I've been thinking a lot lately about why many of us have tried so many "diets" only to give up 2 months in...or perhaps even 2 weeks of 2 days. Why is that?
(As a side note I must say that I don't really consider paleo to be a "diet" anymore, but I talk about it as if it is because I do want to lose weight while eating this way and also because it's quite different than the "normal" American diet.)
Anyways- while attempting to eat '100% paleo' I am usually not '100% perfect.' Go figure! :P
But I've been trying to figure about what my triggers are so that I can be a little more successful each day. Here are some things I've come up with:
1) "Hi my name is Julia, and I love all things sugar."
I believe that as a society we are all whole-heartedly hooked on sugar. In makes sense...it's what fuels our bodies! But boy do we over do it, and boy is all that stuff addictive. I'm no scientist and can't even cite studies but I've read things that have said that sugar is just as addictive as some drugs. This may seem a little dramatic but I still think it drives the point home.
2) I love all things sugar even more when I am tired.
I have realized that I must sleep enough in order to make this happen. Experts say you need a good night sleep in order to lost weight because it allows your body to do a whole bunch of good things that support your weight loss. Cool, right? Yea, sure. But for me it's simply because if I'm not rested enough I want to go for sugary things that give me quick energy!
p.s. I wake up super early everyday for work so I have a hard time with the whole sleep thing.
3) I consider dessert type things to be a reward.
These first 3 were a perfect trifecta last week. Here's how the story goes: I was tired and hit my wall hardcore around 3p. So what do I do? Head over to the coffee shop to get my afternoon cup of tea. (all is good, so far...) And then I see this cookie that a friend of mine told me was awesome. And then I remember that I had played really well earlier that day in a competition so I deserved that cookie. And then I remembered why I was there in the first place (exhaustion!). So yea, the cookie begged for me to buy it and boy was it delicious. ha!
4) If I don't plan I'm screwed!
I usually have to pack all 3 meals everyday which gets a little hard come Wednesday or Thursday night when all I want to do is go to bed....but the days that I don't plan I pay for it the next days- both with my choices and with my wallet.
5) I say "well, I can just re-start tomorrow."
Yikes. This generally leads to one bad choice followed by the rest of they day filled with bad choices.
6) Happy hour.
nuff said. Can't go to happy hour starving; it's dangerous! And I need to order better drinks...even if they do cost a little more.
7) I'm human, and therefore not perfect.
_________________
Now, with all that said- things are going well! I had lost a few pounds just before Thanksgiving and put them right back on over that weekend but have been back on track and am back down to my pre-Thanksgiving weight. And I don't regret any of it either. haha. And yes- I did have pie for breakfast one morning. :)
Things with school and work are good too! Some really exciting stuff in the works, actually. The past couple weeks have been one of those rare occasions where I actually feel like some of my hard work is paying off. It's been really refreshing. More on all of this later.
That's all for now, thanks for checking in-
J
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Truckin' Along and Building Habits
Hey hey!
Well, after I make a big deal about being back I suddenly disappear again. Although not for as long....and not because I wanted to necessarily either. But alas, working close to 20hrs a week while going to grad school full time leaves extra time at a minimum. :)
I do have the beginnings of some fun recipe and cooking posts though! Perhaps I'll find time this weekend or next to sit down and finish them. :)
I'm truckin' along though. Most days I classify as "mostly paleo" but that works for me right now so I'll take it. Yesterday turned out to be a 100% paleo day which was great.
Perhaps it's just a matter of building my "planning ahead" habits more so that eating cleanly becomes the new normal? I think I might be onto something there... :P
Had a midterm last night and I'm so glad that that's behind me! Now just 5 more school days until the beloved time off that is Thanksgiving. Just the thought of catching up on sleep makes me so happy! Haha.
Aside from all the foodie stuff, the most exciting thing in my world right now though is that I'm searching for a new Horn! It's been really fun looking around and playing on a whole bunch of horns...especially because I can actually afford to buy one should I find one I really like.
And the little added bonus to all of this is that I'm currently borrowing one that is perfectly in my price range that I'm, so far, really liking. I'm going to play on it for a few weeks and hopefully for some more trusted sets of ears but it looks promising so far. :)
That's all for now I suppose; I've got a 3 year old vying for my attention!
Xo-
J
Well, after I make a big deal about being back I suddenly disappear again. Although not for as long....and not because I wanted to necessarily either. But alas, working close to 20hrs a week while going to grad school full time leaves extra time at a minimum. :)
I do have the beginnings of some fun recipe and cooking posts though! Perhaps I'll find time this weekend or next to sit down and finish them. :)
I'm truckin' along though. Most days I classify as "mostly paleo" but that works for me right now so I'll take it. Yesterday turned out to be a 100% paleo day which was great.
Perhaps it's just a matter of building my "planning ahead" habits more so that eating cleanly becomes the new normal? I think I might be onto something there... :P
Had a midterm last night and I'm so glad that that's behind me! Now just 5 more school days until the beloved time off that is Thanksgiving. Just the thought of catching up on sleep makes me so happy! Haha.
Aside from all the foodie stuff, the most exciting thing in my world right now though is that I'm searching for a new Horn! It's been really fun looking around and playing on a whole bunch of horns...especially because I can actually afford to buy one should I find one I really like.
And the little added bonus to all of this is that I'm currently borrowing one that is perfectly in my price range that I'm, so far, really liking. I'm going to play on it for a few weeks and hopefully for some more trusted sets of ears but it looks promising so far. :)
That's all for now I suppose; I've got a 3 year old vying for my attention!
Xo-
J
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Im Baaaack!
I'm back....almost 4 months later!
Since my last post I think it would be safe to say that a lot of life has happened. I traveled for a month at the end of the summer, moved to a new city in a new state, started multiple new jobs, and began a Doctoral program. And amidst all of that kept on living life.
It's been quite the transition this time around but I finally feel like I have a grasp on things here and have decided that it's time to put my weight loss goals back in the forefront. I haven't really gained any weight in the past 4 months, which I suppose is a victory, but I sure don't weigh less than I did during my last post.
And today, after a couple of days off of school and a questionable date with a pint of Ben and Jerry's I've decided that now is the time. So here I am...back for more. But this time my aim is different- I'm not just in this to do "hardcore for 30 days"; I'm here to work on making paleo sustainable for me long term while also working my ass off at school so that I can accomplish the things I want to. Both of these things require A LOT of time and energy and, to be frank, I have yet to find the balance. But I'm going to keep trying. And I'm going to write about it. So while this is still a 'paleo blog'- I'm also giving myself the freedom to write about other stuff too because we all know we get bored of an only food blog. And the other stuff is, in a roundabout way, is what motivates me to want to pursue paleo long term.
Before I sign off can we talk about my totally awesome new blog name. :) I thought it was appropriate! I'd say that eating paleo requires a good amount of creativity and, well, I'm gettting a Doctorate degree in music...wouldn't you say that requires a lot of creativity too? So yes, "Creative Living!" Huzzah!
That's all for now; it feels good to be back!
Until next time-
Julia
Since my last post I think it would be safe to say that a lot of life has happened. I traveled for a month at the end of the summer, moved to a new city in a new state, started multiple new jobs, and began a Doctoral program. And amidst all of that kept on living life.
It's been quite the transition this time around but I finally feel like I have a grasp on things here and have decided that it's time to put my weight loss goals back in the forefront. I haven't really gained any weight in the past 4 months, which I suppose is a victory, but I sure don't weigh less than I did during my last post.
And today, after a couple of days off of school and a questionable date with a pint of Ben and Jerry's I've decided that now is the time. So here I am...back for more. But this time my aim is different- I'm not just in this to do "hardcore for 30 days"; I'm here to work on making paleo sustainable for me long term while also working my ass off at school so that I can accomplish the things I want to. Both of these things require A LOT of time and energy and, to be frank, I have yet to find the balance. But I'm going to keep trying. And I'm going to write about it. So while this is still a 'paleo blog'- I'm also giving myself the freedom to write about other stuff too because we all know we get bored of an only food blog. And the other stuff is, in a roundabout way, is what motivates me to want to pursue paleo long term.
Before I sign off can we talk about my totally awesome new blog name. :) I thought it was appropriate! I'd say that eating paleo requires a good amount of creativity and, well, I'm gettting a Doctorate degree in music...wouldn't you say that requires a lot of creativity too? So yes, "Creative Living!" Huzzah!
That's all for now; it feels good to be back!
Until next time-
Julia
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
Almost, but not quite
I am one of those gals that does when all the experts tell us not to do: I weigh myself every day. It's mainly a curiosity thing and it helps to keep my accountable. And surprisingly, when the scales vary throughout the week I don't even really every worry about it because I know that I only count the number that I see on the scale on Wednesday mornings.
Here's the thing though, I saw the scale hit the 20 pound mark twice earlier in the week and this morning I came up short! So, as you might imagine, I'm a little bummed because I wanted to "officially" be down 20 pounds and now I'm just "unofficially" down 20. Almost sounds petty to write it but that's where I'm at. *boo!*
So officially? I'm down 19.6 pounds total. I need to kill it the next 2 1/2 weeks....I really want to get down another 5.4 pounds!
Anyways, Happy 4th of July!! :D I'm off to meat my friend Nicholas for breakfast.
xoxo-
J
Here's the thing though, I saw the scale hit the 20 pound mark twice earlier in the week and this morning I came up short! So, as you might imagine, I'm a little bummed because I wanted to "officially" be down 20 pounds and now I'm just "unofficially" down 20. Almost sounds petty to write it but that's where I'm at. *boo!*
So officially? I'm down 19.6 pounds total. I need to kill it the next 2 1/2 weeks....I really want to get down another 5.4 pounds!
Anyways, Happy 4th of July!! :D I'm off to meat my friend Nicholas for breakfast.
xoxo-
J
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Back on Track
That's right! We are officially back on track!
I was very pleased to see a loss on the scale this week and I feel like I am officially in a groove. In week's past it has been very difficult to say no to high-carb, high-sugar snacks, but this past week they weren't even a temptation. When presented with Cheez-its, Oreo's, Fig Newton's, and sugary cereals I happily chose a handful of raisins. This is a very nice place to be.
And, I feel like I am finally over this cold. Morning's are still pretty rough but I finally feel well enough again to head back to the gym this week. Woohoo!
I do feel like I must disclose the following though: I did enjoy 24 hrs of 'cheating' from Friday night to Saturday night. The food choices were still mindful though, and I don't regret that farm ice cream I had with my mom yesterday when she came to visit. :) And getting back on track today? A non-issue as far as I'm concerned.
So....as of weigh-in this week I'm down 18.4 pounds total. I'll take it.
My goal's have shifted since the beginning of the summer and are now the following: This week I really want to get down the the 20 pound mark. This is what I am shooting for. And then from weigh-in this Wednesday I've got 2 1/2 weeks until I move and I'm planning on losing an additional 5 pounds within that time frame to bring my weight loss to a grand total of 25 pounds. Boy will that feel good!
In other news, things are picking up these next couple weeks. I've officially have an apartment lined up in Hartford and have officially begun making my moving plans. I even bought 15 boxes yesterday along with tape and packing paper! This week begins the "going through everything" phase and then I hope to space out my packing within my last 2 weeks here. It all seems a little daunting still at this point, but I hope to take it one day at a time and keep the stress levels down. :)
Until next time y'all-
J
So....as of weigh-in this week I'm down 18.4 pounds total. I'll take it.
My goal's have shifted since the beginning of the summer and are now the following: This week I really want to get down the the 20 pound mark. This is what I am shooting for. And then from weigh-in this Wednesday I've got 2 1/2 weeks until I move and I'm planning on losing an additional 5 pounds within that time frame to bring my weight loss to a grand total of 25 pounds. Boy will that feel good!
In other news, things are picking up these next couple weeks. I've officially have an apartment lined up in Hartford and have officially begun making my moving plans. I even bought 15 boxes yesterday along with tape and packing paper! This week begins the "going through everything" phase and then I hope to space out my packing within my last 2 weeks here. It all seems a little daunting still at this point, but I hope to take it one day at a time and keep the stress levels down. :)
Until next time y'all-
J
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
I've been silent for over a week on here; oops! Unfortunately I came down with a cold last Wednesday so haven't been feeling up to blogging and all that.
But, it's been a good week! I weighed in last Wednesday...I stayed exactly the same from the week. Not ideal at this point obviously, but I will happily blame 'that time of the month' and move on.
As far as the goals I set for myself, here is how I've done:
- The first goal was to workout 4 times; this was an epic fail. I worked out once, got sick the next day, and haven't felt well enough to workout since. It was also over 100 degrees on the heat index a couple days last week which made is impossible as well. But, I succumbed to taking Sudafed this morning so am actually feeling up for working out! I'm going to head back for a Step aerobics workout this evening.
-Goal #2 was to drink at least 64 oz. of water each day: goal achieved! I thank the cold for this one a little, but I have been drinking water like it's nobody's business. Go me!
-I also haven't had coffee since my last blog post....go me!
-Sleep has been good most night's too! A few mornings I have woken up on my own before my alarm clock but I've been feeling rested so I'm counting that.
-Definitely didn't blog 4 times...sorry guys :P
-And lastly, I only ate out one time! Had a grilled chicken salad with dressing on the side.
-Goal #2 was to drink at least 64 oz. of water each day: goal achieved! I thank the cold for this one a little, but I have been drinking water like it's nobody's business. Go me!
