Day 9...21 to go

Ah, day 9.  It started the same....eggs with a side of almond milk.  Today had it's moments.  There were moments where I wanted to cheat.  There where moments where I was hungry and didn't want anything I could eat.  But, in the end, I did not cheat and I ate what I was supposed to.  Another successful day.

I went to lunch with Nova and Stacy at the Arena Tavern.  This is where I had to moment to cheat.  I originally thought I'd order the grilled chicken without even looking at the menu but I couldn't resist to see what else was there.  Bad mistake.  The first thing I saw was "Daddy's Nachos"...enough said.  Then, Stacy pointed out that they had homemade ice cream sandwiches for dessert....great.  I settled for the Summer Salad which consisted of greens, grilled chicken, watermelon, grapes, feta, and citrus vinaigrette.  I decided that was a safe bet so I ordered it sans feta and citrus vinaigrette.  I asked for oil and vinegar on the side.  The salad was ok at best.  I of course ate the whole thing because I have to so I'm not starving 30 minutes later.  The afternoon went fine and I snacked on a banana bread Lara bar and berries.

After work, I had plans for a new outdoor activity (which gives me 10 bonus points....whoop! whoop!).  My friend Kristina invited me to rollerblade at West Hall High School.  We weren't meeting until 7:30 so I headed home for a bit and ended up snacking again on almonds and a banana to hold me over until dinner.  I'll have to admit, I was a little anxious about rollerblading.  Kristina and I used to do it all the time, but it's been awhile.  The last time I attempted to rollerblade, I went by myself to Little Mulberry Park in Dacula and started to skate down the "small" hill to the trail.  I was sure that I was good enough to be able to control my speed down the winding hill.  One word....FAIL.  I had to hurl myself into the grass in front of two strangers who were chatting on a bench.  I was so embarrassed that I took of my skates and walked back to the car immediately in my socked feet.  I hadn't been on rollerblades since that day.  Marcus actually tried to get rid of my them, but I wouldn't let him (I did however let him finally give away the RipStick skateboard that I purchased in hopes that it would make me a good snowboarder).  So tonight, me and Kristina dusted off the old skates and brought back some memories.  When we pulled up, I noticed that the high school was pretty busy.  There was football practice going on.  Now, when we used to skate back in high school, we liked skating during football practice because the guys could see us all cute on our skates and we could see them.  I got a slightly different feeling when I saw football practice going on tonight.  I wasn't worried about seeing any football players that I knew, I was worried about the coaches and parents seeing me.  I guess I really didn't think too much about this when I got dressed for the adventure because I chose a neon yellow Brooks tank and neon coral shorts.  Let's just say that you couldn't miss me.  Kristina was a little smarter and wore yoga pants.  This was probably a good idea since my last rollerblading outing ended with me in the grass.  I did wear a hat to hide my face a bit.  To put on my skates, I sat on the ground while talking to Kristina.  After getting the skates on, I realized this was probably a poor idea.  It was a little difficult actually standing up.  I finally got off the ground and Kristina made it out of her car.  Kristina pointed out that we used to go down the slight hill we were parked on, but suggested that we probably go uphill this go round.  So we set out.  We were a little shaky and less graceful than we used to be.  The cracks in the pavement seemed like caverns.  We basically had to walk through them.  Then, just as we got comfortable, we got to the back of the school where football practice was being held.  We also reached the speed bumps.  There was actually no way around the speed bumps.  On the first one, I refused to go over it.  I walked through the grass.  Kristina encouraged me to go over the next one.  I did reluctantly.  I think rollerblading over speed bumps is equivalent to handstands for me.  If the football players didn't see me at first, they probably heard my "Eeeeeeee!!!" as I rolled over the bump with arms waving.  I'm glad to say that we went over several more and there were no falls.  We lapped the high school twice for approximately 2 miles.   We decided to quit while we were ahead until next week.  All in all, it was a great time and I look forward to doing it again!  Thanks to Kristina for getting me out of the tri-sports rut!

Still safe on the ground...

