Week 1 Paleo wrap up!!

It's been 2 weeks now since giving up sugar and coffee (with the exception of course of "that night" of the hens, and by tomorrow it will be 7 days of eating purely paleo (with the exception of some soy/sugar in the sauce on my meat at dinner on friday, and some butter used on the veggies - teppenyaki)

Headaches:

I am a rare being in that I have a headache 100% of the time.  From when I wake to when I sleep and every second in between...and it's been that way since Jan 2001.  It comes from dodgy neck muscles as well as probable arthritic joints and less than awesome posture.  From time to time it gets particularly 'heavy' and 'thick' and I really struggle.

This is kinda what no sugar felt like for the first few days, which was interesting - I felt like I had this haze over my eyes and was wearing a really tight headband....then...it went away...came back like 10,000 times as bad ~with~ the sugar at the hens weekend...which was also accompanied by flushed cheeks, lethargy and a bad night sleep.  Now, as of probably yesterday morning, I feel totally fresh...energetic...and I can only feel 'my' headache.  I am really interested to find out if my "bonus headahce" as I refer to it is just my body dealing with too much sugar!!?

If avoiding sugar means I feel like this... bring. it. on!!

Sleep:  Sleep has been an interesting one.  Day 1 and 2 paleo I slept really badly... I was exhausted and on a sugar low but my brain was going BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGHHHHHH and I couldn't shut it off.  It hasn't changed too much since then unfortunately. I think this will be one to watch because less carbs, as much exercise, and shallow sleep just ain't gonna cut it!

 

Weight: Between last wednesday and the sunday after the hens I was up 300g. By Wednesday this week, down 700g (so 500g in 7 days).  I had a sneaky weigh in today and even with the 12wbt dinner last night I'm down another 400g... I do think though that any extreme change to how you eat will have initial results, that's why week 4 of 12wbt has so many drop outs, the easy weight loss passes and people finally realise you have to work to change your body.  So, remind me of that at week 4 when I dont wanna any more!!

Body:  This has been fascinating! I am usually quite a bloaty, gassy person. too much info? Meh I'm sure as I get better at this blogging thing that'll get even better. haha.  Well, since about day 4... like, zero bloat! I can do up my work pants easier and dont feel desperate to pop the button as soon as I get home.  I don't feel like that at all. But after Teppenyaki...again remember very minimal intake (soy sauces, sweet sauces, butter...no rice) I felt blegh! In fact, after the miso soup, which tasted like sugar syrup to me, I was already feeling 'gurgley gut'!  I do feel better today, but am really struggling with sugar cravings, which I haven't really experienced! (SHOCK)

Sugar Cravings: Yes, so usually every day I crave sweet stuff by 10, after every meal, at 3, and an incredible amount after having one really sugary thing. Since probably Sunday though I have not felt a single deperate urge!! It could be the early willpower thing, or it could be legit, but after last night's dinner I am struggling!! hmm I do struggle on weekends usually anyway though now that I think about it coz I'm not at my desk guzzling water...hmm brb I'm going to have some water!

Energy: Now, this is the hard one. My energy is still quite low. I wake up vibrant, smiling, singing along to the radio on the way to the gym...which at 5:30am is pretty darn cool I reckon.  But I still feel like I'm burning out and sleepy much earlier than usual. It has been a big work week, which could contribute, but it could be that my body is still adjusting to burning fats rather than carbs...we'll keep an eye on this bit.

Eating out: Ok so this will get tricky I can see...breakfasts will be fine as long as they use olive oil not vegie oil on my eggs, spinach, mushies and tomato. Lunches and dinner, I'm going to be pretty limited to basic salads, a chunk of meat with veggies, and...that's probably it. a lot of asking for no sauces, dressings, butter, but to be honest I'm getting better and better at doing that since starting with Michelle Bridges 12 months ago.  I just have a bit of learning to do so I'm not googling things every 2 seconds at my seat to see if it's paleo!

oh oh but VERY VERY cool thing this morning, I went to Belconnen Markets for my weekly shop after this morning's work out...and the cafe had "The Paleo Breakfast" on the menu!? WOOT!  it was 2 poached eggs on a tonne of spinach with 1/2 an avo.  you could add bacon or other veggies if you wanted too but I wasn't super hungry.  That's pretty exciting though, it's a 'thing'!

