Tiger Blood??

Day 20.

(Insert Law & Order noise...)

Apparently in this quest for lifelong health, around this point in the game you should be feeling what is known as “tiger blood”.  This is the holy grail of what “good” is supposed to feel like.  The cravings are supposed to be gone.  The pains are supposed to be gone.  Everything is supposed to be better.

Let’s break it down. 

Fact- The cravings are not gone.  I could kill for some ice cream… or pizza… or a glass of dry red wine…

Fact- I don't even drink dry red wines... see the issue here?  (sweet and apple wines are my poison for those taking notes at home).

Fact- I am a poor planner.  When I started this, I failed to count the number of weekends… turns out, I am on this thing for 5 WHOLE WEEKENDS!!!!!  If I would have started a few days later, I would have only endured this for 4 weekends- my pizza/wine Friday nights are missing me.

Fact- The next time I do this, I shall be a better calendar planner.

Fact- Other than headaches I get from not drinking enough water, I have basically eliminated all residual pain, and can recover VERY quickly from workouts. 

Fact- My energy is soaring!!  My husband and I have started training for a half marathon!!!!  This is something that would not have ever been possible if we both weren’t feeling as great as we are now.

Fact- I just zipped up a Lily Pulitzer dress that I got when I graduated high school.  I am not sure I am ready to wear it out- but I am sure that is absolutely DID NOT zip when I started this.  *small victory dance* (real small dance... not one where I have to breathe heavily in this dress)

Fact- My husband and I have decided to do this again… timeline to be determined… It may not be another full “whole 30”… but it will be something very similar.  We feel great.  This was one of the best things we could have ever done.  Every day would be perfect if we still had our wine/pizza date night.  And ice cream.  Maybe a warm cookie too… tigers like cookies too right?

Fact- pictures soon… maybe

Paleo Breakfast on the Go!

 

Eating healthy is delicious, good for us… and time consuming!  It can also be expensive.  Not a good combo for Whole 30ers right?!  Well- here is your solution!

I make this breakfast casserole on Sunday mornings and it is good for the whole week- for both my husband and myself. 

Here is what I had in my fridge- 1 onion, 3 tomatoes, 1 green bell pepper, 1 red bell pepper, sun-dried tomato chicken sausage from Publix, and eggs… so that is what I used. 

*Note- last week I had broccoli so that was in there and the tomatoes were not.  Seriously- use whatever you have J

Ingredients:

15 eggs (I use cage free- but hey an egg is an egg!)

3 tomatoes sliced

1 green bell pepper sliced

1 red bell pepper sliced

1 sweet onion sliced

1 package of sundried tomato chicken sausage

Coconut oil

Canola oil

Directions:

*By hand or in your food processor, chop your onions and bell peppers

*Heat a pan on medium with coconut oil

*Once oil is hot, add vegetables and let simmer on medium-low

*Slice tomatoes and set aside

*Cut sausage and brown in pan.  I brown mine in water as opposed to oil

*While sausage is browning, crack and beat eggs

*In 11x13 pan, drizzle a few drops of canola oil in the bottom of pan

*Start layering ingredients:

                *Onions and peppers 

                *Sausage

                *Stack tomatoes

                *Pour eggs overtop

***Do not stir, eggs and veggies will mix in pan naturally

*Place in the oven and wait about 40 or so minutes.  Sometimes it takes longer- you just don’t want your casserole to move when you shake it

*Cut a square, pour some coffee and enjoy!!

The How and Why to Register for China for your Wedding

One of the big questions I got when I was registering was “Are you registering for china?”  I had never thought NOT to.  In my family, the question was not- “are you registering”, it was “what pattern are you registering for?”  Some are against registering for china because “you never use it” or “people don’t want to buy it.”  We had just the opposite occur- we LOADED UP!!!  Call it old fashioned, call it Southern tradition, call it whatever you want, but china is not something to forgo when registering. 

My first tip:  Register for something you and your husband love equally.  Okay- it’s not the manliest of things to do however, your fine china is for the both of you, and something you will have forever, so he should have a say. 

Second: Find something that speaks to your personality.  We LOVE tradition, so registering for china was a no-brainer for us, however, we are not into super fancy dinnerware that is going to break the bank.  We chose a simple pattern from Mikasa that was affordable, not too “girly” and would not be discontinued anytime soon.   

 

Third:  Find the perfect place to display it.  China should not be hidden- and we are testamate to fact that even the smallest of apartments has room for a china cabinet.  We found a small hutch that was traditional enough to match our china, but was modern enough to fit our spirits.  

 

Reasons to Register for China for Your Wedding!

       

      You lose flatware daily

A wedding is something you will cherish the rest of your life… and the gifts should be too!!  New flatware is nice—and often times a necessity, however, I don’t know about you, but we lose our forks and spoons so often (leave them at work, in the car…).  Your china will not be something you casually toss around and lose- a permanent memento from the big day!

        

      It’s a talking piece

After the big day, one of the best parts is setting up your place with new all the new goodies.  China makes a great focal point of any room.  We had so much fun shopping around for a china cabinet or hutch that spoke to our personalities.  We needed something that would allow our dishes to stand out, and something that would not over power our 1 bed/1 bath apartment.  Some china cabinets are big and grand, some are bold in color, some are simple, somewhat understated, allowing the dishes itself to do the showing off.  Either way, it is an eye catching decoration that should show personality.    

