Changes + Challenges

Changes + Challenges

    It has been over a week and a half of successful Paleo eating habits. I'm loving it in fact. It really isn't too far off my typical choices, but definitely eliminates food I love to indulge in...candy, soda, and all my baking.

This last week or so my typical day looks like this:

• 7:30 either - a. have a protein shake mixed with almond milk or b. 4 egg whites + one whole egg scrambled with onions and peppers
• Between 8:30-12 I typically consume - 2 Cuties, an apple, handful of sliced almonds, a banana, meat of some type (ground beef or tuna), and some raw veggies
• Lunch time - 3 servings of steamed veggies, seasoned
• Between 12:30-4 I finish my sliced almonds, have another Cutie, maybe an apple, and some carrots
• Dinner has been - a. shrimp + veggies, b. ground beef or elk with lots of salsa and veggies, or c. a giant salad with spinach, kale, beef, veggies, and salsa. 
• Dessert has been - a. a great smoothie with bananas, carrots, oranges, watermelon, almond milk, and kale or b. a chocolate protein shake after a workout

     I was starting to get full faster, but also hungrier more often, even though I was always eating, literally every hour. Because of this, I felt it was necessary to track my food for a couple days...figure out exactly what was going on. *On a side note, logging in your food via many free apps out there is by far the best weight loss tool (if that is something you are looking to achieve). To take ownership in what you ate, and recognize how much you've had throughout the day is vital. If you are logging your food you can not pretend you had one Hershey Kiss when really you had 9. The guilt will get to you. :)  It also breaks down the carbs, protein, sugars, etc. which can be very useful.

   Anyhow, back to my results...
Surprisingly, this minimal amount of food fills up my caloric goals! Which terrifies me a bit, considering I was previously consuming all of that plus some processed foods like granola bars, yogurt, soda, candy, and anything else that happened to come up on any given day, usually some baked goods here and there.
      Overall, the food changes that I have made have been great. The bet is going well, Deb and I are powering through! I might be paying in $5 though while I bake all my Super Bowl treats for our staff potluck on Friday. I mean, I can't serve them to people without sampling them. What if there was not enough vanilla, powdered sugar, or cinnamon? I will be making cookie dough + pretzels dipped in chocolate (see below), Cinnamon Toast Crunch cupcakes, angel food blueberry cupcakes, and cake batter Rice Krispies with buttercream frosting. Yum!

Pretzels + Cookie Dough dipped in chocolate