The tricky bit...I have 2 weddings coming up. Now, I can't change my rsvp, and I won't ask for anything special with them so close...but I'm really going to have to hold back from eating too much and/or drinking...not because I'm so hardcore I don't know how to have a treat, but I'm worried that my guts will play up and I'll feel rubbish.  I might do some research on this.

Cost: Ok, first shop was crazy expensive. all these weird oils, flours, nuts, spreads and stuff...not. cool.

But, the shop I just came back from, was almost back to my Michelle cost! I didn't buy any drink, any muslibars, breads, wraps, rices, noodles... I bought minimal fruit, and tonnes of meat and veg.  My trolley was sexy!  I also haven't spent a cent at work coz I can't have anything from the vending machines, including the drinks.  I've spotted fruit salad if I ever get stuck, but that's about it.

Okay, so what did I actually eat?!

http://www.paleoplan.com/resources/sampler-menu-meal-plan/

I followed this sample plan for a week. BOY OH BOY was the food ah-maz-ing! Pumpkin muffins for breaky, one day with spinach, one day with warmed up blue berries, eggs, beautiful crockpot meals... things that are very very 12wbt friendly I just had lean cuts and got my oils from nuts/avo, and hubby had fattier cuts as that is part of how he is interpretting the paleo thing.

Next week I have put together my own menu which I'm excited about:

	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thur
Breakfast	Sausage Frittata	Bacon, Eggs, Asparagus	Pumpkin Muffins	Sausage Frittata
Lunch	Forage!	L/O Prawns with Roast Tomato and Capers	Bacon/Grape/Broc Salad	L/O Bacon/Grape/Broccoli Salad
Dinner	Prawns with Roast Tomato and Capers	Roast Goat Leg w veg	Stuffed Roast Capsicum	Butter Chicken
Snack	Banana & Walnuts (microwave)	Jerky with nuts	Hard Boiled Eggs with Tomato	Piece of Hard fruit and nuts.

Oh I'm away friday saturday sunday though.

If you want to see the websites that I'm planning to use for my meals:

B/G/B salad	http://paleodietlifestyle.com/bacon-grape-broccoli-salad/
Prawns	http://paleoaustralia.com/category/recipes/healthy-meals/
Spag Bol	http://paleoaustralia.com/category/recipes/healthy-meals/
Sausage Frittata	http://paleorecipes.tv/recipes/sausage-zucchini-frittata/
butter chicken	http://dairy-free.food.com/recipe/butterish-chicken-dairy-free-355793?scaleto=2&mode=null&st=true
stuffed RC	http://www.paleodigest.com/pd/?u=http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/EnjoyingHealthyFoods/~3/sPpzclZBXWs/paleo-stuffed-peppers.html

I've also found a butcher that will make me lean sausages with nothing but meat and herbs...WOOHOO...there's so much cool food out there who would have known!!

Summary:

wow I know how to keep succinct hey.

In a nutshell I feel great but I do feel as though I still have some 'detoxing' to do before my body works to its peak eating this way.  I am not sure whether I'll continue on after the month but I will learn a tonne about food properties in the meantime! I mean, if I'm not drinking milk I have to find calcium naturally, I have to find fibre, magnisium, general vitamins and minerals...good carbs and protein, so I have to know what has what - which is fabulous and will steer me well in to the future!

Bring on week 2!!...and Kick off for 12wbt!!

ClaireS

xx

CS-TOP-TIPS #2 - Little Changes - Food

Michelle Bridges says it all the time - make small changes. And it's true.


Here are some of the little changes I made to my diet before I was ready to go whole-hog, and little tricks you may consider for your own eating (some of these don't apply for me as of today as a paleo eater).

