Day 30...and I'm Done!!!

If you set a goal for yourself and are able to achieve it, you have won your race. Your goal can be to come in first, to improve your performance, or just to finish the race - it's up to you. - Dave Scott

Well, here it is, I finally made it! Definitely didn't think it was going to fly by as fast as it did, but I'm glad that I stuck to my guns and made it through. I was thinking about doing a line up today, but since I basically ate the same stuff that I always eat, I figured I'd spare you the boredom for the day and we can all celebrate!

This challenge has really changed my life for the better, and would tell that to anyone that'd listen. I no longer crave junk food, but instead, I crave fruits and veggies, or my trail mix from Whole Foods. I have learned that adding on tons of extra condiments and cheeses doesn't make food better, it just makes it way worse for you! I could list things for days that have changed in my life, but instead of talking about them, I figure it'd just be easier to keep living them, and you can all see for yourselves how I've changed when our paths cross again.

So, what now? Well my plan is to not be 100% strict about the Paleo for the next few weeks. Now that doesn't mean that I am falling off the wagon. As a matter of fact, I have my same breakfast and lunch planned for tomorrow, and then Megan and I are going to a new restaurant in the area that is known for having healthy foods, Seasons 52. I will guess that I'll try to remain at least 85-90% Paleo for my everyday food intake. The only thing that might veer are some Recipes of Megan's that aren't even bad for you, they just call for a splash of milk here, or dry oatmeal there. I go to Ireland for a week at the beginning of August, and it is going to be tough to uphold the Paleo diet there, but I will do my best. Thank god we have our own house, because I can at least get to the grocery store and cook my own meals that way. As soon as I get back from Ireland, my Crossfit gym is going to have a 30 Day Paleo Challenge, so I will definitely be partaking in that. Seems fitting to go on the journey with others now that I have done it by myself.

Anyways, a big thanks to everyone who followed the blog, commented, or told me personally that they were following. I really appreciate all the support, without it, I wouldn't have made it. Another HUGE shout out and thank you to my girlfriend, Miss Megan Fluck, without her, this DEFINITELY wouldn't have happened. I have a very limited cooking repertoire, so she was able to come over and spice some things up for me to keep me on track. She also was forced to eat Paleo dinners more times that not, so she sacrificed right along with me! Thanks Meg, could never have done it without you!

My buddy AJ has asked that I show before and after pics, well I did take some pics of myself when I first started my weight loss, but I am going to keep those hidden until I reach my ultimate goal. If someone wants to see some before and after pics prior to that, drop me a line privately and I'll send you some, but I will wait for the big reveal once I have reached a weight that I feel good about.

And for the final tally of the challenge. I started the challenge weighing roughly 306lbs, and as of the morning, I weight 283 pounds. So that is a weight loss of 23 pounds in 30 days! That's not too shabby!

Thanks again for all of the support! Take care everyone. I'll keep posting periodically, and then I'll start another blog full blown once I start the next challenge!

Day 27

If you don't know where you are going,you'll end up someplace else. - Yogi Berra

Well we're getting down to the home stretch here, only a couple of days left. I must say, I am the type of person that starts something, and just jumps right in. I figure it's better to just do it, and think about it later. That way, by the time I have gotten around to thinking, I am already doing, and it usually works out for me. One of the other things I haven't expected doing the challenge is how many good recipes and foods I have found that I'll use regardless of whether I am eating Paleo or not. My plan for now is to take a few weeks off, but still eat using the general paleo principles, but having a little non paleo mixed in. I will then do another 30 day challenge in the middle of August, so that'll keep me on the right track again.

Anyways, here is the lineup for the day:

Breakfast
3 Hard Boiled Egg Whites
2 Turkey Sausage Patties
1 Banana

Snack
Dried Pineapple with Cinnamon

Lunch
1/2 Chicken from Boston Market
Steamed Veggies for Boston Market

Snack
Handful of Trail Mix

Dinner
Egg Casserole (egg whites, turkey bacon, turkey sausage, spinach, mushrooms and onions)
Small scoop of Raw Cashew Butter

I must highly recommend the egg casserole to anyone that'd like the recipe. It is very similar to the egg cupcakes that I had previously, except it was cooked in a baking dish instead of individual cupcake pans. E-mail me, message me, comment here if you'd like the recipe, because it's definitely worth it!!

