4-25

For breakfast, I had 2 slices of applegate farms turkey bacon (nitrate-free) and a 3 egg omelet with spinach, mushrooms, and onions

I'll be on the go again, so I took the following with me Naked green machine (yes I have an obsession that I need to stop), a red bell pepper, raw pecans and walnuts, and blueberries.  (I had no time to cook up some protein that I should have done last night)

 I had 2 of these kabobs for dinner (this was what was made for the whole family)

Snack:  1 plantain carmelized in a non-stick pan with a  tiny bit of canola oil (much healthier than the version with butter and brown sugar and salt; next time I will try a light tasting olive oil)

4-24

I started the day trying a new pinned smoothie, http://pumpsandiron.com/2012/06/01/kale-smoothie-with-pineapple-mango-and-banana/  It came out looking better, but I like the taste of yesterday's kale smoothie better.

I also had 2 eggs with this for breakfast.

Then I never had a chance to get any pics but had the following:

a blackened tilapia fillet over salad with oil & vinegar

then I was on the go and snacked out of my purse
an orange bell pepper
a small chicken breast
an apple

when I got home I snacked on sunflower seeds, a few pistachios (the salt made me really bloated, I have to find some unsalted ones) and a few pieces of dairy free/soyfree chocolate.

Yesterday Went MUCH Better

 For breakfast, I made a fruit and veggie smoothie to drink on the way to work.
http://veganincleveland.com/2013/01/21/kale-pineapple-smoothie-if-you-keep-one-smoothie-recipe-this-should-be-it/

 2 eggs and banana cakes

 leftover chicken and salad

red bell pepper

Then I went to the gym

leg curls, leg press, squats, hip adductors and abductors, and calf raises

Dinner Meatballs and Spaghetti Squash (I made the meatballs on Sunday)

Snack: 1/2 a cup of walnuts, pecans, raisins, and dairy & soy free chocolate chunks.

So..I was a bit of a failure, but I'm keeping on!

Over the weekend, my family convinced me...ok and I wanted...some take-out and some ice cream...I FELT LIKE SHIT!!!  I felt soo horrible, that I am fully convinced I need to remain gluten, dairy and soy free.  Right now I'm following full paleo, but I think for the long-term I will incorporate sweet potatoes, regular potatoes (just not regular consumption of french fries), brown rice, quinoa, and some rice and maybe even some occasional beans provided they are soaked (which I always do anyway)

Yesterday, I ate well and even made it back to the gym for a chest workout with my husband.  We met at the gym after I got out of work and the kids went to the daycare.  It worked out well for all of us, we came home and had some butterflied organic free range chicken.  It was yummy.

then I was BAD again, I had 2 graham crackers and half a glass of milk...after eating bad and them being in my house...I just couldn't resist.  And, then I couldnt sleep and I woke up with a stomach ache and feeling crappy.  So, needless to say I'm off all of it and I started my day with a big smoothie.

Paleo Day 7

 2 eggs from my free range chickens in a red and orange bell pepper ring, with blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, and a kiwi slice.

tilapia with spices cooked in a non-stick pan and spaghetti squash.

As a snack, I had a cup of green grapes and I had another egg in a pepper slice.

Dinner:  London broil with mushrooms, onions, and garlic cooked in olive oil and red wine.

No exercise again, I'm still really fighting a chest and head infection.  :(

Paleo Day 6

My breakfast, lunch, snacks that I brought to work:

Banana Almond "pancakes" and blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, and kiwi for breakfast
lunch is leftover butternut squash soup and a can of tuna over salad with homeade oil & vinegar dressing
snacks - 1/2 an orange bell pepper and pecans

My dinner a mini hamburger (my husband cooked it and put cheese on it and i tried to scrape as much off as I could :( ) with organic ketchup and homemade mayo in a lettuce bun.  An organic, nitrate-free hotdog, and butternut squash fries.