-I also haven't had coffee since my last blog post....go me!
-Sleep has been good most night's too! A few mornings I have woken up on my own before my alarm clock but I've been feeling rested so I'm counting that.
-Definitely didn't blog 4 times...sorry guys :P
-And lastly, I only ate out one time! Had a grilled chicken salad with dressing on the side.
I've been weighing myself often and been keeping close tabs on myself so am anticipating a loss tomorrow. Can't say for sure how much; I'm hopeful I'll drop a little more between this morning and tomorrow morning.
Anyways, last night was the exception to good sleep so I'm going to go take a little nap while the kids I nanny for are taking their nap.
thanks for reading! :)
~J
Sunday, June 17, 2012
Goal setting
I don't have much energy but I thought I would check in before heading to bed.
Things were going great paleo-wise but I took a step back the past 3-4 days or so. It was that time of the month and for all you women out there, you know what that can be like! I craved every kind of bad food and was just EXHAUSTED. Not all was lost by any means but I'm excited to get back to 'normal' tomorrow.
Tomorrow is a big day...I've got 5 weeks until I move out and head to a 2 week brass quintet seminar. As they say, it's go time!
I've got to 1) save money, 2) practice my instrument, and 3) eat paleo.
1) Can't afford to purchase anything that isn't essential at this point. Kind of a bummer because I feel like I have been working so hard but the reality is that I have a lot to save to make everything happen that is in the works.
2) I've been doing 1.5-2 hours daily and that changes as of tomorrow. I must and will get back to practicing my normal 3 hours. I have a lot of music to learn and I want to sound my best going into the seminar.
3) Paleo: I still have the same goals and am still just as committed. I will keep working and I will keep dropping weight. And my best friend is doing it with me now...we are going to help each other. I want to lose at least 10 pounds in the next 5 weeks.
Goals for this week:
- Workout 4 times (have a run be at least 1 of those times)
- Drink at least 64 oz. of water daily.
- No coffee. Only tea if necessary.
- Get at least 7 solid hrs of sleep a night and shoot for 8.
- Eat 100% paleo.
- Blog 4 times. (this counts as 1!) ....writing is cathartic and I'm convinced that I'm more successful when I blog than when I don't.
- Only eat out 1 time. (I made plans with my roomie to go out to eat Thursday night but other than that I'm staying home)
I gotta say, it feels good to have written those down. I'm off to go work on the sleep one...time to head in that direction since I've got an early morning tomorrow.
Thanks for listening. :)
Things were going great paleo-wise but I took a step back the past 3-4 days or so. It was that time of the month and for all you women out there, you know what that can be like! I craved every kind of bad food and was just EXHAUSTED. Not all was lost by any means but I'm excited to get back to 'normal' tomorrow.
Tomorrow is a big day...I've got 5 weeks until I move out and head to a 2 week brass quintet seminar. As they say, it's go time!
I've got to 1) save money, 2) practice my instrument, and 3) eat paleo.
1) Can't afford to purchase anything that isn't essential at this point. Kind of a bummer because I feel like I have been working so hard but the reality is that I have a lot to save to make everything happen that is in the works.
2) I've been doing 1.5-2 hours daily and that changes as of tomorrow. I must and will get back to practicing my normal 3 hours. I have a lot of music to learn and I want to sound my best going into the seminar.
3) Paleo: I still have the same goals and am still just as committed. I will keep working and I will keep dropping weight. And my best friend is doing it with me now...we are going to help each other. I want to lose at least 10 pounds in the next 5 weeks.
Goals for this week:
- Workout 4 times (have a run be at least 1 of those times)
- Drink at least 64 oz. of water daily.
- No coffee. Only tea if necessary.
- Get at least 7 solid hrs of sleep a night and shoot for 8.
- Eat 100% paleo.
- Blog 4 times. (this counts as 1!) ....writing is cathartic and I'm convinced that I'm more successful when I blog than when I don't.
- Only eat out 1 time. (I made plans with my roomie to go out to eat Thursday night but other than that I'm staying home)
I gotta say, it feels good to have written those down. I'm off to go work on the sleep one...time to head in that direction since I've got an early morning tomorrow.
Thanks for listening. :)
Monday, June 11, 2012
FMM: Bedroom Habits
Hello all! I'm way late considering there is only a couple more hours in Monday, but you know what they say! Better later than never....right?
Anyways, things are well over here. I went for another run Saturday morning and cut 13 seconds off of my mile time! I was hurting though, running requires muscles that I don't work very often! But I was proud of myself for doing it again and plan to get out there again soon! My eating shaped up over the weekend as well and I feel like I'm finally getting over this craving hump and perhaps catching on to a bit of a rhythm. Feels good to feel in control. :)
Now onto FMM!
If you’ve taken part in FMM then you know the rules. If you’re new, please take a moment to answer this week’s question on your own blog then add your link in the comments section at: www.alltheweigh.com so we can all see your FMM questions and answers. Please invite your blog readers to add their links there too so everyone has to opportunity to be seen. The idea is to connect with other awesome bloggers so take a moment to post your own FMM post and comment on a couple of other posts. Now it’s time for this week’s topic!
1. Do you set an alarm clock? If so, for what time? Ugh. yes. I set three in fact. If I have to shower they are set for 6, 6:10, and 6:15. and no shower? 6:15, 6:25, and 6:30.
2. How many hours of sleep do you get on an average night? I have been diligently trying to get to as close to 8 as possible and usually get around 7.
3. Do you bring your laptop to bed? Yep! Don't think it's the best thing for ya but it helps me wind down a little. I try to keep the screen pretty dim which helps me justify it a little.
4. How many pillows do you require to sleep? 2. If I ever get stuck with just one I always fold it in half! hehe.
5. Do you sleep with socks on? Never ever. Cannot stand the feeling!
6. How often do you change the sheets? Every couple of weeks I'd say; more than a week, less than a month just sort of depending.
7. Do you remember your dreams? Not usually. If I fall back asleep after my alarm goes off then yes but it's pretty infrequent otherwise
8. Which side of the bed do you sleep on? Believe it or not, I'm still camping out on a twin bed! So right smack dab in the middle. :) But usually if I'm sharing a bed I take the left side (if you are standing at the foot of the bed)
9. How often do you take naps? Since I'm a nanny and the babies I watch nap sometimes I can sneak in a little nap during the day...I'd say those happen twice a week. And then I usually take a small nap on Sunday afternoons. :)
10. Do you sleep soundly? Yes! Once I'm asleep I sleep very well up to the time when my alarm goes off. Many people have had problems with that and I'm thankful that it's never really been an issue for me.
Now it’s your turn to answer this week’s questions! Don’t forget to come back and link up in the comments! And hey…try saying hi to someone new this week! Happy Monday, Friends…
Anyways, things are well over here. I went for another run Saturday morning and cut 13 seconds off of my mile time! I was hurting though, running requires muscles that I don't work very often! But I was proud of myself for doing it again and plan to get out there again soon! My eating shaped up over the weekend as well and I feel like I'm finally getting over this craving hump and perhaps catching on to a bit of a rhythm. Feels good to feel in control. :)
Now onto FMM!
If you’ve taken part in FMM then you know the rules. If you’re new, please take a moment to answer this week’s question on your own blog then add your link in the comments section at: www.alltheweigh.com so we can all see your FMM questions and answers. Please invite your blog readers to add their links there too so everyone has to opportunity to be seen. The idea is to connect with other awesome bloggers so take a moment to post your own FMM post and comment on a couple of other posts. Now it’s time for this week’s topic!
FMM: Bedroom Habits
1. Do you set an alarm clock? If so, for what time? Ugh. yes. I set three in fact. If I have to shower they are set for 6, 6:10, and 6:15. and no shower? 6:15, 6:25, and 6:30.
2. How many hours of sleep do you get on an average night? I have been diligently trying to get to as close to 8 as possible and usually get around 7.
3. Do you bring your laptop to bed? Yep! Don't think it's the best thing for ya but it helps me wind down a little. I try to keep the screen pretty dim which helps me justify it a little.
4. How many pillows do you require to sleep? 2. If I ever get stuck with just one I always fold it in half! hehe.
5. Do you sleep with socks on? Never ever. Cannot stand the feeling!
6. How often do you change the sheets? Every couple of weeks I'd say; more than a week, less than a month just sort of depending.
7. Do you remember your dreams? Not usually. If I fall back asleep after my alarm goes off then yes but it's pretty infrequent otherwise
8. Which side of the bed do you sleep on? Believe it or not, I'm still camping out on a twin bed! So right smack dab in the middle. :) But usually if I'm sharing a bed I take the left side (if you are standing at the foot of the bed)
9. How often do you take naps? Since I'm a nanny and the babies I watch nap sometimes I can sneak in a little nap during the day...I'd say those happen twice a week. And then I usually take a small nap on Sunday afternoons. :)
10. Do you sleep soundly? Yes! Once I'm asleep I sleep very well up to the time when my alarm goes off. Many people have had problems with that and I'm thankful that it's never really been an issue for me.
Now it’s your turn to answer this week’s questions! Don’t forget to come back and link up in the comments! And hey…try saying hi to someone new this week! Happy Monday, Friends…
Friday, June 8, 2012
...just keep swimming...just keep swimming...
I think it's almost been a week since I posted! *yikes*
Last weekend I was away from my kitchen a lot but was able to make good choices! I went to Friendly's for a late lunch last Saturday and I was able to find one thing on the menu that was paleo. I'm sure there was a hidden something in my steak and veggies, but considering what my other options were I was pleased. And then on Sunday a close friend of mine took me out to dinner at a local restaurant which had quite a few paleo options! I've noticed that the nicer the restaurant the easier it is to eat out on paleo. I ordered a greek salad with chicken....it was huge!!! And had lots and lots of vegetables too! I ended up taking about half of it home and eating it Monday night for dinner.
I must digress though and tell you a little bit more about this place....first of all, it's delicious, is always crowded, and is a fan favorite for our college town. Secondly, it's known for it's popovers. Huge, delicious, warm popovers that come with an equally delicious apple butter. So, I made the conscious decision to "cheat" and upgrade to a popover instead of getting the roll or whatever that comes with the salad. And my friend agreed to help me share it so I felt less guilty. ;) Here is where I struggle though and I don't know where the balance is....do I get a popover (or whatever else it may be) every once in a while because that's life and accept the consequences (not as much weight loss is the main one that comes to mind), or do I go hardcore 100% until I reach my goal weight and then 'live a little' once in a while? I don't really know the right answer and I'm sure everyone has their own opinion. This is where that learning curve comes in....I need to figure out what works best for me and what is going to help me long term.
Fast forward to Wednesday now; that was weigh-in day! I don't know what I weighed when I re-started blogging last week so I can't say how things fluctuated but I will say that the scale showed a 16.2 pound loss since I started on this grand adventure. I will be able to get a more accurate assessment next week and then we can go from there I suppose.
Things that haven't gone well: I didn't keep my eating in check on Wednesday after my weigh-in and that has sort of spilled over into yesterday and today too.
And, I will likely have a drink or two tonight because I'm hanging out with a friend of mine who is leaving to go out of town for over a month tomorrow so I imagine we will want to have a drink or two to celebrate. But come tomorrow we must get back on track. I want this too bad not to make it happen at this point.
Things that have gone well: I ran over a mile without stopping yesterday! To many this is not a big deal and is something that they have been able to do for as long as they can remember. But to me, it was huge! I can't ever remember being able to do that so I was thrilled. I was slow but I ran the whole time! And then after a quick phone break I ran home!...another .85 miles. I'm super excited about this...I just need to find some good tunes that are at about the pace I want to run and I'll be set.! I have never considered myself to be a runner but knowing I can run over a mile is a huge boost to the confidence. I'm definitely sore today, but am thinking about getting out there again sometime this weekend to see how I do!
In other news, I need to up my practice time and start clocking more hours at school. That also starts Saturday. (Today I have a haircut appt. after work so wont likely get a ton of time by the time I'm finished with all that) Working towards getting better at French horn is just as important, if not more important, as losing weight is and I will not let this summer go to waste!
Oh, and lastly- I've been making a point to drink a lot of water every day. Some days are better than others but I'm really making an effort because I know it's a really important aspect of weight loss. And along those same lines, I've also been making an effort to get to bed on the earlier side so that I can get 7.5-8 hours of sleep every night by the time I get my butt out of bed at 6:30am. Those are two things that people always say are really important for weight loss that I never do so I'm making an effort to try and make those things happen. In turn, I'm also trying to cut coffee/caffeine. I've only been mildly successful in that category so far. :P
I think that's it for now, I'll be back soon!
~Julia
Last weekend I was away from my kitchen a lot but was able to make good choices! I went to Friendly's for a late lunch last Saturday and I was able to find one thing on the menu that was paleo. I'm sure there was a hidden something in my steak and veggies, but considering what my other options were I was pleased. And then on Sunday a close friend of mine took me out to dinner at a local restaurant which had quite a few paleo options! I've noticed that the nicer the restaurant the easier it is to eat out on paleo. I ordered a greek salad with chicken....it was huge!!! And had lots and lots of vegetables too! I ended up taking about half of it home and eating it Monday night for dinner.
