Round 2!!

Tomorrow I start another round of the Whole30 Challenge!!  This time, I will go 40 days (Lent).  :o)

Since I finished the Whole30 Challenge, I haven't done so well.  I've strayed quite often from the paleo/primal diet.  My plan to only cheat once a week didn't work out as well as I hoped.  Turns out, I'm tempted by sugar and unhealthy foods more than I thought.  :/ 

I feel that if I can do this challenge again, I will hopefully get rid of my taste for sugars and unhealthy foods, including pizza.  I want to have a "reason" to avoid these foods.  These past few weeks I found myself allowing junk like sweets, pizza, and pop too often.

So this time around, I'm going to allow red wine,the occasional bit of cheese, and Truvia/Stevia .  I think I will be very successful with this, and should be able to keep this going past the 40 days of Lent. 

As of today, I am down around 14 lbs since January 1st.  It's a good start, but I need more!! 

So tomorrow being Ash Wednesday, I think I will fast until sometime later in the day.  Will have fish for dinner, along with some vegetables.  Fridays will always be fish days! I've got tuna, tilapia and cod...so I'll be experimenting with some new fish recipes.

I don't plan to write a post everyday, but most likely every other day or so...  so please comment and follow along!

What is everyone else "giving up" for Lent??  Comment below!

~Tina

Blog update

Hey everyone!

I have been meaning to write a blog update, but just haven't gotten myself to do it until this evening.


So last week went pretty well.  I ate pretty clean all week, but then I had some cheats over the weekend.  I am now noticing the effects of eating wheat and sugar- acne shows up, and my skin gets rashy and eczema flares up a bit.  This is enough to deter me from eating this crap!

I weighed myself on Friday and I am down another 2lbs!  I was happy with that, considering the junk I ate the previous weekend.  I am assuming that my marathon training is helping with the weight loss.

Yesterday and today I did consume some wheat and sugar.  :(  I don't want to eat like this anymore, even if it is just "on occasion."

So this week my goal is to eat very clean. I am going to allow myself to drink coffee with two packets of Truvia and some Coconut Milk creamer- 3x a week at work.

On another note, today I gave a close friend some advice on how I've been eating, along with meal ideas and recipes.  She is wanting to lose weight, so I'm hoping she can learn to eat paleo/primal, adjust to it, and start to lose weight and keep it off!  Speaking of that, my mom needs to get back on the wheat-free wagon! ;o)   Oh, and I just found out that my uncle has celiac disease!  So we will be a gluten-free family!  haha   Most people have some sort of gluten sensitivity, you just don't realize it until you actually eliminate it from your diet for a while, and then reintroduce it.  Check out this recent article:  http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204136404577206891526292590.html

Please leave some comments so I can get motivated to keep up with this blog (along with eating a very clean paleo diet)!!   What would you like to see me write about in this blog? Any comments or questions are greatly appreciated!  :o)

Tina

Some indulgences this weekend

So I fell off the paleo wagon this weekend a bit.  I was presented some indulgences that I decided to partake in. LOL  Cake and icing, some appetizers, red wine, pizza, chips and dip, a Coke and Pepsi...  I don't feel like I over did it, I actually ate less compared to what I used to eat when I would over-indulge... but I do feel guilty about it after eating so clean for a whole 30 days.  I did notice that my skin is itchy and slightly rashy in places and also have some acne coming back.  As of today I gained about 2 lbs since last Thursday.  :(   But, I did run/walk 9 miles Saturday morning, so I'm hoping that will help with the caloric balance.  Here is my workout:  http://connect.garmin.com/activity/147530530

I prepared my paleo meals for the week today:  pot roast, mashed cauliflower, grilled chicken, blanched asparagus, dehydrated apple slices, tuna salad.  This week I'm going to try to eat very low carb- so going to really limit the fruit intake.

Busy week again, ready to get it done!!  Another party to go to next Saturday, so will have to be on my best eating behavior all week!  ;)

On a side note, here is a painting I did in 4 hours on Saturday, for one of my best friend's birthday (she loves Disney World and Mickey and Minnie)  Not bad, eh?

The Day After!

