Day 183: The Last Supper

Since falling off the Paleo wagon, it's really been hard to climb back up, but I think it's because I'm not putting my whole heart into it! Today I decided that I would allow myself anything I wanted to eat, consider it my last supper (junk supper) and tomorrow I would be eating a strict Paleo diet! I have to do this for myself so I can start feeling better again. I've noticed that since I've been eating so unhealthy that not only is the colitis flaring more, but my allergies are too! I've noticed that I have a lot of congestion and the allergy cough! This just goes to prove that everything you read about a Paleo diet is true! What you eat does cause your health issues! I'm starting off fresh tomorrow, and I'm not going to allow myself any excuses! If I eat unhealthy, I'll be unhealthy, therefore I have to eat better, because I have a lot of living left to do and I want it to be a productive life. My journey is starting anew tomorrow, and I know that this journey will have some road blocks but I'm determined to make the long haul! Until tomorrow, goodnight and God Bless!

Day 180: Fell Off The Paleo Wagon!

Yes, I fell off my Paleo diet and I'm not very proud of myself, but I'm working real hard at trying to climb back up in that wagon and stay there! I did stay gluten free, but not sugar free! We went on a vacation to Florida and during the long drive there, and back I think I ate my weight in Peanut M&M's, plain M&M'S, potato chips, I even drank two 16oz bottles of Roll Back Pepsi! (real sugar, not corn syrup) over eating, not controlling my portions, and no exercise was NOT a good thing! To top this all off, just before we left I had to start back on a very high dose of Prednisone which makes very hunger so I really tend to over eat. My body is now starting to not only show the effects of this over eating but I feel tired, bloated, etc. This past Sunday I woke up real sick with a very high temperature,(103.7), vomiting, diarrhea and very achy! I felt like I was going to die! It's now Thursday and I'm still not back to normal. I haven't been able to workout, I come home from work exhausted and my colitis is not getting much better because of the virus. This is a huge wake up call! I know that Paleo works because I was doing so well and once I stopped it was straight down hill from there. I'm trying to get back up on that wagon, and I know that it's not going to be easy, but I'm very determined to do it! Until tomorrow, goodnight and God Bless!

Orphan Run Sponsored By...

None other than Primus Crossfit! I'm so proud of my son and his wife! They are really getting involved in helping their community get fit! Tomorrow, Friday, June 1, is the Orphan Run in Owasso. If you aren't going to run, then at least come out and support the Orphans with a financial donation and at the same time you can check out the Primus Crossfit booth. Hope to see you there!

Right now I'm doing the Advocare MNSMax3 dietary supplement and Replacement shake once daily, and only eating two meals a day for the next 14 days. I thought that when summer came along my days would slow down and I could really concentrate on cooking mainly Paleo dishes but so far I've been more busy! I still plan on doing better in the next few days. I'm taking a week off in June so, I really plan on doing better then.

Today I had squash soup for lunch and for dinner was a hot dog on gluten free bread and potato chips. See what I mean about needing to do better? Well, it's going to be a very long and busy day tomorrow so like I said before, come out to Owasso and check out the Crossfit booth. Until then, goodnight and God Bless!

Lost Count!

I'm not really sure what day I'm actually on, but what I do know is that I have NOT eaten wheat since December of last year. That's a huge deal for me! I did find a gluten free bread, hamburger bun and hotdog bun that I purchased and have had several meals using these. I am being careful to not make this a habit but rather a treat! I did make hamburgers and hot dogs over the holiday weekend and made BLT's for dinner tonight, now I will try to not eat anymore for a few days.

I have noticed that since I've been slacking on the Paleo meals, that I'm starting to gain a little weight back. Not much but any weight gain back is more than I want, because I worked too hard regain it all back. I decided that I needed to start the Advocare 14 day challenge with a meal replacement, so I started this today!

Crossfit today consisted of 75 pound back squats for the warm up. And then the workout was 5 hand stand pushups, 10 ring dips and 25 double under's. You were to do as many reps as possible in 12 minutes. I did 5 reps and was on jump #70 when the time was up! Yes I had to scale everything. I would say this was a good workout for me! Well, it's suppose to be bad storms tonight, so I've got to get in bed early in case the storms get loud, so until tomorrow, goodnight and God Bless!

Days 147-149: Time Off

These last few days have been so busy that I've taken a few days off of blogging. It is a holiday weekend and since I actually get a three day weekend I've decided to try to get things done that I usually don't have time for. I haven't really had a lot of time to cook so we've been having sandwiches. I purchased some gluten free bread and have been enjoying having a sandwich. I did make some butternut squash soup tonight and I'm stuffed! Well I've got to get back to the cleaning so hopefully I'll check back I with everyone tomorrow. Until then goodnight and God Bless!

Day 146: So Sore!

I am still so sore from my Crossfit workout on Monday, I can hardly walk or lift my arms. I started to go to Crossfit this afternoon, but my plans got changed so I walked for 30 minutes instead. I am going to try to make it to the 6am class in the morning so I can work out some of the soreness.

I made a very good protein drink this
Morning using some of the canned coconut milk I had left over from a recipe and a little almond milk. I added some strawberries, grapes, pineapple, honeydew and cantaloupe with a scoop of protein powder. It was very tasty. For
lunch I had left over spaghetti squash and chicken from last night, some fresh fruit and some dates and cashews for a snack. Dinner was left over grilled chicken on a Coconut Paleo wrap with lots of veggies some potato chips and a little ranch dressing, yes this was a cheat, but I am getting better with less cheats!

Well I've got to get organized for in
the morning, so until tomorrow, goodnight and God Bless!

Days 143-145: Italian

I did take a few days off of blogging, but not from eating Paleo! I just needed to get a few things organized and I realized its going to take more than a few days.

I've been wanting to eat some Italian food, and luckly spaghetti squash is really tasty! I stir fried some chunks of chicken and added lots of fresh herbs such as tarragon, basil, marjoram, thyme, oregano and some fresh chopped garlic. I added onions, sweet peppers and black olives then a jar or spicy marinara sauce. This was so good over the baked spaghetti squash and it really satisfied my Italian craving! I served a left over strawberry poppy salad with this dish. The salad is not Paleo because of the dressing. I'm going to try to figure out how to make the dressing more Paleo friendly because it is very good! All the other food I ate today was paleo, so all in all I feel better about what I'm eating, I just need to go down on my portion size again! I'm considering doing the Advocare 24 day challenge again, because I'm starting to notice weight gain in my stomach area again. No crossfit today, and I'm very sore from yesterdays workout. I can hardly walk! I do plan on going tomorrow to try and work some of the soreness out. I've got to start getting ready for my long day tomorrow, so until then, goodnight and God Bless!

Day 142: Off Day or Day Off!

You can look at this title any way you want, but I'm taking the day off from blogging today and possibly tomorrow, so until then goodnight and God Bless!

Day 141: I Ate Too Much!

I went to a graduation party and they cooked hamburgers and hot dogs, and I ate one of each and I'm stuffed! I did eat it on a coconut Paleo wrap! For breakfast I had a fried egg on a salad and lunch was left over enchalada homemade salsa and chips. Not very Paleo today!
We worked in the garage all day cleaning it to be able to get the car in the garage if it storms. I'm so tired so going to get some rest now, so until tomorrow, goodnight and God Bless!

Day 140: Even Better

Today I did a much better job with my Paleo food intake. For breakfast I ate a Larabar and coffee. Lunch consisted of sloppy joe on a coconut wrap and coconut water. I had some nuts, grapes and an apple for snacks and for dinner I had a salad with chicken. The only problem is food in and no exercise doesn't help me to loose weight. Tomorrow is Saturday and it's going to be a busy day, cleaning the garage and storage unit, so until tomorrow, goodnight and God Bless!

Day 139: Eating Somewhat Better

Today I did better at eating Paleo. I almost made it through the whole day eating strictly Paleo, but I had a small single serving size of potato chips. For breakfast I fried some hamburger meat, onions and pepper then topped it with some eggs until soft cooked. For lunch I went to Panera Bread and had a Greek salad with grilled chicken and the small bag of chips. For dinner I made some leftover chicken topped with barbecue sauce baked some spicy sweet potatoes and salad. I had 2 large strawberries dipped in dark chocolate and boy where they good!
Gardening was my exercise today and going to try to make it to Crossfit in the morning, but it might just be a long walk with my hubby! Time to get stuff ready for tomorrow, so until then goodnight and God Bless!

Day 138: One Tired Puppy!

Went to Crossfit this morning for the first time in a week since I've had the sinus infection, and boy was it tough! We were suppose to run 800 meters at the start and the finish of the workout, but I did good to run 200 each time. I didn't do the 800 but I did do 400 meters each time. The rest of the workout consisted of 25 overhead press, 25 push ups, 25 more overhead press, 25 ring dips, 25 more overhead press, 25 squats then the run! I am one very tired puppy!

I did eat a little better today. Larabar for breakfast, a jalapeño pepper cheese sausage after the workout, blueberries, nuts and dried cherries for lunch and for dinner steak and baked sweet potato. For a snack I'm going to eat some strawberries and melted chocolate.

