Yoga

I love yoga.  I'm sorry I didn't find it until recently.  It is so relaxing and a great exercise.  I saw this picture the other day and I think it's so funny!!!!  However, one of the things that I like about yoga is that I do so much with my eyes closed and I really don't care what I look like or what anyone else is doing.  Does that make my warrior pose a worrier pose?  I hope so!!!!

Weight Loss

Paleo is known for dramatic weight loss stories, but Paleo is not a “diet” that’s only focused on dropping pounds. Instead, it’s about eliminating the mismatch between our bodies and our food. The rest often takes care of itself automatically. That means that if you’re doing everything right, you should expect to naturally start losing the extra weight. 
...

The body is a very complex system though and sometimes things don’t go as smoothly. It might take a good amount of time to start losing any weight because your body has to heal from years of inflammation before it can start doing anything else.

Yet other times, other underlying issues prevent any weight loss from happening. Here are just a few things that can make weight loss seem almost impossible:

- An underperforming thyroid 
- Adrenal fatigue 
- Sleep deprivation 
- Overtraining 
- Gut flora imbalances 
- Not eating enough food / nutritional deficiencies 
- Eating too many nuts and seeds 
- Eating dried fruits or adding sweeteners to food 
- Consuming too many liquid calories (smoothies and juices) 
- Not being active enough 
- High stress levels 
- Eating too low or too high carbs (try to find the sweet spot for you)

If you have a hard time losing weight even though you seem to be doing everything right, we recommend seeing a doctor to rule out possible health issues that could be lurking.

Finally, it’s very important to keep in mind that the weight you see on the scale is not the definitive factor to consider. You’re moving more and exercising your body, so muscle gain is bound to happen. This means that the scale could be showing the same weight, yet your body itself could be getting leaner and more muscular. You should also definitely go with how you look in front of the mirror and how your clothes feel.

Keep up the good work!

Bacon Nation continues.....

I took the kids to Cici's for pizza the other night.  I did NOT eat it, but Ben had been sick all day and I wanted to make sure he ate something.  This was all he wanted and I know how that is when you have a fever.  The latest schwag in the game room is these balls that are touting the amazing-ness of bacon.  It's getting around.....

WLC Day 7

Are we obsessed???!!!!  I can remember when Sam was eating paleo and working out regularly and I hadn't started doing it.  I was good about cooking paleo foods for him, but I would still eat many foods that he wouldn't.  I certainly didn't exercise anything like he did (and I still don't).  I would even be somewhat irritated when I wanted to do something and Sam was exercising or eating before we left.  He has always been good about carving out time to work out and has always stayed pretty much on the paleo plan.  Although I'm still not as hard core as Sam, I'm now much more mindful of what I am doing every day.  The WLC calls for 10 minutes of exercising and mobility each day, but walking can count and I certainly walk plenty every day.  I have started stretching during the 3 minutes that it takes me to microwave water to make tea.  I have continued to drink decaffeinated tea rather than coffee so I have cut down considerably on coffee.

I feel like I have come a long way and doing the Whole30 or WLC with other people really gets me back on track and makes me remember why I am trying to exclude certain things from my diet.  So, to get back to the obsession question.  It's hard not to talk about nutrition and exercise with people in a way that doesn't sound like you are preaching or "I am right and you are wrong".  Just the other night, a neighbor made the comment "and beans are so healthy for you" and I immediately launched into my spiel about how beans have been shown to be anti-nutrient and inflammatory.  I should have just stayed quiet, but at the same time she mentioned having arthritis and said she would check out ISWF.  So, maybe I shouldn't shut up after all.....

WLC Day 6

I'm five weeks in and feeling great.  I swing between feeling like I'm doing great and can continue eating well indefinitely and then feeling like I can't wait for this to be over so I can stick my head in a pizza!!!  I miss eating my pizza more than anything.  I threw away almost half  a pizza last night.  I made it on Sunday and only Sam and Maggie ate it.  What a shame.  

