Why I Love Paleo Cereal...

...it doesn't get soggy :)

Paleo Cereal...my favorite combo of ingredients:

Walnuts, blueberries, raisins or craisins, unsweetened almond milk, and a sprinkle of cinnamon = yum!

Poor Man's Paleo Jambalaya

Everyone has been picking on me and giving me a hard time about the "weird" food I eat now and how they don't know how to feed me anymore.  I keep insisting that I still eat "normal" foods, there are just certain foods that I don't eat.

We were craving some Jambalaya, but wanted to make it Paleo-friendly.

I recommended using cabbage instead of rice or pasta...and voila that was the only change needed to make it Paleo-friendly.

It turned out great...a little bit spicy, just the way we like it...very delicious!

In the words of Bon Jovi...

"WOOOOOAAAAHHHH-OH...We're half-way there...wooooah-oh...Livin' on a Prayer..."

Week three of Paleo and I'm down 8 lbs, since the start of Paleo.  That's a total of about 21 lbs since January!  I'd say it's about time for a before and after shot...

The first picture was taken last September.  The second picture was taken this weekend.

When I saw that first picture for the first time, I couldn't believe it.  I had no idea I was that big...I definitely didn't feel like I looked that big.  When I'm having hard days, it's not the money that motivates me...it's that first picture that motivates me.  I never want to be that big again.  And so far, so good!

Another -20 lbs here I come! :)

5:15 AM!!!

It's 5:15 in the morning...the sun isn't even awake yet!  My alarm (set at the most annoying sound in my phone, so I'm more likely to get up and turn it off) starts blaring and vibrating on the bed side table...just out of arms reach.  I pull myself up onto all fours, crawl across my bed, and stumble down onto the floor stepping on some mystery object, I grab my phone and shut off the alarm...yes that's right shut it off...not hit snooze!  I'm up!  I wash my face, brush my teeth, throw on my gym clothes and head toward the door.  As I'm walking out the door I realize...

Oh my gosh!  It's 5:30 in the morning!  I'm awake and I'm doing this...without a second thought!  Who knew this would ever be part of my routine?!?  I LOVE sleep...and I LOVE the snooze button; sometimes I set my alarm an hour before I have to be up because I know I'll hit snooze a zillion times through the whole hour.  But you know what else I LOVE?...

Crossfit!  Even if I look at the workout the night before and it seems like a scary one, I still look forward to waking up and going to Crossfit.  I love working out in the mornings now.  After work I have time for anything and everything else I want/need to get done.  And I have time to make dinner (very important since I cook/prepare all my meals now that I'm doing Paleo)  Sometimes I even forget that I already worked out in the morning and I go for a run after work.  And the adrenaline rush and energy I get for the rest of the day makes my monotonous desk job a little more bearable. 

The first few weeks of waking up before the sun were definitely a struggle.  I felt like I had two miniature Caitlin's on my shoulders tugging my hair and arguing back and forth. 
"Get up! Get out of bed!"
"Oh but the bed is sooo warm and comfy"
"Get up!  You have to go to the gym!"
"You should go back to sleep...you can always go to the gym later"
"If you don't go now, who knows what will come up and if you will actually go later!...Get up, get up, GET UP!
...And so I would.  But the little voices didn't stop there though.  My bed would start calling me back, looking all warm and comfortable.  Even once I got into my car and I was halfway to the gym, Sleepy Mini-Caitlin would say, "It's not too late to turn around and go back to bed..."
But the Assertive Mini-Caitlin would always win...thank goodness! 

And now 5:15 doesn't seem so bad.

Don't get me wrong...I'm still absolutely NOT a morning person...but it is worth it on my Crossfit days!...No second thoughts, snooze buttons, arguing mini-me's, or talking beds necessary!

Eggs, Eggs, and More Eggs...and Random Ramblings

Today there seems to be a lot of eggs!  See my breakfast...yum!

Two eggs, half an avocado, and homemade tomatillo salsa!  I've never really been a big fan of eggs, but this breakfast was delicious!  Especially the salsa!...and there are lots of leftovers, so I can eat it with other things.  I think my step-dad (who regularly makes salsa) has now got some competition :)

So that was my breakfast.  My lunch was a spinach salad with cherry tomatoes, bacon (yum)...and you guessed it...Eggs!  I've been having a hard time adjusting to salads without ranch dressing...I'm definitely a ranch kind of girl.  Oil and vinegar gets boring after a while.  On this salad I put just a tiny squeeze of lemon juice, black pepper, red pepper flakes, and just a splash of oil and balsamic vinegar.  There are enough flavors in the toppings that it tastes good without too much dressing.

For my snack today, I made a Paleo version of hard boiled eggs.  So those are all my eggs today...but sheesh it just seemed like a lot.  There will be no eggs at dinner though (even if I wanted, I couldn't b/c I'm fresh out).

So I'm going out of town again this weekend.  The temptations will be minimal compared to last weekend :)  We will be half camping, half not...so it will probably be a lot of cooking out type foods.  So I'll be set on my protein, I just need to make sure I get my veggies in. 

The trip should be fun.  We are going down to Jeremy's (my boyfriend) Grandma's property...she has 169 acres!  And from everything I've heard about it, it sounds beautiful and amazing!  We are going down there to work though (yard work and such)...but manual labor has never bothered me...hey, it might even take place of my Crossfit workouts that I'll be missing.  There will also be plenty of play time too!  Apparently there is a river and a waterfall.  I might pack my hula-hoop if there's room...practice my mad skillz.  Speaking of Crossfit...I think I will bring my jump rope too and work on that. 

