Recommissioning

I have a few old pieces of Land's End luggage my Mom got me back in the 80's.

It's holding up pretty well, but a few items need some attention. A zipper pull here, a missing handle there, maybe a loose seam or two.

I'm hoping Land's End can help me out with some repairs, maybe even add some monograms to the two earlier canvas pieces that missed out, back in '82...

Embracing my weaknesses

They say 'Never start a diet during the Holidays', and I'm pretty sure that's because even our Caveman ancestors took a break from Paleo on Thanksgiving.  I mean, who wouldn't???

Personally, I'm dreaming of my Mom's oyster stuffing. Mmmmmm..... 

However, my newfound path started way back in early September, right after Labor Day weekend, and I never considered the Holidays for even a moment.  It was still Summer!  I never expected success, and certainly not at the level I've had for the last 87 days.  

...and I'm not about to give in, just three days short of my big NINE ZERO!!!  In fact, I'm planning on going 33 more days, to hit Day #120 on my birthday.  THAT will be a day to celebrate, and I'm not about to let Thanksgiving derail my plans.

So - I'm celebrating Thanksgiving the best way I can imagine right now.  I am so astounded & Thankful for my success, I'm going to eat & exercise in the absolute best way I can today!

Each meal will be 100% Whole 30 compliant, and for each meal I will brave the frigid cold to do at least a half mile walk.  I will not skimp on my serving sizes & be hungry on Thanksgiving, I will be eating healthfully, and getting some mileage in.

That's what I'm most Thankful for this Thanksgiving, is my newfound Health & Fitness, and my surprising dedication to it.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Week Eleven

Things continue to go very well!

Day #75 snuck past me over the weekend, I was cruising so well and so smoothly with my success that I didn't even notice it!

Over the weekend there was Mexican Braised Beef done in the crock pot, spaghetti squash with yummy meat sauce, and a double batch of breakfast frittata muffins for my work week.

I've ordered new shoes, pants, and dress shirts so that my clothes fit appropriately. THAT is a nice problem to have! (Who thought that feet would loose weight???)

All in all, I feel great, and I couldn't be happier with how things are going. I'm planning to ignore Thanksgiving & cruise with great success right through Christmas to Day #120, on my birthday!

Week Ten

I continue to eat "on-plan", and I'm still totally lovin' it! My energy is fantastic, my sleep is great, and my size continues to shrink.

13.2 lbs lost in 5 weeks, which averages out to 2.64 lbs per week!

My right knee hasn't been hurting, so I've been hitting Aqua Fit a steady 3 times per week, with decent walks on non-swim days. I can feel myself able & wanting to do a little more each week.

Friday will be my "Whole 75", and I'm still planning on cruisin' through the Holidays on this plan, although I'd better start planning some contingencies around family food-centric gatherings ;-)

Day 60

I wasn't sure that I could do the Whole 30, but I just cruised into day SIXTY!

Yes, I dramatically changed the way I eat, and the sugar hangover was tough - but for more than six weeks now, I'm just eating stuff I like! THAT ROCKS!

I've been pretty good about hitting Aqua Fit 3 times per week, and I can feel a tremendous difference in what I can do during class. I need to add more walking, but I was afraid of hurting my knees. I had knee pain until recently, but now it's time to, literally, step that up!

For the past month I've been able to something silly, but I've made it sort of a routine: when I go up the stairs in my house, I RUN!

I RUN STAIRS! DAILY!!!

I just feel so good & energetic! I'm down almost 4 pant sizes, and I've had to add six holes to my belt, and I no longer need my Jeep's stupid seat belt extender, and I sleep like a log - all of this is GREAT, but it's my energy level that feels so positive & rock steady!

So, yes, it's Day 60 - and I'm gonna keep rolling!

I figure I'm 'halfway' to a Whole 120, which would end on my Birthday, just in time for New Year's.

Wouldn't that be a GREAT way to ring in the New Year?!?!

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