Time to get some rest, so until tomorrow, goodnight and God Bless!

Day 137: Comprehensive Nutritional Panel

I went to see Dr. Edwards for another round of Prolotherapy on my thumbs and ankle, and while I was there I decided to participate in a blood test he is offering to see what vitamins/ nutrients I may be deficient in. It's called a Comprehensive Nutritional Panel. I also had my omega 3'a tested! I can't wait to see what the results are!

I did stick with a more Paleo diet today eating a Larabar for breakfast, taco salad minus cheese and chips for lunch and for dinner I made Paleo Sloppy Joes. They were pretty good! I browned 3 pounds of grass fed ground beef with a chopped onion, one chopped bell pepper and three cloves of chopped garlic. I added three tablespoons of chili powder, one and a half teaspoons cumin, salt and pepper to taste. To this mixture I added one can of 15 oz tomato sauce and about 1/4 cup water. I ate mine on a Paleo coconut wrap and had some veggies and Ranch dressing and a few potato chips. Even though I had chips, I did a better job today eating Paleo than yesterday.

Since I've had this allergy attack, I've not been sleeping very well and having a lot of headaches, so I really haven't been exercising. I started taking an antibiotic yesterday and am feeling a little better today, so I'm going to try to go to Crossfit in the morning. I've got to get ready for my long day ahead of me so until tomorrow, goodnight and God Bless!

Day 136: New Car

Today, we bit the bullet and purchased a new car, Toyota Rav4, so I will have to work for the next five and a half years unless I win the lottery! Since we were out all day we ate out and even though it was gluten free it wasn't Paleo! For dinner we had the left over enchiladas, so again not Paleo! I've really got to get back to a more strict Paleo diet. I've been off more than on and I can really tell. I feel so much better when I stick to the Paleo lifestyle and my excuse is that eating out is harder to stick to Paleo and we've been eating out way too much! Well, we are going to go test drive the new car in the dark, so until tomorrow, Goodnight and God Bless!

Day 135: Happy Mothers Day

Today was the second best Mothers day I think I've ever had! The first was May 11, 1986, I became a mother at 7:08pm with a 7 lb. 5 oz baby boy, and today because I have a wonderful daughter that made lunch for the entire family all by herself! It wasn't Paleo, but it was gluten free! If I came in the kitchen, she made me leave. It was an awesome lunch! She made enchiladas using corn tortillas, salsa and guacamole, tea and for my dessert she made strawberries with a cream cheese filling dipped in chocolate. This was fabulous! (she also made her brother a yellow cake with chocolate icing for his birthday, but I avoid it at all cost) After lunch, she even put all the leftovers away and her dad pre-rinsed the dishes to be put in the dishwasher! I have been able to enjoy this day so much and just rest and relax! I overslept so I watched Pastor Bill on line, so since it was a beautiful morning I took the laptop outside to watch him while I soaked up some sun! After lunch I went with Barbie and Ken to the store came back watered my plants and now just relaxing more. Like I said one of the best Mothers Day I've ever had! Thank you Georgia for being such a Blessing to me!
Well, I'm going to continue to enjoy the rest of the evening, so until tomorrow, goodnight and God Bless!

Day 134: Too Many Wheat Products!

I was going to buy a can of chili tonight, but in reading the ingredients, Wolf Brand Chili had rolled oats, (not Paleo) and the generic brands had wheat. Why would you put wheat in chili? That's just crazy! You really have to read the label carefully and the wheat may be at the bottom of the list of ingredients. I see why you have to make your own food such as chili to keep away from the gluten and wheat products. Crazy!

Today and tomorrow will be non Paleo days for me. Tomorrow is Mother's Day and my daughter is making Mexican food. Yum! Today I had potato chips with my hamburger patty and tortilla chips at lunch with my chicken Paleo wrap.

My allergies are really bad today, and I really don't know why! I'm getting ready for bed so until tomorrow, Goodnight and God Bless!

Day 133: 20/20 On Weight Loss Programs

Tonight's 20/20 is on different weight loss programs and procedures people use to loose weight. It's really crazy the things people do to loose weight. They are getting ready to talk about people that have a feeding tube put in to loose weight. What ever happened to eating a well balanced diet and exercise? I am so glad that I made the choice to exercise and eat better.

Speaking of food, I did eat French fries for the first time today in about 4-5 months. I really can't remember when I ate French fries last! I had a hamburger minus the bun with the fries for lunch. For dinner I has baked chicken on a Paleo coconut wrap.

I'm going to finish watching 20/20 now, so until tomorrow, goodnight and God Bless!

Day 132: Car Shopping

As soon as I got home from work tonight we went car shopping. Not a fun thing to do. There are tooooooooo mannnnnny choices! We have an idea what we want, but not 100% sure! While we were out we decided to eat at Baja Jacks and you guessed it, I had my usual grilled fish taco and chips with salsa. The rest of the day was basically Paleo food with a salad for lunch and nuts for breakfast.

I have another busy day tomorrow, so got to get in bed. Until tomorrow, goodnight and God Bless!

Day 131: Helen

I still have my cold/allergies but I tried to do the Crossfit workout today which was called "Helen". (3 rounds for time of 400 meter run, 21 kettle bell swings and 12 pull ups). I didn't do a very good job! I scaled it down to a 200 meter run, instead of the 400 meters and I thought that I wasn't going to be able to finish the three rounds but I did in 12:26. With every step I took when running, my head would throb, but I still did it, and I'm glad I finished. I may not go back to Crossfit anymore this week to give my head and chest time to clear, because I don't want to relapse!

I has a lot of fresh fruit today, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries and some grapes. Also had a protein drink with Almond milk for breakfast and after my workout a jalapeño cheese sausage from Quiktrip and unsweet tea. For lunch barbecue brisket and salad and for dinner a coconut wrap with roast beef, peppers and onions. I still need to try a little harder with the Paleo. Well, enough for the night, so until tomorrow goodnight and God Bless!

Day 130: Another Short Blog

I don't know where the time went, but it's late and I have an early day tomorrow with Crossfit starting at 6am so this is going to be short and sweet!

Sticking with mostly Paleo foods today I ate some nuts and drank coffee on the way to work. Lunch consisted of a beef hotdog without the bun topped with chili and I did eat some potato chips. For dinner I made baked sweet potato wedges, grilled Brussel sprouts with zucchini and mushrooms and grilled salmon and salad. I was pretty happy with what I ate today but I still could do better. Also, I noticed that I've not been drinking enough water, and that's my next goal. To drink more water daily! Well folks time to get in the sack, so until tomorrow, goodnight and God Bless!

Day 129: Not A Paleo Day

Today was a non-Paleo day! There was a luncheon at work and I had Mexican food and I had cheese and tortilla chips. Tonight was my Bunco group night and we had salads, veggies with dip and I had gummy bears! Gummy bears, you can't eat just one, at least I can't! I'm definitely going to do better tomorrow and try to NOT eat any sugar. Once you start eating sugar again, you can't stop!

There was a discussion at Bunco on not eating wheat. One of the ladies said that she read an article that said people were starting to eat diets free of gluten products by choice and not because of Celiac disease, and this was actually causing their body's more harm than good because they were not getting the correct amount of fiber. I had to totally disagree with her and told her that you DON'T have to eat wheat to get fiber, and if you eat enough fruits and veggies you will get all the fiber you need. If you follow a Paleo diet, you will get everything you need nutritionally! How do you educate people that have been brainwashed by our societies way of thinking? I would love to just know that I helped one person change their eating habits and get healthy. I guess that will come after I get my sugar addiction under control, but I will get it under control! Enough ranting for the night, so until tomorrow, goodnight and God Bless!

Day 127: Dessert Anyone?

No, I didn't make dessert today, but when I decided to eat Paleo, I thought I was going to have to give up sweets. Sure you can have cheat days on Paleo, but since I'm not suppose to have gluten, I thought that desserts were going to be a thing of the past. NO SO! I have been on Pintrest today and have found some really yummy sounding Paleo desserts, and when I get over this crud I have I'm going to make something sweet to eat. I found Paleo recipes for cakes, pies, breads, CANDY, baked fruits, you name it and I bet you can find a recipe for it. Yum, yum!

Today I've been resting most of the
day, so we had left over roast and I grilled some baby leeks and eggplant. I don't know what I'll be making for dinner, probably more left overs since I'm not feeling the best in the world plus I really can't taste anything. Well, I'm heading to church so until tomorrow, goodnight and God Bless!

Day 126: Cinco de mayo

In keeping with the Mexican theme, I made shredded beef tacos on soft corn tortillas, guacamole, and salsa. Not totally Paleo but still no gluten. For dinner we had barbecue beef on a Paleo coconut wrap.

I still have a very stuffy nose and sneezing. I hate allergies! They make me tired, and I don't feel like doing anything!

Until tomorrow, goodnight and God Bless!

