Asking Why

I have bursts of inspiration; I can feel fit and healthy and on the right track one day and then the next day, I can feel 30lbs heavier and completely out of control! I have been getting this a lot recently. I need structure to function!
We are coming up to the end of term and I definitely need a change of scenery. Once you get out of a certain routine, a way of eating, or just let something slip, I find that it all can go to pieces, and a big change is needed to get back on track. My diet for the past couple of weeks has been very hit and miss. I have had perfect Paleo days, and then I have found myself gorging on Maoam's and chugging Diet Coke. Why do I do this? It isn't even that I like the taste of these things all that much. In fact, I have now found that fizzy drinks completely mess up my insides. This may get a bit personal but after drinking a can of diet coke, I have to run to the toilet. Anything with aspartame or stevia or any other brand of artificial sweetener is not welcomed in my body!
I have been trying to answer the question of 'Why?' these past few days. Reasons I have come up with:

• Stress- I am very close to finishing my degree so I feel like I have the weight of the world on my shoulders. Dissertation, revision, exams, money, jobs, careers, visas, moving house....
• Convenience- the crappiest excuse. I hate hate hate doing something because it is the most convenient. It becomes even worse when I hear myself justifying the chocolate because I am conveniently feeling stress. This is NOT good.
• Boredom- I love Paleo food. Love it. But there are times when I can't even look at a spinach leaf without wanting to barf. For some reason, I just get massive aversion to a certain food group! This leads me to feel annoyed with my situation, or angry that a friend can gorge on pizza and I can't. It is funny though that when I do feel this, I never act upon it when it comes to my meals. I haven't eaten any bread, pasta, or any other grain/legume/bean food concoction. No, when this happens, I snack and snack and snack on 'Paleo-ish' foods. For example, today my lunch consisted of 50g of Vegetable Crisps, a handful of blueberries, and no less than 10(!) chocolate dipped dates!! Why did I need 10? 2 would have been plenty. None of these foods, except the fruit, are really paleo. They are the more paleo options than say regular crisps, or an actual chocolate bar, yes, but it is definitely cheating.

Last night I made a Paleo dinner for me and my best friend. She has had to listen to me rattle on about Paleo this, Whole30 that for a couple of years now. I have tried to convert her; numerous articles infiltrate our facebook messages, Whole30 books end up on her desk. She appreciates where I am coming from, but she says she loves grains too much! Doing this dinner wasn't an attempt to have her cross over to the meat-and-veg lovers side; she loves all food, it was more a way for me to share what I eat with friends.
I made Juli's, from PaleOMG, pork tacos, and Michelle's, from Nom Nom Paleo, Chocolate pots de creme. YUMMY.
They went down a treat! Definitely will be making those again!
Finding new recipes does get you a bit more focused and renews your faith in the lifestyle. Hopefully when I go home for 5 weeks on Saturday, I will be more focused and more positive.
Lifting heavy weights also helps...I'll try and write a bit about my workout ways soon.
 

Re-adjusting

My first week post-Whole30 has been somewhat of a success and somewhat of a failure! All of my meals have carried on being compliant (why wouldn't they? They are so tasty!) but it is the added extras that haven't. I blame the supermarkets and the massive commercialisation of Easter. Ok, and myself a bit too. I love chocolate. I never used to be a massive fan of it and, to be honest, I didn't think about it for the 30 days, but after that Lindor chocolate egg last Tuesday, my sugar demon reared it's ugly head and force fed me more. A night out with friends also re-introduced me to the delights of alcohol. Though having said that, I didn't feel the need for cheese smothered chips or kebabs. I had one sausage from the kebab shop and it tasted well, not food-like. It was a bit gray in colour too. I was going to ask if it came from organically reared pigs...

So, I am trying to pull my socks up and get back on track! I'm just going to do a Whole7 and then go through the reintroduction phase how I should have done in the first place! Instead of just introducing some dairy for the first few days I jumped in head first with chocolate, frapuccinos and alcohol, so of course I felt like crap. I hadn't missed feeling bloated or groggy that's for sure.

Culinary creations this week include the 'Italian Eggplant Strata' from this book that I don't believe I have mentioned before...'Well Fed';)  It was delicious. Surprise, surprise. Layers of eggplant (aubergine to us Brits), sausage meat, and tomato sauce. Think lasagne, but better. I made a huge batch and it lasted a few days!

Moving wise, took a bit of a break for the past week. I did 3 workouts so not too bad but nothing overly sweaty! Went to Body Pump this morning an upped my weights a little. Ouch. My triceps hurt. Pilates was good again; I can see myself getting in on that. My aim for the year is to be able to touch my toes and I think Pilates will help with that! Flexibility is so important. Perhaps even more important than strength sometimes. Especially on the preventing injury front. I know that my tight hamstrings are not doing my knees any favours.

