Yep, I got lazy yesterday and didn't blog. We got home semi-late. We went to the Buford / Gainesville football game with Mom and Dad and Tracy and Matt. It was a good game but definitely an upset with Gainesville beating Buford. I wasn't really tied to either team, but I was kind of glad for Gainesville because they have not beaten Buford in a few years. The game was good, but so was I. I watched the entire game without snacks. There were children everywhere with Skittles. I wanted them, but resisted. I told Mom that what I've found on this "eating plan" is that I'm not often hungry, I just have cravings. What this tells me is that I probably used to eat a lot of junk when I wasn't even hungry. I was mistaking my cravings for hunger. Although I'm not totally enjoying all of this protein, it is definitely filling me up.
This morning, Tracy and I got up early to do our 11 mile training run. For breakfast, I had 2 of the morning glory muffins. Oh! The muffins! I forgot to tell you how they turned out! Well, I find them delicious. It may be that I have nothing of the muffin type for awhile, but I thought they were great. Marcus said they smelled good and maybe they were better if you didn't eat them. Hmmmm. However, he certainly did eat some. We are now out of morning glory muffins. Luckily, I have lots more carrots to grate for another batch. Tracy says I was grating wrong for it to take me that long. I might have to get a lesson or two from her before I attempt batch 2.
Now, back to the run. I can honestly say that it wasn't that bad. I actually felt much better than I did on our 9 mile run a couple of weeks ago. For full disclosure, Tracy and I are doing Jeff Galloway's run/walk method for this race. We are running for 3 minutes and walking 1 minute. At first, we felt like we were cheating. But after comparing how we feel after running long mileage like this and the alternative, we think it's awesome. Just when you want to quit up a hill, the Garmin beeps and tells you it's time to walk. It's so nice. We actually find that we run faster than we normally would when we are running and our bodies feel so much better. We finished and we felt pretty good. So, we planned to meet later to go to lunch and shopping! Now, that's a great reward. We are really shopping for Tracy to get her clothes that fit her new, much skinnier body. Before we shop, we are going to Ted's Montana Grill. 4 words: Green and Hot Burger. A Bison burger with avocado and peppers (sans bun of course). YUMMO. So, with activities planned and little time to focus on food, it should be a good day. I think we will pack snacks to help us resist the mall temptations: pretzels, cookies, yogurt, pizza, Starbucks.
Oh, and today, when I typed the title of this post, I realized that there is only 12 days left. 12! I don't know why, but that sounds so doable. Less than 2 weeks. Now, having said that, during the run today, Tracy and I discussed how to continue this "eating plan" in a sensible way after the 30 days. We both feel it is really important. So, we will continue to limit grains and sugar. I, for one, will be adding beans back to my diet so I don't have to eat meat all the time. I might throw in some brown rice and quinoa. I'm still going to avoid the dairy. However, I plan to have one cheat day per week that I don't have to think about the food that I put in my mouth. I think this will help me be more successful, and well, happier. I'm kind of surprised at how positive I am this morning considering I was back to only losing 3 pounds this morning. I was able to get my Miss Me jeans on yesterday. I haven't been able to comfortable wear those in a long time. That was definitely a win. I'll take it. It's going to be a good day. I can feel it.
Until tomorrow...
Saturday, September 8, 2012
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Day 16...14 to go. Over half-way by a day...
Ah day 16...over half-way through. I wish I could tell you the next 14 days were going to be a breeze, but I know they're not. I'm to the point where everything looks delicious. I went to Kroger today to re-stock and the temptations were everywhere. First of all, it is rude to have to go through the bakery to get to the natural foods section. So that I didn't crack under the pressure, I went to the deli counter and got a quarter pound of Boar's Head turkey. I ate the entire thing as I shopped. Much better than the cookies I usually get at Ingles when I shop.
All day, I just wanted food. I think it was because I didn't start off right. I didn't have my eggs. I only had a Lara bar. That wasn't enough to keep me full. By lunch I was starving. I went to lunch with Mr. Himes, the 2nd best salesman in the world (my dad is clearly the first). Mr. Himes is also working on his diet. Unlike me, he's seen dramatic results on the scales. He's lost 25 pounds. Good for him. On the way to lunch, I told him I just wanted pizza. Instead, we went to one of my favorite restaurants by work, Marlow's Tavern. There was a flat bread special which I think Mr. Himes was interested in, but he said he didn't want to tempt me. So, we both decided on the burger lettuce wrap. It was quite good actually. It would have been better with a little cheddar cheese, but hey, not bad.
