Week Eight

I have been able to measure myself on my home scale for exactly 3 weeks now, and in that time I'm down more than 11 pounds.

Eleven pounds in three weeks!

Also during that time, my knee pain has almost vanished, my energy level & sleep have continued to be fantastic, and my performance at Aqua Fit feels like it's doubled.

I. FEEL. GREAT.

I cannot stress that enough! It's not a super-happy-giddy feeling, it's the simple joy of multiple bad inputs being removed.

Like my Dad used to say, 'it feels so good when you stop beating your head against the wall'.

I hit my 60 day mark on Friday, and I have ZERO intention of stopping! I'm gonna surf this wave in all the way to the beach.

Week Seven

In the three weeks since I completed my Whole 30, I'm down 6.4 lbs. That's 2.13 lbs lost each week - a wonderfully perfect rate of weight loss!

I'm out of available belt holes, after adding 3 new ones at my W30 completion.

This is a good problem to have :)

My right knee isn't hardly hurting at all! I'm continuing to eat 'on plan', and my energy level & sleep continue to be fantastic!

Just nine days to go, until I hit my Whole 60!

Week Six

Whole 45 complete! Going for 60!

...and damn, but it's going well!

Most notably, between last week and this week, my scale can now measure my fatness, now that I've lost a bit! That's roughly 4lbs down last week! That's actually too much, but as long as I'm eating correctly, and doing reasonable exercise, I'm not going to get wound up over it. I know that sooner or later I'll hit a plateau, and at that point I'll mix up what I'm doing. In the meantime - WINNING!!!

The weekly breakfast prep REALLY helps, as does the daily salad bar at work. Aqua Fit is awesome, and as long as I don't walk too much & I ice my knee, the pain is hardly noticeable!

Staying the course, heading towards a Whole 60 ... and if it keeps going so well, I see no need to stop!!!

Week Five

As you can see from my belt - I'm down roughly 6 inches in my waist - which is THREE pant sizes!

As of Tuesday of this week, my weight is down enough to actually register on my scale! Now I can REALLY begin to gauge my weight loss trajectory!

I'm continuing to push my boundaries for W30 'compliance' with homemade salad dressing, eating fresh fish when eating out, adding spinach & sauerkraut to my weekday breakfasts, and vastly improved breakfast meats.

My missing link continues to be my workouts. I've had to back off the walking & ice the knee, but my attendance at Aqua Fit still isn't enough either. It's just too hard to leave the office early.

However, all in all, I could not be more thrilled! I'm eating well, sleeping better, and feeling fantastic. Downsizing my pants & shirts is great, and punching new belt-holes is an awesome problem to have!

Thoughts at Day 30

The Fantastic

Prep work in the beginning & each Sunday made everything else…possible.  This was the lynch-pin of my success!

Once past the "Sugar Crash Hangries", my hunger pangs were…almost pleasant-ish!

-In fact, this feels like my absolute BIGGEST win!  Feeling the correct 'hungry signals' for the 1^st time in 20+ years was weird, and not having to be fearful of the old "Sugar Crash Hangries" feels like a new & unexpected freedom.  Seriously.  Amazing.

By focusing on what I wanted to eat, the cravings simply got crowded out

This gave me ZERO food stress – I never felt deprived, never felt the 'old' type of "loose-my-shit-hungry"

The "Kill All The Things" phase wasn't REALLY too bad. 

Pants that were previously too tight, are now a bit loose

 

NOW.  SLEEP.  LIKE.  THE.  DEAD.  !!!!

 

Energy is rock solid throughout the day

Constant headache during Week One, turned into ZERO daily headaches since! (There was one-ish, but easily resolved)

Brain fog cleared

At the end of week one, no more mid morning snacks; by end of week four, no more 'need' for mid afternoon snacks.  This feels like a HUGE win!

I was able to do this during an incredibly stressful work month.