Also, I was told to keep track of my workouts while on the diet, see how long it took to really acclimate myself and then see when they can help my workouts. Well, I am definitely seeing a huge jump. When I first started crossfit, my goal was just not to puke, and now my goals are to win the workouts. I am getting closer and closer, and I am already level 2 for all of my strength and lifting workouts. I am also working out 6 times per week, and I haven't seen any suffering in my workouts from day to day, so it seems to be working!

Thanks for checking it out guys.

Day 26

The best way to prepare for life is to begin to live. - Elbert Hubbard

We're in the home stretch! Sorry for the delay between posts, it's been a busy couple of days! I promise I'll make up for it today, because I have some pictures to go along with my normal blog. Today was my birthday, so Megan went above and beyond to make sure that I was able to celebrate it like any other. She made me a paleo carrot cake and a paleo pizza, which you can see pictures of above. The carrot cake definitely isn't as good as the original, but for being pretty healthy, it definitely does the trick! Same with the pizza, we had to custom make the pizza crust, and then there is no cheese allowed, but I think we put every veggie and lean meat we could find on there, it ended up being a very big pizza.

If anyone wants the recipes for the above, let me know. Here is my lineup for the day:

Breakfast

2 Small Egg White Omelettes with turkey bacon, turkey sausage, spinach, mushrooms, and onions and then topped with salsa

Lunch (pictured above)

Paleo Pizza Crust

Paleo Pizza Sauce

Topped with Onions, Spinach, Mushrooms, Turkey Sausage, Chicken, and Avocado

Snack

Whole Foods Dried Apple with Cinnamon and a scoop of natural Cashew Butter

Dinner

2 Turkey Burgers topped with Onions, Spinach and Mushrooms and Salsa

Dessert (pictured above)

Paleo Carrot Cake

Thanks again for following, we are getting down to the very end. Just an update on my weight loss, I am now down to 283 as of this morning. Not only is this a 22 pound weight loss while on the Paleo Challenge, but it also marks my official 50 pound weight loss! I am pretty pumped about this, and I really believe this will be a life change for me. I went from eating like crap and barely working out, to now eating very healthy and working out 6 days a week! Can't beat that!

Day 23

Imagination is more important than knowledge. - Albert Einstein

Aaaaand we're back. Since I've set out on this journey, I have started to learn about more than just eating well and exercising. If there is one thing Crossfit has taught me, it's that the entire body needs to be right, not just food and exercise. I say this because I went to the chiropractor for the first time tonight. It was quite the experience, let me tell you. As I said last night, I have a sore knee, sore wrist, and awful grip. I got some X-Rays taken at the Chiropractor tonight and it said that my neck is shaped wrong, so he did a few things to help. He worked a few things around, and next thing you know, my wrist is no longer clicking, my grip strength improved, and I got aligned up and had a lot more strength in my legs. That was the first trip, and I have a couple of more scheduled, so hopefully we can continue to improve everything, and I am optimistic. Well it's getting late again, so here is my lineup for the day:

Breakfast

4 Scrambled Eggs with Salsa

2 Turkey Sausage Patties

Banana

Snack

Handful of Almonds with some unsalted Sunflower Seeds

Lunch

Salad with Chicken, Apples, Craisins, and Walnuts

Snack

Handful of Almonds

Dinner

Spaghetti Squash with Shrimp, Turkey, Spinach, Portabello Mushrooms, Diced Tomatoes, Ground Chicken Meatballs

Thanks again for checking out the blog, let me know what else you guys do to stay healthy besides just the regular diet and exercise. I am open to whatever.

Day 22

The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack in will. - Vince Lombardi

Thanks for checking back in here again. I will warn you that this post is going to be very short, I got back late from working out tonight, and my plan is work out again tomorrow morning at 6am, so there won't be much sleep for me. Had a late night at work tonight because we hosted a seminar, so I didn't work out until 8pm, which is usually the time I am home and showered by, so that's why my night has been all screwed up.

