article. I think it provides some interesting points:

• "Dietary cholesterol does not affect total blood cholesterol. In fact, when we do eat cholesterol, our bodies make less of it to keep our blood levels in balance.”
• "Fat doesn’t make you fat."
• Eating a high-fat, low-carb diet is the easiest way to inadvertently eat less without sacrificing satiation or satisfaction. It also improves your ability to access stored body fat rather than lean mass, which is helpful for fat loss.
• “The most recent studies have concluded that saturated fat intake likely has no relation to heart disease, contrary to popular opinion.”
• “Fat is the body’s preferred and most reliable form of energy, which is why we store excess energy as fat on our bodies. Unless you think we accumulate body fat just to make pants fit tighter."
• “Certain fats, like egg yolks, palm oil, extra virgin olive oil, cod liver oil, and grass-fed butter, are some of the most nutritious foods in existence. And without fat in your meals, you often won’t absorb all the nutrients that are present in other foods like leafy greens, since many of them require fat for full absorption."

This points are backed up in the article with further explanation, along with a few more. Take a peak, let me know what you think.

So to sum this all up, here is a quote I pulled from page 105 of the  Practical Paleo book:

"Simply put, you need fat, and protein to feel full for a long period of time.  This feeling of fullness isn't about filling your stomach, though!  Don't be fooled by the silly notion that "bulk and fiber" are what fills you from a meal.  It is the nutrients that make you feel satisfied, and it is the protein and fat that pack the most powerful nutrient-rich punch.  The nutrients, in turn, allow your body to have a healthy hormonal response to your food.  Ultimately, it is this hormonal response that determines how full you will feel in an hour, two hours, three hours, and even longer after a meal"

I think the reason why I like the idea behind this lifestyle change is because it just makes sense to me.  The way I look at it, you don't know you're doing something wrong until you try something new and it works better. So I'm trying something new and hoping it works better. 

One final thing... a lovely picture of the skating rink and tree at PPG plaza.  I took this walking to my car after volleyball. Pretty!

Day 1 of 30 DUNZO!

Well hello fronds. Day 1 is done and I have a few things to report.

First, I must bring on the pictures of zeee delicious foods.

I spent Sunday afternoon prepping my food for breakfast (for the week) and for lunch.  All of the meals shown are from the Practical Paleo fat loss 30 day meal plan.

Breakfast
Zucchini and carrot crustless quiche.
This dish is delightful.  Full of flavor and so very easy to make. One casserole makes 6 servings. Next time I'll use a smidge less salt when I make it.

This morning I paired it with 8 oz of bacon.  Next time I will probably  make about 5 oz instead. 8 oz is a lot of bacon haha.  

I love the Rolo made it into the pic!

Lunch

I made some chicken for the week in one big batch. This is the gluten-free mustard glazed chicken thighs.

And here is what I had for lunch.  A mixed green salad with tomatoes and carrots and some homemade balsamic vinaigrette and three of the chicken thighs pictured above.

Dinner

Garlic, salt and pepper rubbed flank steak

 With green pepper and onion

 The final product. YUM.

I was also supposed to eat spinach with my dinner, but unfortunately I was pretty full and didn't even finish my dinner.  In fact, I only ate about 1/3-1/2 of the plate before I was too full to continue.

So what do I think so far?

• The food is delicious and incredibly filling.  I was never hungry today, not once. Seeing as I'm a girl who can put a way quite a bit of food, this is huge for me.  So nice to be on a "diet" and not be starving all the time.
• I craved sugar like WOAH.  Like right now I'm sitting here wishing I could just have one piece of chocolate or one of those delicious cookies in my freezer. I won't do it, but I'm definitely craving something sweet.  This was expected though, sugar is addictive and my body is going to experience some withdrawal symptoms over the next week.  
• I have had a little big of a nagging headache, but I know that it's probably only going to be worse tomorrow.
• I've also had some nausea. This too is a symptom that most people experience while going through withdrawal.
• Lastly, I had been peeing like a racehorse. I mean I normally pee a lot, but dear sweet baby Jesus it's even worse!!  I read that this will probably continue until my body adjusts to not having carbohydrates. Fair enough, better out than in, eh?

