Day 18 + A Bonus "Healthy" Rant

Today, I'm still feeling good...

It's my day off from CrossFit, so that's nice!!! 

I love CrossFit, but I love my days off too!!! 

Can you believe that I'm already on Day 18??? 

It is going by so fast now!!!

And I don't plan on changing this life style anytime soon!!!

**********RANT TIME**********

It is unbelievable how uneducated our country really is regarding what is healthy! Myself included! Seriously, I always am looking things up.

The fact that you can get carbs from veggies was MIND BLOWING!!!

I've said it before and I'll say again. I do not judge people who are trying to better themselves. I think that any effort people make is so great! I do, however, think that it's unfortunate that the media and society puts almost everyone at an immediate disadvantage against "the bulge". 

When you think of "healthy", what do you picture? 

Try this... Google "healthy woman" and look at the images. 

What do almost all those ladies have in common? 

THEY'RE SKINNY!

So, if healthy is skinny then we should all just cut down our calories to 1500 and exercise 2 hours a day. Then we'll all be skinny and healthy! Right?

FYI: That's called anorexia. Not healthy.

I'm not saying skinny is bad, just like I'm not saying fat is bad. 

What I am saying is that there is a difference between skinny and healthy. There is also a difference between fat and unhealthy. 

Take myself for example. 

I'm overweight...

According to the BMI (which is bull shit) I'm about 70 pounds overweight. 

However, I had my blood taken a few weeks ago, and I am healthy as can be. 

My cholesterol is normal, my blood pressure is normal, my blood sugar is normal, etc.

I guarantee you can find "skinny" people of the same age who have more health problems.

That being said, I definitely know that if I don't lose weight those will likely all become problems. The point is that weight does not have a direct correlation between what is healthy and what isn't healthy. 

There are a lot of different paths that lead people to the land of the healthy as well. I have chosen CrossFit, because it helps that people are there to hold me accountable  I feel like I belong there. I have friends there that want me to succeed. Every single day I go there I accomplish something, and that just plain feels good. I honestly chose Paleo, because everyone else was doing it. I will continue to eat Paleo because I feel awesome. The longer I eat Paleo the easier it gets, and I have no desire to eat food that is bad for me. I needed to make a big change. The theory behind Paleo makes sense, and the food I'm eating has awesome affects on my body. (More on that later). 

Every person that I know that lost weight and kept it off either had gastric bypass (I went to a presentation on that. That is definitely necessary for some BUT if you can lose weight without it you should. It is definitely an extreme measure.) OR they have changed their eating habits and started exercising. 

When it comes to changing your habits I recommend doing is researching how different foods affect your body. 

An example of this are legumes, which are not eaten by people who follow a strict Paleo diet. I know, I'm talking crazy talk now. Beans and peanuts are healthy! They give you protein! Everyone says to eat them! What is wrong with beans and peanuts? (Yes, peanuts are legumes) Well this dude explains it a lot better than I can, but basically legumes hold onto nutrients so your body can't absorb them. So, if you eat a whole plate of salad, the beans will still some of the nutrients from your vegetables.

SCREW THAT SHIT!!! 

If I'm going to eat veggies, I WILL get all the benefits. 

How many people actually knew that about legumes? I was completely surprised.

I have a sneaking suspicion that, there are a lot of foods like this. Foods that we're told are "healthy", and they probably aren't bad... BUT we are never really told the affect that these things have on our body. That makes eating healthy a little harder.

You have to research what you're eating. Don't just eat because you're told to.

My guess is that you'll reach your goals a lot sooner if you know exactly what is going into your body and how your body reacts. 

Day 17

I know what you're wondering...

What is the worst part of Paleo?

Is it not being able to eat ice cream?

Is not being able to each cheese? 

Is it the fact that you can't eat processed stuff?

Nope, Nope, Nope

It's cooking and the effing dishes!!!

I have NEVER cooked or done dishes so much in my life, and I normally cook. 

Seriously, I eat SO MUCH MORE and everything I eat needs to be cooked. 

I have no desire to eat bad though. 

I'm so very excited to see what changes my body has made. 

I want to step on the scale but I have been banned... 

Next week!!!

Woop Woop!!!

Day 15 the 2nd. Also known as Day 16.

Yummy, yummy, yummy goodness... 

That's what I do! 

Tonight it was chopped salad. 

Now, when I eat salad I need a few things... 

A: I don't want to battle to get the salad on my fork. 

B: I want it covered in dressing goodness. 

