I'm Still Here!

I've been a horrible blogger lately. Partly because I have been busy and partly because I have been a little bit down when it comes to my training.

As I had said earlier I have been battling some hip and shoulder issues over the last month. Overuse, inflammation...bottom line...annoying. I am now a certified level 1 CrossFit trainer which I am incredibly excited about. I had a great certification in Dallas at CrossFit Strong and learned a lot. The nutrition aspect was wonderful. The CrossFit nutrition speakers are amazing and incredibly encouraging. I am happy to report my nutrition has been pretty much spot on the last few weeks. Hooray!

Now my shoulder needs to join the party. My goal is to rest it up the next two weeks. No upper body...even if it doesn't hurt. Pull ups have not bothered it so I was doing them anyway. Probably not incredibly smart because I am not getting better. No more. Two weeks. Total rest.

I must get it better so I can start focusing on getting ready for sectionals in March. They are going to be here soon and I want to be ready. Better to rest now than to hurt later. I hope my nutrition will help me recover quickly or at least keep me at a level where it will be easy to return to where I was fairly fast. Thankfully my hip is on the mend I can still run and jump like a perfectly healthy me.

Hungry Anyone?

I have had something happen to me over the last few days that has never happened to me...ever.

I haven't been hungry.

I know, crazy right?

Part of me thinks it is because I'm not working out as hard due to my injuries. Which, by the way, are getting so much better! Part of me thinks it could be due to a lot of things going on in my personal life that I am apprehensive about (husband's future job plans). Part of me thinks this second go at strict paleo is just going much better than the first time.

The first month I did paleo I was hungry all the time. I ate things I was supposed to eat, but just in large abundance. Now that I have become much more comfortable with this style of eating, going strict is pretty easy and my body is reacting really well. Instead of snacking on a handful of almonds I have discovered I really only need to eat about six or seven to be satisfied. Instead of craving fruit as a snack in the middle of day, I'm eating 2 oz pieces of chicken breast or homemade turkey sausage. I'm rockin' it!

I made another fun discovery. Avocado oil. I use olive oil on everything, but I have to admit it was getting a bit tired. I picked up some avocado oil last week and have been using that with my lean meats and veggies. It has a great flavor and is still totally paleo friendly! Sometimes it just takes a minor adjustment to make something new and exciting again. I love little victories like that.

New Challange

This time of year it is easy for everyone to make excuses and indulge. Of course, I am a firm believer that sometimes you need to indulge a little to stay sane. It is when the indulging becomes continuous that it becomes a real problem.

Today, for instance, everyone in my office brought in their leftover Halloween candy and treats. Ugh. It is everywhere. So much for out of sight, out of mind. To keep me on track I'm starting strict paleo again today until Thanksgiving. Like I have said, I've been staying pretty clean in my eating, but I need to reignite the fire. I need to get pumped about eating clean again.

Thanksgiving is twenty five days away.

My brother in laws wedding is twenty seven days away.

My week long trip to Mexico is thirty three days away.

I don't need to lose weight or trim down for any of these events, but the challenge to myself to be strict with my paleo diet until these events will make sure I am on point when these events come up and I don't go overboard with mashed potatoes, wedding cake and the constant availability of food during my all inclusive vacation.

What are you doing to get yourself mentally prepared for staying on track during the holidays? Have you been able to make any of your holiday favorites paloe friendly? I hope some of you will join in with me again during the next four weeks of super strict paleo. I'm excited!

Sweet Potato Hash

A couple of weekends ago my mom and I went to brunch at Bravo in Edmond. It is a fantastic Italian restaurant and I had never had their brunch. There was a new brunch item that day, Sweet Potato Hash with Chicken. Our server just raved about it. It was normally served with two fried eggs, but I requested scrambled egg whites instead. It was FANTASTIC. Ever since then I have been craving it. Last night, I tried to make my own. It wasn't as good as Bravo's, of course, but it was quite tasty and easy!

Ginny's Sweet Potato Hash
1 sweet potato, peeled and diced
1/2 cup diced yellow onion
6 0z diced chicken (I already had this cooked for the week so I didn't' have to precook it!)
2 Tbs olive oil
1 Tbs minced garlic (or to taste...I like garlic)
Dash chili powder
Dash cumin
Dash sea salt
Dash pepper

Heat olive oil in skillet. When hot, add sweet potatoes and let them brown up.
Add diced onion and garlic. Let cook until onion and garlic are browned slightly.
Add chicken and spices.
Cook for an additional couple of minutes until sweet potatoes are soft and it smells awesome.

Obviously, my recipe isn't very technical. I threw it together. It is a hash! That is what you do. I would have liked to add some peppers, but I didn't have any in the house last night. It makes enough for two servings. I didn't do eggs with it last night, but it is so good with eggs. I've seen some recipes where people have added diced apples to add some more sweet. I liked mine just fine the way it was. I might throw some salsa on it tonight for dinner just for kicks.

Totally paleo friendly and great right after a good workout.