So I also wanted to clarify that I will be weighing in every Monday morning and putting any weight loss (or gain ugh I hope it's not a gain) on the blog.  I'll also try to blog a few times a week.  Things are going to start to get busier soon with half marathon training and volleyball starting up again, but I will certainly do my best to fit it in as much as possible fronds.

Lastly, as of 7pm my breakfast and lunch were packed for tomorrow as well.  In the words of Liz I was a Paleo ninja today! I even packed extra for my mum to try.

One day down, 29 to go.  I got this yo....just gotta take it one day at a time.

So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen!

Adieu, adieu, to yieu (SUGAR) and yieu (GLUTEN) and yieu (PROCESSED FOODS) and yieu (DAIRY)

So tomorrow is the big day.  The day I say goodbye to sugar, gluten, dairy and processed foods and move into a fresh foods, whole foods, Paleo inspired diet. This is huge and scary and exciting and crazy for me... and hopefully life changing.

So here's the run down in the who, what, when, why and how fashion:

WHO:  Me and maybe Omar.  He is going to be forced to eat Paleo anytime he is with me on weekends, but I'm hoping he will one day to convert as well.  Time will tell!

WHAT:  I'm following the Practical Paleo book by Diane Sanfilippo. This book is an excellent resource that provides information on the lifestyle, how to shop, what to buy and explains why you should change your lifestyle.  It's incredibly interesting, even if you think Paleo isn't the way to go.

 I'm going to borrow some language from her book to explain the lifestyle to you in the easiest way possible.
"The Paleo way of life is simple: Mimic our ancestors, who suffered from fewer chronic diseases than modern populations (pg 22)." So this means eating meat, seafood, eggs, vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, fats and oils and avoiding refined grains, whole grains, packaged snacks, dairy products, certain beverages that are sweetened (no beer or wine for the first 30 days) and any types of sweeteners (Pg. 27).

WHEN: Starting Monday, January 7, 2013, I will do 30 days of strict Paleo style eating; February 5th will be my last day. After those 30 days I will assess where I stand, how I feel about the diet and if I want to continue. It's silly to continue with a diet or lifestyle change if you are miserable or it is ineffective.  My goal is to maintain this lifestyle, but I won't push something if it's not work for me.  You have to do a diet that works for you, one that you an sustain.  If you can't sustain it, you're wasting your time, right? Continuing the diet will mean moving more towards an 80/20 lifestyle.  80% of the time I eat Paleo and 20% of the time I am allowed items that are not Paleo.  This should make the lifestyle more sustainable. I'll eventually be able to factor in a few gluten-free beers and glasses of red wine per week, just not right away.

WHY:  Pfff this is an easy one... because I am a CARBOHOLIC, with a cheese eating problem.  I definitely do not eat nearly enough fresh fruits and vegetables.  My diet is lacking serious nutrition. "When you eat foods as provided by nature, it actually promotes health, healing, and immunity against future ailments (pg. 23). I suffer from chronic headaches, I lack energy, I have a weak constitution.  I'm definitely not giving my body the nutrition it needs and I'm hoping this change in lifestyle will be exactly what I need to be a happier, healthier, leaner, stronger me.

HOW:
Here are the 5 rules to follow (pg 23-24):
1. Eat whole foods. 
2. Avoid modern, processed and refined foods.
   These include grains, pasteurized dairy products, industrial seed oils, and artificial or refined sugar      and sweeteners.
3. Eat to maintain proper digestive functions
    You must determine which foods your body cannot tolerate and stop eating them.
4. Eat to maintain proper blood sugar regulation
5. Follow a plan that will help you reach your own personal health goals.

I will be follow the 30 day meal plan for those interested in fat loss.  I will be making the meals as dictated by the book.  I will be prepping as much as possible later today (cutting veggies and meats) and making breakfast and lunch for Monday.  I think it will take me a while to figure out the best way to approach meal prep for the week, but I know getting as much done in advance will be the key.