I must digress though and tell you a little bit more about this place....first of all, it's delicious, is always crowded, and is a fan favorite for our college town. Secondly, it's known for it's popovers. Huge, delicious, warm popovers that come with an equally delicious apple butter. So, I made the conscious decision to "cheat" and upgrade to a popover instead of getting the roll or whatever that comes with the salad. And my friend agreed to help me share it so I felt less guilty. ;) Here is where I struggle though and I don't know where the balance is....do I get a popover (or whatever else it may be) every once in a while because that's life and accept the consequences (not as much weight loss is the main one that comes to mind), or do I go hardcore 100% until I reach my goal weight and then 'live a little' once in a while? I don't really know the right answer and I'm sure everyone has their own opinion. This is where that learning curve comes in....I need to figure out what works best for me and what is going to help me long term.
Fast forward to Wednesday now; that was weigh-in day! I don't know what I weighed when I re-started blogging last week so I can't say how things fluctuated but I will say that the scale showed a 16.2 pound loss since I started on this grand adventure. I will be able to get a more accurate assessment next week and then we can go from there I suppose.
Things that haven't gone well: I didn't keep my eating in check on Wednesday after my weigh-in and that has sort of spilled over into yesterday and today too.
And, I will likely have a drink or two tonight because I'm hanging out with a friend of mine who is leaving to go out of town for over a month tomorrow so I imagine we will want to have a drink or two to celebrate. But come tomorrow we must get back on track. I want this too bad not to make it happen at this point.
Things that have gone well: I ran over a mile without stopping yesterday! To many this is not a big deal and is something that they have been able to do for as long as they can remember. But to me, it was huge! I can't ever remember being able to do that so I was thrilled. I was slow but I ran the whole time! And then after a quick phone break I ran home!...another .85 miles. I'm super excited about this...I just need to find some good tunes that are at about the pace I want to run and I'll be set.! I have never considered myself to be a runner but knowing I can run over a mile is a huge boost to the confidence. I'm definitely sore today, but am thinking about getting out there again sometime this weekend to see how I do!
In other news, I need to up my practice time and start clocking more hours at school. That also starts Saturday. (Today I have a haircut appt. after work so wont likely get a ton of time by the time I'm finished with all that) Working towards getting better at French horn is just as important, if not more important, as losing weight is and I will not let this summer go to waste!
Oh, and lastly- I've been making a point to drink a lot of water every day. Some days are better than others but I'm really making an effort because I know it's a really important aspect of weight loss. And along those same lines, I've also been making an effort to get to bed on the earlier side so that I can get 7.5-8 hours of sleep every night by the time I get my butt out of bed at 6:30am. Those are two things that people always say are really important for weight loss that I never do so I'm making an effort to try and make those things happen. In turn, I'm also trying to cut coffee/caffeine. I've only been mildly successful in that category so far. :P
I think that's it for now, I'll be back soon!
~Julia
Saturday, June 2, 2012
I got a flat tire :/ ...and my Allergies are killer!
Good morning y'all, Happy Saturday. :)
I'm up early with a few minutes to post before I go about my day so I thought I would check-in.
My exciting story for the day is that I got a flat tire late last night when I was leaving a friends house. Bummer, right? My friend jacked up my car and went to go take off the tire but it unfortunately was stuck on there. So we ended up calling AAA and waited for over an hour for them to come. When I finally got home, almost 2 hours later than I anticipated, I was very excited to crawl into bed. I don't think it even took 5 minutes and I was out. My kitty slept next to me all night too! He's a cutie. :)
My choices were pretty good last night though, so go me! I had a little bit of red wine with my friend (a glass or less) and then when I got hungry snacked on these veggie chips. The ingredients were vegetables and oil. (Safflower, and canola...no soy!) Had I been at my place I probably would have snacked on something else but considering I was at my friend's house I was really happy with the find. I also went for a Coke Zero towards the end of the night as well cause I wanted to be sure to be awake enough for the drive home. It's all about the little victories for me so I'm going to go ahead and take that one. :P
Unfortunately, my allergies have been killer lately. The pollen levels have been crazy high! I've been taking Claritin in hopes to help them but it doesn't seem to be doing much. And if it is I can't even imagine what they would be like without anything. I'm considering switching to another OTC antihistamine next time I go to the store in hopes that that may provide some additional relief. *achoo!*
Today I'm headed to some rehearsals for a gig and am going to be dealing with being away from a kitchen all day. It's always tricky to eat out on paleo, but I am determined to find a good place with good choices. I also plan on packing some fruit, veggies, nuts, and a lara bar. Ah, the life of a caveman.
So that's what is happening with me in a nut shell. Thanks for stopping by!
Next post: Water, and sleep. Cause those are important.
Stay tuned!
~J
I'm up early with a few minutes to post before I go about my day so I thought I would check-in.
My exciting story for the day is that I got a flat tire late last night when I was leaving a friends house. Bummer, right? My friend jacked up my car and went to go take off the tire but it unfortunately was stuck on there. So we ended up calling AAA and waited for over an hour for them to come. When I finally got home, almost 2 hours later than I anticipated, I was very excited to crawl into bed. I don't think it even took 5 minutes and I was out. My kitty slept next to me all night too! He's a cutie. :)
My choices were pretty good last night though, so go me! I had a little bit of red wine with my friend (a glass or less) and then when I got hungry snacked on these veggie chips. The ingredients were vegetables and oil. (Safflower, and canola...no soy!) Had I been at my place I probably would have snacked on something else but considering I was at my friend's house I was really happy with the find. I also went for a Coke Zero towards the end of the night as well cause I wanted to be sure to be awake enough for the drive home. It's all about the little victories for me so I'm going to go ahead and take that one. :P
Unfortunately, my allergies have been killer lately. The pollen levels have been crazy high! I've been taking Claritin in hopes to help them but it doesn't seem to be doing much. And if it is I can't even imagine what they would be like without anything. I'm considering switching to another OTC antihistamine next time I go to the store in hopes that that may provide some additional relief. *achoo!*
Today I'm headed to some rehearsals for a gig and am going to be dealing with being away from a kitchen all day. It's always tricky to eat out on paleo, but I am determined to find a good place with good choices. I also plan on packing some fruit, veggies, nuts, and a lara bar. Ah, the life of a caveman.
So that's what is happening with me in a nut shell. Thanks for stopping by!
Next post: Water, and sleep. Cause those are important.
Stay tuned!
~J
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Getting underway....(day 2)
Well, it looks like I was able to attract a bit of an audience yesterday when I posted the link here to my blog on facebook and twitter...sweet! I don't know who you are, but I'm happy that you are here because it really does help me to stay accountable. :)
I went to the grocery store yesterday and bought lots of vegetables to cook in the upcoming days. Bok choy and rainbow chard are the most adventurous ones and blueberries were buy one get one free! Berries are awesome; I'm excited that they are starting to come into season here.
I was also more tired than normal yesterday and am the same today. Some people react differently in their first couple days of paleo than others, but I am one of the ones that gets really tired. I also get a little fuzzy. It will be nice to be over the initial hump here.
I also did what you aren't supposed to do and ate right before bed. (boo!) They always say not to because it affects your sleep cycles and your bodies ability to burn fat when it's sleeping, etc, etc. But alas, I did it anyways. I had a small handful of blueberries, a couple of baby carrots, and a large glass of water. It obviously could have been worse though, eh?!
I've got some meat de-frosting in the fridge and a workout planned after work so it's going to be a good afternoon! In the meantime though, I going to go take a little nap while the 18 month old twins I nanny for are sleeping.
See you next time! (I'll try to come up with something a little more fun to write about) ;)
~Julia
I went to the grocery store yesterday and bought lots of vegetables to cook in the upcoming days. Bok choy and rainbow chard are the most adventurous ones and blueberries were buy one get one free! Berries are awesome; I'm excited that they are starting to come into season here.
I was also more tired than normal yesterday and am the same today. Some people react differently in their first couple days of paleo than others, but I am one of the ones that gets really tired. I also get a little fuzzy. It will be nice to be over the initial hump here.
I also did what you aren't supposed to do and ate right before bed. (boo!) They always say not to because it affects your sleep cycles and your bodies ability to burn fat when it's sleeping, etc, etc. But alas, I did it anyways. I had a small handful of blueberries, a couple of baby carrots, and a large glass of water. It obviously could have been worse though, eh?!
I've got some meat de-frosting in the fridge and a workout planned after work so it's going to be a good afternoon! In the meantime though, I going to go take a little nap while the 18 month old twins I nanny for are sleeping.
See you next time! (I'll try to come up with something a little more fun to write about) ;)
~Julia
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
I'm Back! Day 1...or is it Day 155?
Well, I'm back! It's been a while since I've posted and while the scale has done nothing but go up and down since my last post, a lot of other fun life things have happened!
The biggest thing to report is that I graduated! I officially have a masters degree and am happy to say that my stress levels are back to a healthy level. Now I'm in the process of getting ready to move and transition into the next chapter of my life. In a few short months I'll be packing up my bags and moving an hour south of where I'm living now and am going start pursuing a Doctorate degree. I'm looking forward to the adventure and think it's the best next step for me.
But the last few months of grad school? Oh boy were those stressful! Sleep was only happening 5-6 hours a night and I wasn't able to really eat paleo more than 60%-70% of the time. So the bottom line for me was that it got hard and I didn't always make the best decisions. As the semester got busier it became more and more of a chore to plan and cook all of my meals and it became harder and harder to say "no thanks" to those darn gin and tonics. :P
But, I am happy to say that I, by no means, fell of the wagon completely (phew!) But, I ate non-paleo enough, and didn't workout enough to continue to see the scale move consistently in a downward trend. On the upside though, at one point the scale said I had lost more than 20 lbs! (this is not the case today, but it was still exciting!) And overall, I'm still the lightest I've been in a great while which is cool too!
And this brings us to the reason that I'm back.... I've got 7 1/2 weeks until I move away from the place that I've called home for 2 years and I want to make the most of it. This blog helped to keep me accountable back in Dec/Jan/Feb and I hope it will do the same now. The goal? I'd like to lose 15 pounds in these 7 1/2 weeks and then hopes for another 10 in the month or so after that before I start up school again come September.
So while I suppose this is Day 155 since I started all of this, I am going to wipe the slate clean for myself. Today is day 1 and I'm looking forward to this new adventure that we lovingly call paleo.
Check back for more fun...hopefully I can keep us all entertained in the midst of it all. :)
The biggest thing to report is that I graduated! I officially have a masters degree and am happy to say that my stress levels are back to a healthy level. Now I'm in the process of getting ready to move and transition into the next chapter of my life. In a few short months I'll be packing up my bags and moving an hour south of where I'm living now and am going start pursuing a Doctorate degree. I'm looking forward to the adventure and think it's the best next step for me.
But the last few months of grad school? Oh boy were those stressful! Sleep was only happening 5-6 hours a night and I wasn't able to really eat paleo more than 60%-70% of the time. So the bottom line for me was that it got hard and I didn't always make the best decisions. As the semester got busier it became more and more of a chore to plan and cook all of my meals and it became harder and harder to say "no thanks" to those darn gin and tonics. :P
But, I am happy to say that I, by no means, fell of the wagon completely (phew!) But, I ate non-paleo enough, and didn't workout enough to continue to see the scale move consistently in a downward trend. On the upside though, at one point the scale said I had lost more than 20 lbs! (this is not the case today, but it was still exciting!) And overall, I'm still the lightest I've been in a great while which is cool too!
And this brings us to the reason that I'm back.... I've got 7 1/2 weeks until I move away from the place that I've called home for 2 years and I want to make the most of it. This blog helped to keep me accountable back in Dec/Jan/Feb and I hope it will do the same now. The goal? I'd like to lose 15 pounds in these 7 1/2 weeks and then hopes for another 10 in the month or so after that before I start up school again come September.
So while I suppose this is Day 155 since I started all of this, I am going to wipe the slate clean for myself. Today is day 1 and I'm looking forward to this new adventure that we lovingly call paleo.
Check back for more fun...hopefully I can keep us all entertained in the midst of it all. :)
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Week 7 weigh-in
Just checking-in and posting my results for the week....
I, once again, 'cheated death' a little with some of my food choices but I still managed to lose some which is great! I'm really looking forward to this week ending though, stress does not help me make good choices and I've got a lot of it! I knew last week and this week would be stressful, but it will be good to get back to normalcy. :)
Anyways, I lost another 1.2 pounds for a total weight loss of 16.4 pounds!
My goal for this week? 2.9 pounds. Seems a bit lofty, but I'm gonna go for it! :)
See you next time-
J
I, once again, 'cheated death' a little with some of my food choices but I still managed to lose some which is great! I'm really looking forward to this week ending though, stress does not help me make good choices and I've got a lot of it! I knew last week and this week would be stressful, but it will be good to get back to normalcy. :)
Anyways, I lost another 1.2 pounds for a total weight loss of 16.4 pounds!
My goal for this week? 2.9 pounds. Seems a bit lofty, but I'm gonna go for it! :)
See you next time-
J
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Week 6
At the end of week five I was down 13.2 pounds and pretty darn happy about it.....I didn't want to over think it too much but I set a goal for myself to hit 15 pounds in week six. And then life happened, and you know what? It was not a great week eating wise. It was mostly good, but there was a 12-24 hour period where I definitely could have made better choices. In addition to that, I also didn't make it to the gym like normal because of other commitments I had already made. So alas, I set myself up to see a gain on the scale and justified it in my brain so that I would be okay with whatever number I saw and that would be that.
So then Wednesday morning came and I stepped on the scale....and you know what? There was a loss! And it was a loss of a whole 2 pounds making my total weigh loss 15.2 pounds!
