Weight Loss Wednesday: Paleo-tastic!

It's like "Ice Age" over here..

Paleo Paleo Paleo... It seems to be everywhere I go. Many bloggers I follow are trying it, and seeing great results. Personal friends are doing it. Is it a sign that I should try it? Well, yeah, I think so...

I was so good last week. I stayed within my calories. And then, on Monday after my run at the gym, I weighed. I gained 2 pounds. Again. WTF?????

I worked out like a crazy person. But the things I ate (other than my Shakeology) were not pure, whole foods. There were processed foods. There was dairy. Things that you think are healthy because the calories are low.

So, I'm going to do something drastic:

The Whole 30.

30 days of super clean eating, based on the Paleo diet. Here are the rules:

• No added sugar of any kind, real or artificial.

• No processed foods. 

• No alcohol

• No grains. (This is going to be rough for me)

• No legumes. (Also rough)

• No dairy. (The worst part of this will be black coffee. BLACK COFFEE, PEOPLE!)
• [Disclaimer: I do plan on drinking my Shakeology daily. It is pure and whole, and the only "dairy" is the "whey protein". There is a vegan version coming out soon, and I'll switch to that when it happens. Just not willing to go without Shakeology- it's too awesome].

• No white potatoes. 

Also, for the whole 30 days, no stepping on the scale. No portion measuring.

I'm going to do it, starting June 1. Hey, that's a week from today... (gulping coffee with creamer).

This is not just about weight loss. This is about health.

When I was eating mostly raw foods, I was the healthiest I had ever been. I remember waking up one day, after an ozone detox, and thinking, "I didn't know I could feel this good!". I think I go through the day thinking this is as good as it gets- I'm pretty healthy. But, what if it can be better?

I agree with the principal of not weighing and not worrying about weight. I just want to be as healthy as possible. So I'm committing to 30 days. It's going to be rough. My wedding anniversary is June 21. I'll be at Beachbody Summit for 3 days in June. But my desire for change is going to have to be stronger than my desire to cheat.

I have a week to prepare. I have a week to research how to do this "diet" frugally. But I'm excited.

Here is a link to the website's "Resources" page, with a lot of info that is helpful: http://whole9life.com/resources/


And, here are some pics of some possible things I might eat (all of these are from the Whole9 website):

Okay, these all look pretty good. You can also just simply put the ingredients together. I still have a week to plan, but this makes me hopeful.

Yes, I am jumping on a bandwagon. I completely admit it. But, there is a reason there is a bandwagon. It must be good. So, why not try it?

If you have any thoughts, experience or resources to share as I prepare, I would *love* to hear them!

Happy Wednesday!

Food and weight loss.

When it comes to being fit, exercise is super important. You can see benefit from exercise alone. However, sadly (for me), eating is over 50% of it. I hear story after story about "fit but fat" people... (I hate that term, sorry!) People who can run long, lift heavy, have the athletic endurance, but who are still a little overweight.

It all comes down to "calories in, calories out". There are so many complicated diets and theories out there, but that's all there is too it.

Did you hear about the "Twinkie Diet"? A nutrition professor ate junk food every three hours instead of meals. He kept his calories low, and lost weight. While this is a horrifying concept (to me, at least- some people may think eating Twinkies and Oreos as your main diet is a dream come true), the point he was making was that what really matters is "calories in, calories out".

I'm not saying we should all go out and stock up on Twinkies. But, the point is, the body can only handle so many calories of ANYTHING before it becomes excess weight. Avocados are great for you, but too much and you get fat.

However, many of the foods we're told to eat- like broccoli, for example- have lower calories for larger portions. 1 cup of chopped, raw broccoli is only 31 calories. Do you know how much broccoli that is? It's a lot! Eat 180 calories of broccoli and you'll DEFINITELY be full...

Anyway, I hope I've made at least something a resembling a point. While the professor didn't suffer any extreme negative consequences from his diet of processed junk foods, I'm still not ready to make the switch- I want to talk a bit about how to eat higher quality foods and integrate this into a busy lifestyle.

My lunches for the week

One of the things I do is PREPARE! I do a lot of preparing on Sunday for the week ahead. Above, I took a picture of 4 days of lunches I make for the week.

This is a really simple (maybe even boring) lunch: chicken breasts (I use one of the frozen bags you can get at the grocery store), green beans (frozen) and brown rice. I only make 4 because 1). I don't know if it will last longer than 4 days without getting a little questionable and 2). There are usually leftovers on Thursday night I can eat on Friday.

