Back from the depths!

Well, I know why that last Whole30 was so horrible for me. Two days after that last post, I found out that I am pregnant! We had been trying, and it was a wonderful thing to find out (and it also explained why the Whole30 was such a struggle), but it really has just set my whole system into a tailspin. Weeks 3-6 were ok. I craved things like avocado salad, bacon, hard boiled eggs, oranges, snd blackberries. I thought, "Wow! if this is what i'm craving, then Paleo will continue to be great! And I'll be like the healthiest preggo ever!" Then two days into week 6 I was eating my regular egg, avocado, bacon, and orange breakfast and bam! Eggs? Gross. Avocado? Started gagging. Bacon? Couldn't stomach it at all. Orange? No thank you. Salads, which I love, started making me sick to my stomach. The zucchini noodles from Well Fed that I ate at least 1-2 times per week (we would regularly buy between 8-12 zucchini a week, that's how much we love that dish) I could not bear the thought of. The only things that sounded appealing to me for about two weeks that didn't make me sick to my stomach thinking about it was some kind of cooked tomato and cheese (and I'm lactose intolerant). So for two weeks I had pizza, sometime GF, sometimes not, and tomato soup and grilled cheese. That didn't help at all, but I could only eat whatever didn't turn my stomach thinking about it. Then for a week or two I could only tolerate rice and chicken noodle soup or just about any soup really. I didn't want fruits or veggies. They turned my stomach. I didn't want meat even really either. I wanted rice. And then chocolate. It has been a real roller coaster.

Add to this extreme exhaustion. For most of this pregnancy thus far, I have felt like I've had a hangover on top of mono. Not only was I not eating in a way that was healthy for me, I have had no energy to cook, let alone prep veggies. Even when Boudreaux preps for me on his day off, sometimes I'm so exhausted that even a quick meal is beyond what I can muster up the energy for. And I've had trouble sleeping. My belly is huge at 13w5d. I've been uncomfortable since week 6. Not to mention how much my boobs hurt, so sleep is already difficult, which is a challenge to the CrossFit schedule. Since I'm all knocked up and stuff, if I haven't slept, I just don't think it's wise to workout. So it's been just one huge cycle of screwed-upedness.

Right now though, the morning sickness hasn't been as bad, and I'm just tired rather than exhausted. I've cooked more since last Monday that I have in the previous three months combined. I honestly can't say that it's helped me sleep better or helped with the morning sickness, which is why I allowed myself to eat what didn't turn my tummy at the thought of it. My friend thinks that the reason she hasn't been sick has been because of her Paleo diet, but I can have a perfectly Paleo day and still get heartburn and sick. It's been really frustrating because I feel like if I hadn't broken Paleo when I started getting sick and have aversions, that I'd be better, but the fact Paleo foods often turn my stomach, I don't think that's the case.

But, I'm hoping that consistently cooking Paleo again, and sticking to the 95/5 rule, that I can force my body to feel better and be healthier that I can "trick" my body into dealing better with the pregnancy, or at least take advantage of the second trimester in the hopes of helping the third trimester go a bit more smoothly than the first. I miss cooking and being able to workout on a regular schedule.

Anyway, the exhaustion explains my blogs silence too if there's anyone still out there reading. But here's hoping for a better January!

Week 3

Wow, I have not been good this time around at all at keeping up with this.

This Whole30, for whatever reason, is proving much harder this time around.

I wonder if it's just stress. I mean, I have to tell myself that perhaps if I weren't doing the Whole30, if I were giving into my stress cravings, then I'd feel a whole lot worse. The sugar demons have not gone away this time. Last month I had super bad cramps and a horrible backache with my PMS from the gluten and crap that we ate with the start of the quarter. Now that I've eliminated that, I don't have the cramps or the backache, but the sugar craving is still there. I've been good though. I eat fruit despite there being a ton of Paleo ice cream and Paleo Magic Shell in the freezer waiting for me on Halloween.

Boudreaux is off the Whole30, so I've been sticking my nose in his wine glass or his cider and just inhaling. It's so wrong of him to do that in front of me. Last night he ate a bunch of chips in front of me and a chocolate covered banana. And he's got some m&ms stashed somewhere in here, too. It's so unfair. But yet, I try to remain strong, and his punishment is dealing with the grumpy that accompanies his eating the things I desire in front of me. I should make his happy ass sleep on the couch.

Because I'm still fighting off whatever it is that I caught in the second week of the quarter, as is everyone else around me--seriously, students sniffling and sneezing and coughing in my general direction; I still see signs every day indicating that a faculty member's classes are canceled--I have been exceptionally lazy since the start of the quarter. I had made the resolve not to eat out the rest of the Whole30. My poor planning leaves me starving at night (I've had to hide the almonds--I don't want to gain weight here! But it's not working) which means we usually do not end up with leftovers for lunch. Ugh. It's a vicious cycle. But this is what I keep telling myself about maintaining the Whole30--all of this would be so much worse if I weren't. Because I guarantee you that most of those meals would be pizza, and not even the gluten free kind at this point.

Here's how I'm coping:

1. My sleep would be a whole lot worse if I weren't doing this. Yes, I'm struggling still, and just about caught up with work, but sleep would suck more.
2. I'm at least listening to my body so if I don't get enough sleep, I don't workout. If I weren't on the Whole30 right now, my food would suck and so would my workouts. 
3. I think my stress level would be waaaaaaaaaaay higher than it is right now.
4. Despite all of this, I actually feel pretty good.
5. My "binges" have involved blackberries, oranges, hard boiled eggs, leftover meat loaf, and almonds. Even though lots of almonds, I'm going to say that this is much better than chips, candy, and Ben & Jerry's. 
6. I may be rocking some serious bloat right now from my PMS, but at least, unlike last month's gluten extravaganza, that bloat is not accompanied by debilitating cramps and serious pain. 
7. And, truth be told, my stress and sleep do seem to have evened out a little bit more over the last couple of days. 
8. The afternoon slump is hit or miss. I've had a couple of good days where I've gotten work done, and a couple of crappy days when I've just made tea, ate almonds, and snuggled under the blanket on the couch. 

 All things considered, even though this time hasn't been as smooth as the one over the summer, the summer one was easier because I could nap at will, and I had ALL day to cook or grocery shop. I could make lunch from scratch, not have to pack leftovers. I had plenty of rest time.

So week 3 has been hit or miss. I've got 10 more days to go. I think I can; I think I can...

Days 12-13

Argh! That is how all of my blog posts seem to be starting lately.

Just when I think I've turned the corner, BAM! Right back to sick or exhausted or unable to sleep or whatever again.

I think being sick, early PMS, and the inability to get more than one night in a row of solid sleep is what is prompting some intense sugar cravings. It's Day 14; these things should be gone by now, especially since I don't eat non Paleo desserts anymore (and not since this Whole30 started). But OH.MY.GOD. These last few days have been absolutely brutal. I have wanted all manner of terrible things. It's been months, months I tell you, since I've craved pizza, but this week. Oh man, I've been so close to caving. And my stomach aches--man, I've really only wanted ginger ale and rice. Fortunately I've found that ginger tea and slivered almonds do a fine job of settling tummies. Or at least mine.

And the craving for Boudreaux's Paleo ice cream and some Paleo Magic Shell continues to grow. It's so annoying. By this time last time, I was over all of this.

I think the lack of sleep is the culprit. I'm wired in the mornings, even despite lack of sleep, slumpy and grouchy in the afternoons (but I won't nap because I don't want it to disrupt my sleep even more), and then wired again after dinner. This is a stress/cortisol issue. And I seriously don't know what else to do right now. So maybe I just have to suck it up and keep pushing through, make sure I continue to get healthy foods in me, and see if this week is any different. I need to get some more melatonin then, too, which I wish I didn't need right now, but I need sleep more.

We'll see how today goes. I got about 7 hours of sleep, but I was also up at 4:30, so meh. It's a toss up. I was really hoping to catch up and get about 10 hours, but when Boudreaux has drill, I may as well have drill. And he gets tomorrow off. I don't. So whatever. We'll see how the next couple of days go.

Days 7-11

Well, things were seeming to start to go better, until last night.

Let me back up.

Days 7, 8, & 9 I was still feeling sluggish. Tired. I noticed the sugar cravings starting to subside a little bit. I even noticed that just the desire to eat was starting to subside a little bit, too. Like Tuesday I was able to go from breakfast until the afternoon--skipping lunch--and not feeling cranky or crazy or anything like that. I had a snack when I got home because my head started to hurt a little bit, but I was good until dinner with no major mood swing. And Wednesday when I got home, I had a little snack and then read for 3.5 hours and didn't need coffee or tea or anything to keep me focused. That was a change! And then yesterday morning, I woke up feeling refreshed and energetic and like the tide had finally shifted. I came to the realization that the reason I had been feeling so beat down probably at CF was directly related to this first two weeks of the Whole30 (which means I've been doing it right this time!), and that was totally liberating! It's not because I'm "old" (I mean for crying out loud, I'm under 40!), it's because my body is still trying to undo the crap I did the two weeks prior. Sheesh.

But yesterday, just when I thought the tide was changing, I noticed something weird. I didn't work out yesterday morning (it's my usual rest day). I had a good breakfast, as usual, and a filling lunch, but when I got home, I was STARVING! I ate more than I had been in the afternoons (2 oz nuts and 2 hardboiled eggs, and an apple and nut butter--and I've been REALLY good about not consuming that much nuts since I do really really really want to lose weight). And then dinner. And I was grumpy. Oh man was I grumpy. And fidgety. And annoyed. And exhausted. And totally wired to the max. I didn't sleep for anything last night either. I woke up at midnight with a raging headache. I didn't fall back asleep until after 4 am, and then woke up with a headache and a terrible stomach ache.

I think I might know what the main problem was that just occurred to me. I switched from the decaf, right, to half caff because those headaches and stomach aches were killing me. Yesterday, for the first time since I've been on half caff, I had unsweet tea with my lunch, which was after 12 pm. I think it was the full caffeine of the iced tea. (Incidentally, the owner of the box mentioned that when he had iced tea the other day it made him really sick, and that was the first time that had ever happened). So I wonder if that was the main culprit. Iced tea hadn't ever affected me like that before, but I don't know.