So you are probably wondering how I did the day after eating some pizza, beer, and sugar!  Well, I actually didn't feel that bad the next day at work.  Only thing I noticed was that I felt a bit bloated.  Just enough to be slightly uncomfortable.  That, and I was really tired!!!  I'm not sure if the tiredness was due to what I ate, or not, though.  But, I was really looking forward to a nap later that day, so at 6pm I decided to go ahead and lay down in my bed.  Well, I fell right asleep and didn't get up until 9am the next morning!  (which was today)

I have to admit that I did eat some crap food today.  :(   Mom and dad went to LaRosa's for dinner, so I decided I would have some pizza again...and I also made a cake for my friend's birthday party tomorrow, so I indulged in some homemade butter cream icing. :(   Terrible, right?!?   I feel really guilty and belly feels yucky.  :(

Tomorrow morning I have to go to running group to do a 9 mile run.  I hope I feel good! I haven't run since Sunday... bad Tina!  :/   I'm bringing my own "fuel"- dehydrated sweet potato chips, apples, and almonds.  Later tomorrow evening I have a busy day planned, so I am already planning on what I'm going to eat and not eat. 

Gotta stay focused and stick with my paleo diet!  :)

FINISHED!

I completed the Whole30 Challenge!!

So here is my summary about how I did...

Well I wasn’t as strict as I could have been (I allowed some things I considered to be minor such as bacon (made with nitrates) and cream of mushroom soup (in my pot roast), a ketchup and marinara sauce with very low sugar, etc). I feel that I did great, overall. I didn’t eat any dairy products, grains, legumes, or alcohol. The sugar that I ate was a very small amount, and not in any "sweet".

I typically ate only 2 or 3 times each day, and I felt very satisfied after each meal. Not full, yet not hungry. Perfect. I also noticed that after about two weeks I no longer felt the need to snack. I never craved bread or pasta. The only thing I did want on occasion was sweets, cheese, and alcohol (due to social situations). The sugar craving was minor, and I satisfied it easily by eating some blueberries or grapefruit. I only wanted cheese when I ate out- a Chipotle bol, steak, veggies and salad at Texas Roadhouse and Longhorn, and also when I ate spaghetti squash with meatballs and marinara. It wasn't really a craving, just kind of a feeling like I should be having cheese along with what I was eating.

Gastrointestinal:
                I don’t really experience any gastrointestinal issues ever, except the occasional gas and bloating. I do get heartburn and some acid reflux, but very rarely. During the past 30 days I have had NO issues at all. No bloating, gas, heartburn, reflux, or any type of stomach pain. Bowel movements were very normal and regular, and "not messy" if you know what I mean. LOL

Skin:
                At the beginning of the challenge, my acne on my face got worse, but it started to clear up around week 3 and is now much better. I didn’t have any eczema spots when I started the challenge. I did have this weird dry spot on my pinky finger for a few months back in the fall, but it went away when I first started eating paleo and primal back in November. It came back a little bit this past month, but basically it is cleared up and that patch of skin is almost now smooth and clear. About a week ago I did get a weird red eczema spot on my forearm, not sure where that came from. Also have some dry skin on my hands and on my right forearm/elbow. I’m curious if this is eczema or just dry skin. The weather here in January has been up and down, so it can’t be all due to cold weather.

Weight:

                I lost 10lbs the first two weeks of the challenge, but then lost only an additional 2lbs the last two weeks. I’m disappointed with such little weight loss the last two weeks, but then again, 10lbs is a lot of weight to lose in such a short amount of time, so I’m sure my body is just adjusting to it. (A lot is water weight, too) As for circumference measurements, I lost 1 inch around my waist, hips, and thigh. I think I gained half an inch around my bicep and calf. I honestly thought I lost more around my waist and hips, because my pants are definitely looser! My mom has told me that she can tell that I’ve lost inches and notices how my clothes look bigger on me. I am not one to notice body changes on other people, nor myself, but I actually do notice a difference, so that has me really motivated and excited. For just 30 days, this has been a great start to my weight loss efforts!

