The Handyman is Back!

The handyman is back. He's here for the next four days or so working in my living room. At least he's not in the middle of the house like last time. He can come and go without having to interact with me. There's a dust barrier over the door between the living room and den/kitchen so I don't have to see him at all. Also, I scheduled it to occur over this weekend since I will be out of the house at the CrossFit Sectionals most of the time. But still, it's stressful. Stuff from the living room is sitting all over the rest of my tiny house. The chaos combined with the big chunks of money I'm spending is very stressful. I'll do my best to get through this without turning to food for relief.

Food Journal

6am
coffee with cream

11:30
No time to eat until now as I was scurrying around to get everything moved out of the living room before Doug, the handyman arrived. And no time to cook since I'm suppose to be WORKING.
2 cheese sticks
100-calorie pack of almonds
coffee with cream

2pm
2 slices of turkey
blueberries and walnuts





Activity
7am: CrossFit warm up then decided to go with Erica for coffee. I plan to go back in later today to do something.
9:30am-11am: Moved the light furniture and accessories out of the living room in preparation for repairs and painting.
5pm - CrossFit warm up followed by 18 minutes of double-unders, situps, and clean & jerks

A Favorite Salad

Avocado, tomato, and bacon salad.

My favorite salad lately is chopped avocado and grape tomato seasoned with salt and pepper, served on a crispy lettuce like iceberg, and topped off with some bacon. It is so good.

I'm feeling much better now. Here's to breaking the cycle of cheating on the weekends. It takes me a day or two or three to recover, and by then it's the weekend again. Here's to eating the foods that not only taste good but also make me feel good, energetic, and happy. Since I'm spending the entire weekend with a bunch of crazed crossfitters, I should be able to keep it on track this weekend. That's my plan.

Change is the essence of life. Be willing to surrender what you are for what you could become."
~ unknown ~

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Food Journal

6am
coffee with cream

9am
3 sausage patties
orange
coffee with cream

11am
It's only been 2 hours since I ate, but I am starving!
leftover steak stir-fry with vegetables
100-calorie pack of almonds

1pm
1 cheese stick
2 sausage patties
coffee with cream

hmmm, let's see. I'm writing this the next day and trying to remember what I ate. Yesterday afternoon and evening is a blur. I had an electrical inspection done on my house in preparation for putting it on the market. Not happy news, but I guess I shouldn't be surprised given that the house was built in 1947. Anyway, I didn't eat a normal dinner. I chomped on a bunch of almonds (chomp, chomp, chomp, crunch, crunch crunch - good stress reliever I guess). I also ate some fruit. Not a great evening, but I didn't eat sugar...and that's a victory!



Activity
7am: CF warmup plus 25 minutes of wallballs, ring rows, and running.
12n: 1-mile dog walk

Toss the Sugary Sauce

Contessa Stir-Fry meals are always in my freezer.

I recently discovered Contessa Stir-Fry meals in the freezer case at Publix. If you toss the sugary sauce, you have just meat and vegetables ready in minutes. I keep them in my freezer for emergencies. They have chicken and steak; I've tried both and find them quite good. I cooked the steak and vegetables the other night in a little bacon fat with salt and pepper to taste. It was delicious. Warning: there are many varieties of this product, and most have rice or pasta included. Look for the stir-fries with just meat and vegetables.

I felt really tired last night so I decided not to set an alarm and nixed my original plan of going to the gym this morning. I slept as long as I needed, and I think I'll be better for it. Hopefully by the end of the day I'll be mostly recovered from my weekend transgressions.

Food Journal

730am
coffee with cream

9am
2 eggs
2 sausage patties
1/2 orange
coffee with cream

11:15am
2 handfuls of mixed nuts
Not hungry, so why am I eating? :-( The nuts were leftover from my Jekyll "healthy" stash. They are all gone now, thank goodness.

3:30pm
2 slices of turkey
almonds (one 100-calorie pack)

730pm
salad (avacado, tomato, bacon, lettuce, salt & pepper)
beef and vegetable stir-fry

for dessert: cottage cheese, applesauce, sliced almonds
decaf coffee with cream

Activity
12n: 1-mile dog walk
6pm: CF warmup and Row 5k (23:41)

Strictly Primal

Jekyll Island
February 20, 2010

I screwed up again and ate too much sugar while I was away. Started out ok, but then thought I could handle a little something sweet. The next day I had a little more, and by yesterday I had lost my freaking mind. I celebrated my return home with a pint of Haagen Daz. Aargh!

I'm back to strictly primal. Clearly I'm addicted to sugar, and any addict will tell you that you have to take it one day at a time. So today I'm not having sugar, and I hope to carry this resolve forward for the full month of March. Can I do it? I think I can.


Food Journal

6am
coffee with cream

9am
3 sausage patties
orange
100-calorie pack of almonds
coffee with cream

1:30pm
cottage cheese with chopped apple and sliced almonds

Evening
I "grazed" all evening on nuts, cheese, fruit, etc. I don't feel well (sleepy, depressed, and low energy). My goal was just to get through the day without eating refined carbs and sugar. I managed to do that. Tomorrow will be better.

Activity
7am: CrossFit warmup and 28 minute workout (deadlifts, running, situps)
12n: backsquats and shoulder presses for max weight

Headed to Jekyll

On the beach at Jekyll Island with Melvin.
October, 2009

I'm headed to Jekyll Island for the weekend. I've had a great week and hope to continue it by making good choices while I'm away.

