Monday, October 31, 2011

Halloween!! Weee!!

Halloween!!! Weeeeeee!!

I love candy. Please find me someone that doesn't and I will gladly stuff their mouths with Snickers bars until they change their mind. Kit Kats are my favorite though...I like to eat all of the outside chocolate off and then separate the weird little layers and eat that delicious, mysterious stuff in between. So basically I eat Kit Kats like a mentally challenged beaver. 

Unfortunately Aaron and I decided to do our Paleo Challenge during Halloween, so I get NO Kit Kats, NO candy corn, and NO pumpkin pie. To make myself feel a little bit better about my lack of sugar high on Halloween, I decided to look up some horrifying statistics about candy. It helped...prepare to feel like shit about all of the candy you've been eating today!
  • Over 90 million pounds of chocolate are sold during the week of Halloween. 
  • $1.9 billion was spent on Halloween candy in 2010. 
  • That averages out to $72.31 per person JUST on Halloween candy. 
  • One miniature Kit Kat has 130 calories and 16g of carbohydrates (you could eat an entire, nutritious apple for less than that).
  • Around Halloween, most people (even adults) eat at least 20 pieces of candy a day. That's over 2,600 calories just in candy...more than a normal person's daily allotment of calories. 


I remember when I was younger, I would get pissed off when people handed out apples, pencils, spider rings, or other shit like that...but now I'd almost prefer that. I'll take the damn pencils over candy any day. I put WAY too much work into my training (in order to fit into awesome costumes!!) to waste it on a candy bar smaller than my pinky finger!

What did you guys dress up as today? :)

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Salsa Covered Success!

It's day 6 of the Paleo Challenge and I'm still going strong! 

I am feeling really well since starting; because I had already been eating based on the Paleo Diet, the difference isn't really as drastic, but I have more energy, I feel better after meals, my performance has improved, my mood is better, and I know that I am eating the most nutritious foods I can get my hands on. 

The two rules from the challenge that I've found the most...uhm, challenging...is drinking a gallon and a half of water everyday and not eating at restaurants. I've had at least one gallon of water daily, but getting that extra half gallon in is usually a struggle; it's so important to stay hydrated though...I will definitely start committing more to that. Not that I usually eat out a lot anyway, but I do love my Wahoo's and Red Lobster once in a while. Because I've recently found myself in a new relationship (weee!), it's made it rather difficult to avoid restaurants as a whole. Dates, especially when first seeing someone, usually consist of dinner and a movie or something of the like, but because we're awesome, we've managed to avoid eating out.  Last night, we had "Date Night", but instead of going to a restaurant, paying too much for food that we shouldn't be eating, and breaking the rules, we made a delicious Paleo meal and watched movies (well, I fell asleep half way through the first one). 


Our menu:
  • Lean, grilled turkey burgers w/ homemade, fresh salsa.
  • Grilled vegetable 'kabobs.
  • Sautéed green beans. 
  • Fresh salad :) 
Oh my gosh, it was so delicious; I could literally eat this everyday...and it was ALL Paleo! This salsa (I will post the recipe) is the best thing that has ever happened to me. I put it on everything from scrambled eggs to chicken to cucumbers. 

Another obstacle we overcame this weekend was a Halloween party. Usually parties are full of temptations like alcohol and high-calorie snacks, but it's so important to stay on track even when socializing. I always eat before going somewhere that might veer me off track; I definitely make better decisions when my hunger isn't the one calling the shots. Also, even if it is awkward, I bring a "snack pack" with me: carrots, raw nuts, broccoli, cucumber, grapes, or apples are all good choices to bring with you to a party. This way, if everyone else is eating, you can too, but you'll be making wiser choices. Usually everyone hounds down my healthy snacks anyway...don't judge me and then hog my carrots, bitch.

Workouts this week were pretty beast mode! I treat Saturdays and Sundays as my rest days, so today I am making sure to stay hydrated, work on mobility, and get rid of any soreness so that I can give tomorrow's workout maximum effort. Yesterday was a rest day, but I went to Bootcamp at 24 Hour Fitness (where I work); it's a really fun class and I always recommend it to everyone; plus, we got to dress up yesterday (I was Robin), so I just had to go. Other than that, there was a lot of upper body work, some jump roping, burpees, snatches, pushups, squats, and running this week. Yay for burpees...HA.

As I previously mentioned, I love salsa. Before I found the recipe for the salsa I eat now, I was just using store-bought salsa; this is fine as long as you read the ingredients and check for preservatives, sugars, or any other garbage. Sodium and excess salts are the primary reason that I'd rather avoid processed salsas...also, mine is more delicious anyway :)

Paleo Salsa:
  • 2 red tomatoes, seeded & diced.
  • 1/4 cup diced onion.
  • 1/4 cup diced yellow bell pepper.
  • Juice of 1/2 lime.
  • 4 Tbsp. chopped, fresh cilantro.
  • 1 clove minced garlic.
  • 1/4 tsp. kosher salt & black pepper.
Combine all ingredients & enjoy on eggs, cucumbers, salads, burgers, steaks, or spoons.

I think that's all I have for this post, but I'll check back in soon with new recipes, Paleo adventures, and complaints about sore muscles. 

Happy Halloween!! :) :)

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Sore Shoulders & Paleo Chili

Chili chili chili chili chili chili chili chili chili chili chili chili chili chili chili. I'm making some right meow! :)

If you're a local reader and you aren't completely brain dead, you know that it's snowing today. I am pissed off about this, but I really like chili. I was talking about making it all morning at work today, so as soon as I got done with my workout after my shift, I scooted on over to the store to buy chili supplies. 

