Days 5 and 6

It is far to hard to get onto the computer everyday with a toddler lol.  It has been quite a few days.  Work has been busy, the monster has been busy, and after 3 years in Colorado, I am finally attempting a social life.

Here is day's 5 and 6

Day 5:

Breakfast : Fruit bowl: strawberries, bananas, grapes and blueberries.
Lunch: Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
Snack: Cashews and Raisins
Dinner:  Grilled Pork Chops, Carrots and Peas:

Take medium thick pork chops and season using as little salt as possible (none for us)
Grill on low for 5 mins and flip, continue until meat is white and you have nice grill marks.
I use frozen veggies because I am a Paleo Mommy on a budget, but you can use whatever veggies you'd like

Water:
90/123

WOD: 30 Situps, 25 leg lifts, 15 crunches, 15 s plank, 60 squats, 6 full (no girlie) pushups

Day 6:

Breakfast: 4 strips of bacon
Lunch: stuffed sweet potato
snack: Grapes
Dinner: Paleo Speghetti

Take a speghetti squash and roast at 350 for 2 hours (that is why this is a weekend meal)
Take out squash and allow to cool. cut in half lengthwise and spoon out seeds and the mush part of the meat.  Take a fork and rake out the rest of the meat (it will have the consistency of pasta).  Place aside until ready to heat and eat.

Pan fry 1 lb turkey meat, once brown, add in 1 can tomato sauce and 1 can tomato paste.  Season with garlic if necessary.

serve as you would speghetti

Water: 123/123
WOD: we walked, a lot but it was a rest day for challenges.

progress check tomorrow.

Have a great Sunday everyone!

Day's 3 and 4

Well this is technically being written on Day 4 so I will combine both days into one post for the convenience of my one follower. 

Wednesday:
Breakfast:  Fruit bowl of banana's, blueberries, strawberries, and pear. coffee
Snack: Cashews
Lunch: Salad with hard boiled egg and fresh blueberries and organic balsamic vinaigrette.
Dinner:  So Eric had bogarted my stuffed sweet potato plan for tuesday and made smoked chicken breast and mixed veggies, it was delish, just some seasoned chicken breasts in the smoker for an hour...yum.

Tonight we went to a happy hour birthday for a friend....let me tell you, Mexican food is Paleo TORTURE.  There was nothing on the menu that I could eat so I had to ask for a plain breast of chicken, which of course came out crusted in seasoning.  Oh well, I got more than my alloted salt intake.

Water Consumption:
90/123

WOD:
15 situps
10 crunches
10 s. Plank
15 tricep dips
rested legs because I could barely walk today.


Thursday:
Phew after a full nights sleep you would think I would be far more rested, but I am one tired momma.

Breakfast: 3 scrambled eggs....well technically 2 and a half since Blake kept picking at my plate.
Snack:  Cut up Grapple, if you haven't had one, go buy one now.....go on go.
Lunch: peas and green beans (hey I was running late this morning.
Dinner: Finally stuffed sweet potato....so yummy can't wait to have it for lunch tomorrow.

Water intake:
I suck 75/123

WOD:
20 situps
15 crunches
15 s. Plank
55 squats
10 pushups

Here's to Friday!!!

Day 2

Well.....we are registered!!! We lagged a little so our time slot is 5pm, but at least it will be cooler at that time.  Here's to becoming Rocky Mountain Warrior Mom's!!!

Ok, straight to the good stuff:

Breakfast: 2 scrambled eggs cooked in bacon fat
Snack: 3 handfuls of cashews
Lunch: Salad with the rest of the rotisserie chicken, hard boiled egg and Organic Balsalmic Dressing.
Dinner: Turkey Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients:
3 Large Sweet Potatoes
1 lb Turkey Meat
1 Onion or 1 tsp Onion powder
1 Tsp garlic powder
2 Tbl coconut milk.