So, first I chopped up lettuce, tomatoes, chicken, and cucumber in to little pieces. I want to be able to eat this business with a spoon. 

See the itty bitty pieces! I use 2 chicken breasts, 3 things of romaine lettuce, 10 large grape tomatoes  and half of a really long cucumber. 

The dressing is 2 avocados, 1 lemon, 3 limes, (about) 1/4 cup of olive oil, (about) 1/2 cup of vinegar, salt, and pepper. 

I blended it all up and it was really thick... 

SO, I put it in a blender bottle and added about a cup of water. 

I also I added some fiesta lime spices. 

Then I poured that goodness all over the salad. 

And I put a lot on the salad. 

Why?

Because I like it that way, and this shit is about as clean as it gets so I can! 

Oh, I added bacon too. 

Seriously, I could eat this everyday for the rest of my life!!! 

NOM! 

Only 9 days... I officially don't even really want bad food. 

This is possible folks!

Day 15

Someday I am going to be a famous Paleo chef. 

You'll be happy to say that you were here from the beginning. 

Today I made STUFFED PEPPERS!!! 

Here's the skinny. 

(Like what I am going to be come) 

Hehe :)

First I made sauce. 

It is almost identical to the "soup" I made the other day. 

I loved it so much that I decided it would make great sauce. 

It did. 

I did use some more carrots this time and added spinach. 

Here is the recipe to the saucy soup.

Look at all that goodness in the blender.

It turned into this saucy goodness. 

Ok, it's not pretty.

It's yummy!!!

I certainly did not use all of this.

I froze 4 cups of it for the future. 

Then I filled up 2 jars that I put in the fridge. 

I plan to put this on spaghetti squash, and anything else that needs a saucy kick! 

Yum! 

Now, to the peppers. 

For the filling I used: 

3 Small Zucchinis

1 Yam

1 Onion

1 Pound of Hamburger

1-2 Cups of Saucy Goodness

Your favorite seasonings how ever much you like and add them when you like. 

I sauteed the zucchini, yam, and onion together in olive oil, salt, and pepper.

Then I put it in a bowl. 

I then browned the hamburger with Season All 

I then mixed all of the goodness in the bowl with the sauce. 

The potatoes were not all the way cooked. They'll finish cooking in the peppers. 

I then put that yumminess in these peppers. 

I forgot the picture of the stuff in the peppers, so you'll need to use your imagination. 

I cooked them at 350 for 30 minutes. 

They came out looking like this... 

Mmmm...

I have never had a stuffed pepper before, so I don't know how to eat them properly. 

I just cut it in half and grabbed a little goodness with each bite of pepper. 

I did have a lot of filling left over, and no more big peppers. 

Whatever did I do??? 

I made baby peppers!!!

I only cooked these for about 20 minutes. 

I never could have done this without this fella... 

Long and skinny, helped me get the stuffing down in the peppers. 

I don't even know where these came from. 

I have our silverware set from when we were growing up, and we just always had these spoons. Great for chocolate milk stirring back in the day. Now, that, that's out the window I'll just use it for pepper stuffing. 

I have them all ready for snack time at work tomorrow. 

In other News: 

CAN YOU BELIEVE I ONLY HAVE 9 DAYS LEFT??? 

I mean, I plan to keep eating Paleo but I never thought these 24 days would end. 

Now it's like here! 

How awesome! 

It does get easier. 

Now that I'm getting creative it is much more enjoyable.

Day 13 & 14

First of all, you should know that I was very successful at sticking with my diet at my parents house. This is especially impressive, because my parents' house is a high risk place for me. 

High risk place is the term used by addicts in reference to a place that may trigger them. 

Well, my parents' house is probably the most likely place to trigger a sugar relapse. 

Mmmm... Sugar... 

It's mostly because the food there is so good. My mama can cook! 

BUT when she cooks, it's not exactly Paleo. 

I did OK though! 

I helped with dinner last night. We had tri-tip, ceviche, and YAM fries. 

All Paleo! Go us!

I am drinking the meal replacement shake for breakfast, so that was good too. 

THEN my brother came home and made a quesadilla and I almost died. 

I LOVE CHEESE AND TORTILLAS!!! 

I made it though!!! Go me!!! 

********************

Now, that I've convinced you all to be Paleo, I know what you're wondering. 

Stefani, what do I do with this bag of flour in my pantry? 

Well, well, well... Let me tell you!

My mom told me that my Ama (grandma) use to put her unripened avocado's in flour. At first I was skeptical, but I had this avocado that never seemed like it was going to get ripe. I tried it out... and sure thing it works!!!