Mental:
                I think the first week I was a bit foggy, and that was probably due to detoxing myself off the sugars and carbs that I ate over Christmas and New Years. After that, I think my mental clarity was just fine. I didn’t really notice anything out of ordinary. One big improvement I noticed was how much willpower and discipline I developed over these 30 days. I was able to plan and prepare meals and stick to eating those meals and feel satisfied from them. I was able to pass up other bad foods and not be hung up about how I couldn’t have them (except for that cake…I wanted a piece of it every day that it sat on the table!) I am very proud of myself, and happy to have found that discipline. I’m really hoping that I can continue being so disciplined and only eating foods that are good for me. I just need to remember the success that I’ve had these 30 days, and that should be enough!

Energy:
                It is true that eating wheat and sugar makes your energy levels go way up and down due to insulin spikes. I didn’t notice any fluctuations in energy. I either had energy, or I was lacking a bit in energy. I have a fluctuating sleep schedule, so my energy level is somewhat determined by the amount of sleep that I got the previous night- which can be either too much, too little, or just the right amount. This is one thing that I would like to improve and “fix”. I need to try to sleep the same amount of hours every night, so that my body can get used to a certain amount and learn to function optimally on this amount (which I believe is around 8-9 hours). Another thing to note was that I didn’t drink any coffee. I used to drink about 2 cups of coffee around 3 times a week, adding 1 packet of Truvia and some sugar-free coffee creamer to it. I can’t drink it black, so decided to not drink it at all. I’m not sure coffee really affects my energy level, if it does; it’s only for a few hours.

Exercise:
                I sprained my ankle on the 2nd day of this challenge on my first marathon training run, so for two weeks I did no exercise. The last two weeks I did cardio in the form of running, for a total of 7 ½ hours. So really, I didn’t do much exercise at all during this challenge. Yet I still lost weight!! It goes to prove the fact that your diet is 80% of body composition and weight loss efforts. Now that my ankle is healed and I’m getting deeper into my marathon training schedule, I am hoping that I will continue to lose weight and inches. I just need to be careful and take things slow when I’m out training, so that I am burning fat and not glucose (keeping my heart rate lower, as well as eating carb sources such as sweet potatoes, dehydrated fruits and nuts when out on long runs, and not eating sugars like Clif Shots, Gatorade or GU gels). I also am aiming to get back to doing Crossfit workouts at least twice a week. W

Allergies:
                I stopped taking Zyrtec at some point late December I think, only because I ran out and didn’t get more. I didn’t have any “allergy attacks”, but I did have a runny nose and sneezing a few times. I think my allergies are due more to my surroundings and the weather, rather than my diet. Still unsure, though.

Other:
                I never experienced any headaches or joint pain. My mood seemed to be fairly stable. There were a few times the last two weeks where I felt a bit irritable and frustrated that I couldn’t drink alcohol or eat a slice of cake. I never had the feeling that I was just doing this for a month, though. I knew from the beginning that eating this clean was something I want to do for the rest of my life, and although I will “celebrate” with junk food, I will go right back to eating this clean. Overall, I did feel better. I never felt nauseous or "crappy" or sluggish.

Notes on my “cheats” from last night:
                About two hours after eating my Chipotle meal, Coke and gluten free chocolate chip cookies, I had to go “#2”. Otherwise, nothing noticeable that night. The next day (today), I did notice some bloating and gassiness during the morning and afternoon. Nothing terrible, just slightly annoying.
 