I am trying something for the first time tomorrow, I am going to a chiropractor. There is one who I work out with at Crossfit, and he also played Offensive Line in college, so he has a lot of the same ailments that I do. He said there are a few structural things he can do to help me with my problems, which are mainly my right wrist, my right knee, and my grip strength. I'll keep you updated on how that goes, because I have no idea what to expect. I'm going in with no expectations, and I hope it works, and from what I hear from other people at my gym, this guy is a miracle worker, so I'm excited to see what happens.

Here's my lineup for the day:

Breakfast

4 Scrambled Eggs with Salsa and Guacamole

2 Turkey Sausage Patties

1 Banana

Snack

Handful of Trail Mix

Lunch

Grilled Chicken with Salsa

Asparagus

Fruit Salad with Cantaloupe, Pineapple, and Grapes

Snack

Handful of Trail Mix

Dinner

Spaghetti Squash

Ground Chicken Meatballs

Can of Diced Tomatoes mixed with Mushrooms

Thanks for following, I'll be back tomorrow with a more in depth blog.

Day 21

Insist on yourself. Never imitate. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

What's up everyone? Thanks for checking in on another day of the blog. I am exhausted, so I doubt the blog will be very long tonight. These 6am workouts really tire me out, but I definitely prefer them to the evening workouts. I am definitely not a morning person, but I get up in the morning, do 2 burpees to wake myself up, and then I'm off to Crossfit. It is a lot easier to sit through work knowing that you can go home and relax for the rest of the evening, and not have to worry about traffic and whether you'll make the workout on time.

There is talk of another 30 day challenge at my Crossfit gym, and I told them that I am in. I promised Megan that I'd take some time off of it, so we can eat normal for awhile, but then I want to start doing it again. I've had such good results, that I want to stick with it. I'll tell you what though, even when I'm "eating normal", I am still going to stick to mostly Paleo principles, and by that I mean eating fruits for snacks and having a lot of vegetables and lean meat. I think the only thing that will change is some of the spices and what not used to cook. They were absolutely right when they said that the 30 day challenge would be a lifestyle changer. As of now, I can't really see myself eating the crap I used to, just modifying the Paleo a little. Megan is a stickler for healthy eating regardless, so I know I'll still be eating well even when I'm not on the challenge.

Anyways, here is my lineup for the day:

Breakfast

4 Scrambled Eggs with Salsa

2 Chicken Sausage and Apple Links

Mixed Fruit with Pineapples and Grapes

Snack

Handful of Trail Mix

Lunch

Salad from Panera Bread that had all-natural, antibiotic-free chicken, romaine, strawberries, blueberries, pineapple, Mandarin oranges, pecans. I held off on the dressing, I just asked for extra chicken, and the fruit and chicken gave it enough taste

Snack

Handful of Trail Mix

Dinner

2 Pieces of Almond Crusted Tilapia (one of which I had a few bites with flour on it, I scraped all the crap off of the other one. I accidentally cheated and I'm not happy about it)

Veggie Mix with Zucchini, Mushrooms, and Brussel Sprouts

Thanks for checking out the blog again. Come back tomorrow for the blog again, Megan has a great dinner planned, so I'm excited to report it.

Days 19 and 20

The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.
Eleanor Roosevelt

What's up guys? It's been awhile, and I apologize for that. The trip to Buffalo was action packed, so I had no time to blog. We had a fun time, got to see Niagara Falls, see my buddies Christian and Danielle tie the knot, and catch up with a few friends I haven't seen in awhile. Besides the 13 hours of driving, and waiting at the border both ways, it was a very enjoyable trip. The food choices were limited, I had a couple of Mexican Salads up there. At the wedding, I couldn't have any of the appetizers, and the only entree I could have was steak. Even then, I couldn't have the side dishes with it. The salad was good though, it had a little fruit and some nuts in it, so I just get to scrape off the cheese and dressing. Thank god I had my trail mix, because that saved me. We also went to a buffet one night, so I had a few options there, which was nice.