I make it all on Sunday afternoon- pretty easy- and have it all packaged nicely for the mornings when I go looking for lunch.

I also bring snacks with me to work, like these:

P90X Protein Bars

Other snacks that work are cottage cheese (with a little frozen fruit); or celery and peanut butter (never EVER bring the jar- I will eat it ALL!).

Then, there is my favorite: Shakeology. Here's some of the Greenberry flavor-

Did I ever claim to be a good photographer? Good thing I didn't..

Shakeology is a meal replacement/multi-vitamin/supplement... it's just so many things. I'll leave it up to you to find out more about it if interested: Shakeology

So, if you get nothing else out of this post, get these points:
1. BE PREPARED!
2. CALORIES IN, CALORIES OUT!
3. Oh, and pre-measure your peanut butter. Seriously- never carry a jar with you. It is not just one serving!

Be healthy!
Sarah

Taco Soup.. so yummy, so yummy...

I posted that we were having Taco Soup, and a lot of people asked for the recipe, so I figured I should just blog it right here...

(Please remember this is not a food blog. I have no gorgeous pictures of my Taco Soup to show you, and it's not going to win any Food Network awards..)

It's a variation on the Duggars' recipe from their book. I don't have the means to cook for 30 people though, so I modify (and try to make it a little healthy)..

1 pound lean ground beef or turkey
1 or 2 packets taco seasoning (I use low sodium)
1 can hominy
1 can kidney beans
1 can pinto beans
3 cans diced tomatoes with chiles
2 cups water

(Optional: Grated cheese, blur corn tortilla chips, fat free sour cream)

Brown the ground beef/turkey (I usually use turkey). Mix 1 pack of taco seasoning in with meat for the last few minutes.

In a large pot combine the cans of everything (I rinse and drain all the beans, just pour the tomatoes in as is). Add water and (optional, if you like spicy) 1 more packet of taco seasoning.

Add meat. Bring to a boil.

Reduce heat and simmer about 30 minutes.

Serve with chips on the bottom of bowl and top with cheese and sour cream (optional- it's good, and healthier, without that...)

Yummy. Even with a smaller recipe, we always have lots of leftovers.

Cooking and Me- A Love Story

Just a few short years ago, if I were asked to cook something, I would have probably stomped my foot and refused. My idea of cooking was heating up a Stouffer's Lasagna in the oven. I kept my silverware in the refrigerator because there was so much space.

I'm not exactly sure what changed, but I can think of some possibilities. I know that, before I had kids, my husband cooked. If there was cooking happening, it was by him. I cleaned the kitchen after. I hated cleaning up the kitchen, so I started occasionally doing the cooking.

Another issue was that when my son was born, I tried to put us on some sort of schedule. Before he was around, we just kind of ate "whenever". I wanted to insure that we ate by a certain time each night, so I cooked (reluctantly).

Somewhere along the way I started to enjoy it.

Now, I do my best to plan our meals weekly, and on the rare occasion when it's 5:00 and I have no idea what's for dinner, it drives me insane. (I usually have a shake, give my son a sandwich and some applesauce, and tell my husband to find something for himself..).

Anyway, I've discovered that I actually enjoy cooking, and have started moving away from recipes and "improvising" (a concept that was impossible for me a few years ago).

Here's what we ate last night:

It's Beef Broccoli Stir Fry. I started with a recipe, but it turned out, I didn't have a lot of the required items...

We had some leftover beef from the night before, so I needed to use it. I got 3 bags of frozen broccoli (could have probably done with 2), made some whole wheat spaghetti (which I always try to have on hand), and sauteed some onions and garlic. I cooked the broccoli in the microwave (!!!), added it to the stir fry with the beef (cut into pieces), and added some soy sauce, teriyaki sauce, and salt.

I probably won't win my own show on The Food Network, but it was pretty good.

Oh, and I cut up some carrots (of which we have an abundance) and cooked those in salt and olive oil.

Did I mention my primary goal is to make it easy?

So, I'll try to post recipes as I come up with them (although, it's hard for me to keep track of exact measurements as I go..).

Are any of you recovering cooking-phobics like me? Do you enjoy it, or is it just something you HAVE to do?

Until next time...

Sarah

Find me on Facebook!