Bake sweet potatoes the night before, half and spoon out cold insides

Heat a pan with bacon grease or coconut oil,  sauté turkey meat until brown, add in onions or onion powder and garlic.  Once fully cooked add in the inside of the sweet potato.  Remove from heat.  Add in coconut milk until mixed.  Spoon back into the sweet potato casing.

Voila:

Water intake: 128/128
WOD:
15 Situps
5 Crunches
10 s. plank
50 squats
5 regular pushups

Here's to day 2! and I am off to WOD and study SureServe!

7/15/2013 Day 1

I tell you what, there are just not enough hours in the day to get everything that I want accomplished.  I missed the first day of my WOD challenges, but I did get measurements taken, and I was good on the diet aspect.

My friend Mel is going at this whole heartedly with me as well.  We are doing this to lead up to the Warrior Dash on August 17th.  Should be awesome, because who doesn't want to run through fire, and crawl under barbed wire!!

Ok here goes:

Waist: 29 inches
Hips: 37 1/2 inches
Thigh: 21 inches
Arms: 11 inches
Chest: 32 inches
and the biggie..........
Weight: 133 lbs.

That is a ten lb gain from when I ended my last Paleo challenge 6 months ago.   The good news is that I fluctuate back down to 129 on any given day, which means of course that I am not staying hydrated enough. As a result....gallon a day water challenge. 

Meal Plan:

Breakfast: Fruit bowl of pear, grapes and bananas
Lunch: Salad with rotisserie chicken and hard boiled egg.  Organic Balsalmic dressing
Dinner: Pork Roast and Roasted Carrots
I was extremely tired last night and did not cook, so this was a left over that my Aunt made.  It was not 100% Paleo since it had some sort of cream based sauce in it, so first day was not ideal.

Water intake:
72oz/128oz

WOD:
Homework was running very behind last night, so my WOD did not get completed.  That just means Challenges start tomorrow.

Phew, here hoping Day 2 goes smoother.
Chow

I Know I Know

Sometimes the best intentions can go by the wayside when time is the ultimate factor.  Especially when that time is taken up by a 22 month old monster!

So I promised a meal plan and shopping list.  So here goes.  Keep in mind that I only plan out dinners, lunches are usually left overs from the nights before, or a salad.  Breakfasts you can assume that I have fresh fruit or scrambled eggs and bacon, unless I post another recipe.

I will post recipes on the day that I actually consume the meal, they will be posted underneath my food log:

Grocery List:

Organic tomato sauce (check for ingredients on the can)
Ground Turkey meat x5
Chicken Sausage, nitrate free
Sweet Potatoes x 4 (you may want to buy more if you want to use for breakfast or lunch
Carrots
Cauliflower
Onions x2
Chicken, I use bagged frozen, not the best, but I am a mom on a budget
Celery
Nuts (for snacking, cashews or almonds)
Pork Roast
Pinapple
Ginger (ground or fresh)
Tillapia
Coconut flakes
Unsalted Butter (no Margarine of any kind, even if healthy is in the title!)
Bacon x2 (at least 2)
Spinach x 2 (I put this in smoothies for breakfast, otherwise you only need 1)
Raisins (no sugar added, to add to nuts for snacks)
Eggs (lots of eggs)
Dried herbs of choice (basil, thyme, and oregano are my favorite)
Bananas (freeze and blend with coconut milk as ice cream)
Frozen Fruit (Smoothies)
Coconut Milk
Any other veggies that you may want to snack on, I buy these frozen and canned as well, just make sure to check the ingredients for added salt and other preservatives.


Now for the dinner meals:
7/16- Turkey Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
7/17- Herb Baked Chicken/ mixed veggies
7/18- Turkey Meatballs/ salad
7/19- Pork Chops/ mixed veggies
7/20- Paleo Sheppards Pie
7/21- Paleo Speghetti
7/22- Hawaiian Crock Pot Chicken
7/23- Turkey Meatloaf /sweet potato mash
7/24- Coconut Tillapia/ mixed veggies
7/25- Pulled pork/ sweet potato chips
7/26- Chicken Bacon Spinach Salad
7/27- BBQ Chicken/ veggies
7/28- "taco's"

Alrighty there you have it.  The 29th-Aug. 15th will be on a separate shopping list.  I will post the first day with measurements here shortly!