Also, I forgot to turn the air down before I went to bed. The house was too hot for me. And I think that's why I was finally able to fall back asleep around 4:30--after I had turned the air down at midnight. It finally cooled off. And one of the mutts is afflicted with allergies and he was all over me last night. Last night was like the perfect storm of crapitude then messing with my sleep. And I did wake up sick and bloated and feeling just gross.

So perhaps the tide really is turning and I just made a stupid bonehead choice that had some major repercussions. I'll just stick to my half caff in the mornings and my water and decaf or uncaffeinated hot tea in the afternoon. No more iced tea for me.

Yesterday, too, in addition to the overeating and the like, was the strongest of the sweet craving days so far. I had a few in days 1-3, and they've steadily waned, but last night, I was ravenous. I was considering breaking the Whole30 for some Paleo ice cream and some Paleo Magic Shell. Like I was quite literally growling at Boudreaux. Thankfully he talked me down from the ledge, but man, last night was brutal. The first really brutal day so far. I'm hoping by Monday I've got everything under control, can get back to my hard work outs (marathon training starts soon, too), and have the energy I need to get the stuff done that I need to in the next 2 weeks.

Days 4-6

I was bad and lazy with the food prep this week. Fortunately there are two places we can eat Paleo that are actually Whole30 compliant. There's a place we can get killer salads and fajitas without the fixings work, too. It's not ideal, and the goal is now not to eat out for the next three weeks, Paleo/Whole30 or not.

I think I'm on the upswing here as far as energy and perhaps finally getting over whatever I was sick with, I hope anyway. Of course, it could be the switch back to half caff rather than full decaf--the Whole30 headaches and crappiness along with caffeine withdrawal headaches AND stomach aches was too much for me. I should have started with half caff and then moved to 1/4 caff rather than working backwards here, but oh well. I will strive for a full caffeine ween over Thanksgiving break when I can nap and rest more.

I think I've been sleeping better. My stomach bloat has been steadily decreasing all week since starting the Whole30 again. I can't tell with my hips though, but I'll have to go by my clothes. We'll see how that plays out.

Key for me is keeping the stress level down. If I can keep the stress down and the cortisol levels where they should be, then I should be able to lose the belly bloat and the hip bloat. We'll see. But yesterday was the best I've felt in a while, even after a totally gnarly workout. And I'm sore today, but yesterday the Boudreaux was feeling horrible after the workout, but I felt okay. And I feel pretty good today.

Recap--
Stress--Better these last couple days. I've been able to get some rest, and I've had a couple of easy class days. It also helps knowing that in 2/3 classes I've got the material well under control for the rest of the quarter certainly makes things a bit better. And I feel confident that I can finish the novel I'm teaching this week today, and that I should be able to get started on the one for next week this week, too. That all helps.

Sleep--Better. Last couple of nights, no melatonin, so that's a plus.

Food--whole30 compliant, but could still be making better choices. I've noticed though that eliminating the ton of fruit that I used to eat in the morning and eating eggs and berries for breakfast has cut down on my hunger tremendously throughout the day.  I've also been more aware at how many nuts I consume, and measure out the almond butter and use it sparingly. I've had more veggies this time, and more protein and fats with lunch which keeps me from needing to snack as much when I get home before dinner. I'm learning much more this time around about myself and what is the best way for me to eat that will cut down on sugar cravings and fill me up. A more filling breakfast seems to be key for me here. Same for lunch. I think for me, keeping the majority of the calories in early in the day might work better for me. We'll see at the end of the month!

Another WHOLE30!

This time the CF Box is hosting a Whole30. There's some money on the line, too. And I've engaged in some good natured trash talk with the owner. Even if there were on $5 on the line for first place, my goal would still be to beat him. :)

As it turns out, I don't think I did the first Whole30 right the last time. I've read It Starts With Food, so I'm not sure how I missed for the Whole30 part that I couldn't have honey! And I guess I sort of ignored the "no Paleo desserts" part, too, because I didn't consider the fruit "cobbler" and the Paleo ice cream (coconut milk, eggs, vanilla, and fruit) really dessert. And I didn't read some labels clearly enough to check for honey or added sugar.

Three full days in, and I TOTALLY feel the difference. Which makes it clear that there needed to be some adjustments here, too. I've cut out the fruit protein shakes in the morning, and I feel the effects of the lack of sugar there, too. Plus, I've decided to cut out caffeine this time around, so it's a massive shock to my system.

And let me tell you, the combination of no sugar, no caffeine, and working full time this time around has left my body exhausted. And truer to what others' Whole30 experiences have been like (so I've read), I'm much more moody this time around. I think it's because knowing we were doing this and doing it as a competition, we threw caution to the wind the last two weeks, and I really broke every thing that I had been abiding by since like March. Everything is out of whack it feels like right now. My performance has suffered a bit in the last two weeks. My sleep has been gnarly. It's extremely clear to me that 70/30 or 80/20 or even 85/15 is not optimal for me, perhaps because of my age, and perhaps because I'm still not where I want to be. I need to think, after the Whole 30, more in terms of 95/5. And no gluten whatsoever.

My body hates me right now, just like it did in March after spring break, and just like it did in August when I came back from my cousin's wedding.

Recap for Days 1-3
Stress--through the roof, as it has been since the quarter started. This is problem number one. I've experienced my first weight gain of the year since I started losing weight in January since this quarter started. I feel like since Monday my cortisol production has increased because my belly seems to have gotten bigger rather than smaller after three days of clean eating. This tells me the following:

• I need more rest.
• I need to be better organized so that I can reduce the stress.
• I need to do something in the afternoon that relieves stress instead of trying to nap (which has been unsuccessful), in the hopes that I get better sleep.

Sleep--has been a bit better. I had to start taking the melatonin to help me sleep again because my brain won't shut down and relax, but in the last three days I've gone from 3 to 2 to 1 pill. That's improvement. And I find that for the first time in a while, I'm sleeping through the night, despite the Red Rocket's bed shenanigans.

Food--Last night was tough. I didn't have anything prepped because I was tired, and Boudreaux came home late. So we had grass fed, free range, no sugar, no preservatives, no nothing added, organic bacon and  some eggs. 

Workouts--I feel slow and heavy and like everyone is improving and I'm not, and it's pissing me off. This is in part because since classes have started and since I got sick and fell behind, I haven't been able to get in in the afternoons. And that pisses me off, too.

So here we start day 4. I'm actually really exhausted this morning, and I feel like I should go back to bed for another hour or two, but I've got so much work to do that I need to do my work so maybe I can get some restful sleep later and have my afternoon free to do some meal prep for tonight and tomorrow.

Organizing, Planning, Scheming... ;)

Ah my poor little blog! I have neglected thee!

I'm back. I will say that we maintained excellent eating habits up through the beginning of the semester and the hurricane deployment (well, I ate well up here during Boudreaux's deployment). But once I get under the weather, all bets are off. I've got to work on that.

The biggest hindrance, now that classes have started back up is lack of preparation and organization--the two things that plague me regularly and are so important.

When I take the time to prep the veggies in advance, meals during the week are so easy, and I have no excuses. When I do not, then we make bad choices. And it's easy to make bad choices when you're not feeling well and just don't want to stand for 30 minutes or so over the sink and peel, cut, and chop.

This weekend/week will be about experimentation and proving myself right. Regardless of how tired I may be after CrossFit this morning, we are going to the grocery afterwards and as soon as I get home, I am getting ALL the veggies prepped for the entire week. I don't care if it takes three hours. I have so much that needs to be done not only this semester, but in the next month that I need to be more organized. Look, it works with class prep--spending three-five hours on a Saturday and/or Sunday morning reading and prepping means the whole week is opened up and excuse and relatively stress free. Why do I not employ the same principles in the kitchen? This week we are. And as we now have a monster freezer, I'm going to see what I can do in the way of breakfasts that can be made in advanced and then frozen to be eaten during the week.

Also, on the first, I'm doing another Whole 30. Our box is doing one, so I'm going to participate with a group this time. I was thinking about doing another one before the holidays anyway because I still have a few stubborn pounds to get rid of. And I think the weight loss is actually being hindered by too many fruits and nuts, and while my physique has changed a bit, I still want to be a little leaner, and that's all diet my friends. PLUS, and this might be bad, but damn, if it's box-wide, that means it's a competition, and I want to win!  Because I always want to win! But it'll be good because that will keep people honest and motivated. :)

So, while I want to win at best health!, I am also doing it because there are still some things that I do need to continue to tweak that will benefit me not only at the box, but also with the academic things I need to have the energy for as well. Plus, as soon as the Warrior Dash is done, I've got to jump right into marathon training, and I need power and nutrient dense eating  for that.

So on the first I'm going to begin to do another daily chronicle of the Whole 30. I think I may do updates at night though so I can talk about the day, sleep, energy level. I really want to get rid of that afternoon slump. I haven't mastered that business yet. And I've got to get over that and get the meal/food prep stuff organized so I can start going back to the box in the afternoons to work on my skills again. I haven't been able to do that this week, and it's bothered me greatly.

There we go! Now it's time to get to that academic work before the Saturday WOD! I'll let you know how the meal planning and food prep goes!

Weekly Treat

Boudreaux and I were talking at lunch yesterday, and I was saying that I really think that one of the things that keeps us from buying junk food and unhealthy things is knowing that Saturday comes every week because Saturday is treat day! And yes, I prefer "treat" day to "cheat" day for the reasons that Dallas and Melissa Hartwig point out. "Cheat" implies that you're doing something wrong, that you're breaking a rule, that there's something about which to potentially feel guilty, and food should never make you feel guilty. The "treat" on the other hand isn't a reward, but it's something special, something out of the ordinary to enjoy. While I try not to "look forward" per se to my "treat days," it does help knowing that if I'm having a bad week when I would normally dive into a box of cookies (GF or otherwise) or drown myself in a pint of ice cream, I do get a day where I can eat what I want, and it doesn't become about emotional eating. And for me, that's a huge deal. And I suspect for most people, emotional eating is a giant battle to overcome.

If I know that on Saturday we can go out to lunch or dinner and I can get some chips and salsa, then that's all I need to keep me from buying them at the grocery and mindlessly eating them all week. Let me point out, too, that on "treat day" we don't go whole hog crazy here either. If we have a food and veg fest, it's Paleo stuff that I cook at home, so it's meatzza and fajitas and salads and paleo ice cream or paleo cobbler. Because I notice pretty soon after I eat how I feel, even when we eat out, I don't go nuts. Yesterday, I wanted chips and salsa. And you know what? Applebees, of all places, has really good chips and salsa. They must have upped their game or something or we just happened to have lucked out with a good chef or manager here in our little town, because they have surprisingly good meals. But I digress. My point is, I got a nice and actually quite beautiful salad for lunch with my chips and salsa. It still surprises me that that's the thing that I want.

