Sunday’s Reflection
You’ve learned a lot over the last 3 weeks. I would like you to share your goals for this 4th week; are you altering when you’re eating, how you’re eating, your sleeping habits, how you’re trying to maintain stress better, how you’re trying to manage your time better. Reflect on where you need room for improvement and How you can tackle it!
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What was the challenge Last Week?! Participants went to a restaurant to order a paleo meal. The Winner was Jen R. and she receives a Bath and Body works Gift Package!
Jen went to Village Deli (downtown Kirkwood) and this is what she said about it: ” I ordered a ‘customized’ three egg omelette with ham, green peppers, chives, and mushrooms, and asked them to use either olive oil or bacon grease for cooking. Not sure if they were clear on that, but I tried. I also worry a bit about cross-contamination at places with big griddles, which is why I don’t often eat out. Regardless, I had them hold the toast and home fries, and substituted a side of bacon and a fruit cup. I shared my fruit cup and ate some strawberries, blueberries, and a couple of pieces of pineapple and honeydew out of it. Anyway, I felt good after I ate, so there must not have been any cross-contamination (I can’t have gluten), and our waiter was understanding and helpful (though not extremely knowledgable about food prep 🙂 All in all, it was a good experience, and Village Deli is a pretty good choice if you are in a hurry and down on Kirkwood since they serve breakfast all day.”
What is the challenge this week?! This week’s challenge is to prepare a paleo pumpkin recipe and share it at our Halloween party This Saturday10/29 at 5pm (which is also when the costume WOD takes place)! Tasters will vote for their favorite one and determine the winner! You can bake it, blend it, heat it, chill it – just make sure there’s pumpkin in it! The winner will receive a Long Sleeve HCF Waffle T!
Hoosier CrossFit 6-Week Challenge 
October 23rd, 2011 at 12:12 pm
This week eating wise went very well for me. I’ve got a good routine going which helps me stay disciplined. Another week of being fruitless, my goal this week is to not eat so many nuts- I feel like that is my go to when I need a snack. My plan is to cook up some chicken-beef-pork whatever I find at bloomingfoods- cut it up into small portions and leave it in the fridge and have it as snack when I need one (I like having some kind of protein as a snack it keeps me full).
As far as sleep goes- I’m not having very much luck. Some days are better than others but I almost always wake up in the middle of the night (it is quite frustrating) but this has been going on way before paleo- I thought cutting out the fruit would help but I haven’t found the cause yet.
I will say that I am nervous for when this challenge ends. I think most people will agree that being social and paleo is not easy- it takes a whole lot of self control. I have really enjoyed not drinking every weekend. I feel better not only physically but mentally as well – drinking makes me crazy (insulin level!!!!) haha. I need to remind myself that it is OK not to drink and still be social.
I am really excited to see how my numbers turn out for the crossfit total. I have good days and frustrating days in the gym- it will be interesting to see how being really strict with my diet plays out.
🙂 Keep up the hard work paleo-ers!
October 23rd, 2011 at 1:41 pm
My goal for this week and beyond is to cook enough food so that there are leftovers to snack on. I feel like I’ve been eating out a lot and/or grabbing fruit or a Lara Bar and therefore I don’t have leftover food to eat the next day for either a snack or meal. I did a really good job the first two weeks but got in a rut this week.
I’ve noticed that if I eat enough for my meals, I don’t get hungry between meals. So, my goal also is to really evaluate what I’m eating and how much I’m eating so that I don’t rely on snacking.
All in all, I’m proud of everyone and myself. I’m enjoying vegetables and before the only Paleo-friendly veggie that I liked was broccoli. I try to eat veggies at every meal, so that’s an ongoing goal too. I have more energy and more patience. This is really helpful with my rambunctious 4-year old daughter. I feel like I’m a better mom now and there’s no greater feeling! So, that’s my continuous motivation. Good luck to everyone! Stay on track!
