Almost There

Today some of the little family that we have made with this Paleo Challenge are done there adventure. I am not I still have 1 week to go :). Tonight we are having a Paleo Potluck to share how it was and to talk about where we go from here. This is such a great improvement of health I for sure do NOT want to be done with Paleo after this challenge is over.

My Reasons for Staying Paleo

1. I have had several people in the last couple days tell me how good I am looking
2. The food tastes great and does not make me feel like junk
3. My skin is nicer and my hair is smoother/ stronger
4. I have more energy
5. and well I enjoy it!

I am excited to hear about everyone's adventure and how everyone is doing now, everyone is looking so good and everyone has been having such different results.As I was looking through Pintrest (well because I am obsessed) thinking about all of this and I found this picture

This really shows how people really need to stop being so obsessed with weight. It is only a number and there are so many other factors that we can look. Muscle weighs more than fat I am sure everyone has heard that before but it also looks leaner and nicer. Different body types weigh differently there is no way that I am going to bring myself down to weigh 110lbs, not possible and I am okay with that.This girl had gained weight but obviously lost some inches and gained some strength. So before crying while standing on the scale find some other ways to look at your progress.

Here are some ideas:

1. Measure yourself instead of weighing, use a measuring tape and measure around your arms, chest, belly, but and legs. Do this once in a while (not all the time) to see if you are getting smaller not lighter.
2. Notice how your clothes feel on you, are they looser, comfier, not fitting anymore.
3. Look at yourself in the mirror (without clothes) often, notice how you look and if you see any differences.
4. Record your workouts, keep track of every workout you do, how far you ran how fast, how much you lifted how many times, and notice strength and speed increases.

Don't let the number on your scale be something you obsess over, take it with a grain on salt and know that it is going to go up and down for no reason, and something I try to do is take pride in not looking my weight. I weigh a lot more than what people would guess and that is okay I know it is because I work on my strength, and I like being strong. So be happy with how you look not what your scale says.

Again in the last few days I have tried some new things.

Chicken with Asparagus

For this I took a chicken breast and baked it. I then Pureed tomatoes, mushrooms, green onions, salsa and some seasoning. I also boiled the asparagus for about 1 min. When the chicken was almost done I then put the asparagus on the same pan as the chicken and covered the chicken with my tomato mixture and finished cooking. This was delicious. I am really starting to enjoy asparagus and have been eating it quite often.

Steak and Cauliflower

So this is a steak that I cooked in the oven ( it was a cold night and I did not want to BBQ). I coated the steak in almond flour and spices (lots of pepper). and than cooked it. I then boiled cauliflower and pureed it with seasoning and a little bit of beef broth.

Another thing that I tried out this weekend was some Yoga. I have done yoga before but this was the first time that we had done it at the Gym. There was such a good turn out I was happy to see so many people coming in to give it a go. This is something that I think I could make into a regular thing. It is always good to try new things that keep you moving. (sports, dances, exercise classes, yoga, etc.) This keeps your body learning new movements and growing into a mean lean fitness machine.

I also had soccer on the weekend. This game was a late Friday night game it did not start until 10:00 PM. This was a little different for me as I am usually not in that kind of zone at that time of night. I was a little tired from the day. We only had 9 players show up and we were all looking a little groggy. but once the game got started everyone played so well and we had a lot of fun even though we did lose and we were all very tired by then end. Once I got home one of the down falls to this late game was I was wide awake and full of energy from all the adrenaline and running around. This did take a little bit to calm myself so that I could just relax for the evening. When I play soccer or run in general this picture depicts how I feel.

As I am always looking around the Internet for different ideas and tips I found these Paleo tips from a blog eating and other stuff that is about a couple who have finished the Whole 30. So here are their tips on staying successful.

 

-Always have some kind of salad greens on hand.  Salads are easy to make and you can load em up with anything you want (bacon, egg, veggies, leftover chicken, canned tuna, etc…).

Our lil cobb

- Learn to make burgers with grass-fed beef.  A good, hot cast iron skillet, sea salt, and good meat are really all that you need.  Shoot for about ¼ to 1/3 pound per patty.  Cook em up, top them with virtually anything that sounds good and put it on top of some greens.  Good, healthy, and EXTREMELY customizable.

 - Buy a slow-cooker.  These are the BOMB.  You can cook big, cheap cuts of meat without much effort.  We do this once a week and it makes plenty of leftovers.  Try pork butt (shoulder), roasts, or short ribs.

Carnitas slow cooked

- Speaking of leftovers…when you cook, cook too much.  I almost never cook a lunch, but lunch is always homemade.  Leftovers are necessary for Paleo-survival.

- Buy tons of eggs.  Hard boil them for portable protein.

- Feed the dessert beast.  If you must have something sweet, try fruit.  If regular fruit isn’t enough, try adding heat (bake or sauté) and some cinnamon.  

Baked apples with cinnamon (dessert!)

- And finally, leverage the Pros.  If you are running out of ideas, or if you are craving some specific dish but don’t want to cheat, chances are that someone out there has an answer.  I google “Paleo (insert dish/ingredient here) recipe” almost daily.  There are TONS of resources out there. 

I am almost done this challenge but the Paleo lifestyle will not be ending and hopefully one day I will be a pro at it and maybe even get my Ryguy to join in.