Now on to a serious matter.  A matter that I will need your prayers for strength.  Tomorrow is a big day.  Tomorrow marks the last day of August; the last day of the month.  At my office, the last day of the month is the most coveted day of the month.  It's a day that is looked forward to by all.  It's a day whose festivities are thoughtfully planned long in advance by a saint named Ms. Weaver.  Tomorrow is Cake Day.  Tomorrow is my favorite day of the month.  Usually, I forget all about Cake Day until I'm at lunch that day and we suddenly realize that it is, in fact, Cake Day.  We anticipate what kind of cake Ms. Weaver will surprise us with.  We plan out how and when we can sneak in 2 pieces without everyone knowing (ok, that's probably just me).  This month, Cake Day didn't slip up on me.  I knew it was coming.  It's going to be a challenging day.  It will take extreme willpower not to indulge myself in the moistness and creaminess that could only come from the Publix bakery.  My only hope is that it's chocolate cake with vanilla icing.  I can resist this cake.  I can even resist the famous chocolate cake with raspberries and chocolate icing.  But if there is yellow cake of any kind (especially with chocolate icing), it's going to be a battle.  Depending on what kind it is, I might have to take a half day of PTO.  Please think of me around 1:00.  I will be struggling.  I plan on being strong, but you never know how strong the pull is going to be.  No matter what happens tomorrow, I promise to be honest with you.

Until tomorrow...

Day 8...22 to go

Wow, I'm tired.  I almost didn't post tonight because I'm just ready to go to bed so I apologize in advance if this is not so good.  I just got back from hanging out with 408 of my closest middle school and high school friends at 12Stone Church's The Point Student Ministry.  I'm exhausted and hungry.  I dodged food for 4.5 hours tonight.  It was a block party so we had all the good stuff for the kids.  There was pizza, cotton candy, every kind of soda you can think of, and popsicles.  I was in charge of peddling popsicles.  I walked around to the kids handing them out.  The humidity was 129% and I was glistening to say the least.  I wanted to take a -3 in the points race and have one of those popsicles.  I stayed strong though.  I figured that I couldn't justify loosing 3 points or breaking my streak on a popsicle.  If I'm going to mess up, it's going to be for something that won't melt into Kool Aid.

Luckily, they fed the volunteers.  They catered Moonies Texas Barbeque.  I have never eaten there but it's becoming quite the famous dining spot in Flowery Branch.  They had beef brisket and it didn't have sauce on it yet.  I felt like a total carnivore because I loaded up my entire plate with the meat.  Some of the guys looked at me like I was crazy.  I knew if I was going to avoid all the crap food being offered I needed to be full of brisket.  It was delicious even without the sauce.  I'm thinking of getting more of my paleo meat there.  If you haven't been, check it out.

Once inside the sanctuary there was more temptation.  They actually threw candy into the crowd.  I had candy landing at my feet.  One little girl said, "Ms. Alexis, you can have this!" Sadly, I had to tell her no thanks.  Instead, I quickly dug into my purse for my emergency stick of sugar-free gum.  I went through a couple of pieces while in the sermon.  Seriously, thank God for sugar-free gum.

Earlier today, I did ok for the most part.  I had my leftover almond chicken and sweet potato for lunch. I think it's mental, but I really have a hard time eating leftover chicken.  This may sound ridiculous but I don't like it because it tastes like chicken.  I can't really explain it, I just don't like it.  Before shoving it all in my mouth and chugging it with water, I found some paleo approved dressing I bought for my salads and dipped my chicken in that to hide the chicken taste.  It sort of worked.  I think I become a little more high maintenance and particular each day of this diet.  There seems to be a food that I just can't stand to have anymore.  Today, that food was chicken.  

I have no idea what I'm going to eat tomorrow.  I guess I'll have to go out to lunch [sigh].  Hopefully Stacy and Nova will forget their lunch.

So, sorry for the short, uneventful post.  I'm going to get some rest....

