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.

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.