Day 2 of Round 2

I fell off the wagon tonight.  I went to a benefit dinner and didn't eat before I weng.  So, I ended up eating/drinking what they served.

Breakfast:  Awakened late and didn't get it in before leaving

Lunch:  Chili & Spaghetti Squash, a slice of orange

Snack:  a cup of almonds, 1/4 cup freeze dried fruit (bananas & straweberries)

Dinner:  1/2 glass of white wine, steamed veggies, salad, baked fish with some kind of sauce on it, 1/2 piece of chicken breast  (really honestly, I could have gotten away with it if I hadn't enged in the white wine) Everything else on the PLATE was horribly unpaleo--potatoes au gratin, rolls . .. sauces) I didn't eat any of it.

At home dinner: bok choy & chicken sausage

Day 1 will start again tomorrow.

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.

2 lbs away

I have lost a total of 28lbs and I can really see the loss in my face, neck and clothes.   Today I wore a top that used to cling to me, now it is really baggy. I have a student who gave me her mother's phone number because she does alterations.  I was thinking that I'd get a few of my skirts altered, but I think I want to wait until after the Race for the Cure 5k in October.  Besides I don't want her fixing all of my summer clothes and then I can't wear them this winter.  So, hopefully, I'll be getting some accurate alterations on my winter clothes.  I have NEVER been this successful before.  NEVER!  And the thing is Paleo is EASY!

I occasionally get a craving for things from the snack machine. Instead, I just eat a piece of fruit.  But the reality is:  if it isn't in your house then you won't miss it! 

Eating Non-Paleo

This week I turned 33.   I decided to celebrate by eating anything I wanted.  On Wednesday, I went out for dinner at an Indian restaurant.  I ordered all of those creamy foods hadn't eaten since being Paleo and they brought me a "birthday ice cream."  Right after eating that meal, I had nausea so bad that I ran to the bathroom even before we paid for the meal.

Tonight, I was in desperate need of some PMS chocolate.  I go to Whole Foods and in the bakery case there was a "chocolate tuxedo cheesecake."  I ordered up a slice and when I got home I couldn't wait to dive in.  I start eating and sadly it wasn't as good as I remembered.  I eat about half of it and again nausea strikes.

Here is what I learned:  sugary processed foods  are not good for me.  They do not make me feel good AT. ALL.  Interestingly, when I made the switch to Paleo, I don't ever think I felt bad. . . it was just diarrhea and hunger.  I guess processed foods are like poison to our bodies.  I've decided that I will continue to stay away from these foods b/c I don't really miss them and they make me feel ill.  Also, i notice that all of that sugar makes me really really thirsty.

My weight loss has been noticeable. People who haven't seen me in a while CAN see the difference.  I definitely feel the difference in my clothes.  It was really nice to buy new undergarments b/c the others were too big.

My goal is to lose 25 more pounds by the December.  So, on Sunday, I am going back on the strict version of Paleo for another 30 days.

over 20lbs

I'm down lower than I've been the past 5 years, but my teeth are turning brown. It scares me, i'm brushing and brushing and there are still brown stains. After some googling, it discovered that I might have a vitamin c deficiency. That sounds about right . . . I haven't eaten much citrus since switching to a Paleo diet.  So, today, I'll head to Whole Foods to get some Vitamin C tablets and oranges and orange juice if I can find some with no additives or preservatives.  I figure I  can add an orange a day to my diet.   I'm hoping that I'll see changes within the week.

Also, I have found that buying my pork a whole foods is about the same price as buying it at the farmers market. I will still buy from the farmers market to support local industry, but on weeks where I don't make it to the market and especially in the winter-Whole Foods will do just fine.

Doing really well on Paleo since school has started, but I've found that my diet has changed a little bit.  Not as much coconut milk. Mostly I find myself making a protein on the foreman grill and veggies roasted in the oven and something raw.  I don't have time on the weekends for the massive cooking that I used to do.  When the next holiday rolls around I'll probably make some zucchini muffins and freeze them.  I find that I don't want them everyday like I used to.   And I'm okay with out snacks.  My biggest issue is staying away from chocolate.  What has worked:  not having it in the house. Pretty much I just eat whats at home or in my lunch box.

I'm really happy about the changes to my body shape.Really happy.