And here you thought you were going to waste your flour! 

You're welcome!

********************

Tonight I made tacos!!! 

Easy Peasy!!!

Cook hamburger, add diced tomatoes, season with Mrs. Dash "Fiesta Lime", and Season All. 

Put the meat in lettuce with avocado. 

Eat that stuff up! 

THEN, eat more! 

You're welcome. 

Day 12

Guess what I have? 

Fit Girl Problems!

My thighs are getting all muscular and my waist is getting smaller, which means my jeans hate me. HATE ME!!! I'm told this is a "Fit Girl Problem" though, so I'm totally OK with it! :) 

*********************

Now, let me tell you a little something about carbs. Carbs are not bad! Carbs are good! Your body needs carbs! 

I know what you're saying... 

STEFANI YOU'RE ON CRACK!!! YOU CUT ALL GRAINS OUT OF YOUR DIET!!!

Well, I might be on cocaine. That's what my pills made me feel like I was on today. BUT probably not. I don't think that shit can be passed by anyone as legal. 

Anyways, back to my point. 

I have a secret to tell you. 

Get closer to the screen. 

Closer. 

Closer. 

Closer. 

YOU CAN GET CARBS FROM SOMEWHERE ELSE BESIDES GRAINS!!! 

There are these things called vegetables.

You know, those things that get a bad rap because people don't think their yummy? 

If you eat the right ones you can get carbs!

I'ts my understanding that squash, zucchini, peppers, yams (don't let anyone lie to you and tell you they're sweet potatoes), cauliflower, and things of the sort. 

I was really struggling in life, and then I ate that soup which has peppers and zucchini in it, and I feel 100% better!!! 

Eat them. Eat a lot. It will help!

*********************

So, I was going to go to Costco tonight. I need to do some serious grocery shopping BUT the chihuahuas' had a traumatic experience. 

We were out front watering flowers when a friendly bull dog came over to make friends with the chihuahuas. 

He thought they were a toy, and they thought that they were about to meet their maker. 

I just couldn't leave them after an experience like that. 

Well, that and I need to make a grocery list. 

I'm going to try really hard to see what I want I want to make this week, but I'm already stuck. 

Hmmph... I'll let you know how this goes. 

Day 11

Today, I made Paleo my BITCH!!!

I made soup. I didn't even have a recipe. I just made it up all by myself.

Don't you fret... I'll share MY recipe!!!

It's so easy!!!

You need:

6 Tomatoes

3 Red Bell Peppers

1 Onion

4 Carrots

Garlic

2(ish) Zucchini

1 Rotisserie Chicken

Step 1: Clean your veggies. Cut tomatoes in half, take seeds out of the peppers and cut them in half, cut onion into quarters, and cut carrots in half.

Step 2: Pile them all into the crock pot, and throw some garlic on top. Also, add about a cup of water.

Step 3: Put the lid on the crock pot and put it on high. 

Step 4: Go to work for 4 or more hours. 

Step 5: Slice up zucchini and cook (I realized that I didn't have olive oil, so I used some blended veggies for this process. It's worked OK.) 

Step 6: Put the veggies from the crock pot into the blender, and liquefy.

Step 7: Shred Rotisserie Chicken. 

Step 8: Pour veggies into the pot with the zucchini. 

Step 9: Add the rotisserie chicken.  

Step 10: Add seasonings to taste. I used salt, fiesta lime, season all, and pepper.

Step 11: Eat it while you blog. :) 

***********************************

In other news I took today off Cross Fit. Well, Kristin told me to 

I think it was a good move. I have not been into it mentally!

I have been getting frustrated, because I have to modify EVERYTHING!!! I know, that's normal when you start... but it just is frustrating after a while. I've had a few rough days where my body just doesn't do what it's supposed to be doing. I also have been really sore, and my body could probably use some recovery. 

I'm going to try to really get my head back into the game tomorrow. Throwing fits gets me no where. 

What will I do with the extra 2 hours???

:)

Day 10

You wanna know what I'm eating right now??? 

Do ya???

Do ya???

SALMON!!! 

I wanted Salmon so bad today, and not the normal salmon I buy from Costco that is frozen. I mean that salmon is good too... BUT I wanted the fresh stuff!!!

I marched my happy ass down to Albertson's and bought a pound of salmon. I mean really it wasn't too expensive, and I figured I could eat it for two meals... Uh... yea... Definitely might not make it that long! Ha! 