October 23rd, 2011 at 2:24 pm
my goals for this week are to cut down on my fruit and nut intake. i’ve noticed that my meals have gotten smaller and my snacks have gotten bigger, so i need to concentrate on more meat, more veggies and less snacky stuff. i’ve been feeling a little lethargic the past few days or so, so hopefully eating bigger meal portions will help with that. i’ve definitely been sleeping better–i’ve always needed a lot of sleep to function so i always get about 8-9 hours a night, but i have noticed that i’ve been sleeping more soundly through the night and i feel more refreshed, even if i only get about 7 hours or so. i’ve also found that if i cook in larger quantities (ie 2-4 servings vs. 1) then i can have the leftovers for lunch the next day or dinner or whatever (DUH) and then i won’t feel like i’m scrambling to put something together. wow, what a revelation. i’m used to cooking for one because my husband is more of a pizza order guy and doesn’t wanna mess around with “healthy food”, haha. so cooking in larger quantities is kind of foreign to me but i think it’s the key to help me eat enough at each meal. i’ve really learned a lot and enjoyed this challenge and excited for the future! keep on truckin you guys. i cant believe there’s only a week left!
October 23rd, 2011 at 3:22 pm
First of all, I want to say good job to everyone yesterday! I always have so much fun at our fundraising workouts!
This week’s eating had improvements, but it did not go quite as well as I was hoping. I definitely ate less nuts/seeds, but I really want to get to the point where they are almost non-existent. I think this is important because even the small decrease made me feel better. I felt less bloated (funny because I didn’t even realize I had any) and just felt cleaner and purer. So, this week I will be continuing to decrease the nut intake. Also, I’m really trying to not replace the nuts with other snacks like fruit. I don’t want to trade one problem for another- I’m trying to focus on eating enough at meals to sustain myself until the next meal.
Last week’s challenge was something that I NEEDED. I almost never go out to eat because I’m super cheap. So pre-challenge when I did go out, it turned into a cheat meal! It was nice to go out and do it paleo! For the challenge I went to feast- if you haven’t been there, it’s a great paleo restaurant for breakfast or dinner. Then, last night my mom and I went to Sweet Grass. They also had a lot of options and it was really, really good!
I hope everyone continues to do well through the last week and after!
October 23rd, 2011 at 4:36 pm
share your goals for this 4th week; are you altering when you’re eating, how you’re eating, your sleeping habits, how you’re trying to maintain stress better, how you’re trying to manage your time better. Reflect on where eed room for improvement and How you can tackle it!
My goal for the 4th week is to eat less of the high % cacao dark chocolate – I LOVE that stuff, but I know I will see/feel better results if I eat less of it, so I’m going to work on that. My other goal is to prepare ahead of time in a major way, because this week is going to be extremely busy; when things get really busy, I tend to put off eating until later at night, and by that point I am starving and then feel bloated after I eat. I’m going to get up early each day and plan out all of the day’s meals and have them ready to go so that I eat regularly when I need to. This is something I ALWAYS need to work on, but it will be especially key to my success this week.
I also plan to go to bed earlier. I’ve had trouble sleeping for several months now; this past week, I finally found myself getting tired at a normal time, but I would push myself to stay awake in order to get things done around the house, and by the time I would finish, I’d be wide awake and I’d have trouble falling asleep again. This week, I’m really going to focus on relaxing at night – drinking some herbal tea, putting the computer away, turning the TV off, and focusing on what I need to do to give my body the rest it needs. My stress levels have been somewhat high for the past few months, so I think it would definitely benefit me both mentally and physically to experiment more with relaxation techniques – I need to make it a priority in order to be the best that I can be.
My other goal is to keep trying new things – I tried several new things this past week and fell in love with some of them, especially sauteed greens (mustard, collard, kale, etc.). This is my new favorite side dish, and it’s so easy. Just sautee with a bit of vinegar (regular or apple cider), bacon, onion, dry mustard, whatever – it’s delicious. I want to find more ‘hidden gems’ like that this week.
Thanks for all the support that everyone continues to give – I’ve loved all the recipe and experience sharing. It’s truly made a difference for me. Have a great Week #4, everyone!
October 23rd, 2011 at 4:38 pm
oops, sorry about that first paragraph…I copied and pasted it so I could remember to discuss the points that we were supposed to address, and I forgot to delete it 🙂
October 23rd, 2011 at 5:56 pm
My goal this 4th week is to be more creative with vegetables. I have my favorites, but I’d like to jazz it up a bit 🙂
I have altered when I eat alot! Before this challenge, I usually skipped breakafast altogether & ate dinner late. Not anymore!
I have noticed a huge difference in eating habits. I have noticed myself not eating just to be eating, or snacking out of boredom! Sleeping is about the same….
Managing time has been an awesome lesson! Just preparing meals, grocery lists, etc.This has been a huge eye-opener, that when you are prepared, you can save so much time!
