Yesterday's breakfast (one egg with turkey bacon and fruit)
Last night's dinner (meatloaf, sweet potato, mixed vegetables - couldn't eat all this)
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Day 10: Ain't no undereating here.
I'm contemplating making the switch to a more robust food log system so I can figure out how many calories and how much protein I'm eating. But here's a sample of my portion size:
Yesterday's breakfast (one egg with turkey bacon and fruit)
Last night's dinner (meatloaf, sweet potato, mixed vegetables - couldn't eat all this)
Yesterday's breakfast (one egg with turkey bacon and fruit)
Last night's dinner (meatloaf, sweet potato, mixed vegetables - couldn't eat all this)
Monday, January 9, 2012
Is there ever a good time to change?
(Warning: This post contains topics of a womanly nature. Men and prudish women should apply earmuffs as warranted.)
So this challenge came at a pretty bad time. For the first week, [APPLY EARMUFFS] I had my period. Having all that extra water weight and bloat was great for beefing up my measurements and the "before" photo. But it came with headaches, exhaustion, and a general bitchiness that was hard to shake, even on my fantastic new diet.
Once that was over, I got slammed with some sort of bug, which knocked me out for two days with fever and aches and will probably impact my workouts for the rest of the week. I had a hard time eating. My meals got screwed up. I'm still trying to get back on track.
I've spent a good amount of time bemoaning my sorry state, wishing I could have started this challenge some other time. But then I ask myself: When is the right time to change your lifestyle? Is there ever a good time?
Almost 10 years ago, I was bitching about my crummy journalism job, telling my friends how I wanted to get my Master's Degree and make a career change. This went on for awhile, and I always had one excuse or another why I couldn't leave my day job to try something new, exciting, and totally terrifying. Finally, one of my friends said, "What are you waiting for?" And then it hit me: there was no reason to wait. Time would march on, and I would be left there, in my crummy journalism job, still bitching, while life went on without me. So I said, "What the heck?" A year later I was in graduate school, and two years later, I had landed myself a crummy government job far worse than my ordeals in the newsroom. (Okay, bad example).
The point is, I can't wait. There will never be a good time to clean up my diet and get serious about improving myself. Now's as good a time as any.
And to be fair, I'm proud of the way I handled these last two weeks. I didn't crawl into the warm fluffy comforts of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich (though I really, really wanted to). I didn't drown my migraines in a bag of goldfish crackers. I stuck to it. I ate protein. I rejected grains. And if nothing else, I can say...I'm ready for next week.
So this challenge came at a pretty bad time. For the first week, [APPLY EARMUFFS] I had my period. Having all that extra water weight and bloat was great for beefing up my measurements and the "before" photo. But it came with headaches, exhaustion, and a general bitchiness that was hard to shake, even on my fantastic new diet.
Once that was over, I got slammed with some sort of bug, which knocked me out for two days with fever and aches and will probably impact my workouts for the rest of the week. I had a hard time eating. My meals got screwed up. I'm still trying to get back on track.
I've spent a good amount of time bemoaning my sorry state, wishing I could have started this challenge some other time. But then I ask myself: When is the right time to change your lifestyle? Is there ever a good time?
Almost 10 years ago, I was bitching about my crummy journalism job, telling my friends how I wanted to get my Master's Degree and make a career change. This went on for awhile, and I always had one excuse or another why I couldn't leave my day job to try something new, exciting, and totally terrifying. Finally, one of my friends said, "What are you waiting for?" And then it hit me: there was no reason to wait. Time would march on, and I would be left there, in my crummy journalism job, still bitching, while life went on without me. So I said, "What the heck?" A year later I was in graduate school, and two years later, I had landed myself a crummy government job far worse than my ordeals in the newsroom. (Okay, bad example).
The point is, I can't wait. There will never be a good time to clean up my diet and get serious about improving myself. Now's as good a time as any.
And to be fair, I'm proud of the way I handled these last two weeks. I didn't crawl into the warm fluffy comforts of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich (though I really, really wanted to). I didn't drown my migraines in a bag of goldfish crackers. I stuck to it. I ate protein. I rejected grains. And if nothing else, I can say...I'm ready for next week.
End of Week 1: Slight Setback
I ended the first week with a setback. Woke up feeling great, took the kid to swim lessons and out for breakfast - treated myself to pancakes. Went to Karma to get my before pictures taken, remembering to really exhale, letting all that flab show, then I got home and hit the wall.