It's so good though... SO GOOD!!! 

Today was rough!!! I let myself get down too low on groceries and ran out of ideas for what to cook.... I was feeling lazy and didn't want to figure anything out for lunch or dinner. 

I fought through it though!!! I also bought some blue berries and raspberries... That kind of helped. 

I just feel so hungry all the effing time!!! 

I need to go grocery shopping, but I think I'm going to do a few things differently this time. I'm going to come up with some solid ideas of what I might want to eat. Something besides chicken and salad. I'm going to make sure there is always something that is prepared/easily prepared that I can eat any time on a whim. I'm not sure what that will be... but I'm usually EFFING hungry after Cross Fit!!! Then I eat (far too many) fruit leathers while I cook. There has to be a better alternative.... right??? 

I'm not sure what any of this will be, but Thursday just became my day off. That'll give me time to come up with something! 

I'll let you know what Google and I come up with for meals and snacks. Until then I'm going to ice my knees and watch WEEDS!!! 

I JUST LOVE THAT SHOW!!!

PS: I did eat an entire pound of salmon. Nom, Nom, Nom... 

Day 9

So, I'm pretty sure I have the opposite of Body Dismorphic Disorder. I think I'll call it Body Mightymorphic Disorder. 

Normally girls think they're fatter, slower, weaker than they are, right? 

NOT ME!

I think I'm skinnier, faster, and stronger than I am. Ha! 

Now, I am improving greatly in all three areas, but my perception of myself is not always realistic. 

For example: 

I'm losing weight, but I don't see it because I didn't think I was "THAT" big to begin with. 

This for real plays out at Cross Fit. I apparently think I'm Super Woman and should be able to do everything flawlessly. 

I believe my quote today was, "I'm so use to being awesome, I don't know how to not be awesome." 

I'm so vain... I know this song is about me!!!

There were definitely tears because I couldn't get my effing elbows up while I was front squatting.

Stupid effing elbows. Who needs them???

So, at normal gyms I've always felt judged for not doing these right. I always felt like there were eyes on me saying, "Really, that treadmill is set at 4 and you call that running?" 

At Cross Fit everyone knows your strengths and weaknesses, because you work out together so often. They see your successes even when you don't. 

And tell me another gym where you yell at your coach for doing her job and then cry during a work out, and afterwards everyone tells you how great you are and tell you not to give up. They remind you how far you've come and that it's OK to not be perfect. And then they hug you. And then while you finish up the work out everyone keeps encouraging you. AND that can happen (to one degree or another) to any person in that gym on any given night.

I'm waiting... 

Still waiting... 

Can't think of one can you???

Nope!

Another win for Cross Fit!!! 

Seriously, Cross Fit is the only reason that I actually WANT to stay in Twin. 

So, I guess I'm going to work on my Body Mightymorphic Disorder! I'm going to let myself be OK with having flaws. And be glad that I'm not perfect, because that means I have things to work on! Which means more time with The Pack!

In other good news... 

LAST FIBER DRINK TOMORROW!!!

PRAISE THE LORD ALMIGHTY!!! 

THAT STUFF SUCKS!!! 

Really, though... I'm feeling awesome. I'm getting use to this Paleo stuff. 

Never thought I'd say that! 

Day 8

Rule 1: You may only judge me as long as it takes you to read this post. 

Rule 2: If you share this with your friends and they judge me I will kick you. 

Rule 3: If this goes viral and I end up single for the rest of my life I will kick everyone I meet for the rest of my life. 

Cool. Now that we have that out of the way. 

I've been asked several times "Why Paleo?" I  have said things like "Well everyone is doing it, and it make sense." BUT the other day I got bitch slapped in the face with truth!!! Here's the story of that slap... 

I've debated as to whether or not share this story. I mean this really has a great point... But I'm so going to get judged. I also may never have anyone come over for dinner ever again. I promise to buy paper plates! 

A picture is worth a thousand words. This one says I'm lazy. It also says that I let my dogs lick off my plates when I'm done eating. (I can feel the judgement.) This is a recent development, since I started eating Paleo.

(I WASH MY DISHES AFTERWARDS DAMMIT!!!)

So, the other day I was thinking "Man, my dogs really like Paleo, because they get to lick off my plates after!" 

Then I stopped and thought... 

Why do I let my dogs lick my plates now? 

Well, because the food I'm eating is all natural, and I know it won't mess up their stomachs. 

So, I didn't share my food with my DOGS, because I was afraid it would make them sick? 