After this challenge, I'm going to try to reintroduce foods right.  You are supposed to eat one thing at a time and see how you feel.  That's hard to do when you crave pizza-it's cheese and gluten at the same time!!!  I really don't think that the "off foods" affect me adversely, but I really don't know that for sure.  I know some people say that eating paleo revolutionizes their life-they feel so much better, aches and pains go away, etc.  That doesn't work for me, or so I think.  Yes, I do lose some weight and definitely inches, but I can't say that overall I feel so much better.  Maybe it's just something that has evolved slowly and I don't notice any more.  After all, I have been doing paleo on and off for almost two years now and I really can't remember how I felt when I was "carbo queen".  I do know that I'd like to stay on a healthy diet if I can.

Apart from pizza, there are several things in the back of my mind that I'd like to eat.  There's those Trader Joes chocolate peppermint patties in the fridge, they should be fine, they are just chocolate, honey and peppermint.  Then I could eat a zucchini muffin that I made this week.  Then I could make honey muffins on the weekend.....It's easy to see how you can just end up back where you started.  Hopefully I won't do that.

WLC Day 5

Turns out that the WLC mindfulness aspect will change after a week and next week I will have to read something mindfulness for a week.  That should be really easy to accomplish because I'm always reading articles on health, exercise and nutrition.  We'll see how easy it is.

Sam and I were talking last night about how much we talk about what we eat and what exercise we are doing.  It seems to be our major focus right now and something that we have in common.  I can remember when I thought he was completely obsessed about exercising and what he ate.  It is a major priority in his life and he still operates on a higher level than I do, certainly when it comes to exercise.  My major focus is the challenge to cook nutritious dinners that we will all eat.  I made some zucchini muffins this week and Caroline took one to work.  She told me they were very filling and she could only eat half at a time.  It was a great test to prove that eating nutrition dense food is different to regular food even if it's disguised as muffins.

Sam made chili last night, it was fabulous and even more so since I didn't have to cook for a change.  Even better, it's paleo without changing anything.....

WLC Day 4

Honestly, I think I can fulfill my ten minutes of mindfulness just thinking about what on earth I can write about.  Goodness, I thought this was going to be a breeze!!!  

One of the things I think about often is how our eating passion affects the kids.  While Sam and I eat paleo most of the time, we don't force it on the kids at all.  We still don't let them eat whatever they want but they eat a lot more carbohydrates than we do.  

Ben is a fruit fan and has found protein bars.  He started with the protein bars when he went to middle school.  He doesn't always have time to eat so I told him he should keep something quick and easy in his locker.  Now, he has one at school and takes one for gymnastics practice.  I really need to do some research and figure out if he is eating too many of them.  

Maggie is our carbohydrate queen.  She'd eat mac and cheese at every meal every day if she could.  Oh, she may opt for pizza once in a while.  She can also eat several meals a day if she is allowed.  She will eat when she gets home and then ask later what's for dinner.  Whereas Ben can burn off whatever he eats because of his constant exercising, Maggie is much more sedentary and she's built completely different to Ben.  We need to keep an eye on what both of them eat and we are doing much better than we used to.  However, I can remember the days when they ate eggs for breakfast and took chicken for lunch.  Now they eat cereal for breakfast and bread at lunch.  

WLC Day 3

I got an email from one of my paleo sites yesterday.  The guy who wrote it had booked an hour in a sensory deprivation tank to practice mindfulness.  Pretty timely for the WLC.  This is what he said:

The session was an hour long, but I got up and left after 30 minutes when I made a powerful realization. 

That realization was that I no longer have anything to escape from.
I love everything about my life: the way I feel, the people I surround myself with, the work I have chosen, the great hobbies that I have, the freedom to do whatever I want.  

What has made this happiness possible was a simple decision four years ago to educate myself about my own health and translate information into action, action that has resulted in me being the happiest I have ever been.