The rest of the day I just wanted snacks. Twice, I had a spoon full of cashew butter. I clearly needed something different that would be a treat. I decided to attempt to make the morning glory muffins Tracy shared on Facebook the other day. After she posted the recipe, she asked if I wanted her to make me some. I told her that wouldn't be necessary, that I was becoming quite domestic. Um, I should have let her make them. They were a little more difficult than I thought. First, they called for grated carrots. I looked for already grated carrots at Kroger, but all they had was shredded. So, I bought a ginormous bag of carrots. I wasn't even sure I had something to grate them with. Grating is hard! I think it should count as my exercise for the day. I had to do 2 cups! After about 1/4 cup, I gave up and went to the blender. There was a grate button. Now, I'm not sure why there was a grate button, because its grate was not great. All the carrots kept getting jammed in the blades. I had carrots everywhere. Also, after my manual grating, I noticed that carrot juice may be my new natural self-tanning formula. My whole hand was was a nice yellow-orange color. My next challenge was coconut oil. I think oil is a loose term when it comes to the coconut kind. It's solid. Now, the recipe said to "wisk" the eggs and the oil. I tried. The solidness did not allow for much wisking. Also, I got some of this "oil" on my hand. Please note, although coconut oil looks and smells like coconut sorbet, it tastes nothing like it. Once I figured out that I could not wisk the solid out of the oil, I decided to do what anyone would do and microwaved it to make it melt. What I didn't think about was the eggs that were mixed with the oil. After the microwave, the oil was liquid and the eggs were solid....scrambled. Ugh!! I had to throw that batch out and start over (just the oil and eggs, not the carrots thank God!) Seriously, next time, Tracy will have to make these for me. I am really not capable no matter how hard I try. I finally got them in the oven and I'm currently waiting for them to be done. They smell delicious. I'll let you know how they turn out.
Tonight, before the muffin fiasco, I went rollerblading and running with Kristina. This time, we skipped football practice and went to Gainesville College. We stuck to an empty parking lot. While we were a little better this time, the rough pavement took Kristina down once. She fell like a champ though. Earlier this week, I watched videos on YouTube on how to stop on roller blades. Apparently, you're supposed to drag a skate while it's perpendicular to the front skate. Nope, that's not happening. I just slowed to a stop instead. After skating, we ran. Kristina has decided that she is going to do the Couch to 5K program and train for a race in December. I am so proud of her. She's been doing South Beach and she is doing well. Tonight was her 2nd run of the program. She did great. I can't wait to watch her progress. I told her that Tracy and I started running with that plan. I told her that we were not able to run 3 minutes at a time and on Saturday, we will be running 11 miles for training for our 2nd marathon. It's truly amazing what you are capable of once you get your mind out of the way. Sometimes, people think the activities I do are extreme, but God gave us amazing bodies and I believe he wanted us to use them to their utmost ability. I feel like I can truly appreciate what a miracle the body and all its systems are after it makes it through some of the stuff I put it through. I love seeing others push themselves past their comfort zone and surprising themselves. I think it is the most gratifying experience. So, how are you going to push yourself today?
Until tomorrow....
All day, I just wanted food. I think it was because I didn't start off right. I didn't have my eggs. I only had a Lara bar. That wasn't enough to keep me full. By lunch I was starving. I went to lunch with Mr. Himes, the 2nd best salesman in the world (my dad is clearly the first). Mr. Himes is also working on his diet. Unlike me, he's seen dramatic results on the scales. He's lost 25 pounds. Good for him. On the way to lunch, I told him I just wanted pizza. Instead, we went to one of my favorite restaurants by work, Marlow's Tavern. There was a flat bread special which I think Mr. Himes was interested in, but he said he didn't want to tempt me. So, we both decided on the burger lettuce wrap. It was quite good actually. It would have been better with a little cheddar cheese, but hey, not bad.
The rest of the day I just wanted snacks. Twice, I had a spoon full of cashew butter. I clearly needed something different that would be a treat. I decided to attempt to make the morning glory muffins Tracy shared on Facebook the other day. After she posted the recipe, she asked if I wanted her to make me some. I told her that wouldn't be necessary, that I was becoming quite domestic. Um, I should have let her make them. They were a little more difficult than I thought. First, they called for grated carrots. I looked for already grated carrots at Kroger, but all they had was shredded. So, I bought a ginormous bag of carrots. I wasn't even sure I had something to grate them with. Grating is hard! I think it should count as my exercise for the day. I had to do 2 cups! After about 1/4 cup, I gave up and went to the blender. There was a grate button. Now, I'm not sure why there was a grate button, because its grate was not great. All the carrots kept getting jammed in the blades. I had carrots everywhere. Also, after my manual grating, I noticed that carrot juice may be my new natural self-tanning formula. My whole hand was was a nice yellow-orange color. My next challenge was coconut oil. I think oil is a loose term when it comes to the coconut kind. It's solid. Now, the recipe said to "wisk" the eggs and the oil. I tried. The solidness did not allow for much wisking. Also, I got some of this "oil" on my hand. Please note, although coconut oil looks and smells like coconut sorbet, it tastes nothing like it. Once I figured out that I could not wisk the solid out of the oil, I decided to do what anyone would do and microwaved it to make it melt. What I didn't think about was the eggs that were mixed with the oil. After the microwave, the oil was liquid and the eggs were solid....scrambled. Ugh!! I had to throw that batch out and start over (just the oil and eggs, not the carrots thank God!) Seriously, next time, Tracy will have to make these for me. I am really not capable no matter how hard I try. I finally got them in the oven and I'm currently waiting for them to be done. They smell delicious. I'll let you know how they turn out.