Yes. 

WTF???

How ridiculous is that? Seriously, I wouldn't even feed my DOGS what I was putting in MY body!!! 

THEY'RE DOGS!

So, let me tell you why I've decided to eat Paleo...

BECAUSE I REFUSE TO EAT ANYTHING I WON'T FEED MY DOGS!!!

(On a regular basis, because lets be honest I will probably eat something that's not Paleo again but not on the regular.)

THE GOOD NEWS: I totes feed my dogs alcohol. So, that's cool. 

See, I told you... GOOD POINT!

Don't judge, bitches!

:) 

Back to the cleanse nasty. 

Only 2 more days with that stupid fiber. 

I puked some fiber up today. Seriously, I thought I was going to die. There has to be a better way for me to ingest that. Someone find it! 

I did hit the point where I finally have energy! I felt so good all day! Keep on keepin' on and I promise it'll get better!!! 

PROUD TO BE SUGAR FREE!

:)

Day 7

That's right... I MADE IT THROUGH A WHOLE WEEK!

I thought today was going to be much harder than it was. Mostly, because I didn't do anything all day and that usually is high ground for me to chow down on bad food. 

I still chowed down (perhaps more than I should have), but it was all Paleo! 

Mostly, I ate a few too many fruit leathers, and a Lara bar. I also ate banana "ice cream" where you take frozen bananas and blend them until their a yummy smooth texture. 

I did discover some yumminess though. 

Doesn't that look fantastic??? Those are Butter Lettuce leaves with steak and my Ceviche from yesterday on them. Seriously, everyone should buy butter lettuce. I LOVE IT!!! I was totally jonesing for some tortillas, and this little number did  the trick. Mmmm... So good! 

Today, hasn't been to exciting... Unless you count 8+ hours worth of watching Weeds. 

Oh, what a glorious Sunday! 

Day 6

What a day, what a day!

I started with a KILLER workout with the Pack. It was super painful, but so fun! Seriously, Crossfit has to be the only place that I enjoy pain that much. Ha!

During the work out I definitely dropped a 35lb bar on my head. Uh... It was pretty painful, and I think I may have gotten a minor concussion. It's fine... I'm fine... Ha!

I also mowed my lawn and cleaned my entire house!!! The goal was to take care of everything I need to do, so I can sleep all day long tomorrow. I'm going to be lazy, and it's going to be awesome!!!

I did make something yummy today!!! It's my version of Ceviche!!!

First, I cooked up my shrimp. My mom did this one time, and it works awesome!!! I put shrimp all over the cookie sheet. Then I covered it in lime juice and this "Fiesta Lime" seasoning.

You put it in the oven at 350 for about 10 minutes. 

It looks like this when it's done. Nom, Nom, Nom... 

I then chopped up cucumber, onion, avocado, bell peppers, tomatoes, cilantro and the shrimp.

I combined all the yumminess and covered it in 3 limes worth of juice. I added a bit more of that "Fiesta Lime" seasoning as well. 

Doesn't that look incredible? 

Well it was!!! 

I recommend you all it it.

It's Paleo, Yo!

Day 5

First, you should know I'm ANGRY right now. I'm pretty sure I've been lied to my whole life. 

Let me set the scene... 

All day all I've wanted to do is drink. Yummy, tasty alcohol. I even Googled "Paleo Alcohol". I know, I know it's only 24 days, then I can have a cheat day or two with alcohol... just got to make it through. AND that is exactly what I told myself. You got this Stef! You got this! I decided that I would eat sweet potato fries tonight instead of drinking. I mean sweet potato fries are yummy, and I can pretend like I'm eating real fries. The perfect compromise. I stop by the store after my killer WOD and got sweet potatoes. I get home and start peeling, and much to my surprise I saw this... 

WHAT THE HELL??? SWEET POTATOES ARE SUPPOSED TO BE ORANGE NOT EFFING WHITE!!! 

I mean, I always knew there was a difference between sweet potatoes and yams... I did not know that the difference was their color! When I go to restaurant and I order sweet potato fries they are ORANGE!!! So, all this time the bastards have been feeding effing yams without telling me!!! 

Naturally, I'm ANGRY!!! I know it doesn't seem like a big deal, but I'm hungry, I looked forward to "sweet potato" fries all day, and (just like Kristin said) I'm freaking moody!!! I didn't know who I wanted to hurt. I did consider taking the sweet potatoes back to the store and telling them where to shove them, but decided I'd like to buy my yams from there. 