I started to feel achy and hot; an hour later I was running a low-grade fever of 99.9. I ended up in bed the rest of the day, barely eating, barely functioning. I don't know what it was - is it possible I worked out too hard on Saturday? Did I pick up a bug at work? I don't know. I really tried sticking to the meal plan but I didn't have an appetite, so I just tried to force down whatever food I could.
Fortunately, my husband was super mom, picked up all the slack, made sure the kid's nose was clean. I slept most of the day. I woke up today feeling better, a touch of a headache but no fever. Either way, I think I'll take the day off work. I don't want to run myself ragged.
On to week 2...
I started to feel achy and hot; an hour later I was running a low-grade fever of 99.9. I ended up in bed the rest of the day, barely eating, barely functioning. I don't know what it was - is it possible I worked out too hard on Saturday? Did I pick up a bug at work? I don't know. I really tried sticking to the meal plan but I didn't have an appetite, so I just tried to force down whatever food I could.
Fortunately, my husband was super mom, picked up all the slack, made sure the kid's nose was clean. I slept most of the day. I woke up today feeling better, a touch of a headache but no fever. Either way, I think I'll take the day off work. I don't want to run myself ragged.
On to week 2...
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Day 6. Holy crap.
Nutrition wise, the weekends are the hardest. I don't have the discipline of a set schedule at work, and I have my freakishly high metabolism husband wanting to eat pizza and Mexican. Plus, I really, really, really don't want to cook.
So I'm going to make some allowances on the weekend. We can eat out, but it'll still be high-protein, low-carb. And I'm not counting it as a "cheat meal." (Cheat meals involve copious amounts of sugar, fat, and other processed goodness, preferably of the starchy McDonald's or Original House of Pancakes variety). Tonight, I'll grab some Indian food and skip the basmati rice.
Plus, I earned it today. I beat myself up going to a 9 am olympic lifting class followed by a personal training session with Will that lasted ninety minutes. So basically I worked out for two and a half hours, and I feel it everywhere, hence the post's title. I need to remember I'm not in my 20s anymore. When Will had me do sprints at the end of our training session, I wanted to die.
Back-to-back workouts won't work for me. And I need consistency. So I'm going to establish a regular schedule with olympic lifting on Monday nights, CrossFit twice a week, training with Will on Saturday, filling out the week with lunchtime workouts. Maybe I'll even get to a Saturday yoga class once in awhile.
So I'm going to make some allowances on the weekend. We can eat out, but it'll still be high-protein, low-carb. And I'm not counting it as a "cheat meal." (Cheat meals involve copious amounts of sugar, fat, and other processed goodness, preferably of the starchy McDonald's or Original House of Pancakes variety). Tonight, I'll grab some Indian food and skip the basmati rice.
Plus, I earned it today. I beat myself up going to a 9 am olympic lifting class followed by a personal training session with Will that lasted ninety minutes. So basically I worked out for two and a half hours, and I feel it everywhere, hence the post's title. I need to remember I'm not in my 20s anymore. When Will had me do sprints at the end of our training session, I wanted to die.
Back-to-back workouts won't work for me. And I need consistency. So I'm going to establish a regular schedule with olympic lifting on Monday nights, CrossFit twice a week, training with Will on Saturday, filling out the week with lunchtime workouts. Maybe I'll even get to a Saturday yoga class once in awhile.
Eggs. Ugh.
Is it too soon to be sick of eggs?
Even though I'm not going strict paleo (or any reasonable variation of paleo - more on that for another post), I am trying to significantly reduce my grain intake and eat more protein in the morning.
True confession, I'm a breakfast girl. I could eat breakfast for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and no one can put away a stack of pancakes or a platter of stuffed French toast like I can. Have doubts? My wedding was a brunch. That's right. Crepes drenched in orange marmalade, syrup-laden pancakes, sugar-encrusted pastries... aah...nothing like a sweet, grain-filled breakfast followed by a carb-induced fog and long nap. During the work week, when an elaborate breakfast is out of the question, I usually start the day with a piece of toast and butter. Not exactly power food.
What to do?
Ask a paleo devotee what to eat for breakfast, you get the same answer over and over again: eggs.