         

        Pass it on

In my family, the tradition exists where we pass down our china.  It’s a great way to keep a little piece of each generation.  Every couple has their own style and their own identity and china can be used as a time capsule through the years. 

     

      It’s symbolic of your relationship

China is BEAUTIFUL- as your new life is as well.  It is precious and tough and is proudly displayed.  During holidays it’s dressed up and extra special.  Some days you may have to shine it up or readjust to make sure the light is hitting it perfectly- but in the end, it will still be something you want to show off, even in the most casual of settings.  

 

Whole 30... 12 days in...

Here is a breakdown of how things have gone down:

The good:

The first week of the program, the food compliance went really well.  It was fun for my husband and I to try out new foods and different combinations of herbs and spices.  It was also a low key week as far as physical activity goes.  The first week of the Whole 30 also coincided with my first week back at work.  The prep work of having students come back from winter vacation combined with them actually returning to work made it difficult to get in proper physical activity. 

The tough:

The first weekend of the Whole 30 arrived with Friday being day 6 and Saturday being day 7.  Here was the test- one of my childhood friend’s wedding.  It was tough but I am glad to report that we made it through.  Through the cocktail hour we passed on the DELICIOUS smelling Hors d'oeuvres and drank water- on the rocks.  The plated dinner was served.  The temptation of the bread basket was passed around.  We declined.  The salad was next.  We were able to eat nearly everything on the salad- minus the croutons and minus the dressing… not the best salad I have ever had.  Finally, the main meal arrived.   Salmon in a cream sauce, steak- cooked to perfection, new potatoes and green beans.  Here is where the toughest parts happened.  As everyone was digging in to their salmon, we passed it up (I don’t know the ingredients of the sauce, but if I had to guess I would say that it was probably not Whole 30 approved.  We passed over our scrumptious smelling new potatoes.  We were left with steak and green beans.  It was so good; we were starved by the fact we could not have what everyone else was indulging in, but once we left the table, the satiation finally set in- thank goodness. 

Day 10 was awful.  I ran out of time to make my coffee, and had the worst headache ever.  That whole day I felt drained.  I fell asleep early with a pounding headache.

The present:

Here we are at day 12.  So far so good.  I was able to wake up early this morning (with ease) and make a delicious recipie of garlic-herb-lime cauliflower, and sautee some spinach in which we will enjoy for lunch (very soon!).  The meat- chicken from a rotisserie chicken we bought at Whole Foods this weekend.  What a great purchase- sooooo tasty!!

The physical activity:

I have been able to incorporate a little more physical activity in my lifestyle.  My swimmers are meeting in my room once a week for a quick dryland session that is full of intense and fat burning exercises.  Also, I have been able to land my kids free yoga classes at a studio that kicks major butt!  The 100 pushup a day challenge is still going strong.  I have a few days to catch up on- but I am keeping a running total so by the end of the year I will have (hopefully) achieved 36,500 pushups!  There is still WAY more room for me to work out and as I adjust to my graduate classes, and this semester’s teaching schedule, I should be able to get back in the routine in no time. 

The overview:

I am loving this clean-eating lifestyle.  Finally, I feel like I am starting to look like the person that I feel like on the inside.  So many times in my life I have felt like I am not the person on the outside that I am on the inside.  12 days in… and she is finally starting to show. 

The hardest part for me DEFINITELY has been not to weigh myself.  I hate the fact that I cannot measure the progress.  This is probably why it has been easy for me to stay on this Whole 30 plan.  I feel like if I weight myself and see that I was making progress, I would allow myself to slip.  It would have been easy to do at the wedding.  On the other hand, if I see that I am not making the progress I had envisioned in my mind, it would be easy to quit and give up as well.  I guess for now I will have to rely on other people and my clothes.  I can tell a few of my work pants are getting looser, but then there are some I had hoped to see more changes in at this point- and have not. 

Like a crazy person I have been trying to guesstimate weight.  I have done this by looking up the size chart on specific brands (looking at the waist and hip sizes) and then tried on clothes in that size to see if I am there yet.  As of Saturday (day 7) I was not.  This Saturday I may muster up the courage check again.   

Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year!

It is January 1, 2014.  So calming- so exciting.  I have big plans for this year.  The most exciting part of this year is that I have no idea what is coming.  Last year a wedding happened.  This year- life will happen.  A healthy, happy life that is sure to be filled with exciting surprises and trials and tribulations- just like any year.  But this year... I have big plans for this year.

I am stable this year.  I am settled, my days are predictable, and for the time being, we have no plans to move anywhere (considering in the last 2 years, I have moved 3 times- this is a big deal).  That being said... here is my for this new year:

 Get healthy
**Whole 30**
**100 pushups daily**
**Monitoring progress (steps and sleep) on my new FitBit**
 **Positive life style**
**Chemical freeing lifestyle**

It's no secret- life after collegiate sports is difficult.  One goes from 11 practices a week, working out 2 and 3 times a day to being in a doctoral program where there was little time for a life... and so life has progressed 4 years later I need a change.

The more reading I do, the more I am convinced that chemicals are the major problems of today.  Chemicals and the processing of literally everything is having a detrimental affect on our health.  My goal is to free myself and my husband of as many chemicals as I can in order to make a healthy life for us and for a future family. 

Day 1 of the year done!  Pushups done too :)