As far as improving on anything, I would have to say my workouts. I have done my best, but just giving that extra little “uumph” is what I need! I plan on tackling it by telling myself, I’ve come this far…and feel great, I can kick it up a notch & feel better than great! 🙂 Congratualtions to everyone!!!! And have a great week!!!!
October 23rd, 2011 at 5:59 pm
My goal for the 4th week is to make sure I’m only eating (at most) 1 serving of fruit or nuts a day. I hope to do less. I’ve been doing a pretty good job preparing ahead of time so that I don’t grab fruit or a paleo treat. I’ve actually avoided having those things even in the house. My family came for a few days at the end of the week and knowing they’d like something sweet in the house, I made Paleo brownies (thanks to my partner’s recipe!) and homemade Larabars so that it was something I could eat if tempted and it prevented my mom from making non-Paleo goodies. I also need to keep my journal up to date as I go this week. I had a pretty stressful week and found that I had to play catch up on what I’d eaten for that day and the day before. I can’t do that and keep the same exact fidelity I had in the previous two weeks. I need to try to make some meat ahead of time this week, too, and I think Heather’s suggestion of cutting it up into bit sized pieces is a really good idea. That way they are easy to grab as a snack.
I can’t believe we’re heading into the last lap of the challenge! Have a great week #4 everyone!
October 23rd, 2011 at 6:09 pm
I can’t believe we’re starting the last week of the challenge. I still feel like the it’s a day in and day out way of thinking and hasn’t become second nature yet but I have become more confident in navigating what the paleo lifestyle is about. I think the most significant thing I have noticed is that my sleep has naturally evened out. No matter what time I go to bed, my internal clock has decided that 7 hours are enough. I have struggled a lot with sleep so this is a huge breakthough and no doubt is due to this new way of nourishment.
This next week is going to be nutty for me between my normal work and starting to teach a second 8 week class, which coincidentally is Stress Prevention and Management (I need it as much as they do). I am already trying to fit in info related to Paleo!! So my main goal this next week is to stay on track, be prepared ahead of time, and not cave into temptation because I am stressed and on the go. Normally a week ahead like this will be a huge trigger to be lazy and indulgent in all the wrong things. This will be a good test for me. I went shopping today and have a fully stocked fridge and I know that will be helpful.
What is working for me is loving leftovers (finally!). I usually cannot stand the thought of eating things over and over but since I live by myself cooking a bunch at one time means I have more food to go around and it saves me time for the next meal or two. That especially is helpful at work. After a review of my journal, both Jenna and Shaun agree I need to add in more veggies. This will be an on-going goal. I will continue to limit nuts/berries to once a day or less and eat them early (before 2pm), if at all.
October 23rd, 2011 at 6:24 pm
When I first started this challenge, I thought it would be a very very long month! Actually, it’s gone pretty fast and I have done well not having my daily starbucks. This past week was my hardest week because we didn’t always have enough left overs so I ended up eating out for lunch more than I planned. I was still Paleo but it was harder than when I was more prepared and brought my lunch. My goal for this last week is to cut back on my nuts (my main snack), take my lunch everyday and try a few new recipes that I haven’t tried yet.
I think the biggest change I have noticed so far is my recovery time from workouts. I still get sore but not near like before and I’m going more days a week. I hope this continues and I improve my on goats in the gym!
Have a great week everyone! 🙂
October 23rd, 2011 at 6:59 pm
Going into this 4th and final week, my goals are to complete my 30 new vegetables in this month. My challenges over the last 3 weeks had nothing to with food cravings, it was more about me finding time for preparing meals, lunches and cleaning up the messes.
I knew my diet was not the greatest before, but after doing this challenge, I realize just how unhealthy I was eating. This was due to mostly laziness and the ease of drive thrus. I am much more aware of all the unhealthy “health” foods out there!
Everyone finish strong and have a great week!
October 23rd, 2011 at 7:16 pm
You’ve learned a lot over the last 3 weeks. I would like you to share your goals for this 4th week; are you altering when you’re eating, how you’re eating, your sleeping habits, how you’re trying to maintain stress better, how you’re trying to manage your time better. Reflect on where you need room for improvement and How you can tackle it!