Although the initial start up costs were incredibly high (Like YIKES I'M GOING TO FAINT AT THE AMOUNT OF MONEY I SPENT AT TRADER JOE'S, WHOLE FOODS, and TARGET this weekend) I do believe this will end of being a cheaper lifestyle for me.  I had to buy almost every single spice and nut and seed and cooking oil that I will be using for the next month, along with various cooking tools and gadgets and containers.  I will not be going out to eat at all this month (hopefully) and every lunch for work will be prepared.  I'll be grocery shopping for the fresh foods and meats needed weekly and spending Sunday afternoon prepping.  I'm excited to be forced to cook new recipes and new foods.  I tend to fall back on the same things every week, so this will be great for exposing myself to new cooking styles and new delicious eats. Not to mention the fact that with this diet I don't have to count calories, track what I'm eating or worry about fat.  I can eat each meal until I'm full! And umm, bacon... I get to eat BACON and not turkey bacon, real delish fattening bacon. HELL YES.


So that's it fronds.  It's time to make some serious changes towards being a healthier, happier me.  I'm going to be taking before photos and measurements today.  I won't be posting them on the site (yet), but I will be doing weekly weigh-ins listing the total weight lost.  After the end of the 30 days, I will provide a complete breakdown of my results and assess where I stand. Wish me luck on this scary exciting journey!

13 is one of my lucky numbers.

HAPPY 2013

It's gonna be a good year, I can feel it.

I know that I've disappeared for a while ::slaps own hand::. 
I lost my blogging desire...hell, I lost a lot of my running desire. Things got a little out of control towards the end of 2012. But, like most slackers, with the switch to a new year, comes the need to change oneself and get back on track.  This means setting goals, changing my diet, getting back to an exercise routine, blogging more frequently and bettering myself in other ways outside of fitness and health.

So the big changes ahead of me...

1.) Starting the Paleo/Primal Diet.  Monday's the day, so I'll blog more on this topic later (I'm working on that post already).  It's time to get my carb/sugar fetish under control because it's been so out of control for so long that it makes me physically sick. It's time to get moving to a more whole foods, healthier lifestyle.  Time to lose some more lbs. Time to get my energy back.  It's just damn time for some change fronds. So much more to talk about and discuss, but we'll get into that later... so come back soon!

2.) Training for the Pittsburgh Half Marathon starts in early February.  Time to get back to it.  My goal is to do better than I did last year.  This should not be a problem.  I'm not going to over train like I did previously and I'm going to take care of my body better with the proper fuel, rest and recovery. I will also plan on doing other races in 2013, but haven't quite worked out my schedule yet.  I'm sure a post will come along regarding my race schedule.

3.) Hot yoga at Yoga Flow in the South Hills a minimum of once a week, but preferably twice a week. I started taking yoga recently and it has done wonderful, wonderful things for both my mind and my body.  It's really hard to explain how much it affects me, but I love it. I never dread going to class.  I look forward to it before hand, enjoy it during and feel like a million bucks after.  It's fabulous. My strength has increased, my flexibility is better and most important to my running, my hips are becoming stronger and more flexible.  If you remember my IT band has been an ongoing issue.  My physical therapist told me that one of the main reasons I experience pain is because my hips are so tight, so they put major strain on my knees.  And boy oh boy are they tight.  I can't even get into certain poses during class because of how tight they are. So hopefully yoga will do good things for my running, my body and my mental health.  All good things fronds!

4.) Tracking my workouts on daily mile.  This means tracking volleyball, running, yoga and whatever else I decide to do this year.  I want to have something to visually view my progress, especially at the end of 2013.  This will also keep me honest because I won't want to look like a total slacker!

5.) Take better care of my hair and nails.  I love nail polish but my nails are a train wreck. So I'm working on taking better care of them and also painting them more frequently.  Seems like a silly change, but I hate when my nails look like a little boys (haha). Also, taking better care of my hair.  My main reason for this is because I want to donate my hair to Locks of Love.  I have hair that is fine and shiny, but breaks easily.  So I'm working on making it beautiful and strong so that I can cut it off and donate it to an organization that makes wigs for financially disadvantaged children with long term medical hair loss.  I will need 10 inches.  Luckily for me, my hair grows quickly, it just desperately needs some TLC.  So perhaps I'll blog about my nail and hair strengthen adventure as well.  

So here goes nothing fronds.  Wish me luck and please follow me on this journey.  I'll need help, support, recommendations and reminders along the way. You're the best.