Paleo Day 3, 4, 5

Here's a look at some of the yummy foods I ate over the past 3 days:

Paleo meatballs (i used my breadless meatballs recipe and subbed 1 cup almond meal for the cheese) over spaghetti squash (my new favorite food)

 Banana Almond "pancakes"

 some grilled chicken that i took with me to work and put over a salad of catered food -since I didn't trust there would be any meat.

chicken kabobs - peppers onions and pineapple.

I also snacked on a lot of berries, had more of my naked green machine juice obsession (which i need to stop!) and some raw peppers.  I also had some uncured hot dogs and salad as a quick meal.

I will start posting workouts again soon too, I've been sick (part of the reason I haven't been posting on top of being really busy at work) and can't really breathe.  I'm hoping I will feel decent enough this evening to at least get a light workout in, but right now as my head is still hurting it isn't looking promising.

I'm still here but have been super busy ill post a 2 day recap later today.

Paleo Day 2

Today's food went much better.

I only had half a naked green machine smoothie for breakfast as I wasn't really hungry.

 For lunch I had a piece of blackened mahi and mushrooms and 1/2 a yellow bell pepper.  (I ate this in 2 sittings)

Then I had 2 eggs from my chickens with some homemade paleo friendly mayo - it was OK, the recipe I used definitely needs some tweaking.

Dinner was AMAZING:  Butternut Squash soup and a mustardy pork chop.  Recipes to follow at a later time.

Paleo Attempt Day 1

So, day 1 started off ok, but didn't end so well.

I had some green tea in the morning.

 I attempted a paleo eggsalad recipe - it was 3 eggs and 1/2 an avocado in lettuce leaves.  I didn't like it, so I only ate 1 of them.  I think I'm going to try to make my own "mayo" from olive oil to use in the future.

 snack of blueberries, blackberries, and green grapes.

lunch tilapia cooked with spices and a little olive oil (enough to coat the spices), lettuce, carrots, radishes, red cabbage, broccoli, and homemade oil & vinegar dressing with a coconut water.

Then I came home and we wound up spending a lot of time adopting a cat and then shopping for supplies for the cat.  I wound up eating late at night while shopping a jr cheeseburger on the go.  not so good.  ugh.  If i started on the weekend I wouldve been better prepared, but moving on!

Back for Good and Starting Paleo

Ok sick kids are better, vacation came and went, sick mommy is better and I'm back for good.

My brother has convinced me to go Paleo.  He gave me some reading materials, i ate some good bye ice cream last night, and now i'm ready.  I still have to go shopping so I'll be officially an annoying paleo follower tomorrow lol.

Here's my shopping list for thurs - sun (I already have some beef and chicken in the fridge)

Fish (depending on selection)
blueberries
mango
kiwi
bananas
apples
kale
spinach
broccoli
parsley
spaghetti squash
salad mix
romaine lettuce heads
bell peppers
red onion
mushrooms
squash (green & yellow)
avocado
butternut squash
frozen pineapple
simply apple juice
coconut water
organic coconut flakes (no sugar added)
organic coconut milk (canned) x 2
chicken broth

There are different levels of adherence to paleo.  I plan on sticking to it 90% of the time (most strict according to the official diet).  My "cheats" will be family occasions to not be super annoying to others and possibly a little bit of milk in my tea if I can't break my habit.

Giving up milk, cheese, cream, butter, and yogurt will be the hardest for me.  But, I'm all in!

Here's a shot of my morning snacks today (even though i'm officially starting tomorrow)

grapes, blueberries, salad with oil & vinegar & spices, pecans, and Naked Green Machine smoothie.

Sorry

I've been dealing with sick kids and birthday parties, ill be back to posting tomorrow.

5am workout?