 

The Good

Daily food logs went well

Tapered off Paleo Packs & RxBars

Organic Veg Box ROCKS!  (Need to be better about logging on during the weekend to modify it)

Veg Box reduced need for multiple grocery store runs – big win!

Eczema & Psoriasis seem … not as bad, but certainly not 'cured'

Had an A-Fib scare in Week One, but have felt fantastic since, with lower & lower resting pulse rates each successive week

Tapered off of nuts & olives, white potatoes & bananas to bring calorie counts down a bit

 

 

The Bad

Need more sleep, in particular, an earlier bedtime

Need to drink more water, less tea, less caffeine in afternoon

Need to bring own salad dressing "just to be sure"

Need more fermented veggies (need guts to try the Kimchi I bought)(pun intended)

(Eventually) avoided fruit as a sugar substitute

First two weeks I was too dependent on Paleo Packs & RxBars, but weaned off them

Veggie spiralizer got used ONCE.  After that, veggies were just diced & cooked, low-maintenance style

Wanted to do all 30 days w/out a single restaurant, failed at that on DAY FOUR – but remained fully complaint eating out all month

I was shocked at the volume of dishes & kitchen clean up (DUH)

 

The Ugly

Did not cook a single "recipe"

Gym time, and daily walks were poorly attended

Daily work salad's Grilled Chicken may be processed

Did not swap to fully compliant bacon & sausage until Week Two

 

Goals

Seamlessly continue into a W60

Push for absolute 100% compliance (bacon, sausage, salad dressing, butter)

Push for 3 straight meals each day – with no snacks.

Earlier dinner

Earlier bedtime (need 9 hours!)

Push to learn recipes, do crock pot meals, and breakfast muffins (as I promised myself in August)

Push to a solid 3 workouts per week

Non-gym days need adequate movement (aiming for 10k steps)

Day 29: Re- cap

Breakfast: 3 HB eggs, 3 sausage patties with Cholulla, sauerkraut, green tea

Lunch: bed of spinach, bell peppers, cucumbers, broccoli, grilled chicken, balsamic vinaigrette

Snack: Apple, banana, iced green tea

Dinner: grilled salmon, broccoli, sweet potato

Notes: the good mood, good sleep, and rock steady energy are now almost so normal as to be unremarkable ;-)

Day 28: Re-cap

Breakfast: hamburger patty with grilled red bell pepper, brown mustard, & sauerkraut

Lunch: bed of spinach, bell peppers, cucumbers, broccoli, grilled chicken, balsamic vinaigrette

Snack: iced green tea, apple, banana

Dinner: bed of spinach, sweet potato, chicken breast, bacon, fried egg, tomatoes, Cholulla

Notes: still feeling darned good! Positive attitude, good energy throughout the day, sleeping very soundly, enjoying what I'm eating, although I miss Pizza, bread, and french fries..

Day 27: Re-cap

Sunday was just as good as Saturday!

Sat Breakfast: bed of spinach, bacon, fried eggs, fresh sliced tomatoes, salsa and Black Tea

Sun Brekkies: two hamburger patties covered in salsa

Sat Lunch: two hamburger patties & salsa

Sun Lunch: bed of spinach, two burger patties, fried eggs, sliced tomatoes, sauerkraut

Sat dinner: bed of spinach, two burger patties, fried eggs, sliced tomatoes, sauerkraut, chollula & salsa

Sunday dinner: hamburger patties w/ salsa, sweet potato, Zuchini, and green beans

Notes: it was a great weekend w/ no snacks! Feeling VERY good

Day 26: Re-cap

Saturday

Day 25: Re-cap

Breakfast: 3 HB eggs, 3 sausages, salsa, green tea

Lunch: spinach broccoli bell peppers cucumber grilled chicken balsamic vinaigrette

Snack: green tea & apple

Dinner: two hamburger buns w/ spicy salsa

Late snack: Bacon!!!