Day 7...23 to go

A week.  Seven days.  I did it.  I'm still alive and I'm a little lighter.  We weren't supposed to weigh ourselves during the challenge, but I can't resist.  It gives me that little push to keep going (as long as the number is going in the right direction).  This morning I got on the scale to find that I had lost 4.7 lbs since last Wednesday.  Yes, the .7 is very important.  I could round up, but then I feel like I'm lying.  So 4.7 it is.  I'm pretty pleased with that.  I'm trying to contain myself because I know that most of the weight you lose when you're on a diet is in the first couple of weeks.  So I'm not going to try and project my total weight loss by multiplying this by 4.  It won't happen.  I wish it would, but it won't.  That's ok.  I was feeling pretty good about my 4.7 lbs for about an hour until my sister from another mister (sister-in-law) Tracy texted Wendy and I to let us know that she had lost 10 lbs since Thursday.  10 lbs!!!!  Really?  Good Lord.  My 4.7 seemed kind of puny now.  Tracy says that either she is truly a caveman and her body has been craving this diet or she has a parasite.  I asked her if I could kiss her on the mouth to possibly catch the parasite.  I think I can handle a little vomiting to reach my goal.  So, with a little jealously, I congratulated Tracy on her accomplishments and plodded through another day of bland food.

Breakfast was the usual - eggs.  However, I indulged in my new guilty pleasure....unsweetened almond milk!! I chugged it like I just ate chocolate chip cookies.  Marcus told me that my almond milk mustache was not as impressive as a cow milk mustache.  He said it's because the almonds have smaller "teets".  I had a nice snack of berries and kiwi mid-morning.  When you haven't had sugar in awhile, fruits really become a treat.  My favorite thing so far is to put the strawberries in the freezer and then thaw them the next day.  They are kind of mushy, but they are sooooooo sweet and there is no sugar added.  It's lovely.  Lunch was uneventful.  More Boar's Head turkey slices with guacamole.  I also threw in some butternut squash that I made the night before but didn't eat.  Honestly, the squash is bland and doesn't taste like much, but I swear I had the hardest time eating it.  I reverted to my 6 year old being and crammed big bites in my mouth and chugged water to get it down.  It really wasn't that bad but my gag reflex was really rejected the whole idea of it.  I think the problem is that it is the color of sweet potatoes.  I love sweet potatoes and I expect the squash to taste like them.  When it doesn't, I repel it.  Kind of like when you think you are about to take a big sip of Sprite and you find out it's water.  You drink water all the time but after expecting Sprite it's repulsive.  Around 4:00 I had a cashew cookie Lara Bar.  These bars are truly amazing.  While not on the level of a strawberry Pop Tart, they are surprisingly decent considering they only have 2 ingredients - cashews and dates.

After work, I went straight to Cross Fit.  I was hungry when I got there but didn't have any options.  The WOD (workout of the day) was not too bad tonight.  After class, the Amys and Whitney wanted to try band assisted handstand push-ups.  When I started going to Cross Fit, one of the first classes we were told we had to practice our handstands.  Now, as someone who is 5'10'', handstands were never in my athletic routine.  I have a surprising fear of being upside down.  Since I couldn't do a handstand, they told me to practice against the wall.  I was supposed to lunge toward the wall head first and kick my feet in the air so they would rest against the wall.  I couldn't do it.  I thought I was going to bust my head open.  The last variation they offered me was to walk my feet up the wall while in push-up position while walking my hands closer to the wall to try and get as close to vertical as possible.  I thought I was about to die and I was still at a 45 degree angle.  After the Amys and Whitney successfully completed the band assisted handstand push-ups they talked me into trying it.  Two of them actually had to lift my legs up and hold them.  I did approximately 3 push-ups before I freaked out for fear my brain was about to explode out of my head.  Handstands are not for me.  God made me 5'10'' for a reason and the reason is so I would not do gymnastics or gymnastics type activities.

I got home from Cross Fit around 7:30 which is remarkably early for me to be home and to be able to start dinner.  I decided to try and make almond flour breaded chicken.  I have never fried chicken in my life so I didn't even know where to start.  It turned out to be pretty simple.  Kind of like french toast, but with chicken.  For the first time after trying something new, it was actually good.  Marcus even had seconds!  I have some leftover for lunch tomorrow and I am kind of excited about it.  Tonight I added the chicken to some mixed greens and dressed it with a homemade concoction of olive oil, garlic, horseradish, toasted sesame oil, and white vinegar.  I also had half of a sweet potato to complete my meal.  I'm pretty proud of myself for this one.