You know that saying getting to the gym is half the battle? I'm not so sure that is true. I got myself up even though I wasn't feeling to good and dragged myself to the gym. I did my 5 min warmup on the bike and I still felt really shitty. I definitely was not going to be able to push leg day like I should so I postponed it until tomorrow and did low impact cardio instead. I did the 28 minute fat burn cycle on the eliptical plus 2 more minutes. Then I did 10 minutes on the rowing machine. And I'm still somehow dragging and not awake even though I went to bed early.

Dinner

I wasn't really hungry and the kids were pain in the butts until late so I just ate a low sugar detour bar before bed.

Preparation

What are you doing tonight? I'm making my oatmeal for breakfast and my veggies for tomorrow. Then I'm going to take out my gym clothes and pack my gym bag. If you don't prepare you don't succeed.

Snack

Muscle milk and another pbnj on ezekial muffin

Lunch and snack

About 4 oz (didn't measure) each of chicken and turkey breast (and again I don't recommend deli meat but it was in my fridge and I was lazy)
Asparagus, red bell pepper, summer squash, mushrooms, and about 2oz of sweet potato
1 tbsp evoo

I know i've been boring, I'll mix things up a little soon.  I just have these same veggies precut and they are yummy.

Wednesday 5am Upper Body Workout

warmup

5 minutes stationary bike level 5

rotator twists with 12 lbs x 12 each arm

I did this circuit 4 times, all the exercises were done 15 times each set except for the 2 abs, which I listed the reps below:

Incline Dumbbell (35 lbs, 35 lbs, 30 lbs, 25 lbs)

Push Press (20 lbs, 15 lbs, 15 lbs, 10 lbs)

Wide Grip Pull Down (50 lbs (was too light), 60 lbs, 60 lbs, 60 lbs)

Bicep Curls (15 lbs, 15 lbs, 10 lbs, 10 lbs)

Skull Crushers (40 lbs each set)

Hammer Curl & Press (15 lbs, 15 lbs, 10 lbs, 10 lbs)

Exercise Ball Crunch (30, 30, 25, 20)

Exercise Ball Pull In (6, 8, 10, 8)

1 minute rest

Breakfast

A muscle milk and a serving of steel cut oats, a few blueberries, and tbsp flax oil

Rest of yesterday

Around 5pm I had a snack in the car
2/3 cup egg whites
1/4 cup (when dry) steel cut oats, a handful of blueberries, 1 tbsp flax

When I got home at 8pm I was starving and had a low sugar detour bar, and pbnj (natural pb, fruit spread, ezekial english muffin)

Lunch

I didn't measure but I estimate
4 oz grilled chicken (cast iron grill pan)
2 oz sweet potato
Asparagus, summer squash, red bell pepper, onion, and mushrooms with about 1 tbsp evoo
YUM

Snack 1

Muscle milk, 2 fish oil capsules, orange bell pepper, onion, mushroom, asparagus (I didn't measure today) drizzled with a little evoo

Breakfast

Ezekial english muffin, 2 eggs, 2 slices applegate farms turkey bacon

Dinner

Grilled chicken, asparagus, orange bell pepper, onion, mushrooms, avocado and a little evoo drizzled on the veggies

5am workout

warmup 5 minute stationary bike at level 5

12 pushups
50 mountain climbers
45 min rest
repeat 3 times

20 Goblet Squats with 35 lbs dumbbell
20 kneeling jump squats
12 bench dips (shouldve done more but i had recently done triceps and was sore as hell)
1 minute rest
repeat 3 times

20 jump squats
15 single arm dumbbell rows with 25 lbs (that's 15 each arm)
20 dumbbell lunges (across the floor) with 15 lbs dumbbells
45 seconds rest
repeat 2 times

20 dumbbell step ups with 15 lbs
12 lat pull downs with 50 lbs
45 seconds rest
repeat 2 times

First 3 Meals

Breakfast:
1 cup of Tazo Awake Tea and splash of milk
2/3 cup egg whites, 50g mushrooms
1 Ezekial english muffin with 1.5 tbsp almond butter

Snack:
1 muscle milk
25g asparagus
25g squash
25g mushrooms
50g red peppers
.5 tbsp olive oil