The Day After:
                So today I had two hardboiled eggs and a spoonful of almond butter for breakfast at 6:30am (I was running late). I did feel hungry around 11am, which hasn’t happened that early at all the past 30 days. Probably because what I ate wasn’t enough, or maybe because my insulin was still messed up from last night’s Coke and cookies, etc? On my way home from work early afternoon, I think I noticed some slight stomach pains…very minor, though. When I got home at 1:30 I had lunch- pot roast with brussel sprouts, and another gluten-free chocolate chip cookie. Felt fine during the afternoon while nannying my cousins. Then when my aunt and uncle got home, we ordered Mio’s Pizza! We got thin crust pizza, and I ate 4 slices, along with one beer- a Sierra Nevada Torpedo IPA. This beer is pretty strong tasting to me, so I pretty much sipped on it, and could barely finish it. The beer didn’t do anything for me, but the pizza was yummy! The beer made me want a Coke. LOL After dinner, on my way home I stopped and picked up a can of Coke, along with a bag of Smartfood popcorn, and a 3 pack of Ho Hos (which used to be my go-to sweet whenever I wanted to be really “bad”!). Well I couldn’t even finish the popcorn. It just didn’t seem worth it to me. The taste wasn’t all that great, and I didn’t feel like I needed to be eating it. The Coke was good, though. I really enjoy drinking a cold can of Coke after a long workout (probably due to having a low blood sugar level at the end of a 2+ hour workout). Yeah I know I didn’t just work out, but still, it was satisfying. So the Ho Ho’s I ate just a few minutes ago. I was feeling full and plenty satisfied, yet I ate the Ho Hos anyway, because I bought them to eat tonight. So I did, and they were delicious, yet I felt very guilty eating them.

Another point I want to make is that I do feel guilty after eating this “junk” today and last night. I feel that my body now deserves the best fuel, and to be giving it junk I am not treating it with respect. I have felt so great both physically and mentally, and I want to continue to do so.

I am eager to get back to eating Whole30 again tomorrow. I have seen big improvements all around, so I definitely want to continue this and keep busting out more weight loss numbers and other awesome things that go along with eating so clean.

Summary:
                To sum things up, this Whole30 Challenge has been a great experience. I highly recommend it to EVERYONE!!! (mom has been trying to eliminate wheat, and is doing pretty well!) Besides losing a perfect amount of weight for only one month, I gained so much mental clarity about how I can deal with foods and temptations. I really did enjoy what I ate, and the only times that I really struggled was when I was presented with social situations that would tempt me with alcohol and other bad foods.

I learned that I do not need sweets such as cookies or chocolate. Fruit can satisfy that craving. I also learned that I can and will now not snack when some type of food is lying around, like chips lying out, or a piece of “whatever” that someone else is eating. I don’t need to take a spoonful, or have a few pieces of that food. I will only eat when I’ve prepared a set meal and I’m hungry... which is another great thing with eating paleo/primal. Eating meats, fats, and vegetables really does fill you up and satisfy you for hours.

I didn’t do this challenge just to see if I could do it. I didn’t do it to be “good” for 30 days then go crazy and eat junk food for a few days just to erase my efforts and try it all over again. Hell no! I did this because I want to eat clean forever. I am not convinced that the Paleo/Primal lifestyle WORKS and is the way I want to eat and live. “Eat to live, not live to eat.” I am an athlete and hope I always will be. I want my body to run efficiently and smoothly, and my metabolism to burn clean fuel all day long. I want to eat healthy, natural foods in efforts of avoiding the illnesses and diseases that so many Americans develop because of their unhealthy diets of processed foods full of chemicals and toxins. I want to be 80 yrs old and still be able to run around and “play”! I also did this challenge so that I can figure out which foods my body cannot tolerate, or will react negatively to. I will figure this out by re-introducing these foods back into my diet, one at a time and see what happens regarding my weight loss efforts, among the other things. Mainly these foods are cheese and the occasional rice and legumes.

One thing that I didn’t do was get any blood work done. I know a lot of people who start eating wheat-free and adopt a paleo or primal eating lifestyle, will compare their blood work numbers and find out that their results have improved tremendously in regards to cholesterol levels, etc. Yes, meat and fat is GOOD for you!!!! It’s the carbs (wheat) that is bad!!! Here is another good article I was passed to the other day: http://www.fastcodesign.com/1668916/pasta-not-bacon-makes-you-fat-but-how

As for allowing “cheats”, I’ve decided that I am going to aim to eat 90% clean and only 10% cheats. Basically, eat clean all the time, and only eat something “bad” if the situation presents itself and I feel that I really want it. This could mean that I eat really clean for a whole week, then on a Sunday my family gets pizza- so I allow myself to eat two slices of pizza, and that’s it. Or maybe that is some ice cream instead, or a slice of cake. As for alcohol, I am going to start drinking red wine. If I go out, I may also have a drink called Seabreeze, which is a well drink of vodka, cranberry juice and grapefruit juice. I don’t want to drink beer because of the wheat content. But again, we will see how this goes. I am going to continue to test out things and see how they affect me.

