Another 30 days

I've been feeling like EVERYTHING is spiraling out of control.  Especially, with Paleo.  I can't even call it semi-Paleo.  Yes, I've lost 30 lbs and I am wearing stuff from college over 8 years ago. But it feels like I'm compromising on food quality over and over and over again.  My sweet tooth is back--although, I have not engaged in candy and such, I've still felt the need for "sweets."

I've decided that I will start another 30 days to restore my Paleo lifestyle.  I started this morning.  After breakfast, I was craving something sweet.  Now, I've REALLY realized that I've really gotten off track.  The biggest issue has been the winter squashes, I didn't realize that they had as much sugar/carb content as sweet potatoes until last week.  I was having a acorn and butternut  and spaghetti squash with almost every meal. So, its def time for a Paleo reset.  

Yesterday, I made a big pot of tomato soup.  Here is the recipe:

3 cans of drained tomatoes

2 tablespoons of tomato paste

1-2 cups of chicken broth

1 small onion

1/2 cup of chopped bell peppers

1 can of coconut milk

3 cloves of garlic or 1 teaspoon of garlic powder

1 tablespoon of coconut oil

5 leaves of fresh basil

salt/pepper to taste

Over medium heat, I sauted the onions until they were tender. Added in the garlic.  I drained the juice from the tomatoes.  The drained tomatoes, tomato paste and chicken broth were added to the stock pot.  I put a lid on on let it cook for 20 minutes.  In my blender, I took 2 cups of the tomato from the cooking pot and blended it with a can of coconut milk, basil leaves and bellpeppers. (Some people like their soup completely creamy--if soo you can blend it all. But I like chunky soups, so I only blend 2 cups.)  I added the blended mixture back to the pot on the stove.  Added salt/pepper to taste  for me it was about 1/8 teaspoon.  I let it cook for another 10-20 minutes, giving it an occassional stir as the soup bubbled.  

Here is a rundown of my eating for the day:

Breakfast & Lunch:  

Tomato Soup, Cup of Raw Spinach, 1 chicken andoulle sausage, 1 chicken bellpepper sausage (I found these sausages at Whole Foods meat and they are my new favorite thing. Nitrate free & chicken is cage/preservative free

Snack:  almonds, 1 plum

Dinner:

• Bok Choy & Chicken Sausage
• Raw Spinach
• Tomato Soup

Not loosing, but not gaining

It's been a bad few weeks.  And I resorted to old addictions. . . . and felt terrible afterward.  I am a foodaholic.

Here is what is working:

• not keeping junk food/sweets in the house
• staying away from junk food at school--have had 1 piece of lemon pie brought to me by a colleague.  However, I've stayed away from the sub sandwiches, the cupcakes donuts and all of the other freebies in the lounge.  This is why we are so fat at my school.. . . people/groups keep trying to feed us!!!

Here are the problems I'm encountering:

• not eating breakfast b/c I stay in bed too late.  sooo not a morning person.
• long days & i don't want to cook when I get home.  monday, i ended up buying a pizza from a local pizzeria.  bad, bad, bad b/c my body responded terribly.  And then afterward, I asked myself why I put myself through that.  laziness is the only answer.
• how to handle stress. . ..last week I found myself in the middle of controversy b/c my principal reprimanded me in writing. . . and I didn't feel he was just and filed a grievance. .. . well, i did what i do and went to whole foods and bought cheesecake and anything else that I thought would make me feel better.. . . it didn't.  I've got to find an alternative to eating to work out my stress.
• lack of meat/veggies . .. . somehow, as the summer ended I haven't found the right balance to handle work vs home .. . versus being able to get to the farmers market (which all ended this week).  Eating paleo in the winter is going to be difficult.
• glutenous products gave me constipation and have been extremely hard to digest.  I find myself with a little indigestion

Inspired by Mike's post, here is all the good: 

• my numbers are all very good.  blood pressure and everything!
• no sickness only sick days were for mental health and dentist
• PMS seems easier.  I don't know whats happening there but I don't have to spend an entire day in bed sleeping and popping pills to get away from the cramps
• walking is sooo much easier.  I'm okay whenever i take the stairs.  I don't have to stop at the top of the staircase to catch my breath.  
• Embarrassing to post:  Starting weight 272  current weight 243.  I know that at some point I have had higher numbers than 272. . . i know that scale has been at 280 at some point.  Funny, but when I reached the 240s, I didn't believe my scale.  So, I went to the Y to weigh in there.  I haven't seen  the 240s since before college. . . .at least 10 years.
• My friend who hasn't seen me in a bit said today, "you're getting sooo skinny."  

Constipation

It was a bad, bad week.  I won't go into detail, but I dived into emotional eating.  When people eat emotionally, it doesn't matter how the food tastes, just how the chemicals in the food react to your brain.  I ate terribly, i had chips, cheese cake, nacho cheese, premade guac and tortilla chips, cookies. . . i was just stuffing my face.  I knew I would pay later.

Yesterday constipation set it.  Sugary things create diarrhea and glutenous products produce constipation.  I don't feel good and now am even having problems sleeping.  I've got to find another way to handle stress besides eating.  How quickly I fell off the wagon when stress set in.