Tonight, before the muffin fiasco, I went rollerblading and running with Kristina. This time, we skipped football practice and went to Gainesville College. We stuck to an empty parking lot. While we were a little better this time, the rough pavement took Kristina down once. She fell like a champ though. Earlier this week, I watched videos on YouTube on how to stop on roller blades. Apparently, you're supposed to drag a skate while it's perpendicular to the front skate. Nope, that's not happening. I just slowed to a stop instead. After skating, we ran. Kristina has decided that she is going to do the Couch to 5K program and train for a race in December. I am so proud of her. She's been doing South Beach and she is doing well. Tonight was her 2nd run of the program. She did great. I can't wait to watch her progress. I told her that Tracy and I started running with that plan. I told her that we were not able to run 3 minutes at a time and on Saturday, we will be running 11 miles for training for our 2nd marathon. It's truly amazing what you are capable of once you get your mind out of the way. Sometimes, people think the activities I do are extreme, but God gave us amazing bodies and I believe he wanted us to use them to their utmost ability. I feel like I can truly appreciate what a miracle the body and all its systems are after it makes it through some of the stuff I put it through. I love seeing others push themselves past their comfort zone and surprising themselves. I think it is the most gratifying experience. So, how are you going to push yourself today?
Until tomorrow....
Day 15...15 to go
The half way point. It's definitely a milestone, but you know what you have left. In the words of my favorite Buns of Steel videos, "one more like that!" This has not been completely horrible, it really hasn't. I haven't had any uncontrollable cravings. I think the secret is not giving into them. I think, for me at least, going cold turkey is the best policy. The night I had a bite of Marcus's dessert it hit all kinds of triggers in my brain. I NEEDED something else. If I don't have it, I can resist it. I really wish I could get to the point of moderation. Life would be much more enjoyable, but right now I'm still not strong enough.
Having said all that, I'm still quite annoyed with the lack of weight loss. I feel like I've been eating extreme. No sugar, no carbs (except fruit), no alcohol, and still no remarkable weight loss. I keep teetering around the same numbers. My clothes are a little looser. I would just like to see the scale change. I really thought this was going to be transforming to my body. I know I have 15 days to go, but so far I'm not impressed. I will stick with it because I don't like to quit, but I'm not happy about it.
Sorry for the short post....I'm just not feeling very motivated today.
Until tomorrow...
Having said all that, I'm still quite annoyed with the lack of weight loss. I feel like I've been eating extreme. No sugar, no carbs (except fruit), no alcohol, and still no remarkable weight loss. I keep teetering around the same numbers. My clothes are a little looser. I would just like to see the scale change. I really thought this was going to be transforming to my body. I know I have 15 days to go, but so far I'm not impressed. I will stick with it because I don't like to quit, but I'm not happy about it.
Sorry for the short post....I'm just not feeling very motivated today.
Until tomorrow...
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Day 14...16 to go
Up 0.1 lbs! Ugh! It's ok. I'm ok. I'm not going to let it get me down. Really. I'll wait to freak out tomorrow if I gain more. I think I would be totally fine if I didn't lose weight everyday, it's the gaining that is really getting me. Somebody else told me today that it was because I was replacing muscle with fat. You know...muscle weighs more than fat. I'm seriously considering going to do the dunk trunk (body composition testing) just to see how much muscle and how much fat I'm dealing with. I'm really kicking myself for not doing it before the diet to see where I started. Currently, I'm feeling very muscle-y. I just got back from CrossFit and it was a tough workout. It was called Barbara. 5 rounds of 20 pull-ups, 30 push-ups, 40 sit-ups, and 50 squats. When I got done, I was sure that I would be able to see the cuts in my triceps and shoulders. Nope. Apparently, it's not that quick. I do feel stronger. I'll give you that. I can't wait until I can start seeing some of my strength.
After CrossFit, I literally forced myself to go run 3 miles. I almost bailed on myself. Tracy and I are doing a completely idiotic race in early January. It's the Disney Goofy Challenge. It's a half marathon on Saturday followed by a full marathon on Sunday. It's worse than goofy...it's stupid. It's going to be painful and we are paying to have pain inflicted on us. We did the marathon last year and I swore I'd never run another one. This is completely Tracy's idea. I just couldn't let her do it alone. I am a little competitive and I don't need her getting one up on me. So, clearly, I had to sign up. We are already training for it. Every time we tell our husbands we are already training, they say "It's not until January!" I'm pretty sure neither one of them has ever ran 39.3 miles. Anyway, our plan is pretty manageable as long as we just do what we are supposed to. You don't have to quit your job to train. All you have to do is run twice a week for 30-45 minutes and then do your long mileage on the weekends. Some weekends have longer miles 2 consecutive days to get your body used to it. Last year, I severely underestimated the short runs during the week. I would easily blow them off because they were only 30 minutes. I mean, how much could 30 minutes really help you? A lot apparently. Tonight I was scheduled to do a 30-45 minute run. I had already decided that I was going to do it after CrossFit. After "Barbara" I didn't really feel like running. I almost talked myself out of it. But in the end, I said "suck it up!". I did it. It was a very slow pace because my legs were slightly seized from the 250 squats...ok, I'm always slow, squats or not, but that's beside the point. The point is I did it.
