Day 4 and 5

Sorry I didn't update yesterday...I used to live about 2 hours away in San Antonio and worked at a very fun country dance hall as a beerwell/bartender.  Anyway, my old boss asked me if I wanted to work last night and so I packed up and headed down there.  I had planned to pack some paleo friendly snacks to take with me but of course in the rush I forgot!  Luckily I had a nice steak and some Brussels sprouts right before I left which tied be over for the most part.  It was a fun night but I did cheat a little bit and had a red bull.  It was one of those ox is in the mire situations since I wouldn't be getting off work till almost 4am and then had a two hour drive ahead of me.  Since I rarely drink caffeine anyway, it usually hits me pretty hard and so I drank one to keep me alert for my drive home.

My first week is almost complete and I have been feeling pretty good surprisingly.  I thought I would be a bit sluggish the first week due to the low carb shock and transition.  My body actually feels great and my energy levels (beside this last night of little sleep) have been normal if not higher.  I've been a bit generous with myself on fruit and while fruit is okay in the paleo world, it should be a smaller portion of my overall consumption.  One of the main purposes of paleo is to reduce sugar (carbohydrate) intake, both processed and natural, and fruit tends to be high in natural sugars.  Problem is I love fruit.  I have always loved fruit and so I can eat it all day long if I am not careful.  (Perhaps this is why my energy hasn't changed much).

Speaking of fruit, I believe in my last post I mentioned a quick cereal/snack I created from dehydrated fruit...I will post pictures and recipes today.  I have been making sweet potato fries and Brussels sprouts almost every day and I am still trying to perfect my recipe.  I'm pretty picky with my food I make and am a perfectionist when it comes to my own recipes.  So I wont be sharing anything less than the best with you! (It just may take a while to figure out).  The basics is olive oil or coconut oil and seasonings to your taste, but I'm working on texture and cook time and all that great stuff. 

If you're anything like me you've probably become tired of the casserole for breakfast every morning (or any of the meals everyday).  Just so you know you do not have to follow my plan exactly...its more of an outline and gives you some meals to fall back on if you don't know what to do.  Basically just try to swap out veggies for veggies, fruits for fruits, and proteins for proteins to make sure your macro nutrients are staying in the correct ranges. 

This was my breakfast today:

Happy eating y'all!!:)

Day 3

I completed today still on track!  I will say though I was running around a lot today and I don't think I drank as much water as I usually do and by 5pm-ish I had a killer headache. I guzzled some water and took a painkiller and feel great now.  Its starting to get close to my bed time but I will have a couple more recipes and snack ideas for y'all tomorrow!  Goodnight:)

Day Two Paleo

Today was successful as far as staying paleo goes.  I had my breakfast casserole, got my morning workout in (back and biceps today, checkout my workouts page), and ran a few errands.  One of my errands consisted of heading over to central market to pick up some ingredients for some paleo chocolate chip cookies!

Yes, that's right, COOKIES.  As I have told you before I have a big sweet tooth.  Not so much for candy but baked goods....those are my weakness, especially cookies.  Luckily for me I came across a delicious chocolate chip cookie recipe which I will post on my recipes page.  I also purchased some raw dark chocolate which tastes amazing as well!  Now, while all these sweets are in fact paleo, they are still sweets.  I believe that all things in moderation is a crucial element in life and cutting out sweets completely would probably put me into depression (okay, maybe that's an exaggeration but you get my point;).  The important thing to remember here however is to actually eat them in MODERATION.  I decided that I will allow myself a package of 6 chocolates, and one batch (about 8 cookies) a week.  This way I can have a little each night or during the day when a craving hits.  I could eat them all in one day...but then I wont have any the rest of the week.  Self control people!

First Day on Paleo

Today I began my 30 days of paleo!  I am so excited and quite impatient wanting to know my end results already.  I both weighed and took "before" pictures of myself today so that I may compare them in 30 days.  I'm sure this first week or two is going to be the hardest of them all...especially with my horrendous sweet tooth.  Luckily for me there are certain types of dark chocolates and treats that are still paleo friendly that I can resort to if needed.  Hopefully I can wean myself off though and get away from craving chocolate and cookies all the time:). 

It's always fun to grocery shop for new meal plans and to get organized again.  Here's my groceries for the week:

Today, also being my first day of the week consisted of a good amount of cooking and meal prep.  Now that I have made my casseroles and roasted my turkey things should go much smoother throughout the week.  All of my meals were quite yummy and I was very proud of myself.  The first days of something new are the hardest and usually when I fail but I stuck with it today...even resisted some brownies at church and some rice krispy treats my family made.  We just need to take it one day at a time and see each day with a bunch of mini successes and soon that day will be over and you can cross it off as a whole successful day!  Soon those days will turn into successful weeks, then months!!  Stick to it fit fam!  We can do it and are here to support one another:)!

Hello and Welcome!!

Tomorrow I will be beginning my own paleo 30 day challenge!  I will keep you updated with posts on my home page as well as on my paleo tab.  I hope you will join me and use me as your support through your own journey.

For those of you who don't know what paleo is, it is often known as the "caveman diet."  It is based on what paleolithic humans would have ate before the dawn of agriculture and how human genetics have scarcely changed in the passing time.  It consists of mainly lean meats, eggs, vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, fungi, and healthy oils.  It excludes all grains, legumes, dairy, refined salts, sugars, and processed oils.

Today I am preparing my grocery list and going shopping so that tomorrow I can start fresh!  I am a little nervous as it has been a while since I did anything like this but I know I can do it.  Mind over matter!