Day 8

Success in avoiding drinking a gluten-filled beer!  ;)

As I mentioned yesterday, after class this evening a bunch of my classmates went out to Yard House at LA Live to have dinner and drinks.  My plan was to stick to gluten-free beers, and I did! I was really tempted to order a regular beer, when it seemed like they were having problems finding the gluten-free "Omission" beer that I ordered.  I also had a Woodchuck Hard Cider, which is gluten-free, but actually contains quite a bit of sugar.  :/   So basically I shouldn't have drank that either.  Oh well.  I'm not perfect!  I did take a sip of two beers that my classmates had, but just a sip!  

By the time we were seated, I was starving!!  I hadn't eaten much today.  Had a late class, so breakfast was some gluten-free granola from Trader Joe's, then for lunch I had tuna salad and pepper and cucumber slices, and a banana.  So at Yard House, for dinner I ordered the sweet potato fries as an appetizer, which in a lot of restaurants usually come with added sugar, but these tasted very bland, which was a good thing I guess.  Then I got a turkey cobb salad.  When I got home I was really craving something sweet, so had a serving of the chocolate covered bananas.  As I was brushing my teeth tonight, I realized that I should not be eating these, because the chocolate is most likely milk chocolate, which is definitely not paleo.  I'm really trying to avoid sugar more than I'm trying to avoid gluten.  lol  However, really dark chocolate, like over 75% is acceptable and a lot of paleo/primal people do consume dark chocolate on occasion. 

Bedtime.  Shooting for a 10 mile run tomorrow!  Will be my longest run before the half-marathon, which is a little more than 3 weeks away now!!

Day 7- ONE week down!

One week is complete!  Time has really been flying by.  I love it!  My 2nd semester of DPT school ends in 2 weeks.  Crazy. Seems like we just started the semester.

So pretty typical paleo eating day for me again, today.  Breakfast was 4 eggs with deli turkey, and half an avocado.  Had coffee from school, but this time didn't put as much half and half in it.  We had another exam today, so decided to wait to eat lunch until I was done, which wasn't until 2:45.  (Breakfast was at 7am)  The great thing about paleo is that eating so much fat and protein keeps you full longer!

After my exam I stayed on campus the rest of the day.  Played pool for a little bit, then went to the library to work on a paper.  Although I wasn't really hungry, I was bored, so I went to the bookstore to get a snack.  I settled on cashews again, and a Diet Cherry Dr. Pepper.  Diet soda is BAD!!  Full of chemicals.  I really wanted to get a Sugar-Free Monster Energy Drink, but those are just as bad and more expensive.

Came home around 9:30 to have a later dinner: shredded pork and asparagus, then half a serving of chocolate covered bananas.

Overall it was a good day.  I like going to school.  LOL My classmates are so funny and fun to be around.  One of them asked me if I had lost weight, which is always a great thing to be asked!  I'm going to weigh myself again Friday morning.  Although I know inches lost matter more, it would be awesome to see the number on the scale a little lower!

Tomorrow after class we are going out to the Yard House for dinner and drinks, to meet a former classmate and celebrate her birthday and a few other classmates'.  Yard House has a HUGE selection of beers, so it's going to be very hard to resist drinking from their beer selection.  I've already made the decision to stick to a gluten-free option, even if it has to be cider.  :/

Do you know what I'm not good at?  I'm not good at properly beginning a blog post, nor ending one.  LOL

So..... see ya!

T

p.s.  I've attached a picture of one of the campus squirrels!  ;)   (I love squirrels)

Day 6

Good day today.  Had my usual breakfast of eggs and deli turkey, then a coffee at school.  I'm noticing that my coffee has quite a lot of carbs in it due to the Truvia and creamer that I put in it.  I really wish I could drink it black.  May have to start weening myself off the creamer.  :(

Didn't eat lunch today because I wasn't hungry during our break, then we had an exam, so after the exam I bought some cashews and ate those while leaving school.  When I got home I went for a 5 mile run to the beach.  It was a sunny day, but pretty windy.    

For dinner I had shredded pork and a salad:  romaine, grape tomatoes, parmesan, 1/2 avocado, olive oil vinaigrette, 2 slices bacon.  Then I had my new favorite dessert again: banana with honey drizzle and cinnamon.  I will only allow myself to have this on days that I exercise!

I'm kind of craving a beer (I have ONE gluten-free beer left in my refrigerator:  Dogfish Head Tweason Ale), but I will resist.  I am headed to bed with my notes to do some studying!

Cya...

Day 5- I broke a new weight-loss barrier!