Day 24: Re-cap

Breakfast: 3 HB eggs, 3 small sausages, fresh salsa, green tea

Lunch: bed of spinach with cucumbers, bell peppers , broccoli, grilled chicken, balsamic vinaigrette

Snack - Apple, Banana, green iced tea

Pre Workout - Texas brisket on Spinach

Late Dinner - fried zuchini w/ spicy meat sauce

Day 23: Re-cap

Breakfast: 2 HB eggs, 3 small sausages, homemade salsa, water, green tea

Lunch: Argentinean roast beef w/ roasted potatoes & mixed veggies

Snack: Primal Pac & Apple

Dinner: bed of spinach, large chicken breast, Hatch Chili from Paleo To Go

Notes: Feeling great! Knee not too bad today!

Day 22: Re-cap

Breakfast: 2 hb eggs, 3 small sausage patties, all w/ homemade salsa. Green tea.

Lunch: bed of spinach w/ bell peppers, cucumber, broccoli, grilled chicken, balsamic vinaigrette

Snack: Primal Pac & Apple

Dinner: salmon & broccoli

Day 21: THREE WEEKS!!!

Breakfast: 2 HB eggs, 3 small sausage patties, fresh salsa, green tea

Lunch: salad of spinach, bell peppers, cucumbers, broccoli, grilled chicken, and balsamic vinaigrette

Snack: Paleo Pac

Pre Workout: Half chicken breast w/ salsa

Post Workout: Other half of chicken breast, more of that excellent fresh salsa!

Dinner: steak & sweet potato

Notes: went to Monday night Aqua Fit, MUCH harder than the Saturday class!!! I'd like to hit the Wednesday class for an even three workouts a week, but it's tough to leave work early. Got independent verification that I'm sleeping better ("I thought you were dead, you slept so soundly without even moving"). I feel great, and if my right knee will just get with the program, I could really pump up my mileage & bring on some serious weight loss! In the meantime, I'm feeling great, looking to try some new recipes, and I'm succeeding at Aqua Fit. WINNING!!!

Day 20: Re-cap

Breakfast: (late) bed of spinach, fried eggs, sauerkraut, sausage

Snack: Pear

Dinner: salmon & broccoli, not pictured was the appetizer of french onion soup w/ no bread or cheese - just the broth

Day 19

Day 18

Day 17: Re-cap

Breakfast: two HB eggs, two sausage patties, fresh salsa & green tea

Lunch: salad of spinach with bell peppers, broccoli, cucumbers, grilled chicken & balsamic vinaigrette

3pm Snack - Paleo Pac

6pm Late Snack - Bacon!!!

8pm Dinner - sweet potato with chicken, bacon, guac & salsa

Day 16: re-cap

Breakfast: two HB eggs w/ two sausage patties & salsa, with green tea

Lunch: salad of spinach, bell peppers, cucumbers, broccoli, grilled chicken & balsamic vinaigrette

Snack: Paleo Pac

Dinner: filet of Bison, coffee rubbed, with roasted veggies

Day 15: Re-cap

Breakfast: two sausage patties, two HB eggs, green tea

Lunch: salad w/ bed of spinach, grilled chicken, cucumbers, broccoli, bell peppers, and balsamic vinaigrette

Snack - apple, orange, Primal Pac

Dinner - bone-in pork chop w/ grilled yellow squash & zuchinni, and grilled green heirloom tomatoes

Dessert - A treat for being halfway through my W30! Grilled peaches w/ a light dusting of cinnamon. Better than peach cobbler!

Notes: I'm halfway, and I feel GREAT!

Thermometer of Success

Food: Good
Exercise: Need More!

Halfway!

I have to say, I'm shocked at how well this is going! I've never felt 'hungry', deprived, or stressed about my food. In Week One I had cravings out the wazoo, but nothing mind bending, except my success & this odd feeling of...happiness.