I have learned a lot over the past three weeks and cooking has been a lot of fun. I have learned a lot of things about seasonings even tho i am still not good at them, i have learned quit a bit from Nate. As the challenge is closely coming to and end my goal is to not eat as much fruit at night as a snack. I want to see how my sleeping habits might change. They have changed ridiculously since starting this challenge I sleep when i am suppose to and am tired when i should be. I love sleep and i want to see if i can make it any better ha ha. I also want to try a few new things, i found some new recipes i want to try this week and maybe have a little more fun with the food. I really want to try the chicken salad with the home made mayo. I have realized that my stress level is not as bad as it use to be. I do not really know what has changed this but i just feel that any stress that comes i handle better than i use too. The thing that helps us a lot is that we plan out our dinners each week that way we know what options we have for dinner and its a way for us to have all the ingredients for things we don’t have because in Spencer they do not have a lot of goods that we need for this challenge so if we are missing something we would have to go to bloomington to get it. Also, the pre planning saves us so much time cooking because we don’t have as much to prepare if we know what we are having. I need to figure out lunches better and snacks because sometimes i realize i dont eat enough sometimes before i go to crossfit class. I am taking a better look at keeping myself not as hungry during the day and to help my energy level. Besides that everything is going really well. I had a family get together today and i took Chicken Fajita Salad and Apple Crisp, they actually like both dishes i brought.
October 23rd, 2011 at 7:29 pm
Woop Wopp three weeks down!! I would say that this week went really well for me. I really have gotten into the planning/cooking/packing leftovers for lunch routine so I no longer really sweat these once daunting tasks! I think this challenge has really been eye opening to the things that I can do for my body and really how my body is thanking me in return! I feel leaner, cleaner, and I see a boost in some of my mid workout energy. I really like the challenge, but I am much more anticipating my “post paleo challenge” life. I am continuing to make old favorites as well as stretching to some new recipes this week so it should be good!!
October 23rd, 2011 at 8:09 pm
First I want to say that I’m sorry I missed B4B this weekend! however, I wouldn’t have skipped my weekend in Cleveland for anything, seeing my boyfriend for the first time in about 7 or 8 weeks. So I’m going to be honest and tell you that I did not eat paleo for 3 meals over the weekend. I’m don’t have any excuses- It was a choice on my part. They weren’t “slips” but conscious decisions each time. On one hand, before this challenge, I would have given a whole list of excuses as to why staying paleo wasn’t a “reasonable” thing for me to do this weekend, it would have been too hard, or whatever. But the honest-to-god truth is that even before this challenge started, when I knew that I had this weekend coming up, I was not committed to stay on program for this weekend. There were a lot of good choices that I did make this weekend, there was much left uneaten that before the challenge would have been eaten (bread and such), and I did eat several paleo meals. But not all. So maybe the question is “why did I do the challenge when I was not really committed for the whole 31 days?” It’s a reasonable question. And I suppose that the answer is that I thought I could still gain something from it. And I have. Before this challenge, when I decided to “do paleo,” I’d do it for a week or so, then choose to eat something non-paleo and then decide to give it up completely because “I’d blown it already.” This time, after I made a conscious decision to eat something non-paleo, first, I KNEW it was a choice that I was making (not something that “accidentally happened” to me or was uncontrollable), and second, I got up the next morning and had eggs and fruit for breakfast, easily bypassing the potatoes, toast, and pastries that were right there. So on one level, I feel like I’ve had a bit of a paradigm shift in my understanding of myself and how passive I’ve felt around food choices in the past. That’s a good thing. However, I made a commitment to my partner, karen, to stay Paleo for this challenge, and to the rest of you, and I didn’t do it. I apologize to you for pretending to make that commitment when I knew deep down that I wasn’t going to keep it for this entire weekend.
October 23rd, 2011 at 9:59 pm
Jen, I can only speak for myself but I don’t feel let down by you or anyone else who has broken the paleo challenge. I think this challenge is about so much more than eradicating foods from your diet and trying to drop a couple pounds. To me, it’s about trying something new and seeing if it’s something you like. If it is, trying to incorporate it into your life in whatever manner works best for you. Personally I do not intend on remaining Paleo forever. I look forward to adding legumes, certain grains, and soy back into my diet…and I don’t feel the least bit bad about it! I’ve realized how much better I feel by adding more lean meat and veggies into my diet and cutting out the processed, artificial shit. So that is what works for me. Some people need to follow it very strictly, and that’s cool too. I think we all need to listen to our bodies and make decisions based on what is best for our individual selves. 🙂
October 24th, 2011 at 6:13 am
Thank you for sharing this Jen. I like your attitude and honesty. I had a bad food day last week and felt so bad because it seemed like everyone but me was perfect Paleo and because I felt like I had ruined my Paleo partner’s chance of winning.