Decided to skip breakfast today due to lack of time to cook this morning.  Just had a banana and a coffee at school instead. I only had one class today, then ate lunch at school.  Had about 1 1/2 cups of my homemade tuna salad- tuna, mayo, celery and mustard.  I also brought veggies with walnut red pepper dip, but the vegetables were from last week packaged in a baggie and were somewhat slimy, so I chose to throw them away.  When I got home, I did some strength training exercises just to get back into the swing of it.  I didn't end up eating until about 5:30.  I had my shredded pork and asparagus, then half of a grapefruit.

One thing that I do to satisfy sugar cravings is chew gum.  My current favorite is Orbit "strawberry remix".  I know it contains chemicals, but again, that's something I choose to allow for now.

Later this evening I went to study with a classmate at a Starbucks.  I had a Lemongrass hot green tea, with some honey and 2 Truvia packets.

Did I mention that I finally broke the "200" barrier!?!   I did a few weeks ago, but then my weight went right back up.  I've been below 200lb for 3 days now, and I am praying that I can continue to stay below this number, and it will continue to decrease!  You're not supposed to weigh yourself, but I do it every so often to keep myself in check, and provide motivation.  I'm really motivated right now!  :)

I'm hungry now, at almost 11pm, so I'm going to eat an ounce of almonds.  I need to go to Costco to get more, as this is my last bit of nuts!  Nuts are an easy way to get in calories and protein.  You just have to watch that you don't overeat them.  ;)   The only nut that I could eat too much of would be cashews!  Costco sells a big tub of mixed nuts for like $8 or $9.  They're good to pack for snacks if you're at school or work and are really hungry.

Hasta mañana,

Tina

Day 4

Another typical weekend day for me today.  Slept in despite wanting to get up early.  I was dreaming that I met Pierce Brosnan, then woke up pretty sad that it was only a dream.  :(    LOL    Ate lunch that consisted of chicken lettuce wraps, then decided to have a little "dessert":  a banana cut into slices, drizzled with honey and cinnamon.  Yummy!  Slightly high in carbs, but I headed out for a run about an hour after eating.

Did a 5 mile run to the beach and back.  Felt pretty good.  Not sore at all from my 8 mile run two days ago.  Energy level seems to be fine.  No complaints really!   I've had a pork shoulder roast in the Crockpot all day, so it should be done within the next hour.  I added some chicken broth, soy sauce, lime juice, apple cider vinegar, and some Garlic Dill seasoning.  I usually just throw random spices and seasonings in my Crockpot meals!

I also made some tuna salad for lunches this week, and baked bacon in the oven.  It was so easy and less messy!  I put the bacon slices onto a foil lined tray, then baked at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.   I ate 4 slices of bacon as a "snack" because I didn't want to eat dinner until after I came home from doing laundry.  The bacon I usually buy is nitrate-free, Hormel brand.

Dinner was approximately 6 oz of chicken breast that I made in the Crockpot a few days ago, along with a salad:  romaine lettuce, grape tomatoes, mushrooms, carrots, shredded parmesan, and Ken's Olive Oil Vinaigrette.  I'd like to make my own salad dressing, but just haven't made time to do so yet. I also had 2 slices of chocolate covered bananas, and thought what the hell, I'll have some red wine to entice me to sit at my computer to study.   ;)

That's all I've got for today.  I gotta go study. I'm such a slacker.  :(

Day 3

Had a pretty good day today.  Slept in again, so had a late breakfast of 4 "straight from the farm" eggs with some deli turkey.   A couple hours later my roommate and I headed to downtown Manhattan Beach to do some studying at The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf.  There I had my usual hot green tea (Jasmine Pearl Dragon), with 3 honey sticks and some Splenda (I forgot to bring my own Truvia packets).  After doing some studying, we walked down to the beach and walked about a mile along the shore.  It's a bit of a workout walking on sand! (and sprinting away when the tide rushes in)  LOL

We stopped by Trader Joe's before going home, and picked up some groceries for the week.  In my grocery bin were the following:

• organic romaine lettuce mix
• grape tomatoes
• cucumber
• avocados
• raspberries
• strawberries
• 2 bananas
• TJ's cheddar metts (nitrate-free)  
• TJ's Saag Paneer 
• Kerrygold butter
• Asparagus
• $2.50 bottle of shiraz
• chocolate-covered banana slices   :/  I couldn't resist, I guess

I was pretty hungry when we got home, so had some raspberries right away, then made dinner of steak, sautéed asparagus, and spaghetti squash.  Ate dinner, then had half a serving of the chocolate covered banana slices, and now sipping 4oz of Shiraz.