Happy February everyone! January is officially behind us. Thank God. Now onto Pancake day!

Have you tried out any new workouts this week?

Pesto Pimping

Another 'Well Fed' creation! I am truly obsessed with this recipe book. May I introduce to you Basil and Walnut Pesto. I think we are going to be great friends.
One thing on the Whole30 and Paleo in general, sauces are hard to come by. No BBQ sauce, Hellmans mayo, ketchup, normal pesto has cheese in it etc. So here is the answer to my troubles! Going to roast some chicken thighs and slather them in pesto later, along with some cumin roasted carrots...it will be a 'Well Fed' extravaganza!

Whole30 Round-up

I have finally finished my first Whole30! So I want to take some time and go over the good bits and the not so good bits. Not going to lie, I had to think long and hard this morning about this post. Reflection if you will. But first a little recap of what I have and haven't been eating in the past 30 days.

GET IT AWAY:

• No added sugar of any  kind- including honey, agave, artificial sweetners like Splenda, aspartame
•  No Grains- including wheat, rye, oats, corn, rice, bulgar
• No Legumes- including all peas, peas, lentils, peanuts, and all soy products
• No Dairy- from any source, so no cheese, yogurt, cream, milk etc
• No White potatoes
• No Alcohol

GET IN MY BELLY:

•  Meat
• Seafood
• Eggs
• Lots of vegetables
• Occasional fruit
• Healthy fats- Ghee or clarified butter (i.e. the milk proteins been removed), coconut oil, avocado etc

Whenever I mentioned to anyone what I was doing the usual response was "Well, what do you eat then?!" And the answer is good, clean food. Many people are stuck in this idea of cereal for breakfast, sandwiches for lunch, pasta and potato based dishes for dinner. Paleo is the complete opposite of this, and in my opinion, is the right way to eat. One day I will do a science post about it.

So what was positive about my experience on the Whole30? Using the founders llooonnnggg list of consequences of it, I have compiled my own!

• No bloating
• Feeling stronger
• My knee problems that I have had for a year and half rapidly improved
• A more regular cycle (seriously, with PCOS my cycle is all over the place but this was 4 weeks to the day. NEVER happened before ever.)
• Sleep loads better
• Constant energy levels
• Healthier relationship with food. Not worrying about every calorie going into my body has done wonders for my psyche. I no longer feel a slave to the calorie.
• Fewer cravings for sweet things
• Much more knowledgeable about nutrition.
• I stuck to something 100% for 30 days. 30 flippin' days! I feel really proud of that. 

I can't believe how much better I have felt throughout the 30 days. Not feeling bloated, or guilty, or obsessed. It has been rather stress free on the food and health side. I feel like I have gotten more focused when working out too. I feel stronger and capable of lifting heavier weights. Me and a friend also have started going to a pilates class, something I swore was never for me! I like to sweat and be out of breath, not lie on a floor and breath deeply for an hour. I was wrong. This isn't what pilates is about.

Ok so those were the positives. Now onto the negatives. To be honest, for me there is one big one that definitely overshadowed the achievement I felt when I first woke up this morning. Weight loss. Or rather, the lack of weight loss. I was expecting and hoping for some shift on the scales. I knew that the Whole30 is designed for health and not necessarily weight loss but the majority of people do lose weight. I wanted to be one of them, but I wasn't. I will admit, there were tears. From the age of 12 I have always been dieting, always trying to lose weight, so the scale has been a massive part of my life! I always tell myself that the numbers don't mean anything; I know I am healthy and fit, but deep down the numbers do matter to me! I wanted to have lost around 4lbs. I am great at maintaining a weight between 147 and 150lbs. My goal for the end of the year is to be 140 and I hoped these 30 days would be a good jumping off point, so to have lost ermm nothing. Well. Darn.

I have had a few hours to ponder on this and really take a look back. Just because I haven't lost any weight doesn't mean that this has been a waste of time. If anything it has fueled me on and made me believe in Paleo as a lifestyle even more. High fat way of life? Yes please. The food is gorgeous. But there is the problem for me I think. I took the fat recommendation side of things a bit too liberally. I think I was consuming too much fat for weight loss. I was eating a diet between 1200 and 1500 calories a day, and during the Whole30 I have been eating WAY more than that. So to have stayed the same weight...well that's really interesting. Science works. Cut out the inflammatory and insulin spiking grains and sugars, cut out dairy that we humans are naturally intolerant to, up the fat, protein and vegetables, and you have a perfect lifestyle!