I'm absolutely thrilled, and also feel like I cheated death a little considering a few of the choices I made. :P But you know what? That's life and all I can do is do the best that I can. Now that my first month is up this is all about sustainability long term and that comes with the reality of not always eating 100% paleo and that's ok. My next goal is to lose 4.1 pounds because that will get be into the next grouping of 10 lower on the scale. Ideally it would be great to hit this by week 8, but I'm ultimately shooting for week 9 and maybe will be pleasantly surprised a week earlier. :)
And now to reflect a little on my first month on paleo.....
Ultimately, I've decided that I really like this way of eating/diet. But, I'd say that it almost took the whole month to get to that point. The realities are that there is a lot you cannot eat, it is more expensive to eat this way than "normal", and it takes a pretty fair amount of planning. But, the other realities are that you sleep better, have way more energy than you're used too, don't get sick (no morning sniffles!), get to eat some really delicious food (bacon!), and you lose a good amount of weight...some quicker than others.
I think it really helped me that I started this while I wasn't in school because by the time school started and something came up where I couldn't eat at home I was already far in enough on the program that I knew how to make it workable. And it made it really doable that every week I stepped on the scale I weighed less than the week before. (even the week I ate an embarrassing amount of almonds!)
I have seriously tried every diet in the books and have always only been mildly successful until this one. I would follow the plan every week to a tee and could never lose more than 8 pounds before plateauing. And then frustration would kick in and before long I would be back to where I started, or even a few pounds heavier. It was a vicious cycle!
But now? I eat how much I want when I want it and work out 2-3 times a week. <--This is how I always thought it should be!! It's been very encouraging. :)
I'm excited to keep sticking to it and frankly, as long as the scale keeps moving down each week I'm happy. I've also got April 15th that I'm looking forward too....that's my graduate recital and I'm excited to get to that point and see how much I've lost and what sort of size I can fit into. :)
Here are a few other exciting things that I want to share:
1. One of my pairs of jeans is officially "too big"....it's been that while for a while, but literally they are just falling off now.
2. I bought a new pair of jeans at Old Navy and they are definitely a size smaller than my other pairs....and there is room in them too! (But, the size below that would have been way too tight so I went with the larger size)
3. My mom gave my a shirt about a year ago that was pretty darn small, but I held onto it hoping to be able to wear it someday. And you know what? That day was yesterday :) (The last time I had tried it on was after I finished p90x and it was still too small then.)
4. There have been a few other shirts that were too tight before but fit normally now.
5. The legs in my dress pants are super baggy. And the waist line in my other pair is getting pretty darn big too.
That's all for now, see you next time :)
So then Wednesday morning came and I stepped on the scale....and you know what? There was a loss! And it was a loss of a whole 2 pounds making my total weigh loss 15.2 pounds!
I'm absolutely thrilled, and also feel like I cheated death a little considering a few of the choices I made. :P But you know what? That's life and all I can do is do the best that I can. Now that my first month is up this is all about sustainability long term and that comes with the reality of not always eating 100% paleo and that's ok. My next goal is to lose 4.1 pounds because that will get be into the next grouping of 10 lower on the scale. Ideally it would be great to hit this by week 8, but I'm ultimately shooting for week 9 and maybe will be pleasantly surprised a week earlier. :)
And now to reflect a little on my first month on paleo.....
Ultimately, I've decided that I really like this way of eating/diet. But, I'd say that it almost took the whole month to get to that point. The realities are that there is a lot you cannot eat, it is more expensive to eat this way than "normal", and it takes a pretty fair amount of planning. But, the other realities are that you sleep better, have way more energy than you're used too, don't get sick (no morning sniffles!), get to eat some really delicious food (bacon!), and you lose a good amount of weight...some quicker than others.
I think it really helped me that I started this while I wasn't in school because by the time school started and something came up where I couldn't eat at home I was already far in enough on the program that I knew how to make it workable. And it made it really doable that every week I stepped on the scale I weighed less than the week before. (even the week I ate an embarrassing amount of almonds!)
I have seriously tried every diet in the books and have always only been mildly successful until this one. I would follow the plan every week to a tee and could never lose more than 8 pounds before plateauing. And then frustration would kick in and before long I would be back to where I started, or even a few pounds heavier. It was a vicious cycle!
But now? I eat how much I want when I want it and work out 2-3 times a week. <--This is how I always thought it should be!! It's been very encouraging. :)
I'm excited to keep sticking to it and frankly, as long as the scale keeps moving down each week I'm happy. I've also got April 15th that I'm looking forward too....that's my graduate recital and I'm excited to get to that point and see how much I've lost and what sort of size I can fit into. :)
Here are a few other exciting things that I want to share:
1. One of my pairs of jeans is officially "too big"....it's been that while for a while, but literally they are just falling off now.
2. I bought a new pair of jeans at Old Navy and they are definitely a size smaller than my other pairs....and there is room in them too! (But, the size below that would have been way too tight so I went with the larger size)
3. My mom gave my a shirt about a year ago that was pretty darn small, but I held onto it hoping to be able to wear it someday. And you know what? That day was yesterday :) (The last time I had tried it on was after I finished p90x and it was still too small then.)
4. There have been a few other shirts that were too tight before but fit normally now.
5. The legs in my dress pants are super baggy. And the waist line in my other pair is getting pretty darn big too.
That's all for now, see you next time :)
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Wednesday weigh-in
Hello!
Just a quick post to check-in....
I'm still planning on writing my thoughts on the first month of paleo, but alas things have been so busy that I just haven't found the time. Sorry! :P
But I'm here today with my weekly weigh-in....
I know stress and sleep really affect weight loss so I was a little nervous because I haven't eaten 100% paleo this week, and I've been stressed and sleeping less that I'd like.
But honestly, I did the best I could considering the circumstances of getting back into school and things and it did in fact end up paying off!
I lost another 2.2 pounds this week! For a total weight loss of: 13.2 pounds!
I continue to be encouraged and am really excited to hit the 15 pound mark in the next couple of weeks.
Unfortunately that's all for now. Hoping to blog some this weekend so maybe I'll see you around here in the blog-o-sphere then!
Take care, Happy Wednesday-
~Julia
Just a quick post to check-in....
I'm still planning on writing my thoughts on the first month of paleo, but alas things have been so busy that I just haven't found the time. Sorry! :P
But I'm here today with my weekly weigh-in....
I know stress and sleep really affect weight loss so I was a little nervous because I haven't eaten 100% paleo this week, and I've been stressed and sleeping less that I'd like.
But honestly, I did the best I could considering the circumstances of getting back into school and things and it did in fact end up paying off!
I lost another 2.2 pounds this week! For a total weight loss of: 13.2 pounds!
I continue to be encouraged and am really excited to hit the 15 pound mark in the next couple of weeks.
Unfortunately that's all for now. Hoping to blog some this weekend so maybe I'll see you around here in the blog-o-sphere then!
Take care, Happy Wednesday-
~Julia
Saturday, January 28, 2012
1 month: done!
I remember always looking forward to Saturday mornings as a kid and would insist on sleeping as late as possible. And now? Well, I sleep in until 8a and I'm thrilled! :P
I'm headed to school shortly to practice some and am then headed to a workout class at 10:30a. This afternoon I have a lesson and this evening I'm headed to see the Springfield Symphony Orchestra play some Tchaikovsky, Wagner, and Beethoven! :) Sounds like an awesome Saturday to me and yes, I am about as nerdy as they come! haha
I'm looking forward to sitting down sometime soon (tomorrow hopefully) and writing a bit about my experiences on these first 30 days of paleo and maybe even a few things that I think really helped me along the way. And now with school starting I'm, once again, learning how to make it fit with my busy lifestyle.
But for now, I'm entering the official "Going Paleo for 30 days" weight loss results....
11 pounds!
-This was from eating pretty close to 100% paleo (minus a few hiccups towards the end) and working out about 2 days a week. Not bad, eh?
(Nothing changed from the previous day when I weighed in but this is now in the books as my official number of pounds lost in the first month.)
That's it for now, see you next time :)
I'm headed to school shortly to practice some and am then headed to a workout class at 10:30a. This afternoon I have a lesson and this evening I'm headed to see the Springfield Symphony Orchestra play some Tchaikovsky, Wagner, and Beethoven! :) Sounds like an awesome Saturday to me and yes, I am about as nerdy as they come! haha
I'm looking forward to sitting down sometime soon (tomorrow hopefully) and writing a bit about my experiences on these first 30 days of paleo and maybe even a few things that I think really helped me along the way. And now with school starting I'm, once again, learning how to make it fit with my busy lifestyle.
But for now, I'm entering the official "Going Paleo for 30 days" weight loss results....
11 pounds!
-This was from eating pretty close to 100% paleo (minus a few hiccups towards the end) and working out about 2 days a week. Not bad, eh?
(Nothing changed from the previous day when I weighed in but this is now in the books as my official number of pounds lost in the first month.)
That's it for now, see you next time :)
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Weekend trip to NYC and weigh-in for week 4
As promised I am here with my NYC trip update. In short, it went pretty well!
My first night away was spent at a dinner party at my friend Walker's house and I was so proud because I said no to baked brie in a puffed pastry! I LOVE brie cheese, so I was quite pleased with myself at the end of the night for being able to resist. :P Oh, and I also said no to super delicious bread. Go me! Here is the one surprising thing though: it surprisingly wasn't as difficult as I anticipated! Don't know exactly what that means but it's encouraging, nonetheless.
Breakfast Saturday morning was just like always and that brings us to our meal in the city....we went to this delicious mexican restaurant and had an awesome dinner. My entree was 100% paleo, but I gave in and had some chips with our guacamole. ....And then there was the alcohol.
I decide to indulge, and boy did it taste good! haha. I know there are a ton of calories and sugar in alcoholic drinks but it was totally worth it. I figure that you've got to live a little every once in a while, you know? Could I have done without it? Yes. But do I regret "cheating" on my diet? No. This is no longer just a "30-day thing" for me (more on that later), and so I figure that this is just a part of life. Sometimes you go out of town on the weekend for some fun and sometimes it's worth having a couple of drinks. I would have probably seen a lower number on the scale today had it not been for those drinks, but you know what? I'm totally ok with the number I saw and I'm still feeling pretty darn encouraged about this whole paleo thing. Indulging ever once in a while is just a part of life and I'm glad I did it. So there, that's that. :P
In other news, I went back to school this week. It has been so busy! I'm truly happy to be back but I almost forgot how busy school has been keeping me these days. Eating paleo so far has been pretty smooth sailing though! (woohoo!) The one thing I'm currently stuck on is that I have no idea how I'm going to maintain a good sleeping schedule yet. I'm endeavoring to make it a priority, but how the heck do you go to bed at a reasonable hour when your to-do list is incredibly long? Is there any way to make 6a not come so early?! ....If you hear of a miracle, let me know! :P It's going well though, and I'm plan to make the most out of my last semester here.
And lastly, my weigh-in for week 4.
Today marks day 29 and I have lost exactly 11 pounds. Pretty sweet, right?! The weight loss has obviously slowed down since the beginning but consistent losses each week really add up! I'm hoping that this upcoming week will get me "back to the basics" of eating 100% paleo and that the scale will drop perhaps a little more than these past two weeks. My goal: to lose 3.2 pounds. Think I can do it? :)
With tomorrow being day 30 I'm planning on weighing myself one more time so I can get an "official" 30 day weigh in, so stay tuned for that! And also be sure to check back sometime over the weekend because I'm planning on writing some sort of reaction post about these first 30 days and future plans as well.
Thanks of stopping by and I'll see ya next time!
My first night away was spent at a dinner party at my friend Walker's house and I was so proud because I said no to baked brie in a puffed pastry! I LOVE brie cheese, so I was quite pleased with myself at the end of the night for being able to resist. :P Oh, and I also said no to super delicious bread. Go me! Here is the one surprising thing though: it surprisingly wasn't as difficult as I anticipated! Don't know exactly what that means but it's encouraging, nonetheless.
Breakfast Saturday morning was just like always and that brings us to our meal in the city....we went to this delicious mexican restaurant and had an awesome dinner. My entree was 100% paleo, but I gave in and had some chips with our guacamole. ....And then there was the alcohol.
I decide to indulge, and boy did it taste good! haha. I know there are a ton of calories and sugar in alcoholic drinks but it was totally worth it. I figure that you've got to live a little every once in a while, you know? Could I have done without it? Yes. But do I regret "cheating" on my diet? No. This is no longer just a "30-day thing" for me (more on that later), and so I figure that this is just a part of life. Sometimes you go out of town on the weekend for some fun and sometimes it's worth having a couple of drinks. I would have probably seen a lower number on the scale today had it not been for those drinks, but you know what? I'm totally ok with the number I saw and I'm still feeling pretty darn encouraged about this whole paleo thing. Indulging ever once in a while is just a part of life and I'm glad I did it. So there, that's that. :P
In other news, I went back to school this week. It has been so busy! I'm truly happy to be back but I almost forgot how busy school has been keeping me these days. Eating paleo so far has been pretty smooth sailing though! (woohoo!) The one thing I'm currently stuck on is that I have no idea how I'm going to maintain a good sleeping schedule yet. I'm endeavoring to make it a priority, but how the heck do you go to bed at a reasonable hour when your to-do list is incredibly long? Is there any way to make 6a not come so early?! ....If you hear of a miracle, let me know! :P It's going well though, and I'm plan to make the most out of my last semester here.
