Day 7

One week is gone and I am feeling great. I have more energy and my stomach is a lot more stable than is usually is. I am really enjoying the finding new recipes, I do feel like I spend a lot more time in the kitchen than I used to though. There are some things that I still need to work on too:

1. Shopping- Planning ahead with my shopping, watching for sales on vegetables and increasing my spice collection.
2. Organization - pre-making meals for lunches and snacks

There is always going to be ways to improve and make this as best for me as I can so that just means to learn to keep trying new things. Is anyone finding any tricks to help with these?

One thing that I wanted to talk about today was sleep/ rest. These are both very important. I was listening to Rob Wolf's Podcast and he had Mark Simmon on there as his guest and Mark brought up the importance of sleeping and resting. Sleep is when our body recovers and grows. Not allowing our bodies to do this can have negative affects, we will not get the results we are seeking. Just as important is rest in between our workouts. Our bodies need time to recover so that we can get stronger, and faster. It is important to take days off even when you feel fine your body is still recovering. Mark did make a stab at crossfitters in this instance that we tend to go go go everyday into the gym breaking ourselves down and that does happen a lot I have done it/ do it, and so so do many others. We need to think about how much rest we are actually giving our bodies to recover and is it enough. If it isn't we could be getting injuries, or even over training.

Sleep is key, essential, absolutely downright necessary for our basic physiological operations – with special support for neurological performance, endocrine balance, immune system functioning, and musculoskeletal growth and repair. For one, you wouldn’t be half the man or woman you are without the physiological feats sleep achieves. I mean that both literally and figuratively, since sleep spurs the release of human growth hormone (HGH), an essential player in cellular regeneration. - Mark Slimmon

I think that a lot of people take sleep for granted or just don't have time to get the proper amount of sleep that we need. This is caused by our lack of organization causing us to stay up late before our early mornings, and from not being able to get a good nights sleep (solid REM sleep). There are a lot of possible reasons to why people do not sleep well stress, distraction, poor diet, and many others but here is a help full list from Mark Slimmon to help get some better sleep. "5 tips to Get a Great Nights Sleep Tonight!"

1. Eat a light dinner tonight.

Keep the portions small this evening. Going to bed on a full stomach is not healthy, and it also keeps you from getting the deepest possible sleep. You don’t have to go to bed hungry. But do not stuff yourself simply because it is now the weekend

2. Have a glass of wine.
One fine glass will relax you and help you unwind from the week’s pressures. More than that may cause you to have intermittent sleep at best. It’s tempting to go out and let loose a bit on Friday, but practice moderation so you’ll feel your freshest tomorrow. If you’re typically a Friday night reveler, just try this – it will change your whole weekend.

3. Toss back a handful of nuts.
The magnesium and tryptophan in nuts – just before bed – can help you get to sleep faster. Just a small handful, though, and choose salt-free.

4. Write it out.

By Fridays many of us are frazzled and stressed out. We want to relax and sleep peacefully, but we’re still wired and thus wake up feeling crabby Saturday morning. Take just five or 10 minutes to write out everything from your week – the accomplishments, the tasks, the stress, the worries, the pressing concerns. It’s easier to arrive at solutions if you don’t try to consciously force them. Get them down on paper. Let your sleeping mind do the work for you. You’ll wake up feeling clearer and more positive.

5. Watch instead of read.

Reading is better for your mind than watching television. But sometimes it’s a wise idea to intentionally do something mindless. So tonight, if you were planning to dig into that new book or finish up paperwork, maybe a movie rental is in order. Of course, if reading helps you fall asleep, do what works for you.

You can also check out his post on "17 Ways To Improve Your Sleep"

My day

Breakfast:

The usual Scramble of eggs turkey bacon and green onions.

Lunch:

Chicken Salad

- fried chicken (that I did the night before yay me!)

Shredded cabbage, lettuce, and carrots

Dinner:

For dinner we tried a new recipe that I had found it was Strawberry stuffed Chicken. It was a marinated chicken breast rolled around cooked (all fried together) strawberries, spinach, and onions. We then made mashed cauliflower to eat with it. I did not like this chicken so I then made myself a couple of fried eggs and bacon. But My boyfriend definitely did like this so it is not that it wasn't a good recipe it was just me that didn't like this one and this is going to happen sometimes. Trial and error and that one was an error for me so note to self.

After Dinner I made a Crumble that was in my newest purchase "Everyday Paleo" by Sarah Frgosco. This is a great book. She has lots of good recipes that are quick, and kid friendly and really if kids will eat it than its gotta be good. There is also some added bonuses to this book it has some exercises in the back that are perfect for beginners, some exercises that can be dome with your children or with your partner, there are kids exercises and even meal plans and shopping lists. This is a perfect buy for anyone looking into getting into the Paleo world I highly recommend it.

The recipe I tried was easy and yummy.

- First take 3 cups of fresh or frozen berries and put them into the bottom of a baking dish

- Than take 2 cups almond meal, 1 egg, and cinnamon and mix together until crumbles

- by hand crumble the almond mixture on top and bake at 350 degrees for 35 mins. 

Top with Coconut milk and serve. This was a great and easy dessert. 

So that is all for today. Let me know your thoughts :)