I have spoken about it before, but it's amazing how unhealthy everyday for is. When we were at the buffet, I did a quick walk around, and I was getting excited because I saw a lot of vegetables I could eat. Upon further inspection, most of them were caked in butter, so that ruled them out. They had some delicious Salmon and hand carved Pork, so that helped make it easier.

Before I get into my lineup, just an update on my progress. I have now lost another 16 pounds since I started the 30 Day Challenge and Crossfit. I now weigh as much as I did in HS, which is pretty exciting. I never dropped below 290 at Villanova, so it's nice to be back under that now. I am a firm believer in what I am currently doing, with the diet and exercise, so I plan on sticking to it. It has been working wonders for me, so I highly encourage anyone else to try it, it works!!!!!

Anyways, here is my lineup for the day:

Breakfast
4 Scrambled Eggs
2 Chicken Sausage and Apple Links
Fruit Salad with Strawberries and Blueberries

Snack
Skipped because of meetings

Lunch
Mexican Salad with Spinach, Chicken, Guacamole, and Salsa

Snack
Handful of Whole Foods Trail Mix

Dinner
Baked Pork Roast
Sauteed Spinach and Mushrooms made in Olive Oil and Minced Garlic

I only have about 10 more days of the challenge, and my plan now is to take a week or 2 off, and then join my gym's 30 Day Challenge. It will be nice to have a few guys doing the challenge with me, although Megan is doing it by default since we eat a ton of meals together. I am trying to convince her to do Crossfit too, because I think she'll be good at it, but she isn't convinced yet.

Anyways, comment away on the blog. Sorry it's been awhile since I posted, but I am going to be back on the blog. No vacation planned, so I'll have time to blog as much as I can.

Days 17 and 18

I will blog tomorrow that will summarize my entire weekend. Megan and I went to Niagara Falls last night, so I had no cell phone reception and couldn't post anything. I'll have the entire drive home tomorrow to write a nice blog. Enjoy your weekends!

Day 15 and 16

It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed. - Theodore Roosevelt

I am blogging from the road today. Megan and I are on our way up to my buddy Christian's wedding in Buffalo, so we are in the car for a very long car ride. We decided to rent a car because I didn't feel like putting another 700 miles on my car, I already get enough miles on it driving to and from work.

It has been a busy past 18 hours for me, and very exhausting. I did the Crossfit WOD last night at 6pm, and then went to play in a basketball game at 9pm (which we won), and then decided to do the Crossfit WOD at 6am this morning so I didn't miss more days than I had to of working out. Let's just say that I'm happy I finished the workout at all today, let alone the fact that I did decent. I am slowly getting the hang of the crossfit workouts, but if you throw in any running or pull ups to the workout, then I am screwed. I think as I continue to lose more weight, I should be getting better at the pull ups and running, but I still want to lose another 40-50 pounds, so we'll see how that goes.

Here is my lineup from yesterday and then breakfast this morning:

Breakfast

3 Hard Boiled Egg Whites

2 Chicken Sausage and Apple Links

Banana

Snack

Handful of Trail Mix (raw almonds, cashews and walnuts, along with raisins and unsweetened dried banana chips, pineapple chunks, and coconut shreds)

Lunch

Grilled Chicken Breast

1 cup Steamed Vegetables

Fruit Salad with Red Grapes and Pineapple

Snack

Handful of Trail Mix (raw almonds, cashews and walnuts, along with raisins and unsweetened dried banana chips, pineapple chunks, and coconut shreds)

Dinner

Last nights dinner was so good, Megan decided to make it again so she could enjoy it. It was:

Spaghetti Squash, Spinach, Chicken, Shrimp, and Onions made in Olive Oil and Minced Garlic

Breakfast This Morning

2 Bananas

2 Chicken Sausage and Apple Links

Handful of Trail Mix (raw almonds, cashews and walnuts, along with raisins and unsweetened dried banana chips, pineapple chunks, and coconut shreds)

Anyways, I am going to talk to Megan and keep her company on the long drive. I am hoping to still be able to blog while up in Buffalo, but who knows what I'll be doing with all of the wedding fun and craziness. Comment away, let me know if you have any good paleo approved recipes, Megan and I are always looking!