Last week after lunch on the way home from the G'parents I was starving, so we stopped at Burger King because they have sweet potato fries, which were actually quite good, btw. I think they are "breaded" in some kind of cornmeal, so you know, not really Paleo, but of all the things I could have possibly eaten, well, anyway, they were good. But I decided last week that yesterday I would have what I hoped would be glorious, the Bacon Sundae. Oh sweet jeebus. Vanilla ice cream topped with bacon, chocolate, and caramel. Wow. I bought two for myself. I recommend this whole heartedly. It was a beautiful, beautiful thing people.

Was it worth how I felt after? Hell yes, because I did it twice. I bought two, remember? I have grown so accustomed to Boudreaux's Paleo ice cream concoction that I don't crave ice cream anymore (if you knew me pre-Paleo IRL, then you know that I'm like Forrest Gump when it comes to ice cream, especially mint chocolate chip. I must have ice cream!). Boudreaux's Paleo ice cream is not made with sugar. At all. We put honey on top. That's as sweet as it gets. But my big treats that I've chosen this month have been of the super sweet variety--wedding cake and the bacon sundae. I'm just glad that I had some ginger ale still squirreled away for my belly ache after eating half of the first sundae. I left the half and had the other whole one after the healthy dinner I made, so it didn't tax me as badly as the first one.

The thing is though, that even though my "big treats" have been super sweet, since I don't crave sugar anymore (outside of fruit, but even that's gone down dramatically--I don't "crave" cobbler after dinner anymore or the ice cream really), these things hit me really really hard. I think this is good, actually, even though I do feel like crap afterwards, because it means that my body understands that this stuff is extraordinarily sweet and has the appropriate response. And that's a good thing. And it's like mental muscle memory, too. Like on that very off moment when I think I want chocolate, my brain kicks in with "remember how sugar makes you feel? Do you want to feel that bad during your workout tomorrow? Is it worth it?" And that's enough. And again, I think that's good.

But the combination of chocolate, caramel, and bacon--oooh, the sweet to the salty ratio was almost perfect. Of course, I wished there were more bacon in it. It needed bacon crumbles blended into it like a blizzard to be perfect really. But, oh wow. It seriously was a beautiful, beautiful thing.

I feel surprisingly okay this morning. I thought for sure with the wine and the sugar that I'd be a holy hot mess this morning, but I think because of the wine and the sugar taxing my poor body, I fell asleep on the couch before 8:30 last night. I think it was just too much. And then I was asleep pretty quickly once I went to bed and slept fairly solidly for 7.25 hours (eyes opened at 4:15, per S.O.P.), but I managed to drift off again for another 2 hours, so I'm sure the sleep is what helped. Yay sleep!

Close to being really tired here.

Oy! I'm a tad tired this week and a little bit broken down.

I have to confess that I'm not entirely sure why I'm as tired as I am. I mean, I feel a bit more tired than normal. On Monday I took 2 naps. Yes, that's right, 2. Fortunately I have that luxury right now.

But I suspect I may know what's going on. I just don't want to acknowledge it.

Part of it is that Boudreaux has started going to the 5 am class, which means that when he gets up at 4:15, I get up at 4:15. I make the coffee then; I make the lunches; I make the breakfasts, and then I go to the 6 am class. I have been getting up 30-45 minutes earlier this week.

Perhaps it's the accumulation of 6 weeks of CrossFit taking its toll because I don't actually rest that much right now. Here's why: I know I will have to when classes begin, and I actually have to start working again. Right now, if I'm tired, then I can nap and recover, so I can't force myself to take a mid-week break. Yesterday, I may have perhaps, for the first time, really overdid it because, like Maverick, my ego likes to write checks my body can't cash, and I really really struggle with the fact that after 6 weeks (to the day) I'm not perfect at every single thing, and it's driving me nuts. And I do often walk a fine line between pushing myself and stupidity. I think I may have tipped the scales into the stupid realm yesterday because today I am ate up.

So when I break it down, since the box opened, in the last 6 weeks I've had only 7 rest days, and two of those were because of travel; otherwise it'd be only 5 actually. Yeah, okay, so no wonder I'm tired, broke down, worn out.

But I HATE missing out on stuff!! But today is definitely a day in which I would have benefited from a rest day. My shoulders are so tight that I had trouble even with the PVC drills overhead. And we won't even talk about the rebar that is the left side of my body right now. It's so bad that I just put my pants onto the floor and try to step into the leg holes and make a reach for it in the hopes of grabbing the waistband and hoisting whatever needs to go on the lower half of my body up. Sheesh. I can honestly say though that in my condition today, thrusting 65 pounds of weight overhead for 100 reps would have been impossible. But I'm pissed that I had to do only 55#. But if I were smart and rested and let my muscles recover, then I probably could have gotten that. But I hate missing workouts! You see the problem.

So, I'm tired. I'm starting to get cranky around 2 pm, so I know that there's some kind of adjustment going on here.

Another real issue this week, too, is that I've been exceptionally LAZY with our food because I've been tired. And I've been tired because of our food. About every four weeks I just kind of zone out and don't prepare, get lazy, etc. I just get tired. But this is something that I'm really going to have to work on when classes restart. I will have to spend part of Saturday prepping the food for the week. I will have to have a plan not only for dinner but for lunches as well. Preparation is going to be key here. Plus, an hour or two on Saturdays is going to save me like 5 hours I don't have during the week.  And if I keep that in mind (this worked when I applied to my teaching prep last year), then life will be easier.

That's all I can process on this for today. I do think that I need to consider a Whole60 after Labor Day. I've got that weight to keep budging and more inches to go. Aside from the vanity issues, I'm still not quite where I want to be health-wise yet. I think there are things on which I clearly need to keep working, especially because I feel more often than not, I do still get an afternoon slump that I'm not too keen on, and about once a week I still get that "tired but wired" feeling before bed. So I clearly have some more work to do. And I need the clean eating to help me stay on top of my work, too, during the academic year. I think there will be more on this later. 

Treat Night/Cheat Night

It was a modest one as I struggle to recover from vacay.

And poor Boudreaux is so tired of Mexican that I think he's ready to make a run for the Canadian border, but I can't get enough fajitas in me, and it's really the most Paleo friendly of the eating out variety.

But I had me some chips and salsa. Oh yes. They were wonderful. For Boudreaux, it's sandwiches. That's the thing he has to know he can have with the 85/15 rule. At least one sandwich every week or two. I thought for me it'd be pizza, even of the GF variety or some dark chocolate or a GF cookie here and there. And you know, yesterday at the movie theatre I had some of Boudreaux's milk chocolate covered almonds (The Expendables 2--killer, btw). I was unimpressed. I never thought that would happen--that I wouldn't enjoy chocolate. Or at least milk chocolate. Perhaps had they been dark chocolate that'd be a different story.

I digress.

It turns out I really missed chips and salsa. Corn tortilla chips and salsa. Now, I probably won't buy chips and salsa and bring that home, but if I can have them on a Saturday night when we go out to eat, then I can live with that. And chips and salsa should be occasional anyway.

And we had wine. A very lovely Cabernet as we watched Arachnoquake.

And we had an awesome work out in the morning and then helped some friends with their CrossFit commercial.

It was a treat of an entire day indeed!

On Paleo eating on vacay and splurging a little

I promised a post on eating Paleo on vacation.

It's harder in the burbs than in the city.

Unless there's a Chipotle around! It is by far mine and Boudreaux's most favorite place to eat on the road. If I could, I would marry Chipotle.

But I digress.

First time around in Cali this summer, Paleo and GF eating were much easier. We had a wonderful little restaurant across from our hotel that served huge meat and veggie filled dairy free omelettes with fruit on the side. And as there are more choices of restaurants in a fancy place like SF, with some great fish choices, it was easy.

This time around, meh. Our first night in was actually good, and that's because we ate a fancy-ish place that had GF pastas (not that I ate that, but at least they are sensitive to GF life at the very least), but at least cooked their meats in one place, their veggies in another, and gluteny and grainy things somewhere else. Of course there's always the risk of cross contamination, but here it was minimal. My cousin and I each got glorious veal dishes which we shared (my dish had me at prosciutto, you know, bacon's Italian cousin), and wow. Meat, veggies, the appropriate amount of fat. Perfect. I even splurged a bit on dessert--panna cotta--since the dairy was a thick cooked custard (is that redundant), so it gave me minimal trouble. But was worth it. That was okay.

And even Saturday and Sunday morning were good, too. IHOP can be very Paleo friendly, believe it or not, at least in Cali. The catch is that for the omelette, you must get the egg substitute because their regular omelettes are made with buttermilk and pancake batter. So one of their "Fit and Healthy" omelettes, minus the cheese, add some bacon to the side, some avocado on top, and the fruit, and bam! You're in business. No stomach distress or trouble after those meals either. Score!

Saturday night though was the wedding. And I splurged, really, for the first time in months. Bacon wrapped crab cakes? On it (the crab cakes were most certainly breaded)! Ahi tuna on a sesame tortilla? Scarfed down. Baby bbq chicken tostadas? Yummy yummy yummy in my tummy tummy tummy! As the lamb chops were indeed the most Paleo of the appetizers, I made sure to have four of them. Also, there was wine. Lots and lots of wine that was free in which I willingly and copiously partook. The wedding dinner: walnut apple blue cheese salad. Delicious. I got the sea bass which also had bacon in the side dish (were they potatoes? I cannot remember, but I cleaned the plate). And then the wedding cake. Oh glorious wedding cake. It is by far my most favorite of all the cakes in the world, and it is good that I do not have access to it. I ate three pieces! THREE! So worth it. So incredibly indeed most certainly worth it. If I married Chipotle, I would cheat on it with wedding cake.

Well, it will come as no surprise to you then that I didn't sleep all that well Saturday night and that at about mid morning Sunday I started to really feel the effects of the wine and the cake and the night of debauchery (during which I ripped my dress dancing AND worked my calves so hard by hopping around on the dance floor non-stop for about three hours, no lie) and was definitely worse for the wear. I went and laid down in the car during the first stop of our wine tasting on the way out of town Sunday morning. I had a little hair of the dog at the second winery which helped and by the third I was starting to feel more normal again.