After I read it, I realized that he's saying exactly what I would these days.  I told Sam last night"I love my life".  I had just finished a Crossfit workout and was feeling pretty nauseous, so why on earth would I feel so great?  Honestly, I love making paleo dishes, maybe I see it as a challenge, maybe I just like cooking for Sam because he appreciates it so much.  I spend so much of my time cooking these days, I really ought to resent it, but I don't at all.  I really don't think I have been happier than now when I spend most of my time focused on nutrition and exercise.  It really has just crept up on me from nowhere.

Whole Life Challenge

I am half way through the Whole Life Challenge now.  It has been good so far and I haven't lost any points.  The Life Challenge portion changes every two weeks.  The first 2 weeks, I had to drink 60 oz water every day.  Tea counted and coffee did not.  After the first day, I did OK with that challenge and have managed to stay on track with it pretty much.  I have switched drinking coffee to drinking tea (mostly herbal tea so no caffeine), but still don't drink a huge amount of water.  The second 2 weeks was sleeping at least 7 hours a day.  This was so much harder because I usually sleep 6 to 6 1/2 hours during the week.  I set my Fitbit alarm so that it went off at 4:30 rather than 4, but I still had two days where I had to take a nap to get my 7 hours in.  Doubt I can keep that up for long.
The challenge has now changed to 10 mins reflection/meditating/writing a journal-basically taking 10 mins to reflect on yourself.  Whatever you do on day 1 should be done for the next 2 weeks.  I thought "oh this will be easier because I usually write in my blog anyway".  Well, here I am on Saturday night writing a journal entry at 8:30 pm.  The WLC doesn't expect too much of a commitment from you-10 mins exercise, 10 mins mobility and now 10 mins reflection.  That's only 30 mins each day. Easy, right????  Actually, not that easy at all.
We spend so much time each day running around like crazy.  I got up at 7 am, ran to the Kolache Factory to get breakfast for Ben and Maggie, took a shower, took Ben to gymnastics, walked in the Rock Hill parade with Maggie, picked Ben up from gymnastics, took him to Xavier's, took towels and dry clothes to Sam at Maggie's soccer game, went to 2 stores, came home and picked up Sam and Maggie, went to 5 stores, made pizza for dinner and 2 clafoutis.  I have also made all the beds, done 5 loads of laundry and cleaned up a little in the house.  So, then it comes to 7:30 and I realize I still have to do mobility and a blog entry.  Half-way through the blog entry, I realize that I haven't taken a supplement today....
So, now I will be writing a reflection each day and hopefully it will fulfill my "mindfulness" obligation.  Wonder when I will run out of things to say

Words to live by....

"Psychology research tells us that the average amount of time necessary to reach 'maximum automacity' (a habit) is 66 days. But when you are trying to develop a healthy habit, it's likely it will take 80 days for it to become automatic. The more complex the habit, the longer it takes to form." -David DiSalvo

Weekend in Kansas City

Ben and I went to his gymnastics meet in Kansas City this weekend.  Even though I took food with me, I still did not do very well with my Whole30 diet.  I definitely fell off the wagon.  Even though I had grilled shrimp and sweet potato fries for dinner, I ate the fries knowing that they were probably cooking in vegetable oil.  I even had ranch dressing with vegetables, when I knew I shouldn't have done.  I did resist the free alcohol in the hotel and I didn't go to Starbucks once.  I should dwell on the positive, but feel really guilty about the negative.  Back on track tomorrow.....

Getting ready for Whole30

I've been thinking about this for quite a few weeks now.  Even though the whole family doesn't do Whole30, everyone pretty much gets dragged along because I'm the house cook.  Sam eats well all the time and he always does the program with me for support.  The kids get to eat forbidden fruit every now and again, especially if they have school lunches or I make them a sandwich or grilled cheese every now and again.  It's much easier to do Whole30 when there aren't temptations in the house.  Unfortunately, there's still a lot of candy/sweet stuff left over from Christmas and my answer seems to be to eat it rather than throw away!!!!  I've got to go through the pantry and get rid of temptation this week.....

Sabotage!!!!!