Day 125: Sinus Pressure

About 2 days ago, I noticed I was sneezing a lot more than usual, and last night I started getting a sinus pressure headache. Today my head is pounding and I don't like it one bit! My nose is starting to clog up too!

I did eat mostly Paleo today, eating out at Rib Crib for lunch. I didn't realize it would be so difficult to find gluten free food at a restaurant that is meat based! They put gluten in their hot barbecue sauce but the mild is ok. Their fries also contain gluten. Now tell me, why do you need to add gluten to fries? So I ate chopped beef with mild barbecue sauce and a double order of coleslaw. For dinner I made a salad with boiled eggs, bacon and fresh veggies.

Time to go take something for this stuffy nose and headache and try to get some rest, so until tomorrow, goodnight and God Bless!

Day 124: More Tomorrow

I had a late day at work and I'm not ready to write a long blog, so I will take this day off and will write more tomorrow! Until then, good night and God Bless!

Day 123: Family Time

Tonight we spent most of the evening outside spending family time with our almost 20 year old baby. It was very nice, especially since she may be leaving the nest this coming fall. She is considering going away to college. It was a very special time, but also a bittersweet time since these may be some of the last times we will have these talks. I really love my family, and have been so very blessed with my family! I thank the Lord daily for the family He blessed me with!

Paleo food for the day: breakfast was a coconut Zone bar then after Crossfit, bacon and sausage. Lunch, left over Curry chicken, sweet potato and salad and for dinner brisket on a coconut wrap with plantain chips and veggies. I also drank a Margarita tonight a rarely done thing!

Crossfit was a 20 minute work out with as many reps as possible of 400 meter run, 10 pull ups and 15 thrusters. I did ring rows and my weight for thrusters was 35 pounds, and I did 3 reps. Starting to feel sore! Getting ready to take a nice long shower to sooth the soreness, so until tomorrow, goodnight and God Bless!

Day 122: The Great Outdoors

I decided to take a few minutes and enjoy the beautiful weather outside this evening. While I'm sitting here in my rocker on the patio I'm enjoying the sounds of the chirping birds and some ducks just flew over its very peaceful! I just read an article someone posted on Facebook about a guy that has been eating Paleo for about three years on and off. He started eating Paleo when he joined Crossfit and noticed a difference and lost weight, but he was running in a Marathon and thought he needed more starches so he went off his Paleo diet. He noticed a weight gain and over all started feeling sluggish and didn't perform as well as he had hoped. He went back on a Paleo diet while training for another Marathon and ate more sweet potatoes while sticking to the Paleo diet and said he performed better. He also said that it was easier to go back to eating Paleo the second time, and I have found this to be true. When I started eating Paleo about one year ago, it was really hard giving up my unhealthy food items, but over time I finally did. After a few months and noticing a weight loss I started eating the wrong things again not thinking it would hurt me, but I did start gaining weight again and feeling sluggish and I knew that wasn't the type of life I want to live, so in January I started a strict Paleo diet for 30 days, and it was a little easier not eating the things I shouldn't plus I had set my mind to this goal. I have now been following a mostly Paleo diet for the last 122 says, but I do have my cheats, like tortilla chips, an occasional potato chip, chocolate (usually dark chocolate) and cream in my coffee, and other non-Paleo dishes but NO gluten or wheat! I'm going to keep pressing on!

Tonight was Brazilian Curry Chicken and it was very good. I love curry and its spicy flavor! Not energy one likes curry, I have found that its a love/hate relationship with people. You either love it or hate it, there is no in between. Well, I've set out of Crossfit the last few days and am planning on going tomorrow and I've got to get things ready, so until tomorrow, goodnight and God Bless!

Day 121: Ready Made!

It was so nice to come home from a long day at work and have a nice meal ready and waiting! We had Mushroom Gravy Slow Cooked Rump Roast, and it was very good. I had my roast on a Curry Coconut wrap with lettuce, tomato and purple onion, and some plantain chips. Tomorrow the plan is for Curry chicken, yum, yum! The best part about that is it will be waiting and ready when I get home tomorrow!

I was planning on going to Crossfit this morning, but it was storming very hard, so for my safety I decided to forgo the workout and was planning on working out when I got home from work. Well, like I said that was the plan, but getting off work late then having to meet with someone in Tulsa at 7 got me back to the house late and I don't like working out too late in the evening or it keeps me up at night. Now the plan is to workout tomorrow.

It looks like another stormy night, so I better turn in to get some rest before the storm hits, so until tomorrow, goodnight and God Bless!

Day 120: Power Cooking Paleo Meals for The Week

Today I power cooked several meals for dinners this week, so all I have to do is heat and eat. I made a tequila shrimp dish for our dinner tonight, mushroom rump roast, curry chicken, rosemary garlic chuck roast and a sweet and sour chicken. They are still in the crockpots cooking but will be done about 9:00 tonight and then the rest of the week will be more stress free for me! I just have to come up with a veggie or salad or both, but that's ok!

Today after church, me, George and Georgia went on a picnic and had a great family outing. Afterwards we went shopping all over creation and when we got home I started my power cooking, now it's relaxation time, and part of my relaxation time is going to be spent outside planting a few more herbs in my garden, so until tomorrow, goodnight and God Bless!

Day 119: Non-Paleo Day

Today was a Non-Paleo cheat day and no exercise! I did work in the yard and broke as big a sweat as I do at Crossfit. Breakfast was a Paleo omelette and coffee and lunch was a hamburger on a coconut wrap and some Paleo chocolate chip cookies, but dinner consisted of nachos! Nachos and homemade salsa was a nice little cheat! I've said this before and I'll say it again, sometimes you just have to have a little something not Paleo, but I will not make it gluten products! This is one thing that I am going to try to never have again! Tomorrow is going to be a power cooking day for my family, so I'm going to look at my Paleo cookbooks to try some new recipes, so I'm signing out now! Until tomorrow, goodnight and God Bless!

Day 118: Paleo + Crossfit + Advocare = Happy Me!

A year ago at this time I weighed about 170 pounds and I wasn't happy with myself. My daughter was getting married August 6th and I knew I didn't want to look as fat as I was. I started eating a Paleo diet occasionally (off more than on) and did loose a little weight by the wedding date, but in the pictures I still looked FAT! I still wasn't happy! Enter Crossfit! I started going to Crossfit as often as I could at my son and daughter-in-laws gym. I live in Glenpool and the gym is in Owasso, a 45 minute drive and a little out of the way. Needless to say I didn't get to go a lot, but I did try to do a Crossfit workout at home. Enter Paleo diet (on more than off)! I decided that my New Years Resolution was going to be to eat a Paleo diet more on than off and go totally gluten free. Enter the Advocare Nutrition Challenge! January 2, Primus Crossfit in Owasso did a nutrition challenge using Advocare 24 day weight loss challenge. I decided that this would be good to try and give my Paleo diet a jump start. Here are the results:

Date Jan 2. Feb 8. April 27
Wt. 153.5. 150. 143
Ht. 5'6 1/2"
% body fat. 40.5% 33%. 32%
R arm. 13". 13". 11.75"
Shoulders. 43". 43". 43"
Chest. 42.5. 40". 40"
Waist. 35". 34". 32.5"
Hips. 41". 40". 38"
R thigh. 25". 23". 21.5"
R calf. 15". 14". 13.75"
Pant size. 12. 10. 6 :)

My job now takes me to Owasso 2-3 times a week so I've been going to Crossfit those days, I still use some Advocare products, especially the Spark energy drink and I try to eat mostly a Paleo diet and I do NOT eat any wheat or gluten food items! I plan on keeping this lifestyle from now on. If you would like to learn more about Crossfit go to: http://www.crossfitprimus.com/
and check it out. If you want to learn more about Advocare products , just let me know as my daughter and daughter-in-law both are Advocare consultants, and if you want to know more about a Paleo lifestyle, I encourage you to read "The Paleo Solution" by Robb Wolf or "The Paleo Answer" by Loren Cordain. If you want encouragement in any of these areas, just message me as it is great to have a support group and I will gladly help out in any way I possibly can! I hope that if you aren't already following a healthy lifestyle that you will starting today! Until tomorrow goodnight and God Bless!

Day 117: Pepper Plants

One of the doctors I work with purchased me with some hot pepper plants, Bhut Jolokia (chile/pepper plant) and Habanero Chocolate (chile/pepper plant), and I can't wait for them to bloom and give me lots of peppers! It was so very sweet of him and I am so thankful he blessed me with these. He actually ordered me 12 plants, but there is no way I could ever eat that many peppers, so I'm giving a few of them to my sister who works with me and a friend of mine. Thank you Dr. Pierre!

Food and exercise today: No crossfit but going tomorrow morning! Breakfast, banana and a few Paleo chocolate chip cookies, lunch pecans and dried cherries, dinner grilled steak, baked spicy sweet potato wedges and salad.
Since I'm going to Crossfit early tomorrow, I've got to get in bed early, so until tomorrow, goodnight and God Bless!