But the damage was done. I will fully admit that from Sunday on I was an insufferable bitch even after the hangover wore off.

As I knew pizza would be served later, I insisted on stopping at Chipotle so I could eat. That was fine. I think the mistake was getting the chips (but I hadn't had chips and salsa in soooooooooo long. I just wanted at taste!) And I was fine until I had some of the fondant from the cake topper (no way was I having another piece!) But the sugar just sent my stomach into overload. But I made it up Monday morning and went to the nearby CrossFit box. On our way to Napa we stopped at a cafe I had eaten at before. In theory it was perfect. I got eggs with lox, some bacon, fresh fruit. Perfect. Except I didn't bother to ask if the eggs were prepped with milk. My cousin's girlfriend and I were both starting to feel a little ill, and as it was just the two of us lactose intolerant people, we decided that the eggs had milk. Grrrr. And what should have been a great dinner--gourmet beef hamburger wrapped in lettuce with avocado and bacon (even though I did get the french fries, which I never eat), there was so much cross contamination in the food (even though this was supposed to be fancy) that I swelled up like a balloon and felt like shit driving back to our hotel. And then Tuesday morning wasn't any better. Another diner neither my cousin's girlfriend or I thought to ask about dairy in the eggs, and some stupid potatoes (they were red, not white, still off limits, but the diner's specialty--they were filled with veggies), and bam! Instant grossness. Instant grumpiness. Instant cramping.

I will admit that I made a couple of bad choices, but I think I just opened the door for trouble and just never recovered. Boudreaux giggled at how swollen my belly looked when he saw me. My aunt was like, "oh, it looks like you have a baby in there! how I wish!" (Me: GRRRRRR! That's something all non-pregnant women want to hear: "Oh you look pregnant!"). My head hurt. I was congested. And sad!

It's true! Not only is there an effect on the body from the gluten but on the mind, too. Mentally I just felt horrible.

And let's talk about the sleep issue here, too. The first time in Cali this summer when I was able to minimize the cross contamination gluten issue, I slept great! This time, between the gluten and the wine--ugh! Horrible, horrible sleep! One to two hours, then I'd wake up. Then maybe two to three hours, then I'd wake up. My cousins said one night I was just thrashing in the bed tossing and turning, so clearly that was not some restful sleep at all. Even when I got to my own bed, the effects were devastating. I went to bed at nine. I tossed and turned and was wide awake until after midnight, and I had even take three melatonin at that point to try to sleep, but to no avail. Last night was really the first night in over a week that I got a solid 8 hours, and I feel much better.

Was it worth it? Yes and no. The wedding cake--definitely! But I was just a horrible person for the second half of the trip because I didn't feel well, and I feel really bad about that. I would have preferred to enjoy myself a bit more and not be so nasty to everyone. I had a short fuse, too.

I think next time I need to stick more to salads when I travel than to get hot meals. Depending on where one is, that might be the best way to avoid the cross contamination issue.

The Post-Whole30

Wow! It's been a whole week since I last updated! It's been a busy post Whole30 week here at Chez Cavegirl.

There are things that I continue to notice about how much my body has changed on several levels since starting and finishing the Whole30.

First of all, thanks to Melissa and Dallas Hartwig for linking my blog on their FB! What an honor!

I believe that I reported last week that on Day 31 I had some GF pizza with cheese. Oy. This jacked up my system. Totally. Granted I also had some wine. But I don't think the effects of that lasted longer than Sunday. I was really sort of low grade sick all week. Perhaps a bit TMI, but my belly just hurt for about four days after that pizza, even thought it was GF. Since the Boudreaux is a medic and had told us that there was a nasty stomach thing going around his unit, I thought that maybe I had a either a low grade version of this or that it was low grade because of my stellar eating the month before. He said it was more likely the the dairy and the grains. In any case *I* think it was a combo of both--I've been a little sluggish in the afternoons, feeling wiped out with belly aches in the morning. So if I am fighting something, there's a testament to eating Paleo--I fight it better with better results.

The parents were in, and I introduced them to a strict Paleo household. And I'm glad that Boudreaux is on board with this--Paleo house, but when we eat out, we don't have to stick to strict Paleo. (It's better for me though if I do). However, they were impressed at how wonderful veggies can taste. My dad is less than adventurous, so this was a big week for him--CrossFit AND zucchini noodles (see Well Fed) and spaghetti squash! We introduced the 'rents to Paleo ice cream and Steve's Crunch Bacon "Granola." So it's been a little hectic here this past week.

But there are some other things that I've noticed. One, as I mentioned, if I'm fighting some kind of bug, getting laid out by a bug clearly isn't as devastating as pre-Paleo. (I didn't miss a single day of class). Another thing that I've noticed has been my skin! Significantly fewer breakouts this month! I mean, seriously, I'm too old for zits anyway, but my arms, chest, and face--significantly better! (okay, minus the after effects of the chemical peel).

Granted I still have a loooooooooooooooong way to go here, but it's so nice that my stomach is significantly flatter than it was a month ago.  Also, one thing that has surprised me in this past week, too, is that all those things that I thought I was going to miss right, all those things that I thought I was going to want to have, like how I was just DYING for some chips and salsa? I still haven't sought them out. If I never see pizza again, I'll be totally fine actually. Just the memory of how bad I've felt this week post pizza is enough.

So how do I want to maintain this? I am tempted when I get back from vacay, perhaps after Labor Day (since I know there will be a family visit that weekend) to do another Whole30--no cheating, no alcohol, limiting the going out to eat, and making a better effort to meal prep and plan. It's an excuse to get another cookbook. :) Perhaps I'll concurrently try to cook my way through Well Fed, too. Really doing it again would be all about vanity--I'm happy that I lost five pounds and all those inches. But I'm not there yet. I am starting to question if with the CrossFit and as I build muscle, if losing another 15 pounds is feasible let alone reasonable. I may have to settle for dropping only another 5-8 pounds.

Look, I know the focus here of the Whole 30 and CrossFit too is on how one feels and performance improvement--not weight loss (unless one is overweight or obese). This is why I think that perhaps another Whole30 would be beneficial for me--it keeps the focus on how I FEEL rather than how I LOOK or what the scale says. Aside from all the "health" benefits here, the Whole30 and CrossFit are teaching me patience, as painful as that is.

And maybe what it might come down to is that I don't actually need to do the whole Whole30 again right now. Perhaps I need to take elements of it--put the scale away for a month at a time and do measurements once a month. Let Saturday night be the "treat/cheat" night with a glass or two of wine. And then reevaluate in a month to see what the what-what is. And it's not that I want to be a Paleo fascist here about this, but I don't even think it's worth "cheating/treating" once a week for me (Boudreaux needs it though--he needs to know that he can have a sandwich once a week or something of the like to keep him sane--the man loves his sandwiches!) because I just cannot emphasize HOW MUCH BETTER I FEEL! It's so not worth it to me anymore to feel like crap, even once a week. Like I said in one of my first posts--I gots $hit to do, yo!

For those who are still out there reading, I'll do a better job with the updates, too. Next up, eating Paleo on vacay.

Day 24 to the End!

I did it! I finished the Whole30 without cheating! Yay me! It feels great to have finished this!

While I don't want to bore you with my actual weights and measurements, I will give you some stats from my Whole30 journey. Keep in mind, too, that I was also doing some heavy CrossFitting during this time, so my loss in inches is more dramatic than my loss in weight which I think if I were not actively building muscle during this time (light weights, more running), I think the results would be inverted--more pounds lost, fewer inches lost.

I lost 5 pounds this month. Given that I had been only averaging .42 pounds a week loss between January and June (not even a half pound a week average, but I guess steady progress), that jumped to an average of 1.25 pounds per week on the Whole30. I also lost 8 inches! Yes my friends, 8 freaking inches total from my body. The only place I didn't lose inches was my upper arms--they stayed the same. That didn't surprise me really. But they are getting more toned. And I lost a whole dress size. And I did this all without counting calories, measuring food, worrying about fat. Although at first I was bummed that it was only five pounds, my husband correctly pointed out that I "lost five pounds eating bacon." All those clothes that I've been whining about for years about not being able to wear--yes my friends, I have a whole "new" wardrobe of clothes that I've had that have either never been worn (clothes I bought for school for example that didn't fit by the time school started or clothes that should have fit given the rate of past weight loss but by the time they arrived I had started on the regain) or clothes that I've not been able to wear since 2004 but are still in excellent condition. Now, I still have a ways to go, but for the first time since February, I feel like I have made some real progress.

58% of my total inches lost since January happened during this month of the Whole30.
39% of my total weight loss since January happened during this month of the Whole30.

Some other surprising things:
I finished the Whole 30 while Aunt Flo was in town. This I think was the real test here. Um did I have any sugar cravings or was I dying to get my hands on some chocolate and pizza? NO! Holy craziness Batman! Right now, the thought of chocolate makes me physically sick to my stomach. Seriously. I can't imagine eating it. If I do have a hankering, what do I want? Paleo ice cream with honey. That's right--ice cream made with coconut milk and eggs (no sugar!) mixed with some berries and honey. That's about as sweet as I get now. And do you know how good that feels? Do you know how liberating it is to find even the thought of Ben & Jerry's repulsive? And do you know that it didn't even involve any willpower at all during Aunt Flo's stay not to have sugar, salt, or any of the other "normal" cravings? None.

This is also the first time ever that Aunt Flo has visited that I didn't have one debilitating cramp. Up to this point in my Paleo journey, there would be one day were I'd just be in pain (which was down from the three or four) among other things, and this time, just a slight twinge twice and maybe some lower back stiffness, but nothing debilitating or messy at all! So yes, even GF grains hurt my body in this way because clearly eliminating them makes my life so much more comfortable.

When the house is too hot, I can't always say that I get great sleep, but on the average, when the house is comfortable, I sleep a good 7-8 hours and wake up most mornings before my alarm goes off feeling rested and ready to go. Because I'm much more rested, I don't drink as much coffee now (except Saturdays and Sundays when I like to enjoy my coffee and lollygag around). And while I'm in a steady state of soreness and tiredness (but the good kind; not the painful or exhausted kind), I am able to wake before my alarm and go to my CrossFit class every morning, six days a week for the last month. And do you know how long it's been my friends since I was working out six days a week, consistently? Not since High School. So that feels pretty amazing, too.