With that being said, there are things I can tweak, change, and execute MUCH better! I'd really like to tighten up my final two weeks:

The daily 3pm sugar crave! I've been eating a Primal Pac & RxBar (which, together, are 700 calories!), and an Apple. My body is craving sugar, and I think I need to starve that bitch out! I'm now going to bring a daily protein to eat at that time, have my Apple before lunch, and save the Primal Pac & RxBar in my briefcase for emergencies.

I need to stop having double-dinners. I'm hungry when I get home from work at 6pm, so I'll have a 'heavy snack', and then a 'real dinner' around 7:30 or 8pm. I need to not eat so late, and I need to eat just once in the evening. The protein at 4pm may help, and I might try to push lunch later, too.

I need to follow through on my commitment to try two new recipes a week! I need to finish this W30 with half a dozen go-to recipes.

Prep, prep, and more prep! Having 'leftover' stuff in the fridge to easily combine & heat has been a magnificent success. Need more of that!

Exercise has been lackluster. My right knee has been hurting, so I'm reluctant to do too much walking, and the Aqua Fit classes can be tough to get to on-time during the week. Recommitting to three gym visits, at least two of which are Aqua Fit.

Day 14: Re-cap

Breakfast: sausage patty, half a chicken breast, two HB eggs, green tea

Lunch: roast beef with mixed grilled veggies & iced tea

Snack: Primal Pac, RxBar, Apples

Post Workout: Chicken breast & HB egg

Dinner: Outback - Ahi Tuna appetizer (no sauce!), grilled Salmon, broccoli

Day 13: Re-cap

Breakfast: Last of the 'leftover stew' (chicken, bell peppers, carrots, parsnips, bacon, marinara) and my new bacon from US Wellness Meats (which changed my life!)

Lunch: Sweet potato on a bed of spinach, with chicken breast, sauerkraut, & salsa w/ crushed red peppers.

Dinner: Chipotle salad bowl - lettuce, carnitas, salsa, and guacamole.

Notes: feeling good! Very positive! The gut is still learning to process the new way of eating (is that the nice way of saying it?), but the probiotic supplement & fermented veggies will help, too.

Day 12: Re-cap

Breakfast: two bowls of leftovers mixed with marinara sauce. Mix included chicken, bell peppers, parsnips, carrots, and bacon. Also had two HB eggs.

Lunch: hamburger patty, two HB eggs, cucumbers, tomatoes, peaches, grapes, honeydew, cantaloupe.

Snack: Primal Pac & mix of almonds & cashews

Dinner: grilled chicken & bell peppers with avocado, salsa, and crushed red pepper flakes.

Notes: Aqua Fit class left me wrung-out & dead. 'Might' need to eat a little something beforehand, next time. Right knee has been in pain, trying to moderate between staying active & not hurting it too much. Worried.

Day 11: Re-cap

Breakfast: 3 hardboiled eggs

Lunch: Spinach greens, bell peppers, cucumbers, broccoli, grilled chicken, balsamic vinaigrette

Dinner: Chipotle salad bowl w/ lettuce, carnitas, hot & mild salsas, and guac

Long, busy, stressful day as I finished new software roll-out at work. I may have had a Primal Pac & Rx Bar, can't remember :(

Day 10: Re-cap

Breakfast: leftover steak w/ salsa & hardboiled eggs

Lunch: spinach greens with bell peppers, grilled chicken, broccoli, cucumbers & balsamic vinaigrette

Snack: Paleo Pac & Apple

Late snack: Tuna salad w/ celery sticks

Dinner: sweet potato with chicken, guac & salsa

Day 9: Re-cap

Breakfast: two hardboiled eggs, two sausage patties, with homemade salsa

Lunch: spinach greens with grilled chicken, bell peppers, broccoli, cucumbers, and balsamic vinaigrette

Work Snack: Primal Pac, Apple, iced green tea

After school snack: sweet potato with ground pork & homemade salsa

Dinner: chicken breast with guac & salsa

Notes: I feel good, but in a rotten mood after a tough day at the office (first day of Remedy change system)

Day 8: Re-cap

Breakfast: two hardboiled eggs with two sausage patties, with Chollula & salsa.