My goal is to lose 10lbs a month, so I will most definitely be continuing this process, and I will also keep blogging for those interested in following my progress and seeing what I have to say about the paleo and primal lifestyle.

If you are interested in doing this challenge yourself, here is the link: http://whole9life.com/2012/01/whole-30-v2012/

Day 30- I MADE IT!!!!

YAY!!

Today was my last day of the Whole30 Challenge.  For lunch I had a big piece of meatloaf and some red pepper slices with walnut red pepper dip, with some blueberries.  I went to Whole Foods and spent $60 on some "good goods"!  I got some cans of Blue Monkey Coconut water, which has a slightly sweet, nutty taste that I like as a "treat", and some ingredients for paleo-friendly dessert recipes.  Yes, some expensive ingredients such as cocoa powder, chia seeds, liquid stevia, coconut milk, coconut flakes.

Unfortunately it started raining tonight, so I felt like skipping my run.  Instead, we got Chipotle for dinner, so I decided I would go ahead and "celebrate".  I got a bol with white rice, black beans, barbacoa, tomato salsa, lettuce and cheese.  I also had a few tortilla chips with guacamole, and a large Coke!  The coke wasn't as satisfying as I thought it would be.  That's a good thing!  After eating this meal, I felt perfectly fine.  I'm hoping later tonight or tomorrow morning I will notice some effects from the sugar I just consumed (or beans and dairy).

I also made gluten-free chocolate chip cookies using a bag of Bob's Red Mill mix.  They are actually for a physical therapy patient tomorrow, who has been with us for a long time.  I ate two of them, pretty good!  It's also worth mentioning that even things are "gluten-free" does NOT mean that they are healthy.  This mix was full of ingredients such as different types of starches, flours, cane sugar, brown sugar, etc.  Wheat-free yes, but not something I should be eating often.

So tomorrow I will continue to eat paleo during the day, but then I am going out to dinner with my cousins, aunt and uncle to officially "celebrate" with my uncle who also did this challenge.  We are getting pizza and beer! 

Tomorrow night's blog I will post my weight loss results and overall how I felt I did.

Day 29

Long day today, but I made it through!  haha

Breakfast was sausage crumbles and 3 eggs scrambled in 1 tbls coconut oil.  Lunch was a salad with bacon bits, 2 hard boiled eggs, 1/2 avocado, almond slices, pine nuts, and "garlic expressions" dressing...and some sliced radishes with walnut red pepper dip. I should also admit that I have been chewing gum when I work at the PT facility.  It does contain 2 grams of sugar alcohols.  I really like the new Extra Dessert Delights.  Almost satisfies a sweet tooth craving!

While nannying, I made my cousins egg noodles with buttered bread (I used to eat this growing up).  Full of gluten and other nasties!  haha  I did have the urge to eat some! 

Dinner was pot roast with mashed cauliflower and roasted brussel sprouts.  I also had a few slices of dehydrated apples- delicious!!  I didn't have the grapefruit last night, so I think I'll have that here soon to satisfy my sugar craving. 

Tomorrow is the last day of my challenge!!  Sorry my blog posts have been boring.  I'm getting sick of writing every day and no one is commenting (yes i know it's difficult for some reason)  LOL   On Wednesday I'll post a summary of my 30 day challenge, including my weight loss numbers!!  :)

Day 28

Today is food-preparing day, so I did just that!  My mom and sister went grocery shopping yesterday, so today I was able to chop up some things and cook this afternoon.

I slept in, of course, so for lunch I had leftover kale, pepperoni and kielbasa soup, some blueberries, and a few red pepper slices with the last bit of walnut red pepper dip.

I made a new batch of walnut red pepper dip (seriously like this stuff!) with a jar of roasted red peppers this time.  I also hard boiled a dozen eggs.. sliced up a bag of radishes and a few red peppers... sliced up apples to dehydrate...made meatloaf (Everyday Paleo recipe)...cooked up bacon for salad toppings...and made mashed cauliflower.


