Attitude

This is short post about CrossFit.  While it's not technically paleo related, it's all combined in my life, so there.  

Since I started CrossFit (about 7 months ago), I've been noticing things.  Things like how many people look at what I do at CF and say "I could NEVER do that" or "I wouldn't make it past the first rep."  This doesn't just apply to CF either.  I notice many things in life that invoke this type of response lately.

These things make me sad.  I wonder "did I ever have that attitude?".  Yep, I'm pretty sure I did.  I didn't think I'd ever run a 5k in under 30 minutes or I would ever jump on a God-forsaken wooden box.  Ever.  

So... this explains that "all CrossFitters think they are elite" thing that I hear people talk about.  I don't think I'm elite.  I just have a different attitude now about what I CAN do.  To be honest, while new things (hello hand stands!) still scare the sh*t out of me, there is really nothing that I am not at least willing to TRY to do. And usually, I find that I CAN do them.  I just never tried before.

If I never get another thing out of CrossFit, at least I have gotten rid of that "I can't" attitude.  

Posing for photos, post WOD

Quick story about my first rope climbing experience:

It was a Friday morning (just over a week ago) and I was super excited about the crazy workout that was posted.  What made it even better is that two of the ladies that I had been missing working out with in the evenings were there!  I had never attempted to climb a rope before (not even in school that I can remember).  So, in practice, I was the first one to try it and I only made it about halfway up.  I decided to do the scaled version for the workout (start out lying on the floor and pull yourself to standing, using the rope).  If you were doing the scaled version, you had to do 5 reps to everyone else's 1.  OUCH.  By the end of the workout, my hands were KILLING me!  The last set had only 1 rope climb and I was determined not to have to do it 5 times, so I got on that rope and climbed to the top!  It's pretty typical of me to do my best work in the last set or minutes of the WOD.  I always seem to save the best for last :)

Hocus Pocus Let's all FOCUS!

This title comes from an old co-worker.  We used to say this after he told us all the story about his kindergarten teacher using that phrase to get the class under control.  

I've changed my focus.

Lately, I've been really focused on nutrition and Whole30 and fat loss.  Now that summer is here and I feel pretty good about nutrition, I want to change my focus to performance.  I want to really commit to CrossFit at least 4 days a week and give it my all and see some performance gains and PRs.  I plan to eat in a way that fuels these goals using the guidelines outlined here by Eat To Perform.  Here is another good article from ETP that explains why it's better to eat for performance than to eat for weight (or fat) loss.

According to the ETP calculator, I should be eating 2,258 calories per day.  This might shock some people for a 5'2" tall 130lb female to be eating that much, but trust me, I have very little problem meeting this goal! I've been doing it for quite a while, actually.  I will shoot for 100g of carbs per day.  I usually under eat on the carbs, but have been consciously adding more sweet potato and fruit to increase this.  I will try to eat at least 130g of protein (1g per pound of body weight) and the rest will be fat (apprx. 150 grams).  

I will occasionally use My Fitness Pal to make sure my numbers are where they need to be, but I hope to get to a point where I am intuitively eating to fuel my performance.  

Also, for the summer I am not weighing myself (until sometime after Labor Day).  I look forward to this summer and all it will bring!  What are you focused on right now?  

...so this is ketosis?

Image courtesy of tumbler
http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/jungle%20cat?before=23

Hi everyone!  I'm wrapping up my fourth week of my fourth whole30!!!  Holy cow! As I mentioned previously, I changed this one up to limit carbs (very little fruit and no sweet taters).  I've been trying to stay under 50g of carbs most days.  I've had about 5 days that were over 50g.  In the first weeks I was pretty sure this wasn't working for me and that I would do better with some sweet potatoes in my life, but I am committed to at least the 30 days.  This week, I feel like a freaking animal!  I normally go to bed around 9pm and sleep until 5:30.  All week, I've been up late (11:00-11:30) and most days I've gotten up early.  Today I got up at 5:00 and went to CrossFit.  Then proceeded to go to my "other gym" and run sprints on the treadmill!  And I'm still feeling like I could do more, more, more!!!!  (Hating that I have a desk job at the moment!).

RAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!

