Just. Breathe.

I have not known what to expect for today. Changing to the Paleo eating plan has been an interesting experiment for the last week. I've not had to measure out three ounces of meat to make a serving -- and I can have a handful of almonds or a spoon of cashew butter without guilt. Of course, all that freedom for a control freak like me is not an easy transition. How will I know if I've had too much to eat if I don't count the calories? Turns out, our bodies are smarter than we give them credit for. I really didn't overeat -- there were a few moments when I felt like I was too full, but not like in the past when it was all indulgent (Mexican) food, full of cheese and carbs....okay, I'm stopping that right now. Anyway, if I ate a little more than was comfortable, it never lasted more than an hour. Even better, any temptation to eat more was pretty rare - unlike the cavemen for whom this plan is named, my need to eat like I don't know where my next meal is comin...

Just a sampling of what I've had to eat this week: Slow Cooker Pork Loin, with roasted vegetables Grilled steak with mashed cauliflower (tastes like mashed potatoes!) Steak salad -- leftover steak on top of a salad Spaghetti! [Spaghetti squash with homemade meat sauce] The spaghetti was the coolest thing! I love my pasta, and going Paleo means no more for me. I've seen spaghetti squash in the store, but it just looked like an overgrown regular squash. Then I found out what happens when you bake it: And with the sauce: Here's the link to the directions for making the squash. I made my usual from-scratch pasta sauce, and added the meat without guilt! I just might be able to survive without pasta after all!

I realized the other day that I had never documented my goals beyond "lose 63 pounds or more" and a few mental baby steps. I decided I needed to formally list what I want to accomplish, as this is a proven success strategy - right? We've all heard that goals have to be specific and measurable, etc... So here goes. Goal: Run an entire 5K Reward: Satisfaction! And a pedicure. ***DONE*** Race for Wishes 3/24/2012 May 1 goal: Lose 20 pounds Reward: New novel that's coming out, maybe two July 15 goal: Lose 30 pounds Reward: Health on Haiti mission trip -- less pain, more stamina on the trip September 15 goal: Lose 40 pounds Reward: New jeans (if I haven't had to buy some before!) October 29 goal (my birthday): Lose 50 pounds! Reward: Dinner! We'll do that anyway, most likely, so making it my reward is easy! Ultimate goal: Achieve my goal weight = lose 63 pounds FOREVER [I think that violates a rule of goal-setting, but whatever.] Time: By...

I've not been at all sure what to expect from my weigh-in today. Given that I've started a radical eating shift, AND had an out of town weekend, a significant gain would not have surprised me. As I've mentioned before, I have scale issues - can't stay off it -- and Sunday was frightening. The weekend involved barbecue, creamed corn, macaroni and cheese, Chinese food, dessert, not enough water, dessert, and a little dessert. THEN I jump over to Paleo yesterday and gave myself a brain ache -- how on earth do I go from measuring and tracking every bite to eating the right foods and just listening to my body? Recipe for disaster, I tell ya. I can't even express how excited I was this morning when I lost almost 2 pounds in the last week! 1.8 to be exact, which gets me out of the 180s for the first time in for-freaking-ever. That's right, I just gave a number. I promised myself that once I was into the 170s, I'd finally swallow my pride and start talking...

Day 1 of Paleo, and I survived! This was breakfast. [Now that I see the picture larger than on my phone, that is NOT a red worm -- it's salsa. I'm not a food blogger, remember?] Two eggs, diced canadian bacon, salsa, and SPINACH. Seriously, I had no idea how much I'd like spinach in my eggs. Almost makes me forget there's no cheese. This really is a grapefruit -- we found these at Central Market, and they are amazingly good. They feel like they weigh about half of a traditional grapefruit but are the same size. Sweetish, lemony, orange-y, and still taste like a grapefruit. This was dinner. Mine is the one without mushrooms on it.  Pork loin cooked all day in the crock pot with diced tomatoes, onions, and mushrooms. I seasoned the pork with salt, pepper, and cumin and pan-seared it before putting it in the slow cooker. Add the veggies, then sprinkle with chili powder. The pork falls apart. The roasted vegetables included sweet potatoes and aspar...

