Lag a'mhuilin

I started the previous challenge weighing more than I have ever weighed in my life. After a regimen of strict paleo, I ended the previous challenge down 10 pounds. Let's see if I can keep the downward trend going while introducing some new rules to improve sustainability... The Meal Plan should following pretty strict full paleo rules, except: Social: Don't let The Meal Plan interfere with choices about where to eat in social situations. It should never come up in conversation unless someone else initiates it. As a corollary, don't let The Meal Plan interfere with choices about what to eat in social situations. I should be able to find something to eat that perfectly or nearly perfectly conforms to The Meal Plan without making a big deal about it. 80/20ish: Cheat meal or cheat item(s) in a meal is okay once or twice a week in non-consecutive meals. (Should this be non-consecutive days?) With more of a macro lens I could consider just the aspects of the cheat meal that actually cheat. (ie: if you consider a fajita then really only the tortilla is against the rules, but the tortilla accounts for nearly half of the calories!) The occasional dessert should fall in this category. It seems like I have no real problem with ice cream, whereas I probably should avoid glutenous desserts During this past challenge I was only tempted to cheat when I was hungry, so it's likely that by eating the paleo parts of the meal first I will curb most of this desire I was ready to allow up to 1 cup of rice with any meal and not consider it a cheat, but 1 cup is ~200 calories(!), and I don't trust myself yet to know how to limit the rest of the meal around it. Please weigh in on how realistic you think the rules are. I think I will do better with some strict limits, so I will probably have to add corollaries to the 80/20 as I go. Let me know if you have any good ones. Thanks in advance for supporting me this challenge! I've stocked up my Bat Cave with fruits, vegetables, and proteins. Let's do this!

Challenge Debrief Successes: Stuck to some pretty strict rules the entire time, despite social pressure not to at times Lost around 10lbs in 6 weeks. The first 6 pounds were after week one when I probably wasn't consuming enough calories after cutting out carbs. Pretty much eliminated nightly acid reflux -- possibly gluten intolerant? Aftermath Immediately after the challenge ended, I ordered a pizza (with some friends) and ate too much. I had some really bad acid reflux that night. The following couple of days had me eating some really great homemade flatbread (with hummus) at a restaurant, crackers, granola bars with chocolate chips, rice -- nothing really bad, but I ended up giving myself some intestinal distress or something plus a low grade fever. I'm honestly not sure if I caught some minor ailment to cause those issues or if it was just a shocking change to an established diet, but I lived on ramen for a couple of days and felt pretty miserable. After that episode I went on a small vacation out of town and ate in restaurants for every meal. Sometimes I would eat mostly paleo and other times I wasn't restricting myself at all. I guess this is what happens when I don't have any rules for myself at all. Almost every food decision I made in this time period that was outside of strict paleo/unprocessed foods wasn't really worth the experience, flavor, calories -- whatever. The Future I should start a new challenge. I function better with food rules. I want to start with strict paleo and add 2 or 3 exceptions in the next challenge and see if I can still eat mindfully and continue the downward trend in weight. I'd like to workshop some of the rules here. If anyone is reading, please weigh in on which ones you think would be good: Social: Don't let the diet the way I eat interfere with choices about where to eat in social situations. It should never come up in conversation unless someone else initiates it. As a corollary, don't let the way I eat interfere with choices about what to eat in social situations. I should be able to find something to eat that perfectly or nearly perfectly conforms to the meal plan without making a big deal about it. 80/20ish: Cheat meal or cheat item in a meal is okay once or twice a week in non-consecutive meals. With more of a macro lens I could consider just the aspects of the cheat meal that actually cheat. (ie: if you consider a fajita then really only the tortilla is against the rules, but the tortilla accounts for nearly half of the calories) The occasional dessert should fall in this category. It seems like I have no real problem with ice cream, whereas I probably should avoid glutenous desserts During this past challenge I was only tempted to cheat when I was hungry, so maybe even eating the paleo parts of the meal first will curb most of this desire Rice: Rice is okay in moderation, let's say 1 cup-ish when eating Chinese food and probably more when the meal is spicy and the rice needs to cut it. <-- part of cheat meal Daaang... one cup of rice is ~200 calories! Potatoes: The occasional side of roasted potatoes is okay. French fries maybe should still be off the plan, or they have to be really amazing. There are a couple of restaurants here that do fries exceptionally well. <-- part of cheat meal? Hash browns? <-- part of cheat meal? I think that's enough for now. All of these could be boiled down to just the 80/20 rule with more corollaries, but I think the social rule is really important for sustainability. I know I hated hearing myself talk about the limitations of my diet. I can only imagine what my friends thought! I'm leaning toward rules 1 and 2, but I will likely need to craft some stricter rules for 80/20 as I go. Thanks for supporting me this challenge!