Day 116: All Around Tough Day

Crossfit was more than brutal today! We started with 100 double unders or 300 singles jump rope, 15 burpee's, 10 thrusters, then 5 muscle ups or 15 ring pulls and 15 box dips (not really sure what they are called). Each of these are to be done five times then finish up with 100 double unders or 300 singles. There is a 30 minute time limit. Needless to say I took the entire 30 minutes and didn't complete the task. I did push ups not burpee's and I didn't have any weight on the bar for my thrusters and I still couldn't finish. It was tough! Afterwards I went to the car to get my clothes for work. I was so tired and wasn't paying attention to what I was doing and I locked my keys in the car. This is the first time I have EVER locked my keys in the car and I had to be in Owasso, 45 minutes away from my house in normal traffic and it was rush hour so it took my husband a lot longer to come to my rescue with the keys. Getting to work very late, plus I was starving all day long so what did I do? You guessed it, I ate constantly all day long! Maybe it was the stress!

After getting my car unlocked, I ate grapes on the way to the hospital I go to, then more grapes on the way to the second hospital, then a Larabar on the way back to Owasso then still hungry and close to lunch time I was passing by my favorite fast food place, Baja Jacks, so I stopped off and had a grilled fish taco and some tortilla chips with salsa. When I finally got the office someone had brought in candy and it was like a little kid took over my body and couldn't resist the sugar attack! When I got home I was still hungry, so I made an omelette with sweet potatoes, onions, bell pepper, kale, left over chicken, tomatoes and eggs. After eating a huge portion I ate 3 Paleo chocolate chip cookies! Now I'm stuffed and miserable! The only good thing I can say is at least the omelette was
Paleo!

Hopefully tomorrow I will do better!

Since I'm feeling miserable I'm going to go take a shower and get in some loose fitting close to give my tummy room, so until tomorrow, goodnight and God Bless!

Day 115: Chocolate Chip Cookies

I think that Paleo chocolate chip cookies are so much better than regular chocolate chip cookies, at least my recipe is!

Take one stick of very soft butter, add 1/2 cup honey and 1 tsp vanilla cream this all together until well blended. Then add 2 1/2 cups almond flour and 1/2 tsp baking soda mix well then add 1 cup chocolate chips stir then drop by tablespoons onto a baking sheet and cook about 10 minutes. These are scrumptious! The only problem is even though they are Paleo, they are still
fattening and it's hard to eat just one or even two, you want to eat more like four or five. I did just show self control and only ate three! I compromised! :)

Today I walked about two miles for exercise and for food I had paleo flat bread with bananas and pecans and a little maple syrup for breakfast. Lunch was a chicken breast on a coconut wrap and some chips (potato not Paleo) and for dinner we ate hamburgers on leaf lettuce and plantain chips. I also had some grapes throughout the day and of course the 3 chocolate chip cookies! It is back to Crossfit tomorrow so the morning comes sooner then I want. Time to start getting ready for bed, so until tomorrow, goodnight and God Bless!

Day 114: Pinning On Pintrest

If you follow me on Pintrest, I have created a board with only Paleo recipes. I pinned about 50 recipes tonight and can't wait to try some of them. I found recipes for biscuits, gravies, sauces, you name it I found it and I'm not stopping yet! It's amazing what all you can find on Pintrest and also, how many people follow a Paleo diet. It's crazy how many people eat a Paleo diet, and it's crazy that I just heard about Paleo diet this past year! I wish I would have learned about this diet years ago, because no telling how many years I've taken off my life by all the junk I've put into my body all these years and made myself so unhealthy. Who knows maybe I would never have developed Ulcerative Colitis. They don't know what causes it, so maybe my unhealthy eating was partly to blame!

Food today:
Breakfast: sausage patty and paleo flat bread
Lunch: nitrate free salami on a curry Paleo wrap, sweet potato chips and grapes
Snack: apple
Dinner: grilled buffalo chicken and salad
Snack: 1/2 banana with melted almond butter and chocolate chips

No exercise today and probably none tomorrow but I will be back to Crossfit on Wednesday.

Going to go check out more recipes on Pintrest, so until tomorrow, goodnight and God Bless!

Day 113: Easy To Eat Paleo When You're At Home!

Today was a day that we were home for every meal and it is so much easier to eat a Paleo diet when you aren't away from home. For breakfast we had Paleo French Toast Flat Bread, sausage and coffee. For lunch we had grilled chicken in coconut wraps and sweet potato fries. Then for dinner I made Paleo Chicken Marsala substituting almond flour for regular flour. This recipe is a keeper!

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/chicken-marsala-recipe/index.html#

I enjoyed this day and wish that it weren't almost over! I have felt so relaxed today not in a rush to do anything and if I didn't accomplish a project I didn't get stressed. I think this is going to be my new outlook, not to get stressed over the little things because it won't matter in a week! Well, it will matter tomorrow if I don't have the call schedule done, so I better get busy, so until tomorrow, goodnight and God Bless!

Day 112: One Tired Girl!

I've had one very busy day! I started it off by making a new recipe for breakfast. Sausage and Paleo French Toast Flat Bread. Boy was it ever tasty. For the recipe go to: http://www.thepaleomom.com/2012/04/recipe-cinnamon-french-toast-flat-bread.html
After breakfast we went to Sand Springs picked up my mom and went to the Herb Festival. I had so much fun! Got tons of herbs! We went to a little dinner and ran into my dads cousin and his wife. I haven't seen them for several years and it was really nice to see them again! Paleo was NOT exercised at the herb festival. We had a hamburger minus the bun and French fries. I also splurged and had a sweet tea, a handful of kettle corn and my husband and I shared a large bag of cinnamon pecans, and of course they had sugar on them. This was a special treat and not one we do very often! After we took mom home we headed to Riddles Plant Farm to finish up the herb shopping then to Sams to get dog food and a few other items. I had to rest for about 30 minutes after I got home then went outside to plant the herbs. I got the garden all planted in spite of all the black widow spiders I saw, and now all I have to do is mulch! Yes, we have black widow spiders and I don't like that one bit! After planting I showered then made dinner. I grilled bacon wrapped chicken breast, mixed veggies and a salad. I am so full and I only ate about a fourth of a chicken breast. They were thick and juicy, yum!
The only exercise I did today was walk all over Sand Springs and then planting and that was exercise enough. I'm pooped!
I've been spending the last hour looking at Paleo friendly recipes and pinning them on my Pintrest, so I better get back to that so I'll have more recipes to try, so until tomorrow, goodnight and God Bless!

Day 111: Prolotherapy Day

Today was a Prolotherapy day for my hands and ankle. I am so impressed with how well this works. My left hand is almost 100% better since I started this treatment and my right hand is about 80% better. No taking medicine that can cause any side effects and I'm getting better. Why wouldn't someone want to try this first? Go check out Dr. Chad Edwards website and learn more about this treatment, and once you see him for the first time, you will be sold on him and Prolotherapy! http://drchadedwards.com/about/

Crossfit today was scaled way down for me since most everything involved something I can't do. For 20 minutes we did as many reps as possible of 5 handstand push ups, 10 pistol squats and 15 pull ups. I can't do handstand push ups so you have your legs on a box and do them, my pistol squats are onto a box and pull ups were using the rings. I did 10 rounds.

Paleo food for the day, breakfast I had scrambled egg on a coconut wrap, snack bacon and lunch was a dried fruit and nut mixture. Dinner was grilled scallops, shrimp, bell pepper, onions and pineapple. Very good dinner! I was able to eat mainly Paleo today. I finally showed self control!

The herb festival is in Sand Springs tomorrow and this is a yearly tradition for me. I love my herb garden, and I can't wait! More tomorrow, so until then, goodnight and God Bless!

Day 110: Quick Note

Baked cod in a butter sauce with lots of fresh garlic and sliced onions, baked sweet potato and a spinach salad makes a quick and tasty meal. Place sliced onions and pieces of garlic in a baking dish, top with slices of butter or ghee then place cod on top of onions placing more onions garlic and butter on top of fish. Sprinkle with sea salt and pepper. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. Enjoy!

My Paleo food consisted of the baked cod for dinner and barbecue brisket for lunch. Mixed nuts and dried fruit for breakfast and coffee. Yes once again I has items that are not considered Paleo and I'm trying real hard to overcome this weakness! Back to Crossfit tomorrow and go see Dr Edwards for more Prolotherapy! Until then goodnight and God Bless!

Day 109: Beans

Today I made the choice to eat beans for the first time in 109 days. They are not Paleo and I knew I shouldn't indulge but I did and I'm feeling the effects. I feel bloated and very gassy! Not a fun feeling! I grew up eating beans, fried potatoes and cornbread! Yum, yum! But now I remember the gassy effects! I think that I'll stick to no more beans!

Paleo breakfast: ham and egg
Paleo Snack: mixed nuts with craisins
Not so Paleo lunch: barbecue brisket, pulled pork, baked beans and spicy coleslaw
Halfway Paleo dinner: curry chicken salad on a coconut wrap, potato chips pickles and jalapeño peppers.
I also had an iced white chocolate Mocha coffee from Starbucks.

