still here.

Hello. So I took off with the blogging thing and then got overwhelmed with the commitment of recording all our meals and I quit. Sorry.

Picking up with where I left last you...sorry to say we didn't last the whole 20 something days as intended. The weekend came and we wanted pizza.

Mmmmm Glorious pizza...all crusty and cheesy.

BUT: we have totally redesigned our nutrition. We have kept the concepts of the program and have a basic 80% clean plan. This means that 80% or more of the food we eat is clean-no grains, dairy, ONLY meat, vegetables, fruits and nuts. Roughly 3 meals a week are "fun" meals. And we go big...queso, enchildas, pizza, burgers, fries.

The nice thing is that we feel AMAZING. We usually reserve the "fun" meals to the weekends so we have the nutrition benefits during the week when we need good rest and energy for workouts and work. This works for us because it is rigid: unless its one of those 3 meals, we don't eat it if its not clean. Yet still flexible: we could have fun snacks during the superbowl, or a piece of cake at a party. Interestingly enough, it has also encouraged us to eat cleaner...even when given the option to eat "fun". We really consider if something is "worth it" and if we really want it. If not, we eat clean and save the fun meals for later.

Also, regularly eating high quality food has changed what we enjoy...fast food and prepared food completely grosses us out. If we are eating "fun" we will go with like good, Italian, brick oven pizza, or a gourmet hamburger and fries. Even if we are going "fun" we need it fresh. Most fast food, packaged, and even deli/cafe type restaurants (Subway, Corner Bakery) are not very fresh and simply no longer have any appeal.

We also watched Food Inc which further led to a change of eating habits. We are increasingly trying to choose grass-fed meat options and organic pantry and produce items.

I have an idea for a "Grocery" post later where I list an example of a weekly trip to the grocery store, including cost. It is definitely expensive to eat well. But we eat at home most of the time and we are eating WELL. And at the end of the week, we have no food left. So I feel ok about it because a)we aren't wasting anything and b)when you consider the health benefits, it's worth it.

We have also been tossing around the idea of joining a food co-op. It is definitely a money-saving option and ensures that the food you get is local and organic. Better for the environment than getting produce that all comes from South America. The one we are considering is called Urban Acres.

In other news, I am home today for my FIFTH snow day in 2 weeks. And I just got word that we have a 2 hour delay tomorrow. I'm thinking that if this is going to become a regular thing for Texas winter, we should invest in some snow equipment for our cities!

P.S. As I type, I have a big pot of CLEAN chili (made with grass-fed buffalo of course!) simmering on the stove for this "bitterly cold" evening :) The secret ingredient is unsweetened cocoa.

Grief

I feel like I'm going through a grieving process. For me, the biggest difficulty with this new nutrition program is that I still am not 100% committed to wanting a change. And it is not like I'm casually choosing to eat "healthy".

This is CHANGING. MY. LIFE.
Forever.

Part of me knows the benefits of eating clean FAR outweigh anything gained from a "regular" diet. THAT part wants to get to the place where I don't want to put junk in my body and craves proper fuel.

But there is still the part of me that doesn't want to lose "good" food. See, one of the effects of removing the bad stuff from your diet is that you lose your taste for it, you can't handle the effects of it and no longer want it. Which is great. Except right now, I still want to want pizza. Hamburgers. Cookies. PASTA.

And so here I am resenting the decisions I am making daily because I know they will essientially kill my desire for the foods I am not eating. We have a faculty meeting once a month. If your birthday is in that month, you get a cookie from Paradise Bakery at the end of the meeting. Today, I had to pass up my once a year opportunity for my cookie. That made me sad.

I have some decisions to make people, some questions to ask myself.

Do I really want to change? I tell myself I want optimum health, optimum physical ability, optimum energy and quality of life. Do I want it bad enough to stick it out and change for good? Do I have the strength for it? Do I have the strength to DAILY choose to ignore the foods I once loved? Do I have the strength to go to a holiday party or a wedding and push around the potatoes on my plate, or let that delectable little hor'dourve pass me by, or turn down that piece of cake? Do I WANT to have that strength?

This is just a little honest glimpse of where I am right now. Haven't cheated yet. I haven't found anything worth it.

Day 4

Well, I didn't have a chance to make a post yesterday so here is a little catch-up.

Day 4 (Thursday)

I ate:
2 hardboiled egg whites, banana
almonds
shrimp
guacamole
mixed veggies (from night before)
apple
dinner last night?
Yup, Mi Cocina. Sans chips, tortillas, rice and beans. We both got the 50-50 fajitas and we have found that Mi Cocina will sub sauteed veggies in lieu of rice and beans. The pico and guac they serve on the side is just fine as well. It was yummy and I ate my ENTIRE meal, which is not something I normally do with a fajita dinner.

Then I made dessert: Cinnamon apples.

Saute sliced and cored apples in some coconut oil till soft and starting to brown. Add preferred amount of cinnamon and nutmeg (the recipe I was using said to use apple pie spice but I don't have that at home) and saute for a couple more minutes. Serve up nice a warm.

We added a little splash of unsweetened coconut milk in ours and it made a nice little juice at the bottom of the bowl.

Energy? My workout was stellar. Got up at the right time, killed the workout, used a heavier weight than I have before. Hubs and I are both finding that we don't get that early afternoon downer that you usually get sometime after lunch. And I'm in a great mood when I get home from work.

Hunger? Yup, it was the grains...didn't feel like a starving child waiting until lunch this time since I had the eggs. There was cake in the teacher workroom...but I resisited. I told myself that if I cheat on this diet it wouldn't be for a sheet cake from Kroger.