Lunch
4oz boars head turkey breast (i don't recommend deli meat but my kids begged for turkey sandwiches and i was lazy)

25g asparagus
25g squash
25g mushrooms
50g red peppers
.5 tbsp olive oil
edit:  and 2oz sweet potato

New Plan

For awhile, lifting heavy and eating lower carbs helped my body lose weight quickly and easily.  Now, it is not the case anymore.  So, I'm mixing things up.  I'm eating a bit higher carbs including some starch from real whole grains.  and doing circuit training instead of just heavy lifting with breaks.  I'll try to keep a log going this time.  All foods will be clean foods.

Yesterday lunch

Lunch coconut chicken and veggies and brown rice

Dinner homemade pizza

Bear with me on my posts I am sick

Update

Sunday evening I had homemade nachos for dinner including ground beef flavored with real peppers and garlic and other spices (no packets of chemicals), homemade refried beans, black olives, chili peppers, and cheddar cheese.  I had avocado and sour cream on the side.

Yesterday I wasn't too good.  I grabbed a protein bar for breakfast and had lunch on the go at work - I had 1 1/2 venison meatballs, a thin slice of chicken with mushrooms, a slice of fresh mozzarella cheese, and 2 slices of roasted red peppers.

for dinner I had coconut chicken (coconut, coconut oil and garlic on top of chicken and baked), and mixed veggies - corn, peas, carrots, string beans.

For breakfast today, I had an apple with peanut butter.  I was supposed to go to the gym this morning but I was up half the night sick and am still sick now.  :(

Legs workout

Warmup
Hip abductor and hip adductor machines
70 lbs then 90 lbs for 10 reps on each machine

Squats
45 lbs x 10
95 x 6
135 x 6
155 x 3
155 x 3 w belt

Leg press
200 lbs x 10
290 x 10
380 x 10
430 x 10

Single leg extension
30 lbs each leg x 10
40 lbs x 10

Single leg curls
50lbs each leg x 10
70 lbs x 10
90 lbs x 10

Seated calf raises
45 lbs x 10
70 lbs x 10
90 lbs x 15

Stairmaster
5 minutes

Breakfast

Banana Almond Pancakes and Eggs

Legs Workout coming soon

Dinner

Turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes (no sugar added), and string beans

Lunch part 2

Black beans and red quinoa (it was quicker to cook than brown rice) and I was starving

Lunch Part 1,

Bubba Burger over spinach and spring mix with a little shredded mozzarella and homemade italian dressing

Saturday Back workout

Warmup
45 degree back extensions
Bodyweight x 12

Deadlifts
45 lbs x 10
135 lbs x 8
185 lbs x 6
225 lbs x 4
245 lbs x 3

Pull up 1
Pull downs wide grip behhind head
50 lbs x 10
70 lbs x 10
80 lbs x 8
60 lbs x 10

Rows on a plate loaded machine
25 lbs added x 10
35 lbs x 10
45 lbs x 10

ISO plate loaded pull down machine underhand grip
25 lbs (each side) x 10
35 lbs x 10
45 lbs x 10

Preworkout Omelet

Eggs, mushrooms, onions, uncured bacon, and cheddar cheese

Pecan Crusted Salmon + Veggies

Fish: salmon, pecans, olive oil, salt, and pepper
Veggies: broccoli, mushrooms, asparagus, onions, garlic cooked in a little olive oil and butter

Leftovers Lunch

Leftover garlic chicken and peppers + mushrooms mixed with leftover black beans. (This is a small size plate)

Shopping Cart

Here's my shopping cart for the week. What's in yours? (The OJ was for the sick kiddos and the goldfish was their treat they wanted)

Snack

1/2 an apple, 30g of almond butter, and a cup of milk

Breakfast

Starting off with a full cup of veggies (onion, pepper, tomatoes, mushrooms) and 3 eggs.