End of Week 4 Progress Meals & snacks all paleo. Weigh-in this morning has me down 10.4 lbs. Currently my new goal is another 10, but without being quite as strict on the diet. I'll have to devise a set of 80/20 rules for myself.

Week 4, Day 1 & 2 Progress Sunday 7/11 & Monday 7/12 Meals & snacks all paleo. These updates have taken a turn, but I'd like to think it's more a reflection of habit formation than laziness that I haven't been recording the details of my meals, but I'm still in the challenge! Weigh-in this morning had me down 9.6 lbs from the start of 0 week! Still waiting for results to be measurable in better-fitting clothing or visually noticeable. It might take another challenge for that.

Week 3, Day 6 & 7 Progress Friday 7/8 & Saturday 7/10 Meals & snacks all paleo. I know I had some meals that were just like salami with spinach, mozzarella, and balsamic, some veggie plates, some peaches, meatballs, nuts, stir fry (no noodles or rice), scrambled eggs. I just didn't record any of it over the weekend. Knee's all better.

Week 3, Day 4 Progress Wednesday 7/6 Breakfast: Eggs & sausage Lunch: Chicken lettuce wraps & grapes Snack: ?? - I forget if I snacked, but if so, it was paleo. Dinner: ?? - I forget what I had for dinner, but it was paleo. Week 3, Day 5 Progress Thursday 7/7 Breakfast: Sausages Lunch: Salami & cheese with balsamic Snack: Peach Dinner: Prepped a paleo stir-fry and snacked on some veggies, burgers (no bun), tiny samples of finished stir-fry Notes: The fact that I can't remember what I ate but know it's paleo is a welcome change over the first couple of weeks where I obsessed over meals and prep! I'm still slowly losing weight, but I have a feeling it has as much to do over CICO and mindful eating, that somehow paleo forces on, as on what I'm actually eating. How do I feel?: Knee at 95-98%. I'll probably be back in the gym today.

Truth. The first week of this challenge I was really feeling the lack of carbs, especially at the gym. I was exhausted and hungry. I hadn't been a big fruit eater before, but now I'm regularly eating fruit and I feel pretty normal. I use double overhand. Yesterday at my gym someone had dragged a bench with a 90 degree bend into a rack. It was essentially a chair. He was sitting inside the rack doing... I'm not sure what, but no one batted an eye. I like to think that most people at the gym are focused on their own workouts and I try not to care if what I'm doing looks weird if it's working for me. You're allowed to take up both space and equipment! Having a gym buddy is great, especially for bench press spotting and overall accountability. I met mine through a group class at the gym.

Week 3, Day 3 Progress Tuesday 7/5 Breakfast: -- Lunch: Burgers, onions, cheese, salad Snack: A peach & mixed nuts Dinner: Salad with chicken How do I feel?: Hurt my knee at the gym last night, but otherwise good. Should be fine in a couple of days.

I definitely need to switch things up from burgers soon... Week 3, Day 1 Progress Sunday 7/3 Breakfast: -- Lunch: Burgers (no bun), grapes Snack: -- Dinner: New restaurant with Korean fusion. Bulgogi steak over greens instead of rice. Week 3, Day 2 Progress Monday 7/4 Breakfast: Scrambled eggs and sausage Lunch: Burger w/most of the bun* 🙁 Snack: A peach and a few veggies while prepping dinner** Dinner: Burgers (no bun), cheese, salad * I went to see a parade at small town about an hour away. I was with a group, and there were not many options (really small town during a big event) without being super picky or a little rude. The meat was too hot to hold without the bun! ** Last night I hosted a dinner for some friends. I BBQed burgers, roasted potatoes, and made a big salad. Guests brought ribs, beer, cake. I toasted buns and one of them turned out burnt so that was pretty much the only reason I didn't eat a bun last night. I avoided my own potatoes, beer, and cake and stuck with paleo foods. Notes: Weigh-in today has me down about 8.5lbs since the start of 0 week! How do I feel?: Good

