Birthday Cake

Gluten-free cakes and baked goods have come a long way.  It is now possible to buy ready-made mixes which actually taste pretty good.  We had gluten-free cupcakes this weekend at a baby shower celebration and they were delicious.  I didn't feel a need to make cupcakes or a cake for myself for my Birthday today because I already had eaten delicious baked goods over the weekend.

I had to work today and one of my co-workers, a beautiful woman I was in training with and have worked with for the past two years, made me a flourless chocolate cake with chopped pistacio nuts.  My supervisor brought chocolates and gluten-free cookies, UDI chocolate chip, which were delicious and tasted like soft cookies or yummy cookie dough. 

It was so nice of everyone to think of me and my food allergies.

Exercise

We had our weigh in yesterday for the healthy living challenge and I did not lose or gain an ounce.  I was actually a little surprised because I have consistently lost about a half a pound every week for a long time now. 

This week is focused on exercise and getting 20 minutes of cardio in the day.  Paleo exercise calls for short bursts of exercise instead of extended periods. I have found this works much better for me because extended cardio gives me a wicked headache.  I drink plenty of water and am watching my blood pressure to see what I can do to avoid the headache.

I like to take walks (by the beach?) and walk on the treadmill and do Turbo Jam weight training.  Those are the only things I have been able to motivate myself to really do and enjoy.  Exercise is hard and I am trying to do better.

Choices

It is a great morning and I have exercised on the treadmill while watching Ancient Aliens on Netflix and have a slight headache but I am ready to start homeschool with my son and start the morning off with a bang.  It is just after cooking day, so there are tons of great choices for gluten free and paleo meals to choose from.  I offer my son banana pancakes, which he loves, but he doesn't feel like pancakes.  He has me run through every meal in the fridge and freezer to see what sounds good to him, and then he chooses to eat a bowl of Captain Crunch.  Sigh.

It is hard not to feel like a failure as a parent when your child chooses Captain Crunch over every other choice in the house.  I try to tell myself that at least he has the choice and that at some point he will realize the benefits of eating healthy and make a better choice.  Would I have made a better choice at 14?  I doubt it.  Did we ever have sugar cereal in the house?  No, we got hot oatmeal with an extra spoonful of vital gluten if anyone even cared to wake up and fix breakfast.

I feel like he has to make his own choices about what he eats.  I try hard to educate him and point out when he isn't feeling well that it is directly related to the food he eats.  At 14, if I try to force him to eat healthy at home he will gravitate towards everything terrible when he is not at home. 

Many parents don't keep anything in the house which would be a bad choice.  If I had always eaten this way, I would agree that keeping crap out of the house is the best plan. However,  I don't want my son to feel like he has to hide food from me or hide what he is eating when I am not with him.  Hello eating disorder!  If he wants snacks and sugar cereal for breakfast, it makes me cringe, but it is his choice.  Sometimes he wants a tuna sandwich for breakfast and that makes me cringe too, but I make it for him.

My breakfast today consisted of chicken and brussel sprouts cooked in the pan after I fried up some bacon.  This is the second week of the health challenge and we are focusing on doing 20 minutes of cardio every day.  We have also tracked our eating habits and amounts and I am finally doing better keeping track of Calories/Carbs/Proteins.  I should be eating 1500 calories a day to lose weight and 113 grams of protein.  I try to keep my meals at 15 grams of carbohydrate to keep a slow burn of energy going throughout the day.

Things I re-learned this week:  weight training helps you burn calories and increases metabolism for a long time after you are done, you should eat protein within 20 minutes of working out, exercise hurts my knees, gives me a headache, makes my left elbow hurt and isn't my favorite.  I always have the choice to exercise or not exercise, just like my son has his choices.  I am striving to make better health choices and be a better example for him and I might live a healthier life along the way.

Cooking Day

Cooking day always wears me out.  I decided that my cheat meal needs to be on a different day than my cooking day because I am so full from eating what I cook and tried from cooking that I don't really enjoy my cheat meal like I should.

I made meals for the week and am trying out a couple of new things.  I made "breakfast" meals that I can eat with a fresh scrambled egg.  In a tupperware or ziplock I have a small portion of steak or meat and a 1/4 cup of vegetable (usually spinach or asparagus).  When I am ready for breakfast, I can either boil an egg or fry one and then add the meat and vegetable in the pan and breakfast is ready.