I have been trying to get a start on a new Whole30 plan since October 1.  I signed up for the daily email program, it sends you an email every day with information and support.  I started not too badly and completed almost a week.  After that, I have only managed to do 2 or 3 days in a row.  Almost 2 months later, I have achieved almost nothing.  Even though I know that I feel better when I don't eat too many carbohydrates, I am still not making that much of an effort to rectify this.  So, the obvious question is, Why?  I don't have a clear answer for this.  Sam thinks that the Whole30 is too extreme, but honestly I'm much better cutting things out completely than having them every once in a while.  I'm not exactly sure how to deal with this, but I really need to do something.

So, I'll try to get back on track.  Maybe I should be a little more flexible instead of so extreme.  When I have one slip during the day, I just think I might as well eat whatever I want because that day is ruined already.  It's really starting to annoy me and made me wonder why I am sabotaging my diet on a daily basis.  So, here goes once again.....

Festival of Nations

While we were at the Festival of Nations on Sunday, Ben remembered that we had eaten at the Scottish booth two years ago. He had a great steakburger there and wanted another one. The meat is all from Highland cattle and grass fed.  This was the menu board, I wanted to try everything, plus it made me a little homesick.  We had mince N tatties every Saturday for lunch when I was growing up!!!

Here is Ben proudly showing off his steakburger, he ate the whole thing.

Of course, Maggie ate the bun and left the burger, so I got to eat at least some of it.  I was trying to get her to eat at least half of it, but she just threw it on the floor.  I really wish she'd stop thinking that she has to have exactly the same thing as Ben all the time, even when she doesn't like something!!!!

Trying to get out of the paleo comfort zone

I think I'm in a "paleo comfort zone".  To me, that means that I eat paleo when it's convenient and relapse when it's not.  I am pandering to my sweet tooth and eating a lot of fruit, muffins and no-oat oatmeal just because they are technically paleo.  However, they are definitely not optimal.  We are also eating the same limited repertoire for dinner, I need to explore some new recipes.  Luckily, Leeny is starting a new Whole30 challenge in August.  I am beginning to see why you need to do a challenge a couple of times a year to stay on track.  I'm looking forward to getting out of this comfort zone.  It's amazing how easily you can fall back into old habits.  We went to Crave for coffee for a special occasion the other week and now we're going almost every day-after I didn't have any coffee from there for over 5 months.....

My Whole30 Paleo Challenge

I decided to start this blog to help myself keep a track of goals, achievements and recipes.  However, if it helps anyone else along the way, that will be a huge plus.  I have to admit that I was a huge skeptic of the paleo diet when Sam first started following it, but more recently I have become more open to exploring it for myself.  I have notice a huge difference in Sam's body structure and he is constantly telling me how much better he feels when he is not eating a lot of carbohydrates and processed food.  Add to that the fact that I have been frustrated with my weight and body shape for a long time and have never been able to stick to eating better when I have tried previously.  Those things bring me to where I am today.

I have Leeny Hoffmann to thank for me completing the paleo challenge, which included me sticking to a paleo diet for 6 weeks so far.  She started a group challenge back in January through Crossfit St. Louis.  I asked her if I could join the challenge even though I was not a gym member.  The challenge consisted of before and after pictures, a before and after fitness assessment, sticking to the Whole30 plan for 30 days and then adding back a few "treats" for a couple of weeks.

I kept a journal for 30 days and stuck to the regimen as described-no grains, no dairy, no alcohol, etc.  It wasn't anything like as bad as I thought it would be.  At the end of the challenge, I lost 8.8 lbs (although I didn't think I'd lost anything at all) and I lost 2 inches from my belly and hips.  The before & after pictures were striking (but I'm only publishing the back one for now-maybe one day I will be brave enough to show the others!!).  You can see the amazing difference.  This is all due to diet alone.  I don't exercise much at all and didn't increase my exercise over the 6 week period.  However, my fitness improved so that I did 48 burpees at the end of the challenge compared to 32 at the beginning.

The picture at the top is of our final meeting.  These ladies were with me the whole way through and all had success stories.  Leeny is standing on the right of the picture.

The challenge has given me the start I needed and I am hoping I can keep this up.  The journal was a huge help and I'm hoping this turns into my long-term journal.