Lunch: spinach greens with bell peppers, cucumbers, broccoli, grilled chicken, and peas with balsamic vinaigrette

Work snack: Primal Pac & two Apples

After school snack: sweet potato with ground pork & salsa (YUM!)

Dinner: grilled salmon, steamed broccoli

Notes: I feel GREAT!

Thoughts

Yesterday was a yummy day! I'm feeling very 'whole food nourished', and most amazingly, I now have TOTALLY different hunger pangs! I used to get twitchy with headaches & really bad moods. Now I realize that was a Sugar Fit, and now I can get a tummy so grumbly I get burps, but no headache, grumpy, or twitchiness! These 'new' hunger pangs almost feel 'good' to have, and I know I'm eating right when they get serious before my next meal. Satiety and Satiation are two very different things, and both can be VERY tough to distinguish from Sugar induced cravings. I feel like I'm in Sugar Rehab, and I'm starting to be able to see the other side. It's like a glimpse of freedom, and I want it more than ever.

Week One Thermometer of Success

Food intake was on track, despite a few challenges.

Exercise output was 2 out of 3, but considering it was my first week back in the gym, it wasn't too bad. I also need to pick up the work-walks & dog-walks.

Day 7: Re-cap

Breakfast: Two hardboiled eggs, two sausage patties, salsa, and green tea

Lunch: Spinach greens with bell peppers, cucumbers, hardboiled eggs, turkey, and Balsamic Vinaigrette

Snacsk: Chicken breast w/ guacamole & salsa, Paleo Pac, two apples

Dinner: grilled parsnips & carrotts, with skewers of chicken & bell peppers. Dessert was grilled pears with cinnamon dusting.

Notes: I feel good, though a bit tired. No headache. Slightly short tempered, but good mood overall.

Week One

Holy Crap - I'm on the verge of finishing an ENTIRE week of Whole 30! 25% done!

Wow...

What a difference! I feel clear-headed & energy balanced. I can feel a difference in my sleep quality. And I really LIKE what I'm eating!

Has it been easy? NO! I spent most of last week with a headache & grumpy. Most of the weekend I felt like I needed a nap. On Friday when I spilled my Paleo Pac in my Jeep, I nearly lost my mind! Grocery shopping has become a new, expensive, obsessive hobby. Cooking never ends, and if I have to clean my kitchen & run the dishwasher ONE more time, I might scream!

But I like this. I like the W30 support. It's been good to get back into the gym.

I can't wait to see how I feel next Monday, at my halfway point...

Day 6: Update

Breakfast: scrambled eggs with bacon & white potato hash browns. Hot Green Tea.

Lunch: Grilled burger with guacamole & salsa, with brown mustard. Hibiscus iced tea.

Snack: Tuna salad (using homemade mayo!), with mustard & bacon bits, celery sticks to eat it with. Iced tea.

Dinner: Ribeye steak, grilled brussels sprouts, steamed broccoli, and steamed cauliflower.

Dessert: grilled peaches w/ dusting of cinnamon

Day 5: Update

Breakfast: scrambled eggs with ground pork, and hashbrowns from red skinned potatoes. Sauerkraut on the side, hot Green Tea.

Lunch: chicken salad made from grilled chicken & homemade mayo, served in an avocado boat with bacon. Iced Hibiscus Tea.

Snack: grilled burger with bacon bits, guacamole, salsa, and brown mustard.

Snack two: RxBar

Dinner: grilled Salmon w/ steamed broccoli

Notes: This was Saturday, had my first Aqua Fit class in the morning, went well. Dinner was at Outback Steakhouse.

Day Four: Update

Breakfast: 3 hardboiled eggs, 4 sausage links w/ Chollula, and hot Green Tea.

Lunch: leftover meaty spaghetti sauce over two sausage patties, with two hardboiled eggs & iced green tea.