Tomorrow will be a busy day.  Going to church in the morning, then running, then need to get in some solid studying since I didn't today or yesterday.  :/   I'm putting a pork shoulder roast in the Crockpot in the morning, also!  Maybe I'll try a new recipe.

Day 2

No class today, so slept in.   Had my breakfast of 4 eggs with Hormel "natural" deli turkey and an avocado.  I know the deli turkey isn't the best option as it does contain chemicals, but some things I just choose to accept.  It's very hard to avoid all of the chemicals and toxins that are put in foods today.  About an hour after eating I headed out for a long run.  I am one month away from the Cincinnati Flying Pig Half-Marathon.  Trying to get caught up with training runs since I didn't run much in March.  I ran down to the beach, then up the "Strand" which is a path that runs parallel to the beach along the oceanfront rental homes.  Then I cut back inland to run through Manhattan Beach and back home.  I ended up doing 8.3 miles, my longest run probably since last year's race.  Felt pretty good.  I was trying to keep my HR lower to get in a fat-burning zone, but it's so hard to do!  Manhattan Beach is very hilly, and also it's hard to run slow!

After showering, I had chicken lettuce wraps and about 2 cups of steamed broccoli, and raspberries.  I thought about making some hot tea, but that would involve putting Truvia and honey in it, and I really am trying to get as low carb as I can during the next month.  So instead, I'm chewing a piece of strawberry Orbit gum.  Gum really does work to satisfy cravings and avoid eating!  ;)

Well I have studying to do, so I will end with a short blog today.  Thanks for reading!

 I've attached a picture of today's run.  I took "Flat Stanley" with me, whom I received from my 8 yr old cousin.  I am supposed to take him to my favorite local places and take pictures, then have to send him back to my cousin's 2nd grade class.

Time to start blogging again! Day 1!!

Hey everyone!  It's been a long time since I last blogged, but thought it was necessary for me to start blogging again.  I really need to hold myself accountable to the Paleo lifestyle that I am trying to live by, and preach!  So I hope I can get some followers who will read this blog and give some comments.  

I wanted to "start over" by starting this blog with another "challenge", but this time, "Day 1" should go all the way to "Day 25,000."  ;)    Since I last blogged, I have made my move to California and in the 8 months that I have been here, I have lost weight and inches, but it's been an up and down process, and pretty slow.  I can do really well for weeks, but then there is a temptation that will throw me off track for a few days, or even a week.  This is exactly why it's so important to stay on track.  You cannot (or I cannot) allow even one "cheat".  Eating gluten or sugar will only trigger the desire to eat more. Then one day of eating junk quickly becomes 7 days in a row and 5lbs later.  So today I started over.  

Physical therapy school is going very well, so far.  I'm enjoying Los Angeles for the most part.  The biggest downside is that I am extremely busy, more so this semester than last semester.  I am running the Cincinnati Flying Pig Half-Marathon again on May 5th, but unfortunately my training has been slacking in the past month, so now I'm trying to get caught up.  I was really hoping to run this year at least 20lbs lighter than I was last year.  I think that puts me around 5 more lbs to lose.   I'm also about 5lbs away from hitting a weight I haven't seen in 5 years.  For whatever reason, I can come within half a pound of it, but just cannot break it!!   I've been so frustrated, so I finally decided to look into seeing a naturopath, to see if there is an underlying hormone issue that is preventing me from losing weight.  My appointment is in early May, so hopefully the doctor will find something and I can get on my way to treating the issue and dropping the weight for good.   In May, I start my summer semester and in one of our classes, we have to be in shorts and sports bras.   Besides the fact that I am the only "fat girl" in my class (the other girls are 20 something skinny girls), I have a big self-confidence issue.  There is no effing way that I'm going to take my shirt off for all to see my fat rolls!!  This is somethign that I knew would be coming, and have been dreading.  I tried my best to prepare for this, but this weight that I put on 5-6 years, just will not budge much.  :(  I absolutely HAVE to eat a 100% clean Paleo diet from now on.  No gluten, no sugar, no junk EVER.   One slip up will sabotage all of my efforts.  

I am going to try to blog daily, to give updates on how I'm doing.  I hope you all will follow and provide encouragement, as I surely need it.  I cannot continue this up and down process.  I must get this weight off and start living the life that I really want.  I cannot continue to being so depressed and frustrated.  I want my 6 pack back, and I know I can do it if I stay disciplined and figure out what may be going on with my hormones and get that taken care of.