Paleo on my friends.

It's About That Time to Make Some Momma's Warriors!!!

It has been quite awhile my friends, but it is time for another challenge, and not only will I be doing a challenge, but this time I am also accountable and responsible for the success of another amazing Rocky Mountain Mom.  I will be mentoring her through the Paleo ways and I couldn't be more excited about it.  This challenge will lead up to our Warrior Dash obstacle run on August 17th.

So this is the preliminary post, but tomorrow starts the real fun.  I will list our 14 day meal plan, shopping list and my measurements.  Remember that last Paleo challenge I went from 137 lbs to 123 lbs.  I have gained a few back, sadly, but I am starting this Paleo challenge at 132 so lets see how I do.
In conjunction with the Paleo food challenge, I will also be starting over on an  AB challenge, push up challenge, and a squat challenge.  I will post those workouts with the daily meal plans.  So lets get this show on the road.  I will see you all tomorrow for the initial weigh in, shopping list and meal plan!

Bad Amber!!!

I have been awful this month both with sticking to my challenge and documenting this failure.  I had a very difficult couple of weeks at work which translated to comfort food, which translated to a cold which ergo meant no training. Didn't help my motivation that we have had freezing temperatures the last couple of days and a snow storm. 

I am resolving to end that tomorrow morning. No more excuses.  Back on Paleo for the remainder of the training time, except for maybe my husbands birthday.  Tomorrow the kiddo and I start walk/jogging everyday when I get home from work, and I will be doing a strength building workout each night. 

No more being influenced by my hubby, who always wants the comfort food.  I will allow him to eat however he would like, but I am not going to follow suit.  I worked way to hard to lose this weight and get healthy and I am not going to let myself get back to that former state.

I need your help guys, call me out, hold me accountable, ask me how its going.  I need to stay motivated.  I want to be able to do this 5k and advance to a 10k, mudder and marathon.

Thanks for reading, and I promise to keep up with this from now until 4-28, after that I will be asking for a new challenge.

xoxo

Spring Forward!

Hi Friends,

It's been a couple months.  I have not been very diligent on following my Paleo diet, not going to lie to you.  However I have been able to mostly maintain the weight loss.  I am hovering in between 125 and 127 lbs.  Of course a nasty stomach flu helped to keep me there :(

I am exactly one month away from my first 5k the Denver Graffiti Run, so now I will be focusing on fitness.  I will be modifying my diet to be Paleo Monday-Friday and mostly Paleo Saturday and Sunday.  I will keep a food log but will not be concentrating on recipes.  What I will mostly be logging is my fitness routines.  I will be starting slow, walking mostly and will work my way up to jogging and then running.

For those of you who don't know I am asthmatic, so I will have to slowly build my lungs.  I am also hoping to incorporate some WOD's as well, but I have been pretty busy with school so we will see how that goes.

For today:

Walked to and from work
Took my son on a walk

my goal is to walk a bunch today and tomorrow and then jog Blake to the park with his stroller on Saturday, and walk back.

I'll start food logging tomorrow.

Welcome to the 5k Journey!

Day 30-Final Day!!!!

I can't believe this month is over already.  What a journey of self discovery.  I can't thank everyone enough for the support and even the kind words.  Eric's cousin gave me the best comment stating that my journey inspired her to start a challenge in February. WOW!!! I really didn't expect anyone to read this, it was more an effort to keep myself accountable. Ok so first I will do the food, then I will post the final results.  I was actually amazed this morning.

Breakfast:
left over turkey sausage

Lunch:
TBD, probably a mad greans cobb salad modified with no cheese and balsalmic vinagarette


Dinner:
Chicken meatballs, peas and greenbeans

OK now the stats!