During my adventure I made a new and unfortunate discovery about chili seasoning packets: they're NOT paleo. They have added salt, flour, and other garbage in them, so I had to get creative today. Also, I recently converted back to eating meat (weeee!!), but I am still not eating red meat very often, so I decided to make turkey chili. I really like the way ground turkey tastes and it's a great, lean replacement for beef in 99% of all dishes. With that said, here's my recipe for Paleo Chili, which is smelling pretty faaantastic right about now :)

Paleo Chili (chili chili chili chili):
  • 1 pound lean ground turkey
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 zucchini, chopped
  • 1 yellow squash, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 cans diced tomatoes, no salt added
  • 4 tsp chili powder
  • 1 tbsp garlic powder
  • 1 tbsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp ground black pepper
  • salt to taste (I added very little to keep it Paleo)
  1. Heat large pot on medium/high setting, add turkey, cook thoroughly, remove & set aside.
  2. In same pot, saute zucchini, squash, & onion 3-4 minutes until slightly colored.
  3. Add garlic, cook for about 1 minute longer.
  4. Add turkey & spices, cook for about 1 minute.
  5. Add tomatoes, stir, reduce heat to low and let simmer for at least 30 minutes before serving. 
In other news, I am sore as SHIT right now thanks to yesterday's workout. It was my first time doing a wod (workout of the day) with snatches (giggity) and I am really feeling it today. It was a very challenging workout and I almost cried. I am not joking. I was literally 1 inch away from getting my damn chin over the bar on an unbanded kipping pullup though. I hope everyone in that gym is prepared to watch me kiiiiick, dance, and scream when I get it :) 

As a whole though, I think that the challenge is going really well so far! I've been getting down on some hydration, taking my vitamins when I should, there has been no cheating of any kind, and I've been following Progressive's programming everyday (hence the lumps of painful meat I refer to as shoulders, quads, hamstrings, lats, and abdominals).  

Thanks for reading, guys!! Stay warm today :)



Monday, October 24, 2011

Pre-Challenge Stats

Below are my Pre-Paleo Challenge stats; I will re-measure, re-weigh, take after photos, and re-do the workout at the end of the 30 days to see my improvement:)


Weight: approx. 148 (w/ clothing & food in tummy)
Body fat: ~22%
Before photo: here


Pre-challenge workout (sucked):
For time:
  • Run 400 meters
  • 21 GHD situps
  • 21 kettlebell swings (35#)
  • Run 400 meters
  • 15 GHD situps
  • 15 kettlebell swings
  • Run 400 meters
  • 9 GHD situps
  • 9 kettlebell swings
My time (Oct. 23): 11:43

30 Day Paleo Challenge

I feel like this is a really good time to kick off my new blog because starting today, I am doing a 30 day Paleo challenge to push myself to further improve my nutrition and training! In this post, I will explain a little bit about the Paleo lifestyle, go over some of my challenge guidelines, and hopefully convince a few people to participate :) 

I would love to commit to a daily post throughout the duration of the challenge, but realistically speaking, I know myself better than that. I plan on blogging at least 3 times a week throughout the month just to keep myself committed to the challenge, dish out some pointers, and also make sure that I am consistently posting on the new blog. With all of that said, let's get down on some information.

First things first, the Paleolithic Diet (Paleo, for short) is a nutritional plan based on that of our Paleolithic ancestors (cavemen). Today's Paleolithic diet consists mainly of lean meats, seafood, vegetables, fruit, and nuts; the lifestyle excludes any processed foods such as grains, legumes, dairy products, salt, refined sugar, and processed oils. I've been following the Paleo lifestyle for about 2 months now and it has made a huge difference in my training, body composition, and general well-being. I usually make a few exceptions to the "rules" though; I eat oats, consume protein powders, eat canned tuna, and eat whatever I want on Saturdays. I strongly believe that post-workout nutrition is very important, so for Paleo month, I will continue consuming protein powders after my workouts. I will also continue eating canned tuna because it is convenient and very high in protein...I do eat the low sodium, white albacore tuna, so that makes it a little bit more acceptable. Oats, along with cheat day Saturdays, will be going out the window for the next 30 days though...unless I decide to keep going with the challenge, which is extremely likely :) 

In addition to strictly following the Paleo lifestyle on a daily basis (excluding my exceptions), I have come up with a few more rules for myself in order to get the maximum benefit from the challenge. 

Paleo Challenge Rules:
  • 100% Paleo everyday, all month.
  • Strictly follow Progressive CrossFit's programming everyday, all month. 
  • Complete 3+ workouts at PFCF every week.
  • Practice yoga 2+ times per week (whether attending a class or on my own).
  • Take my vitamins and supplements everyday.
  • Run 2+ miles a day at least 3 days per week.
  • Drink 6+ bottles (32 oz.) of water each day.
  • No eating at restaurants for the full 30 days.
  • Complete at least 10 minutes of stretching/mobilization each day.
  • Blog about Challenge progress at least 3 times per week. 
  • Kick ass. Everyday. All month. 
I took a series of photos today because I have a good feeling that this month is going to make a huge difference :)

Before Pictures:

Myself :)

 Aaron, who is wonderful/insane for doing this with me :) 

Alrighty, I think that pretty much covers it! Check back every now and then for Challenge updates, tips, and possibly even Paleo recipes. Wish us luck!! :)

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

New Blog, Yeahhhh!!

As most of you know, I recently lost a substantial amount of weight and completely changed my lifestyle. If you know that, you probably followed my old blog (here) and also know that I'm very random and very inconsistent with my posting; for that, I apologize. I created this new blog because I often get a lot of questions from people wanting to lose weight, get into shape, or start an exercise program. Assuming that I can commit to posting frequently on this blog, I think it would be a great opportunity to help share my story, offer advice, and potentially help others to do what I've done :)


Feel free to email me or write comments with any questions you have. Help keep me accountable!