Day 15- These abs don't come for free

That's my problem. Here I have been wishing and hoping for a 6 pack- or some resemblance of abs- will just come to me. I completely forgot the words of wisdom from JM- these abs don't come for free. Time to step things up. This morning I un-buried my 6 weeks to 6 pack dvd and will and try to put it to good use. 

Speaking of Jillian, have you heard about her new body shred class coming to Goodlife fitness? I am really excited about this. It will be a 30 minute class that incorporates her trademarked 3-2-1 interval approach- 3 min cardio 2 min strength, 1 min ab. Woo !!! 

I also ran into an inside source at goodlife- L- an instructor there who will be teaching this class. She said I am the target demographic for it and that its designed for ppl with not that much time who want a high intensity workout. Perfect for lunch break perhaps? The schedule is not out yet, so I will have to wait and see. 

L said she could never be as in your face as Jillian but does hope to motivate the class without yelling and shouting. I wonder if she has to study up on catch phrases- don't phone it in;  why do we work the small muscle groups in with the big ones?; why choose failure when success is an option?; this is where change occurs.. yada yada. I think i'd have a good handle on those. 

What do you think of JM- love her or love to hate her? 

Paleo Day 14

Been trying out lots of new recipes. Check out doubletrouble  for a crock pot recipe, cauliflower rice and chocolate chip cookie. These cookies are better than my non-paleo cookies. They also put the brownies I made to shame!! I may have to experiment until I finder a better brownie recipe.

I think last week I was in honeymoon phase of Paleo, I didn't want any snacks, let alone cookies or brownies. This week I'm back to some baking.

Otherwise, not much to report!! Still waiting on a 6 pack..

Day 13-Paleo Shmaleo

 

Hahah just kidding I am nowhere near bashing paleo- quite the opposite in fact, I have nothing but positive things to say about it. However, I have noticed that people often have a lot to say about it, and not all of them are positive. That being said, a lot of the time people just tend to be really interested about the concept of paleo (or any lifestyle different from their own I suppose) and what it entails.  Unfortunately, I don’t yet have all that  many answers or explanation as to all of the why’s of paleo (especially not in French, which I’ve been called upon to do many times over the past couple weeks and have somehow managed most of the time. )

I’ve noticed that people also seem to think that the paleo lifestyle is pretty extreme, and I feel like it’s my duty to tell them that it really isn’t, and that it isn’t a fad diet or restrictive at all…I guess that’s part of what makes it difficult to explain or justify, is that I don’t feel like I should have to, it all seems pretty natural and obvious to me (which probably is a sign that it may be extreme…)

However, luckily for me, there is a TON of information out there! Just need to find the time to read it, and wait until the 47 people ahead of me at the Victoria public library are done reading Practical Paleo, Paleo for athletes and The paleo solution!

Anywho, one of the only challenging things I’ve found about this challenge it being invited over for brunch/dinner and not wanting to be rude by not trying something a host has prepared….I’ve usually been able to compromise though. I made El’s signature Egg-Nana pancakes (the link to her recipe is the first thing that comes up when you google eggnana!!) to a brunch recently and they were enjoyed (I think!). 

I added some cinnamon, shredded coconut and almond butter. We put frozen fruit on top- and a bit of non paleo greek yogurt!

Figured I would end my way overdue post with a song for the day, nothing to do with paleo but It's my go to song during a crazy week

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHwVBirqD2s

Paleo day.. 12? I'm losing track

Song of the day!! just cause I love it. Got her head in the clouds, and we're not coming down

So Paleo-vegetarianism is doable-at least for 1 meal. I ate out at the Green Door- here's a snapshot-

avocado, olives, sweet potato, potato and kale, kale salad, eggplant, green beans, broccoli.. yummy yummy!

How was everyone's weekend?

mad props to my mom for making paleo cocoa for cross country skiing- cocoa, water and honey (instead of milk, sugar and cocoa)..she was skeptical but it turned out pretty well. I was over the other day and was hungry so she said, hmm how bout a little snack of smoked salmon? She is definitely catching on to this yay :)

Oh,  I also posted on the recipe for vanilla almond sponge bread - on doubletroublekitchenedition blog- so check it out!

