Review of the past two weeks on Paleo

I started out the Crossfit Paleo challenge two weeks ago.  And while I have had some successes, there have also been some fails.  I have lost a few pounds (I started out at 142, and am now around 135) which is great.  I still have about 10 pounds to go to get to goal.  I was hoping to be further ahead as far as weight loss goes at this point, BUT...I have been cooking and eating like a wild caveman asshole.

Here's how that works.  I started the challenge in full force- low carb and kicking ass.  Then, I started losing weight really quickly and took the bitch out mentality of:  I'm losing a shit ton of weight, I can coast a little bit. 

Coasting turned into experimenting with all sorts of new recipes and concocting Paleo delights.  It has been fun, but now I have to get back down to business.  I have two weeks left and a contest to win BITCHES!!!!  So it is go time. 

My lost time in the challenge is your gain.  Here are a few of recipes I have tried:

Pumpkin Chilli
28 oz can of Plain Pumpkin
28 oz can of Crushed Tomatoes
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 red pepper
1 onion
1 lb ground turkey
ground cinnamon (1-2 tsp), allspice (1/4 tsp), nutmeg (1/4 tsp), and ginger (1/4)  or to taste.  You can omit any of the spices if you aren't into them
salt and pepper to taste

Chop your peppers and onion
Melt the coconut oil in a pan/cast iron skillet and saute your veggies
While they are working, dump in your can of pumpkin, tomatoes, and spices into a crock pot
Dump sauted veggies into the crockpot
Brown your turkey in your skillet and add it to the crock pot
cook on low until you are ready to chow down

Salmon Salad
1 precooked salmon filet (I used leftovers from last night's dinner, or you can quickly pan sear your own)
2 cups of salad greens (I used butter leaf lettuce)
2 slices of Applegate Farms Procuitto chopped
5 or 6 strawberries chopped into small pieces
1 tablespoon coconut oil melted
salt and pepper to taste

I was so tired of olive oil on salads that I experimented with the coconut butter.  It solidify a little bit on the sides of my bowl, but it was a tasty change of taste bud scenery. 

Snack Time Trail Mix
2 tablespoons of sunflower seeds
2 tablespoons of pumpkin seeds
2 tablespoons of almonds
1 teaspoon of honey
1 tablespoon of melted coconut butter
sprinkling of cinnamon
a pinch of salt
stir it all together and eat the hell out of it!!!! 

Nate and I made Paleo Pizzas the other night.  They were really good and if Nate liked them, they are a win (because he will totally tell me if something tastes like a trash can).  The crust is here:

http://everydaypaleo.com/2010/08/04/everyday-paleo-pizza/
We did sausage, spinach, and onion for one pizza and cheese steak (minus the cheese), onion, and mushrooms for the second

I was talking to some insightful pals at Crossfit today.  We were discussing how challenging transitioning to this lifestyle can be without baby steps.  Some great ways to ease your transition are:
-Take it one meal at a time
-Remove one thing at a time (ex:  first sugar, then wheat, then dairy)
-Try two new recipes a week

We didn't develop shitty eating habits overnight and they can't be completely shut down overnight.  There is a huge emotional component to eating that can be an ongoing challenge.  Celebrate your successes and acknowledge your failures.  Let them teach you about yourself and learn so that the previous fail becomes a win.   
Happy Halloween!!!!  Guess who won't be eating candy????  That's right, my ass is sweet enough without it ;0) 

Jane on a Diet Post 3- What the f to eat on Paleo???

Hi loves!  I hope everyone is having a fabulous week!  My diet is going fabulously and I will tell you all about what I am eating so that you guys have an idea of how to make a Paleo diet manageable.

Breakfasts-
I have been eating 3 or 4 organic eggs, onion and peppers.  Instead of butter, I use coconut oil to cook my foods. 

Lunches are usually organic deli meat, left over chicken breasts, or whatever meat we had the night before over greens dressed with olive oil

Dinners have been fish, chicken, steaks or some other type of meat with either grilled veggies or salads dressed with olive oil. Tonight we have hair cuts and don't have time to sit down to a meal, so I just had some celery sticks with about 4 tablespoons of almond butter spiced with cinnamon.  So yummy!

Snacks and dinners on nights I have class have been 1/2 cup of almonds and walnuts.

I have a condition called candida, a yeast overgrowth in the body, which I am trying to get back under control.  After trying to do the raw vegan thing for so long, my candida was majorly agitated, I was gaining weight, and starting to have a lot of anxiety attacks and other symptoms of the illness.  That being said, I have to watch my fruit intake.  Dried fruit is usually a no no and honey is off the table for now.  Hopefully once I get my symptoms regulated, I can add grapefruits and green apples a few times a week to get more variety.

For those of you who don't have candida and are trying out Paleo for weight loss, it's best to also keep fruit to a minimum.  Two pieces a day and preferably low glycemic fruits like green apples, grapefruits, and berries will work.  If you are looking to maintain or gain weight, go to town with the fruit.  Dried fruits, like medjool dates, are a delicious addition to your nuts and seeds.  Try chopping them up, adding some cinnamon, and a pinch of himalayan sea salt. 

FYI- you will probably have detox symptoms- nausea, diarrhea, fatigue, hunger, carb cravings, etc.  PUSH THROUGH!  It is well worth it.  I thought I was going to puke the other day during my Crossfit workout, but today was much, much better.  Each day I have fewer sugar cravings and am feeling more and more like myself again.  It has been a struggle to eat meat again, but when now that I am getting my "JaneNess" back, I am reminding myself that my health and feeling good is priority one. 