Cheat Meals

Here is a great article on "cheat meals". I love everything about it. His take is completely realistic and do-able!

Here it is. What do you think?

My shoulder is officially impinged. When it rains, it pours, right? I'm doing everything I can do to get it ready for my level 1 cert in two weeks. Basically that means I am doing nothing. Rest. Rest. Rest. Oh yeah, and Ibuprofen.

Healing Time

It has been almost three months since I started this paleo experiment. I started with the intention of doing it for one month to see what happened and how I felt. After one month I though, "What the heck, I'll go one more!" Now I am almost up to three months on the paleo lifestyle. Sure, there have been bumps in the road. I'm not eating 100% paleo all the time, but for the most part, I am as clean as a whistle.

The past two weeks have been pretty tough. With my hip being a pain..literally, and now my shoulder jumping on the bandwagon, I have been at a loss. I can't run, I can't squat, I can't do dips or push ups, no heavy weight for any part of my body. What gives? Thankfully, my diet has been pretty steadfast. I cant' imagine how horrible I would feel if I wasn't eating clean during this time. I imagine I would be a pretty miserable person to be around.

I know I've lost muscle the past two weeks, but I know I'll gain it back pretty fast once I can get back into the gym for real. I still feel lean, I still have lots of energy and I am ready to get back into the game! I'm confident that my diet has been extremely beneficial during my "healing" time.

Now if I could just get in the gym and throw around something really heavy without my hip or shoulder flaking out I would be a happy girl....

Smart Choices

During my daily stroll through multiple media websites I found this very interesting article about the Smart Choices program. I haven't paid much attention to it because I don' t think I need a symbol to tell me if something is a good choice or not. I feel like I can decide that on my own with the knowledge I have about nutrition. Again, I know I'm not an expert, but I pay attention to it, research and try to stay as educated as possible.

Here is the article.

The first sentence just jumped out at me. Froot Loops and Coco Puffs are Smart Choices? What? Why in the world would someone think a sugary cereal like that would be smart for kids or anyone for that matter?

I proceeded to the Smart Choices website to do some research. What was their criteria? What other products are labeled as Smart Choices that probably aren't? How many parents are giving their children these products and think it is the best option?

Here is the Smart Choices Program website.

I started by taking a look at the nutrition criteria to become a Smart Choices item. As I strolled through and looked at the criteria for fat, saturated fat, trans fat and cholesterol all of that made sense to me. Yes, foods with less that 35% calories from fat are a smarter choice. Yes, foods with 0g trans fat are smarter choice. Yes, foods with less than 60mg of cholesterol (per serving) are a smarter choice. Then I came to the added sugar portion. Not just sugar, but added sugar.

Desserts make the Smart Choices list if they have less than 100 calories or 6g of added sugar. What? 100 calories of added sugar is smart? How about 0 calories? Cereals make the cut if they have 12g or less of added sugar. My. Oh. My.

Now, I know not everyone on the planet is going to give up grains and dairy. I know not everyone wants to eat paleo or zone or somewhat clean for that matter. I have to believe there are much smarter "Smart Choices" than some that are listed. Here are some cereals that made the Smart Choices list that blow my mind:

Apple Jacks (100 calories, 12 grams sugar per 1 cup serving)
Corn Pops (110 calories, 12 grams sugar per 1 cup serving)
Froot Loops (110 calories, 12 grams sugar per 1 cup serving)
Frosted Flakes (110 calories, 11 grams sugar per 3/4 cup serving)
Cocoa Puffs (110 calories, 11 grams sugar per 3/4 cup serving)
Lucky Charms (110 calories, 11 grams sugar per 3/4 cup serving)

If those cereals are good for you, then what cereal is not considered a smart choice? I did a search for cereals high in sugar. I found a list that rated some of the worst cereals high in sugar that are marketed towards children. Here is the ironic thing: a lot of these same Smart Choices cereals showed up on this Consumer Reports list for the Top Worst Rated Cereals High in Sugar. Wow.

Those cereals were never in my house growing up, with the exception of the occasional box of Frosted Flaks for my dad. We were Cheerios and Rice Krispies people.

Now of course there are lots of items on the Smart Choices list that are actually fairly smart choices for the non paleo/zone person who is trying to be smart. Here are a couple of the cereals.

Special K (120 calories, 4 g sugar per 1 cup serving)
Cheerios (100 calories, 1 g sugar per 1 cup serving)
Crispix (110 calories, 3 g sugar per 1 cup serving)
Quaker Life (120 calories, 6 g sugar per 3/4 cup serving)

But let's face it, what kid gets excited about Special K and Cheerios? Plus, what person only eats 1 cup or 3/4 cup of cereal? Not me. I was a two bowler back in my cereal days. Anyway, I was just shocked. Knowing that people are probably eating two servings of cereal in one sitting and around 24 g of added sugar before your day has barely started is nuts.

I'll stick with my egg whites, veggies, turkey sausage and almonds thank you very much. I think those are pretty smart choices for me. No sugar high/crash here.