I did my first double unders at the gym the other day!  I did 5.  At first, when I was attempting them, I wasn't sure if I was really executing them.  Everytime I tripped I thought that might have been one, and I tripped after I got the double under, but just couldn't stick with it.  So I counted about 10 or 12...then in the third minute of my double under attempts I actually got one...it felt completely different and there was no confusion on if I really did it or not...I did it!  So I chucked my previous count of 10 or 12 and started over with 1.  And in the last two minutes of jump roping I cleared a total of 5 double unders!  Woohoo!  Now I just need to practice, practice, practice!

Oh and since I'm a dork...and it's a long weekend and won't be getting home until Monday and I weigh in on Sunday mornings (before breakfast but after I...well, you know)...I'm bringing my scale with me.  And hopefully Week 2 of Paleo has treated me well! :)

Weddings and Weigh-Ins

This weekend I went out of town for my cousins wedding.  It was a beautiful wedding and it was good to see all my family!  I had a wonderful time...but the food temptations were everywhere.

THE TEMPTATIONS

Friendly's Ice Cream (I would have ordered Reese's PB Cup Sundae...yum!)
French Fries
Pizza
Beer Battered Onion Rings...oh man
FRIED DOUGH!!!
Beer
Mozzarella Sticks
more FRIED DOUGH!
All the candy by the checkout at CVS
Cheese and Crackers
Bruschetta
The wedding favor pouch filled with chocolate
Buttered dinner roll!
Mashed Potatoes (I was tempted to nudge a piece of my steak into them, but I resisted)
FREE Alcohol!
Carrot Cake Cupcake (my favorite!...oh my gosh!)
Danishes
Hashbrowns
Bagels and Cream Cheese
Chocolate Muffins
And last but not least...When we were leaving brunch the day after the wedding, I was saying goodbye to everyone.  I went to hug the groom (who is extremely tall and was holding left over's from brunch in his hand) and we did a one-armed side hug (since he had the left overs in his other arm)...and the muffins were right in my face!!!  Oh man they smelled so good!

Despite the absurd amount of temptations that surrounded me this weekend, I totally rocked it!  Who knew I had such control???  Since I was only a few days in to my new lifestyle, it would have been so easy to just say "Oh, well I'm at a wedding...I can just start eating Paleo on Monday."  Once you start that, those procrastination cycles never end.  I toughed it out and all that TORTURE (yes, it was torture) was well worth it in the end...

I weighed in on Sunday...and I lost 4.9 lbs!  Most defintely worth all that torture and temptation!  As bummed as I was after plateauing for a month, this was a boost I definitely needed!  I had been loosing on average about a pound a week since I started loosing weight in January.  This week has put me back on track.  If I ever doubted this change that I made, the results this week sealed the deal for me.  So here I am, Day 7 of my Paleo journey, going strong!

Day of Firsts

This seemed to be a day full of firsts for me.  This blog for one is a first, sort of a spontaneous first.  Also, I bought a crockpot and a food processor yesterday and used them both today...pretty excited about it...yeah I'm a dork.  It was my first time cooking anything in a crockpot and I'm pretty satisfied with the results.  I studied for hours today to prepare for the carving of my first chicken...turns out it was all for nothing...the chicken carved itself.  It was so moist it pretty much just fell apart...who knew?

I followed the recipe from a Paleo book I just bought (Everyday Paleo).  From the same book, I also made a yummy mango coleslaw (that I chopped with my new spiffy food processor).  This was my first homemade Paleo dinner!  Voila...

 

Not too shabby if I say so myself!  Now I'm off to clean my messy kitchen, pack for this weekend, go to bed, and wake up at 5:15 (yes, A.M.) to do some Crossfit...you know I gotta love it if I'm willing to wake up that early!

Chicken Carving!

This is me and my very first ever chicken carving experience (I googled it)...wish me luck :)

Stayed tuned for the results...dun dun dun...

About Me...my first blog :)

I've never been the most fit person, but I've always been active.  I LOVE lacrosse and I love being outside; running, bicycling, hiking, camping, etc.  Even with doing all the activities I enjoy, over the last few years the weight began to creep up (the way I used to eat and drink in college was not cutting it anymore).  That's when "Operation More Love per Square Inch" began. 

My Dad, brother and I entered into a contract to reach our goal weights by the end of 2011 (with a nice little monetary reward at the end, if we all meet our goals).  So this jump started my journey to a healthier lifestyle.  I saw a nutritionist and I was consistently working out and eating healthy.  I was losing about 1 pound a week (slow but steady right) and then hit a plateau. 

In April I joined my local Crossfit gym (that is after lots of nagging from my Brother, who wanted me to join it with him...I, on the other hand, had wanted to join Gold's Gym that was a mile from my house and I had a coupon for)  Choosing Crossfit was one of the best decisions I have made.  I could go on and on about how much I love Crossfit, but maybe I'll save that for its own blog post.  Entering into the "Crossfit World" (...it really is a different lifestyle) I was exposed to the Paleo diet. 

My plan was to start this diet when the Paleo/Nutrition Challenge at our gym started...Well, after weighing in on Sunday and still no weight loss, I had a mini-breakdown.  I had been trying so hard and eating right and nothing was happening.  My brother on the other hand stops drinking soda and loses 10 lbs (damn men!)...I don't even drink soda!  So that Sunday I pigged out on everything in my house (not like I had any junk food in my house, but I did manage to scrounge up some Fluff from the back of my pantry and made a Fluffernutter sandwich.  After this day of rebelling, I decided to start eating Paleo sooner than planned. 

The next day I said my last goodbyes to some of my favorite foods and went to the grocery store, spent way too much money, got home cleared my pantry of "non-Paleo" items, and here we are...the beginning of my Blog on Day 3 of my Paleo lifestyle.  Follow me on my journey of getting fit, healthier, disciplined...and just as important...LOSING INCHES!...allowing my family and friends to give me more LOVE per square inch!