Ladybug

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Hump day!

Good morning!  It is Day #21 of my Paleo Challenge.  As I sit here sipping my black coffee that I don't hate anymore, but don't love either, I was thinking about the last three weeks.  There have been just a few lapses:

1. The infamous night with 2.5 glasses of wine.
2.  I had legumes on two occasions.
3.  The night of the wine, I ate from a buffet, so I'm not certain everything was compliant.
4.  Two days when I was waiting for my band to be loosened, I ate full liquids which obviously weren't compliant.
5.  Last night I had corn because it was part of the mixed vegetables I got with my steak.

First of all, 5 deviations from a very strict meal plan over the course of 20 days/60 meals is not bad at all.  In fact, at 92% that is still an A.  Second, of the 5 items in the list, the only one that bothers me even a little is the wine and that is only because I could have and should have stopped at one glass.  But really...I don't care that much.  I'm proud.  In fact, I'm proud of a lot:

1.  The night with the wine and buffet, I selected meats, veggies and fruit and passed up delicious bread, cake, pasta and more.  That is a big deal for a foodie and I did it with very little fanfare.
2.  Every time I have gone out to a meal, I have selected something compliant and for the most part, haven't felt cheated.  I will say that having a best friend that eats gluten free has helped tremendously.
3.  I have made time on the weekends to prep my food for the week which makes my daily choices so much easier.
4.  I have been drinking black coffee in the morning and water the rest of the day.  I did make some strawberry water for home to have something a little different at night, but other than the fruit, there is nothing else in it.  This is a big change from my creamed up and sweetened coffee and diet peach tea all evening long with a soda mid-day. 
5.  I ate a paleo compliant bowl from Chip0tle.  I LOVE that place.  It is the place that helped me put on the last 30 pounds before my weight loss surgery.  To make a bowl compliant, I had to remove my favorite things:  rice, sour cream, cheese, corn salsa & the tortilla chips. Insane.  But I did it.

So there are 5 major things I have done that offset the 5 lapses.  This is by far the best I have done and the longest I have been compliant with this type of meal plan.  However, in another week or two, I will need to evaluate if it has been effective.

I don't think there is any doubt that I'm doing my body good.  I'm eating a balanced diet (low carb, but they are definitely there), the foods for the most part are natural and not processed, and I'm limiting sugars.  All very good.

Additionally, I've noticed good things with my skin.  Where there were little bumps before, almost rash-like, there are none.  I seem to be sleeping more soundly.  And there is no question that I have lost the bloated feeling. 

My biggest disappointment (?), frustration maybe, is that despite my diligent compliance, my weight is the same as it was two weeks ago.  I think I have mentioned before, that I do not get too upset about daily fluctuations or lack thereof.  However, after two weeks of the same, it does get frustrating.  And unfortunately, I only took my measurements last week (I definitely should have done that day 1), so I won't be able to see much change there yet. 

So without tangible evidence of weight loss, I continue on.  I will absolutely do this through the end of the month.  If I were at or close to my goal weight, I could do a slightly modified version of this indefinitely.  But I'm not.  I don't want this to seem like I'm really fretting.  I'm just contemplating.  I'm glad I committed to a month because I shouldn't change what I'm doing right now.  I need more time to see results.  I did notice (or I felt like I noticed) that my workout pants are getting looser.  These kinds of things are as happy making (maybe more so) as scale movement.  They just aren't as clear and tangible, so I have to pay attention.

No CrossFit this morning.  I went out to dinner last night with BFF and a couple of our friends.  I had a carne asada steak with veggies on the side.  Oh wait...I did do a shot of coffee liqueur last night after dinner because they were free.  Oops...6 lapses.  Ha!  Still fine.  Anyway, BFF & I drove together, so we carpooled to work this morning.  I plan to do some hill walking at lunch.

As for my anxiety, it has faded.  I think I identified what my real issue was and I was able to put it in perspective.  I'm truly blessed that I don't suffer from day-to-day anxiety or depression and I have a lot of sympathy for those who do.  That is just tough. 

I did get a nice treat this morning.  At noon, I have an appointment on my calendar that says "good things will happen to you on this date."  Ha!  I don't know if I had a fortune a while back that said that or what, but it did make me smile. 

Today's meal plan:
Breakfast:  Black coffee.  Frittata.
Lunch:  Shepherd's Pie (yum!)
Snack:  Turkey and boiled egg.  I will say the last two days, I have not needed a snack.  Breakfast has kept me full until a late lunch and lunch has kept me full until dinner.  This has been a great benefit.
Dinner:  Chicken sausage and mixed vegetables.
Snack:  Some homemade honey roasted pecans.

Hugs!

3 comments:

~Miss Lorie~ said...

I am so impressed by your dedication to your plan! I know how hard it is when the scale doesn't move... I'm rowing the same boat right now. Though I haven't been as strict paleo as you.

Sandy said...

Oh dear god. You need to stop thinking about being "compliant". You are doing amazing. A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. I know that there is no person alive who could be more aware of what is going in her mouth. It took me a long time to realize that we are so brainwashed to think of good and bad foods, we forget that it is all just food. Today, I had nasty comments from a couple of people because I was eating a chocolate bar at 9:30 in the morning. I thought about it, and decided it was what I wanted and you know what. The look I gave them was worth it. So don't ever give up. We are developing a life long way of living with food (and drink). We choose what passes our lips. You will get to where you want to be. I am so impressed with what you are doing.

Except--I adore black coffee. The only time milk is in it is if I have a capuccino. You go girl.

Sheila said...

I agree with Lorie, it's SO easy to throw in the towel when we don't get the "results" we were hoping for and so much harder to stay with it when we don't get that payoff. You have an amazing attitude and that will carry you far... Great job!