I called my mom. Mom's are supposed to know everything. I told her I'd been lied to my whole life, but she seemed to be thinking I was overreacting. She proceeded to tell me, "sweet potatoes are better with less sugar... they'll turn more orange when you bake them... just try them." 

I listened to my mom. I never listen to my mom. I baked them. You want to know what they looked like after they were done??? 

I don't know if she's color blind or what her problem is, but THESE ARE NOT EFFING ORANGE!!! 

She called me about the time these were finishing up all perky, "How did they go Stefani?!... You should just try them." Well... let me just tell you that this conversation ended like this, "Ok, well you seem a little sassy right now, so I'm going to go" *Click*. 

I know you're wondering... Did Stefani get her "sweet potato" fries??? 

YOU BET YOUR ASS I DID!!! 

I went to the store with make up smeared all over my face, basketball shorts, and a t-shirt. I even contemplated not wearing a bra, but decided small children should not be scared by that sight. It's not their fault that no one told me that I've been eating yam fries. They're probably being lied to, too. Poor little saps. 

Currently my yam fries are still cooking. You might get a pic if I'm still writing this. Or you might not. They'll look similar to the "sweet potato" fries you get at restaurants. 

ON A POSITIVE NOTE... 

I dead lifted 245 pounds today!!! 

 This is me being a bad ass. 

Also, overall today went well. I didn't get as tired as I got the last two days. Apparently I'm still slightly moody, but I don't have a husband or children, so it's cool. 

***BEEP***

So, maybe they little a different than a restaurant... but they are fantastic. 

***Sigh*** 

Ok, now I can move on with my life and cuddle with my Chihuahua's and watch a movie. 

But you better believe your ass that next time someone serves me yam fries and calls them "sweet potato" fries... I WILL FREAK OUT ON THEM!!! FALSE ADVERTISEMENT!!!

Day 4

You should know that I feel like an evil inventor right now... bwahahahaha...

You should know that when you're a single lady left overs are always a problem. Seriously, I eat the same thing for 2 weeks in a row it feels like. In my old life I would go out to eat to break up the monotony... Not such an option now. Instead I have to get creative with what I have.

Here is the list of things I combined. Hamburger patty, 2 eggs, tomatoes, spinach, and avocado.

Here's how I threw down:

1. I chopped up the tomatoes,  bacon, and spinach.

2. I fried half of the tomatoes, bacon, and spinach in a frying pan.

3. Once the bacon was cooked, I piled it all up and put a little whole in the middle.

4. I cracked an egg in the hole so the yolk was in the hole and the bacon and veggies were all up in the egg white.

5. I flipped it like normal and when ready I put it down on the plate first.

6. I put a heated up hamburger patty (remember, leftovers) on top.

7. I piled it with half an avocado

8. I repeated steps 2 - 5, except this time I put the egg on top.

Remember: Leave the yolks runny. Nothing quite like yummy yolk running over it all... Mmmmmmmmmm....

Seriously, I should have taken a picture. It's gone now though. I even licked the plate clean. You think I'm joking... Maybe I did... Maybe I didn't... Only the Chihuahuas know the truth!!!

Today was a much better day. I really feel like I'm accomplishing something with every successful day, and not feeling like I'm torturing myself. It's amazing how a simple change in attitude can change things.

I will say that I've hit the "tired" stage of the cleanse. Kristin warned me about this, but I thought I had a few days. No, such luck. I'm going to keep pushing through though, because that means the energy part is just on the other side of this hill!

As a side note... My dogs are ridiculous. My little dog gets under the chair in the living room and then taunt my "big" dog, because he can't fit under there. He then runs around in circles whining and barking like the world is coming to an end... THEN she darts out and gets him. So crazy...

Any who... Tonight's big decision... Lara bar or fruit leather... I'm living for that choice at the end of the day.

Day 3 For the Win!

So, I'm writing this with my yummy plate of chicken, peppers, green beans, and BACON!! Yum!! It does make typing awkward though...

Today was much better. For real. So much better.

The morning was definitely different though. You know the problem with changing your diet  lifestyle is that life happens and,  if your like me and new to this whole process, it can be hard to cope with and still keep up your diet  life style change.