Have a great weekend. See you next week.

After Just Four Days

Wednesday Night Supper
Grilled Salmon with Mustard Sauce
Mixed Vegetables

I'm already feeling so much better now after just four days. I had fallen into a rut of "cheating" every few days with ice cream or chocolate, and I'm not talking about good, bittersweet dark chocolate. It is good to be back on track.

There is a terrific article on Mark's Daily Apple called "Eat. Rejoice. Repeat." Check it out. I found it very helpful, as I do many of the articles on his blog.

Food Journal

6am
coffee with cream

10am
2 eggs scrambled
2 slices bacon
1 orange
coffee with cream

2pm
(busy and the only protein option in the house is cheese)
mixed vegetables
3 cheese sticks
1.5 oz bag of almonds

7pm
Beef and Vegetable Stir Fry
Avacado Salad (avacado, tomato, bacon, and lettuce)

Activity

7am: CrossFit warmup followed by "Linda" (30.01)
12n: an hour of light chores
4pm: 30 minutes of light chores

Snow on the Pickets

Snow on the Pickets
February 12, 2010

I had dinner with Myesha last night. I haven't seen her since July when we were both going through tough times. It was great to catch up and find that we are both in better places now. Our conversation covered the gamut, but mostly we talked about nutrition and CrossFit.

Myesha suggested Top Spice for dinner. Good choice. It's easy to do just meat and vegetables there, and with all the spices it felt like a real treat. The waiter brought the steamed rice, but we were so busy gabbing that we didn't even bother to have him take it away. It was not a temptation for either of us.

I'm still getting into trouble with nuts. You can't really tell the extent of the problem from what I've been posting. "Blueberries and Nuts" doesn't really describe that I ate nearly an entire 6-oz can of almonds in one sitting. So I'm coming clean this morning, and I've decided to eliminate whole nuts from the house for a while. I'll keep the pre-sliced almonds to use as a garnish on salads or fruit, but I need to break this patten of eating nuts like I used to eat candy. I'd rather be fit and fabulous by fifty than eat nuts by the can.

Today I'm heading to the office in Marietta. I'll post my food journal at the end of the day.

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Food Journal

6am
coffee with cream

9am
Breakfast On-the-Go
2 cheese sticks
1/4 cup almonds (really, it was just 1/4 cup)
apple
coffee with cream

1pm
1/4 cup almonds (that's the last of that 6-0z can of almonds -- no more whole nuts in the house for a while)

2pm
ground beef patty topped with a slice of cheddar cheese
steamed brocolli

8pm
grilled salmon with vegetables
apple with sliced almonds

Activity

830am: short walk; about 1/2 mile
530pm: a quick CrossFit warmup followed by "Tabata This!"

Getting Real, Day 3

Food Journal

6am
coffee with cream

9am
coffee with cream
2 eggs
2 sausage patties
orange

11am (yes, I'm hungry again.)
2 sausage patties
coffee with cream

2pm
almonds and blueberries

4pm
orange

630pm
Dinner at Top Spice with Myesha!
Spicy Vegetables with Chicken (yummy!)


Activity
730am: CF warmup and Rest Day Bonus WOD, a 12 minute AMRAP of pullups, situps, and rowing
1pm: 1+ mile walk

Getting Real, Day 2

Food Journal
6am
coffee with cream

9am
2 eggs with 1 T butter
2 sausage patties
coffee with cream
orange

2pm
small turkey chef salad with blue cheese dressing (Publix prepared salad)

430pm
1/2 cup blueberries
1/4 cup almonds
coffee with cream

730pm
Ground beef patty on mixed greens with tomato and onion
steamed brocolli
blueberries and quite a few too many almonds

I keep getting into trouble with too many nuts. I wasn't hungry. . . just kept eating them. It's a behavior that I want to change because it's not getting me what I want.



Activity
7am: CrossFit warmup. Then ~20-minute metcon.
12n: 30 minutes of light housework
530pm: 1-mile walk

Getting Real

February 14, 2010

215 pounds

I've been trying for a while now to get re-focused on losing weight. I spent the last six months learning all about paleo/primal eating and getting stronger, faster, fitter, and happier. Now I'm ready to get down to business and shed the excess weight. To assist me in doing this, I decided to tighten up this blog and limit access to close friends who I know want only the best for me. This will allow me to really get real and not worry about who's reading or what people are thinking of me. I plan to use the blog as a means of support, structure, and accountability. I need all three to lose weight.

Thanks for stopping by and reading this. I can't promise that the blog will be entertaining or motivating or any of that stuff. My commitment is to be honest and real. And I honestly, really want to drop the fat. It is soooo not me anymore.

Food Journal

9am

coffee with cream

2 eggs scrambled

2 sausage patties

Noon

coffee with cream

3:30

Paleo Chili (ground beef, vegetables, and spices)

1/2 apple

1/4 cup sliced almonds

herbal tea

8:30

Paleo Chili (ground beef, vegetables, and spices

Fruit salad (1/2 apple, 1 orange, 1/4 cup sliced almonds)

Activity

10am: 1-mile walk

11am: CrossFit warmup and 8 minute AMRAP

4pm: 1-mile walk