Since yesterday was Day 31, and since Boudreaux had drill, when he came home, he didn't feel like grilling out like we had planned (plus it was still about 100 degrees outside). So here's another amazing thing. We ordered pizza. I got the GF crust (I'm not going to go crazy here!), and I did get cheese (I wanted a Hawaiian pizza), and I really thought I would relish the taste of this glorious goodness of cheese, ham, pineapple, bacon, peppers, and onions, that it would taste the way I remembered it tasting and that I would bask in this forbidden goodness. No. Not at all. Compared to the foods I had been making all month, this was bland. (Have any of you made the Meatzza from Well Fed? That's a pizza!) I was surprised at how much I did not enjoy it, surprised at how much I didn't care for the cheese at all, surprised at how disappointed I was. The good thing is that I know we won't revert back to our old habits of ordering pizza once a week.

And the wine was good. I don't normally drink white wine, but it's so damn hot here, I had bought a nice sort of sweet white blend for Day 31. And I had some cider while I chopped veggies and cleaned the kitchen. The wine was good. It was nice to have wine with dinner again, I'll say that much. I was surprised that it didn't hit me hard at first. I thought after 30 days of no alcohol when I was used to 2-3 glasses of wine with dinner a night that the cider would lay me out. And I thought for sure that the first glass of wine would be more than enough. But it didn't hit me right away. However, when it did, I was out for the count. I passed out, yes passed out--not fell asleep, not went to bed, but full on passed out, at 8:30. I am not hungover this morning from either the food or the wine, thankfully, but I do feel slow. And I can't imagine having had that meal and that wine last night and having to work out this morning. I think if I had to work out with that on my stomach, I'd puke.

Saturday will be my "treat" days. I don't want to be so super strict about my Paleo eating that I feel guilt about non-Paleo foods (that defeats the purpose), and I do like some chips and salsa every once in a while and I do like to veg out on Saturdays with the Boudreaux and watch some monster movie marathons. And since Sundays are my work out rest days, then Saturdays are the days for chips and wine. Because truth be told, I don't want to go back to a non-Paleo way of eating. I have more great days and good days than I have crappy days. Even my days when I feel like I have a crappy workout are better than good days before the Whole30.

Trust me my friends, those first two rough weeks of crappyness, sluggishness, and withdrawal are 100 million % worth it to get here. So thank you Melissa and Dallas.

Days 19-23 (Recap)

Well, Boudreaux is officially out. He cheated on Sunday with the chips as I mentioned last time, then again on Thursday with some more chips when we went out for fajitas again (I think I'm just a little tired of salads at the moment), and then when we found out that he has a work start date of Aug. 1, well, he really really wanted to celebrate with some beer and he did. He's done. I appreciate that he made it this far with me though. Am I a little jealous? Yes. Did I stick my face in the basket of chips and take a loooooong inhale of their fried goodness? Yes. Did I sniff his beer? Yes. Did I cave? No.

I think I might be PMSing because yesterday was really the first day that I wanted chocolate. But, surprisingly that desire was short lived. I wasn't actually craving it. I just wanted some. But I didn't have any.

Boudreaux stated that he felt really terrible Friday morning during the work out which he attributed to the beer. He was moving slooooooow, too. He said Friday morning he felt dehydrated and bloated. This made me feel better because I didn't give in and felt just fine. :)

Yesterday we had some errands to run so we ate out again for lunch--I found some fajitas--it's such an easy Paleo eating out meal--I subbed extra chicken and veggies for rice, beans, sour cream, and tortillas, and added some guacamole. And admittedly we have been eating out a lot of fajitas this week, but I think we're just tired and the stress of waiting to find out when Boudreaux was actually going to start work started to wear on the both of us. Anyway, since Boudreaux had beer the night before and he was officially done, he got pizza. A big sausage and pepperoni stuffed pizza topped with bacon and oozing with cheese. And you know what? He said, "pizza is not as good as I remember it being. This was really disappointing." Ha! I'm proud of that awareness in him. Again, it also makes me feel better for not giving in.

He has come to the conclusion, too, that our house should be a fairly strict Paleo house with the freedom to eat non-Paleo if we choose when we go out to eat (which, especially when he starts his job, will be limited). To be fair, his Whole30 was going to end this weekend anyway because he's at drill, and well, Army food is not very Paleo compliant.

I'm still feeling pretty good actually. I mean, I really like feeling great in the morning for my work outs. I like being able to get out of bed without any problem. I like that I don't need five million cups of coffee in the morning anymore. I like that even though I'm pretty sure I'm PMSing, my face isn't totally broken out, usually a tell-tale sign along with rampant mood swings and cramps and aches, but right now I'm not feeling any of that. The only suspicious thing is a tad bit of bloating and some body image issues, despite my clothes fitting better and being able to get into clothes I previously had either never been able to wear or been able to get into in years. And my sugar cravings are pretty much gone. I want food because I'm hungry, not because I'm "craving" anything in particular really. That's a very liberating thing actually.

And now I have to make a cucumber and tomato salad that I promised to bring to the CrossFit BBQ after class this morning. I need to get a move on it.

Days 15-18 (Recap)

I attribute the last few days to my diet--while I'm working really hard in my CrossFit class and am actually quite tired today, I feel like my ability to push myself as hard as I have been and make the improvements I've been able to make in 10 as far as my work output can be attributed to the Paleo eating. Seriously. I mean, I've lifted before; I've worked with trainers before, and I've done the P90X and P90X2. I've lifted light; I've lifted heavy. I've worked out 5-7 days a week before. The thing that is the most different this time is the eating. I'm getting much stronger much quicker.

Granted, school's not in session, so I have time to rest and recover. And I've been hitting it hard and consistently because I really want to improve and compete in this. The trainer Saturday told me that if I want to really see improvements, then I need to come in and just work on "skills" after the workouts. And those will smoke ya, too.

That being said, I think I'm able to give more in my work outs and get more out of them. What is significant, too, is that I have minimal soreness. One would think with the amount of weight I'm moving that I wouldn't be able to walk or lift my arms. I do a fair amount of stretching, but in the first week of this Whole30, I was sore, I couldn't recover, and I felt awful. Now, I feel pretty good. I mean, today was really the first day that I just didn't want to go work out, but as soon as I got my work out clothes on, I was fine. (I ended up kicking ass today, too!). But I have great recovery right now in my muscles.

So really in the past few days, that's what I've come to notice the most. My strength and recovery are improving.

I will say that it was REALLY hard to resist chips and salsa last night as Boudreaux cheated and ate some when we went out for Mexican last night. I'm glad I didn't because I think had I had chips I would not have done as well this morning. But that was really the first time since week one that I really really wanted something that I couldn't have (because I'm not cheating. I've made it 18 full days. I'm not giving up now! less than 2 weeks to go!!).

Sleep still pretty good. I'm really tired today, so I predict a nap in about 10 minutes or so here.

My hunger seems to have stabilized. So has Boudreaux's. I figured out how to get him more fat (a whole avocado with lunch for him), so he's not so ravenous all afternoon anymore.

And on that note, I think I'm going to go take a nap and do some work. I think though when the 30 days is up, I would like some chips and salsa and a glass of wine. Boudreaux wants pizza and beer.

Days 10-14 (Recap)

Yowzah! I'm really behind here on the updates. Perhaps it's because I'm feeling waaaaaaaaaay better so I have less about which to gripe!

Energy level--way up now. That slump that I was having is gone. Now, to be fair, I haven't done much running in the last week since joining the CF Box, but I've been working out super hard I'd say. I am by far the drippiest, sweatiest, most ragged looking person by the end of class, so I know I'm putting in the effort. I think for a brief moment I might have been overextended--sleep was a bit rough and my appetite was down, but I forced myself to eat on a regular schedule, hungry or not because that would hasten the overextension into overtraining, and I don't want that.

I'm sore after my workouts, but what I've found with the energy surge is that I actually don't need naps during the day. I will think that I need one, but then when I lay down, it turns out I don't. That being said, by 8:30, I'm usually falling asleep during whatever movie we're watching or while I'm reading.

Sugar cravings--now totally gone. We'll see what happens when Aunt Flo comes back into town, if there's any kind of hormone kick there that triggers anything, but it occurred to me the other day that I had no desire for chocolate or cookies or anything of the like that I'm usually, quite literally growling for after dinner. I haven't made a cobbler or anything like that either. Boudreaux has been making Paleo ice cream (which on its own has no sugar in it), and if we're still hungry after dinner (because it's full on full fat coconut milk, like 22g of fat per serving here), we'll eat that with fruit and honey, but I'm not craving it after dinner. I'm not like, "OMG! Boudreaux! Make the ice cream NOW!" snarling and drooling on the couch. So yeah, wow, I NEVER thought that that would happen!

I also do not crave pizza any more either, even the GF kind (which I usually get without cheese anyway, too). I never thought that would happen either.

I do miss wine still though. There have been nights when I'm just like, "oh man, a glass of wine would be so nice with this!" or "a glass of wine would making cooking this meal here so much easier and enjoyable!" but, as we are now on Day 15, past the half way mark, I won't succumb now.

While the tossing and turnings of the husband and the dog do unsettle me while I sleep more than they did in the beginning, I notice that it's mostly early in the morning after about 7 or so hours of sleep, so I wonder if that's just because I'm in the process of waking up naturally at that point? The room has been a little hotter lately, too, so I think that might be affecting my sleep here and there, but for the most part, it's pretty restful.

Other interesting developments--either because of the sleep, the lack of alcohol, the excitement of CF classes, and the change in eating or e) all of the above, I've not hit the snooze button once in the last week. Though I do still get up in enough time to get at least one cup of coffee in me and to have some time to wake up, I'm not dragging in the morning either at 5 am. I mean, imagine that! A 5 am wake up with no snooze! A 5 am wake up with no dread of going to the box, no wanting to just sleep in and crawl under the covers and stay there all morning. Nope. I get up on the first call now. It's quite nice, actually.

On the days that I've been able to get work done, I've been able to get a fair amount of reading in and even focus on the reading. I'm so far behind schedule though that I'm trying not to think of that because it will shut me down, but the reading I have been doing has at least been productive. And I do attribute that to the Whole30 as well. My energy is up so I can do more and focus better on what I'm doing.