Beginning:
Stats:
Weight: 130.8
Waist: 28"
Hips: 36"
Chest: 33.5"
Thighs: 20.25"
Arms: 11"

Day 15:
Day 15 Stats:
Stats:
Weight: 126.2
Waist: 26"
Hips: 35.5"
Chest: 33"
Thighs: 20"
Arms: 10.5"

Day 30!!
Day 15 Stats:
Stats:
Weight: 123.8 (WOW!)
Waist: 26"
Hips: 33
Chest: 32
Thighs: 20"
Arms: 10

That is a 7 lb total weight loss and 7.75 inches lost.  Terrific! in 30 days!  that drops me comfortably into a size four.

As I stated before I am taking a month of tracking and I am going into maitenence mode.  I will be  eating mostly Paleo.  Paleo during the week, and mostly Paleo during the weekends.  I will continue to walk to work on the days where I don't need to go anywhere at lunch. 

March will start a fitness/WOD challenge.  I feel that I am most successful right now if I concentrate on one over the other.  My June Paleo challenge will hopefully incorporate both diet and WODS. 

Please feel free to email me any questions that you have.  I will periodically post helpful Paleo tips and recipe's.

Love to you all!

Day 29

Writing this a day late on Day 30.  Things got a little hectic yesterday.
I did walk to work and back yesterday which was again awesome.  I am so happy to have that back in most of my daily routines.

Breakfast:
bacon and eggs, I totally overcooked the bacon, but oh well it was still yummy

Lunch: Left over turkey patty and sweet potatoe fries

dinner:
Turkey sausage green beans and peas

super easy day, I have been a little beat down at work the last couple of days.


stay tuned....I will post final results here in a couple minutes

Day 28th

There is something so cleansing about walking in the brisk cold with snow on the ground.  I love walking to work, and I am so glad that the sun sets later so that I can do so.

Breakfast:
4 links of turkey sausage
Trail mix: cashews and Raisins

Lunch:
Homemade Chicken soup

Dinner:
turkey burger
sweet potato fries.

For the sweet potato fries I use olive oil and an oven set to 375 for 30 mins and then 400 for 20 mins.  I did salt these.

In fact I think my salt intake has been a bit much lately and I feel as if I am retaining water.  Most of the time I do not add salt to my food, but I have eaten a lot of bacon and cooked with bacon grease.  You must be careful about salt intake, especially as a woman if you are looking for weight loss.  Women naturally retain a lot of water, and salt increase your water retention.

I have started walking to work and back each morning. Not necessarily a WOD, but it gets me moving and clears my head, which is much needed before arriving to work and going home.

Have a great day!

Day 27

So if you noticed I've been dissapearing over the weekends.  I have entered maintenence mode. I have officially decided not to eat Paleo on the weekends because I am losing rings and have nothing left to wear...not a bad problem, just an expensive one.

My next phase is to stay Paleo on the weekdays, but eat as I please on the weekends.  With that being said I made a chicken noodle soup from scratch yesterday that was delish...(the whole family is sick with a cold). I think that I will take February to mentally unwind from any health or fitness "goals". and will resume March 1st with a fitness challenge.  I want to pledge to workout everyday, even if it is just stretching or walking to work,  for a month.

With that here is today's Paleo lineup

Breakfast:
Trail mix (cashews and raisins)

Lunch:
Chicken stir fry, from last weeks recipe

Snack:
Almond snack pack

Dinner:
Pork Loin stuffed with sundried tomatoes
seasoned with garlic powder and basil
bake mins
served with steamed veggies

Some paleo recipes to note over the weekend.

On Friday morning I made a bacon and egg caserole and popped it in the oven for 20 minutes. These were cut into squares for a super portable breakfast:
8 eggs beaten
1/2 lb bacon baked and then crumbled.
bake at 350 for twenty minutes, cut and serve.

On Sunday I made eggs in a Turkey basket, agin super simple and portable:
9 eggs beaten
garlic powder to taste
line muffin tins with turkey meat
pour in the eggs
top with a pinch of cheese if you are feeling non paleo
bake at 350 for you guessed it, 20 mins.