The run was the 2nd success of my day. The 1st came at the company lunch this afternoon. Saint Weaver catered Jim & Nicks barbecue. I was pretty excited about the choice because I love their meat. I knew there would be some delicious mac and cheese, so I came prepared with my own sweet potato as my side. On either side of me were people eating the famous Jim & Nick's cheese biscuits. If you've never had these little bits of heaven, they are tiny little muffin like forms that are warm and filled with cheese. They are even a little sweet. Bread, cheese, and sugar....my food trifecta. You don't get better than that. I watched as my neighbors savored each morsel. I stayed strong. Then came the chocolate cake and the lemon pie. For the love of Pete Ms. Weaver!! First cake day, now catered catastrophe! The worse part was when I was helping clean up afterwards. I actually had to wipe down the dessert table where I had to brush the crumbs from the table into my hand. I literally had a weak moment where I thought about eating the pieces of chocolate icing that I had in my hand from the table. Sick, I know. I stayed strong. I remembered what PJ posted on Facebook the other day - "Last night, I was stronger than a brownie". This helped me stay strong. I am stronger than the food I love. I am. And, I am getting stronger everyday.
Until tomorrow...
After CrossFit, I literally forced myself to go run 3 miles. I almost bailed on myself. Tracy and I are doing a completely idiotic race in early January. It's the Disney Goofy Challenge. It's a half marathon on Saturday followed by a full marathon on Sunday. It's worse than goofy...it's stupid. It's going to be painful and we are paying to have pain inflicted on us. We did the marathon last year and I swore I'd never run another one. This is completely Tracy's idea. I just couldn't let her do it alone. I am a little competitive and I don't need her getting one up on me. So, clearly, I had to sign up. We are already training for it. Every time we tell our husbands we are already training, they say "It's not until January!" I'm pretty sure neither one of them has ever ran 39.3 miles. Anyway, our plan is pretty manageable as long as we just do what we are supposed to. You don't have to quit your job to train. All you have to do is run twice a week for 30-45 minutes and then do your long mileage on the weekends. Some weekends have longer miles 2 consecutive days to get your body used to it. Last year, I severely underestimated the short runs during the week. I would easily blow them off because they were only 30 minutes. I mean, how much could 30 minutes really help you? A lot apparently. Tonight I was scheduled to do a 30-45 minute run. I had already decided that I was going to do it after CrossFit. After "Barbara" I didn't really feel like running. I almost talked myself out of it. But in the end, I said "suck it up!". I did it. It was a very slow pace because my legs were slightly seized from the 250 squats...ok, I'm always slow, squats or not, but that's beside the point. The point is I did it.
The run was the 2nd success of my day. The 1st came at the company lunch this afternoon. Saint Weaver catered Jim & Nicks barbecue. I was pretty excited about the choice because I love their meat. I knew there would be some delicious mac and cheese, so I came prepared with my own sweet potato as my side. On either side of me were people eating the famous Jim & Nick's cheese biscuits. If you've never had these little bits of heaven, they are tiny little muffin like forms that are warm and filled with cheese. They are even a little sweet. Bread, cheese, and sugar....my food trifecta. You don't get better than that. I watched as my neighbors savored each morsel. I stayed strong. Then came the chocolate cake and the lemon pie. For the love of Pete Ms. Weaver!! First cake day, now catered catastrophe! The worse part was when I was helping clean up afterwards. I actually had to wipe down the dessert table where I had to brush the crumbs from the table into my hand. I literally had a weak moment where I thought about eating the pieces of chocolate icing that I had in my hand from the table. Sick, I know. I stayed strong. I remembered what PJ posted on Facebook the other day - "Last night, I was stronger than a brownie". This helped me stay strong. I am stronger than the food I love. I am. And, I am getting stronger everyday.
Until tomorrow...
Monday, September 3, 2012
Day 13...17 to go
So as you already to know from earlier, I started the day out a little better today....down 1.5 lbs! Yea! Total 4.6. Re-motivated a little. A good thing because today was going to be challenging. A holiday with no real plans. A lot of time to think about food. I decided it would be best to sleep in, you know, have less hours to eat or think about eating. Tanner kind of messed that plan up by barging in my room and jumping on my bed and then directly on my chest. So, I reluctantly got up. I wasn't quite feeling eggs so I went to my new favorite treat, the Paleo smoothie. I laid around until lunch and decided on bacon and eggs. I finally decided I should go do something active so mom and I took Chester and Tanner to Chicopee to walk. You could cut the air with a knife it was so thick. We had to turn around when I noticed Chester and Tanner's tongues were hanging sideways out of their mouths.