Once the sun set, I headed out for my 7 mile run with Cooper.  I like running in the dark.  LOL   It feels more peaceful, plus there is no one around to watch me huff by or dogs out to distract Cooper.  I enjoy being able to focus on the run, while listening to my music or a podcast.  I've been listening to Robb Wolf's "The Paleo Solution" podcasts, which I'm finding are very beneficial to my learning about the paleo lifestyle, and are answering a lot of questions regarding eating meat, fats, vegetables, and avoiding dairy, legumes, wheat and also topics about fitness, etc.  Another benefit of running at night is the run doesn't seem quite so long because you can't really see that far out in front of you.  ;) 

Here is my run summary:   About two hours prior I ate two pieces of bacon and a hard boiled egg. Then ate a few dehydrated sweet potato chips right before I headed out to run. Energy level was good. Overall, I felt very good. Those weird pains in my left leg were gone. Legs felt strong up until around 4 miles, when my ankle start feeling a bit weak. Tried picking up my pace whenever I focused on it. Some slight pain on top of my left ankle around mile 5-6. Started feeling a blister forming on my left big toe very early on, which annoyed me a little bit. Overall, good run. Happy with it. Felt fueled!  Here is the link: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/145788553


After my run, I went downstairs to the gym to stretch, foam roll, and do some core exercises for about 20 minutes.  Then I ate dinner.  I had a piece of my meatloaf with some "1g of sugar ketchup" (see pic), and about 3 oz of pot roast that mom made, along with some mashed cauliflower, and some roasted brussel sprouts with bacon pieces (another Everyday Paleo recipe).  Yummy!

For dessert, I am going to have half a grapefruit. 


Two days left!!!  Yay!  I'm so excited to be finishing this! I'm looking forward to celebrating on Wednesday.  ;)  


Have a great week everyone, it's gonna be another crazy warm one here in Cincinnati!  (I hope it snows a lot in February!!!!!!!!)

Day 27

So I am making it through another weekend without too many temptations.  It sucks that I am avoiding situations where temptations are present (alcohol, especially).  Instead of going out tonight, I'm staying in because I rather hang out at home and eat some of my paleo food here, than go out and sip on water while watching my friends have a good time drinking.  I realize this makes me look like an alcoholic or something... haha  No worries, I'm not!  Although I will admit that I do like to have some adult beverages as a means of "having fun" a lot of times.

Well besides that, today was a decent one.  Went out for lunch with family and had a salad that had chicken and pecans, but the dressing was some sort of glaze-like dressing, which I"m sure had some sugar in it.  Oh well.  lol  So I've not been AS strict with this challenge as I could have been.  I still have gone without any dairy, grains, beans or alcohol!!  Along with the salad I had a small glass of V8 juice and some fresh fruit.

Later in the day I had some walnut red pepper dip with radish slices.  I didn't do my 7 mile run in the morning, so instead I squeezed in an hour spin on my bike while watching the Winter X Games.  It was a bit of a struggle because I haven't been on my bike in a while and my backside was not happy about that.  haha  I'll have to do my long run tomorrow- I'm aiming to do it first thing when I get up so that it's out of the way and I can get some cooking and food prep done early in the afternoon.

Dinner tonight was half a spaghetti squash with my meatballs and marinara.  So filling!  I really love spaghetti squash.  :)   Then had half a grapefruit for dessert. 

My cravings for sweets have subsided just a bit and I think I know why the past couple days I was having the cravings (female time, yeah). 

Three days to go!!!! 

Day 26- A bit irritable today!

Woke up today with allergies.  :(  I'm not sure why I get allergies off and on like I do.  I haven't been taking Zyrtec in at least 3 weeks now.  I need to get more soon.  I know that eating paleo is supposed to help with reducing allergies...and it may have, but I still have "bad days" and today has been one.  :(  Running, itchy nose and sneezing.  So annoying!