Snack One: (mostly spilled on car floor) Primal Pac & Apple

Snack Two: RxBar

Dinner (not pictured): ate out at The Red Ox in Hampshire, had Shrimp Cocktail (no sauce), Filet Mignon, assorted steamed veggies, dinner salad with oil & vinegar, one baked white potato with Aus Jus. Several iced teas.

Notes: big interview Friday afternoon, very hangry in car on way home, spilled Primal Pac, managed to stay the course & remain On Plan!

Nearly lost my shit

I had a FOUR hour job interview today, and when I was getting into my car I was hungry & headachy, and my hands were shaky, and I freakin' DROPPED my Primal Pac & the contents dumped on the yucky floor of my Jeep.

Ugh!!!

I pulled into a Starbucks & got an iced Green Tea & an Apple, which was good, even if I was still being a bit stompy-stompy.

Day 3: Re-cap

Breakfast: 3 strips of leftover ribeye steak with salsa, two hardboiled eggs, green veggie juice

Mid morning: Apple

Lunch: salad of spinach greens with grilled chicken, cucumbers, bell peppers, hardboiled eggs, broccoli, and balsamic vinagrette. Plain iced tea.

Afternoon snack: Almonds, two apples, iced green tea.

Dinner: awesome combination of zucchini noodles (yay Spiralizer!), and meaty spaghetti sauce made from grass fed ground beef & marinara sauce w/ no gluten or added sugar. Crushed red pepper gave it some zip!

Notes: headache continues, grumpy but not TOO bad, still sore from Tuesday's stupid workout. Spiralizer is great, takes a bit to get used to the 'touch' to get it consistent, shocking how many Zuch's it takes to make a 'serving of pasta' (4!).

Inspiration & support

Every morning of my Whole 30, I start my day with a lovely email that gives me inspiration & support. They know what I'm feeling (literally) as I go through this process, and I don't feel so 'alone' or crazy. It's awesome.

And, yes, I've had a headache for two days, and I'm irritable. VERY. MUCH. SO.

But this too, shall pass...

Day Two: Re-cap

Breakfast: Two Eggs, three sausage links w/ Cholula, green veggie juice, Green tea

Lunch: Salad w/ spinach greens, grilled chicken, red & green peppers, cucumbers, broccoli & balsamic vinaigrette

Snack: Primal Pac, Apple, Green Tea, mixed cashews & almonds

Pre workout: Three thick slices of ribeye steak w/ salsa & Hibiscus iced tea

Dinner: Leftover grilled chicken w/ salsa & one bratwurst

Notes: I was supposed to do my first Aqua Fit class, but found my swim trunks to be missing. After fighting the Day Two headache all day, I lost my shit & had a terrible stompy-stompy fit. Took the dog on a walk instead, and shocked myself by snacking on-plan. Stompy fit seemed to cure the headache, although I was in a foul mood the rest of the night.

Day One: Re-cap

Breakfast: Hardboiled egg, two sausage links (gluten & sugar free), homemade salsa, green cold-pressed veggie juice.

Mid Morning (not pictured): green tea, black coffee, large apple

Lunch: salad of spinach greens, hardboiled eggs, grilled chicken, cucumbers, peppers, broccoli, w/ balsamic vinaigrette (no added sugar), and plain iced tea.

Mid afternoon: three bottles of water, a primal pack, and another large apple. Not pictured - large iced green tea.

After school snack: grilled bratwurst (gluten & sugar free), w/ homemade salsa & iced hibiscus & ginger green tea.

Dinner (late): grilled chicken marinated in EVOO & lemon juice, served w/ sliced avocado & salsa, grilled green tomatoes.

TV snack (not pictured): small banana & water

Workout: upper body weights, shoulders, back, tri's, bi's & chest.

Other notes: slight headache, no mid afternoon energy slump. Breakfast needs another egg & sausage link. Did not do office walk or dog walk - knees sore from weekend & knew it was first day @ gym since 2009 - being cautious!

All in all = Day One was a resounding success!

Onward...

