What I Learned From A Family of Cavemen

(I wrote and published this over on Mom's Gone Strong blog originally but decided I wanted to post it here as well! Sorry if you end up seeing it twice!)

 I took my daughter to see the new movie The Croods recently.

 We sat down with our large thing of movie theater popcorn (you got to let loose sometimes, right?!) and settled in to enjoy what we thought would be a decent enough movie and were surprised with a movie that was both funny and heartwarming and will probably go down as one of my all time favorite animated films.

Goals Goals Goals

I have failed, yet again, to make it through Whole30. Mostly because I am sick (ear infection and pretty terrible sinus infection) and when I am sick I crave carbs and junk food. After all I am human.

The worst part of being this sick is my inability to exercise. I'm benched for the foreseeable future. I see lots of walking and simple yard work over the next week. Nothing strenuous for a bit!

I've been thinking a lot about why I can't seem to get with-and stick with- the figurative program lately. I want to be more active, eat more strictly and get my ass in bikini shape but my heart just hasn't been in it.

My best guess has to do with goals. I am seriously lacking any concrete long term goal and it is keeping me from progressing how I would like. So, starting Monday (assuming I have beat this bug by then) I will be starting my next 6 week challenge and start working towards some goals....that I will come up with a share in the near future ;-)

Whole3ish!

I am testing out the Blogger app, forgive me if it ends up wonky!

Since MGS is up and running I have been focusing more on that then on I have over here on my personal blog, mostly because I just don't have that many ideas for blogging! However, I have been thinking that since this is my personal blog, why not make it more...well...personal?

So, here we are! I feel like I have a story to tell so I will share it here now. Starting with my most recent adventure.

Easter is one of my favorite holidays. I love all the little traditions that it involves, including of course jelly beans and chocolate eggs. After a weekend of indulging on lots of tasty sweets I think its time for another go at the Whole30.

The Whole30 is a 30 day elimination diet. Basically you follow a strict dairy, grain and legume free diet which helps stop cravings and helps narrow down any foods that you may have an intolerance or allergy to. For me, it helps with the cravings quite a bit and helps me feel better overall after an etxended period of non-paleo diet choices.

The combination of post-easter bloating, the fact that its a new week, a new month and a whole new (hopefully warmer) season has me itching for another go. Here's the thing, I usually only stick it put for 3 weeks. So this time I'm calling it my Whole21 ;)

Day 1: Today went well. Eating salted cucumbers instead of smores was rather painful though!

Excuse Me While I Step On My Soapbox

I am a conflict avoidee. I don't like to upset people so I try and avoid hot topic conversations. Or, when asked a question, I tend to bite my tongue and find more polite and kind ways to say whats on my mind. There's a handful of health related topics that get my feathers in a tiff every time they come up but I usually just walk away. However there's one lone subject that gets me talking anytime it comes up.

A Little Late

Better late than never? I could lie to you and say I was too busy to write my Friday post on Friday, but really I was just being moody. Grocery shopping sent me into a downward funk of self pity because I can't eat all the gluten filled goodies that are on every shelf. I probably should have gotten my act together and written my blog but here we are...Friday blog on a Saturday night. *Shrugs*

What I'm doing

Last week I continued with PUMP and TurboFire. This coming week I will be starting a strength program I put together, started it today actually. I will still be doing TurboFire for cardio purposes, plus I've added in a Yoga day. We'll see how this goes!

What I'm Eating

Re-started the Whole30 on Monday after a weekend of bad decisions. I've been going strong so far! Struggled with the carb flu for a few days, and even hit the angry phase pretty hard but (other than a completely justified protein shake) I haven't gone off 'diet' yet!

Breakfast

Scrambled eggs, onion, sausage, spinach

 Scrambled eggs, more sausage, spinach, avocado and bell peppers

Pancakes  but with mixed berries (cooked in a pan for a few minutes to get warm and gooey) and a splash of vanilla instead of cinnamon. Best thing ever!

Lunch 

Turkey lunch meat, baked sweet potato fries, banana peppers and mini bells

Grilled chicken and avocado salad

Leftover sausage and egg scramble with left over broccoli and a couple slices of lunchmeat

While I'm not enforcing a strict Paleo diet with my kiddos, they aren't getting grains anymore either. This is a typical lunch for them. Peanut butter and jelly apples and a handful of carrots. They usually get some form of meat as well. 

Dinner 

One night I didn't know what to make other than it would involve leftover ham. So I came up with egg muffins. Some of them even had hot sauce mixed in. Worked out pretty well!! I had a big salad and mini bell pepper salad on the side! 

Turkey burgers with sauteed onion & bells. Side of baked sweet potato fries.

Salmon, mashed cauliflower, asparagus and a few olives. Delicious!

Snacks

Probably my most favorite sweet treat, ever. Frozen raspberries, thawed until still really cold but no longer hard to bite into, dusted with some 100% pure baking cocoa. Unfortunately the cocoa glutenized me so it is off the menu indefinitely :(

My Progress

Or rather lack there-of.  I really should stop weighing myself, I know the number isn't going to change much, if at all, anymore. But I do every stinking week. Sigh!