Have a wonderful week everyone!

Day 23- 7 days to go!

This morning was hectic.  The lil one decided that he did not want me leaving. I was late to a morning meeting with my boss, and came in frantic.  I rushed out without breakfast, which always makes me feel yucky and I have been dragging for the rest of the day.  Moral of the story,  make sure to start your day with a giant glass of water and something, anything for breakfast.


Breakfast:
already divulged that information

Lunch:
Left over Paleo Speghetti from Saturday night.

Tomato paste,
diced tomatoes,
1lb of browned turkey meat

served over roasted speghetti squash.

Dinner:

Chicken Stir Fry

1 Lb Chicken diced
2 cups broccoli
1 cup cauliflower
4 carrots diced
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp low sodium soy sauce (not 100% paleo, but use very very little).
1/3 cup water

Stir Fry in an electic wok

Day 21 and Day 22

Ok,
so back on track with the eating, and the little one has made sure I stay active.  His new thing is to cry at night until I bounce him up and down the stairs to calm him down (I think it's gas issues).  Anyway I bounce up and down 2 flights of stairs at least 20 times a night now right before bedtime.

Day 21:

Breakfast:
Banana (not enough, but all I had time for)


Lunch:
Chicken salad with spinach, raisins and roasted chicken....yum balsalmic dressing

Dinner:
ham and Mixed veggies.....I made a sweet potato as well, but didn't have a chance to eat it thanks to the teathing baby.


Day 22:

Breakfast:
Green Smoothie- so good

Lunch:
I picked up a cobb salad from the grocery store
Iceberg lettuce, hard boiled egg, grilled chicken and bacon.  I subbed out the blue cheese dressing that came with it and had my balsalmic vinegarette instead.

Dinner:
Sloppy joes and mixed veggies.

I subbed out the bun for lettuce cups.

Day 20

I had pretty much given up.  I was tired of cooking and tired of beating myself up for not having the energy to do a WOD everyday.  But after a weekend of eating and drinking whatever I wanted, I woke up feeling sluggish and heavy (in reality I gained 2 lbs back and I am sure most of it is water from my salt intake).  I made myself a spinach smoothie, packed myself a salad with roasted chicken and defrosted the trimmed ham. 

I will not post the last two days food intake, or laziness.  I think it was necessary to put me back on track for the next 10 days.  I will continue to post for the these last 10 days and then it is my plan to do Paleo on the weekdays and give myself the weekends to indulge. 


Here's to lifes stumbling blocks for they remind us that we are merely humans!

Day 17

I have found the need to quiet my mind.  Work has been stressful and unrewarding, so I have found the need to focus my energy elsewhere if I want to find energy and happiness.  I finished off the snacks today so that is hopefully less of a distraction.  I found that I was eating all the way through the day which is not something that I have done in the past.  Even though the foods I am eating are better, they are still high in fat and natural sugars. No more of that.

Breakfast
4 links of turkey sausage
2 scrambled eggs

Lunch
Leftover roasted turkey, although probably to large of a serving

Snack:
Banana Chips
Cashews (again too much)

Dinner

I really tried to make a Paleo chili, but I put in far too much Cumin and Chili powder and had to balance with some brown sugar and kidney beans.....fail.

2 lbs ground turkey
1 package turkey hot dogs
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
cumin and chili powder to taste (do not over do)

This would have made it Paleo.

Oh well tomorrow is a new day.

Day 16

It's a couple days late, I am losing momentum, but I need to regain focus.  This has been a long week and so I have not been as dilligent paying attention to my foods.  I haven't been "bad" but I have been snacking way too much on the borderline foods.  As a result I am feeling a little sluggish.