So, one week down, three to go.  I have some momentum and I think I can keep the train moving.  Thank God for everyone who is doing this with me.  It's so helpful to have accountability and encouragement.  Also thank you to Kara and Mom who read my post yesterday and gave me great ideas to make my meat eating more successful in the future.  Every little bit helps.  Until tomorrow...

Day 6...24 to go

Well, it's here.  I've hit a wall.  Yesterday was a tough day.  I had cravings, but worse than the cravings, I had dreadings.  I dreaded eating this caveman diet food.  I may have mentioned that I was vegan for 6 months.  The reason I was good for 6 months is because I really don't care that much for meat.  Sure, I love a good Filet cooked medium rare, but I never really crave meat (except for maybe Dreamland Barbecue).  Also, I eat meat when I'm out, but rarely do I cook meat at home.  I think it is disgusting.  I hate handling raw meat.  I hate seeing the "before".  It makes me nauseous.  Yesterday, I decided to do something I've never done and cook a Boston Butt.  I probably should have been deterred by the name of the meat.  Again, I like some good pulled pork, so I thought this would be a win.  Besides, it was a crockpot recipe so it couldn't be that hard.  I prepared the meat to go in the pot, which wasn't terrible.  It cooked for 8 hours and I came home ready to dig in.  I opened up the pot and saw all of the grease and immediately gagged.  Then I had to get the meat of the bone and remove the skin and fat.  Pretty sure I threw up in my mouth a little.  Marcus came home in the middle of this process and asked what was wrong.  I told him I couldn't handle the meat.  I tried a piece, and honestly it wasn't bad, but I couldn't take it after the handling of the meat.  I tried to mix it with this Bone Sucking sauce I got that was supposed to be Paleo friendly, but ate about 3 bites and couldn't eat anymore.  I settled for a dry sweet potato for dinner.  I had gotten to that point again of choosing not to eat instead of eating the food I was supposed to.  Marcus on the other hand had a full serving of the pork and said it was good.  I told him I was glad he liked it because there were 2 more pounds waiting for him.  I've decided that I can eat it if I don't prepare it.  This could pose a problem for the next 24 days.  I'm hoping I can pay Tracy to handle my meat for me...

Not only did I mess up my dinner, but that meat was supposed to be for the whole week.  Now it was 9:00 on a Sunday night and I didn't have meals prepared.  Oh dear.  I didn't fret too much and went to bed.  This morning I woke up and had my eggs.  Surprisingly, (knock on wood), the eggs haven't made me gag yet.  Don't worry....they will.  Lunch came quickly and I wasn't famished but I didn't pack my lunch because I couldn't eat my pork.  Stacy and I went out to Frontera where I gladly let them prepare me some chicken fajitas.  They were delicious and I didn't feel deprived not eating the chips and salsa.  Now, that's a win.  This afternoon Wendy and I met to run and swim.  I was definitely lacking energy and peanut butter.  By the time we finished swimming at 8:00, I was starving and I had nothing quick for dinner.  I hit Publix to grab some chicken breasts, but opted for Boar's Head turkey breast and guacamole from the deli.  Dinner of champions.  When I walked in the house I got a familiar smell of delicious Kashi frozen pizza.  I'm pretty sure Marcus stuffed what was left in his mouth as soon as I walked in to hide the fact that he was eating something delicious.  We usually share the pizza, so eating the whole thing was a feat for him.  He said he wanted to get rid of the temptation before I got home.  How thoughtful.