I am leaning heavy on the fish and fowl this week whereas I usually eat pork and beef.  My meals this week are comprised of ground turkey and salmon.  I purchased wild caught salmon and baked it and divided it up into 3oz portions.  I added 3 shrimp, my vegetable carbohydrate and 1/4 yam cooked with coconut oil and honey on top to make it sweet.  I also purchased a huge tub of ground turkey and made a turkey meatloaf, turkey meatballs with montreal steak seasoning and browned the rest to freeze so that it was available for lettuce wraps or tacos.  I like making meatballs because it makes it easy to portion.  I am trying to watch my portions during the health challenge, but usually I allow myself as much as I want as long as it is within my paleo guidelines.

Speaking of guidelines, I eat potatoes, yams and honey which are not strict to paleo eating.  These foods are natural foods which do no make me sick and so I include them in my diet. I like agava also and would eat more of it, but it is expensive.  Everyone has to find a way of eating which works for the individual and eating paleo and/or gluten free is not a religion.  Removing or reducing high starch foods while trying to lose weight is understandable, but I enjoy potatoes and yams.  When learning to eat without grains, sugar and gluten, a fried potato or a buttered yam can really sooth your soul.

When I am cooking my protein, I boil and bake my vegetables and set them up buffet style on the counter.  When the meat is done, I let everything cool a little and then make different combinations of protein and vegetable.  I boil yams and use half for savory and half for sweet.  Both kinds get a nice portion of real butter, because when you don't eat sugar, it makes you feel better to have twice the butter.

8 Week Healthy Living Challenge, Day 2

What did I eat today?

Breakfast-1 egg, scrambled in 1 tsp coconut oil with spinach mixed in, green tea
Morning Snack-Banana, almonds, cup of coconut milk, vitamins and supplements
Lunch-Nothing, I was busy fixing the battery on my car
Afternoon Snack-Nothing, not home, still fixing the stupid battery cables
Dinner- Meatsa, one half of my lunch container, green tea
Evening Snack- The other half of my Meatsa, spinach, V8 with coconut oil

I have mastered eating gluten free and do very well eating paleo.  Now I am working on eating smaller portions and exercising during the healthy challenge time period.  My goal is not to lose weight, per se, but to reach a healthy weight and feel well.

Lisa, our personal trainer at work, provided instructions to make a SMART weight loss goal.  SMART is an acronym fo Specific Measurable Attainable Relevant and Time-Bound.  My goal is "On Monday, January 23, I will feel strong and full of energy at 199 pounds by eating smaller portions, making healthy food choices and exercising every day, alternating paleo cardio and weight training."

I have a goal to lose 1 pound in a week and would like to eventually be at my target weight of 160 pounds.  When I started eating paleo, I was at 245 pounds.  I have pretty much eaten as much as I wanted, within the paleo guidelines, and did minimal exercising to reach the 200 pounds I am at now.  It is the first time in my entire life that I have actually been able to lose weight in a healthy manner and feel good.

My physical goals are to sleep only 8 hours a day, instead of 10 or 12, stretch every day, do some sort of exercise I enjoy and practice wall sits and push ups to improve my strength.

One thing I have found which helps me stay on track is to keep a list of things I crave on my wish list of cheat items.  When I have my cheat day I can then look at the list and see if I still really, really want what I have written down.  It is a good way to track if my cravings go away over time and work on self-gratification.

Healthy Living Challenge

Today started the beginning of an eight week healthy living challenge at work. The challenge is being run by one of my co-workers who is a personal trainer.  It is along the lines of a biggest loser challenge, but we had to make the change so that the focus was on healthy living instead of weight loss.

I started with a big bang by getting out of bed on the wrong side, started of fwith the wrong foot, ate some gf cookies and blew my diet out of the water.  I have settled back down and had a good dinner of bbq pork and spinach.

My focus is to start exercising in earnest and get back on my triangle of health, eating 3 meals of protein/vegetable carb/good fat and 3 snacks of nuts/seeds/good fruit carb and good fat. 