Anyway, I could babble on for a long time, but I cannot.  lol  In summary- Day 1 went well!  I had my usual eggs for breakfast- straight from the farm of a friend's family!  I cook my eggs in KerryGold butter which is grass-fed and very paleo.  I also had 3 slices of bacon which I had made a few days ago. When I got to school, I bought a coffee and put 2 Truvia packets in it and some half & half.  I shouldn't really be using it, as I really want to avoid dairy as much as possible, but I can't drink my coffee black!  For lunch I had my homemade chicken lettuce wraps, veggies with my walnut red pepper dip, and a few strawberries and blueberries.  Dinner was a salad with cherry tomatoes, an avocado, mushrooms, shaved parmesan (only dairy I am allowing myself), and grilled chicken, with an olive oil vinaigrette.  This time around, I am going to really limit my carb intake, yet try to eat a minimum of 1800 calories.  When I did really well with eating clean back in February, I didn't really lose any weight, and I think it was either because I was stressing my body too much with running and workouts (raises cortisol levels which holds onto the fat cells), or I wasn't eating enough.  Probably a combination of both.    It's such a difficult process!!!!  Ahhhhh.   I'm so jealous of people that have amazing bodies yet can eat whatever they want.  It's so not fair.   :(

Ok, I really gotta go.   See you tomorrow!!

The pic of me is when I did my first race in LA-  Manhattan Beach 10k in October  :)

It's Crunch Time!

So as you can see, I don't really care for the blogging thing.  LOL  I also am not good at sticking to my "challenges."  Too many "start-overs."  I have not been able to get my mind set on sticking to my paleo "diet."  It's not that I don't enjoy eating this way (I do), nor is it difficult (it's very satisfying!), it's just that I've not been able to mentally set my mind to being disciplined when it comes to temptations and distractions to eat junk.  I need to tell myself how bad sugars and wheat are, and the negative effects it has on my body. 

I am moving to Los Angeles in 60 days.  I want/have to lose 20lbs by then!!!!  I know I can do it.  No more falling off the wagon, no more distractions, no more giving in to temptations.  I have let myself keep this weight on for 5 years, and let it frustrate me every day.  I cannot continue to let it ruin my life in the form of making me feel insecure and shaking my confidence.  I want to go to LA and start PT school feeling leaner and confident.  I know when I'm there I can continue the weight loss process.  But first I have to get it started again.  Now is the last time!!!!

On June 27 I am getting a physical done, which means I'll get bloodwork done.  I am very curious as to what my numbers will look like after eating a clean paleo diet for 25 days!!  I want my doctor to be impressed, and I can preach how great the paleo diet actually is!

So here I go again... on MONDAY, June 4 I will give up wheat, sugar, grains, legumes and dairy.  Well, I will allow some dairy in the form of cheese ONLY when going out to a restaurant.  It will be difficult to give up beer, but I'm going to do it.

As for what I'm going to eat, I'm just going to keep it simple, and not worry about "new recipes".  I'm going to stick with the basics for now:
-meats such as hamburgers, steak, bacon, pot roasts and pork roasts
-lots of vegetables
-some fruits such as blueberries, raspberries and grapefruit
-eggs, some nuts such as almonds and pistachios

As for workouts, I'm going to start doing my own Crossfit workouts again. 
-Crossfit workouts 3 days a week
-running 3 days a week
-cycling or mountain biking 2 or 3 days a week

Tomorrow I'm going to an all day country concert, so I'm gonna be drinking a lot of beer, and most likely gorging on some sort of junk fast food afterwards.   In the morning I will feel like crap, and be reminded of why I want to eat Paleo in the first place!  ;o)

I will try to post some blogs.  I'd be more likely to post if I knew people would leave me comments.  So please comment and encourage me.  I really need it.  :/

Why not join me?!?  ;o)

~Tina

Day 3

Had a coffee with 3 Truvia packets and 4 little Vanilla creamers (bad!) this morning.  Then had a Honey Stinger Waffle around 11am.  The waffles are not paleo, but I'm letting myself eat them anyway.  LOL

Ate lunch after work, around 3pm.   Had a bowl of my carnitas, and a couple raspberries.

At 5:30 I did a 21 mile bike ride with a friend of mine, along with a group of people with a local bike shop.  It was quite hilly and kicked my butt!  Felt good to get back out on my road bike, though.  When the trails are too wet to go mountain biking, I want to start road riding instead,

At 9pm my family brought me back Chipotle since they went out to dinner without me.  Good thing, though, because they had Mexican!  No chips for me  :( So I had a barbacoa bol with white rice, tomatoes, lettuce and cheese.  I know true paleo is no grains, but I'm allowing rice on occasion.  Then I had a couple raspberries to satisfy my sweet craving.