Some NSV from this week though, I reached 700 'likes' on my Facebook Page. That's something right? I also have been making huge strides in the whole self confidence area. I even admitted to a group of friends about what I want to be when I grow up LOL!  I'll get there! 

Also be sure to check out the Moms Gone Strong blog! Both of us have our first, introductory, post up! Let us know what you think! 

You Are Being Lied To

We are now half way through the third week of 2013. How many of you are still going strong on those resolutions and goals to lose weight? How many of you are starting to get discouraged because despite following every piece of information 'they' tell you about the 'right' way to lose weight, you just aren't seeing results?

Want to know why?

You are being lied to. 

Cinnamon Apple Paleo Pancakes

Happy Tuesday everyone!! 

I have another recipe post in store for you. I was going to do chicken nuggets this week, but forgot to buy stuff for them...like the chicken. Oops!! So instead this week will be pancakes! Yay!!

 Before I get started on that, I want to take a second and promote/announce Moms Gone Strong, my new joint project that I am super excited over, and think you should be as well!!! A good friend (the same one that gave me the idea for today's recipe in fact!) and I have decided to team up and hope to inspire others to get in shape! We have a lot planned for the future but right now we are focusing on getting organized and growing our reach. So check out our Facebook page  and our blog, like and subscribe to both so you don't miss any updates and you can follow along with our journey! 

Onto the main event of the day....

A Week In Review

Happy Friday!!!!! 

Looks like we made it to the end of another week. *Fist bumps for being awesome!*

This week was both good and bittersweet for me. A couple of other fit mommas and myself started a new project that I will be announcing and promoting sometime next week. I also made the decision to close my coaching business. A lot of factors went into that but ultimately the decision was made when Beachbody changed their Shakeology formula to include both wheat and barely grass, which while technically gluten free are still not a safe choice for someone with Celiac. I just can't stand behind a product I can't use myself, so after a couple of weeks of going back and forth, I decided that time was over and I should move on.

So...what I did this week.

Primal Pizza

As you probably know by now I have made the giant leap from gluten free to Paleo.

I'm sure most people think I've gone crazy but I have already seen some amazing results from it over the past two weeks and, more importantly, I feel amazing. Over the past year or so I have learned that for as long as I can remember, I was bloated and tired feeling. Constantly, everyday, all day. After we switched to gluten free I suddenly felt a lot better most of the time, but I was still sluggish and bloated on most days. I read about Paleo and decided to give it a go, and I am so glad I did. I have been eating some what paleo since December, and full Paleo since the beginning of this year.

However, I am still human and I was still raised on SAD (the standard American diet) so there are some things I am just not willing to give up. Like pizza.

In December when I decided to go paleo I researched all sorts of foods that had been 'paleo-ized'. Pizza is one of the many that have lots and lots of recipes out there, redesigned to fit a different diet. Except all those recipes call for expensive ingredients, like different nut flours, that I just didn't want to go out and find/buy. So I decided to try to make my own version, which I will share with you today!!

Welcome To My Friday

Happy Friday!!!

I wanted to start this blog off with something motivational, or silly, but I haven't had a chance to drink my coffee yet so we're going with something simple. So instead... d'aawwww a puppy!

Everyone, this is Cooper, the newest member of our family :) He's a five month old beagle pup who has had a tough life up until now. Of course he's making up for it with extra long naps on the couch and making us cater to his every need.  I love that he sleeps with his tongue out, our kitty used to do that too!!

So yea. Fitness stuff. Right, that's what this blog is for, not pictures of the pup.

Got it. 

A Note On Taste, Hunger and Overeating

Do you overeat? 

I think most of us have, if not do frequently. We dive head first into a pile of goodies and keep stuffing them in until we, ourselves, are stuffed. It's not that we don't know what we're supposed to do. We're supposed to eat in moderation, paying special attention to healthy foods, eating the sweets and snacks only sparingly. So why is it so hard to play by those rules? 

Cut The Crap- Tough Love On Excuses

Today I'm going to play a part I don't often play. I'm going to offer up some tough love. Today, we are going to talk about excuses.

One thing that has surprised me since becoming a Beachbody Coach and starting to help people lose weight is the amount of excuses people have when it comes to weight and health.

Almost everybody wants to change something about their weight. The most recognized, of course, is the group of people who want to lose weight but there's also plenty of people out there who are working towards gaining weight or simply changing their body composition from mostly fat to mostly muscle.

Doesn't matter what the goal is, everybody has an excuse.

Even me. 

Happy Friday!

Happy Friday!!

Quick check in, how are your resolutions/goals/achievements going? I hope you're all still brimming with motivation and hitting it 110%! 

Caveman Style

Happy New Year!!! 

As I've said in previous blogs, I am forgoing one or two blanket resolutions for 13 smaller working goals this year. I plan to focus on one goal a month, with an overall goal of getting certified before my birthday in March! That being said, January's main goal is *insert drum roll* going 100% grainless with the Paleo diet! And I challenge you, dear reader, to do the same!