I agree with you so much about the “I’ve blown it completely” mentality. It was big for me to go on and not quit. It is the support of this group that makes it work.
I have moved on from my goof and am back to 100% Paleo and feeling great. It’s really good to read your words. Thanks.
October 23rd, 2011 at 8:18 pm
My goal for week 4 is to keep improving on what I am doing. I made a ton of food today for the week. That seems to make the week and the food choices go so much better.
I have gotten better about listening to my body and eating when I’m hungry instead of from habit, boredom, emotions, social reasons, or to self medicate. One of the very best things that I keep in my head was at the end of an email from Jenna: “Remember: Food is for fuel, not an event.” That has been incredibly helpful.
I eat very simple food: plain baked chicken or fish, steamed veggies, raw veggies, almonds, brazil nuts, beef jerky, and eggs. Unsweetened almond milk sometimes. No fruit since my goal is weight loss and I didn’t want to depend on sugar of any type. My nuts are in snack bags of 1 ounce servings and I have 2 a day. When I started this Challenge, I wanted to experience what these foods tasted like without any seasonings or mixing. It turned out that this very simple unseasoned, unmixed food has worked perfectly for me. It helps me feel in control of my food for once in my life. Interestingly I eat with my hands much more than I used to.
There was a day that I was going to be gone all day and had to pack breakfast, lunch, snacks, and dinner. It actually worked very well because I had my food box with the entire day’s food. It was interesting to see it all together. Each week I feel more and more benefits of Paleo and CrossFit. I continue to be amazed. I learned lots from the bump in the Paleo road that I had last week.
It was great fun to go see my CrossFit team-mates participate in Barbells for Boobs! That was so exciting and one day soon, that will be me!
I feel rested when I sleep and I fall asleep much easier. Come to think of it, waking up is easier too. Stress levels are certainly better, but not perfect.
Every morning when I’m fixing my breakfast, lunch, and snacks, I delight in the extra time I have because EVERYTHING is already prepared in serving sizes. I just put the items for the day in my lunch box and have time to do other things.
Where to improve: Social eating…Yikes. I really have issues with hurting people’s feelings. I love to go to friend’s houses when I’m invited for dinner, but I hate to be picky or not eat what is prepared. For this challenge, for the most part, I have declined invitations. Some people know why, some do not. I did have an event the the host said that it was the time spent, not the food, and why didn’t I just bring my own food? So I did and it was worked very well. Another time, my friend asked specifics and made a Paleo dinner for me. It was simple and perfect.
But overall, social stuff is the hardest for me. I do not want to inconvenience people. And even though I’m 49 years old, I still don’t like to be made fun of. Although I do love it when my friends talk about my cavegirl food! That makes me feel like I’m doing something right.
October 23rd, 2011 at 8:19 pm
Wow…sorry that’s so long! It’s just that the past 3 weeks have been an exciting ride.
October 23rd, 2011 at 8:24 pm
Goals for week 4: watch the treats and snacks. This past week I caught myself snacking more. It was probably due to not planning my meals as well and not getting enough to eat in my main meals. I’ve already done a bunch of cooking to get my week started off right. I would like to have a more regular sleep pattern so I don’t have a hard time getting up for the early morning WODs. It’s not always a problem, but I’m not consistent. There are a number of things this challenge has helped me with. For starters, I eat a lot more vegetables. I could probably still eat more, but it’s been a big improvement. I haven’t had pop in 23 days! The challenge has also really reinforced how much better I feel if I plan my meals and cook instead of eating out (also cheaper!). Week 4 should go well!
October 23rd, 2011 at 8:32 pm
Ok, check it out: my goal for week four is to EAT, something, anything at intervals of less than 8 or 12 hours. I’m now working during the normal human daytimes, so food will be a priority once more. My fitness goals include coming to HOOSIER CROSSFIT almost daily, because I now live with our illustrious and fearless leaders, the dynamic duo Shaun and Jenna Tieman-Innis! To backtrack, my food goals will probably be suffering a little because Jenna is already feeding me delicious Paleo treats one after another. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. I love coconuts.