After my turkey and guacamole, I wasn't quite satisfied.  I opened the fridge to find Vanilla Unsweetened Almond Milk.  Finally! Something I can have! No sugar! No dairy!  I wanted to chug it from the carton, but Marcus really frowns upon that.  I still can't figure that one out.  He'll kiss me and drink after me in a cup, but won't let me indulge myself by drinking out of the carton of milk.  Weird.  For those milk drinkers out there, you know there is nothing better than drinking out of the carton.  It's like 10 times better.  But, I respected his wishes and poured a glass.  It tasted so good!  A week ago I couldn't get enough of a Chick-fil-A milkshake, today I'm going nuts for a glass of unsweetened milked almonds.  This can't be healthy.

I haven't exactly prepared my food for tomorrow but I'm going to wing it and see what happens.  Hopefully, my meat phobia will pass and I can try out the almond flour battered chicken tomorrow.  Mmmmm....can't wait!

Days 4 & 5...25 to go

I had technical difficulties yesterday and could not post.  So for those of you who were wondering, I was not locked in a closet drinking a Chick-fil-A milkshake.  Not to say that I didn't want one though.  Weekends are tough on diets.  Going back to I'm a social eater, eating this way is not that fun.  Sure, you can make it social, but it's just kind of boring.

I started out my weekend eating lunch with Kara at Whole Foods.  When I walk in Whole Foods I expect everything there is food from the gods and clearly healthy for me.  Unconsciously, I start looking around for "treats" that aren't really treats.  Like Whole Foods chocolate...that has to be Paleo.  Or Whole Foods gummy bears....surely a caveman ate those (they are bears and they have faces).  After becoming disappointed to find sugar in everything I wanted, I made my way over to the salad and hot bar.  Even if I don't like the food, Whole Foods makes it look so appetizing.  I immediately wanted the Quinoa salad....oh, that's right, I can't have Quinoa even though it is supposed to be a super food.  I saw brussel sprouts...no thanks.  I finally settled on what seemed to be half of a chicken with some oven roasted vegetables.  Kara said it looked good...I agreed, but it didn't look as good as the pizza.  I told Kara I felt like a child at dinner, only eating my meal so I could have dessert, except I don't get dessert!!  While chewing my vegetables, I made faces like a small child.  I just wanted cheese!  It really wasn't terrible, just not that appealing.  Luckily, the company was much better.

On Friday night Marcus and I went to our favorite restaurant in Gainesville, 2 Dog Cafe.  Marcus asked why we were going out to eat if I was eating Paleo.  I told him I needed a little more social and a little less Chicken Ole.  I knew 2 Dog was a safe choice because they have lots of fresh options that I could choose from.  Of course, I also know that I wouldn't be trying out any new options and that I would be eating the same thing I get each time we go: Skirt Steak.  I love it.  They make it so delicious.  So we get there and sit down and the first thing they do is bring us a basket of bread.  Neither I nor Marcus touched it (thanks Marcus).  Then the waitress asked for our drinks.  My favorite drink at 2 Dog in the Summer is their homemade Sangria.  It is so yummy and refreshing.  Obviously, that was not an option so I went with water....it was somewhat refreshing because it was cold but that's all.  As we were looking over the menu, Marcus said "oh! Grits! Oh, that's right you can't have grits." Or, "oh! Chicken Quesadillas! Oh, that's right, you can't have cheese, and oh, you can't have tortillas."  Though often supportive, he loves to give me a hard time during the crazy diets I take part in.  Whatever.

The waitress came back to take our order.  Even though I was getting my standard, I knew I had to make some changes.  For example, one of the reasons the steak is soooooo good is that they top it with Worcestershire butter.  Since I'm sure it was not purified butter I had to ask her to leave it off.  Also, I normally get the asparagus and grits.  No grits.  Asparagus, Squash & Eggplant it was.  For the salad, I love their homemade Pesto vinaigrette....Pesto contains cheese.  No Pesto.  No cheese or croutons on the salad either.  Wow, did I sound high maintenance (I am a little, but that's not the point).  The waitress kindly obliged to all my requests.  The meal was quite good even without the extras.  I was satisfied....satisfied until I saw the chocolate cream pie in the cooler.  I asked for the check immediately so we could flee.  Once in the car, Marcus says, "well, I'd take you to get frozen yogurt, but you can't have that."  Thanks Marcus.