And lastly, my weigh-in for week 4.
Today marks day 29 and I have lost exactly 11 pounds. Pretty sweet, right?! The weight loss has obviously slowed down since the beginning but consistent losses each week really add up! I'm hoping that this upcoming week will get me "back to the basics" of eating 100% paleo and that the scale will drop perhaps a little more than these past two weeks. My goal: to lose 3.2 pounds. Think I can do it? :)
With tomorrow being day 30 I'm planning on weighing myself one more time so I can get an "official" 30 day weigh in, so stay tuned for that! And also be sure to check back sometime over the weekend because I'm planning on writing some sort of reaction post about these first 30 days and future plans as well.
Thanks of stopping by and I'll see ya next time!
Monday, January 23, 2012
Friend Makin' Monday!
Hi everyone! Time for Friend Makin' Mondays today. Had a great time in NYC this weekend...check back for that post in the next day or so!! Today was also the first day of the semester at school, so bare with me while I get back into school mode. But for now, enjoy FMM!
___________________
It’s Monday again, and you know what that means! It’s time for Friend Makin’ Mondays so let’s get started…
If you’ve taken part in FMM then you know the rules. If you’re new, please take a moment to answer this week’s question on your own blog then add your link in the comments section at: www.alltheweigh.com so we can all see your FMM questions and answers. Please invite your blog readers to add their links here too so everyone has to opportunity to be seen. The idea is to connect with other awesome bloggers so take a moment to post your own FMM post and comment on a couple of other posts. Now it’s time for this week’s topic!
Now it’s your turn to answer this week’s questions! Don’t forget to come back and link up in the comments! And don’t forget…If you have an idea for FMM, send me an e-mail with the details, and you might see it here! Happy Monday!
____
thanks guys, see you next time!
xoxo-
Julia
___________________
It’s Monday again, and you know what that means! It’s time for Friend Makin’ Mondays so let’s get started…
FMM: Short Answers
- Mac or PC? Definitely Mac
- Do you paint your own nails? No :( I'm awful at it in fact.
- Beach or mountains? Definitely both depending on my mood. Love them both.
- What’s the title of the book you’re currently reading? The Inner Game of Tennis
- Do you dance? Heck yes! I think its fun....especially in the car. hehe.
- CNN or Fox News? Honestly, neither. I read online articles from a variety of sources and listen to the news on the radio at work in the mornings.
- Do you ride a bicycle? I love biking. love love love it.
- Do you get a yearly flu shot? Sometimes...some years I do and some years I dont
- Best movie you’ve seen in 2012? Well, the only movie I've seen in 2012 so far is "Friends with Benefits" but I've got plans to see Iron Lady later this week!
- Do you prefer to workout at home or at the gym? It depends...I worked out at home over the summer during p90x but now I workout at the gym.... I think I like the gym more.
- Last airport you were in? Bradley International Airport, on my way home from cali
- Married or single? Single
- iPhone or Android?Android. (but I want an iphone!)
- Do you prefer to be in pictures or taking pictures? I like both equally
- Favorite brand of sneakers? I think I have asics, and I like them
- Do you like snow? sure
- Do you have/want to have kids? Want.
- Summer or Winter? Either, so long as they are both mild :)
- Do you know how to swim? Yep. I like it a lot.
- Do you prefer to shop in store or online? Mostly in store, but it somewhat depends what I'm shopping for.
Now it’s your turn to answer this week’s questions! Don’t forget to come back and link up in the comments! And don’t forget…If you have an idea for FMM, send me an e-mail with the details, and you might see it here! Happy Monday!
____
thanks guys, see you next time!
xoxo-
Julia
Friday, January 20, 2012
More 'Mini-Victories' and a Weekend away from my Kitchen
Hello Everyone! Just wanted to check in and say hello! :D
Things have been good since weigh-in day, although I've been a little sleepier than normal! Cravings are gone though so I am counting my blessings.
I put on a pair of dress pants yesterday and they fit my better than they did when I bought them back in September! It was awesome. :) And yesterday at the gym I was watching myself workout (come on, you all know you do it too!) and I noticed that my thighs were starting to looker thinner! So, we've had a couple of small victories that have kept me motivated. I also made myself a steak last night for dinner with some carmelized onions and broccoli....it totally hit the spot. :)
I start up school again on Monday, so I'm taking advantage of this last weekend and am going to go play a little bit. I'm going with a friend to have go have my Horn looked at for some repair work down in New Jersey and, among a few other errands, we are going to spend part of Saturday and Saturday night in NYC. (We are even going to try and catch a show!) I'm really looking forward to it, I think it will be exactly what I need.
So, with that said--this weekend is going to be an adventure in eating away from my kitchen. I'm up for it and I determined to be successful. (I must say though...I'm contemplating have 1 drink on Saturday night.) I will be back on Sunday and or Monday with a report of how it all goes.
Have a nice weekend everybody :)
See you next time.
Things have been good since weigh-in day, although I've been a little sleepier than normal! Cravings are gone though so I am counting my blessings.
I put on a pair of dress pants yesterday and they fit my better than they did when I bought them back in September! It was awesome. :) And yesterday at the gym I was watching myself workout (come on, you all know you do it too!) and I noticed that my thighs were starting to looker thinner! So, we've had a couple of small victories that have kept me motivated. I also made myself a steak last night for dinner with some carmelized onions and broccoli....it totally hit the spot. :)
I start up school again on Monday, so I'm taking advantage of this last weekend and am going to go play a little bit. I'm going with a friend to have go have my Horn looked at for some repair work down in New Jersey and, among a few other errands, we are going to spend part of Saturday and Saturday night in NYC. (We are even going to try and catch a show!) I'm really looking forward to it, I think it will be exactly what I need.
So, with that said--this weekend is going to be an adventure in eating away from my kitchen. I'm up for it and I determined to be successful. (I must say though...I'm contemplating have 1 drink on Saturday night.) I will be back on Sunday and or Monday with a report of how it all goes.
Have a nice weekend everybody :)
See you next time.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Weigh-in for Week 3
Well, it looks like me posting everyday has somewhat evolved to every few days. oops! Will you forgive me? :P
To reflect on this week I must say that PMSing while on paleo is difficult! (Sorry if that's TMI) I managed not to "cheat" or anything, but I definitely was eating more fruit than normal and ate way more almonds than I'd like to talk about. The lesson learned there: do not buy almonds. It doesn't end well! (For me, at least)
On Monday evening I made a pan-fried apple which was so delicious! I really really wanted chocolate and ice cream (ha!) so decided on an apple instead. After quartering the apple I cut it into really thin slices. Then I put the juice of a half of lemon, some vanilla extract, and some cinnamon in a bowl and coated the apples. Meanwhile I melted 1 tablespoon of butter down and got it pretty hot. Then I just threw the apples in the pan and cooked them up! It took maybe 5 or 6 minutes once they were in the pan. It totally hit the spot. It tasted like I was having warm apple pie.
Yesterday I made sure to eat 100% cleanly and sort of went "back to the basics" in hopes to make today's weigh in a good one. I drank a ton of water and got a great workout in as well too! And, I did my whole workout in my five-finger shoes! It was great. I'm super happy with my purchase.
So now for the results of the week.....drum roll!!
I'm down another .4 pounds for a total of 9.6 pounds lost in 3 weeks.
I'll take it! To be honest, I was really nervous about today's weigh in because I was less than thrilled with how my eating went on Sunday and Monday. So--to lose at all is a good thing in my book. And hey, it's still a good total of weight for the 3 weeks. And one other small victory...this is the lightest I've been in about 3 1/2 years!
My plan for the week ahead is to keep doing what I'm doing and not let silly cravings get the best of me if they appear again. I also am in the process of coming up with a game plan for this weekend because I'm going out of town for part of it and will, obviously, be away from my kitchen. How do I stay on track while on vacation? I'm determined to be successful so we will have to see what I come up with!
Thanks for stopping by, see you next time!
To reflect on this week I must say that PMSing while on paleo is difficult! (Sorry if that's TMI) I managed not to "cheat" or anything, but I definitely was eating more fruit than normal and ate way more almonds than I'd like to talk about. The lesson learned there: do not buy almonds. It doesn't end well! (For me, at least)
On Monday evening I made a pan-fried apple which was so delicious! I really really wanted chocolate and ice cream (ha!) so decided on an apple instead. After quartering the apple I cut it into really thin slices. Then I put the juice of a half of lemon, some vanilla extract, and some cinnamon in a bowl and coated the apples. Meanwhile I melted 1 tablespoon of butter down and got it pretty hot. Then I just threw the apples in the pan and cooked them up! It took maybe 5 or 6 minutes once they were in the pan. It totally hit the spot. It tasted like I was having warm apple pie.
Yesterday I made sure to eat 100% cleanly and sort of went "back to the basics" in hopes to make today's weigh in a good one. I drank a ton of water and got a great workout in as well too! And, I did my whole workout in my five-finger shoes! It was great. I'm super happy with my purchase.
So now for the results of the week.....drum roll!!
I'm down another .4 pounds for a total of 9.6 pounds lost in 3 weeks.
I'll take it! To be honest, I was really nervous about today's weigh in because I was less than thrilled with how my eating went on Sunday and Monday. So--to lose at all is a good thing in my book. And hey, it's still a good total of weight for the 3 weeks. And one other small victory...this is the lightest I've been in about 3 1/2 years!
My plan for the week ahead is to keep doing what I'm doing and not let silly cravings get the best of me if they appear again. I also am in the process of coming up with a game plan for this weekend because I'm going out of town for part of it and will, obviously, be away from my kitchen. How do I stay on track while on vacation? I'm determined to be successful so we will have to see what I come up with!
Thanks for stopping by, see you next time!
Monday, January 16, 2012
Weekend Fun
First I must sincerely apologize for not making an appearance on here yesterday! Rest assured though, I've still been on track despite my absence!
So, rewinding to Friday night....I made an all paleo dinner!
Here was the menu:
Appetizer- Deviled eggs (with homemade mayonnaise!)
Dinner: Shrimp Curry with a Broccoli salad
(I had a dessert planned too but it got to be too late)
I had never made homemade mayonnaise before so it was a fun adventure. I just googled "paleo mayonnaise," and found this recipe:
http://everydaypaleo.com/2011/06/20/homemade-paleo-mayo-cooking-demo/
Instead of a blender I made it in my KitchenAid mixer (with the whisk). And I ended up juicing a half of a lemon into it at the end as well. The results: definitely didn't taste like mayo from the store, but it worked well for the deviled eggs and the dressing for the salad. And I'm going to use some of the leftovers in my tuna salad later this week. :)
Here is a picture of my deviled eggs:
The whole meal was a lot of fun and none of us felt cheated out of carbs. :) Success!
I also got a new pair of shoes, which I am super excited about....
They are called five-finger shoes, and the website is here:
http://www.vibramfivefingers.com/index.htm
I have been wanting a pair for quite some time and can't wait to start working out in them. yay!
The rest of the weekend has been full of relaxing, practicing my Horn, and hanging out with friends. It's been great. And, oh wait...I forgot--FOOTBALL! I took some time out of my Saturday to watch the 49ers game. It was epic. Such an awesome finish! I'm so proud to be from the Bay Area and cannot wait for them to take on the NY Giants next weekend!
I do have to put out a bit of a disclaimer though....I've had some cravings the past two days. Not fun! I've stuck with paleo fine, but I have to say--I've had my fair share of fruit and almonds the past couple of days. I'm going to go back to the basics tomorrow and am just hoping that the cravings go away. I sure hope a good night's sleep and a fresh start tomorrow will help!
That's all for now...see you next time! :)
So, rewinding to Friday night....I made an all paleo dinner!
Here was the menu:
Appetizer- Deviled eggs (with homemade mayonnaise!)
Dinner: Shrimp Curry with a Broccoli salad
(I had a dessert planned too but it got to be too late)
I had never made homemade mayonnaise before so it was a fun adventure. I just googled "paleo mayonnaise," and found this recipe:
http://everydaypaleo.com/2011/06/20/homemade-paleo-mayo-cooking-demo/
Instead of a blender I made it in my KitchenAid mixer (with the whisk). And I ended up juicing a half of a lemon into it at the end as well. The results: definitely didn't taste like mayo from the store, but it worked well for the deviled eggs and the dressing for the salad. And I'm going to use some of the leftovers in my tuna salad later this week. :)
Here is a picture of my deviled eggs:
Moving on to the main course-
I got the broccoli salad recipe here: http://paleodietlifestyle.com/bacon-grape-broccoli-salad/
And here is a picture:
And the shrimp curry recipe is here:
http://paleodietlifestyle.com/curried-shrimps-and-spinach/
I took the tails off of my shrimp, used 1/2 fat coconut milk (it's what Trader Joes had), and added about twice as much spinach as the recipe called for. It tasted great! Here is a picture:
 |
| I couldn't get a good picture...but it was delish! |
The whole meal was a lot of fun and none of us felt cheated out of carbs. :) Success!
I also got a new pair of shoes, which I am super excited about....
 | |
| Me and my friend Walker both got a pair! |
http://www.vibramfivefingers.com/index.htm
I have been wanting a pair for quite some time and can't wait to start working out in them. yay!