Early morning tomorrow so until then, goodnight and God Bless!

Day 108: The Tick Tack Downfall!

Today was a good Paleo day until the Tick Tack downfall! For breakfast I made a very hearty dish with sausage, onions, bell pepper, and sweet potatoes. After sautéing until tender I cracked eggs over the mixture, put a lid on and steamed the eggs. Very tasty and filling! Held me over until lunch. For lunch George came by and took me to Ghangis Grill where I had lots of meats and veggies, NO rice or noodles and a gluten free sauce. Another tasty meal! I had a few mixed nuts and craisins for a snack and then it happened! The Tick Tack Downfall! I was leaving one hospital to go to another and put one little innocent Tick Tack in my mouth! It was fruit flavored and tasted so good that I ate another and another and another until I realized I had eaten the entire pack, but it didn't stop there. I had another pack in my purse and you guessed it, I ate that entire pack too! WHY? Why couldn't I show self control? This is definitely something I need to spend major time on, learning self control! I did manage to get back on track for dinner. I made a grilled lemon butter dill Salmon, mixed veggies and a spinach salad. Better for me than the Tick Tacks!

Today was a rest day from Crossfit, but back to the gym tomorrow! I will once again try to eat Paleo and no more Tick Tacks! 5am comes awfully early, so until then, goodnight and God Bless!

Lemon Dill Salmon
Salmon Filet
Butter
Dill weed
Salt, pepper and garlic powder
Lemon
Soften butter, and rub all over Salmon filet. Sprinkle salmon with seasonings generously with the dill weed. Squeeze 1/2 lemon over the salmon. Slice the lemon in slices and place on top of the salmon. Wrap in foil and grill until flakes with a fork. About 15-25 minutes depending upon how hot your grill is.

Day 107: Curry Chicken Salad

Curry Chicken Salad is one of my families most favorite quick dinners. I usually start with the chicken breast off a store bought roasted chicken, saving the rest of the chicken and the bones to make a soup. Dice the chicken breast until finely chopped. To the diced chicken I add 1 chopped apple (I like Pink Ladies) 1/2 cup chopped onion, 1 cup craisins, 1 cup chopped nuts, 1 tablespoon curry powder, salt and pepper to taste, and then about 1 cup mayo. Mix everything together. If
Mixture is too dry add more Mayo. I use store bought Mayo made with Olive oil. This chicken salad is great on a Paleo coconut wrap.

So for dinner, you guessed it, we had the Curry Chicken Salad on coconut wraps with sweet potato chips. For lunch I had a salad with grilled chicken, boiled eggs, fresh fruit and Ranch dressing, and for breakfast I had scrambled eggs on a Paleo coconut wrap.

Crossfit Primus' workout was intense! Fran was the workout! Fran is 21, 15, 9 of thrusters and pull ups. You do it for time, I just can't remember mine. I know it was around 7 minutes! I'm sore! We were in the new gym and man was it ever sweet! We had room to spread out. I'm so happy for Sean and Courtney and the work they are doing to make sure we all stay fit. Keep up the good work kids! I love you both!

Tomorrow will be my rest day from
Crossfit, but I'll be raring to go on Wednesday. If you are trying to follow a Paleo lifestyle, keep strong and encourage one another! We all need the support. Until tomorrow, goodnight and God Bless!

Day 106: Shopping Spree

Day 2 of shopping for new clothes. I found lots of cute clothes, so now I feel like I have a whole new wardrobe! It's kind of fun to shop for new things! I still haven't tried on my shorts from last season, so the shopping spree may not be over after all, but that will have to wait until next week.

Today we went to see the new set up for Primus and it's sweet! I can't wait until tomorrow to work out! Afterwards we went to see the new house Sean and Courtney purchased. I absolutely loved it! The Lord has truly blessed them and I'm so very happy for them!

Food today was not Paleo. We ate fish tacos and tortilla chips from Baja Jacks and then for dinner we ate a ham sandwich on a coconut wrap and potato chips. I also had some Ranch dressing with the potato chips than a few pieces of dark chocolate. Like I said not Paleo! Well, it's going to be an early day tomorrow so I've got to start getting ready for the day, so until tomorrow, goodnight and God Bless!

Day 105: Made My Day!

After trying on several pairs of jeans from my closet I realized I didn't have any that fit me, not because I had gained weight, but in fact I've lost enough weight the I don't have ANY pants in my closet that fit me! It's kind of exciting! What's a girl to do? Shopping! You guessed it, I went jeans shopping. I haven't had to get new pants in a long time, and I had forgotten how painfully expensive it can be! Its hard to find the style you like or doesn't look too young on you or shows your crack when you sit down! I finally found the perfect fit and I have actually lost 3 pant sizes since I started eating Paleo and doing Crossfit. Yea for me! Now that I'm seeing major results, I can truly say, it's all been worth it!

Food today, early lunch at Smash Burger consisting of a burger no bun and sweet potato fries and water. Dinner I made some butternut squash soup. It was delicious! I made a homemade chicken broth and added the squash to this broth and added chunks of chicken. Very tasty!

Well, we are expecting bad storms tonight so I'm going to get in bed and get some sleep before the storms hit! I'm praying for safety for everyone if these storms should hit! Until tomorrow, goodnight and God Bless!

Day 104: Heart Burn

I've now been taking 40 mg of Prednisone for 9 days for a Colitis flare up. I've not had very much relief yet of the symptoms, and now I'm experiencing the horrible side effects of the medicine, heart burn being the worst. I can drink water and get heart burn. Other side effects are my heart skips beats, short tempered, sleeplessness, need I go on? I'm ready for this to be over! Having heartburn makes it hard to exercise. For instance today at Crossfit we were to do bear crawls but bending over make the heartburn become reflux so that's a no no for me. My workout consisted of 25 wall balls using an 8 lb ball, 25 walking lunges and then a 200 meter run, 3 times doing it for time. Of course this wasn't the actual workout, it was scaled down for me!

Food today: breakfast, coconut wrap with almond butter and banana with a cup of coffee. Lunch tuna salad, and dinner was Enchaladas make with corn tortillas, and of course chocolate for dessert. I figure if I'm going to have heart burn just drinking water, why not give myself a real reason to have heartburn!

Well, we are expect bad storms tonight and tomorrow so I better try to get some rest while it's still quite. Until tomorrow goodnight and God Bless!

Day 103: Totally Bombing Paleo Diet!

I've not been doing Paleo as I should and I can tell the effects! Not good! I have been busy and not putting eating properly in the right priority, and I'm feeling it now. I still haven't had gluten but the other junk I've been eating can be considered just as bad! I've had Ranch Salad dressings, tortilla and potato chips, and milk chocolate even pure sugar in the form of Peeps! I'm not happy with myself! I'm seriously going to try harder to overcome the temptations! I blame the Prednisone!

Food today: breakfast was a Larabar and a cup of coffee with honey and cream, lunch: salad with grilled chicken, fresh fruit and Ranch dressing, snack a bag of potato garden herb chips and a few pieces of chocolate. Dinner sweet potato fries with honey, cabbage, onion, mushroom and ham stir fried together and for snack, you guessed it more chocolate. Like I said, I'm not happy with myself! Of course there was no exercising today! I will do better tomorrow, plus I'll be at Crossfit in the morning, so until then, goodnight and God Bless!

Day 102: Driving In The Rain

I hate to drive in the rain! I find it very stressful! Today that's exactly what I had to do, drive in the rain most of the day. It's like every time I got in the car, it started to rain. I left my house at 5:15 this morning and the minute I got in my car, it started to pour down rain. It rained on me over half the way to Owasso. When I got to Crossfit it looked rainy but never did UNTIL you guessed it, got in the car to go to the first hospital run I had to make. It rained just long enough for me to get to St Johns Owasso, then stopped while I was in the hospital and started sprinkling on me while I walked to my car. It sprinkled on me to Bailey. After Bailey I actually made it most of the way to Claremore before it started sprinkling. I stayed there for over an hour and you guessed it, when I was going to my car it was pouring down rain and rained most of the way into Tulsa! Luckly I was able to do my business at Southcrest and all the way back to Hillcrest without rain! Still Stressful!

Crossfit for the day was: warm up dead lifts five sets of five lifts. I did 65 pounds. The workout was 5 burpee's, 10 knees to elbows and 20 double unders. Of course everything was scaled down for me. I did knees to elbows laying on the ground and I did 60 single jumps. We were to see how many reps you can do in 15 minutes. I did 7 reps plus 5 burpee's!

Food: spark energy drink, cup of coffee, banana, pork rinds, hamburger patty and sweet potato fries, a few pieces of dark chocolate and for dinner left over Paleo pizza and a few chips and salsa. Junk food again! I'm still lacking the self control. I've got lots of work to do tonight so it's time to say goodby, so until tomorrow, goodnight and God Bless!