Okay. I bought a rutabaga and butternut squash. I'll roast them this week sometime maybe. ---- I'm a little behind on updates, but I have still been sticking with the diet. I don't remember what I had for lunch Friday though! Week 2, Day 6 Progress Friday 7/1 Breakfast: -- Lunch: ?? Snack: ?? Peach maybe? Dinner: Back to the BBQ restaurant for some pulled pork, brisket, and salad. I also had an Old Fashioned and some bourbon neat. Not really paleo, but whatever. Week 2, Day 7 Progress Saturday 7/2 Breakfast: Scrambled eggs with bacon, sausage, bell pepper, and onion. About half an apple, banana, and orange. Lunch: -- Snack: Salami & cheese Dinner: Burgers (no cheese) & salad Notes: Grocery run on Saturday to stock up. Bought another stir fry kit from Costco. I just won't add the noodles this time. I accidentally bought seeded grapes, but I have to be more mindful when eating those little bastards and will probably eat fewer grapes. How do I feel?: Good

Week 2, Day 5 Progress Thursday 6/30 Breakfast: Eggs Lunch: Chicken lettuce wraps a la Pf Changs Snack: 2 Peaches, cheese, mixed nuts Dinner: Chicken, sweet potatoes, parsnips, and broccolini How do I feel?: Good.

I think they really overdid it on the rosemary. Not sure what can counteract that. It's actually not bad chopped up and mixed in with the eggs, but not good by itself which makes me wonder why I'm eating it! I guess I was looking for something bacon-like that can accompany eggs that isn't as messy as bacon. But yesterday I just had the eggs, and that was enough. Is pork considered red meat? We can always get ground meat and make something ourselves. Does it need a casing?

Week 2, Day 4 Progress Wednesday 6/29 Breakfast: Eggs & Turkey sausage Lunch: Tuna & Veggies Snack: Cashews Dinner: Tried a newish BBQ restaurant: pulled pork, briskey, smoked turkey, and salad Notes: The turkey sausage is not very good and probably has a lot of sodium. I should switch to eggs and fruit or find a good pork sausage. How do I feel?: Good.

I've never had rutabaga. What does it taste like? Good idea! Sometimes I forget that good root vegetables and squashes exist. That's probably the only squash I like. Week 2, Day 3 Progress Tuesday 6/28 Breakfast: -- Lunch: Salami, cheese, plate-o-veggies + good olive oil and aged balsamic for dipping Post-workout: Protein shake Dinner: Lettuce-wrapped carnitas tacos Notes: Destroyed (in a good way) shoulders and chest in the gym. How do I feel?: Good. Right now, hungry. My lunch today (Wednesday) wasn't enough. No crazy cravings.

Week 2, Day 2 Progress Monday 6/27 Breakfast: Scrambled eggs & turkey sausage Lunch: Sesame chicken with broccoli & carrots (restaurant food) Dinner: Chicken with roasted sweet potatoes, parsnips, and broccolini Notes: Sweet potatoes and parsnips are a good combo. I roasted at a higher temperature this time (450) and they were able to brown a bit. It's hard to tell which is which on the plate, though the parsnip might be sweeter. Broccolini is expensive! How do I feel?: Good.

Your lifting is pretty awesome! What's the 50/50 challenge? Nice job getting through leg day, my least favorite!

Week 2, Day 1 Progress Sunday 6/26 Breakfast: Meatballs Lunch: Veggies & salad dressing Dinner: Lettuce-wrapped carnitas tacos Notes: 187.4 on the scale this morning, which is down 6.6 overall, but just .6 from last week. How do I feel?: Eh. I'm fine today. I went on a 4 mile walk this evening, and when I was done I was planning the vegetables I was going to roast tonight for dinner. (spoiler alert: parsnips & sweet potatoes, and separately broccolini)

I think this was my problem during the pre-challenge week, but I'm pretty sure it's not a problem now. It's true that after eating I don't have any sort of food cravings. My prepping isn't all that different than before, except that I've eliminated impulsive restaurant outings, so I need to buy more (and/or shop more) to have something available at home. 80/20 sounds good once I hit a goal weight or really start to lose my mind! Thanks for posting.

Week 1, Day 7 Progress Breakfast: Scrambled eggs with bacon, sausage, bell pepper, & onion Lunch: -- Dinner: Meatballs, salad. Notes: No meal prep this weekend. I should have enough veggies and fruit to last 3-6 days. How do I feel?: Unenthusiastic. Maybe some progress on the scale would help.

