Re: Meh - Megan

I slept a LOT this weekend. I'm starting to feel more human. Went home sick from work on Friday and took a three and a half hour nap, then got massage therapy. Seems to have helped a bit at least. Cheated all weekend - back on the train today.

Got a bunch of good foods this weekend between costco, the farmer's market, and madison market:

costco:

• another 6lb bag of protein powder, this time CHOCOLATE so i don't have to suffer through the disgusting vanilla anymore
• 18 organic eggs
• turkey breast slices
• bananas 

Broadway farmer's market:

• 3 organic necatrines
• 4 organic apricots
• rainbow chard
• fresh carrots
• 2 of those little boxes of raspberries, 1 blackberry

Madison market:

• 1 organic fuji apple the size of your HEAD
• zucchini

Now if only I could get inspired to cook it.......

Meh. - Megan

Quick blog since I've been MIA -

Basically I was doing great, then I was doing fair, then I was doing poorly.

I need to get it together, this wedding that I am in is on Sept 3.

I started nazi-lockdown diet Aug 1. It's basically legitimate paleo, with finally cutting out the dairy.

Goes a  little something like this:

5 meals, 3 hours apart.

bfast: protein smoothie
snack: protein bar, usually coffee
lunch: meat and veg
snack: fruit and fat
dinner: meat and veg

So this went successfully for the first 3.5 days until last night I started feeling really crappy. Really lethargic. Like, death tired. I got home around 630 and sat on my bed and could have instantly fallen asleep. I was supposed to go do stairs but was too tired.

Sooo...... I bought myself pizza for dinner. and a wee bit of yogurtland. And? I felt a whole hell of a lot better.

The fitness director at work who has his MS in exercise science has talked to me about planned carb cycling days and their benefit for the replacement of glycogen, so I don't feel like it was a failure, really.

Don't think I felt better because of the "junk" food - I think I felt better because I needed more calories and fat added. That being said, I wasn't restricting calories very low, so I have no idea what the deal is. I was still at or above 1500 each of those days.

I had a long thread on my trainer's page between myself, him, and his wife about calories vs workouts - They're also convinced I wasn't eating enough. I'm beginning to resign to the fact that I simply don't think I will ever figure out what my body's trick is, since everyone is different and nothing is working. Either that or I'm just doomed. I'm really tired of fighting this.

Also: Kimmy - 1000 calories?! I am going to drive up there and smack you in the forhead. In the most loving way possible.

I feel crappy again this morning. I might actually be getting sick. Meh.

ADD: Oh yeah, it might be worth mentioning.... I've also been profoundly lethargic for a number of days now. I've been having memory problems for a little over a week. The lethargy... It seems to happen a few times a year, for no reason. Where I'm so deeply tired that I just don't think I'll ever snap out of it. It interferes with workouts, among other things. In the past when I've experienced this I've been questioned about everything from pregnancy to depression to anemia. I should start taking my iron again. Also, memory problems. I can't remember my plans, or what I did a few days prior.

Do you guys ever have this???

Psycho-Nazi-Paleo --Brigitte

It's the first of the month, and a Monday...seems exactly perfect conditions for a whole30 challenge for me!

The last one I tried didn't go as planned; I had an unexpected trip to California thrown at me (to help my best friend clean out her grandmother's house), which led to a frightening amount of crap being eaten. Also in the last few weeks I lived through several double shifts at work, and my husband's birthday meals. OINK.

So. Away I go.

I didn't eat til about 3:30pm today. Drank lots of water to make up for it, but was trying to give my body a chance to flush out whatever amount of junk it could before I started putting healthy stuff back in. Once I got home from errands and yoga, I chopped up the leftovers from last night's ribeye steak, and threw it in a pan along with two scrambled eggs. Topped with avocado, I can definitely say the first meal of the new month was a WIN. Tonight is my small group night, and I know I won't be home around the dinner hour, so I threw together zucchini hummus and a fruit/spinach smoothie to round out the next couple of hours.

Zucchini Hummus (shamelessly copied from www.fastpaleo.com)
2 peeled and cut zucchini
3/4 c. tahini
1/4 c. olive oil
1/2 c. lemon juice
4 cloves garlic
2 1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/2 Tbsp. ground cumin

Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender. Blend thoroughly.

My review of above recipe: too salty. Too tahini-y. However...I rarely eat hummus by itself, and once I dipped cherry tomatoes into the mix, I liked it! Next time, though, I will cut back on the salt and tahini.
For my smoothie I combined fresh raspberries, frozen strawberries, a banana, a handful of spinach, and some coconut milk. Scrumptious :)

Now here's the real business.
I am going to post my measurements.
Egads.
This to keep me honest...and vulnerable, and accountable. Because I know I won't want to post the same numbers at the end of the month! This is NOT intended for any reason other than that.

As of August 1st:
Biceps: 11
Waist (at belly button, cuz that's where I'm widest): 33
Hips: 36.5
Rt Thigh (at the widest): 21.75
Rt Calf (at widest): 15

My upper body looks leaned out, muscular. The bottom two-thirds...not so much. Looking at those measurements, I see a recipe for heart disease (not enough difference between waist and hips)! Planning on this month changing these stats a bit.

Onwards and Upwards!