Engage

I got engaged two days before my birthday. Aside from all of the expected excitement, I am very pleased to have a fantastic motivator for getting my nutrition cleaned up. I've got a pretty white dress in my near future and don't want to be a spanx covered, sweaty, cranky mess on the most romantic day of my life. :)

Bryan and I are going to get back to working out and, I think, we are going to get a dog to help keep us moving with no excuses. :)

A lot of smiles are in my life right now! 

Resolve

The new year brings a clean slate for many; a chance to start fresh on the right foot. This coming year represents another chance for me to get back on track to a strong & healthy body.

Though the shift in my weight has not been extreme (the loss has halted), I feel as though I was not ready to end the strict Paleo diet of the Whole30 back in October. With the new calendar I am hitting the reset button on my food choices and will fill my plate with whole, unprocessed food without sugar, grains, legumes, or dairy.

I'm shooting for a solid 45 days this time and will photoblog everyday again. 

Thanks for the support last time and I look forward to continued support for this coming challenge. You guys rock!

Love,

Mel

Brace Yourself

So, I'm getting braces in Thursday morning. My teeth have been shifting back to their gnarled grin since I lost my retainers years ago, but in the last year or two, it has gotten pretty twistely. I have a slight lisp due to bottom teeth overlapping and sounding like Cindy Brady isn't cute to me at my age. :)

Because if this, I am going to have a hard time eating for a while. I don't think I'm going to post pictures of mashed Sweet Potato or Scrambled Eggs everyday, but I'll update as best I can. 

I really haven't been as gung-ho about blogging anyway. In the new year, though, I'm going to do the strict Whole30 until Valentine's Day. That'll be like 45 days... Until then, I'll be gathering recipes and trying them out to see if they're menu worthy. Suggestions are most welcome.

Today was a weird, gray, gloomy day. I skipped breakfast in a hurry, ate a chicken salad lettuce wrap for lunch and had leftover chicken and "faux"lenta for dinner...

Lord knows when I get the braces, I might start dropping weight like crazy due to being afraid to chew! :)

Eighteen

Day 18

I was running late this morning and had to throw this in a bag then eat at my desk

Meal 1

Turkey, Onion, Sweet Potato & Cherry Frittata

Meal 2

Fruity Chicken Salad Wrap

Meal 3

Lamb Kofta (w/Green Salad)

Ok, so that's not a pic of my actual dinner, but it looked kinda like that and tasted just as good as this looks. I used a recipe that I found on nom nom paleo, which she found from Aarti Paarti's blog...

Resistible

I cannot express enough how much I want to stick my head in a bag of chocolate candies and suffocate on the caramel, coconut, peanut butter, mousse, and crisp rice fillings. I will not do it! Chocolate is a gateway drug that leads to me being buried alive under a mountain of candy wrappers and empty fast food bags. It took two weeks, but I took the unopened bag of Halloween candy back to the store today... VIVA LA RESISTANCE!

As for what I did eat... picture time begins... now...

Meal 1

BLT Frittata 

Meal 2

Not even worth a picture... friggin' Spiced Beef Stew w/friggin' Mashed Cauliflower AGAIN

I'm so over this one... next time I'll halve the recipe and make a savory stew as well so I can alternate.

Meal 3

Say it with me, "Pork Chops & Applesauce" w/Sautéed Butternut Squash... Mmm mmm mmm!

Tomorrow is Friday Eve... and I'm making Lamb Kofta!

Bye bye!

16

Tired!

Meal 1

Steak & Eggs

Meal 2

Asian Chopped Chicken Salad

Meal 3

Lebanese House Salad w/Lamb

Goodnight!!!

Fifteen

Day 15 of tracking my paleo menu plan and I haven't posted in a bit. This is not because I have been slacking. On the contrary, I have stuck with it pretty darn well aside from some bread at one meal for Bryan's sister's birthday, and some cake... I just got kinda bored posting the same thing I ate last week for breakfast/lunch. 

Anyway, I am recommitted to logging everyday, even if only for my benefit. :)

This weekend was exhausting! Starting off, I woke up at 6 on Saturday and that was it... No return to sleep for me. I got going right away and headed out to the store for some food and supplies. I got home, made all my lunches for the week, and made me some breakfast. Then it was time to chill for a sec watching a little tv before putting plastic up in my windows (drafty apartment might have been a part of waking up early). Then lunch and after that, I went over to Bryan's to help clean up the yard... So many leaves... Oh my word... Ran back home to help my friend Sarah load my old dresser/desk thingy

into her van and ran back to Bryan's to put my feet up. 

Sunday was more errands and trying to relax with debilitating back pain... I overdid it while raking, I guess.

Anyhow, today was a typical workday. Here's what my food looked like before I chewed it all up.

Meal 1

Roast Beef & Peppers Scramble

Meal 2

Chocolate Chili w/Onion, Green Olive & Avocado

Meal 3

Oven Roasted Chicken Breast w/Yam Wedges & Fauxlenta 

The Fauxlenta is this cauliflower/egg experiment that turned out the same texture and flavor as creamy polenta. I took two cups of mashed cauliflower and beat one egg into it. Grilled some onions in Ghee in a small skillet over medium heat and carefully poured the mixture over top trying not to move the onions (so it'd look neat like the pic), salted and peppered the top and covered it to let it cook/brown for about 10 minutes before flipping to lightly brown the other side. I split it and froze half for a future meal.

It was gooooood!

I made if halfway through this endeavor and, though much more lax than the Whole30, I have had quite a lot of the benefits of more whole foods. Even though I do seriously want crispy fried chicken or a big ol' cheeseburger, I am finding it more natural to not indulge each little whim. 

I am doing a full on Whole30 beginning January 2nd. Anyone that wants to play along, send me a note and I'll share my meal plan, recipes, and shopping lists with you.