• Have breakfast every single day
• I know, an obvious one, but do it.  Prepare it the day before if you need to...and you will benefit if you can manage to mix it up a bit...try savoury/sweet/fresh/cooked breakfasts as keeping them interesting will make them an event for you and you'll relly feel like you've ~eaten~, and, you'll get a better range of nutrients.
• Switch your morning juice for a morning Berocca - Every day!
• Even if you dont drink juice in the mornings, I took a friends advice and gave myself 1 week of berocca before I left for work, and woo my energy went through the roof! People, it's not just for hangovers!
• Switch regular soft drink for diet softdrink
• Obviously water is King, but if you just cant handle the switch yet, or if you're out and want something else - don't be scared of artificial sweetener. Again and again the science tells us - it's not dangerous! Everything evil you've heard is rumour...except for a SMALL minority.  Again, use it as a transition to soda/mineral water/water... and don't have it all the time (pretty salty) but if it saves you TWELVE TEA SPOONS of sugar per bottle, it's worth it.
• Cut the butter/marg out.
• Your toast, rolls, sandwiches, veggies will taste FINE, gorgeous, fresh without spreading on FAT.  People very close to me did this one change alone and lost 4kg in a month! WOO!...and EW!! Would you tip the little tray of drippings at the bottom of your George Forman grill on to your sandwich??
• Limit the oil in cooking
• You can get your oils from awesome things like nuts, avo, home made dressings, meats, but most of the time you don't need anywhere near as much oil in cooking as people generally seem to use.  Olive oil spray will be all you need for 90% of frying purposes and for making the pan extra-nonstick.  For a lot of stirfrys, or cooking down veggies before you add others, get the pan super hot and chuck in just a bit of water! when you add the veggies they'll be like...flash-steamed and you can cook them further from there. Yum, so much fresher.
• Switch Full FAT milk for Skim
• Full fat milk does not have any benefits for you if you are trying to lose weight. You'll get your calcium and your protien in skim..and honestly honestly you won't notice after a very short time (start with half-half if you struggle).
• Transition your coffee 1 week at a time
• From your Mocha, to a Skim-Mocha, to a Skim Latte with artificial sweetener, to a Skim Latte with no artificial sweetener...then if you can handle it, a long black with a dash of skim (add back the sweetener for a week if need be)...then give a straight long black a crack and go the lattes on the days you need the protien.
• Some other little ones:
• Get the best quality grainy bread you can afford [buy it on special and freeze where you can
• Make your lunch every day (makes you the boss)
• Smile, coz you're doing something for you and that's pretty awesome.

Now, a few disclaimers - I have just found these things from my own experiences and conversations with others who may have more experience than me. If you disagree, or your body disagrees, or you have specific circumstances of course yo are an adult and should follow what feels right for you.
Also, I wouldn't change all at once...would you pick 2 maybe? then add 1 or two the next week and go from there?


These are the super basic introductory changes I made to my food habits before kick off, I'll chuck in some on introducing exercise later on.


Smile, it's a gorgous day.


ClaireS
xx
p.s.  Day 1 of paleo eating today... eep/woo!

Day 3&4 - blogging From bed

Blogging at 5am from bed is not a good sign. I woke up yesterday nd felt like a rockstar! Jumped up at 530, got geared up, went to my PT and felt like a million bucks. I even sang along to the radio and it wasn't even 6am yet! I wasn't bloated or dopey or anything!! And while every now and then one has a good day randomly, I 'knew' it was the sugar. This was the high I was on round 1.! I took myself out for breaky after, as I had yesterday off to get ready for a Hen's weekend away I've been organizing (uh-oh, could this be a clue?) and had gorgeous poached eggs, mushroom, spinach and tomato... And bacon to try and get in to this paleo habit... Yum!! I wasn't hungry at all til lunch, where I went out with hubby and had a roast beef salad... Yum!! Then, after prepping and packing... And getting a bit nervous/anxious at the same time, I was ready to road trip the four hours with gorgeous Hen and miss L. I decided as I am chauffeur tomorrow night, this will be my party night and I'll get back on track tomorrow. Oh dear. I didn't think I was giving my inner 6-year old a birthday party! Lollies m&ms and brainwaves in the car. Now this is where it got interesting. A small handful of rach and 5mins later I had glowing red cheeks. 10mins later the rubber band was back around my heAd. 15mins later I was out, 'I can't have any more i feel crook!'... And then, 'can u hand me the....' Cue the rest of the night. Beautiful pita pizzas and yoghurt w berries for dinner and dessert. Perfectly 'Michelle'. Add to that biscuits, nuts, m&ms, 'straight' chocolate, marshmallows, rice snacks, oh and an apricot (foolin no one darl). Add 2 cocktails, 'leftovers punch' and moscato (ahhh that's why the other stuff happened). And now you know why I'm blogging atT 5am from bed. I don't feel hungover from the drinks, plenty of water from before sleep and I've always been lucky like that... But I feel like 'day 1' of no sugar no caffeine all over again. Bloated, tired and sooky, massive headache, just want to lie around and grumble. But you know what's cool? The ladies here get me and get food problems, so when I tell them at 8am 'hey I'm skipping sugar the rest of the weekend, help me out' they will do just that. And I won't judge their intake nd they won't judge mine. So much for a 'weekend off'... I don't wanna. I want to wake up every day, singing along to the radio on my way to PT. smiling and feeling proud. Not blogging from bed at 5am. ClaireS xx