W30 - Day 1 @ Gym

First time in the gym since 2009. You'll notice in the bottom left picture, those were my old '09 numbers. Today I started with uppers, and I started at my old weights, and the reps & sets came in just about the same!

I'm SURE I'll be feeling that in the morning, but it'll be a 'good kind of pain'.

My TV snack was a banana, for the potassium, and before bed I made sure to stretch-out pretty well.

Day One = Success!

Onward...

We manage what me measure

I love that old truth that we manage what we measure!

Goals are good, too, and I've outlined a few...

So far, Meal One of Day One has gone well! 90 meals to go...

W30 - Day Zero

Prep, prep, read some more, then continue prepping!

Really, I think the prep work never ends. For me, Sundays groove best. I'll shop with a list, and prep my week, as an old habit.

This week I added some additional food prep, sorted out some kitchen tools, and totally re-organized my pantry.

'Bad' items have been excised, and I've got on-plan choices prepped & ready to go.

Will it work?

I'm pushing hard for it. In fact, tomorrow is also my first day back in the gym.

I'll keep posting my daily successes, frustrations, failures, and victories.

W30 - Critical Gear

Today the UPS man delivered some goodies!

First - frozen W30 compliant Paleo to Go meals! These will live in my freezer, as a contingency against arriving home "Hangry" & ready to make a bad decision.

(Hangry = Hungry + Angry)

Secondly, I got the Spiralizer my sister recommended, and some highly recommended Paleo & W30 cookbooks.

Lastly, a couple of neat inventions that make mason jars a bit more useful - a few Cuppow 'sippy' lids (yay for Mason jar drinks!), and a number of 'Bento' inserts that allow two items to travel together, yet separate. Think celery sticks & ranch dressing ... or two siblings on a roadtrip in the backseat ...

Whole 30, T-Minus Holiday Weekend

Yesterday was a good day. I 'stayed the course' the whole day, proving to myself I can do this - without feeling deprived!

In other news, rather than start on Sept 1st (Labor Day), while I'm on Summer's last holiday weekend, I'm going to kick-off on Tuesday the 2nd. That way I don't have to haul W30 stuff on vacation, nor will my stressful first day be on the road.

That just feels smart, you know?

Have a great weekend!

Such as it is...

I'll rarely admit this, but I stole one of my favorite lines from George Clooney.

 

It was the 1997 movie, "The Peacemaker", where he & Nicole Kidman have to escape the bad guys in a Mercedes.  They are in a really tough spot, and when he tells her what he's going to try, she asks incredulously, "THAT's your plan???", to which he replies with aplomb, "That's…  MY PLAN!".

 

In other words, it may not be a GOOD plan, but it's HIS plan, the best he could come up with on short notice.

 

So, what's MY latest plan, such as it is?

 

Well, I'm somewhat famous (infamous?) for always being able to distill my intentions down to a simple three point plan.

 

(Boom + Boom + Boom = Success)

 

I'm attempting the Whole 30, and that's no small undertaking.  Regular readers of my material know I've been trying for a long time to eat better & become more fit.  As tough & frystrating as that can be, I've been at it actively for almost 10 years, and I have yet to give up.  I've been making better decisions regarding food & drink for awhile now, but I'm needing to kick into overdrive.  I've not stepped foot into a gym since 2009, so I'm gonna fix that, too.

 

First Point – FOOD

 

Duh.  'It Starts With Food' isn't just the title of the book which is inspiring me.  Food can either be the best medicine you ingest, or the greatest poison.  I'm a recovering/ongoing Food Addict, and that is the crux of my being 'Fat Sick & Nearly Dead' (A great documentary which inspired me a year ago).  If I'm going to be 'on-plan' for a full month, I need to do these three things:

 

-          Try two new recipes every week.  Boredom will eventually lead me down the path to bad decisions, and new recipes will add to my fund of easily made 'on-plan' meals.  Two a week isn't an overload, and the program is only 4 weeks.  This will give me a GREAT repository for easy 'on-plan' cooking AFTER my Whole 30.  This isn't a 'one & done', this is slaying the Sugar Dragon & setting new habits for a lifetime of success.

