ellystar

Today's food: Breakfast: Pistachios Lunch: Chicken cobb with avocado salad, no gorgonzola or dressing, from Panera Snack: Apple Dinner: 2 eggs with salsa Snack: Steamed cauliflower, blackberries I also had fencing tonight. Going to have two big bruises on my arm now.

Cravings are killing me right now. Doesn't help that I'm at work and there are bagels and pop tarts and cinnamon rolls leftover from breakfast in the kitchen. I just keep reminding myself that those things are bad for me and I don't need them. 30 minutes to go, and I have to stop at the grocery store on the way home. Any suggestions for a sugary-sweet treat craving?

Weekend food: Saturday Breakfast: Sliced roast beef, bacon, apple Snack: Chili - my fiance and I were at a fall festival and there was a Fire Department vs Police Department chili cookoff, and you could sample 5 chilis for a $5 donation. They all had beans in them, and one had corn too, so this was a break from the diet. But it was worth it. They were all really good. Snack: Brisket Lunch: Burger with no bun and sweet potato fries Dinner: Grilled chicken and strawberry salad from Longhorn, no feta (note, I had every intention of getting dessert, but I was too full when dinner was over) Sunday Breakfast: Brunch buffet - eggs, bacon, sausage, roast beef, fruit... and a waffle with maple syrup and a brownie Snack: Apple, pistachios Dinner: Pot roast with celery and carrots, sweet potato Yeah, so I broke from the Whole30 this weekend. My stomach got pretty bloated last night, which isn't surprising. Back on track today though. Right now I'm halfway done with the Whole30. I'm going to try and make it through the rest of it without another cheat.

Good luck with the Lurong Challenge! What kind of meals are you making at home? I love learning new recipes.

Figures, I did 100 burpees for this before the burpee challenge here, and now I'm going to do more after the challenge here. Doesn't look too bad. I'm glad for the scaled version because I can't do double unders yet. I wasn't able to stay clean over the weekend, but I'm back on track today. I'm not letting slip-ups drag me down like they have in the past.

Challenges update at the end of week 1: CrossFit 3x per week - Done Whole30 - I had a couple missteps this weekend. One was yesterday - my fiance and I went to a fall festival in our town and there was a Fire Department vs Police Department chili cookoff, where you could pay a $5 donation and try samples of 5 different chilis and vote for your favorite. They didn't indicate who was Fire and who was Police. They were all yummy, but all had beans in them, and one had corn. Not the worst thing I could do, but still I broke from the diet. This morning I had a bigger misstep. My fiance and I went to a brunch after church and I had a waffle with maple syrup, and then a brownie. Then this afternoon I had a frozen fruit bar that was in my freezer. Probably explains why my stomach is so bloated right now... However, I bounced back after the fruit bar and had a paleo dinner and snacks for the rest of the day. My biggest issue is if I have a misstep, I allow it to completely derail me and it takes forever for me to get back on track. I'm going to get back on track and stay there. Stretching - 1/7. I only did it yesterday. I'm going to improve that number this week. Writing - 2 hours met. I worked on sketching, some character profiles, and storyboarding today for two hours while watching football. I'm having a little trouble focusing on it, and as soon as the two hours were met, I put everything away and just messed around online. I also didn't meet one part of the goal, which is doing this for an hour in the morning before I go to work.

We're talking about something different, the Lurong Paleo Challenege For some reason there isn't a "keep me logged in" option, like every other website on the internet that doesn't have any major personal information stored.

It's a great suggestion, but those things don't always work for me. I tend to turn them off and say I'll do it later. I should really work on that.

Today's food: Breakfast: Paleo pumpkin granola (I need to make more ) with almond milk Lunch: Salad, pulled pork (no sauce), and naked tenders from Buffalo Wild Wings Snack: More naked tenders Snack: Apple Dinner: Eggplant with bruschetta topping, lettuce wraps with chicken, carrots, bacon, avocado, and mustard Today's Workout: Shoulder Presses: 35lbs x 5 45lbs x 5 55lbs x 3 65lbs x 2 (70lbs is my 1RM, but I couldn't get to it today) "The Seven" (7 hand stand pushups, 7 thrusters, 7 knees to elbows, 7 deadlifts, 7 burpees, 7 kb swings, 7 pullups - 7 rounds) I ended up doing 4 and a little more than half rounds in 25 minutes (I got up through deadlifts during the 5th round)

Currently on Day 12. Cravings are intense today. I could really go for something sweet and chocolate, like a brownie. I think I'll make some tea to help.

0/4 now on stretching. Still haven't done any writing. I need to make those two goals a bigger priority. Still eating Whole30, still miss cake and chocolate. Day 3 of CrossFit this week is tonight. We're doing "The Seven" - 7 Hand Stand Push Ups, 7 Thrusters, 7 K2E’s, 7 Deadlifts, 7 Burpees, 7 KB Swings, 7 Pull-ups, 7 Rounds. I think this might be the toughest one yet, and I'm still working up to hand stand push-ups, knee to elbows, and pull ups.

