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!