If you are starting to lose weight too quickly, add fats.  I started out not eating nuts, but noticed that the weight was flying off at almost too rapid a pace so I added nuts back in.  So far I have lost about 5 pounds.  Since I added nuts back in, my weight loss has been slower.  Now if it gets too slow, those bitches will be back on the shelf ASAP ;0)

Hope you guys are having success!

Jane on a Diet Day 2

Yesterday I went to a Paleo Nutrition Seminar at my gym- Crossfit Inspire in Frasier, PA www.crossfitinspire.com- and was very motivated to get started on my diet.  My goal weight is 125.  I normally weight around 130-135.  I weighed in at 142 and 20.3% body fat.

Needless to say, I was a little disappointed.  Taking ownership is key when you are ready to make some changes and I am taking ownership of every morsel of delicious food I have eaten. So here I am, ready to get some pounds off and happy that I caught myself before things got really out of hand.  Although,  I don't think I really minded the extra pounds too much because my boobs got bigger.

My strategy is based off of the Paleo Diet.  There are tons of great websites to google and get more information on it.  The basic tenets are:

EAT:  Fruits, Veggies, nuts, seeds, eggs, olive oil, coconut oil, honey and meat (grass fed and organic is best)
NO:  Dairy, grains, refined sugars, agave nectar, etc. 

For my plan, I am going meats and veggies for the first two weeks.  I am in a contest and I really want to jump start my weight loss and fat loss.  For anyone else, especially those new to the lifestyle, I would include fruits, nuts, and seeds since you are not in a contest and looking to make a lifestyle change.

Now that you have the diet down, exercise is another key component.  Five days a week for at least 30 minutes.  Finding something you love is key.  Crossfit works for me.  I have to force myself to take rest days because I love it so much.  It's the best thing I've found (and I've tried it all) that gets insane results and can be modified for ANYONE of ANY SIZE.  Find things that work for you.  Zumba classes, hiking, pushing strollers up and down hills.  What I would recommend is if you are not lifting weights, you need to start.  Muscle=lean sexy bods that burn more calories at rest.  Get more of it.

BUT I AM SO BUSY!!!!  Bullshit.  I am a mom, wife, and a full time doctoral student and I manage to make it to the gym almost everyday.  Stop making excuses and get your ass moving.  Even if you do push ups, sit ups, and squats while your favorite show is at a commercial.  Jump rope for 20 minutes every day.   Exercise is the key to more energy.  You want to feel better, get moving.

I know you guys hate me right now, but you want results, right???  Who's on board!?!

Jane on a diet

I have a confession to make:  Optimal Health Mama has been the Optimal Feeding Frenzy Mama for the past month.  I now need to knock it off.  I have gained some weight and I need to get my shit together before it gets out of hand. 

Thankfully, Crossfit Inspire is having a body fat/weight loss competition that starts tomorrow after a nutritional seminar.  I am always a down ass bitch when there is a month of free Crossfit on the line.  I am going to be following the recommended nutritional plan that this dude convinces me to try and hopefully get rid of these pounds.  As I go, I am going to share strategies and hopefully we can all drop a few before the holidays. 

Here are two things that are easy to implement right off the bat:  Drink your body weight in water and no eating after 6 p.m.  

I bought a severely slutty Halloween costume, so I need to look svelte and sexy not frumpy and dumpy so I'm hoping to get some quick results.  Alright loves...are you ready????  Because it's so on!!!! 

Balance

Are you guys really that bored at work that you want me to write more blogs???  Alright, here we go.


I am a highly competitive person. What I lack in intelligence and talent, I have learned to make up for with hard work.  So when someone says:  I ate 30 bananas a day and can run 40 miles without breaking a sweat, I'm thinking to myself, "Let's Do THIS BITCH!!!!  I'M IN!  If you can do it.  I can do it too." 

Sometimes I wonder my competitive nature is a friend or foe.  It COULD be said that I lack balance (NAH). But the good thing about someone who is competitive with a good work ethic is that I am willing to work to find balance.  I am willing to work to find what works for me.  I am willing to try anything to get there (even a 3,000 calorie fruit diet). 

When I last wrote, I talked about the 80-10-10 diet.  NOT FOR ME.  I lasted a few days and was a hot mess.  I can see how people really thrive eating this way, but I am not one of them. This was NOT balanced for me.  Too much fruit, not enough veggies,not enough protein and not enough fat for me. 


Next move was I started incorporating meat and a little dairy back into my diet.  Of course there was no balance there.  My ass was at Station Taproom eating wings within days.  I started eating too much meat and was not feeling in optimal balance. 

So here I am, 6 pounds heavier (6.5 but I round down NO MATTER WHAT) and exhausted of thinking about food.  I like eating raw and vegan, but I love to cook and make food for my family and eat dinner together.  They are so NOT raw vegans nor do I expect them to be. 

Mental Note 1:  Eating tons of fruits and veggies is good, but not eating anything else is NOT fun. 

Mental Note 2:  It is NOT fun to make a beautiful dinner, not eat it, and then drink your 3rd brown rice protein powder smoothie of the day with your crew.  BOO.  Not balanced.

Mental Note 3:  It is NOT fun to eat entirely too much meat, feel like your skin is gray and that you took out a farm on your own this week.

Okay.  So where do we go from here.  You know neurotic, competitive Jane has a plan.  I am NOT cutting out meat, fruits, or vegetables.  I am going to BALANCE (say it with me...BALANCE) my diet. 

My plan thus far is to eat 2 raw meals and cook dinner with meat, veggies, etc. for my family and eat it with them.  Sounds pretty simple and healthy AND balanced.  It is the advice I give to people who are starting out high raw.  Now let's see if I can do it ;0)

Will try to keep you posted but I'm having trouble BALANCING this blog with MIDTERMS.