Day 101: Prednisone Hunger

The Prednisone hunger has set in and I want to eat everything in sight! I totally over ate for dinner tonight. I made fish taco's, homemade salsa, and ate my weight in the chips with salsa. I totally sinned in the sugar area today too. Someone brought some peeps to work and I ate 4! Ugh! Why? It's like I have no self control when it comes to resisting food right now! I've got to get control!
The rest of the day I ate a Larabar for breakfast and for lunch I had a grilled pork chop, grilled veggies, asparagus, tossed salad and some fresh fruit. I had a few pieces of chocolate today too! Now I feel like a blimp!

I've got to go to Crossfit tomorrow without delay, and watch what I eat! Now is the time I need to stand firm and not give into temptation! Until tomorrow, goodnight and God Bless!

Day 100: 100 Days With No Gluten!

This is truly a milestone! 100 days with no gluten, I'm amazed I've actually gone that many days! Now if I could only go that many without sugar! I've cut way, way back on the sugar, but I do break down occasionally and have something with sugar in it. Also I've only had one sip of pop in these last 100 days too, and it wasn't so tempting that I just had to drink more than a sip. In fact it was too sweet, I didn't like it!

Crossfit today was BRUTAL! The workout was called "Angie". It was 100 pull ups, 100 push ups, 100 sit ups and 100 squats. I hurt! I have a sore on my tailbone from all the sit ups! Ouch!

Food for the day was ham for breakfast, salad with chicken, boiled eggs, veggies and some fresh fruit for lunch, and for dinner I made Paleo pizza and salad. This pizza was very good!

Going to take the day off from exercising tomorrow, but will probably go on a walk. I've been trying to get in bed early, and I've got a lot to do before bed, so until tomorrow, goodnight and God Bless!

Day 99: Happy Easter!

Today was a very relaxing Easter Day at the Garner house! Georgia went to her boyfriends, Barbie and Ken stayed in Stillwater because they are coming in next weekend, Sean had to work, and Courtney was going to be alone all day, so she came and spent the day with me and George. It was very nice! We just had a quiet day! She studied for a test she is taking tomorrow, I did laundry and worked on anesthesia records and George listened to the radio with his headphones on. Then later on after studying and work was done we had a nice visit and a quick dinner before Courtney had to leave. I enjoyed spending the day with my favorite daughter-in-law! So far I must say, God has truly blessed our family with each addition of a family member, and I'm proud to now call them my children too. Now instead of having 3 children I have 5, and one of these days, I'll add another son in the mix when Georgia gets married!

Today was a rest day from Crossfit not only because it was Sunday, but this is the most special Sunday of the year! Easter Sunday! He is risen!

I made Paleo cinnamon rolls for breakfast and were they ever good! After church, we had ham sandwiches on lettuce wraps, with all the trimmings. Bell peppers, onions, tomatoes, avocado, pickles, deviled eggs, and chips. I did cheat with gluten free mixed potato chips. For an afternoon snack I had to eat one more cinnamon roll. For
dinner I made bacon wrapped asparagus and a salad. I love bacon! I'm so full, I think I could pop!

Well, it's back to the Crossfit workout early in the morning before going to work, so I've got to get everything gathered up, so until tomorrow, goodnight and God Bless!

Day 98: A Good Feeling!

One of the best feelings is to put on a pair of pants that last year was so tight that your belly hung over to now have them so loose they fall off! That's exactly what happened to me today. I've had this pair of crop Lacoste pants for over 3 years and never wore them. They fit when I purchased them but it was the wrong season to wear them, and by the time it was the right season, I had gained too much weight to wear them. I put them in the back of my closet thinking that I would eventually be able to fit in them, but each year passed and I only gained more weight, causing the pant to be pushed back even further in the closet. Thanks to Crossfit, eating a Paleo diet and doing an Advocare weight loss challenge, I've lost enough weight that the pants are now too big, and that's a good feeling! My starting weight in January was 168.9, my weight today is 142.3. That's a total weight loss of 26.6 pounds. I'm happy with that! I'm not finished yet, but now that I can actually see the results, I'm very happy! I'm going to continue eating Paleo, doing Crossfit and taking supplements from Advocare. I'm not doing a nutrition challenge at this time, but it doesn't mean I won't in the future. It was a great jump start to loosing weight.

Food for the day: barbecue chicken in a Paleo coconut wrap and some plantain chips. A Larabar for snack and then dinner was baked ham, pineapple, honey and cilantro baked sweet potatoes and a salad. For dessert we had melted chocolate chips with fresh strawberries and bananas. I did have some coffee today with honey and cream and then a Carmel Macchiato coffee from QT.

I had a busy Saturday, working on anesthesia records, then grocery shopping. Tomorrow is going to be a beautiful Easter Day focusing on Praising God, so may your day be as blessed as I know mine is going to be, so until then, goodnight and God Bless!

Day 97: Running Again, Are You Kidding Me!

Crossfit workout this morning was more running! My poor legs! Our warm up was brutal too. Sit ups for 20 seconds then resting 20 seconds then back extensions for 20 seconds. This was repeated at least 7 times. I lost count! After that we did death by pull ups. That's where every minute you add a pull up so in the end the goal is 15 pull ups in 15 minutes. In my dreams maybe! After the warm up it was 10 ring dips then 200 meter run, five times for time. I can't remember my exact time but I think it was 10:49. With all this running, I'm actually getting a little better! I'm taking the next 2 days off
and will be back on Monday, ready to run if that's what they want us to do!

Food for the day was light again. I had a banana and Spark drink on the way to Crossfit, then a jalapeño cheese sausage and green tea from Quiktrip. The sausage wasn't Paleo because of the cheese, but it's the closest thing to Paleo there. I was so busy again at work today that I had no time for lunch. For dinner I made a salad with lots of veggies, grilled chicken and bacon. Very tasty!

Well, it's time to rest up for the busy weekend. May you have a Blessed Easter weekend! Until tomorrow, goodnight and God Bless!

Day 96: I Had To Give In!

I'm following a Paleo diet with very few cheats and trying to exercise regularly, but I still developed a flare up of my colitis. Stress is the major factor of this flare up! I absolutely love my job, and everyone I work with, but the last 4 months of uncertainty about getting the contract, making sure we got everyone credentialed and ready to start work, going to computerized records, and the list goes on and on, caused major havoc on my colon! I tried not to give in to take any medicine, but I finally had too! I'm so upset about this because I've been Prednisone free for a little over a year and that's the longest I've been steroid free since I was diagnosed over 10 years ago. However the last few days, the urgency and other grotesque symptoms were starting to keep me from everyday life activities, so I had to get on Prednisone. I'm not looking forward to the side effects of this medicine but, I'm so ready to have a normal stool, and like I've said before in a post about colitis, until you loose the ability to pass gas you don't realize how much you loved a good fart! I'm not sure about everyone with colitis but I know that when I'm in a flare up there is no way on earth to pass gas without sharting in my pants. I'm very sensitive to this subject. I don't like people making fun of others if the shart in their pants, because I know what it's like and it's very, very embarrassing!

Along with taking prednisone, I'm hungry all the time, I'm very cranky, I don't sleep very well, my heart races and skips beats, I get hot flashes, heartburn, I gain weight, I'm very sensitive to all the virus bugs going around and for some reason MARSA seems to find its way to attack me, but on the bright side the colitis clears up!

I do want to take this time to apologize to everyone at Crossfit, work, home, reading this blog, etc., for any bad behavior I may show in these next few weeks! I plead Prednisone Rage, a real side effect of taking this drug! I'm definitely not looking forward to the weight gain, (i worked really hard to loose these 25 pounds over the last Three months) so I'm really going to have to watch what I eat, at least this time I'm eating a healthier diet with a few cheats instead of an unhealthy diet with a lot of cheats!

On to the food for the day. For breakfast I ate a Larabar and a cup of coffee. After that I was so busy at work I really didn't have time to even think about lunch, so we had an early dinner which consisted of a grass fed hamburger patty covered with chili mustard and onions and some
Plantain chips then for dessert some dark chocolate chips melted on fresh pineapple and banana. Everything was Paleo except for maybe the chocolate, but after the day I had I deserved it!

What's interesting about my experience with Colitis is that foods do not cause my symptoms, and I've also noticed that my symptoms seem to show up not only when under a great deal of stress, but also when I'm having bad allergies! Maybe this is because allergies put stress on your body. That's all I can come up with! Not only am I stressed, but my allergies are acting up like none other! I just know that I would never ever wish colitis on anyone! Well, I'm going to try to get some sleep since 5 am comes sooner than ya want, so until tomorrow, goodnight and God Bless!

Day 95: No More Running, Please!

I went to Crossfit again this morning, giving myself one day of rest between workouts, and what do they have us doing? More running! My legs are still sore from Monday, and they want me to run 1 1/2 miles! I don't think my legs are ever going to be the same! On top of the running we also did dead lifts, so the work out went like this: 15 dead lifts (I did 35pds, not even close to the weight you are suppose to do), then a 800 m run. You do these each 3 times as quickly as you can. My quickly was 22.49 minutes. I hurt all over! I do plan on going to Crossfit this Friday, but I would like to ask them one tiny favor, NO MORE RUNNING! PLEASE!