When I got back I had another Paleo smoothie for snack :-) Then, we got ready to head over to Mom and Dad's for a Labor Day barbecue. Mom said she would have cavemen friendly food. Score. Dinner was good. I had some chicken, some Italian sausage, grilled okra, and grilled eggplant. I did pretty good. I wasn't craving dessert too bad. After dinner, Marcus went and got his phone and realized that he forgot that he planned to meet some people for dinner at Napoli's. He said that we needed to go. We already ate, but we would go hang out. Great. Napoli's. If you're not familiar, Napoli's is a fantastic pizza/Italian restaurant in Flowery Branch and Oakwood. Even though I had already eaten, I could imagine myself indulging in one of their pizza's or calzones. I could drink their marinara sauce. Yes, it's a great idea to go to Napoli's in my state. I told Marcus it was like taking a crack addict to a rave (or wherever people do crack...I'm not quite sure). So, we went. I guess this was God's way of testing my earlier sentiments about no one being able to force food down your throat.
When we got there I sat next to Betty. A few minutes later, her and Nate's pizza arrived. God strategically sat it directly in front of me. I even served Nate and Betty their first slice. Complete torture. Then, to top it off, Shaun's boys ordered cheese sticks. Those were in arms reach of me. They didn't finish them so 3 delicious little fried mozzarella pieces of heaven sat there staring at me the rest the night. I resisted. I splurged on a diet coke to get me through followed by several glasses of water. Then Betty ordered coconut sorbet for dessert. When she ordered it, I didn't even flinch because I really don't like coconut that much. When it arrived, it was all I could think about. The worst part was that I didn't even have any gum. I apologize now to Betty and Gretchen if there were times I totally blanked in conversation because the cheese stick voices were talking to me. Luckily, I escaped unscathed. We got home and I immediately went to the cabinet to get a Lara bar. Not at all like pizza or cheese sticks, but something good...sort of. What a nightmare. The good news is that I made it. I did it without caving in. It's not something I would like to put myself through on a regular basis, but now I know I can do it. I can be social even without food. A breakthrough of sorts perhaps. We'll take it as that at least. Now to bed before I have any more cravings.
Until tomorrow....
When I got back I had another Paleo smoothie for snack :-) Then, we got ready to head over to Mom and Dad's for a Labor Day barbecue. Mom said she would have cavemen friendly food. Score. Dinner was good. I had some chicken, some Italian sausage, grilled okra, and grilled eggplant. I did pretty good. I wasn't craving dessert too bad. After dinner, Marcus went and got his phone and realized that he forgot that he planned to meet some people for dinner at Napoli's. He said that we needed to go. We already ate, but we would go hang out. Great. Napoli's. If you're not familiar, Napoli's is a fantastic pizza/Italian restaurant in Flowery Branch and Oakwood. Even though I had already eaten, I could imagine myself indulging in one of their pizza's or calzones. I could drink their marinara sauce. Yes, it's a great idea to go to Napoli's in my state. I told Marcus it was like taking a crack addict to a rave (or wherever people do crack...I'm not quite sure). So, we went. I guess this was God's way of testing my earlier sentiments about no one being able to force food down your throat.
When we got there I sat next to Betty. A few minutes later, her and Nate's pizza arrived. God strategically sat it directly in front of me. I even served Nate and Betty their first slice. Complete torture. Then, to top it off, Shaun's boys ordered cheese sticks. Those were in arms reach of me. They didn't finish them so 3 delicious little fried mozzarella pieces of heaven sat there staring at me the rest the night. I resisted. I splurged on a diet coke to get me through followed by several glasses of water. Then Betty ordered coconut sorbet for dessert. When she ordered it, I didn't even flinch because I really don't like coconut that much. When it arrived, it was all I could think about. The worst part was that I didn't even have any gum. I apologize now to Betty and Gretchen if there were times I totally blanked in conversation because the cheese stick voices were talking to me. Luckily, I escaped unscathed. We got home and I immediately went to the cabinet to get a Lara bar. Not at all like pizza or cheese sticks, but something good...sort of. What a nightmare. The good news is that I made it. I did it without caving in. It's not something I would like to put myself through on a regular basis, but now I know I can do it. I can be social even without food. A breakthrough of sorts perhaps. We'll take it as that at least. Now to bed before I have any more cravings.
Until tomorrow....
Day 12...18 to go
Yesterday was a good day. I woke up and weighed myself and I was down another 0.6 lbs...not substantial, but a decrease nonetheless. I was happy. After a couple bad days of increases, I think I've talked myself into the idea that possibly the first few days I lost a lot of water weight. I mean, the week before the Paleo plan began, I ate like crap. From nachos to Chick-fil-A milkshakes, there was a lot of bad stuff in my body. The first few days of the diet were probably a shock to my body. Then I think my body regulated to the plan; hence, the gained pounds. Now, I'm thinking my body is actually losing real fat...I hope. There is nothing scientific about this and I didn't read somewhere that this could happen. I'm totally making it up, but it sounds reasonable and I'm going to go with it. Now, if I begin to gain again, I'll have to review my hypothesis. For now, it works.