I've been tracking my intake on My Fitness Pal, if you'd like to check it out, my user name is SnicciFit.  I will publish my data here after this week is over.  I'm thinking I may keep up the very low carb stuff with one "carb load" day per week.  Also, Hubs and I have decided to keep this whole30 going until we leave for our vacation.  That will make it a Whole39.  

Progress & Whole30 V4.0

Hey y'all!  Guess what?!  I'm doing another Whole30!  This is my fourth one.  After reading Primal Body-Primal Mind by Nora Gedgaudas, I've decided the Hubs and I should approach this Whole30 with her suggestions in mind.  That means that we are skipping the sweet potatoes and fruit this time around in an attempt to really find the elusive ketosis.  I am a little nervous about being so low carb and doing CrossFit, but I won't know how it works until I try it.  The key here is to eat PLENTY OF FAT (for fuel) and a moderate amount of protein.  

Here I've been pushing myself lately to eat a lot of protein...  

I think with my activity level (CF 3-4 times per week plus other things like running, rock wall climbing...etc) I am safe to still eat around 100g of protein a day.  As long as I am eating a TON of fat too.

My goal is to see my abs when this over.  I've gotten stronger and leaner, but just need to remove that little layer of fat.  It's ON!  

I thought this would be a good time to take progress pictures too.  I had taken some when I first started CrossFit in November 2012 and hadn't taken any since.  My husband took them for me and I looked at them immediately said "I look the same!  Nothing has changed!"  Later I used my PicStitch app to put the old pictures next to the new ones and I could really see a difference then!  The biggest differences I noticed were in my posture and my thighs!  I'm really sorry, as much as I want to show them off, I'm too nervous to post pictures of myself in tiny shorts and and a sports bra all over the interwebs... Y'all will have to trust me that my progress has been good.  I plan to take the same pictures again in 30 days.  I can't wait!  

Oh yeah, I'm also tracking my food on My Fitness Pal.  I know that tracking during a Whole30 is a no-no, but I've done 3 of them without tracking and feel pretty confident that it won't effect how I eat.  Also, I want to be sure to keep my carbs are low enough and that I am eating enough fat.  And I'm a curious person, so I want DATA.

So, here's my menu for week 1:

1) Cabbage Goulash

2) Waldorf Tuna Salad *obviously there's a litte fruit in here, but it's less than half an apple/svg.

3) Skillet Taco Pie w/homemade guacamole

4) Whole Roasted Chicken 

5) Hard Boiled Eggs/Egg Salad

6) Smoked Sausage w/Kraut (I just fry up a little uncured smoked pork sausage from the farm with some Bubbie's Kraut) 

7) Stir-fry/fajitas 

ONE YEAR!

I started this blog one year ago today!  A lot has changed in the last year.  I don't even know where to start!  So... let's look at some of my early goals:

• Eat 125-150g of protein/day - I've actually come back to and am still working on this one.  I started tracking my intake again about 6-7 weeks ago and found that I was getting around 70g of protein a day.  I have since upped my protein to at least 100g/day and increased my calories as well.
• Eat 20-25g fiber/day - I don't find this one to be as important anymore, but I've been getting anywhere from 15 to 20g/day
• get most (if not all) of my carbs from fruits & veggies -I've done spectacular on this (especially since doing Whole30s)!  I do go through stages where I eat some candy or honey, but most days my only carb sources are fruits & veggies (including starches like sweet potatoes!).  I have allowed for rice ocassionally when dining out.
• continue to avoid artificial sweeteners -This is a no-brainer.  I don't use any artificial sweeteners or drink or eat anything with them in it.  I'd rather have refined sugar than artificial, but I mostly opt for fruit or honey for sweetening.
• continue trying new foods -Yep!  Still trying new things all the time :)
• feel good about the changes I am making :) -Totally!
• read new material about paleo every day (this should be an easy one!) -Everyday I read material about nutrition and health both on the internet and in books.  I'm currently reading The End of Overeating by David A. Kessler, MD as well as Primal Body - Primal Mind by Nora Gedgaudas.  Both are great reads!!!!  