My Paleo diet was blown after my Crossfit workout. On the way to exercise I ate a Larabar and a Spark drink. After the workout I was STARVING! So I stopped off a Quiktrip and got a jalapeño cheese stuffed sausage, no bun, a bag of salt and
vinegar chips, yes you heard it, a bag of chips, I deserved it after that much running, and a glass of tea. For lunch I had some barbecue pulled pork and coleslaw. Finally for dinner I grilled some of my grass fed beef hamburgers and made some mashed cauliflower and a salad. I was full but now that its time for bed, I'm starting to get hungry, but I'm going to stay strong and not eat anything! I'm going to go get a drink of water then go to bed, so until then, goodnight and God Bless!

Day 94: Saddle Sore!

Ok, so yesterday I said I was back in the saddle with my Crossfit workout, well today I have major saddle soreness! I can barely move, it's hurts to walk, it hurts to sit, it hurts stand, and it hurts to touch any of my muscles in my legs. OUCH! But what do they say about if you fall off a horse? Get back on it! So don't you think if you get saddle soreness you should work it out? Well, that's what I plan on doing tomorrow, I'm going to go to the 6 am class and try to workout!

Food for the day was simple. I had a banana and Spark drink for breakfast. I haven't been hungry in the morning lately and I've always been a person that I can't eat anything when I first get up. I have to be up about an hour before I feel like eating. Now having a cup of coffee is another thing, it's always coffee time! Lunch I had a salad with grilled chicken, a side of guacamole, and fresh fruit. For dinner I made South of the Border Stuffed Acorn Squash, and it was very good! The recipe is in the Paleo Comfort Foods cookbook. I think I'm going to have a little snack of melted chocolate and fruit. I always crave chocolate after eating spicy foods!

Well, since I'm going to get back in the saddle again tomorrow, I've got a lot to do before I can go to bed, so until then, goodnight and God Bless!

Day 93: Back In The Saddle Again

I was at the Crossfit Primus Gym in Owasso this morning bright and early, 6 am, and I could tell I haven't exercised for a month and a half! After the warm up we started with a run, running 200 meters then resting for one minute, than repeating for a total of 6 times making it a total of a mile run. My total was 12.49, keep in mind we rested one minute each time, so I like to think that I ran it in 6.25 minutes! :) after the running we did as many reps as possible in 15 minutes of: 5 thrusters, 10 burpees, and 15 sit ups. I was only able to accomplish 3 reps and thought I was going to die! Tomorrow will be a rest day, because I've got to break back into this slowly!

Food for the day was NOT what it should have been. For breakfast I ate a banana and a Spark drink. When I got to work, it was soooooo busy I barley had time to do anything let alone eat and then I had to run to the dentist. I finally got to eat lunch at 330 this afternoon meeting a lady from the cooperate office at Panera. I still ate Paleo having a Greek salad with grilled chicken. I did splurge and had the feta cheese on the salad, but NO bread! I got home from work at 700 and the hubby was hungry so we ate some left over chicken fajitas with a little avocado and homemade salsa on plantain chips. Tomorrow is going to be another busy and long day, so it's adios for now! Until then goodnight and God Bless!

Day 92: Early To Bed

It's 9:30 and I've got to get in bed for my early morning. It's going to be my first day back to CrossFit in over a month! Pray for me! I heard its a lot of running! More tomorrow, so until then goodnight and God Bless!

Day 91: Power Cooking Accomplished!

I've been cooking all day,and I have several meals prepared for the week, but it's not for me! I've been cooking for my son and daughter in law. I made a few new recipes in the crockpot, and I'm not too sure I would make them again. I made a stuffed pork chop, and a pineapple rib dish. The recipe says to cook 8 hrs on low, but I really think that was too long! You never know if you like something until you try it, and now that I tried these if I make them again, I would definitely change the time they cook, then maybe I would like them. All the meals I made were Paleo! I think my favorite dish was the bacon wrapped asparagus. It was yummy!

Well, I'm tired and it's late so until tomorrow, goodnight and God Bless!

Day 90: Three Months

I can't believe I've actually gone three months and no wheat/gluten products. Oh, there were times I totally wanted to take a huge bite out of a yeasty, doughy, sweet cinnamon roll, but I didn't and I'm so proud of myself! It's more of a pain trying to find things that are gluten free than actually not eating gluten. I really don't miss it until I smell fresh bread baking, then I miss it!

Tomorrow is power cooking day! What is power cooking you ask? It's where you cook as many meals as possible in one day, sealing them in some type of freezer container, freeze the cooked food ready to eat by just heating up. I'm doing this power cooking not for me, but for my son and his wife. They are so busy with the Crossfit gym, school and work they don't have time to cook a good Paleo dinner, so they've been eating out a lot and that's not the healthiest and can get expensive. I love to cook and I've got some really exciting new recipes to try. I can't wait to start cooking! Got to get ready for the day tomorrow, so until then, goodnight and God Bless!

Day 89: Power Cooking

When I got home tonight I decided to do a little power cooking. On the way home I passed by Bodean's Fish Market, and decided to stop by and take a look. I decided on buying something I've never had before, swordfish! I grilled it with a little lemon
pepper seasoning and it was awesome! I made baby zucchini's and salad and we were one happy family. I also purchased some cod and decided to try to bread it with coconut flour mixed with flax meal then fried it in some coconut oil. That didn't work too well, because the batter wasn't thick enough so the fish fell apart, but it's still edible! Also, last night Georgia brought home a large package of chicken breast, and there were enough breast in there to make 3 Seperate meals. I grilled all of them with different seasonings. I cooked three in a chipotle seasoning, three in a rosemary seasoning and I flattened two breast and I'm going to make chicken sandwiches on a Paleo coconut wrap. Now I have several meals that I can just take out of the freezer the night before and make a veggie and salad for a quick meal with very little effort after a long day at work. I'm going to do more power cooking this weekend too! Power cooking is the way to go! Cook all day one day and relax the rest of the week, I only wish I did this for myself more often!

Still no CrossFit but it's not long til I do! I'm planning on starting up again next week if the mouth has healed. There is still a throbbing pain but not as bad as it was. Well, the busy days at work are just ahead, so I'm going to try to get in bed early every day starting today, so until tomorrow, goodnight and God Bless!

Day 88: Getting Pumped

Ok, so I'm trying to psych myself up to start strong and hard on doing CrossFit again on a regular basis. So far I'm psyching myself out of it! I'm not going to give in to my laziness, I'm not going to give into my laziness, I'm not going to give into my laziness! Maybe if I say it enough times I'll start being more motivated. Today I walked for 30 minutes and did a few pull ups. I really think that once my mouth stops hurting and my colitis settles down some, exercising would be so easy! It's really hard to exercise when you are in pain, at least that's how I feel. My mouth is hurting all the way into my ear causing me so much pain and my jaw throbs when I bend over, making exercising more painful than I want to experience that's why I'll keep walking until the mouth is healed. Also, since the colitis is flaring up, sometimes the bathroom just isn't close enough and trying to exercise when you have major stomach cramping is miserable! Even though I'm having these issues, I'm still trying to pump myself up to get motivated! I'm going to do it, just like I've set my mind to eat no gluten and mostly Paleo for the last 88 days. Encouragement is what we all need from each other! So here goes: You can do it, you're awesome, I'm proud of you! Remember, you can do all things through Christ Jesus who strengthens you! This is my motivation!

Food today, banana for breakfast, salad at lunch, yes, I cheated by eating a peppermint patty candy bar, for dinner I made a mini Mexican meatloaf stuffed inside a sweet pepper and spicy baked sweet potatoes, and a pepper coleslaw. I finished up the night with some melted dark chocolate, raspberries, strawberries and banana. Now I'm going to try to get some rest if my mouth will only cooperate, so until tomorrow, goodnight and God Bless

Day 87: Georgia Made Dinner...

And it was Awesome! Not because I didn't have to cook after a long day at work, but it was excellent, and it was Paleo as well! She made a lemon shrimp dish and a salad with strawberries and a poppy seed dressing. I loved it so much that I ate enough for 2 people. It might have been Paleo, but my portion size wasn't! For lunch I had smoked sausage with peppers and onions. I didn't have breakfast today, but I ate enough the rest of the day I'm sure I had an over abundance of calories today. I also finished off the banana bread I made this weekend. Tomorrow I'm going to have to watch what I eat and eat a lot less! Yes, you can get fat eating a Paleo diet! It's just like any other food, too much food equals too many calories and weight gain!

I went into work late today, and it was nice being home this morning. I went in this afternoon because I had a late evening meeting and really didn't want to be at work 11 hours today, so staying home and going in late was a welcomed change. I was able to do a little banking this morning and even did a little laundry. All in all this was a nice change! I'm still having the pain in my mouth from the dry socket and it's not letting me sleep even with the pain medication, so getting to sleep in a little later was also a welcomed change. Getting home from work this evening at 8:30 to a great meal was the most welcomed thing of the day! I really appreciated Georgia for doing this for me and like I said, she did an awesome job! This was one of the best meals I've had in a long time. Thanks Georgia, I love you! Well it's late, so until tomorrow, goodnight and God Bless!

