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.

Bhindi

oing really well with Paleo!  No need to document what I'm eating everyday.  But here are the highlights for this week.

• I did a big order of meat from the meat people.  I was VERY disappointed.  The steaks were the size of my palm.  Never eaten a steak that small before.  I've decided I will not order beef from them anymore.  And they shorted me to boot!  And when I emailed them, she said they were out of stock of that particular item and would issue a credit on the next order.  I'm not exactly please with that.  She could've given me a refund?!
• I made a lot for my "big cook" this weekend, I wanted to have a lot of choice . . .and I WON'T have time to cook this week. . . i'm going back to work, tomorrow.  For the week I have:  zucchini muffins, braised cabbage, bhindi, vegetable casserole, paleo lasagna, meat loaf . . . made extra lasagna sauce so that I can have spaghetti squash this week.
• I made bhindi this evening, its one of the dishes I love from the India Palace.  I LOVE bhindi and it came out well.

Couch to 5k

This evening as I talked with SRB over dinner, I decided that I need a new goal. I told her that I'd like to get in shape well enough to travel next summer.  I want to tour Europe, but in order to do that I needed to be able to handle walking long distances.  Somehow, our conversation changed.  . . and we started talking about the Race for the Cure Race in October.  Our conversation migrated to a discussion about a Couch to 5k link the ND had sent me.  I think I can do it!  I'm going to do it, I'm sooo excited.  

So, tomorrow morning I'm off to the gym to either do water aerobics or walk on the treadmill.  I'm going to try to train (walking) night and day until I feel like I can run for 60 seconds.  I've got to be able to run for 60 seconds straight in order to do Couch to 5k.  Couch to 5k is a 2 month program.  I've got the whole month of August to get running!  Going to buy some new sneakers tomorrow.

Cheese

I had cheese for the first time today with a salad at a local restaurant--its one of those restaurants where the chefs shops daily at the farmers markets and only make "in season" meals.  My salad was topped with goat cheese.  I'm not sure how my body will react to it.  But here is what I thought as I ate:

I really  thought I wanted to add cheese back into my diet, but it wasn't as good as I remembered.  I can live without cheese.  It isn't worth slow weight loss.  

I can't explain how much I like eating this way.  And I like myself better like this.  Overall, I'm just happy!

~~~~~
3 hours later:  my stomach is rumbling and rumbling.  no pain, just rumbling.  its the loudest i've ever heard it before.  lots of rumbling.

Chocolate & Bowel Movements

I bought some dark chocolate and it was wonderful--it was listed as organic and free trade.  It didn't have any milk products in it.  It was REALLY good, but I didn't like the after taste, but it didn't stop me from nibbling.  And just a few squares quenched my sweet tooth.  Normally, when I'd buy chocolate, I'd demolish the entire BAR in the car.  Today, I ate a couple squares and put it back in my purse.    When I got home, I ate a few more bars.  And then while I was cleaning up after lunch, I had a few more bars, with still about half of the original bar left over.

Twenty minutes later, I felt SICK!  Nausea and general discomfort.  Like that day when I had too much fruit at PD.  Because my body and diet have changed, too much sugar does NOT feel good.  AT ALL!  Lesson learned.

Breakfast:  zucchini muffin, 3 pieces of patrami, plum

Lunch:  salad, flounder, roasted green beans

Dinner:  snapper, zucchini, salad, braised red cabbage

Snack:  half a bar of dark chocolate

Since going Paleo, I've had this WEIRD fascination with bowel movements.  I've been reading about them online b/c my bowel movements seem more frequent and urgent.  Here is something I found online today:

What is that ideal frequency? It depends on what you eat. It takes meat between 48-72 hours to make its way from your mouth, through your stomach, intestines and out. It takes most vegetables about 2 hours. But, if you are eating a balanced diet, most doctors expect you to void at least once per day, more if you're eating a lot of vegetables and other foods with roughage.

I don't consider what I've eaten a meal unless, I have 2 or more veggies (used to be I'd have to have a substantial carb/grain) But finding this completely explains how my system is reacting to the change.