Lunch was beef stew and a couple dehydrated apple slices (those went fast!).  I had something else, but as of this moment I cannot remember what!  I ate a couple blueberries at my aunt's house while nannying, and a cup of berry green tea.  When my aunt and uncle got home we were discussing how my uncle and I are both irritable and grumpy.  haha  I am so ready to be finished with this challenge!  I will continue to eat this way, but restricting things like dairy and alcohol are not good for my mental health.  LOL  I am dying to let loose and have a few drinks, have some pizza (I can eat gluten free pizza!), and have some cake or cookies.   Being completely strict for 30 days has definitely wore me down.  Doing it in January has been even a greater challenge, because it's already a gloomy month, with not much to do on the weekends due to the cold and wet conditions.  My uncle was a bad boy again and drank some red wine last night.  I saw the two wine glasses sitting next to the sink today!  haha   He hasn't stuck to this as well as I have, but that's ok.   He says he has noticed a big improvement in how he feels overall, which goes to show how eating so clean does so much good to your body.

I came home and had dinner waiting- my sister brought me home a salad from Dewey's pizza- romaine lettuce, bacon pieces, tomatoes with their house balsamic dressing...and mom made a "soup" with kale, spicy tomatoes, pepperoni slices and kielbasa slices.  It was good, but too spicy.  Kielbasa is actually not Whole30 approved because it does have some nasty ingredients in it!

I'm really craving something sweet, but I'll stay strong and am now going to head to bed with the book I just got from the library:  Robb Wolf's "The Paleo Solution".  Yay!!

Tomorrow I have to run 7 miles, and I'll pick out some new recipes to try. 

Only 4 days left in the challenge.  I know I can make it!!!!!!!!

Day 25

Not much to say today.

Breakfast was 2 eggs (microwaved!) and some dehydrated apple slices. Lunch was steamed cauliflower with creamy chicken stew, then a couple dehydrated strawberries. 

Since it was raining tonight, I decided to skip running and instead pick up Longhorn for dinner.  :)   So I spent $20 and got an 8oz sirloin, vegetables, sauteed mushrooms, sweet potato with cinnamon and butter (yum!) and a side salad with their house honey mustard, olive oil dressing.  Afterwards, I ate an entire grapefruit.  I seriously felt like I was eating a "cheat meal" because it was a ton of food!  By the way, they gave me that small loaf of bread, but I didn't touch it and left it wrapped in the foil.  Also...that cake is still there! Somebody eat it damnit!! LOL  (my dad says he's been having a small slice everyday, but it's only half gone!)

Day 24

Snuck on the scale this morning.  No change there, but that doesn't mean much, because my pants are definitely looser!!  :)  I definitely need to go shopping to go a size down.  Yes!!!!  That feels awesome.  :)  I hope I keep losing inches!  I've lost 10lbs, and that was the first two weeks.  Sure, I will lose more as time goes on, but inches are what matter most!

Today for breakfast I had 3 hard boiled eggs, some almonds and about 1/2 cup of blueberries.  Lunch was the beef stew with some dehydrated apple slices.  I stopped by the grocery to pick up some items on my way to my aunt and uncle's house to nanny.  Got some more almond flour, some almond butter, organic raw honey, and a pot roast to make for their dinner tonight.  Oh, and an avocado, which I had as a snack mixed with some salt and lime juice, and dipped peppers into!  I was disappointed with the almond butter.  I have heard people in my Whole30 Facebook page group say that they have a it as a snack and that it is dessert-like...but I didn't find it very sweet or appealing.  Tasted pretty much like raw almonds to me- nothing exciting.

I had a little bit of the pot roast with mushrooms with my cousins, aunt and uncle.  Then my mom stopped by Frisch's for dinner, so she brought me home some vegetable soup and a tossed salad.  (Oh, I had some dehydrated apple slices when I got home).

Today I noticed that my left leg is still feeling weird...I think it's my anterior tibialis muscle.  It feels a bit weak and like my leg is going to give out when I put weight on it.  Weird...and not good!!  This has me a bit worried, as mileage is starting to increase in marathon training.  I will be running 7 miles on Saturday morning. :/   I'm going to massage that muscle tonight with "The Stick" and see if that helps any.

Sorry my blog isn't that exciting.  I'm getting bored with it.  (and not getting any comments)  :( 

That's all I have for today... see yaaaaaaaa