Wednesday Food: Breakfast: Paleo pumpkin granola and almond milk Snack: Apple Lunch: Left over paleo chili and spaghetti squash Dinner: Sashimi Thursday Food: Breakfast: Fruit salad (mostly melons) Lunch: Sliced turkey and roast beef, roasted vegetables Snack: Chicken, 1/2 avocado, tomato, mustard Dinner: Grilled shrimp, scallops, steak, tomatoes, broccoli, sweet potato Last night's dinner was from Outback, who has a really awesome gluten free menu. It was really delicious and one of the best meals I've had dining out in awhile, which was a nice surprise from a chain. I think my fiance and I might go there more often. Yesterday's workout Deadlift: 85lbs x 5 115lbs x 5 135lbs x 5 150lbs x 3 (165 is my one rep max) Christine: 500m row, 12 deadlifts, 21 box jumps - 3 rounds for time 18:14 This was the final benchmark for the Lurong challenge. The scaled version was 1/2 bodyweight for deadlifts and 12" box jumps. I did 85lbs which is slightly more than 1/2 my body weight (I'm at 162), but it was easier to just throw 25lb weights on a 35lb bar. I have all my benchmarks done. Hopefully at the end of this challenge, I can destroy them.

Writing is one of my current challenges, and I'll definitely be doing NaNo again. I have yet to get even close to completing it. For me the big thing is making time to write. Scrivener looks really awesome. I think I might need to get that.

A CrossFit coach trained as a pastry chef? Interesting. What's helping me hang in there is Day 30 for me is October 16th. October 17th is the next Monthly Birthday Celebration at my office, and my birthday is in October, just a few days later. So I'm holding out till then to have cake and ice cream, just a little. And then on my actual birthday is Homecoming so I'll be tailgating with my friends. I'm not going to go crazy there either, I'm actually going to make a couple paleo dishes because a few of my friends eat gluten free. So those two days will be great rewards for me, but keeping it in moderation.

Yesterday's food: Breakfast: Paleo granola and almond milk (I could eat this everyday for breakfast) Snack: Apple Lunch: Steak sub contents (i.e. I ordered a sub with no bread) with mushrooms, peppers, onions, hot peppers, lettuce, and tomato Dinner: Chicken, zucchini, mushroom, and onion stir-fry, roasted eggplant Snack: Sweet potato chips Still craving chocolate and cake. Lots of cake.

0/2 on stretching so far this challenge. I need to make time in the day to do that. Still eating Whole30, and back to CrossFit tomorrow and Friday.

Nailed it, right there. This is my eventual goal, but right now I'm doing the Whole30 mostly to see if eating this way helps to improve some skin issues I have. It's actually a pretty good reason to give people when they ask why I can't eat certain foods. I usually say "I'm trying to eat a diet with no grains, sugar, or dairy to see if it helps my eczema" and it's always been followed by something like "Oh, okay. Good luck."

I feel you on those, I've been there. Check out this timeline: http://whole9life.com/2012/06/the-whole30-timeline/

Me too. This is from Wikipedia: "according to the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources, 'Apple juice and apple cider are both fruit beverages made from apples, but there is a difference between the two. Fresh cider is raw apple juice that has not undergone a filtration process to remove coarse particles of pulp or sediment. Apple juice is juice that has been filtered to remove solids and pasteurized so that it will stay fresh longer. Vacuum sealing and additional filtering extend the shelf life of the juice.'" I always figured the main reason juice isn't paleo is it usually has sugar and other stuff added. The apple cider I almost bought at an orchard the other day was just apples, nothing added.

Neither - just plain apple cider, but with nothing added (which means the Dunkin Donuts cider is probably out). Alcoholic apple cider can be considered paleo? I'll have to look into that after I'm done with Whole30. Yeah, that's my thought because it's liquid calories, but not like soda or even apple juice. But, it's not the same as eating an apple, because you're not getting things like fiber (is that right?).

I'm doing the Lurong Challenge too. I only have Christine left to do for the benchmarks. I did the Lurong Original yesterday, and it was brutal with my low stamina. Burpees kick my ass too, it took me 30:16 to finish >.< I agree with you about the cheats, and I'm not really a fan of how they do it. I wish they had levels to them, and each level is different points. Like level 1 is I'm at a restaurant and the cook probably used butter on my salmon, or I'm having salsa that has a little sugar in it, level 2 would be a cup of rice with my stirfry or a couple pieces of dark chocolate, level 3 would be like a couple burgers and fries from Five Guys or cake and ice cream. Best of luck with the challenge!

I'm the same way. I started a log last week, and like most things I try I'm really diligent for a couple weeks, then my commitment dwindles till I don't do it anymore and don't have the motivation to start it up. Keep it up!

I have a FitBit, but I haven't used it in months. I never got the hang of remembering to wear it and logging my food. The system is great, it's just not for me. I should probably find all the pieces to it and sell it...

Currently on day 9. I don't know if I feel any differently yet though. I'm pushing through the cravings. I enjoy eating paleo foods, but I still wants the things that aren't paleo. Donuts sound good right now. I'm hoping this helps to clear up my skin problems. My legs were insanely itchy last night and I sleep horribly.

Fall is here, my favorite time for food. Pumpkins and apples, yum! Both are great for paleo dishes, but what about apple cider? If nothing is added to it, is it paleo? Is it Whole30? I can't seem to find an answer anywhere, but I did find some mulled cider recipes on a couple paleo websites. I'm currently on the Whole30, and I'm wondering if that's a no-no on that. My thought is it would be okay occasionally for paleo, but I'm not sure for Whole30.