October 2011               August 2012                 February 2013

So, here are some new goals:

• Continue to PR at CrossFit and my 5ks
• Keep trying new food
• Keep educating myself and keeping an open mind about nutrition and health
• Keep inspiring others to take control of their own health through nutrition & fitness

So... that's it folks!  It's been a great year and I look forward to many many more!  Thanks for hanging out with me this year!  

Reflections...

Photo Credit: www.blog.zap2it.com

Have you all seen this commercial for the new Cool RanchDoritos Taco at Taco Bell?  I watched it the other day and thought about how when I was a teen/young adult, I thought Cool Ranch Doritos were the tastiest thing on earth!  Now I probably wouldn't touch them with a 10’ pole. I've been learning so much about how these types of foods are engineered to our tastes and to make our brains react in a way that we want more, more more!  I am currently reading “The End ofOvereating” by David A. Kessler, MD. and it’s driving that point home even more. 

The further I get away from the processed foods, the more I wish I would I have known these things sooner.  Like 10 years ago would have been nice (maybe I would have never become overweight.)  Or even to have been raised eating real food would have been awesome.  My parents were not overly-dependent on processed foods when I was growing up, but once I was old enough to make my own decisions about what to eat, I made terrible ones and nobody told me differently.  If they had, I probably wouldn't have listened anyway. 

Of course, those years I did Weight Watchers, I lived off Smart Ones frozen “meals”, Slimfast shakes and Campbell’s "soup to go".  I guess we all have our “gateway” foods that (hopefully) get us on a path to better health.  As I sit here fluctuating between 5lbs of bodyweight and a percent or two of body fat, my biggest concern is this:

WILL I KEEP IT OFF THIS TIME?

I feel like I could never go back to eating a lot (or even very much more than a little) of processed foods and I don’t think I’ll ever go back to eating gluten grains or refined sugar, but what if I do?  What if this isn't the “be all, end all” that I think and hope that it is?  Then what?  I have already come to the conclusion that I will need to change things up as I go.  My body has different needs when I am trying to maintain vs. when I am trying to lose.  I just hope I don’t ever get out of control and pack on 30-45 lbs again.  You hear it all over the place: “Paleo isn't a diet, it’s a lifestyle”.  Hubs and I are even guilty of saying it.  I just hope we’re right…

Catching up...

There's been a lot going on in the last week and half and I haven't even had time to share it all!  

On November 18th I participated in a 3-1/2 hour CrossFit Fundamentals class.  I'm hooked!  I went back the very next day and did a WOD that was spending 30 minutes determining your one rep max deadlift. I had never done a deadlift before, so I had no idea what to expect.  I started with 95lbs (you are only lifting the bar from the floor to a straight standing position, mostly using your lower back muscles and hips to move the weight, allowing for much heavier lifts).  I then tried 115, 135, 145 and finally 155 pounds!  I was proud as a peacock to have lifted that much on my first night!  

My friend Billie & I after we totally
ROCKED the Turkey Day 5k

That was only the beginning of what was to become an incredible week of accomplishments for me!  I had been planning on running the Turkey Day 5k on Thanksgiving morning for the 2nd year in a row and while I had been pretty excited about it, in the weeks leading up to it I felt very unprepared and not ready.  There were over 800 runners!  What a rush!  I was convinced this was going to be one of my worst 5k races.  Last year I finished it in over 35 minutes.  That's about what I expected this year.  You can imagine my shock and astonishment when I finished in 30:06!  That's over 2-1/2 minutes faster than my record.  Also, it was the first time that I have ever ran the entire time.  NO walking!  My next 5k will be under 30 minutes and I will bring home a trophy before the heat of summer in 2013 stops me from running.  Mark my words.

After the race we had Thanksgiving lunch with some of Husband's family.  I had deviled eggs, veggies with homemade ranch, turkey, potatoes & gravy, sweet potatoes, fruit salad, cranberries and even a paleo cake that his Aunt made for us!  