The rest of the weekend has been full of relaxing, practicing my Horn, and hanging out with friends. It's been great. And, oh wait...I forgot--FOOTBALL! I took some time out of my Saturday to watch the 49ers game. It was epic. Such an awesome finish! I'm so proud to be from the Bay Area and cannot wait for them to take on the NY Giants next weekend!
I do have to put out a bit of a disclaimer though....I've had some cravings the past two days. Not fun! I've stuck with paleo fine, but I have to say--I've had my fair share of fruit and almonds the past couple of days. I'm going to go back to the basics tomorrow and am just hoping that the cravings go away. I sure hope a good night's sleep and a fresh start tomorrow will help!
That's all for now...see you next time! :)
Friday, January 13, 2012
Yesterday Was a Good Day.
The exciting news for the day is that I am now officially a member of the aerobics and fitness studio that I've been going to for the past two weeks! I went to another class last night and decided to go for it. They make it pretty affordable and there isn't a long term commitment or contract or anything which is nice as well. So in order to make the membership worth it (as opposed to just paying their drop in fees) I need to attend 7 classes per month. My goal is to consistently go 2-3 times a week but if nothing else I will at least be going 7 times. :P
I am also having a few friends over for dinner tonight and I am super excited to cook an all paleo meal for them! :) We are going to do an appetizer, main course, and dessert. And don't worry, I will be sure to take some pictures and post about the recipes tomorrow. ;)
And lastly, I just have to say how blessed and thankful I was yesterday when I opened up a check from one of my employers and I had a $200 Christmas bonus added on to my paycheck. I know it doesn't have anything to do with "going paleo for 30 days," but I was just blown away and super excited so wanted to share. Philippians 4:19 and Ephesians 3:20 immediately came to mind upon opening that check. :)
So yea, yesterday was a good day! Today has been good so far too...except I've gotten quite the slow start! Oh well! I'm off to conquer the day and I'll be sure to come back tomorrow with photos and recipes. :)
One last thing: Go 49ers!!!!!!
see you next time....
I am also having a few friends over for dinner tonight and I am super excited to cook an all paleo meal for them! :) We are going to do an appetizer, main course, and dessert. And don't worry, I will be sure to take some pictures and post about the recipes tomorrow. ;)
And lastly, I just have to say how blessed and thankful I was yesterday when I opened up a check from one of my employers and I had a $200 Christmas bonus added on to my paycheck. I know it doesn't have anything to do with "going paleo for 30 days," but I was just blown away and super excited so wanted to share. Philippians 4:19 and Ephesians 3:20 immediately came to mind upon opening that check. :)
So yea, yesterday was a good day! Today has been good so far too...except I've gotten quite the slow start! Oh well! I'm off to conquer the day and I'll be sure to come back tomorrow with photos and recipes. :)
One last thing: Go 49ers!!!!!!
see you next time....
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Day 15
Well, after today I am officially half way done with my "30 days of Paleo." (It's gone fast!)
I'm not quite sure what there is to report after yesterday other than I'm still working on my "spaghetti" leftovers! haha
In all serious though, I've hit a groove and it's been pretty smooth sailing for the past week or so. Breakfasts have become slightly more challenging just because eggs have lost some of their appeal but a few days of hardboiled instead of scrambled have kept me happy.
Seltzer water and tea are both really helping me get my water in and I've found a workout class that pushes me and is really fun. (I'm headed there later this evening in fact!)
I am interested to see how week 3 goes though...I wonder what the scale is going to look like next week!
But for now, things are going well and there isn't a whole lot to report. With that said, I'm off to go get some work done but I'll be sure to check back in tomorrow. :) thanks for stopping by!
I'm not quite sure what there is to report after yesterday other than I'm still working on my "spaghetti" leftovers! haha
In all serious though, I've hit a groove and it's been pretty smooth sailing for the past week or so. Breakfasts have become slightly more challenging just because eggs have lost some of their appeal but a few days of hardboiled instead of scrambled have kept me happy.
Seltzer water and tea are both really helping me get my water in and I've found a workout class that pushes me and is really fun. (I'm headed there later this evening in fact!)
I am interested to see how week 3 goes though...I wonder what the scale is going to look like next week!
But for now, things are going well and there isn't a whole lot to report. With that said, I'm off to go get some work done but I'll be sure to check back in tomorrow. :) thanks for stopping by!
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Weigh in for week 2
I was once again pleasantly surprised when I stepped on the scale this morning! (I even weighed myself twice to make sure!) Weight loss always slows down week 2 of diets so I was hoping for a loss but didn't have any sort of number in mind.
Here are the results...
down another 3.4 pounds!
and a total loss of 9.2 pounds!!
....in two weeks. Seriously?!
When I hear about people losing this much weight this quickly I always wonder how safe it is because medical professionals suggest people losing no more than 2 pounds a week, and obviously I am far over that. But, I can't help but think it's okay because I don't feel like I'm limiting myself with the food I can eat. I'm not starving myself in hopes to make the scale go down....I'm just eating within the boundaries of paleo when I get hungry and eat until I'm not anymore. Seems simple enough, right?
I really am thrilled though...it's very encouraging to see the scale go down two weeks in a row. :) So I'm gonna keep doing what I'm doing and take it one day at a time!
That's all for now....see you all tomorrow!
Here are the results...
down another 3.4 pounds!
and a total loss of 9.2 pounds!!
....in two weeks. Seriously?!
When I hear about people losing this much weight this quickly I always wonder how safe it is because medical professionals suggest people losing no more than 2 pounds a week, and obviously I am far over that. But, I can't help but think it's okay because I don't feel like I'm limiting myself with the food I can eat. I'm not starving myself in hopes to make the scale go down....I'm just eating within the boundaries of paleo when I get hungry and eat until I'm not anymore. Seems simple enough, right?
I really am thrilled though...it's very encouraging to see the scale go down two weeks in a row. :) So I'm gonna keep doing what I'm doing and take it one day at a time!
That's all for now....see you all tomorrow!
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Paleo Spaghetti with Homemade Meat and Veggie Sauce
I was productive yesterday! It was exactly what I needed to feel like I was "back on track." phew!
I ended up going to the Zumba class that I had been wanting to try yesterday evening...it was a lot of fun! But I have to say, it wasn't nearly as good of a workout as the Body Step class was last week. I'm glad I went but I'm definitely going to Body Step tonight...I want to get my butt kicked! haha.
In other news...I made spaghetti and meat sauce! I've been looking forward to this for some time and I'd say it was a successful venture! I went off of a couple of recipes and altered them some and was happy with the final product.
The two recipe's I looked at can be found here:
http://paleodietlifestyle.com/paleo-spaghetti/
http://fastpaleo.com/zucchini-spaghetti-bolognese/
So....to make spaghetti when you eating grains you use spaghetti squash! I had no idea that this thing even existed until a few months ago and was amazing at how much it looks like spaghetti after it's cooked.
It looks like this before you cook it:
Step 4: Let things cook!
-I knew that my squash was down when it started to get a little brown on the edges. So I took it out of the oven and turned it into spaghetti. Essentially you take a fork and pierce the squash and pull and it spaghetti starts to appear. It sounds sort of silly....here is a picture that might make it make a little more sense.
Since the squash was fresh out of the oven it was obviously still warm, so I used a pot holder to help stabilize it and the used my fork with the free hand.
At this point you are ready to eat! This made a TON of pasta and a TON of sauce. Great if you are feeding a family and in my case, I will have lots of leftovers!
Here is what the final product looked like:
I was happy with how it turned out and hopefully the leftovers will taste as good as it did last night!
That's about it for now but be sure to check-in tomorrow for weigh-in day, here's hoping for the number on the scale to be lower than it was last week! :)
I ended up going to the Zumba class that I had been wanting to try yesterday evening...it was a lot of fun! But I have to say, it wasn't nearly as good of a workout as the Body Step class was last week. I'm glad I went but I'm definitely going to Body Step tonight...I want to get my butt kicked! haha.
In other news...I made spaghetti and meat sauce! I've been looking forward to this for some time and I'd say it was a successful venture! I went off of a couple of recipes and altered them some and was happy with the final product.
The two recipe's I looked at can be found here:
http://paleodietlifestyle.com/paleo-spaghetti/
http://fastpaleo.com/zucchini-spaghetti-bolognese/
So....to make spaghetti when you eating grains you use spaghetti squash! I had no idea that this thing even existed until a few months ago and was amazing at how much it looks like spaghetti after it's cooked.
It looks like this before you cook it:
The rest of the ingredients are as follows:
1 pound of ground beef (grass-fed and organic if possible)
1 onion
3-4 carrots
4-5 stalks of celery
spices (thyme, oregano, salt, pepper, crushed red pepper, and anything else you want!)
a whole bunch of mushrooms (I used a whole basket! haha)
1 zuchini
1 can of tomato paste
2 cans of diced of tomatoes
______
Step 1: pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees.
Step 2: cut the squash and get it ready for the oven
The first challenge was cutting the squash in half length-wise. What I ended up doing was microwaving it for a minute and then cutting it in half....that made is so much easier! The directions I read were to bake it with the cut side down but that didn't really get the squash cooking very quickly so I would actually suggest baking it cut side up. Once it's ready to go in the oven you can start working on your meat sauce.
Step 3: Make your meat sauce!
-First, brown your ground beef until the meat is cooked.
-Once the meat is cooked take it out of the pot with a slotted spoon and set it aside.
-Then saute your chopped up onions, carrots, mushrooms, celery, and zuchini.
-Once those start to get cooked up add whatever spices you choose and cook it for just a couple more minutes. (At this point put your squash in the oven!!)
-Then add your 2 cans of tomatoes, and can of tomato paste and mix it all up!
-At this point you can cook it for as little of as long as you choose....I think I ended up cooking it for about 30 additional minutes. (And about 15 minutes in I did a taste test and added more spices)
Step 4: Let things cook!
-I knew that my squash was down when it started to get a little brown on the edges. So I took it out of the oven and turned it into spaghetti. Essentially you take a fork and pierce the squash and pull and it spaghetti starts to appear. It sounds sort of silly....here is a picture that might make it make a little more sense.
At this point you are ready to eat! This made a TON of pasta and a TON of sauce. Great if you are feeding a family and in my case, I will have lots of leftovers!
Here is what the final product looked like:
 |
| delish! |
That's about it for now but be sure to check-in tomorrow for weigh-in day, here's hoping for the number on the scale to be lower than it was last week! :)
Monday, January 9, 2012
Friend Makin' Monday's!
Despite being pretty new on the "blog scene" I have been following blogs for quite some time now. Some of them are music related, some diet and exercise related, some super goofy and fun, and some are the blogs that my friends write. I'm not always good with keeping up with them, by I try to keep up the best I can.
With that said--one blog I follow is written by this gal named Kenlie over at alltheweigh.com and every Monday she does a "FMM" (friend-makin' Monday.) So-to break up the paleo talk for a day I'm going to take part in it. Here we go!
If you’ve taken part in FMM then you know the rules. If you’re new, please take a moment to answer this week’s question on your own blog then add your link in the comments section here at: www.alltheweigh.com so we can all see your FMM questions and answers. Please invite your blog readers to add their links here too so everyone has to opportunity to be seen. The idea is to connect with other awesome bloggers so take a moment to post your own FMM post and comment on a couple of other posts. Now it’s time for this week’s topic!
1) What is one of your favorite ways to spend a Saturday? The only thing that's a requirement: sleeping in! After that, all bets are off--sometimes I've got school work, sometimes I've got things planned with friends, and sometimes it's a combination of both.
2) List your top three favorite TV shows. Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice, and Parenthood
3) Would you rather be in pictures or take them? I like both! Most of the time though I find myself taking them, but that's only because I like having pictures to remember fun times by. :)
4) Why do you blog? I started this blog to try to make these first 30 days on Paleo more exciting. I also thought it would help me to stay accountable and might be fun for others to read!
5) Share five websites that you visit regularly…
~ gmail.com
~ facebook.com
~ hornexcerpts.org
~ itunes/spotify (I know it's not a website, but they involve internet connection so I'm going with it!)
~ and as of a couple days ago....twitter (I finally joined)
6) If you could have lunch with one person from your Twitter list who would it be? I can't choose just one...I would love to have lunch with Ellen Degeneres, Oprah, or Adele.
7) List a few of your favorite snacks. my take on what a snack is has changed a lot since starting paleo a few weeks back.... Larabar, piece of fruit, handful of nuts, carrots, or bell pepper
8 ) Do you have a pet? If so, what kind? I have a kitty! His name is O'Malley and he is snuggled up right next to me. :)
9) Which three material possessions would you struggle to live without? my French Horn, my smart phone, and my bed and pillow.
10) What’s your favorite drink? alcoholic: Gin and tonic with extra lime. other: Diet Mountain Dew. But, I've been sticking to only water and tea since starting paleo!
11) Do you enjoy cooking? I love it! Trying new recipes, cooking for friends, perfecting favorite dishes...I love it all.
12) Do you have children? Nope, but I hope to someday.
13) What are your favorite hobbies? Playing music, cooking, traveling (wish I could travel more!)
14) Would you consider yourself to be shy or outgoing? I’m pretty outgoing most of the time but am definitely shy in certain situations.
15) If you could change one thing about yourself, what would you change? I’d like to be better at the Horn than I am (which I why I try to practice as much as possible), and I'd like to lose some weight (hence me eating paleo).
16) Who is your favorite actor/actress? I don't really know if I have one....for the sake of this survey I will say Meryl Streep and Brad Pitt.