Week 1, Day 6 Progress Breakfast: Bacon & an apple (out of eggs!) Lunch: Chicken lettuce wraps Dinner: Homemade Moroccan spiced meatballs & salad Notes: I can feel the hairline fractures in this diet beginning. It's definitely not sustainable for me. I think I can finish the challenge, but then there will be several maintenance modifications. Cravings lead to lack of moderation and mindfulness. I'm already starting to think of what I can do to avoid them. I obviously consume too many calories when I'm also eating rice, bread, crackers, granola bars, pancakes, occasional sugar. But I think I can do full paleo most of the time and then not care too much for a single meal/item in a meal every 4-6 days (and maybe just eat less when I do). It's also pretty exhausting in the long term to always be prepping for the next meal, feeling on guard or limited during social situations, and being hypervigilant about what's in the environment around me. 🤷‍♂️ How do I feel?: I would like a pancake, french fries, or pizza, a cookie, or ice cream please! It would really have to be a quality item, something Prue would eat 😆 I mean I don't want any of those things right now. I'm not really hungry at the moment. I'll just distract myself every meal until I succeed at the challenge. Going to the symphony tonight to listen to a celebration of John William's work. Should be cool to hear live.

Week 1, Day 5 Progress Breakfast: Eggs & bacon Lunch: Tuna, cheese, assorted veggies w/salad dressing dip Post-workout: Protein shake Dinner: Burgers, veggies, peach Notes: I stepped on the scale this morning (Friday), and it was the same as Monday, so not a fluke, but obviously I would like to see it trend down. Two weeks is too early for it to really take off though, and there were all those grilled burgers... How do I feel?: Still good. Sore from the gym.

Week 1, Day 4 Progress Breakfast: Leftover broccoli beef Lunch: Chicken lettuce wraps Dinner: Burgers & salad Notes: I like grilled burgers too much. How do I feel?: Still good. Maybe I'm eating too much, especially too much protein, but it's probably still fewer calories than before the challenge. We'll see at next Monday's weigh-in. Getting all my tasks done outside of the challenge too.

Week 1, Day 3 Progress Breakfast: Eggs & bacon Lunch: Leftover chicken fajita filling & salad Snack: Handful of nuts Post-workout: Protein shake Dinner: Burgers (plain, no bun, w/grilled onions) & salad Notes: Cardio day at the gym. Kicked my ass, but didn't feel any detrimental effects from the diet. How do I feel?: Still good. A little tired.

Week 1, Day 2 Progress Breakfast: Eggs & chicken sausage Lunch: Homemade PF Changs chicken lettuce wraps, peach Dinner: Sesame chicken & broccoli beef from a local restaurant. Half a fortune cookie mindlessly devoured before I came back to the present! Notes: Prepped 3 lbs of the chicken lettuce wraps filling that can be portioned and frozen. It came out really good. I think that consistently consuming filling breakfasts has been a huge factor to my success. I finished the majority of my to-do list for the long weekend and even got to an item not on the list -- practice painting. It turns out I haven't painted in so long that all my paints are not the right consistency. The titanium white is like marshmallow fluff. I still used it for clouds. The texture is pretty amazing, but ultimately it's not really usable because it doesn't blend well. How do I feel?: Still good. Going to the gym today (Tuesday)

Week 1, Day 1 Progress The biggest news today is that it was my 1-week weigh-in. I honestly wasn't expecting much because I figure my body is still getting used to using fat for energy, but I'm down 6 lbs, from 194 to 188! I haven't seen an 8 in the 10s spot on the scale in a long time. Breakfast: (slept in) Lunch: Salami, turkey, cheese, peach Snack: Mixed nuts and cheese Dinner: Left-over pork tenderloin with roasted sweet potato Notes: This was more of a relaxing day, aside from the lawn mowing. I have, however, almost gotten through every chore goal I wrote down for this weekend, and I have a 3-day weekend, so there's still time! I recognize I didn't eat enough vegetables yesterday. I'll definitely incorporate them today. I had planned to add them to both lunch and dinner, but in both cases I stopped eating after realizing I wasn't hungry anymore. I think dinner was okay, but that probably means I can cut back on the lunch meats and/or start with veggies. How do I feel?: Normal & cautiously optimistic.