What I have come to realize though is that a large part of my being able to get up in the morning without problem is not having wine with dinner. Here's why this is a "problem," but not really.

I want to compete. I mean, seriously, like I have CF Games aspirations (I don't care about winning. I want to at least make it to the final day at some point though). So, I really can't have wine with dinner every night. I'm going to have to limit myself to wine only on Saturdays because Sunday is my off day (for training, for running, whatever). It'll save me some money on wine, but if I truly want to compete, then during the week it's out. And I do, I so want to be competitive.

Of course, this also means that I've got to get my academic shit squared away this summer, too. I've got to get this thing out by October 1 now at the latest. I've got to be on the ball here with my work if I plan on making sure that I'm making progress toward tenure and being able to keep up with my training. Although, to be honest, I was working out 5-6 days a week most weeks during the quarter anyway, so it's not frequency that's going to change but intensity.

What does this have to do with the Whole30? It's part of the larger picture here. What I'm learning is that it works. Will I stay this strict forever. Hell no. I'll go nuts and crash and burn. Am I feeling freaking amazing right now? Hell yes. Do I think that this way of eating is what's letting me hit the CF as hard as I have been right out the gate without having a morning yet where I can't get out of bed? Absolutely. I'm sore and I'm tired, don't get me wrong. What I'm not is exhausted. What I don't do when I get home after the work out and after breakfast is crash on the couch and sleep. I walk the mutts, I shower, I get to work or get on with my day. I feel better than I have since my HS competitive swimming days.

I knew that I'd feel better having cut out a lot of stuff beforehand. What I wasn't expecting was such a large shift from the sluggishness to the energy. For those of you considering this, if you can make through the crappy feelingness, if you can hang in there, it is so freaking worth it. Seriously. Though I go to bed a bit earlier now, I pack so much more into my day, it's nuts.

I'll let you know if anything else changes for better or worse. :)

Days 8-9 (Recap)

Lots of great stuff going on over here at Chez Disceaux. The only thing we're still struggling with is how to get Boudreaux full. For him a question of fat calories. We've got the protein, the fruits, veggies, and nuts, but absent the grains, I've got to get him so more fat calories to fill his 6'1" frame. Perhaps I'll ask the trainer.

That's right! I said trainer! We have a BRAND!NEW!DEVELOPMENT here! A CrossFit box opened on Monday in our town. We didn't think it would ever happen. We thought if we wanted this to happen we'd have to open our own someday. But no! Someone did! (Thank god. I don't know if either of us is cut out to own and run a business). I was seriously weeks away from buying a kit for the house and converting the office into an office/gym because I'm about to max out here on what I can do with what I have. Turns out, I've already maxed out my home equipment. We joined Thursday and I've done stuff that I haven't done in  a really long time or have never done before (like a handstand! by myself!). And the weight that I was working with was what I lifted when I left Fancy Expensive State a year ago (and haven't lifted that heavy since), so that tells me that a) I was doing something right at home and b) I'm stronger than I thought I was--probably not by much, but it's true. Granted I could have the deluxe kit for my home with what I will pay for mine and Boudreaux's membership this year, but we get unlimited box time and the benefit of a trainer and unlimited classes. Plus, I've never been involved in anything from the ground up. We are "original" members of this box! Woot! (Best part, in the morning, takes us less than 4 minutes to get there, door to door!)

So what does this have to do with the Whole30? I don't know if the tide is turning on the energy thing or if it's excitement about joining a box, but I'm definitely feeling like I've got more energy now than I did at the beginning of the week. I didn't even realize until I looked at the fridge this morning that when we go to class today, this will be day 6 in a row of workouts, and I'm pumped for class today! Generally, at this point in the week I'm tired to the point of tears and exhausted, but I'll recap the last couple of days.

Day 8--I had planned to not workout, remember. I thought I needed the rest. We found out there was a CrossFit box, checked it out, signed the form, joined on-line, showed up for our first class that afternoon. Stoked! So I ended up not resting at all.

Day 9--I was so pumped about the 6 am class that I hardly slept (plus the mutt was driving us nuts because he's furry, and he's miserable right now) and was up at 4 am. We went to class--I fear that I'm going to be the annoying girl at 6 am, but I'm so excited about this right now, I can't contain myself. Anyway, up at four and then a full on day. No nap! And the workout was tough. I can feel every muscle in my upper body right now. I took the dog to get shaved (he slept so much better last night), and then I spent the whole morning cleaning and organizing (we got new storage stuff). Then to avoid that stuff, I cooked for 2.5 hours! Yes, 2.5 voluntary hours in the kitchen! Yesterday was one of those days when I just felt like doing food prep and cooking. I did lay on the couch and I tried to nap, because I had been up since 4, but I seriously couldn't. And while I was doing all that cooking, I so wanted some wine because really, 2.5 hours of working with food and no wine? Seems cruel and unusual. But we had the Games streaming, and I thought to myself, "shit, if I can't give up wine/chocolate/unhealthy stuff for 30 days for the purpose of cleaning up my diet, then I'm never going to be able to make it to the Games to compete." So now it's more about proving to myself that I can do this because my ultimate goal is to make it to the Games.

Anyway, to be honest, I was surprised that I had all of that in me given some crappy sleep and being up at 4. Again, this might be adrenaline because of the excitement over the CrossFit box and looking forward to going there every day, even though, like I said, I am sore as all get out here today, but I'm up and jazzed and ready to go! I will confess and say that I'm glad class is at 9 today and not 6 (although there are several other classes not at 6, but I prefer the early one).

I made a ton of food last night, obviously if I was in the kitchen for 2.5 hours. I made Eggplant Strata and Bora Bora fire meatballs with Sunshine Sauce, all of which can be found in Well Fed. We had some salad, too. Boudreaux got enough to eat, and we even had leftovers, which I'm glad because after 2.5 hours cooking, I want not to have to do that again today because I need to finish up the project I started yesterday, and ultimately want to be done with everything by tomorrow night because I haven't done any of my own work this week, and that needs to start happening.

Today is Day 10. I'm definitely feeling the upswing in the energy. And since I used all my energy during the day because I had energy, I slept like a log last night. If the Red Rocket was active, I didn't feel him (but I think the haircut helped him). And I got a solid 9 hours of sleep last night, woke without the alarm, and that's fabulous.

Also, one thing I've noticed too over the last couple of days--either I'm getting enough protein now or enough fat on my end that I've noticed the sugar cravings have started to subside. Boudreaux made some Paleo ice cream and we had it with fruit and honey, but I wasn't tearing through the kitchen looking for it, like "must have sugar in any form now!" Rather, we had a nice dinner, we were both still hungry enough that we could have eaten dinner again, so we had dessert. And when dessert was done, I wasn't like, "ooooh, I wish there were more! I need more!" And I don't crave it during the day any more either, so that's really really great. It's kind of nice actually not to be a slave to the sugar demon. We'll see if that continues.

Day 7 (Recap)

Finally! I had a great run yesterday!! Woot!

I think I'm taking today off though. I'm sore from my neck to my feet. I clearly haven't hit that point again where I can work out for 7-10 days without rest. Plus, I still think there are some allergy stuff going on here, too which seems weird to have allergies in July, but I wasn't in this part of the country in July last year, so maybe that's it. And for the first time really since we started this thing, I didn't sleep that well last night--mostly because of the dog, but I had been able to sleep through his shenanigans thus far. However, we think he has some sort of bug bite because he was way more active than usual and he was whining a lot last night, too.

However, yesterday was the first day since we started that I didn't have a total afternoon slump. I had energy out the wazoo, even with a 6 mile run earlier in the day. And it was dreary, too--storms all afternoon. Maybe I was just in a good mood because we got to go shopping and get some stuff that we had been wanting for a long time that we perceived that we needed. Like I finally, after about two years of pining got THIS, which is a substitute for the fact that I will never be able to afford this. My blender is nearly on the fritz. The motor just wasn't made to be used every day. And it wasn't made for heavy duty daily use of frozen stuff to make smoothies and shakes. And sometimes she sounds like she's dying a slower blender death. I should add as well that she's also over a decade old so she needs to retire. The new blender is one that will get used nearly every single day, so that purchase was totally worth it.

The other major purchase we made yesterday was a vacuum sealer which will go hand in hand with the chest freezer we hope to purchase this weekend. Our freezer sucks (it's the landlord's fridge, and we're not buying a fridge until we actually own our own home), and it's way small which is a problem for me because I like to buy a lot of meat at a time, and ideally, I'd like to be able to make a bunch of food on the weekend and be able to freeze for later in the week or whatever. Even storing the meat in double freezer bags doesn't keep the frostbite out, and as I like to buy a bunch of food at once, I'm hoping it will help with the veggies and stuff, too. Although we've gotten considerably better about our veggies and fruits not getting wasted. It's rare now when we have to throw something away because it went bad. So we got that and bags and stuff. I'd like to have a food dehydrator so I can try to make my own jerky, but that one might have to wait until Christmas or something. I still have to make sure we have money to start paying stuff off and pay bills because we still don't know for sure when the Boudreaux will start work.

Boudreaux however dropped a bombshell on me yesterday when he told me that he's been steadily hungry this whole time! Poor guy! This means I've got to get some more fat in his diet to make up for some extra calories. I'm looking into these for him (as soon as I get that military discount code!) for his afternoon snacks, and clearly he needs to be having some more fats with lunch. From what I can gather then, that's really the only thing that Boudreaux has been struggling with the past week.

I feel like perhaps the energy is on the upswing. I have found the last couple of days that I've been exhausted in the evenings which is a change from the first couple of days where I was "wired but tired" and needed to try to wind down first (which indicates that the cortisol hormone is out of whack), but yesterday, by 8:30, I was ready for bed which I take as a good sign because that means that I've had a full day. I think I was also so tired early too because I wasn't tired in the afternoon, so I didn't nap. All positive things.

Now if I can just get my allergies to take a hike, things may start to pick up faster. 

Days 4-6 (Recap)

I can't really say that I've been lazy, per se, about the daily updates, but that I truly have hit the "first two weeks of sluggishness" business.