17) What’s the coolest thing you’ve done this week? I'm slowly but surely getting my life organized for the semester which I suppose is kinda cool. Had some good phone conversations with friends too!
18) Do you live near your family or far from them? My mom's lives "close" (90 min away), my dad's side of the family live somewhat close (3-4 hrs), and the rest live in 3,000 miles away in California. :/
19) List three of your talents. I'd like to say I'm a pretty decent cook, pretty good at making music, and pretty perceptive in most situation.
20) What is your greatest attribute? I'm an honest and hard worker.
With that said--one blog I follow is written by this gal named Kenlie over at alltheweigh.com and every Monday she does a "FMM" (friend-makin' Monday.) So-to break up the paleo talk for a day I'm going to take part in it. Here we go!
If you’ve taken part in FMM then you know the rules. If you’re new, please take a moment to answer this week’s question on your own blog then add your link in the comments section here at: www.alltheweigh.com so we can all see your FMM questions and answers. Please invite your blog readers to add their links here too so everyone has to opportunity to be seen. The idea is to connect with other awesome bloggers so take a moment to post your own FMM post and comment on a couple of other posts. Now it’s time for this week’s topic!
FMM: Getting To Know You
1) What is one of your favorite ways to spend a Saturday? The only thing that's a requirement: sleeping in! After that, all bets are off--sometimes I've got school work, sometimes I've got things planned with friends, and sometimes it's a combination of both.
2) List your top three favorite TV shows. Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice, and Parenthood
3) Would you rather be in pictures or take them? I like both! Most of the time though I find myself taking them, but that's only because I like having pictures to remember fun times by. :)
4) Why do you blog? I started this blog to try to make these first 30 days on Paleo more exciting. I also thought it would help me to stay accountable and might be fun for others to read!
5) Share five websites that you visit regularly…
~ gmail.com
~ facebook.com
~ hornexcerpts.org
~ itunes/spotify (I know it's not a website, but they involve internet connection so I'm going with it!)
~ and as of a couple days ago....twitter (I finally joined)
6) If you could have lunch with one person from your Twitter list who would it be? I can't choose just one...I would love to have lunch with Ellen Degeneres, Oprah, or Adele.
7) List a few of your favorite snacks. my take on what a snack is has changed a lot since starting paleo a few weeks back.... Larabar, piece of fruit, handful of nuts, carrots, or bell pepper
8 ) Do you have a pet? If so, what kind? I have a kitty! His name is O'Malley and he is snuggled up right next to me. :)
9) Which three material possessions would you struggle to live without? my French Horn, my smart phone, and my bed and pillow.
10) What’s your favorite drink? alcoholic: Gin and tonic with extra lime. other: Diet Mountain Dew. But, I've been sticking to only water and tea since starting paleo!
11) Do you enjoy cooking? I love it! Trying new recipes, cooking for friends, perfecting favorite dishes...I love it all.
12) Do you have children? Nope, but I hope to someday.
13) What are your favorite hobbies? Playing music, cooking, traveling (wish I could travel more!)
14) Would you consider yourself to be shy or outgoing? I’m pretty outgoing most of the time but am definitely shy in certain situations.
15) If you could change one thing about yourself, what would you change? I’d like to be better at the Horn than I am (which I why I try to practice as much as possible), and I'd like to lose some weight (hence me eating paleo).
16) Who is your favorite actor/actress? I don't really know if I have one....for the sake of this survey I will say Meryl Streep and Brad Pitt.
17) What’s the coolest thing you’ve done this week? I'm slowly but surely getting my life organized for the semester which I suppose is kinda cool. Had some good phone conversations with friends too!
18) Do you live near your family or far from them? My mom's lives "close" (90 min away), my dad's side of the family live somewhat close (3-4 hrs), and the rest live in 3,000 miles away in California. :/
19) List three of your talents. I'd like to say I'm a pretty decent cook, pretty good at making music, and pretty perceptive in most situation.
20) What is your greatest attribute? I'm an honest and hard worker.
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Day 12
I wasn't as productive this weekend as I had hoped. :( Today was better than yesterday on the productivity scale and I am going to be sure that tomorrow is better than today. Gotta get back on track!
Why is it that when I have less to do I end up not getting much done but when I'm super busy with a lengthy to do list I somehow always manage to pull it off? I love having this break from school, I just need to be sure I take full advantage of it and not waste the break away.....*sigh* I suppose as long as I'm getting my practicing in everyday I'm getting everything that I "have" to get done done, but that's not enough to keep me feeling productive.
Anyways, enough of the pity party....on to the fun stuff!
I made salmon tonight for dinner with some sauteed spinach....yum! The salmon came pre-packaged from Trader Joe's and was already marinated so it made for a very tasty fish. Have some leftovers too which will be good for lunch tomorrow.
And then tomorrow night I'm going to make spaghetti and meat sauce. How exactly do you make spaghetti without any sort of grain? Some of you may be able to figure it out, but for those that have no clue....check back! I'm going to endeavor to take pictures throughout the cooking process and will be sure to post the recipe too. It will definitely be a first for me, and maybe for you too? I hope it's yummy!
My cravings have been creeping back over the past couple of days, but I think it's because I haven't been keeping myself challenged when it comes to what I'm eating. So tomorrow is going to be a good day....without cravings. (I'm determined for it not to be!) :P
I'm also going to be sure I get a workout in. That was one of the bummers of the day....I slept through my alarm this morning and didn't make it in, so that will happen tomorrow. Think I'm going to try and do it in the morning and get it out of the way, but there is a class in the afternoon that I'd really like to try at some point as well so I may end up doing that instead. We will see how I feel in the morning and go from there. :)
2 more days until another weigh in....gotta make them count!
see you next time
Why is it that when I have less to do I end up not getting much done but when I'm super busy with a lengthy to do list I somehow always manage to pull it off? I love having this break from school, I just need to be sure I take full advantage of it and not waste the break away.....*sigh* I suppose as long as I'm getting my practicing in everyday I'm getting everything that I "have" to get done done, but that's not enough to keep me feeling productive.
Anyways, enough of the pity party....on to the fun stuff!
I made salmon tonight for dinner with some sauteed spinach....yum! The salmon came pre-packaged from Trader Joe's and was already marinated so it made for a very tasty fish. Have some leftovers too which will be good for lunch tomorrow.
And then tomorrow night I'm going to make spaghetti and meat sauce. How exactly do you make spaghetti without any sort of grain? Some of you may be able to figure it out, but for those that have no clue....check back! I'm going to endeavor to take pictures throughout the cooking process and will be sure to post the recipe too. It will definitely be a first for me, and maybe for you too? I hope it's yummy!
My cravings have been creeping back over the past couple of days, but I think it's because I haven't been keeping myself challenged when it comes to what I'm eating. So tomorrow is going to be a good day....without cravings. (I'm determined for it not to be!) :P
I'm also going to be sure I get a workout in. That was one of the bummers of the day....I slept through my alarm this morning and didn't make it in, so that will happen tomorrow. Think I'm going to try and do it in the morning and get it out of the way, but there is a class in the afternoon that I'd really like to try at some point as well so I may end up doing that instead. We will see how I feel in the morning and go from there. :)
2 more days until another weigh in....gotta make them count!
see you next time
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Day 11 today!
I'm happy to be finally increasing my water because people always say it's a great tool for weight loss. But you know what happened? I woke up super early this morning needing to use the restroom. Can't say I was too thrilled.....it's one of my days to sleep in! Thankfully I managed to go back to sleep for another couple of hours. (I always have the weirdest dreams when I wake up and go back to sleep like that. really really weird!)
The one other thing I was going to mention last night was my most recent shopping trip. I hate grocery shopping when the store is busy....it drives me nuts and NO ONE seems to ever have any sort of sense of their surroundings. Well, I went shopping last night after I finished practicing and it was practically empty! Granted, I'm not too surprised considering it was Friday night but I still was quite pleased. (As you can see my Friday night plans were super exciting...)
Everything is re-stocked and I'm ready for the week! I bought one of those pre-made rotisserie chickens so I could have some chicken on hand if I ever need something quick. I think it's going to work well for me because I'm definitely one of those people that likes to pack some sort of snack/meal right before I head out the door. And I already got all of the meat into a tupperware so we are good to go!
I also bought some more bottles of seltzer which I'm sort of excited about. (It's weird that I'm excited about seltzer, I know) But they had a peaches and cream flavor that I'm excited to try! And a new flavor of Larabar...Lemon! I love lemon so I think it's going to be a winner. I now have some fun meal ideas planned for the week as well too, so be sure to check back for recipes!
In other news I peeked at the scale again this morning and my number went down more! Some people don't like to weigh in more than once a week but I was somewhat curious. :) I'm not thinking too much of it because it's really about the Wednesday weigh ins but it's nice to have a sense of how things are going.
I think that's about it for now. Enjoy your weekend everybody and I'll catch ya tomorrow.
The one other thing I was going to mention last night was my most recent shopping trip. I hate grocery shopping when the store is busy....it drives me nuts and NO ONE seems to ever have any sort of sense of their surroundings. Well, I went shopping last night after I finished practicing and it was practically empty! Granted, I'm not too surprised considering it was Friday night but I still was quite pleased. (As you can see my Friday night plans were super exciting...)
Everything is re-stocked and I'm ready for the week! I bought one of those pre-made rotisserie chickens so I could have some chicken on hand if I ever need something quick. I think it's going to work well for me because I'm definitely one of those people that likes to pack some sort of snack/meal right before I head out the door. And I already got all of the meat into a tupperware so we are good to go!
I also bought some more bottles of seltzer which I'm sort of excited about. (It's weird that I'm excited about seltzer, I know) But they had a peaches and cream flavor that I'm excited to try! And a new flavor of Larabar...Lemon! I love lemon so I think it's going to be a winner. I now have some fun meal ideas planned for the week as well too, so be sure to check back for recipes!
In other news I peeked at the scale again this morning and my number went down more! Some people don't like to weigh in more than once a week but I was somewhat curious. :) I'm not thinking too much of it because it's really about the Wednesday weigh ins but it's nice to have a sense of how things are going.
I think that's about it for now. Enjoy your weekend everybody and I'll catch ya tomorrow.
more small steps forward
Well, I feel like a little bit of a hypocrite....literally hours after I wrote my last post I got asked to go out to eat. And you know what? I said yes.
But--I am SO GLAD I did! I had much better success and was actually quite proud that at how successful I was. We went to Chili's and there they have lunch combo's that usually come with two of the following: 1/2 sandwich, bowl of soup, and a house salad. And then, you get some french fries to top it off! So what am I to do? First, I brought my own salad dressing from home. (genius!) I ordered a cobb salad with no cheese or dressing, got a soup that I could have, and had steamed broccoli with no butter instead of the fries. It was a total success and I had no headaches or anything afterwards. woohoo.
I've started to have a cup of tea a day now. I've been making one (a white tea...minimal caffeine) with breakfast and yesterday I also made myself a cup of black tea in the afternoon because I knew I would need the extra energy. It's a great way to get water in you! (I really like Seltzer as a fun way to get your water in as well!)
Oh, and yesterday I went back to that aerobics studio for another class! ....It was awesome. To be quite frank, I got my ass kicked! It was intense. It was high energy, challenging, and fun. And boy am I sore today. I've been stretching a lot and pounding water in hopes that tomorrow I will feel better. I'd like to go to another class this weekend but definitely would like to be less sore than I am today before I head back. It was just awesome. (I know I've now repeated myself....but you get the picture) :)
Today was a very long and productive day and I'm wiped! This will have to do for now...check back tomorrow for more updates. :)
But, one more thing before signing off: Happy Birthday to my best best friend Caitlin today! She is seriously the best. love you chicka! xoxo
sweet dream all, until next time....
But--I am SO GLAD I did! I had much better success and was actually quite proud that at how successful I was. We went to Chili's and there they have lunch combo's that usually come with two of the following: 1/2 sandwich, bowl of soup, and a house salad. And then, you get some french fries to top it off! So what am I to do? First, I brought my own salad dressing from home. (genius!) I ordered a cobb salad with no cheese or dressing, got a soup that I could have, and had steamed broccoli with no butter instead of the fries. It was a total success and I had no headaches or anything afterwards. woohoo.
I've started to have a cup of tea a day now. I've been making one (a white tea...minimal caffeine) with breakfast and yesterday I also made myself a cup of black tea in the afternoon because I knew I would need the extra energy. It's a great way to get water in you! (I really like Seltzer as a fun way to get your water in as well!)
Oh, and yesterday I went back to that aerobics studio for another class! ....It was awesome. To be quite frank, I got my ass kicked! It was intense. It was high energy, challenging, and fun. And boy am I sore today. I've been stretching a lot and pounding water in hopes that tomorrow I will feel better. I'd like to go to another class this weekend but definitely would like to be less sore than I am today before I head back. It was just awesome. (I know I've now repeated myself....but you get the picture) :)
Today was a very long and productive day and I'm wiped! This will have to do for now...check back tomorrow for more updates. :)
But, one more thing before signing off: Happy Birthday to my best best friend Caitlin today! She is seriously the best. love you chicka! xoxo
sweet dream all, until next time....
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Eating out on paleo
I think I got a little over zealous yesterday after weighing in. I ended up going out to dinner last night because I just did not want to cook, and it gave me the opportunity to meet up with a friend who had been away for the holiday's.