Today's curve ball was that I had a doctors appointment 2 hours away, and had to fast before. That means I left here at 7 (the time I usually eat breakfast) and drove for 2 hours, had blood taken out of my body, and then had to drive back. I knew that if I waited until I got home to eat I'd die. Seriously, probably would have died. My solution to this was to pack my Spark packet, my fiber packet, a fruit bar (that I bought last night), and plenty of water. So, after the doctors appointment I mixed up my Spark and drank that yumminess down. THEN I drove for like 20 minutes and mixed up my fiber drink to drink down. Now, I had to pull over to drink that fiber stuff, because every time I drink it I gag and I didn't feel like explaining to a cop that I wrecked because I gagged. Call me crazy. Anyways... Drank the fiber and gagged. Then as I was driving away I ate my fruit bar.

Now, I realize that eating a fruit bar every morning is not OK. But I'm pretty freaking proud of myself for taking that curve ball and running with it and not even ruining my diet!! I'm awesome... I know.

In more good news for lunch I had my burger, bacon, egg, and avocado and it was perfect!!!

I did get tired this afternoon though. I'm told this is normal. About 4pm I decided to take some more Spark, which was definitely a good call. I was happy at CrossFit and I think I did pretty well!

&&& The final piece of good news for today...

NO FIBER DRINK TOMORROW!!! 

Day 2

Seriously, today was almost the last day of this bull shit.

NEVER HAVE I EVER BEEN SO FRUSTRATED WITH A DIET SO FAST!

I was hungry and I wanted anything and everything sugary...

So I walk into Cross Fit and I'm all angry like. I tell Kristin I'm effing hungry (actually I used the real word, woops) and want candy and don't want to do this bull shit anymore.

Her being the nice person she is goes and gets me a fruit leather (I didn't even know I could eat those)!

Then we start doing the work out. Seriously it was brutal before we even got to the WOD. I'm pretty sure the only thing I said was "this is stupid" "this is dumb" and "I don't like this". Though, that's not odd... my tone was for serious.

Then we get to the WOD. I'm tired and bitchy and hungry and it's a very arm/shoulder intensive WOD. I have weak arms/shoulders currently so I hate WODs that involve those!!! HATE THEM!!! I'm sure within 5 minutes there were tears in my eyes. I was so frustrated. Ugh!

After I finished my friends noticed, and they put on their pep talk pants. Seriously they're amazing. I don't know what I did to deserve meeting such great people, but they're amazing!!!

They gave me some pointers. Talked about what to look for on labels and suggested some yumminess. Basically when reading labels, start with foods that are organic. That means you can probably read all the ingredients. You want things that have around 3 or less sugars. Also, you don't want "sugar" or any "ose" in the first 3 ingredients, if at all. "Ose" is like sucrose, glucose, and everything else they use to disguise sugar.

I was still pretty discouraged when I left there, but came home stoked to eat my burger with fried egg, bacon, and avocado!!! Yumm, right??? Except over cooked the burger, my avocado wasn't ripe, and I broke my egg yolk.

I'm not making this shit up!!! If the Advocare system didn't cost so much I would have quit this shit. Well, and I didn't have anything in my house that was good enough to justify cheating. (Good forethought on my part.)

I ate my crappy burger and took a shower, and I went to the store with wet hair, white running shorts, white flip flops, and a white pink long sleeve T-shirt. I'm sure people thought, "Who's this bitch." Well... I DON'T CARE... or didn't... now that I look back on it I probably could compete with peopleofwalmart.com except I was in Fred Meyer.

Anywho, I bought Lara bars and fruit leather. THE BEST PURCHASE OF MY LIFE!!! Seriously, Lara bars should be given a purple heart or something cool. I want to meet Lara, whoever she is. Mmmm... Pretty sure they saved my Paleo lifestyle change.

I now am happy. My sweet craving has been fulfilled, and I think I will rest at peace tonight.

Tomorrow is a new day. Hopefully a better day. With Lara I'm sure it will be. :)

Day 1

So, Day 1 did not start off as good as expected... 

6:15 am: Wake up

6:30 am: Drink Spark. Which isn't too bad. Kind of tastes like Tang. Remember Tang?

7:00 am: Drink Fiber drink. Which is the nastiest thing in the world. It's all gritty and gross. I gagged. Then I started drinking my smoothie (1c frozen berries, 1/2 banana, Spinach, Green Tea)

8:00 am: Fell nauseous. Yup. I thought I was going to puke. Everywhere. Gross.

9:30 am: Go to Jerome for work.

12:00 pm: Leave the meeting I'm in STARVING. Convince myself that I paid way to much for this effing stuff, and I will not blow it at McDonalds. (If they had drive through sushi, I'd be done for!)

1:00 pm: Go home for lunch where I did have a yummy salad (spring mix, spinach, tomatoes, cucumbers, chicken, avocado, all topped with balsamic).