I have since done 2 more WODs at my local box (CrossFit Jackson) and I felt a sense of accomplishment after each one like never before!  Husband has been CrossFitting since April and since he works 3rd shift, he attends the 7pm class (would be the equivalent of me going at 6am).  Since April, I have been making dinner while he's gone to the gym and when he would get home (after 8pm most times), I would either have already eaten dinner or we would eat together.  He really wants me to workout with him at 7pm, so I had to figure out how to make and eat dinner in that time frame.  Since this is the first week we are trying that schedule, I spent time this weekend cooking up a ton of food so that all of our meals would be ready to heat & eat.  Here's what I made:

Paleo Blueberry Muffins

Chicken Salad (with homemade mayo, grapes, salt & pepper)

Buffalo Chicken Salad

Steak & Chicken Fajitas

Spicy Pulled Pork (I skip the sauce) Served with green beans

Smoked Beef Brisket with steamed broccoli

Beef/Venison Cabbage Soup  

I also made 10 hard boiled eggs and baked a cookie sheet full of bacon.

We are nearly out of boiled eggs and the bacon is gone, so tonight I will fry up a pound of pastured pork sausage together with a dozen eggs and portion it out in the fridge for the rest of the week.  We like to heat it up and top it with Frog Ranch Salsa.

These Blueberry Muffins by PaleOMG were pretty good!  However, an entire cup of almond butter is a lot of money and when I think of it that way, they weren't good enough to warrant that kind of spending for a dozen muffins.  Also, if I were to make them again, I would put an entire cup of blueberries in them because you can never have too many blueberries in your blueberry muffins.

The recipe says it makes 8-10 muffins, but I easily filled all 12 muffin cups.  Also, it didn't say how far to fill the cups.  As you can see, I filled mine about 3/4 full.

Maintenance

I've gotten a lot of compliments lately on my weight(fat)loss.  It makes me feel great that others are noticing, but I have this nagging voice in the back of my head (and sometimes even in my mouth) that says "Yeah, but I've done this before.  Weight loss comes easy.  It's keeping it off that's hard."

You see, a few years ago I lost 46lbs.  I was tracking everything that went in my mouth and all the calories points that I was burning through cardio exercise.  I concentrated on portion sizes and read every label at the grocery store.  I lost the weight in half the average time of anyone else on that program.  But all along I knew that I couldn't maintain the lifestyle.  By the time I had reached my goal weight I was so tired of counting points that it made me angry.  Sure, there were somethings that I could carry on with like exercising regularly and eating off of smaller plates, but I was still putting processed, high carb/sugar foods in my mouth constantly.  Also, I wasn't eating near enough veggies.  

So... I put about 35lbs of the weight that I had lost back on.  So sad.  

When I got tired of being fat again, I decided to take a different approach.  I started eating low carb and then eventually tried to eat sort of in the "Zone".  Finally, in March of 2012, I decided to try paleo.  I was scared.  I won't lie.  The idea of not eating pasta, rice or bread anymore was daunting (even though I had already given up bread for the most part, we still occasionally had low-carb tortillas and whole grain pasta...etc.)  Then after months of unexplained stomach issues that were leading me to miss work and spend countless hours in doctors' offices, I decided to try the Whole30.  The low-carb/zone eating allowed me to lose about 10lbs.  Through Paleo, I lost another 15.  Then, with the Whole30, I lost another 8lbs.  So... I'm back to my goal weight!  I've maintained it for a about a month now.  

I feel like I have a better chance of sticking with the Paleo/Whole30 lifestyle because my health and well-being really depend on it.  I have found that gluten and dairy were causing my unexplained stomach issues and I have no desire to ever eat anything with gluten in it again after my latest episode.  This way of life is so much the opposite of what I did before, that if it doesn't work, I don't know WHAT will.

                   

Whole Life Approach to Health

Thanks to the Whole30 program, I feel like I have a pretty good handle on what I need to do nutritionally to for optimum health.  I still have some tweaks to make and few experiments to run, but for the most part I know now what DOESN'T make me healthy.

During my first Whole30 I spent a portion of those 30 days concentrating on improving my sleep by putting my phone and the television off limits at 8:00pm every night and being in bed no later than 9:00pm (I get up at 5am).  However, I didn't stick with those habits very long (maybe a week?).  I know I got better sleep while I was doing that, so it's just a matter of getting back into that swing.

