Whole30 Day One!

Aaaand we're off!

I'm glad Syd posted her meal plan; I like to see what others are doing and get ideas. One of the things the Whole30 program suggests is having three easy dinners planned each week so that when you come home tired and cranky, you won't stop at the Golden Arches. So that's what I've done -- one of my meals will take less than five minutes to make, so I can't use the excuse that fast food is faster than going home because you can spend five minutes in the drive-through.

I've been making meal plans for a long time. They help with weekly shopping, and I don't (usually) overbuy and then have unused food go to waste. My lunches are always leftovers from dinner plus a piece of fruit, and my breakfast is always 3 eggs with some kind of meat (ham, bacon, or sausage). I ran into a problem with ground sausage today, though, because everything I looked at had some kind of sugar in it. So I went with ground pork, and I'll spice it up when I cook it today.

So here's my dinner plan for the week:
tuna and veggie sticks
grilled chicken with sauteed zucchini, broccoli, and snow peas
burgers and smashed sweet potatoes
sauteed sausage with bell pepper, onion, zucchini, and yellow squash
zucchini enchilada boats
crockpot chili
lemon and artichoke chicken (from Practical Paleo)


And now my goals. Whole30 recommends 9 different categories of goals. Here's the explanation of each category, though they've lumped exercise, active recovery, and injury rehab into one group (healthy movement) and added Natural Environment and Socialization. The goal-setting worksheet needs to be updated, so I'm going to use the two new categories (especially since I've got nothing for active recovery or injury rehab.

Nutrition: I will drink water throughout the day instead of waiting till I'm dehydrated.

Sleep: I will turn off electronic devices 30 minutes before bed (with the exception of phone calls from my husband).

Stress Management: I got nothin.

Healthy Movement: I will take a 30-minute walk three times a week (outside my normal activity).

Natural Environment: My 30 minute walks will be outside.

Socialization: This one's tough. I'm not quite sure what I'm supposed to set a goal for, so I'm going to skip this one.

Fun and Play: I will go to two new places this month.

Personal Growth: I will journal daily.

Temperance: I will limit my weekday television to one hour per night.

Tomorrow, the Plank Challenge!

[ETA: My starting weight is 235. I'm not too concerned with losing weight (more on that later), I'm just curious. I'm not weighing myself this month, so I'll post an update, along with before and after pictures, at the end.]

Primal Challenge - Week One Meal Plan

I absolutely have to go into this with a meal plan.  I generally meal plan before shopping each week, so it wasn't that difficult for me to do.  Except that I had to buy only Primal foods.  (Okay, not true.  My 6yo Monkey loves sandwiches and can not live without them, much to my chagrin.  And the fiance is not 100% on board with trying the diet.  I'd put him at 50% on board.  Meaning he'll think about it, but he won't have any qualms about bringing home a coke and drinking it in front of me.)

I figure my breakfasts will be about the same every morning: bacon, eggs, fruit.  Maybe some sweet potato pancakes?  I didn't plan this out very well; I'm used to only planning dinners.  Will definitely plan breakfast foods for next week.  See? I'm learning already.

In no particular order:

• Grilled chicken with zucchini and cauliflower rice
• Hobo packets (chuck steak and cut up veggies wrapped in foil and baked)
• Chicken Enchiladas x2 (experimenting with coconut flour tortillas), maybe with a side of Mexican cauliflower rice
• Chicken Strips with steamed broccoli and fresh carrots
• Roast Chicken x2 (meaning it will feed us twice!)

And for random snacks I have:

• watermelon
• cantaloupe
• carrots
• cherries
• cucumbers (I do NOT like cucumbers.  Maybe I can change my mind about them?)
• raisins

Whole30 Challenge

Paleo, I'm coming back to you! I started eating paleo back in November or December, and I really like it. I just...got lost recently and turned to the easy out: fast food. I think that is my biggest challenge, is not turning to fast food even when I know it's going to make me feel like shit.

So I've signed up for the Whole30 Daily. It's basically a daily email full of encouragement and ass kicking, which is what I need. Both, equally. I think I'm luckier than Syd in my challenge because I live along and don't have to think about the food preferences of anyone else -- I can concentrate on me and what I like.

What I like so far about the Whole30 program:

Throw out your scale. I've said this for years, believed it for years, and, again in this area, have gotten lost. I've grown used to weighing myself daily, which is silly because weight is not an indicator of health. I don't want to get hung up on that. So I've weighed myself today (Day 0), and I will be tucking the scale away. I will also be skipping the weigh-in on the Wii Fit for the next 30 days.

Set measurable goals. I'm going to do this. I will post my goals for my 30 days tomorrow.

Don't count what you're eating. Eat good stuff until you're full. That's the only thing you're measuring, is your level of fullness.

What I don't like:
Don't eat stuff that's a replacement food. For example, pancakes are bad. Pizza is bad. I don't like labeling food as bad...though I can see their point. We're trying to break bad habits and get away from the junky food, and eating food that reminds us of the junky food is not so swell.

No sugars at all. Previously, I'd eat honey and maple syrup on occasion. No more (at least for the next 30 days).

Today I'm shopping for my meals for the week, and tomorrow I plan on prepping what I can. Wish me luck!

30 Day Primal Challenge

I've done the primal diet before (also called the Paleo diet, etc, etc).  I've very much stopped following it, though, because, well... Cakes, cookies, Mtn. Dew, pie, cupcakes. I love junk food.  And that's a problem. Since Rhed and I have decided to try all these crazy (and not so crazy) internet challenges, we decided it was a perfect time to challenge ourselves to eat better.  She's doing the Whole30, which is a lot more strict than the challenge I've set for myself.  While we're basing this blog on fitness challenges that may or may not be realistic, I figured that the primal diet is something I want to stick with, so I want a challenge I can meet.  And since I will be A) apartment hunting in a city 1.5 hours away B) moving and C) road tripping during this challenge, I knew Whole30 was NOT for me.

Anyway, my challenge: Eat "primal diet approved" foods for 30 days.  No cakes. No cookies.  No soda. *sad face*  My diet for the next thirty days will include lots of good eats, moderate okay eats, and (hopefully!) no bad eats.  Week one's meal plan to come!

Good Eats:

Meat
Eggs
Veggies
Nuts/Seeds
Good Fats (butter, coconut oil, olive oil)
Fruits
Green beans, sugar snap peas
Water

Okay Eats:

Dairy

Dark chocolate

Tea sweetened with natural stevia

Honey

Maple Syrup

Soy sauce (gluten free)

Bad Eats:

Grains (wheat, barley, rice, etc, etc)

Legumes (beans, and peanuts; excepting the above)

Processed foods

Refined Sugar

Bad fats