Day 15 will be up tomorrow morning!!!!

Day 14

No man can stand on top because he is put there. - H. H. Vreeland

Sorry for the late post, I went to Crossfit and then I got asked to play in a flag football game tonight, so I was out late. Plus side is I got a ton of exercise, so I am happy with that. So Megan and I went to Whole Foods last night, and I have opened my eyes to the greatest thing EVER. Whole Foods, for those that don't know, is very similar to a Trader Joe's, but is generally a lot bigger. Well they have little spot where you can make your own Trail Mix, and it has some non Paleo approved options, but it had more than enough approved ingredients that made me excited. I put in Raw Almonds, Raw Sunflower Seeds, Raw Walnuts, Raisins, Unsweetened Dried Banana Chips, Unsweetened Dried Pineapple Chunks, and some unsweetened coconut flakes. Mixed it all together in one big bag, and I have one word: HEAVEN!!!

I know my mother my kill me (haha Dena), but I swear, my food choices always seem to get better with Megan in the picture. I had been to Whole Foods before while on this challenge, but it was her that pointed me in the directions of trail mix station, and then she made an amazing dinner.

Here is my lineup for the day:

Breakfast

3 Egg Cupcakes which included spinach, egg whites, mushrooms, onions, and lean turkey bacon

2 Organic Chicken and Apple (Sausage) Links

Banana

Snack

Handful of Trail Mix

Lunch

Mexican Salad with Spinach, Grilled Chicken, Organic Salsa, and Organic Guacamole

Fruit Salad with Pineapple and Red Grapes

Snack

Handful of Trail Mix (couldn't get enough of it!)

Post Crossfit

Progenex Recovery Shake with Water

Dinner

Spaghetti Squash with Sauteed Spinach, Shrimp, Grilled Chicken, and Mushrooms all cooked in Olive Oil with a bit of Minced Garlic for flavor

Post Football Game Snack

Handful of Trail Mix (I told you, it's addicting)

I must tip my hat to the chef (which was Megan) for the dinner tonight. She actually prepared it last night and I got to try a little bit, then she put it away in the fridge to save for tonight. Let me tell you, words don't do justice just how good this stuff really was. I actually crave it now, and I think we might make it again tomorrow for dinner. What can I say, I warned you that I was a creature of habit, so don't judge!

I have a ton to say about my current eating habits (i.e. how when I see a Snickers Bar, it actually makes my teeth hurt, and then I crave some sort of fruit) but I'll save that for another post. I think I am starting to "turn the corner" here, where the old, normal junk food is no longer even appealing to me. Now I just crave fruits and veggies, which is a good thing.

Until tomorrow, every keep on living your life and make your dreams happen!

Day 13

Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude. - Thomas Jefferson

Whats up everyone? Hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July weekend, I know I did. I got to relax a lot today, so it ended up being a nice, eventual and relaxing weekend. I was having an interesting conversation with my dad today, who was in town for the AT&T National Golf Tournament. About 3 years ago, he decided to get in shape. He has a stressful job, so he travels a ton, and it always eating out, so his health was suffering. He went on the Atkins Diet and decided to run a half marathon, and he lost approximately 100 pounds, so he is a good sounding board for me to bounce ideas off of. His weight as yo-yo'd since then, but he is still down from his previous highs.

Anyways, we were at lunch today the Manayunk Brew Pub, and we struck up a conversation about healthy eating, and how rough it is to really eat healthy unless you're cooking. Well let me tell you, it's even tougher when you get the watered down lunch menu. I ended up finding a delicious salad, which I'll detail below, but it definitely wasn't hard to figure out what to get, there was only 1 thing on the menu that'd satisfy the paleo diet! I got into a bit yesterday in the blog, but it's crazy how unhealthy stuff is out there. My girlfriend always says the Cheesecake Factory is the worst for this, that even their salads have 1,000 calories in them! After the challenge, I want to maintain a pretty strict Paleo diet, maybe a 90/10 ratio. I'll definitely have to look at what I am eating from now on. Gone are the days of cheeseburgers and french fries! The one positive thing is that I am trying, and finding, tons of healthy foods at different places that'd I'd NEVER think of trying before. That makes it all the better, because now I know I have delicious, healthy entrees at just about every place I usually eat, so this challenge has definitely shown my something!