We went to Panera and I spent a copious amount of time looking at the soups and salads deciding what I could have. (I even googled nutrition facts, ingredients, etc. etc.) I ended up getting the "you pick two" with french onion soup (no cheese or croutons or course) and an asian sesame chicken salad with no wontons. I knew going into it that I would be "cheating" slightly with the sesame seeds on the chicken and the sugar in the dressing. But I figured, why not, asked for light dressing, and we were on our way. Oh, and I got a drink and chose unsweetened iced tea.
It all tasted good and my stomach felt fine afterwards but I've had a bit of a headache ever since. :/
So the over zealous piece of this is that it was much harder to eat out than I excpected. The hidden ingredients in food are everywhere and are actually quite surprising. I'm still glad we went out though; the food was good, the conversation was great, and it was really eye-opening. But- I'm going to have to stick to my guns and not eat out until I get more acquainted with the various non-paleo ingredients that are often found in food that you wouldn't anticipate.
I felt great this morning when I woke up despite not getting enough sleep and even had a good breakfast before walking out the door at 7a! But now I'm about ready for a nap and am currently contemplating whether or not I should take one of just try and push through.
Oh, and one last piece of fun news....a down vest that I've had for a while fits again! I didn't fit last winter, but it does now. I'm stoked.
that's all :)
see you next time!
We went to Panera and I spent a copious amount of time looking at the soups and salads deciding what I could have. (I even googled nutrition facts, ingredients, etc. etc.) I ended up getting the "you pick two" with french onion soup (no cheese or croutons or course) and an asian sesame chicken salad with no wontons. I knew going into it that I would be "cheating" slightly with the sesame seeds on the chicken and the sugar in the dressing. But I figured, why not, asked for light dressing, and we were on our way. Oh, and I got a drink and chose unsweetened iced tea.
It all tasted good and my stomach felt fine afterwards but I've had a bit of a headache ever since. :/
So the over zealous piece of this is that it was much harder to eat out than I excpected. The hidden ingredients in food are everywhere and are actually quite surprising. I'm still glad we went out though; the food was good, the conversation was great, and it was really eye-opening. But- I'm going to have to stick to my guns and not eat out until I get more acquainted with the various non-paleo ingredients that are often found in food that you wouldn't anticipate.
I felt great this morning when I woke up despite not getting enough sleep and even had a good breakfast before walking out the door at 7a! But now I'm about ready for a nap and am currently contemplating whether or not I should take one of just try and push through.
Oh, and one last piece of fun news....a down vest that I've had for a while fits again! I didn't fit last winter, but it does now. I'm stoked.
that's all :)
see you next time!
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Week 1 weigh in!
Well, I just had a celebratory breakfast after weighing in for week 1.
I had my zucchini pancakes again with 2 slices of bacon, an egg with sauteed onions, and an orange. It was extra yummy because it celebrated me completing week 1 of eating paleo.
So are you ready to hear the results? Drum roll please......
I lost 5.8 pounds!
I was expecting a loss, yes--but not that much of one! I was very pleasantly surprised, so much so that I stepped on the scale again to make sure I read it right. :P And I did, so there you have it.
People expect you to lose a lot of weight on week 1 of any diet, but I have never lost this much weight on a week 1 of any other diet so I'm pretty pleased. And I suppose we will just have to see what happens in another week when I weigh in again.
I may have spoke too soon about sleeping well because last night I unfortunately did not. So that, in combination with sub-zero temperatures this morning, talked me out of going to the fitness class I was planning on. Instead, I came home from work and crawled back into bed and slept for a couple more hours. I know I would have been happy had I chosen to workout despite the circumstances but I'm ok with the decision I made to go back to sleep. Gotta live a little since I'm on vacation, right?! :P
That's all for now...hope you all enjoy your day! (And that my fellow east coasters stay warm as well!)
see you next time-
I had my zucchini pancakes again with 2 slices of bacon, an egg with sauteed onions, and an orange. It was extra yummy because it celebrated me completing week 1 of eating paleo.
So are you ready to hear the results? Drum roll please......
I lost 5.8 pounds!
I was expecting a loss, yes--but not that much of one! I was very pleasantly surprised, so much so that I stepped on the scale again to make sure I read it right. :P And I did, so there you have it.
People expect you to lose a lot of weight on week 1 of any diet, but I have never lost this much weight on a week 1 of any other diet so I'm pretty pleased. And I suppose we will just have to see what happens in another week when I weigh in again.
I may have spoke too soon about sleeping well because last night I unfortunately did not. So that, in combination with sub-zero temperatures this morning, talked me out of going to the fitness class I was planning on. Instead, I came home from work and crawled back into bed and slept for a couple more hours. I know I would have been happy had I chosen to workout despite the circumstances but I'm ok with the decision I made to go back to sleep. Gotta live a little since I'm on vacation, right?! :P
That's all for now...hope you all enjoy your day! (And that my fellow east coasters stay warm as well!)
see you next time-
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Sleep and salami.
I only got about 5 hours of sleep last night and, although it took me a while to want to get out of bed this morning, I felt totally fine today! (without caffeine even!) I couldn't believe it. People say you sleep better and have more energy when you start eating Paleo and if today was any indicator, I believe it. Downside: It's not even 10 o'clock here and I'm already about ready for bed though. But to go all day without caffeine on five hours of sleep? Totally impressive.
And while we are on the sleep subject--I have slept better this past week than I have in a while. I fall asleep pretty soon after my head hits the pillow and I swear I don't move or anything. I'm definitely not waking myself up by tossing and turning. It's awesome. If that is paleo related, I am totally impressed again!
....and now for a completely different subject...
Did you know that salami has sugar in it? I had no idea! (Quick side note: I have a part time job of getting 3 kids up and ready and off to the bus for school every morning) So, I was making their lunches and looked at the nutrition facts (cause I was totally going to sneak in a slice for myself) and sure enough: sugar. I was completely blown away....and slightly bummed! They also had the pre-made fruit smoothie in the fridge that I had a sip of and although quite good, less than 5 minutes late my stomach was not happy. I couldn't believe it.
...changing subjects again...
Tomorrow is bound to be exciting. First, because it's weigh in day--my first one! And also, I am going to go try out another class at that aerobics studio. When I met the owner on Sunday she said that she thought I would love this particular class so I'm going to give it a shot. (another side note: the owner totally sent me an email personally thanking me for coming to workout at their place--isn't that the nicest thing you've ever heard!?) And also, I did not play very well today and therefore didn't get good practice time in....so that will surely be better tomorrow as well.
I think that's about it--for those of you living in warmer climates, be thankful cause it is freezing out tonight. It's 14 degrees out, but actually feels like zero because of the wind. And it's supposed to get even colder as the night goes one. Absolutely nuts.
So stay warm! :)
And while we are on the sleep subject--I have slept better this past week than I have in a while. I fall asleep pretty soon after my head hits the pillow and I swear I don't move or anything. I'm definitely not waking myself up by tossing and turning. It's awesome. If that is paleo related, I am totally impressed again!
....and now for a completely different subject...
Did you know that salami has sugar in it? I had no idea! (Quick side note: I have a part time job of getting 3 kids up and ready and off to the bus for school every morning) So, I was making their lunches and looked at the nutrition facts (cause I was totally going to sneak in a slice for myself) and sure enough: sugar. I was completely blown away....and slightly bummed! They also had the pre-made fruit smoothie in the fridge that I had a sip of and although quite good, less than 5 minutes late my stomach was not happy. I couldn't believe it.
...changing subjects again...
Tomorrow is bound to be exciting. First, because it's weigh in day--my first one! And also, I am going to go try out another class at that aerobics studio. When I met the owner on Sunday she said that she thought I would love this particular class so I'm going to give it a shot. (another side note: the owner totally sent me an email personally thanking me for coming to workout at their place--isn't that the nicest thing you've ever heard!?) And also, I did not play very well today and therefore didn't get good practice time in....so that will surely be better tomorrow as well.
I think that's about it--for those of you living in warmer climates, be thankful cause it is freezing out tonight. It's 14 degrees out, but actually feels like zero because of the wind. And it's supposed to get even colder as the night goes one. Absolutely nuts.
So stay warm! :)
Day 6
As promised, I told you I would share with you my fun meals from yesterday so here I am! :)
Breakfast has become pretty routine now and it leaves me super satisfied so I think I'm going to stick with it until I get tired of it. :) Here's what I have: An egg scramble with lots and lots of veggies in it, 2 or 3 slices of bacon, and an orange.
For lunch yesterday I had tuna fish again but this time I put it on romaine lettuce and sort of turned it into a tuna wrap! I wish I had taken a picture...it wasn't anything super exciting but I was proud of my idea. (One quick side note: if you've never added cumin to your tuna fish, you should try it! It's delicious.)
And then for dinner....I was, once again, looking for something quick So I went with chicken, spinach and asparagus. I spiced up the chicken and cooked it on the George Forman grill, steamed up my asparagus, a sauteed some spinach. This was a delicious meal...and quick!
First off--the George Forman grill cooks chicken super quick, and it come out really moist!
And secondly--I was super nervous about sauteed spinach because I don't always like it, but I thought I'd give it a shot. Here is the key: garlic! Garlic makes everything better. I sauteed it up with garlic and then put a little salt and pepper on top and it was delish.
And lastly, for dessert I had a cup of frozen strawberries. Simple but delicious. :)
It sure is a lot of work having every meal be so labor intensive....I seem to be getting the hang of it though. And I kind of like the challenge :) (Not liking all the dishes though! haha)
I'm very curious for Wednesday morning to come around- I want to know if I've lost weight! (I sure hope so.)
I think that's all for now, until next time!
Breakfast has become pretty routine now and it leaves me super satisfied so I think I'm going to stick with it until I get tired of it. :) Here's what I have: An egg scramble with lots and lots of veggies in it, 2 or 3 slices of bacon, and an orange.
For lunch yesterday I had tuna fish again but this time I put it on romaine lettuce and sort of turned it into a tuna wrap! I wish I had taken a picture...it wasn't anything super exciting but I was proud of my idea. (One quick side note: if you've never added cumin to your tuna fish, you should try it! It's delicious.)
And then for dinner....I was, once again, looking for something quick So I went with chicken, spinach and asparagus. I spiced up the chicken and cooked it on the George Forman grill, steamed up my asparagus, a sauteed some spinach. This was a delicious meal...and quick!
First off--the George Forman grill cooks chicken super quick, and it come out really moist!
And secondly--I was super nervous about sauteed spinach because I don't always like it, but I thought I'd give it a shot. Here is the key: garlic! Garlic makes everything better. I sauteed it up with garlic and then put a little salt and pepper on top and it was delish.
And lastly, for dessert I had a cup of frozen strawberries. Simple but delicious. :)
It sure is a lot of work having every meal be so labor intensive....I seem to be getting the hang of it though. And I kind of like the challenge :) (Not liking all the dishes though! haha)
I'm very curious for Wednesday morning to come around- I want to know if I've lost weight! (I sure hope so.)
I think that's all for now, until next time!
Monday, January 2, 2012
Happy New Year! (day 5)
Well, if today is any indicator how 2012 is going to be, I'd say it's going to be a very productive year. :)
I set my alarm for the first time in a week or so this morning so I could get up and go workout! I did not want to get out of bed this morning...at all! But, I pushed through and am so glad I did. There is this aerobics studio in town that has over 30 group exercise classes a week and I've been wanting to go try out a class or two for a while. They have a drop in fee of $5 and I'd say it was worth it. The instructor was really nice, and I got to meet and chat with the owner and she was super super nice too
Anyways, it was a "DanceEnergy!" class which is essentially a different take on Zumba (which I love). My heart rate was up, I sweat a lot, and my legs still feel like jello--I'd say that was successful, ya?
I think I'm going to go try one or two more classes later this week....there are a couple that I'm eyeing that sound like they could be fun.
In other news--I've sort of gotten into a groove and things are moving along fine. I feel like I am eating so much protein! I almost wonder if it's too much....but I think I will turn into a vegetable if I eat any more of veggies during the day. I suppose this is just what it's like to eat paleo. :P
I think that's all for now....I know it's a short post, but I'm pooped and my pillow sounds amazing right now. :) Check back tomorrow for my fun meals from today and other fun things too! (I'll have to come up with something between now and then....hmmmmm)
goodnight! sweet dreams :)
I set my alarm for the first time in a week or so this morning so I could get up and go workout! I did not want to get out of bed this morning...at all! But, I pushed through and am so glad I did. There is this aerobics studio in town that has over 30 group exercise classes a week and I've been wanting to go try out a class or two for a while. They have a drop in fee of $5 and I'd say it was worth it. The instructor was really nice, and I got to meet and chat with the owner and she was super super nice too
Anyways, it was a "DanceEnergy!" class which is essentially a different take on Zumba (which I love). My heart rate was up, I sweat a lot, and my legs still feel like jello--I'd say that was successful, ya?
I think I'm going to go try one or two more classes later this week....there are a couple that I'm eyeing that sound like they could be fun.
In other news--I've sort of gotten into a groove and things are moving along fine. I feel like I am eating so much protein! I almost wonder if it's too much....but I think I will turn into a vegetable if I eat any more of veggies during the day. I suppose this is just what it's like to eat paleo. :P
I think that's all for now....I know it's a short post, but I'm pooped and my pillow sounds amazing right now. :) Check back tomorrow for my fun meals from today and other fun things too! (I'll have to come up with something between now and then....hmmmmm)
goodnight! sweet dreams :)
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