But... there are 7 other factors that make up the Whole9 approach to optimal health:

1. nutrition
2. sleep
3. stress management
4. active recovery
5. injury rehab
6. fun & play
7. personal growth
8. temperance
9. exercise

I would like to work on all 9 of these for the rest of 2012 so that instead of making New Years resolutions, I will have my Health Balance in check for the new year! Here's my plan for the rest of the year:

NUTRITION - Continue eating grain-free, dairy-free, legume-free and (mostly) sugar-free.  I will have occasional paleo treats when I am attending Holiday dinners that require me to bring a dish.  I also will be alcohol free for the next 30 days, but may indulge occasionally after that.  I plan to do another Whole30 on January 1st.

SLEEP - I will go back to my "no electronics after 8:00pm" rule and be in bed by 9:00pm (or 8 hours before the alarm will be ringing).  7 days a week.  Until it is ingrained habit.  At the very least, for the next 30 days.  After that, there may be an occasion which doesn't allow for a full 8 hours in bed, but for the next 30 days, I'm there!

STRESS MANAGEMENT - Three main causes of stress for me tend to be; procrastination, not asking for help when I need it and taking on too many tasks that are not priority.  I will work on being prepared and not procrastinating as well as asking for help when I need it and getting my priorities straight (ie. having dinner prepared and the laundry done over decorating for the holidays).

ACTIVE RECOVERY & INJURY REHAB - I think my exercise routine already has some active recovery built into it (I typically alternate a CrossFit type workout day with an easy running day and sometimes throw in a pilates/yoga day depending on how I feel).

FUN & PLAY - This is really a tough one for me.  I tend to take myself too seriously and often feel "too busy" for having fun.  I will really have to make an effort to take time for fun & play every day!

PERSONAL GROWTH - I'm not sure what this means in the Whole9 world, but I take it to mean continuing to become a better me.  My plan for this involves continuing to try new foods and learn about improving my health through nutrition and exercise, but also to continue to become a better wife, friend, employee...etc. to others so that I may have more positive influence on those around me.

TEMPERANCE - I actually had to look this one up. I can only assume that Dallas & Melissa are referring to the virtue of temperance, which according to wikipedia is control over excess.  So, where do I lose control over excess?  My iphone, sweetened paleo treats and coffee.  There's probably more, but that's all I can think of right now.  So... when I make a batch of paleo pumpkin muffins for an upcoming gathering, I will limit myself to one a day.  I will eliminate the use of my iphone while in any social situation and while driving (gasp!) and between the hours of 8pm and 5am.  Also, I will only drink 1-2 cups of coffee in the morning.

EXERCISE - My exercise schedule includes 6 days of planned exercise, which is nearly always achieved.  I really don't feel like I have much to work on here other than sticking with it.  I do intend to join my local CrossFit gym once some other life goals have been met and I look forward to it!   


I think the most important thing to keep in mind here is balance.  If exercising a 6th day this week means only getting 6 hours of sleep, I need to consider what I am in more need of, the sleep or the exercise.  This methodology can be applied to all 9 factors.

Freedom!

I bet most of you are thinking that I'm referring to freedom from the bounds of the Whole30 diet, but you couldn't be more wrong.  I'm talking about the freedom to eat good fricken awesome food and not feel even a tinge of guilt.  That's what the Whole30 did for me.  It gave me the freedom to eat amazing food and never, ever feel guilty.  It gave me the freedom to eat without measuring, counting or tracking.  It gave me the freedom to eat meals (and sometimes snacks) without feeling bloated or tired.  

So we got our scale back from the neighbor :)  

Husband lost 22 POUNDS!  That's a whopping 8% of his pre-whole30 body weight.  It's too bad that he didn't have a body fat analysis done, because he's been CrossFitting this whole time and probably lost more than 8% body fat.  I'm so proud of him and I know he's feeling great!

I lost 8lbs (6% of my weight).  I weigh the same now as I did when I hit my WW goal 4 years ago.  The important thing for me is to not let the weight fat creep back on.  I think I have all the tools to ride my own bike.  My head is definitely in the right place for total and permanent lifestyle change (I knew long before I hit my WW goal that counting points would NOT be a permanent lifestyle change for me).  I also plan to join my local CrossFit gym next month and start my running season in a few weeks.  Life is good :)

Measuring Up

Yesterday was our 6 week measurement day.  Every six weeks my friend and I take each others measurements and write them down to compare.  This time I lost: 

1/2" at my waist (for a total of 1-1/2" in the last 12 weeks) 

1-1/4" at my hips (3" total)

1" and 3/4" around my thighs (they didn't change last time)  

3/4" around each arm (1-1/4" total).