I like eggs as much as the next person (especially wrapped in a burrito and smothered with cheese, guacamole and sour cream), but you can only eat so many eggs, day in and day out, without reaching your breaking point. So I've been searching for other breakfast ideas, partly to get out of the egg rut and partly to satiate my sweet tooth.
My new favorite is sweet potato hash, which is super easy to make and - bonus! - it satisfies my morning sweet tooth. You can eat it as a side to eggs (ugh) or on its own. I made a big batch of it at the start of the week and had breakfast for days.
Quiche is also a nice alternative because it comes in a pie tin so it's practically cake. I use a basic almond flour crust and then fill it with whatever I have on hand. When making the quiche this week, I doubled the crust recipe. I'll just stick the spare in the freezer so I only have to worry about the filling next time I'm craving some faux-carbs. My go-to filling involves milk and cheese, but it's probably just as easy to go pure paleo.
(spinach, onion, and cheese quiche with an extra ready-to-go almond crust)
I'm still searching for new recipes for my repertoire. I may attempt some sort of paleo muffin or other baked good, but my experience with paleo baking has not been positive.
Send me breakfast ideas or post recipes!
Even though I'm not going strict paleo (or any reasonable variation of paleo - more on that for another post), I am trying to significantly reduce my grain intake and eat more protein in the morning.
True confession, I'm a breakfast girl. I could eat breakfast for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and no one can put away a stack of pancakes or a platter of stuffed French toast like I can. Have doubts? My wedding was a brunch. That's right. Crepes drenched in orange marmalade, syrup-laden pancakes, sugar-encrusted pastries... aah...nothing like a sweet, grain-filled breakfast followed by a carb-induced fog and long nap. During the work week, when an elaborate breakfast is out of the question, I usually start the day with a piece of toast and butter. Not exactly power food.
What to do?
Ask a paleo devotee what to eat for breakfast, you get the same answer over and over again: eggs.
I like eggs as much as the next person (especially wrapped in a burrito and smothered with cheese, guacamole and sour cream), but you can only eat so many eggs, day in and day out, without reaching your breaking point. So I've been searching for other breakfast ideas, partly to get out of the egg rut and partly to satiate my sweet tooth.
My new favorite is sweet potato hash, which is super easy to make and - bonus! - it satisfies my morning sweet tooth. You can eat it as a side to eggs (ugh) or on its own. I made a big batch of it at the start of the week and had breakfast for days.
Quiche is also a nice alternative because it comes in a pie tin so it's practically cake. I use a basic almond flour crust and then fill it with whatever I have on hand. When making the quiche this week, I doubled the crust recipe. I'll just stick the spare in the freezer so I only have to worry about the filling next time I'm craving some faux-carbs. My go-to filling involves milk and cheese, but it's probably just as easy to go pure paleo.
(spinach, onion, and cheese quiche with an extra ready-to-go almond crust)
I'm still searching for new recipes for my repertoire. I may attempt some sort of paleo muffin or other baked good, but my experience with paleo baking has not been positive.
Send me breakfast ideas or post recipes!
Basic Almond Flour Crust
1 1/2 cups almond flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup oil (I used extra virgin olive oil)
1 tbsp water
Mix the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk the oil and water, then add to the flour mixture. When the flour has soaked up all the liquid, it will be moist and crumbly. Press the "dough" into a pie tin working it all around the edges. This takes a bit of work to smooth it out. Pop it in the oven at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes. Fill with whatever you like - eggs, spinach, onions, ham.... then bake again for another 30 minutes or so.
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup oil (I used extra virgin olive oil)
1 tbsp water
Mix the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk the oil and water, then add to the flour mixture. When the flour has soaked up all the liquid, it will be moist and crumbly. Press the "dough" into a pie tin working it all around the edges. This takes a bit of work to smooth it out. Pop it in the oven at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes. Fill with whatever you like - eggs, spinach, onions, ham.... then bake again for another 30 minutes or so.
Sweet Potato Hash
1 sweet potato
1 sausage (I used a nice, spicy andouille)
1/2 onion
Dice everything. Throw it in a pan over medium-high heat. Add a tablespoon of water and cover until the potatoes are nice and soft.
1 sausage (I used a nice, spicy andouille)
1/2 onion
Dice everything. Throw it in a pan over medium-high heat. Add a tablespoon of water and cover until the potatoes are nice and soft.
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