Breakfast:
skipped (bad)

Snacks
cashews and Banana Chips way more than I should have eaten

Lunch
went out to lunch with a vendor.  I had a cobb salad without blue cheese and with grilled chicken and balsamic vinnegar

Dinner
Paleo Speghetti

2 small speghetti squashes roasted in the oven for 1 hour at 350

1 can diced tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce (check label)
1 lb turkey meat crumbled and cooked in a skillet
Mix in tomatoes and tomato sauce

once speghetti squash is done use a fork to first remove the seeds and the gooey pulp and then scrape the noodle like meat into a seperate bowl

serve sauce over your speghetti squash noodles and enjoy

I have had zero energy to do WOD's....my child has not been sleeping well.

Day 15-Half way there!

I resisted the temptation to abandon the whole challenge last night when out to dinner for a work function.  While I would have loved mac and cheese and a couple glasses of wine, I refrained....what's 15 more days.  Especially with results like this:

Day one stats:
Stats:
Weight: 130.8
Waist: 28"
Hips: 36"
Chest: 33.5"
Thighs: 20.25"
Arms: 11"

Day 15 Stats:
Stats:
Weight: 126.2
Waist: 26"
Hips: 35.5"
Chest: 33"
Thighs: 20"
Arms: 10.5"

For 15 days I would say that is pretty darn good!  Let's see what the next 15 days hold.

Breakfast:
Grapes, 1 piece of pork loin

Lunch:
finished off the Paleo Sheppards pie, and had some peas

Snacks:
cashews 2 handfuls

dinner:
Chicken Cobb Salad from Yardhouse,
86 Tomato, blu cheese crumbles, and ranch dressing. 
Add balsalmic vinegarette

Imagine what will happen if I can get my WOD in gear!

Day 13

Oops slip up day.  After a challenging weekend, I needed a mommy day and treated myself to a couple cocktails (very much not paleo).  I did have vodka and soda, but still not good fort the challenge.  I guess we are all entitled to loose our focus once in awhile.

Breakfast:
2 handfuls of Banana Chips
2 handfuls of grapes

Lunch:
Paleo Sheppards pie (I'm addicted)

Snack:
2 handfuls of Cashews

Dinner:

Apple balsalmic Crock Pot Chicken
Just as a sounds:
1 whole chicken,
1 cup sodium free chicken broth
2 cups water
1/2 cup oil and balsamic vinegar
3 cut up apples

Slow cook 8 hours

Days 11-12 darn weekends

Weekends are always rough for me, they are not something I look forward to at all.  I look forward to Monday's when I can finally claim a little time for myself, even if I am working.  Most of my weekends are spent with my toddler alone. While I love spending time with my little man, lately he has been quite the challenge and I cannot seem to get much done.

Here is the skinny on the food for the weekend:

Day 11:
Breakfast
Grapes and 2 eggs

Lunch:
Pork tenderloin medallions and peas

Dinner:

This was the motherload of Paleo recipes.  It was a little time consuming, but soooooo good.

Paleo Sheppards Pie:
Take 1 whole onion, dice and fry in a skillet with a little olive oil (about 15 mins)
Add in 1 lb of bacon and fry till cooked
Add 4 large chopped carrots and 4 large stalks of celery (about two cups of each) Fry until cooked fully
Add in 1 lb of ground turkey and brown
Add in 1 cup peas and fry till cooked

Steam one head of cauliflower till soft
drain and put into your food processor or heavy duty blender
add in a little olive oil, some garlic powder 1/2 stick of butter and a dash of coconut milk
blend until the consistency of mashed potatoes

Put the meat and veggie mixture into a cassorole dish and back at 350 for 30 minutes.

Enjoy.

Day 12:
Breakfast
I made the huge mistake of buying banana chips.....soooo yummy but now that is all I want.
I also had some dried fruit

Lunch:
Paleo Sheppards pie...did I mention....YUM!

Dinner:
Turkey Breast and grean beans

One full turkey breast rubbed with a compound butter and baked at 400 for 2 hours.


WODS:
I don't need WODS on the weekend....I have a toddler.  LOL.  Plus my legs were so sore from the kettle ball squats that I needed the recovery time.