My hips actually measure around my "pooch", which is what I call that bubble below my belly button.  I really had wondered if it was shrinking because, well it's still there.  But obviously, as I have lost 3" in that region, it really is shrinking!  

I'm glad that I measured, even though its technically a no-no during the Whole30, because now no matter what the scale says next week, I can be nothing but happy.  

Here's my dinner from last night.  Not a great pic, but it's a grass fed hamburger, grilled with onions, tomato and cucumber on top, covered in home made paleo mayo.  Served with sweet potato fries (peeled, wedged sweet potatoes tossed in oil and sprinkled with s&p.  Baked to perfection).

Standing Ovation

I expect applause.  I am so proud of myself.  Not only  have I made it through Day 2 (that was expected), but I have eaten vegetables at Meal 1 for the third day in a row!!!!!!!!!!  This was/is definitely one of my biggest struggles.  I made this eggplant recipe this morning and paired it with my egg/sausage scramble leftover from yesterday.  It was really good!  I sliced the eggplant really thin and fried them until they were crispy.  Next time, I plan to use garlic powder instead of the minced garlic.  The paste it made was a little messy.

12 Weeks!!!!

Monday was 12 weeks since I started this blog and got serious about Paleo.  I'd like to take a look back and see what good has come of this.  What progress have I made?

Since starting this blog I have:

• Lost over 5% of my body weight (   I know that the scale isn't the best indicator of health, but I am a lover of hard data and numbers!)
• Had to put several items of clothing away because they are too big (people commented on them being too baggy, so I quit wearing them!)
• Have had very few episodes of the crippling GI problems that I was dealing with since November 2011.  The episodes I have had were much less painful and didn't last as long
• Planned my meals for the entire week for the last 7 weeks and now have a LOT less stress about what to make for dinner and I make smarter choices!
• Convinced my husband that Paleo is the way to go (he loves it!)
• Learned that I like some things I had never tried (guacamole, zucchini, cabbage, coconut milk...etc.)
• Discovered and decided to start the Whole30 program with my husband in July
• Learned all sorts of things about how food & exercise affects your body (scientifically)

Tune-Up Weigh In

My partner is camping at the river, so I had to use her weight from last week.  I lost 1.8lbs, so team Lady Swamp Slayers is down .64%!  The Tone-Up Challenge is tough, but I've been doing it every day!

June Challenge

I've decided to do the June Tune-up Challenge from The Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans.  My partner in crime will be my friend Brittany.  I will also be doing the June Tone-up (see below) which is similar to the Mad Muscle May from last month!  I will post our success every Wednesday throughout the month!  If you care to join us, grab a partner and sign up (starts today!) and let me know in the comments how you are doing.

Eating Clean!

I did start using MyFitnessPal again last week in order to gauge how I'm doing as far as getting enough protein...etc.  I think yesterday was my cleanest day of eating EVER!  Although, I've already picked apart how it could have been even cleaner.  Here's what it looks like:

I changed my meals to include time windows because I'm playing around with Intermittent Fasting using the condensed eating window method.  I'm basically just trying to increase my "fasting time" and decrease my "eating window" from the 12-13 hours that it was down to around 8-10 hrs for now.  So far, this is working out great.  I am not intentionally reducing my calories, but it seems to be a natural side effect of eating breakfast later.  I get full from one hard boiled egg and a cup of tea with honey (probably because of the caffeine in the tea).  And I stay fuller longer.

New Goals, Ideas and Paleo Heaven

New Goal:

• Replace some of my "red meat" meals with more fish/chicken/turkey.  I eat A LOT of beef.  I know it's not necessarily "bad" for me, but I think I could get a little leaner if I ate some leaner meats.  My plan is to alternate days on my weekly menu so that I am making a "red-meat" dinner (which also serves as lunch for the next day) on night and a "lean-meat" dinner the next.