Days 4 & 5 just sort of sucked. On Sunday, I believe as I wrote, I woke up with a headache, feeling hungover, blah, and groggy. Day 5 (Monday) thus far has been the worst. I had by far the slooooooooowest run I've had in months. Maybe even a year. I crept down to a 12:00/mile pace. I felt like I had mono by the end of the run. And I had totally talked myself out of my weight/resistance workout because I felt like I could not do it. It wasn't even that hot outside either, so blaming the heat was pointless.

Look, I knew I was going to feel like crap at some point, but I had forgotten why, or rather the physiological reason why. And as I was reading Monday afternoon, I found it, which I don't know why I hadn't paid attention to this in my other books or why I had forgotten. I'm a moron. But here's why for the 2 week sluggishness. When you eat a bunch of grains or cereals, or those non-grains that act like grains like quinoa, they are quick sources of carbs (even yes those "low glycemic" and "low glycemic load" grains and "whole" grains and what have you). When you're used to eating them, even if they are gluten free grains (like I had been doing), your body looks to them first for energy. When you cut them out, your body doesn't know where to look for that energy, even though the body is totally capable of pulling, and from an evolutionary standpoint prefers to pull energy from protein and fat. So it takes about two weeks for the body to reprogram itself to look for the protein and fats as primary energy sources and not grains and then pulling what's needed from the carbs in fruits and veggies.

This is not the same thing as what happens on Atkins, or rather not ketosis to that extent since that really is a low carb and unhealthy diet. The body isn't pulling energy from the muscles and causing muscle breakdown rather than repair and building. Contrary to popular belief, Paleo is not low carb, it's just no grain. If I did a macronutrient breakdown, I feel quite confident that my carb intake, with all the veggies and fruits that I eat, has got to be at least 40%. So let's not confuse that.

In any case, as I was re-reading some stuff, the books say that during this time, the first two weeks, you might have to back off on the exercise intensity a little bit as your body adjusts, which you know, sucks when you're hoping for some weight loss here. However, as I recall from a few months ago when I completely cut out gluten, I went through something similar, and by the third week, I had gone from working out for maybe 35 minutes to an hour a day, four to five days a week to 45-90 minutes a day for a good 7 to 10 days before I needed a rest/recovery day AND was not wiped out during the day AND was getting work done like a mofo (as I mentioned in my very first post). So I know it's coming. If nothing else, the Whole30 is also teaching me patience.

Since Boudreaux tends to take things easy anyway, gets way more sleep than I do, and takes many more rest days during the week from his workouts (of course, he's neither trying to lose weight nor bulk up and is pretty fit), he is not noticing such extreme changes in energy levels.

Yesterday, however, the tide seems to be shifting a little bit here. I woke up with a little bit of a headache (there may be some caffeine stuff along with allergies still going on here), but not with that hangover feeling I had been having. Rather, I felt pretty rested and decent. My run was much better than they had been--still a little bit slower than I liked, but nowhere near as arduous as Monday's run. AND, I was able to come in and do my Cross Fit workout as well which amounted to 250 air squats and 70 towel pull ups (with the pull-up assist band) which should be the equivalent of 10 rope climbs. I was tired, but not exhausted like I needed to spend the rest of the day napping or something. so that's a positive development there.

Sleep has been excellent for the most part. The Red Rocket woke me up a couple of times last night, so not great, and I'm still having this allergy issue, but it was okay. I'm glad that today I get to focus just on the run since it's a Cross Fit rest day as I get back into the swing of things. But today marks the end of the first week. I don't feel as if I look like I've lost any weight or inches. But honestly, since I have to adjust the working out because of energy levels, I'm really not expecting to see any real changes until the end of week three, which is frustrating, but if takes two weeks to jump start it and if I see some losses in the weeks three and four (visually) and then in the weeks following that, then it will be okay, especially if I'm feeling great.

And now that I've heard the dryer sing its end of cycle song, I'm going to go for my run.

Day 3 (Recap)

Sort of hit or miss yesterday actually.

I didn't work out, so I felt a little sluggish, but I allowed myself to nap a couple of times. My headache was I think allergy induced. I woke up with another headache this morning, and Boudreaux thinks that I may be going through some sort of detox--even though I've avoided gluten for over three months now, I've not avoided grains, so he thinks that there may be some cross sensitivity here that my body is acknowledging. And perhaps it's also some kind of chocolate and alcohol withdrawal, too. Plus, I think my body is adjusting to the lack of school stress, too. You know that moment when you're body sort of gives out because you've been working to exhaustion the last few weeks? I think that's part of that, too.

My sugar cravings were bad yesterday. An acceptable amount of fruit after dinner (but I'm trying to avoid sugar, even "healthy" sugars after dinner). We went to bed sort of late and I actually slept in, so I'm working on day two of no workouts--by the time I got up, even though it was only 8:30, it was already too hot to go for a run, and today's Cross Fit W.O.D. involved sprints.

All that being said, I'm sleeping like a log! Full, solid, uninterrupted, even by dogs and husband sleep. Once I fall asleep, I'm out. And it doesn't take long either after my head hits the pillow either. There's no tossing and turning, even as hot as it's been. That is soooooo nice.

So tonight we'll have another good dinner (last night was curry beef stew), go to bed earlier so I can get up and work out and run before the heat kicks in.

And Boudreaux seems to be doing well, too. I need to add snacks to the menu for him and figure out some portable meals that he can take for lunch with him in between classes that don't involve a microwave or assembly or the like.

Day 2 (Recap)

I hate to report that Day 2 was not as great as Day 1. Mostly because it was a friend's birthday and we went out to eat, and sometimes the restaurants around here suck.

We started at one place, they were out of the booze our friends ordered (three different types!) and out of the food that made our friends pick the restaurant for a birthday meal in the first place.

We went to a steak house instead, which one would think would be Paleo friendly, but this one really wasn't. They were also out of one of the things that like four of us wanted to order. Plus, by the time we actually got our food, it was almost 10 pm. That's really really late to eat, especially since I didn't plan on staying up for a couple of more hours to let my food digest properly. The steak and veggies were over seasoned, as were the sweet potato fries, which were good, but there was some question as to whether or not they had their own fry section or if they were fried in the same baskets and oil as the stuff covered in gluten. Even though I didn't drink, I woke up this morning feeling congested and hung over.

While I slept well, my internal clock is basically set to about 6:10 a.m. So really, whether I go to bed at 9 or midnight, I'm up naturally sometime between 6-6:30. I really need to get a better blackout sleep mask, too. That might help on those nights when we go to bed later.

I woke up very sinusey, too. I may have reached my limit on the amount of steak I can consume in one night, but I think it was the seasoning, which, unfortunately might have had some sort of gluten in it. I could still taste the seasoning this morning when I woke up.

Oh well, the only dinner dates we have as far as I know will either be over here with others or just the two of us. We should probably go to the grocery today as I'm not sure what the status of going to the g'parents' tomorrow is, but at least I have the day to recoup and relax and nap if I need it. And I'm finally hungry for breakfast now, so I'll go eat. Here's to a better Day 3.

Things so far that I've noticed the past two days: super deep solid no waking up in the middle of the night even when the husband or dogs move around sleep. That has been lovely.

Day 1 (Recap)

We made it through Day 1!

In some ways, not that bad. In others, it sort of sucked because we got really good news that Boudreaux got a job, so our first impulse would have been to go out to eat and then crack open a couple of bottles of wine.

Instead, we checked out a sale and then since Boudreaux gave himself a headache with all the excitement of job getting and the like, we did lounge around for the rest of the afternoon. So really, if we can make it past day 1 without saying "hey, we'll just start tomorrow; let's celebrate tonight!" then we might be okay.

Honestly though, I think the hangovers helped because neither of us wanted to even think about a celebratory drink here at all.

Tonight might be more difficult because we're going out with some friends, I think. I have no idea what's going actually, but anyway.

I will say this though, I slept amazing last night. Totally! I think some of it has to do with Boudreaux getting the job, part of it had to do with not drinking a bottle of wine or having a bunch of cooked fruit after dinner, and part had to do with some good balanced eating throughout the day. It was hard though not to weigh myself before bed last night, and the first thing I did this morning was look for the scale, so that's going to be tough.

Boudreaux I know did not sleep so well because he's super excited about his job.

Now I'm off to workout before it gets to be too hot to do so, and then I need to finish up all my grading today so that it's done, and I don't have to think about it anymore. 

Would you like to know what we ate?
Breakfast: Scrambled eggs with sweet pepper and spinach, 3 pieces of bacon, leftover cucumber and tomato salad.
(I was starving still about 30 minutes later because of my run, so I had some of the paleo cobbler I made for the 4th).
Lunch: Leftovers--grilled tri-tip, andouille, giant green salad (1/2 the plate was salad), leftover roasted carrots, leftover bbq hamburgers. Then I was still starving and I finished the paleo cobbler. (all the meat portions were really small--maybe about 1 oz. sausage, 2 oz steak or less, and a 1/4 pd. hamburger)
Dinner: BBQ chicken breast, cocoa roasted cauliflower, giant ass green salad with sliced cucumbers and diced tomatoes.

The Beginning

So today begins the Whole30 project.

Thank god. Really.

Last night was our big "hurrah" with the booze. Boudreaux got his fill of beer. I got my fill of wine. I made a nice fruity dessert. I will say, our dinner was still very Paleo, as it usually is. A delicious grilled tri-tip steak, grilled andouille, tomato and cucumber salad, cumin roasted carrots, and a simple green salad. Colleague-friend came over. The three of us went through three bottles of wine and the men had a couple of beers on top of that. I feel the after effects of the wine this morning, let me tell you.

And so our friends don't give us a lot of $hit about doing this, because once people hear that you're giving up alcohol for a while, people get suspicious, so we are framing it as "we're totally cleaning up the eating because we want to be totally clean when the Warrior Dash training begins in August." As non athletically competitive as our friends here are, they seem to get that and respect the training. That's part of it. Part of it is

• What better time than to do this than over the summer, right?
• I have 15 stubborn pounds that I really want to get rid of for good and before school starts.
• Boudreaux feels a bit crappy because the provisions the Guard provides during drills and schools is far from healthy (plus, he's doing it because he knows I need support), and he wants to undo some of that damage there.
• We do actually both want to be competitive in the Warrior Dash--not just run it for fun (which it totally will be. Check out the obstacles for that baby! Jumping over fire! Crawling through mud under barbed wire! Suhweetness!). To do this well will involve actually for real training. I haven't really "trained" for an athletic event since college (I'm not counting marathon training because I wasn't trying to be competitive in the race--I just wanted to finish). 
• As I have a lot that I need to accomplish this summer that's not athletic, I need to be full of boundless productive energy so I can get some $hit done, yo!
• We want to see if we can really do this.