Good news:  At my Doctor's visit, there was no blood in my urine at all which has not happened for years and years.  I still need to see my nephrologist, but my kidneys appear to be doing better than they have for a long time.

Funny things from work: 

"Please call other responders as her son is on a month long square dancing vacation."

"What is Doug's relation to you?"   "Oh Honey, we don't have relations!  He is just my neighbor!"

Butternut Squash

Stovetop Carnitas is a regular around our house.
Other than grabbing a hunk and eating it cold for breakfast I like to try and come up with yummy things to eat with it.

The combination of spices in the mix turned out delicious.

1 butternut squash
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 T kerry gold butter (any pastured butter will do)
1/4 pecans
2-4 brazil nuts (get your selenium for the day!)
We rarely use it anymore since our tastebuds are adjusted to enjoy just the sweetness of the squash, but for those who are just transitioning from refined sugars Coconut Crystals can be a good low glycemic addition.
If you choose to use it, 1 teaspoon is plenty.

Bake squash at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes. Or pierce microwave on high for 5 minutes.
Chop nuts, add cinnamon and Coconut Crystals if desired, and sprinkle over squash.
Add twice the buttah...
Enjoy!

Paleo Spaghetti

Spaghetti Squash is amazing!
We love to make a bolognese sauce and toss it on top of spaghetti squash.
Delicious, fast and easy.

We choose the Classico Tomato Basil sauce for a few reasons. First, it has no added sugar. Second, it comes in an Atlas brand mason jar that is reusable. Third, we can get it in a three pack from Costco for a really decent price. Fourth, it tastes good. Fifth, it is much easier than making the sauce from scratch.

Brown 1 lbs of Elk (Or ground meat of your choice) with
2 T coconut oil
1 diced onion
When meat is cooked and onion is translucent add the Classico sauce and heat through.

There are two ways to make the spaghetti squash. Which way I choose depends on how far ahead I have thought. You can cut it down the middle, scrape out the seeds and place cut side down on a baking tray.
Place it in the oven for 35-40 minutes at 350 degrees.

The other way is to pierce the squash with a knife and put it in the microwave for 7-10 minutes depending on how large the squash is.
When it is soft, cut in half and remove the seeds.

Either way it it cooked, you will get nice little stringy bits of squash when you scrape the inside with a fork.

Plate the squash, add the sauce and cheese if so desired.

Dr Terry Wahls

Another reason to recommit myself.

From personal experience she encourages us to follow a paleo diet which would include:
* 3 cups of green leaves a day
* 3 cups Bright colored veggies or fruits (three different colors every day)
* 3 cups sulfer rich veggies a day such as cabbage, collards, onions, garlic, mushrooms, asparagus or others)
* Grass fed meat every day
* Organ Meat once a week (liver, sweetbread, heart, tongue)
* Seeweed once a week for iodine


"We are starving ourselves..."

Healthy Smoothies

Earlier, I mentioned that I drink spinach.
Actually, not just spinach, just about any green.

My friend introduced me to The Green Smoothie Girl. Like all nutrition "gurus" I take what works for my body, and leave the rest.
I have seen a great increase in the amount of greens in my diet after I started adding them to a smoothie. It is a fast, easy way to get more greens.

The Green Smoothie Girl says you need a high powered, professional blender. I have found my 70's gold Osterizer to do a great job. (And it was about $370 cheaper at Goodwill.)

At this point, I have put a whole lot of things in a smoothie.
Coconut milk, homemade yogurt, ice and water are my typical bases
Then I add frozen berries. Strawberry, blueberry, raspberry
Any greens I have on hand, spinach, beet greens, kale and celery are my favorites.
Give it a whirl and keep it on for about 2 solid minutes to make it nice and smooth.
Pour it into an opaque glass if the brownish color is a turn off.

We often have this with elk burgers so we have Burgers and a Shake.
Gives us the triangle of Good Fat, Good Carb, Protein.

It is a great way to get more raw fruit and veggies.

Back on the wagon, or canoe

Climbing back on the paleo wagon after the holidays was similar to trying to pull my previously 245 pound body into a canoe after spilling out in the middle of a lake.  I had to get back in the canoe because the water was freezing and I wouldn't make it to shore if I tried to swim.  It was hard to start eating strictly paleo again, but I did it because I know that it works and I feel great and I don't want to die in the middle of a metaphorical freezing lake.