Day 2. No Sugar No Coffee

Well!
Today is significantly better. I woke up to the same pounding headache, had to drag myself out of bed... but once I'd had a glass of water and left for weightlifing, I felt...fine!

I'm been a bit more cravey today than yesterday..the breaks between meals/snacks feel soooooooo long... but I haven't been any more hungry than usual.

I did realise that I ate way too much fruit yesterday... I know fruit has awesome properties etc...but I'm pretty sure a banana, pear, 2 apricots, 1 punnet of blueberries, 1/4 punnet of raspberries... is too much when they dont form part of any of your actual meals heheh.

So today, I've had  banana as part of breaky, a pear and an apricot, and will leave it at that.  That way I'll know that I'm not substituting sugar for sugar!

My mood is a lot better today, maybe coz I feel a bit proud that I've survived two days hahaha.

Ok not very interesting stuff but I figure it'll be good to look back on and see the changes :) don't worry I won't blog like this every day!!! haha.

ClaireS
xx

Day 1. No Sugar No Coffee

Hooly Dooly!
I ate a LOT of sugar yesterday in a wham-bam farewell to the white stuff.
BAD idea.  Anyone planning on having a "last hurrah"before 12wbt kick-off... goodness don't! Or keep it clever.

I woke up this morning feeling so tired. 40mins of the snooze button, I was SO close to canning my workout. But I'd made a commitment to my weightlifting coach that I wasn't going to break.  I dragged myself up, almost in tears.  I realised - I've had plenty of sleep, I'm nice and fit, this feeling is 100% sugar induced.  What have I been doing to myself!!
I was also massively hungry - rumbling belly, desperate to eat something... but I knew I had eaten right up until sleep the night before, there was no way that my body needed food!! Again, sugar-games! Not ok.

Breakfast I had 2x poached eggs with tomato, spinach and parsley. Yum.  I was full until 11... didn't crave my 10:00 coffee much at all actually.  I did want something sweet though at 11, I had a banana figuring it was sweet enough, but wouldn't stir up all those cravings too much.  By 12 I had a thick heavy haze over my eyes and felt like I've got a ring of rubber bands around my head.  The rest of the day was much the same - not cravey at all, just a really heavy head, low energy, really wanting a nap.

Headache is still smashing me now actually, so I think I'll head to bed.
Bring on day 2.

ClaireS
xx

CS-TOP-TIPS #1 - Breaky at work!!

Ok, here are my top suggestions for putting together a breaky at work in the morning. All you need is a microwave and a sandwich press!!

Breakfast is my FAV meal of the day - and 5 days a week I eat it at work. 
90% of Michelle's recipes can be addapted to a microwave and a sandwich press:

• cereal/muesli/yoghurt and fruit- porridge/couscous/quinoa with cinamon/apple/berries/honey!- toast with
• egg (put in a wet cup for poached, or a wet bowl for mini omelete), break the yolk or stir right through. Put in covered for 30seconds, then stir for scrambled, flip for poached/mini omelete, and put in for another 10-20secs. [goes great with pepper, parsley, ricotta, parmesan]
• avo/cottage cheese.. with tomato/mushrooms/ham - can be cooked lightly on the sandwich press to be fancy!!
• spinach - put in bowl/ziplock and add a dash of water, microwave for 10-20 scs to wilt (I usually have fresh)
• baked beans
• ricotta and cinnamon, with apple (I put chopped up apple in a ziplock with cinnamon and zap for 20secs to make it warm and cozy)

These are my usuals...haha...but once you get the idea that you can poach in a microwave and and gently fry on a sandwich press...breaky is easy!! 

[this all sounds time consuming but if you do the basic prep at home each ne is a max of 5mins!]


Happy to post up specific instructions on how to cook and serving sizes...let me know!!


ClaireS
xx

SUGAR BABE to PALEO PRINCESS

Tomorrow something major happens.  I give up sugar, and begin the process of giving up caffeine. 
Ey?!  Lets come back to that.