Day 86: Not Feeling Well Today!

Since I had my tooth extracted last Friday, I've gradually started feeling bad. Having pain in my jaw and my ear and running a mild temperature, I decided today it was time to call the dentist back. He said that I did have a dry socket, so he rinsed it out and then filled it with some sort of gunk that taste nasty! It could also be a combination of dry socket and Colitis flare up! Even though I've been eating Paleo, I'm still having a flare up. I would say the flare up is due to lack of the 3 R's that Dr Edwards talked about at the Health Fair Sunday. Lack of rest, working long hours at the hospital and very stressful situations these last few weeks is what I blame!

I am going to try to get in bed early tonight, so until tomorrow, goodnight and God Bless!

Day 84 & 85: I Don't Know Why I Didn't Post Yesterday

The only thing I can think of is that we celebrated my lovely daughter-in-laws birthday yesterday and getting home a little later than usual, I just forgot!

Today was a really awesome Health Mini-seminar at my sons Crossfit gym Primus crossfit in Owasso. Dr. Chad Edwards was the speaker,speaking on Paleo Diet. He was Awesome! This was very informative and helpful to a lot of people, especially the pregnant girls wondering about staying on a Paleo diet while pregnant. A Paleo diet is probably the best diet for someone pregnant to be on, because it's not really a diet, but a lifestyle change. He spoke on gluten allergies. Did you know that wheat products can stay in your system for 6 months, so each time you eat any gluten it starts all over again and will take another 6 months to get out of your system! Like I said this was a very informative class and I'm sure there will be another one in the future, so if you didn't get to come to this one, you will most definitely want to attend the next one.

I didn't eat Paleo these last few days, and I can tell I'm a little more sluggish than normal, but it could also be that I'm still having to take an occasional pain pill from having a tooth removed Friday.

Well it's late so I'm not going to tell all the nonPaleo food I had, so until tomorrow good night and God Bless!

Day 83: Oh The Pain!

I went to the dentist today to get my crown fixed, but instead of getting it glued back on they removed the entire tooth. Apparently the tooth was not repairable and the only choice was to remove it. Now the numbing shot has worn off and it hurts like none other! Since they had to remove it I can only eat soft foods, so for lunch I totally blew the Paleo diet by having a orange cream slush from Sonic. For dinner I had a baked sweet potato.

The pain pills are NOT working on the pain and I feel like I'm walking around in a fog. I just don't understand why people want to take pills like this on a regular basis because I hate feeling this way. Oh the pain!

No exercise except 5 pull ups as I walk by the pull up bar. Going to rest more, so until tomorrow, goodnight and God Bless!

Day 82: Sweet Potato Soup

My crown has fallen off, my tooth hurts, and I can't chew food very well, so I made some sweet potato soup. It was very tasty on a cool rainy night. I just cut up a sweet potatoes in small pieces added some purple onion and celery. After cooking long enough for the veggies to get tender I added 1 TBSP butter and about 1/2 c cream. Salt and pepper to taste. It was very good.

I was at work today for 11 hours and am ready for bed. I was in meetings at 4 different hospitals today with ladies from our billing company. I've worked with them for 6 years and this is the first time I've got to meet them. It was a hoot! Loved every one of them! We went to lunch together at Red Robin, yum! I had a lettuce wrapped burger with sweet potato fries. Still no exercise today and I'm getting ready to take a long hot shower then bed, so until tomorrow, good night and God Bless!

Day 81: Stormy Night

Looks like it's going to be a stormy night. The clouds got dark real fast, the wind picked up suddenly then it started to rain and thunder and the dogs are scared. It's a stormy night!

I came home from another busy day at work, grilled a KC strip steak, sweet potato fries and a salad, then sat around the rest of the evening. I'm seriously going to get serious next week with my exercise program. I did do about five pull ups today. I'm feeling so sluggish this week I really think its due to all the long hours at work and over working this past weekend. I'm trying to make up for the lost rest this week and going to hit it strong and hard next week, at least that's the plan! Well, I'm going to relax the rest of the evening, so until tomorrow, goodnight and God Bless!

Day 80: I Need More Hours In A DAY

Here lately, I've been so busy working to workout! I know that sounds like an excuse, but that's what I'm sticking with. I really need more hours in a day, and a little more motivation/energy to get my exercise in. I've been drinking my Spark energy day and that helps majorly, but I don't want to drink another one too late in the evening and not be able to sleep. I already have issues with getting a good nights rest! I'm ready for my days at work to slow down and hopefully that will be next week. I think I'm actually seeing the light at the end of the tunnel! I've got to do more work tonight and I've already decided that this weekend I'm NOT going to volunteer for any extra work in the hoarder house and I'm going to have a date night on Saturday with the hubby and on Sunday afternoon go to Primus Crossfit in Owasso to see Dr. Edwards speak on Prolotherapy and also hear whats the next challenge the gym has in store for everyone.

I was really busy today and didn't stop to take time to eat but I did have a larabar for breakfast and a handful of cashews around 11. For dinner I made a salad with boiled eggs, green onions and bacon with oil and balsamic vinegar dressing. It was so good plus I was real hungry! I'm getting ready to see if I have some chocolate chips to melt and have some strawberries. Yum yum! After that it's back to work, so until tomorrow good night and God Bless!

Day 79: Stinky Again

Corned beef and cabbage for dinner tonight and the house smells again. How can something taste so good but stink so bad? Lunch was baked chicken and fresh veggies, and breakfast was a larabar. No exercise today as Im trying to recoup from this weekend. I'm going to try to get serious with my workout again starting tomorrow. At least I've pretty much kept the Paleo diet going! Ready for an early bedtime, so until tomorrow, goodnight and God Bless!

Day 78: Pain In My Back

I have eaten horrible this weekend because I've been volunteering at a hoarders house so the food wasn't what I should be eating! Today for lunch we had pizza, so since I'm not suppose to eat bread I peeled off the topping and ate it on a paleo wrap. It wasn't half bad. For dinner we were so tried we stopped by a steak house and ordered out. We had a sweet potato, steak and salad. I've been working so hard all weekend it's like I've been doing crossfit more than once a day. I'm sure I haven't been doing proper form so my back is hurting so bad. I've pulled a muscle in the middle of my back and every once in a while I have a sharp pain that makes me hurt so bad I can't even stand up straight. I've got to
get back to work so until tomorrow, goodnight and God Bless!

Day 77: Stinky House!

I was gone all day helping clean a house, and I knew we would get home late, so I put corned beef and cabbage in a crockpot. I came home to a stinky house, but the food sure was good! For
lunch we had Taco Bueno, so not too Plaeo! No exercise but trust me I got a workout and we go back tomorrow! I'm very tired so going to get in bed early. Until tomorrow, goodnight and God Bless!

Day 76: Pooped!

Work, then to moms house to help her clean, came home, cooked burgers on the grill now I'm pooped! No exercise today but worked cleaning a house was enough exercise for one night. The rest of the weekend is going to be busy so I may not be blogging like I should, but next week I'm going to get serious with my blogging and Paleo! Until tomorrow, goodnight and God Bless!

Day 75: Family Night

My daughter and her husband came into town and I'm visiting with them tonight. I made a beef and broccoli stir fry for dinner and strawberries and chocolate for dessert. They wanted ice cream, so while they ate that I ate the strawberries staying true to my Paleo. Going to visit more now, so until tomorrow good night and God Bless!

Day 74: 1 Cup of Raspberies

One cup of raspberries is what Dr Oz said you should eat a day. I totally agree, because I love raspberries, but I think you should have chocolate with them. So since you should eat one cup
of raspberries a day shouldn't you also eat one cup of chocolate a day with the raspberries? Well, I ate my one cup of raspberries today and I totally wanted to eat the one cup of chocolate, but I refrained. I only ate 1/2 a cup of chocolate. :)

Oh well, one vice a day isn't too bad, but I may have failed today. There was some punch and cake given out at work today. I skipped the cake but drank the punch. It was GOOD! After drinking the punch I realized that more than likely it had some form of clear pop in it. I'm still not sure if it had pop,
but I drank it down and didn't give it a second thought until the guilt set in afterwards. I'm totally in denial that it had pop!

The good food I ate today, a few cashews, taco salad for lunch, baked chicken, grilled mini zucchini with mushrooms and salad for dinner, and an apple for afternoon snack and of course the raspberries and chocolate.

Exercise for the day: absolutely nothing! I worked 10 hours today, went to the grocery store after work came home cooked then sat on my butt because I'm pooped! I actually have done 4 pull ups and I must say, I'm able to hold myself up longer instead of dropping like a rock! Today has been a blessing even though it was a long work day and now it's going to be a stress free hour before going to bed, so until tomorrow, goodnight and God Bless!