I went to bed early so I wouldn't eat anymore and because I had to get up early for a bike ride.  Wendy and I rode 33 miles on Saturday with only water, not my beloved Justin's chocolate peanut butter packs.  It was ok; we made it.  We snacked on bananas and balsamic tomatoes when we got back.  When I got home, I should have made lunch but I was too tired and unmotivated to eat Paleo food so I took a nap instead.  I woke up and forced down some Chicken Ole.  (It's worse every time).

That night, we had a Paleo date night.  Me and Marcus went to the Blue Bicycle in Dawsonville with Tracy and Matt, Wendy and Bryan, and Kristy and Ken.  Tracy and Wendy are also doing Paleo while Kristy is doing South Beach.  We decided that if we were going to eat healthy, we'd do it together (well sort of).  While waiting for our table, the gentlemen took up at the bar for some brew.  Tracy and I settled with water, but Wendy said a drink was worth the 3 points she'd loose on the challenge so she indulged.  I must admit, I was quite jealous but I didn't want to cave (no pun intended) on alcohol.  If I was to cave, I wanted it to be for something much better.  Dinner was great.  We were all high-maintenance orderers so I didn't feel so bad.  I had the Angus filet (sans the red wine reduction sauce - thanks to Tracy) and green beans.  I actually tried some of Matt's salmon (I usually don't eat anything that swims) and it was really not terrible.  It actually was better than my Chicken Ole.

After dinner, we all went to see the Bourne Legacy.  Great movie...only thing missing was Sour Patch Kids.  Marcus indulged in Skittles beside me but I resisted.  Again, the company trumped the food for the evening.

Sunday morning started early with a 9 mile training run with Tracy.  Again, with only water and no nutrition.  This was much harder on the run than on the bike.  I must find alternatives to eat on these long runs.  I get so sluggish.  After the run, Marcus and I had bacon and eggs which were quite delicious.  We went to church and then came home and thankfully finished the last of the Chicken Ole!  That was a true blessing.  Currently, there is a Boston Butt in the crockpot for this week's meat.  Smells delicious...I hope it turns out alright.  I have never made any meat other than chicken by myself, so we shall see.

All, in all, not a bad weekend even with the bland menu.  All I can say is thank God for fruit!  It truly is my saving grace.  I just hope it can get me through the next 25 days....

Day 3...27 to go

Before I start talking about day 3, I have to finish telling you about day 2.  I made it the rest of the afternoon without being hungry which is amazing.  I went to Crossfit and noticed that I had a little less energy.  My legs were a little heavy and I didn't quite have the umph I usually have.  We did a leg focused workout and they felt like jelly after.  I still had to do my 30 minute training run.  It was 7:15 and I was getting hungry but decided I needed to get my run in.  The run was slow to say the least.  At the end I swear I could feel my empty stomach sloshing into my other organs.  I went home as soon as possible to start cooking.  Probably one of the worst things I do is eat late.  I really don't feel like I have a choice in the matter.  I finish work and go straight to workout.  If I go home and make dinner before I workout, there will be NO chance of me going back out.  I know me.  So, I figure that eating at 9:00 is what I have to do.  Luckily Marcus has the same schedule and unfortunately, we've gotten used to it. 

I think Marcus would eat at 11:00 during this whole thing because he is just ecstatic that I'm actually cooking.  Usually my extent of cooking is microwaving frozen vegetables or pouring a bowl of cereal.  This whole turning on the oven or grill to prepare meat and a side is a whole new animal for me.  I typically avoid it at all cost.