It sort of sucks that I'm starting this thing hungover, but I guess the positive note is that it's a good reminder of why I'm doing this. And since our financial situation for the summer is now solid, and I should be able to purchase a couple of pieces of exercise equipment in the next day or two, I think not having that money stress over our heads will help out dramatically as well because I should be able to sleep better and having that stress mostly gone should help let some of that stress fat go. 

And so the 30 day challenge begins...

The Game Plan

Here's our game plan for the Whole30 challenge:

• Last lunch out today and last "treat."
• clean out fridge and cabinets of non-Paleo foods. Whatever perishable stuff can't be eaten will be trashed. Sorry to Boudreaux's cake and the last of the GF cookies and chocolate.
• Beer and hard cider will not be trashed, but will be stuffed in the guest room out of sight and knowledge (we never go in the guest room, so this won't be an issue).
• Tomorrow morning we will weigh ourselves and do our measurements. After that, the scale and the measuring tape will go in the closet along with the beer and hard cider.
• Organize and clean kitchen tonight.
• Meal plan for the week tonight. 
• Prominently display the "rules" on the fridge for motivation.
• Mark off each successful day on a calendar for motivation (this works really well for me with my writing and workouts).
• Support each other.

The Whole30!

While Boudreaux and I eat pretty clean Paleo, I've been relying on lots of GF substitutes for sweets and dark, dark chocolate to quell the sugar-demon. And I've been making lots of cooked fruit stuff for desserts with lots of honey and stuff in attempts to quell the sugar demon. Boudreaux just eats the full on sweets and has the beer.

While we've noticed a lot of positive changes, we know we're not there yet.

I can't quit these sugar cravings and because I can't quit them, the weight is not moving at all anymore. I've totally plateaued. And I've also been using wine to get the sugar fix. Again, while I've made significant improvements to my diet and health in the last seven months, particularly the last 2.5 months, I'm not there yet. About 10 days into my first 30 days, I gave up and went and got GF cookies and then started making Paleo cobblers to satisfy the sugar cravings. And I patted myself on the back for at least giving up ice cream.

Since the weight has plateaued and since I'm starting to get down on myself again about myself, I told the husband that I was going to do the Whole30--no alcohol, no sugar, no fruity desserts after dinner, no non-Paleo foods, that I was going strict Paleo for a month to get rid of the sugar cravings for good and with the hopes of giving the weight loss a restart. I asked him for his support. He said, "I'll do one better--I'll do it with you!"

Happiness not only to my ears but to my heart and soul!

I tried to start this twice already and then immediately made concessions for it. Here's why I know it will be better this time--I'm done with teaching for the summer come tomorrow. Even though grades aren't due until next week, I'm still done with the hard part. I have the gift of time now to be able to do it right. I have the gift of being able to sleep in if/when I need it. I have the gift of being able to set my own schedule as I adjust to this. And I have the gift of time for learning how to efficiently food prep, cook, and keep things organized. Things to set in place before the quarter starts in the fall, things to have already established before life gets stressful again. And Boudreaux feels like crap after three weeks of Army sponsored food, so he's ready, too.

And since we have a friend coming over for the 4th, and we want to be able to have wine/beer with our cookouts, we're waiting until the 5th. But as we have been "enjoying" ourselves this weekend--GF snacks, alcohol, frappacinos yesterday (egads! I hadn't had one in a year!), cakes (I ate the non-gluten, but dairy laden filling but not the crust, as if that made it better), and today I'm paying for our indulgences. I feel like crap. I really really do. So much so that I couldn't work out this morning.

So we start Thursday. We have had a moderate last "hurrah." Our last lunch out for the month (the only exception is that on Sundays my grandparents buy us Subway. I have been eating salads there with double chicken and avocado. Boudreaux will now need to do the same. While not ideal, the salad fits into the Whole30 and Paleo guidelines). We are going to stash the beer deep in the closet in the guest room ( a room we don't go in). Non-paleo foods in the house will be cleaned out tonight and tomorrow. I do have to go to campus tomorrow which means my last real day of getting up early, but as crappy as I feel today, I can't wait until Thursday to do this. As most of our stuff is Paleo kind anyway, tonight and tomorrow's meals won't be a problem if I can't get to the store before Thursday. We have the 4th accounted for anyway, too. But most likely we'll make it to the store tomorrow afternoon.

We know what's ahead of us. 10-14 days of adjustment and crappiness probably. I am expecting for myself massive sugar withdrawal and testiness without my wine that I usually drink while I cook and clean. I am expecting sluggishness and crankiness for the next two weeks. I am expecting that after I work out in the morning I will want to just veg on the couch and sleep. I expect going through serious withdrawals in not being able to weigh myself twice a day (which is another habit I need to break). I expect a lot of highs and lows for those first two weeks. I expect that once we make it to the 19th, things will turn around. I expect it to be really really hard not to cheat at any one part.

We already agreed that we will probably be cranky and that we will allow each other to be cranky and not try to fix anything.

I'm looking forward to this "challenge" actually. I think Boudreaux is, too.

How My Paleo Began...

Around Thanksgiving, I started to incorporate Paleo eating in mine and the husband's lifestyle.

Wait, let me go back a little further.

I had been a fairly athletic child and teenager. When I got to college I gained the cliche' "freshman 15." Then I transferred undergraduate schools and joined the college's cross country team. Then I got married and put a bunch of weight on. Then I got divorced and lost the weight. Then I started working on my dissertation which was wonderful and challenging and rewarding in many ways as I now have what amounts to a rather coveted tenure track job in a great department that allows me to teach the things I love and supports my rather unconventional research which involves a bizarre aspect of pop culture and literature of years ago. Then I lost some dissertation weight (not all) and got married (again--so much better the second time around) and then a deployed husband, a stressful job, a pseudo-vegan diet, and a whole mess of stress and I found the dissertation weight right back on (though not as full force). For a full seven years now I have been steadily gaining weight with pockets of moderate weight loss that comes right back as soon as I get stressed. And every time I decided that I'm going to lose the weight for good, I adopted some form of vegetarian or vegan plan. And every time I did so, I found myself not shedding the pounds like I thought I should and unable to maintain the active athletic lifestyle I so craved.

But this isn't a weight loss story, per se.

I've done everything, too. Weight Watchers on multiple occasions, various calorie counting and weight loss apps,  gym memberships with trainers who had endless patience with me, meal plans, marathon training, P90X, Insanity, you name it. I'm usually able to drop about 15 pounds and then that's it. My body goes no further and feels like crap.

Around Thanksgiving, my sister was telling me about her trainer and how he was trying to convince her to "go Paleo." I had heard of it. My husband, who has asked to be called Boudreaux Disceaux, was a little skeptical ("It's so restrictive--you won't be able to maintain it; just like being vegan but not."). However, I am super competitive with my sister, and not wanting to be out done by her and my mother (who had already bought The Paleo Diet Cookbook), I jumped right in. But you know, we didn't go whole hog. Rather, my goal was to have about 66% of the meals I cooked be "Paleo" meals. We ordered pizza once a week, and if we went out to dinner on the weekends, I let that be my "cheat day" for my diet. Like probably about 3/4 of the country, I made a New Year's Resolution to lose weight. So a calorie counting I went again. Logging food and feeling guilty about cheat days. Letting the scale decide my mood on any given day. On top of this, I was working out about 1-2 hours a day 5-6 days a week, getting plenty of calories, but only losing about 1/2 pound a week by about the third week. As clean as my diet was (mostly--a considerable improvement over the previous months) and as dedicated as I was to the workouts, things were moving slowly (especially with the promise of the P90X2 massive shred and rip results).

The husband, not a devote' of Mr. P90X started to do Cross Fit a few times a week. And he was loving it! The husband is NOT a workout fiend, so I thought, "hmmmmm, if he's loving this so much, I should try it!" Competitive much? For the month of February then I did my P90X2 as the warm up for the Cross Fit, do the W.O.D., and then go for a run. And I cleaned up the diet even more. We were at about 85% Paleo at this point. Within two weeks of upping the Paleo plan and adding the Cross Fit, I saw better results than in the previous month. And I was looking good by the end of February.  And I had energy for days! I was sleeping better than ever before. And I managed to miss all of the illnesses that were going around campus.

Then we went away on spring break and ate a ton of grains and gluten and dairy and all kinds of bad things for only a week. Voila! I was sick. I had no energy. The start of the quarter just about killed me. I could not keep on top of my work. My workouts suffered. So I cleaned up the diet again, but my workouts were draining me because we were still eating small to moderate amounts of gluten and dairy and the like.

I ordered more cookbooks. I found Sarah Fragoso's Everyday Paleo. After reading through the intro I decided to give the 30 day meal plan a try. Cold turkey. 30 days without dairy or gluten or grains. (Okay, I admit, around day 10 or so I cheated a bit and got gluten free cookies). And I dropped the P90X2 & P90X and decided to do just Cross Fit and running.

So what happened? I'll tell you!

I started sleeping better, that is, my brain shut off at night when I was tired and I didn't have to take any melatonin to help me sleep. Not only that, but I slept well! Like good, deep, restorative sleep. I was well rested in the mornings, so I started working out almost first thing in the morning. And I felt great! And I could work out more intensely and recover faster. As a matter of fact, I can now go 7-10 days before I need a rest day. My diet is not 100% Paleo, but I think I'd be fair to say that it's 90-95% Paleo, and completely gluten free.

I started losing weight and inches. But I don't count calories! That's one of the brilliant things about Paleo living! You don't measure. You don't log food. It's been liberating folks! Absolutely liberating! And if you're following a Paleo lifestyle, it's impossible to have junkfood! (We'll talk some more about eating and lifestyle as the blog continues, I promise!)

Another big change that I noticed too was that the Paleo lifestyle has pretty much eliminated my PMS. That's right ladies! Aunt Flo's visits are considerably shorter, less painful, and way less emotional! If that's not enough right there to be Paleo ladies, then I don't know what is!


That's where we begin today, folks. Six weeks GF. Six weeks fairly strict Paleo (we went on vacation for about 10 days, but eating Paleo on vacation is another post). And six weeks of feeling better than I have in my entire life.