New Idea:

• I want to try some form of Intermittent Fasting to see if it helps me lose fat.  My thoughts are that currently my "eating window" is about 12-13 hours (6am-7pm), so I want to try to reduce it to 8-10 hours.  Since my hubby works 3rd shift, we don't eat dinner until after 7pm, so I am going to have to start eating my first meal later in the day.  I also need to get in the habit of eating more calories at night.  The idea is not reduce calories (necessarily), but just to have a longer "fasting" period to burn more fat.  This will be a work in progress.

I mentioned in a previous post that the Farmer's Market Vendor that I bought my cabbage from was handing out copies of a good recipe.  I tried it last night (slightly varied, of course) and it was very good!  My cabbage was huge, so one quarter was enough for both of us.  I put 2 pieces of bacon on quarter and instead of baking it, I put it on the grill for about a half hour before grilling our steaks.  I also sauteed some onions and bell peppers.  This is what Paleo Heaven looks like:

Breakfast!

I made these little gems twice now.  I updated the recipe slightly the second time.  I put the peppers in my cast iron pan (on medium heat) with a little coconut oil for grease.  I put a lid on it and let the pepper cook 3-5 minutes alone.  Then I flipped the peppers, lowered the heat (to about 2 on my electric stove) and added the eggs.  I put the lid on and let them cook until the eggs reached the desired doneness.  They were much better this time because the pepper was more cooked, but still crispy!

*I have only 13 days left of no sugar.  I have resisted many a sweet treat over the last week.  I have still had small amounts of sugar (think honey mustard dressing on my sandwich, or a glass of wine), but no "sweets" (cake, pie, candy, ice cream...etc.).  I'm looking forward to having some kind of treat on or after Memorial Day, but I don't think I'll go crazy. 

3 week Goal Review

DAY 22 ~ WEDNESDAY, APRIL 18, 2012

I mentioned some goals in this post and this post. So... how am I doing?  Let's see:

• I'm still drinking a lot of water, but I've slacked off some the last few days.  Need to get back on track.
• I haven't used artificial sweeteners in over 3 weeks!  This has by far been the best change I have made!  I have had sweets a few times, but I count them on one hand (3 times actually!).  I hardly crave any sweets anymore!
• I quit using my fitness pal, so I have no idea how many grams of fiber or protein I am eating.  I know I am getting more fiber though, because I am eating several servings of fruits and veggies a day :)
• I have only purchased grass-fed beef in the last 3 weeks.  This one is easy.  Even Hubby says he doesn't ever want me to buy meat at the grocery store again!
• I have tried SEVERAL new foods in the last few weeks, including:
• guacamole
• zucchini (grilled with tomato, onion, garlic)
• zucchini bread (paleo)
• I have avoided eating almost any processed foods.  Other than ketchup, mustard, mayo and ranch dressing.  I do plan to make my own mayo and ranch dressing eventually...
• I have had hardly any grains.  I had chips at the mexican resturaunt twice and fried pickles once.  I think that about sums up my grain consumption over the last few weeks.
• I have reduced my dairy intake to cheese once or twice a week.  No milk, no yogurt...
• I bought my first jar of ORGANIC coconut oil! 
• I bought my first few dozen cage-free eggs and even a package of cage-free, hormone-free chicken breasts!
• I've been reading a lot of material and purchased a lot of paleo cookbooks.  Also, joined a local paleo/zone recipe sharing group on fb!
• Been buying more organic food/produce.

What do I still need to work on?

• trying more new veggies
• getting the courage to go gluten free for 21 days (my doc says it's the best way to see if I have a sensitivity or not)
• pushing my self when I run or workout.  I think I did a good job of that here, but I need to do that more often!  Like at least 3 times a week.

ouch!

I did this workout yesterday evening:

I don't recommend trying it unless you don't plan on using your arms for anything the next day (like washing your hair or putting your seatbelt on).

It really wasn't that bad.  I plan to do it again (when I can raise my arms above my waist without crying).  I would like to change it up a little though.  Perhaps instead of crunches, I could do leg raises or bicylces?  Or add weight to my crunches...?