My stress level and sleep hygiene should vastly improve here in Bloomington, too. I’m very excited about that. My final goal is fashion-related: today I discovered at Express Men® that I’ve dropped a pants waist size by two inches from my baseline–I’m now back at a size I haven’t seen since I was 19 years old, y’all. So I’m going to now on try to keep at that size and update my clothes that are now just vestiges of my old lifestyle….when I was a big fat slob a whole month ago.
My ares of improvement, like I said, are keeping my meal times consistent and reliable, and making sure that the gym is a priority, no matter how hairy my schedule gets. Yay!
October 23rd, 2011 at 8:55 pm
Instead of “the dynamic duo Shaun and Jenna Tieman-Innis”, a few of us have come up with a title for our fearless leaders that is much less of a mouthful: SHENNA. Run with it.
October 26th, 2011 at 10:16 pm
SHENNA. Or maybe JHAUN? Or SHAUNA?
October 23rd, 2011 at 8:42 pm
My first thought, when asked to reflect on where I need improvement, was, “Where DON’T I need improvement!?!” After that initial pessimism, however, I began to think of where I was at the end of May, before I started CrossFit. I’ve actually made TREMENDOUS improvements in all facets of my life: my fitness, diet, sleeping pattern, temper and disposition have all improved. Even my singing is improving, which is fantastic.
That being said, I’m still very much a work in progress. How I feel I have best accomplished the things that I have so far is by focusing on improving one thing at a time…a bit like a ‘chipper’, I guess. First, it was just showing up to the gym. Then it was making small changes in my diet and getting used to those. Then it was trying strict Paleo on my own for a month. I feel like I’m getting a pretty good handle on these things. So, this week, I would like to focus on a couple things to continue to better myself: my sleep and my singing.
Sleep has always been an issue for me, mainly because I am such a light sleeper. Also, if I fall asleep and then am awoken by something, it is very difficult for me to get back to sleep. It is also difficult for me to get to sleep on nights when I have to be up early. I know it’s because I’m nervous of oversleeping (hello 6AM WOD’s…I want NOTHING to do with penalty burpees). So, this week, I will be attempting to go to bed early. This is going to take improved time management to get this done: getting my lunch for the next day ready, turning off the TV regardless of what’s on (sports), doing my ironing earlier rather than later, etc.
In terms of my singing, I feel like this won’t be too hard. I just need to reintroduce the habit of practice. I just hate practicing. With my concert coming up in just over a month, though, I know I need to get on it. So, it will just be making that commitment and planning even just a half hour each day to sing through my music.
Everyone have a great week! Helen will be here again before we know it! Bring it!
October 23rd, 2011 at 10:31 pm
Looks like it was a great time on Saturday! Sad I missed out and looks like I will again this coming weekend due to Homecoming and Halloween of Hoops. If you’re curious about what $2,000 worth of candy looks like you can swing by the office and take a peek behind my desk. Talk about commitment….
This week was a little better but the weekend proved tougher going out of town to visit family. My family in Chicago is extremely health-conscious but I strayed away from the brown rice served in their lo mein version and from the potatoes served with my duck at one sixty blue (delicious, by the way). They had a salad that was to die for and something I would like to try and make at home. The ingredients included hearts of palm, fennel, diced mango, macadamia nut puree dressing, lemon juice and salt and pepper. Soooo goood.
Sleeping and over all body is still feeling well but anxious for more physical results…
October 23rd, 2011 at 11:27 pm
I know sometimes I tend to look at what I have acomplished over many different challenges in my life and find all the negatives. However, if there is one thing that I have been able to do through out our Paleo challenge … is celebrate certain victories (small and large).
One of my goals for this last week of our Paleo challenge is to help another discover how they too can become a “caveman.” I feel like no matter where I am at or what I am doing I tend to talk about the past 23 days as if I am some sort of expert (don’t tell Meg, but alas I am not). I get a new question each day from a friend/family member/co-worker, that can itself be a challenge, and I am convienced that they all want to feel as good as I have over these past three weeks.
Another goal I have is to perform in many other aspects of my life better than I ever have … that includes in the gym!
In closing, I have to say that I have been so impressed and motivated by so many of you this month that I can’t imagine not having this “challenge support system” anymore and that might be the greatest challenge of all for me. This challege … coming to an end … will be the biggest challenge for Meg and I yet ! I know we – Can’t wait to take it on!!!