Back in town from the weekend trip, we spent the day eating getting groceries and planning for the coming week's change in food. I love Central Market and have absolutely no self-control there -- and today I had to wander through the bakery... without buying anything . I considered it character-building. We'd already gone to Sam's for produce - they seriously have the best berries, but I cannot buy 48 pounds of oranges. That's why Central Market was on the list, so I could buy a reasonable THREE oranges and FOUR grapefruit instead of 22. Each. Have you started doing this yet? Because it really works. Anyhoo. Today was the fridge cleanout, because once I shoved all the stuff in, you couldn't even see if the light was on. Not good. I got rid of my half-jar of pumpkin butter -- smeared on a ginger snap, it's like a little pumpkin pie bite -- because in a month it won't be good anyway. Sniff. Dinner was the last ounce of goat cheese on Triscuits. *so...

I mentioned earlier this week that I've been contemplating a pretty major change in this journey. I've been researching for a couple of weeks, and recently a friend shared her results after doing this for a month (shoutout, Gini!). After making all sorts of excuses, next week I'm going to try the Paleo diet. For 30 days. The hubs and me. I'm scared. Here's a link to the site I'm primarily using - http://nerdfitness.com/blog/2010/10/04/the-beginners-guide-to-the-paleo-diet/  . Steve is pretty realistic about the pros and cons, and he's not so hard core that it feels impossible from the start. For those who may not want to read a 4000 word essay, here are the highlights, with my commentary: Paleo is based on the theory being that if we eat like man did back in the dinosaur ages, we'll be healthy, not overweight, and without the health issues that plague us now (without the worry that dinosaurs will eat us). Basically, get back to hunter/gatherer mo...

I literally went to bed Sunday night praying that I hadn't actually put on the 10 pounds it felt like I'd gained over the Easter weekend. Chocolate candy, peach cobbler, French bread...even though I knew the sweet potatoes and roasted vegetables were WAY better than mashed potatoes and corn on the cob, I felt huge. I also hadn't worked out since Thursday, so I expected the worst. Monday I was determined to eat the best I could and definitely get all my water in to wash out the toxins. We had leftover roasted vegetables, and I stayed away from meat until I had some turkey in my dinner salad. There may or may not have been a couple of jalepeno poppers during the day, but that was just so they wouldn't go bad. Really. That's why. Then I completely lost track of time Monday evening. Went to the chiropractor, got to talking to the hubby...next thing I knew it was 6:45 and I hadn't gotten in a workout yet! And I was hungry! I know I can't eat before I workout, b...

Well, today has been crazy. Texas in the spring is always interesting, but today was a bit more interesting than I find comfortable. Stole this from the local TV station images: NOT my photo - credit to WFAA TV Thankfully this was not our neighborhood, but it wasn't very far away. Semi-trailers being tossed like Matchbox cars, entire roofs being torn off houses. One tornado stayed on the ground for 20-30 minutes - that's just not how it usually works. We're safe and sound -- all the major stuff went around us this time. It's so nerve-wracking to be home alone, knowing that my child is at school (probably the safest place for her, but still), trying to work while watching the weather. And knowing she was going to be driving home in a little while? Makes a momma crazy. At least the hubs didn't take the motorcycle today. In multiple tornadoes, in several cities, for a couple of hours, millions of dollars in damage was done. And no deaths or serious injuries h...

It was time. Actually, it was probably about three months overdue. A few before pictures: I had put in the wire stacking shelves last year when I decided I wanted to fold/stack my tshirts and sweaters. I found that over time, I got sloppy about folding and stacking neatly. This picture was after I'd started dragging stuff out. So all those shirts had to be pulled out, evaluated for condition, and refolded. Notice that I require supervision: Daughter and Dog are standing guard so I don't leave before I'm done. THIS was just the start of the donation pile. My rules: Anything I hadn't worn in a year, anything that didn't fit RIGHT NOW, anything stained to the point where I wouldn't wear it (mostly tshirts). Nothing was allowed back in that needed ironing. I think this is the first time I've ironed in about 6 months. It's just not my thing. Two days later...yes, seriously. I kept a few of the shelves. I really like the baskets fo...