Last night was nice because we actually tag-teamed the meal.  I bought flank steak (which for some reason I LOVE) and we made a quick rub out of chili powder, oregano, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper.  Marcus grilled (because I really don't know how) and I baked the sweet potato fries that I had cut up the day before.  The steak turned out delicioso....the fries needed a little more time in the oven but time was not on our side.  They were a little crunchy and fresh if you know what I mean.  Funny how when you're hungry, you just don't care.  I haven't eaten worse, so they weren't that bad.  I think maybe Chester and Tanner spit them out.  So dinner was finished by 10:00 followed by bedtime.  I actually think I sleep well on a full stomach :)

This morning I had my 3 eggs in the funny shaped TupperWare container with sundried tomatoes.  I woke up late (this is a recurring theme in my life), so I had to eat the eggs in my car on the way to work.  This may seem dangerous with using a fork and all while driving, but I'm pretty good a multi-task driving since I usually put on my eyeliner and mascara while driving with my knee.  The eggs were ok; the sundried tomatoes made them tastier.  I'm going to need to get creative if it's what I'm going to have for 27 more days though.  A safe lunch is planned with Kara at Whole Foods.  She knows my restrictions and will be sure to hold me to them.  It's hard to eat bad at Whole Foods with all the healthy people staring you down so I should be ok. 

Chicken Oh Lord!

Ok, so I thought I could eek out 2 more helpings of Chicken Ole, but after lunch I've proved myself wrong.  Note to self, when making Chicken Ole and leaving out corn and beans, do not use entire packet of taco seasoning.  Currently, my lunch bag is inside out airing out all of the Chicken Ole-ness.  I have about 3 servings left so either Marcus is going to eat it (not likely) or I will try and pawn it off on my other Paleo friends.

I accompanied my delicious chicken lunch with a side of fresh, crispy, celery....yum, yum <read sarcasm>.  Celery is fine if eaten with peanut butter or hummus....but plain, not so good.  It was game day at work so I kept my mind off my boring chicken and celery by playing Po-Ke-No.  This was a good idea except the prizes for scoring and winning in Po-Ke-No were Hershey miniatures, Little Debbie Oatmeal Cream Pies, Skittles, and mixed nuts.  The prizes were in the middle of the table.  I'm pretty sure I could smell the cream in the Oatmeal Cream Pie.  Not to mention that Nova (one of my skinny work friends) decided to have frozen yogurt for lunch today and she sat right beside me.  While trying to ignore Nova's Yogli Mogli, I scored twice and chose 2 packets of mixed nuts as my prize.  After that, I quit and went back to my desk to scrutinize my nuts.  I thought I remembered that I couldn't have peanuts....this turned out to be true.  Apparently they are more of a legume than a nut, but most other nuts are fair game.  Luckily my nuts were the right kind; they contained cashews, almonds, and macadamias.  All very safe nuts.  I was actually pretty full from my chicken and celery so I waited an hour to indulge in my nuts.  So far, I'm pretty surprised that I'm staying as full as I am.  I have been drinking a lot more water today but I really haven't felt hungry or deprived...yet.  I know it's coming.  Check back on day 7 or 8.  I'm sure it will get rough.

Now, off to Cross-Fit.

Day 2....28 to go

Well, day 1 came and went and I'm still alive and not really miserable.  I started day 2 a little better and actually made the eggs I meant to make yesterday.  I have this neat new Tupperware microwave breakfast maker (thanks to Wendy Bratcher....call her if you need Tupperware!) that you can make omlets in.  I added some onions, peppers, and tomatoes to spice it up a bit.  The only problem is the container makes the egg come out in a weird shape.

It was ok.  I really don't like eggs that much unless they have cheese on them.  This omlet was definitely missing the ooey gooey melty stuff.  The good news is it really filled me up.  A little better than the banana yesterday.  The planned lunch is Chicken Ole.  I had it for dinner, but figure I can have it at least 2 more times before I can't stand it any longer.  I think I have to be careful and make sure I'm eating enough.  Since the food I'm eating doesn't really excite me, I don't really want to eat at all.  I'll settle for hunger pains and sugarfree gum.  I'm going to try and avoid that since that could really have an effect on my workouts.  Today is Crossfit with a 30-45 minute run.  I also noticed that I didn't really drink all that much water yesterday.  Must hydrate better. 

Lunch....