Here's my lineup for the day:

Breakfast:
Banana (didn't wake up til 10am, which is a whole different story, because I never sleep that late!)

Lunch:
Spinach Salad with Grilled Chicken, Shrimp, Strawberries, and Golden Raisins.

Snack:
Homemade Trail Mix with Natural Almonds, Sunflower Seeds, and Raisins

Dinner:
Mexican Salad with Chicken, Steak, Guacamole and Salsa from Qdoba

Thanks again for the support. I'm excited to type tomorrow's lineup, because Megan has helped me cook tonight, and I got a little taste, and it was amazing!

Day 10, 11, and 12

The only way of finding the limits of the possible is by going beyond them into the impossible. - Arthur C. Clarke

Hey guys, sorry for last slacking on the last couple of days, I am still on the diet! I went up to NY on Friday afternoon, and didn't get back until very late last night, and then was at the AT&T National Tournament all day today, so it was tough to blog. Apparently iPhone's do everything except let you go to blogspot.com to post a blog, I found it very difficult to do so.

I tried to keep a running log of what I was eating while I was gone, but I figured it'd be tough for me to put them all in here in 1 entry, so I am going to take the opportunity to speak my mind about how hard it is to eat Paleo in the real world, as well as how crappy everyday food is!

Now I am not one to judge anyone, because I weight 335 lbs a couple of months ago and I ate everything in sight. Pizza, cheese steaks, french fries, you name it, I ate it. I just didn't care. Well considering I played football at a lean 305lbs, when I got up to a bad 335lbs, I realized it was time to do something. I started by merely calorie counting, and that worked pretty well. I dropped a quick 30lbs, but then I plateaued. I started to do P90x, but that became too hard for me to do, it was just too tough to do in my 2nd bedroom by myself. My crossfit history only starts recently, but I can date it back a little further. I had tried doing Platoon Fitness, but they were all personal training, and I prefer to work in groups.

Anyways, it was tough to find Paleo foods this week, but thank god I was able to. I ended up eating the same thing a couple of times, but that's only because I bought them in bulk. I lived at the grocery store, and I was able to buy a lot of good food. I bought some chicken, spinach, salsa, guacamole, walnuts, and a ton of fruit. I felt bad, because my aunt tried to make me some food, and she thought she was doing my a favor by making a chicken dip, but it was a buffalo chicken dip, so I couldn't eat anything besides the chicken. I had to politely decline, but it worked out for me. I just snacked on walnuts and pineapple.

Anyways, thanks for following, and I'll resume the normal blogging tomorrow. Leave some comments about crazy foods and what not you used to/still eat. I'm interested in seeing what others eat too.

Day 9

Insist on yourself. Never imitate. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Sorry again for the late blog post, I went out to drink (water in my case) with a couple of my Crossfit buddies. I am going to keep this short and sweet, because I need my beauty rest. I have an early appointment tomorrow morning then I'm on my way up to New York to play some golf with my uncle and cousins, and then pick up my dad and hang out for a couple days. I probably won't be blogging the next couple of days, there is no phone/internet reception up there, so it will be very hard.

Anyways, here is the lineup for the day:

Breakfast
3 Egg Cupcakes (Megan made this up, it has egg whites, lean turkey bacon, onions, mushrooms, and spinach)
Banana

Snack
Fruit Salad with Strawberries, Blueberries and Grapes

Lunch
Leftover Chicken Cacciatore
Leftover Mashed Cauliflower

Snack
Handful of Almonds

Dinner
Ground Turkey cooked with minced Garlic and topped with Salsa
Steamed Carrots, Cauliflower and Broccoli

Sorry again for the short post, but it's way past my bedtime. Hope everyone has a safe and enjoyable 4th of July weekend!