After weigh-in, I laced up my shoes and went to meet Wendy for a 3 mile run. We were both pretty dead from our bike rides yesterday. Our legs were shot. Within 5 minutes of the run, my legs felt like cement blocks. We finished, but it wasn't pretty. I keep telling myself that I really need to stretch and use the foam roller to loosen up my legs. So far, I've rolled out once and that was because we got extra credit points in the Paleo challenge for static stretching one day. I really need to do it more.
After the run, Marcus and I had some breakfast and headed to church. For lunch, we had Moonies! Another plug for this little Flowery Branch establishment. All of their meats are so good. They are all slow smoked. Marcus had the turkey and it was phenomenal. I had the brisket again. It was good, but I kind of wished I had gotten the turkey this time. I went away from water and indulged in a Coke Zero. OMG. The little things. That Coke tasted so good. I can't even explain it. Because I've virtually cut all sugar out of my diet (except for natural sugars found in fruit), everything tastes so much sweeter and satisfying. It's amazing. I don't think I'm supposed to have Coke Zero or Diet Coke very often because of the fake sugars, but today, it was delicious. Another quick food plug is for freeze dried fruit. I found it at Fresh Market and the brand is Crispy Green. The only ingredient is the fruit itself. Nothing else. You would never believe that if you tasted it. They have all different kinds of fruit - bananas, mangoes, apples, pears, strawberries, plums. They are delicious. My favorite is the bananas. For whatever reason, the freeze drying must really bring out the natural sugar. They are so sweet and delicious. Bryan, Wendy's husband likened the texture to Lucky Charms marshmallows - a little crunchy and sweet. They are not cheap, but they are so worth it!
After lunch, Marcus, myself, Bryan & Wendy went to Lake Lanier Islands to rent paddle boards. Wendy and I were going to count this activity as a new outdoor activity for 10 points in the challenge! The trouble with being on the lake on a holiday weekend is that everyone is hanging out and having a good time. Margaritas seem like they are in order. Unfortunately, we haven't found any caveman margarita recipes, so we stuck to our water bottles. Other than a couple of falls, we had a great time on the boards. My legs were even sore while doing this. It's really a total body workout to balance and paddle. Wendy and I attempted a little yoga and some push-ups on the board. I think we have some work to do on our balance. We are going to try and get a small group together to have a private yoga class on the boards. We think it will be fun and funny at the same time.
We finished off the day with an early dinner at Coastal Breeze. I still couldn't get up the nerve to order fish so I went my normal filet mignon. I'm finding that I really like red meat....probably not a good thing, but definitely caveman-ish. So, all in all, not a bad day. I will say that I really wanted frozen yogurt or cookies later in the evening but I managed to resist. It's mind over matter. You just tell yourself you can't have it and there are no options. It's not fun, but it can be done. I heard a hypnotist on the radio one day that was telling a story about working with a client who wanted to lose weight and stop eating bad foods. The hypnotist said before he even started the hypnotherapy, he asked the client if people were forcing him to eat all this bad food. The client said no. Then the hypnotist said, oh, so you have to eat this food for religious reasons. The client said no. The hypnotist said, oh, so someone is shoving this food in your mouth. They client said no. Then the hypnotist said he didn't think hypnotherapy was necessary. This is so simple but true. The only person who controls what I put in my mouth to eat is me. Sometimes it feels like the craving is so strong that there is a magnetic pull into my mouth but that's not true. It really is mind over matter. The question is, how strong is your mind? I know my mind is not as strong when it's just me. That's why it was necessary for me to join this Paleo challenge. I needed accountability (and a little competition) to get me through it. Even blogging each day helps me. I can put into words what I feel each day. I also know that it is my responsibility to be completely honest in this blog and I definitely don't want to tell everyone that I failed miserably and ate and entire cookie cake and I still have icing in my hair. With 18 days to go, I'm not done yet, but I feel much stronger mentally than I did when I started. Thanks for being part of my accountability group.
Until later....
(Sneak peak for day 13....I weighed this morning and I was down another 1.5 lbs; total 4.6 lbs. So far, hypothesis still holding true)
After weigh-in, I laced up my shoes and went to meet Wendy for a 3 mile run. We were both pretty dead from our bike rides yesterday. Our legs were shot. Within 5 minutes of the run, my legs felt like cement blocks. We finished, but it wasn't pretty. I keep telling myself that I really need to stretch and use the foam roller to loosen up my legs. So far, I've rolled out once and that was because we got extra credit points in the Paleo challenge for static stretching one day. I really need to do it more.