It's not a surprise that I am a social eater.  Eating is an event for me.  Sometimes, it's not about the food, but what's going on around the food.  I enjoy getting dressed up to go eat, I enjoy meeting friends to go eat, I enjoy visiting new cities to find new restaurants to go eat, I enjoy leaving work at approximately 11:30 a.m. each day to go eat.  Lots of times while having breakfast, I'm talking about what we're going to do for lunch or dinner.  I like food and all that is associated with it.  Paleo is not as socially friendly.  Today, like a good 1st day diet starter, I packed my lunch.  I don't usually pack my lunch because I like to leave the building for lunch and have social interaction and be served my food.  Now, my husband would love it if I packed my lunch more often because it gets pretty expensive to eat out.  I like to say it's for my mental health.  Anyway, I brought my lunch today with all intentions of eating it.  Then it happened.....I got the invitation go to lunch.  First from Nova.  I explained that I just started my diet and that I should probably eat lunch.  I never flatly tell someone no because I want to give them the opportunity to change my mind.  Stacy said she brought her lunch too to save money so we all agreed to eat at the picnic table.  Lunch solved.  Except then, an hour later, Stacy said she really needed to get out.  She said she didn't want to pressure me and they would go without me.  I think that was a tactic.  I'm social....I can't handle being left out of anything! So, I had to go.  Chicken Ole will have to wait for dinner. 

Even though I did not choose to stay in for lunch, we did choose a responsible place to eat where I could eat a Paleo friendly meal.  We went to Marlows.  I usually have a delightful tavern salad, but I couldn't have the dressing so I setteled for a grilled chicken breast with grilled asparagas.  It came out a little sad looking but wasn't that bad....really. 

 

Right before lunch I got some really good news.  After I ate my normal 4 pieces of sugarfree gum for the morning (the little chicklet things...relax), I realized that I might not be able to have gum! This is a horrifying thought if you know anything about me.  I can chew a pack of gum in a day.  My husband hides his gum from me.  I have to have it like a smoker needs a cigarette.  My first inclination was to let it be my little secret, but I decided to come clean.  I asked the Facebook accountability group if it was allowed.  Kristen said I could because she didn't think it would really change my overall health (I'm sure she didn't realize the extent of my habit).  So, now, I feel like I can successfully complete the challenge.  I came back from my grilled chicken lunch and eagerly popped 2 pieces of gum in my mouth!  Ah.....the little things.

Day 1.....29 to go

Day 1

Oh dear....this is not going to be fun.  I was invited by "friends" to participate in a 30 day Paleo Diet challenge...."it will be fun" they said.  I agreed.  What is the Paleo Diet?  It's the diet of a caveman.  In short, you can eat meat, vegetables, and fruit (fruit in moderation because of the sugar).  No grains, no beans, no dairy (this includes my lifeline...cheese).  Most importantly....NO SUGAR.  Did I say Oh dear already?  Hi, my name is Alexis and I am addicted to sugar (and cheese, and bread, and bready things).  This will be difficult to say the least.  I apologize in advance to those around me during this challenge.  I will more than likely be very irritable.  But...I'm going to do it.  I have friends doing it with me to keep me accountable.  I can do this.  I have eaten the Vegan diet for 6 months with no refined sugar.  30 days I can do.  I will keep telling myself this.

So, how's it going so far?  So far, good.  I'm still living off my binging calories for the past weeks so I'm not to hungry.  Probably didn't have the best breakfast because I woke up late and didn't make the eggs I intended to make.  I had a banana instead.  For snack, I'm having strawberries.  Not bad, but I've eaten 2 meals with the thing I'm supposed to do in moderation....fruit.  Eh.  Better than a biscuit!  Yesterday, I went grocery shopping.  I bought some random stuff to try and make.  I hate cooking, so I fired up the crockpot for some Chicken Ole! (minus the corn and black beans that are supposed to accompany it).  I chopped all my vegetables and fruit and put them in cute little containers.  I even chopped my finger open which is making typing this a little difficult with the huge bandaid. 

At least I'm not working out today.  I'm going to youth group instead.  I can mentally focus on my diet today and then go and pray for strength tonight at church.  I'm going to need it.  At least I'm eating....Jesus fasted for 40 days with nothing!  Again, I can do this.  More to come....I'm sure drama will accompany the future posts.