My sister brought over homemade cookies for my parents that looked delicious!  I successfully was able to not be tempted to eat a bite!  :)

I'm exhausted now!

Here is the recipe for the Carnitas:  I don't follow them exactly.  I tend to not measure out ingredients and just throw them in as I please!  lol

Crockpot TexMex Carnitas

2-3 lbs pork (butt/shoulder works best)

1/4 c. diced yellow onions

1/4 c. diced green chiles (canned is okay)

1 tsp. fresh minced garlic

1 1/4 c. (1 small can) diced tomatoes

1 tbsp cumin

2 tsp onion powder

2 tsp chili powder

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tbsp agave/honey

2 tsp. lime juice

2 tbsp. orange juice

1/2 c. barbecue sauce

Instructions

1. Place all ingredients in a crockpot on low 6-8 hours.
2. About an hour prior to eating (if possible), shred the pork with a fork and stir.
3. Serve in lettuce bowls/wraps.

Day 2

Short post tonight.  My allergies are terrible today.  Running nose and sneezing non-stop.  Headed to bed right after I type this.  :(

Ate my first meal of the day at 1:30pm- half a spaghetti squash with marinara and my homemade meatballs.  Also a few raspberries.

Around 5:30 I had a small spinach salad with some pine nuts and "Garlic Expressions" olive oil dressing, a few cashews, and an apple.  Mostly out of boredom, I wasn't really hungry!

At 6:30 I had 3 strawberries and 2 blanched asparagus stalks (part of the kids dinner, so I had some too).

I ate dinner at 9pm- another spinach salad with tomato, half an avocado, some mushrooms, and a vinaigrette dressing.  Had some sugar-free pudding afterwards, with about a tablespoon of chia seeds sprinkled in.  I shouldn't eat the pudding- it's full of fake sugars and chemicals!!  :(   Chia seeds are a popular nutrition fad right now.  They are high in fiber and Omega 3 fats.

I'll write another post tomorrow night!

May Challenge!!

Alright everyone, the blog is back!

I'm going to try my best to blog every night, however I will be out of town next week, so may not be able to get onto a computer...so no promises!

So obviously it's been a rough few months since I ended my Whole30 Challenge on January 31st.  I had great success with it, and really wanted to continue it, but allowing some cheats every now and then.  Well, that fell through.  lol  It was hard because too often I would be "tempted" by something bad- cookies, beer, pizza.... 

Well it's really crunch time now.  I move to LA in 3 months.  That means I only have 3 months to get my body to a decent weight where I will fee more comfortable and more confident starting my new life, in the city full of beautiful bodies. LOL   I know I will continue to lose weight while I am there, and I'm very confident that eventually I'll get my lean body back!!  But for now, I need to really get mentally focused and remember all of my reasons for living a paleo lifestyle and "eating like a caveman".

So today I started my own "Paleo Challenge", as I am calling it.  It's not the Whole30- it's a bit more relaxed, meaning that I am allowing some cheese, beans, and alcohol.  What I am not allowed to have is sugar or grains.  Basically I'm trying to eat as low carb as possible.  Meats, vegetables, and some fruits.

I've actually already started this challenge- I haven't had any sugars or grains since last Friday!  I have seen the scale start to drop again, so I am now motivated again!!  :)  It's true that all I really need is just a few good days to get me going again!

Today I skipped breakfast since I didn't have time to make anything at 6:30am.  I did get a UDF coffee, which I put in 2 Truvia packets and 3 vanilla creamers and 2 half n halfs.  I probably should cut that stuff out!   I honestly never really got that hunger pang!  I didn't eat until 3pm- I made a salad from the Kroger salad bar; spring mix lettuce, bacon, hardboiled eggs, carrots, peppers, mushrooms, garbanzo beans, sesame seeds, mozzarella cheese, with a vinaigrette.  (I need to make my own salad dressing!)  Then I had a small handful of frozen blueberries.  At 9pm I ate two hotdogs at the Reds stadium (no bun!), and had a serving of Lays potato chips (I should cut this out, too)  So see, I'm not being perfect, but I'm trying to keep my sanity and remain realistic with eating this way for the rest of my life.  

I feel good today.  I ate satisfying meals and didn't have cravings for anything.  Successful day!

Well that's a good start to Day 1 of the new challenge!

Please leave comments!  :o)

Tina