October 24th, 2011 at 8:35 am
OOP’s Completely forgot to write my reflection for Sunday. I have been doing really well so far. The normal temptations aren’t tempting me. My challenge for this week is to minimize the nuts and eat more veggies. I am going to eat a salad for every lunch so that will help. I am cooking for my family so there will be leftovers so that is not a problem. Veggies at every meal with be my mantra. I too love the support from those around me. I am seeing more and more crossfitters in the grocery store and I feel that I am explaining my non paleo foods to them. I hope to continue to eat this way. I feel good and feel good about myself. I love working out and continue to see progress n the gym with my strength increasing. It was fun doing Grace with everyone and the perk was the funds raised. Thank you.
October 24th, 2011 at 8:36 am
Sorry about the typo’s my cat was helping me.
October 24th, 2011 at 9:59 am
Goals for this final week…hmmm…I think I am going to focus on drinking more water, eating more veggies and less fruit and less almond milk (yum). I reflected a few times last week after eating and found that I am not making sure I have veggies with every meal…breakfast is the hardest because I eat at work and tend just to fix eggs in the microwave and have a bowl of no-oat oatmeal or berries and almond milk. I need to make up some egg muffins with veggies in them and heat them up at work, but that takes planning and preparation…wihich doesn’t sit well with a procrastinator like myself. I cut down on coffee but did not completely eliminate it, I just drink it black now. I need to drink even more water, so I want to concentrate on less coffee, more water.
Going to sleep earlier was a goal of mine last week and I was able to accomplish it most nights which helped with my energy levels throughout the day. I want to continue trying to get at least 6 solid hours of sleep every night this week.
I also want to continue to be a positive influence to those around me. I work in Accounting and community candy, cakes, junk food are the norm for our department. Many have expressed their desire to get healthy but the rubber hasn’t met the road yet, and they all keep looking to me and asking questions about my transformations. You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make them drink, so my only alternative is to keep doing what I am doing and try to be an encouragement to those around me.
PS…I made a chicken pot pie last week and it was delish (it lasted me 4-5 meals)! My only modification I would make next time is to leave off the crust…it just wasn’t that great, it fell apart when trying to put it on top, and tasted kind of gritty from the almond meal.
October 24th, 2011 at 10:06 am
The past 3 weeks have been eye-opening for me. I was never a person to attribute what I was eating to how I was feeling regarding my energy level or moods. I would always gauge how I felt to how much sleep I had the night before. I would supplement my energy with coffee or tea. I would accuse how crappy I felt because of the long shift hours at the hospital (12-13 hrs) and my second job adding an additional 22hrs to my already 36 hr full time job. Eliminating all the processed, re-fined, sugar laden foods seemed like an impossible challenge to me. My easy go to foods would be eliminated, I thought for sure I would starve! What i have discovered is the food I was eating was the problem. My energy level day in and day out seem consistent, no peaks or valleys. I feel as if my mood swings have also been suspended (my husband would agree, first time in 24 yrs my period “snuck up on him” !) My workouts, and running on my own also seem better in that my mind and my body are both on the same page.
My challenge this week will be to try to not eat as much fruit and to drink more water. A big goal is to try starting my day without coffee! I wake up feeling totally rested, no matter if it was 6 hrs of sleep or 9, so I should technically not need the 2-3 cups of coffee. Should be interesting :)!
I hope that this last week of the challenge ends up being successful for everyone! Im glad to hear that HCF plans to do a paleo challenge a few times a year!
October 24th, 2011 at 2:43 pm
Sorry I’m late, I’ve been out of town since Saturday! So far I have been trying to cook a couple new meals every week that I haven’t made before and have enjoyed them all. I’m always into cooking new things so this challenge has been very fun. My mood has been very well over the entire challenge and I have only had minor cravings for a few things. I’ve found that eating out (which only happens usually once a week) hasn’t been too difficult to find something paleo. One thing that I have trouble with is going to bed at a decent hour. Although I sleep like a baby when I do go to bed, I need to get more quality hours of sleep and I feel like that would definitely improve my WOD times and speed up my recovery. I’ve never been a huge fan of anything pumpkin, but being the good sport that I am, I’m going to give it a second chance. I don’t have any ideas yet on what to make, but I’m going to do some research over the next few days to see what I can come up with. One week left, then (sorry to say it!) I will be enjoying some good beer!
October 26th, 2011 at 10:16 pm
Amen on beer.