2:00 pm: Back to work already hungry.

3:00 pm: Start munching on some nuts, that really aren't that good.

4:30 pm: My co-worker cooked a bag of Bleepity Bleep Bleep POPCORN!!! I had self control and avoided it, but almost had to punch myself in the face to do so.

5:00 pm: I went to Cross Fit. That was a happy time.

6:30 pm: Headed home for dinner. I wasn't even that hungry. I ate some stuff I had made a few days ago (chicken, bacon, mushrooms, red bell pepper, and zucchini).

7:30 pm: Get out of the shower starving!!! So, I made another salad identical to the first one.

That's Spark in the Blender Bottle. It isn't half bad. Maybe I'll take a picture of the fiber for you tomorrow. Bleh!!! 

The good news in all of this is that I am not "shitting my brains out" yet. Yes, my fellow Cross Fitters were curious. Seriously, I don't know if all boxes are like ours BUT we are not shy about much around that joint. I  simply told them that I'd keep them updated. Haha... 

I really want to try the raspberry dressing I bought... but I have a feeling it's not as Paleo friendly as I want it to be. I'm pretty sure if I ask Kristin she'll say "Throw that shit away!" If I don't ask her, however, I'll never use it. Such a predicament. 

I also am debating whether or not to tell her I'm bloggin' this stuff. She's going to tell me I'm doing things wrong. I don't want to do things wrong, BUT ignorance is bliss... Right?

Ya, I'm telling her.

Preparin'...

So, I have done my grocery shopping... I've bought the challenge goodness... I've done my food prep... I've eatin' all the shit I won't be able to eat... I think I'm just about ready to go....

For the next week I'll be eating this stuff...

This is a salad with spring mix, spinach, grape tomatoes, and cucumbers. I also have avocado to put in it, but I'll cut that up each day as I eat it. Don't want it brown and mushy!!! 

I heard that Annie's dressing is good. It's all natural (I really can read the ingredients). I think I'll use the balsamic mostly, but the raspberry looked so yummy! 

Cooked this chicken on the George Foreman, and will be using it in my salad. 

Obviously cooked these babies on the George Foreman also. I cooked them after the chicken, so they have chicken crunchies. Yum! I'll eat these with my whole chicken breasts. 

I made these foil packets with chicken, lime, salt, pepper, and of course asparagus  I love cooking chicken this way because it's flavorful and moist inside!!! I wish I could give you accurate cooking times, but I cooked these at 350 and checked at 25 minutes, then checked again 15 minutes later, and then bumped it up to 400 and cooked them for 8 more minutes. They were finally cooked after that... but not exactly efficient. The trick is to make sure that the foil is sealed nice and tight like, so that it steams itself in the foil. 

And my favorite. Bacon, sweet peppers, and green beans. Cook the bacon really crispy first, drain out most of the fat, and then throw in any veggies that you want to be extra yummy. It'll change your life... just saying!!!

I also froze some bananas for smoothies. That's not too complicated though. I peel the banana, break it in half, and put them in a zip lock bag. 

I'm really excited and really nervous to start this adventure. \

But first thing tomorrow morning it's game on!!! 

Times, They Are Changing

I suck at blogging, but I'm here to try again! This time I'm feeling dedicated to my cause. Starting Monday I'm going to start the Advocare 24 Day Challenge where I will be using their system along with eating Paleo to jump start my journey to health. I've decided to blog everyday of my challenge. I think this is an awesome idea for a two reasons...

1. I hope that maybe it'll help to keep me accountable. I mean, who really wants to tell Cyber Space that they failed? Not I! 

2. I hope to inspire someone. I want people to know that losing weight is hard, and if it's easy that it might not be permanent. This challenge is the beginning of the road for me, and certainly isn't going to be my quick fix. 

I'm stoked! &&& Nervous. Eeeeeeeeek...


Everyone at my box is doing it... and they all have seen fabulous results!!! They also all have shared similar pains throughout the process. I think it will turn out well though.


Here's the game plan:

Tonight: I write my first grocery list.

Tomorrow: I shop.

Saturday: I do some meal prep. (I normally like to meal prep on Sunday, but Sunday my mom will be here so I'm not sure how much preppin' I'll be able to do.)

Sunday: I eat bad food with my mom.

Monday: Game Face On!


This is going to be a wild ride. I promise to share the gritty details and to be honest with you all along the way. I will also share, what I hope to be, stellar results!!!