Eating paleo has melted 45 pounds off my frame.  I did not anticipate any weight loss because I have NEVER been able to lose weight.  In the past 30 years I have tried many, many different eating plans  and never felt any better and never lost weight.  I didn't take a before and after picture when I started because I knew that I might feel better from eating paleo, but that it wouldn't make any difference with how much I weighed.  I did finally take a "before" picture  at 200 pounds to track changes.

I set dates in my calendar to identify when I stopped eating sugar and grains and when I could start back up six months later.  I set a goal to try it for six months and see how I felt.  The date was May 25, 2011 and six months later, my pants were loose and I had lost 30 pounds just from eating paleo.  I was trying to exercise more, but failing miserably.  I was so excited that I felt so good and that I had actually lost weight that I kept doing it.

What I love the most is that my food tastes naughty.  It isn't like any diet plan.  For breakfast this morning I had a pork chop and two eggs cooked crisp in coconut oil and a cup of V8 with a teaspoon of coconut oil melted into it.  It was delicious and satisfying and hit all the points of my health triangle: protein, vegetable carbohydrate and good saturated fat.

Seattle, WA

Best.  Flight. Ever.  I flew to Seattle, WA to visit my sisters and was on the day care special plane.  There was a screaming kid in front and in back of me and I was seated next to the worst kid on the plane.    The demon child was having a full-on melt down, screaming and kicking and punching.  We hated each other immediately. 

The Mom of this irrational toddler came well prepared and had a DVD player with movies, toys and snacks, but the temper tantrum queen wasn’t buying in to the preparation.  Finally, after take off and she could sit on her own, she was tearing apart her Mom’s purse and found a maxi pad.  She started to unwrap the maxi pad and her embarrassed Mom took it from her and tried to put it away.  Demon toddler ramped up her game and started shrieking hysterically, so with a big sigh her Mom gave in and handed her back the maxi pad. 

She really enjoyed the sticky backing of the maxi pad and stuck it on the chair in front of her, on the fold-down table and on the window over and over and over.  Her poor Mom was so embarassed.  Sister satan then had the bright idea that the maxi pad was like the best piece of sticky paper she had ever seen and got her markers and started working on her art piece.  She decorated the maxi pad with every color and shape she knew.  With each new unrecognizable picture, she would look over to me and I would clap my hands lightly and say "YAY!" in a stage whisper.  It was the greatest piece of art ever.

We were best friends by the end of the flight.  I shared my life savers with her.

Paleo Kits

I just heard about Steve's Orginal Paleo Kits.
http://stevesoriginal.com/store

What a great idea for on the go, busy days or 72 hour kits.
I would like to purchase some to see how they work.

Making our own would and interesting venture if I like them.

Eating for Optimal Health, Take Two

After indulging in gluten free grains and sugar and soda pop during the month of December, it is time to get back to eating healthy.  I don't have any new goals or resolutions, I am just picking back up the old ones and continuing to soldier on.  Honestly, I don't know that I will go back to grains and sugar ever again because it is so hard to detox.  The wicked headache from sugar and caffeine withdrawl makes me cranky.

Getting back in the game made me think of how eating healthy and exercising is similar to getting a new video game.  Learning to eat for optimal health is similar to playing the new video game.  When starting a new game, your character has to learn how to survive and avoid pitfalls and dangers.  Your character is going to die and quit and you will have to start over and learn how to avoid the dangers.

Starting over with the knowledge you gained, you start to play better and your character lives longer.  You find treasure and reveal secrets and get bonus points and extra lives.  While there might be a few individuals who can play a game the first time and beat it with a top score,  most of us regular people have to practice.

If I find myself off track and not feeling well because of it, I try not to feel too bad about it.  I realize that I am learning and I have to practice eating well and exercising.  I have to start over each day and do better and better each time.  This video game I call my life isn't all that fun.  Sometimes I just stay in bed instead of playing because my character isn't strong.  Knowing I will get better with practice I stay motivated to wake up and try again another day and feel happy to have another day to try.

Eating well along with moderate exercise can earn us more life in real life.  Not eating well may cause us to lose our lives for real.  I try to keep that in mind while making my choices throughout the day.