After the run, Marcus and I had some breakfast and headed to church. For lunch, we had Moonies! Another plug for this little Flowery Branch establishment. All of their meats are so good. They are all slow smoked. Marcus had the turkey and it was phenomenal. I had the brisket again. It was good, but I kind of wished I had gotten the turkey this time. I went away from water and indulged in a Coke Zero. OMG. The little things. That Coke tasted so good. I can't even explain it. Because I've virtually cut all sugar out of my diet (except for natural sugars found in fruit), everything tastes so much sweeter and satisfying. It's amazing. I don't think I'm supposed to have Coke Zero or Diet Coke very often because of the fake sugars, but today, it was delicious. Another quick food plug is for freeze dried fruit. I found it at Fresh Market and the brand is Crispy Green. The only ingredient is the fruit itself. Nothing else. You would never believe that if you tasted it. They have all different kinds of fruit - bananas, mangoes, apples, pears, strawberries, plums. They are delicious. My favorite is the bananas. For whatever reason, the freeze drying must really bring out the natural sugar. They are so sweet and delicious. Bryan, Wendy's husband likened the texture to Lucky Charms marshmallows - a little crunchy and sweet. They are not cheap, but they are so worth it!
After lunch, Marcus, myself, Bryan & Wendy went to Lake Lanier Islands to rent paddle boards. Wendy and I were going to count this activity as a new outdoor activity for 10 points in the challenge! The trouble with being on the lake on a holiday weekend is that everyone is hanging out and having a good time. Margaritas seem like they are in order. Unfortunately, we haven't found any caveman margarita recipes, so we stuck to our water bottles. Other than a couple of falls, we had a great time on the boards. My legs were even sore while doing this. It's really a total body workout to balance and paddle. Wendy and I attempted a little yoga and some push-ups on the board. I think we have some work to do on our balance. We are going to try and get a small group together to have a private yoga class on the boards. We think it will be fun and funny at the same time.
We finished off the day with an early dinner at Coastal Breeze. I still couldn't get up the nerve to order fish so I went my normal filet mignon. I'm finding that I really like red meat....probably not a good thing, but definitely caveman-ish. So, all in all, not a bad day. I will say that I really wanted frozen yogurt or cookies later in the evening but I managed to resist. It's mind over matter. You just tell yourself you can't have it and there are no options. It's not fun, but it can be done. I heard a hypnotist on the radio one day that was telling a story about working with a client who wanted to lose weight and stop eating bad foods. The hypnotist said before he even started the hypnotherapy, he asked the client if people were forcing him to eat all this bad food. The client said no. Then the hypnotist said, oh, so you have to eat this food for religious reasons. The client said no. The hypnotist said, oh, so someone is shoving this food in your mouth. They client said no. Then the hypnotist said he didn't think hypnotherapy was necessary. This is so simple but true. The only person who controls what I put in my mouth to eat is me. Sometimes it feels like the craving is so strong that there is a magnetic pull into my mouth but that's not true. It really is mind over matter. The question is, how strong is your mind? I know my mind is not as strong when it's just me. That's why it was necessary for me to join this Paleo challenge. I needed accountability (and a little competition) to get me through it. Even blogging each day helps me. I can put into words what I feel each day. I also know that it is my responsibility to be completely honest in this blog and I definitely don't want to tell everyone that I failed miserably and ate and entire cookie cake and I still have icing in my hair. With 18 days to go, I'm not done yet, but I feel much stronger mentally than I did when I started. Thanks for being part of my accountability group.
Until later....
(Sneak peak for day 13....I weighed this morning and I was down another 1.5 lbs; total 4.6 lbs. So far, hypothesis still holding true)
Saturday, September 1, 2012
Days 10 & 11...19 to go
After the morning, I was not very motivated which is not a good thing for cake day. I needed to be at my best to avoid the cake. I should have had a good breakfast but I was so mad at the diet I refused to make eggs. I just had a banana. A little later I had some almonds. I did not pack my lunch so Nova and I planned to go out. I had absolutely no desire for anything on the diet. We went to Old Town Tavern. I ordered a grilled chicken salad with oil and vinegar. Nova had a personal pizza. She did ask if that was going to bother me before she ordered. Nova's pizza came out smelling all delicious and my bland salad came out, well, bland. I took one bite of the chicken and gagged. Ok, it really wasn't that bad, but it tasted like old chicken. I'm so sensitive to my meat these days that I can tell when something is not fresh. In the least high maintenance voice, I told the waitress I didn't think the chicken was fresh. She apologized and asked if I wanted another or if I wanted something else. I couldn't find anything else that I wanted so I settled for a hamburger with no bun and the vegetable medley. The waitress came back later to let me know that the cook said the chicken was cooked that morning so he didn't know why it wasn't fresh...um...because it was cooked that morning....not fresh to order. Ok, sorry, that did sound extremely high maintenance.