Part of the Michelle Bridges 12 Week Body Transformation key to success is the preseason tasks - going hard in the four weeks before the season begins to set your life up for success as soon as we hit 'kick off'.
Step 1. Excuses - I've posted them on the site but still a little shy to post them here.
Step 2. Goals - I'm still working them out...but I'll update you on them soon.
Step 3. "Gear Up"...get all the Stuff to be effective - scales, gym gear, gym membership etc etc... I'm all good on that front (though...lorna jane is always calling!)
Step 4. This is where the blog kicks in. "Shout it out Loud"


KISS always starts to rumble in the back of my mind...my toes start to wiggle...and "SHOUT IT, SHOUT IT, SHOUT IT OUTTA LOUUUUDDDDD" can be heard around the house for the full week of the preseason... I love it. It challenges every bit of me... saying on Facebook "Hey Friends, I wanna lose weight...keep an eye on me" "I commit to losing XXkg and working out XX days a week" "I'm gonna wear a bikini and blah blah blah"  I hate it, and, love it.


Well, here I can give some more context to my shout-out-loud.


Let's start with my Commitment.


I commit to getting back to 58kg. I was 58kg for 2 rounds, but my binge eating, secret eating, and anxiety got out of control and I am now 65kg. that's a lot in essentially 2 months for someone who works out 6 times+ a week.  I commit to keep up my exercise, and really focus on weightlifting, but I commit to maintain my cardio so that I will achieve my ultimate goal of completing Kokoda in October this year.  [I don't want to carry an extra 7kg with me in chocolate!!!]


Now, lets move to next week.


Next week my husband and I will begin a "Paleo" template of eating.


UHOH I hear you say. a fad.


Don't worry, I am switched on, I know there is no quick fix to changing your weight that is sustainable.  But this is clever, this sounds like something I WANT to do, and, once I add dairy back in, I believe I could do 80% of the time for pretty much ever.


Let's learn a bit more:
Paleo eating is based on eating as close to our ancestors as possible - no grains/wheat/dairy as these are part of the agricultural revolution, no legumes or soy as they are poisonous/bad for you raw, no sugar except for that in fruit, minimal raw raw honey.
That sounds rubbish - what can you have? Any meat, preferably beautiful organic free range grass fed, eggs, green veg, nuts, sweet potato, tamari, berries, fruits.... yum!!!
I think the only thing I will reaaaaaaally miss is cheeses and dairy... [I can't bear to talk about sugar and chocolate right now ok!?]  but many people chose to add some back in once they know their body better.


HERE IS A GREAT SITE I FOUND WHICH EXPLAINS STUFF WAY BETTER:
http://www.fitbomb.com/p/why-i-eat-paleo.html#part6 


Now, to tomorrow.
"Tomorrow something major happens.  I give up sugar, and begin the process of giving up caffeine."
I plan to start the paleo diet on Monday with hubby, but I'm really nervous about sugar and caffeine as I LOVE sugar, bread, chocolate, icecream, etc etc...so I'm giving myself a head start.  Also, now is a good chance to let you know, I DO plan to do the 12wbt - I will follow the gidelines that michelle sets - I wll just do a bit of substituting and tweaking, I've already worked out that 80% of the recipies from previous rounds will be fine once I switch out the chickpeas/lentils/dairy for something else :D  


Finally: Right now. How do I feel?
Rubbish.
I've been overeating for the last 4 days, and binge-ate today [I won't say how much chocolate, you wouldn't believe me]. I had a final flavoured yoghurt, final beer, coffee, lemon slice... and how do I feel?  I have the sweats, my stomache is all swollen and sore, my eyes are heavy, kneck is sore, I feel my head is heavy and tight. I don't feel like I have any energy, motivation, and I feel like crying. 
I had plenty of sleep, I honestly feel like it's all the cr*p in my system.
I'm scared though...what is it going to feel like to get this all out of me!?!?!?!?  So tonight, early night sleep, lots of water... and we'll see how we go.


Holy cow this is a LONG post...AGAIN!
I have an idea, i'll chuck out a quick post at the end of this of some of my CS-TOP-TIPS!!!


Thanks for reading my rant...I expect as I get this rubbish out of my system there'll be a LOT more ranting to come!!


ClaireS
xx