Day 3

I wanted cheese.


But I ate:
plain oats, coconut milk
banana
cocktail shrimp
cucumbers (prepped with oil and vinegar)
guac from dinner yesterday
iced tea
a LOT of raspberries
cinnamon flank steak with mixed veggies (forgot to take pics...but it wasn't too complex...just a some cinnamon and ginger sprinkled over the steak)

Energy? Slept GREAT. No workout this morning. But energy has been up up up all day.


Hunger? I got REALLY hungry for lunch. That's when I started wanting cheese. It is likely that I am getting so hungry for lunch due to the insulin-spiking grains in the morning. Gotta work on that.

Still wasn't too hard on Wednesday. Feeling really good.

Day 2

I ate:

plain oatmeal with unsweetened coconut milk- tasted bland but only because my body is conditioned to want a sugar taste. I bet in a few days it will taste better.
almonds
pork, parsnip, and pepper leftovers
cucumbers w/ a touch of olive oil and vinegar and salt
pear
unsweet tea (I almost caved and went for the diet coke when I started getting a headache and sluggish...but I went for a big glass of tea)
dinner: Mexi-salad with fresh guacamole
(ingredients- ground beef, diced tomatoes, a bunch of spices, organic salsa, romaine lettuce, peppers, avocados, lime, cilantro, garlic)
orange

Energy? veeerry tired this morning. it was hard to get going with the morning workout. this is normal I believe, because my body is craving (addicted to!) the insulin-shock-response. as I stated above, almost caved and got a diet coke. Energy went UP as the day went on! Didn't feel drained at the end of the day like I normally do.

Hunger? I wasn't abnormally hungry. I got hungry for lunch but full after I ate. Same for dinner.

Mexi-salad was really good, the beef mixture was FABULOUS. The secret ingredient is....CINNAMON!! I forgot to take a pic but here is our aftermath...

Link to recipe here. Very tasty and very filling.

Rather than post some boring nutritional info, I thought I would share a quote from the blog of this gal in Austin who has practiced this diet and has some killer recipes to share as well.

"It's not that I have an immense amount of willpower or that I like keeping myself on a short leash. It's because I really like who I am and how I feel when I eat properly. I think I'm more patient, calmer, more optimistic, and more confident. I like when my stomach isn't bloated and when my thinking is clear. And, if I'm totally honest, I also really dig feeling smug when I snarf big piles of protein, veggies, and coconut oil."

Can't wait to get there!

Day 1

This was Monday, Day 1 of the Whole 20-something.

I ate:

oatmeal - since I just can't give myself anymore time in the morning to add in cooking and really don't like eggs by themselves anyway, this is the ONE allowance I am giving myself. And hopefully, I can do it every other day, alternating with a boiled egg and some fruit.

some almonds

leftover turkey (breast meat) and green beans (not the best but we hadn't done our shopping yet)

apple

pork, parsnips, and peppers for dinner.

red tea (for dessert?) unsweetened.

This dish was amazing! I don't love peppers but they really flavored the other things in it nicely.

Basically, chop up boneless parsnips, boneless pork chops, peppers and grape tomatoes. Heat up some EVOO and add the ingredients in the order listed above, saving the tomatoes for the last 5 minutes. Season with garlic powder, sea salt, ground black pepper, red pepper flakes (go easy!) and a light dusting of italian seasoning and cook about 15 minutes. BAM! Put it on a plate and fuel up.

Parsnips are interesting. They look like white carrots. When you peel them they smell like really ripe, fresh carrots. When you cook them, they taste and have the texture similar to a potato. I liked them!!

I felt:

Morning workout was sluggish but I ate like crap on Sunday. Energy throughout the day. Didn't even feel tired until I got into bed.

Whole30...or eating like a cavewoman.

Well, considering I probably have about -10 followers out there now due to my (or lack of) blogging habits, I'll go ahead and get crazy.

Hubs and I are going on a diet. Really, everyone has a DIET. It is just that the DIET varies from person to person.

Reasons:
1. HEALTH
2. energy
3. athletic performance
4. aesthetics
5. digestive health
6. emotional health
7. physiological health

The Diet: the Whole30...or in our case Whole20-something because we are doing this till Christmas break.

I could post a lengthy explanation, or I could give you the website because those of you who actually care would probably rather see it at the source.

But basically, we are these people with a stove.

And WAY less hair.

And body odor.

And more clothing.

And we smile.

But the gist is this:

Certain food groups (such as grains, legumes, and dairy) have a negative effect on your overall health. Eliminating these inflammatory, insulin-spiking, calorie-dense but nutritionally sparse food groups for a while will help your body heal and recover from whatever effects these foods may be provoking.

We are eating REAL food-meat, fish, eggs, tons of vegetables, some fruit, and plenty of good fats. Foods with very few ingredients, all pronounceable ingredients, or better yet, no ingredients listed at all because they’re natural and unprocessed. No sugar or sugar subs, alcohol, grains, legumes, dairy, or white potatoes.

No weighing food or portioning it out...we will eat when we are hungry but only these things.

If you question the benefits or reasoning go to the site. Please don't tell me that whole grains are good for you (I have seen the little pyramid the government has created for us). Yes, they have benefits. But there are negative effects as well and the good things they have can be found in other foods and food combinations. Or just ask me your questions! I'll be happy to answer the best I can.

Until then, I MIGHT use this blog as a daily food tracker or post yummy recipes or little informative nutritional tidbit.

or a rant about how much I want ice cream.

cake.

french fries.

diet coke.

OH....DIET COKE!!!!!!!

I'm in mourning.