After lunch, I returned to my desk to find an email from Saint Weaver. The cake was served. Oh dear. Yellow cake...oh dear...with lemon filling and lemon icing. Ok, so not my total favorite, but a very good end-of-summer choice nonetheless. I really wanted some, especially since I was feeling bitter from my current weight situation (oh, yea, that makes sense...I'm mad that I weigh too much so I really want cake...just confessions of an addict). I wasn't going to get any cake, but I wanted to go look at the cake, you know torture myself. Ms. Weaver found me just in time....she saved me from disaster.
After work, I went up to my parents' house to kayak for Kristy, Tracy, and Mike to do an open water swim. I didn't feel like swimming (still bitter). While we were chatting before the swim, I asked Tracy how much weight she'd lost so far. She looked ashamed...like she didn't want to tell me. I know she didn't want to hurt my feelings. "Thirteen pounds" she said sheepishly. Then I asked Kristy how much weight she'd lost (she's doing South Beach), "Eight pounds" she said. My head started to spin. What in the world?!? Now, it would seem that I'm not happy for my friends' success, but that is the farthest thing from the truth. I am so proud of them and happy for them; I am just insanely JEALOUS and bitter that I have only lost 1.4 pounds. They could tell by my face I was very frustrated, so the did what every friend would do and tried to make me feel better by lying to me. Tracy said that it was because I didn't have that much to lose (lies!); Kristy said it was because I was doing CrossFit and I was gaining muscle (lies); then Tracy thought it might be from my Boar's Head turkey that might have sugar in it (checked, it doesn't). I was just waiting for them to tell me I was big boned (biggest lie people tell others who are larger than them). I told them it was ok, that they didn't need to try and find an excuse for my anti-success. I am currently ahead in the Facebook points race; however, let it be known that I will not accept any winnings for points if I do not look any different.
I was so bummed from the day's events that when I got home, I didn't really want to eat and couldn't even blog. I didn't want to be a complete negative Nancy. Marcus came in from cutting the grass and asked what was for dinner. I just shrugged. He said he kind of wanted eggs. Oh! That's a great idea! I haven't had those in so long. Sounds wonderful dear. So, he brought me 2 scrambled eggs which I eeked down. Then I went to bed.
This morning started out better. I did weigh myself (I know I'm not supposed to but I'm OCD) and I was one pound lighter than the day before making my total loss 2.4 pounds. Not great, but improvement. After weigh-in, I got ready to go meet Kristy and Brandon for quick 57 mile ride in the mountains. Since I had eggs for dinner, I decided to have something different. I made my own Paleo smoothie. I threw in almond milk, almond butter, a banana, unsweetened cocoa, and some ice in the blender. Delightful, I must say. I then had to pack my snacks for the ride. The thing that stinks about long endurance rides and/or runs and Paleo is that you really can't have any of the quick energy nutrition staples that you really need. I had to get creative. I packed individual packets of almond better, freeze dried fruit, and a Lara bar. I had to make sure I had proper nutrition to get through the mileage and the climbing. The ride was difficult to say the least. My legs bonked sooner than normal. It was a struggle. I did feel that I had enough to eat but I could just hear my quads crying for carbs. Kristy was in a similar boat with South Beach. Brandon was very patient with my lethargic pace and we finished in just under 6 hours. For those of you that don't cycle, that's a long time for a 57 mile ride; granted, most of it was in the mountains, but still. That was slow. Thanks to Brandon and Kristy for waiting for me.
After the ride, I was more than tired and extremely hungry. I had chicken fajitas and guacamole for lunch. That was delicious. Then I took a nice long nap during the Georgia game. Marcus woke me up at 4:30 to get ready for dinner. He had made reservations at a restaurant he wasn't going to tell me the name of in Atlanta. He said he checked out the menu and there were things for me to eat in my caveman state. On the way to the restaurant he says "If you were going to cheat, I would do it tonight." Great. Not only do I have to have deal with my own evil thoughts, I have to overcome taunting from my husband. I told him I wasn't cheating until it was over. He said, "ok, but just so you know, they have a pastry chef on staff". Fabulous. Why don't we just take an alcoholic to a bar. We got to the restaurant which turned out to be Kevin Rathbun's Steak (http://kevinrathbunsteak.com/menu.html). He was a customer of Marcus's and he also beat Bobby Flay in Iron Chef. This couldn't be bad. The waitress brought our menus along with a wine list. I thought about having a glass of wine, but I declined. I quickly found the filet on the dinner menu and tried not to look at anything else. Marcus asked if I saw the grilled cheese with tomato soup appetizer. I told him I didn't, but thankfully, the image is now permanently imprinted in my brain. Marcus decided on a fried oyster appetizer and seared Ahi tuna for an entree. He was getting the tuna so I could try some. I usually don't eat anything that swims (texture and smell issue that goes way back), but I told him I would try some things while on this diet. First the oysters came out. They actually smelled delicious...either because they were fried or because they were served on a pancake (mmmm.....pancakes). The waitress also brought us some bread in the cutest little basket. It looked amazing. Marcus confirmed it was amazing and ate it in front of me.
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| Cute little bread box with tiny assorted breads |
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| "ooohh....this is delicious honey" |
Until tomorrow....
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