-          Two crock pot meals each week.  These should be VERY easy for both prep & cooking, which will be a key factor of my success.  Too much required effort will eventually lead to failure.  Doubling the serving size will get me leftovers for easy on-plan snacking, too.  Win/Win!

-          The Daily Salad.  My office has a lunchroom with a salad bar.  This is an easy way to get my daily salad intake w/out buying a ton of individual ingredients.   

 

Second Point –Activity

 

Again, Duh!  Let's burn some calories!  As my body slowly weans itself off the east sugar fuel, it'll have to re-learn how to burn fat.  I want to turn that flame up, nice and bright!

 

-          Gym x 3 per week.  I have joined the LA Fitness near my house.  Twice a week I want to do the Aqua Fit class (water aerobics), and once a week I want to lift weights to energize my fat-burning muscle.

-          Activity x 3 per day.  I have an excellent indoor perimeter hallway at work that is just about a half mile.  A walk around my block with Clyde is just about a half a mile.  One of these will get repeated, for a minimum of three per day.

-          Sport Watch x daily.  Let's track this, and document it.

 

Third Point – Posting

 

Another name for this would be 'Accountability'.  By posting what I do – I'm accountable.  I will document my success, failures, challenges, and triumphs.

 

-          Daily Food Collage.  I will take a picture of everything I eat, and post a picture-collage of it, every day.

-          Daily re-cap.  Every day I will post about how the previous day went.  Good, Bad, Ugly.

-          Weekly activity re-cap.  Each week I'll post about that week's activity, with what went well, and what didn't.

 

You'll note that each of the three points has three sub-points.  Symmetry!  Will this work?  As it stands, I doubt it.  No plan ever survives implementation, but all great plans allow for being tweaked.  I'm sure I'll do a TON of tweaking, but as I start, this is my best guess at what will bring success.

 

Check in on me, cheer for me as I overcome challenges, and call me out when I deserve it.

-Lee

-----------------

R. Lee Putman, Jr.

Email: 

leeputmanjr@mac.com

Phone / Text: 847.687.7291

Whole 30, T minus 2 days

Today was MUCH better! I'm discovering that pre-planning & prep goes a LONG way. I have bought Paleo Pacs for snacks & frozen Paleo To Go meals for emergencies.

I'm committing to a daily food pic & re-cap on my Blog.

I joined a gym, and I'm committing to three visits a week, in addition to two daily work-laps & one daily Clyde walk, to be tracked via RunKeeper. I'll re-cap that activity weekly on the Blog.

Whole 30, T minus 3 days

I am on the cusp of doing a Whole 30 to kickstart my re-entry into Paleo & "clean" eating.
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> I am reading 'It Starts With Food', and I'm collecting recipe websites & purchasing foodstuffs I'll need.
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> I'm trying to go W30 for the week leading up to my official kick-off, figuring out what will work & what I'll need to re-think.
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> Yesterday, the wheels came off the bus.
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> I had my Whole Foods Sausage with Chollula for breakfast, and I wasn't even hungry when I got to the office.
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> But, donuts!
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> A vendor brought in some lovely, high-end pastries. There was one, a swirl pastry with a honey glaze & chocolate goo covering ... that spoke to my primal Lizard Brain that's a total sugar junkie.
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> I'd like to say I couldn't help myself, but it went deeper than that.
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> I had a great salad for lunch, but by 3pm I 'had to' have the last crappy stale donut, and a bag of cheddar sun chips.
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> By the time I got home I was exhausted, headachy, and VERY grumpy.
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> Dinner was too late, although I had an on-plan snack of leftover steak & grilled chicken with parm.
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> Dinner included fries with BBQ sauce, and a mini oreo milk shake.
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> I went to bed angry & ashamed.

Whole 30, T minus 3 days

Victory