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!