Paleo- Day 11- Costco FTW

I am going through eggs and meat so quickly..so I hit up costco with my dad this morning and majorly stocked up!!! The lady by the exit told my dad she hadn't seen him in a while. He was like umm 2 days? My dad shops at costco a lot..and more so lately as my parents have been getting photos developed there quite often.

Heres a snapshot of my goodies

The ground turkey came in a package of 4 so I gave 2 to my parents. I separated the chicken and steak into smaller bags to freeze. I should be good for a while.

I saw Paleo slow cooking cookbook and was tempted, but I already have a lot of the recipes, courtesy of  S and his amazing google drive spreadsheet, so i resisted. I also resisted buying a workout top.. are you impressed yet?

Last night my parents came for dinner and I made zucchini turkey burgers- they loved them. Instead of the sour cream sauce, I served them with avocado. I didn't use a bun,  but had PC flat buns (love those) for my parents. Hey, I dont push my food habits onto others.

I also made some paleo brownies, that were pretty good. Very dark- chocolately. Sign my taste buds are adapting- i used to find dark chocolate not sweet enough but it has definitely grown on me.  I will post more about my experimentation with paleo baking soon.

I quit!

That’s right I’m writing my first post on a habit changing challenge blog about quitting! It’s really more about finding balance which I don’t feel like I have a lot of in my life currently.

So I quit the paleo challenge.

I already eat a fully gluten free diet (no cross-contamination, no “may contain traces” and this goes for all products I use on my body). Eating and living gluten free is a necessity and is almost second nature, but I continue to feel pressure not to screw up and get "glutened". I have found in the past week that the added thought process of eliminating dairy and sugars has increased my stress around food and I have been cheating more frequently and thoroughly (a full pint of Haagen Dazs for dinner is not something I would normally do). I would never cheat and eat gluten so I've been annoyed with myself for cheating on the paleo diet. 

What I've determined for myself is that I know that I’m an all or nothing kind of girl, so I need to challenge myself to try something and commit to it at a lower level. I will continue to eat paleo breakfasts (excluding one breakfast out a week) and when I cook for myself I will prepare paleo meals. The remainder of the time I will do what I can but I won't stress about it. The funny thing is I may even do better now that I’m removing the pressure.

I will also continue my personal challenges – oil pulling every morning for a minimum of 20 minutes then drinking a glass of warm lemon juice. I’m not sure either of these are making real differences in my life but I will explain why I chose to do each soon.  

How are you finding balance with the paleo challenge or your personal challenges? How do you cope with the almost inevitable slip-ups? 

Paleo Day 9- the When

I haven't had a chance to read all of my Practical Paleo book, so last night when i finally had a few minutes, I read up.  The key takeaway from what I read is above WHEN to eat in relation to when you workout. Of course it all depends on what your goals are, if you want to maintain your weight, lose weight, etc.




Eating a Paleo diet is supposed get your body used to burning stored fats, rather then grains and sugars. If your goal is to lose fat, then having a snack pre-workout is not a good idea. Your body will burn the grains or sugar that you have just eaten before they burn any stored fats, as its more quickly available.  If you find you are lightheaded or very tired without a snack, then likely your body hasn't adapted yet to burning stored fats.

If they are not burned, carbohydrates you consume become stored as fat ( am i right here?). This applies to all the times except post workout. 30min -2h post workout, the carbs you consumed will go to your muscles to help them recover.[ we are talking about good carbs here- squash, sweet potato, etc, banana etc]  If you are looking to build muscle, then this is a good time to eat carbs.

I came across a list of quick snacks post workout- it does however say to consider your goals. I need to read more on this- protein, carbs or fat post workout?  There is some more info in this article- that I have not had time to read yet.

If anyone has any more info on this please feel free to share. If I have misunderstood or misinterpreted anything pls correct me. I still have a lot left to learn!