So what am I going to do now? Well, today me and my best friend are going to a Body Pump class then having a spa day; jacuzi, steam room, massage, reelllaaxxx, with a latte from Starbucks of course (that is the only thing I have been craving all 30 days.) Then we are going out for dinner. I won't go crazy though.
Tomorrow, I am going to carry on with the Whole30 principles but just cut back on the fat. I know the science, I know the baseline, now I need to adapt it to my needs. Too much fat? No problem, I can change that. Weight loss needs to be a slow and gradual process to be maintainable. I like this lifestyle; it isn't a diet. It works if you cater it to your needs. Right now my needs are to lose a few pounds. Once that has happened, I know that I can up the fat slightly, introduce the odd latte, and i'll be a mean, lean, fighting PCOS machine.

Radio Silence

I apologies for the lack of updates; essays are kicking my a**.
One week to go on the Whole30! I can't believe that it has gone so quickly. Food wise, I think I need to tighten up a little for the last week. A few too many dried fruit handfuls after lunch!

I went to a PCOS specialist clinic today. What a joke. The basic jist of the conversation was "Metformin is the best solution right now. Losing weight is the best way to help your PCOS so try harder with diet and exercise."
I was this close to punching him in the face! What did he think I have been doing for yyyeaarrrs? My weight was the original reason why I found out I had PCOS; inability to lose anything, rapid weight gain etc led to scans. If I got a penny for every time a medical professional has told me to 'try harder', or eat a 'well balanced diet', or 'take the stairs as opposed to the lift', I would be very rich. I felt a bit patronised when he started to explain that the body releases this hormone called insulin. I KNOW. He even got out the BMI chart thing which is a load of crap. I have had this appointment booked for a few months now and was really looking forward to it. My regular GP doesn't know much about PCOS so I was hoping to be able to talk to someone who did. He obviously knew all about it, but it was not a worthwhile experience.

Self education is so important now a-days. I told him that I eat a clean Paleo diet and he just stared at me blankly. Ok so Paleo is not as big in the UK as it is in America but he should have heard of it! My goal from now on is to find what is right with my body. Doing the Whole30 has helped to regulate my period; 3 weeks early this time...amazing compared to going usually going 6-12 weeks without one! This was 4 weeks on the dot. I have been spending a lot of time trawling the internet listening to podcasts, reading literature, and just generally becoming more educated on both PCOS and Paleo. I feel like I am taking control of my body. And I love it.

Anyone else had any bad experiences with doctors?

Or have you got a doctor or met a specialist that was brilliant?

Cup Half Full!

I have reached the halfway mark with my first Whole30! And to celebrate I am going to see Les Mis! I feel that this cinema experience will be better than my last; I have discovered toasted coconut and will be snacking away on that instead of carrot sticks.
I thought by this point I will be ready to give up and cave (if I hadn't already) but my cup is half full. I'm looking forward to the next 15 days of health:) Again, the only thing I miss is latte's. That is what I will be having on day 31. The rest I am going to keep the same! It is easy, fun, healthy and filling. What more could you want?

I made a new recipe from Melissa's recipe book 'Well Fed'; Cauliflower Rice Pilauf. I paired it with my own beef meatballs which I very generously seasoned! I think I put almost a cup of herbs in it...a bit overpowering!
I stuck to the recipe for the 'rice' but added some shredded coconut, to boost up the fat a little. Also, the recipe said it served 6...I made it serve 2. Oops! I didn't have any other veggies so I didn't feel so bad about it though. An excuse to make more!
I apologise for the shocking photography. I love photography and outside, I am pretty good. But inside, the lighting sucks, and it smelled so good that I couldn't be bothered to mess around with the exposure settings! I wanted to TUCK IN.

For the last half of the Whole30 I think I need to tighten up on a few things. One being not snacking between meals. I am getting better at this but I think I need to not be afraid and just do it! Also, I am not going to buy coconut...I eat way too much of it! I think that I am getting more fat than I need which may be why my weight isn't dropping. I'll still stick to the guidelines of the fat, but aim for the lower end at each meal. 

Now if you excuse me, I have to go warm up my vocal chords in preparation for Les Mis. Oh the whole cinema audience is going to hhhhattteeee me.

How is your Whole30 going?

Have you seen Les Mis yet?!

My New Saviour....the Crock-Pot!

I am now back at University, in my student house, with my friends, stressing about this final push before graduation. Unfortunately for me:

Work + Studying + Stress = I WANT TO STUFF MY FACE WITH CHOCOLATE

You can see why I said I was only around 80% Paleo compliant!
Though I haven't caved! Day 12 of Whole30 and still going strong. I thought that the move back to university might upset the balance. Temptation everywhere, plus the stress, and random hours in lectures will have me reaching for an easier option. So far, so good.
I have found it almost easier than before. For ages now I have been eating Paleo and counting calories. This adds so much more stress to my day! Having exact rules on the Whole30 means that it isn't a question of shuffling things around so you can have an extra something and fit it into your calorie count; it is either yes or no. This is exactly what I need!

One bad thing about being in a student house is that things go wrong. For example, our oven broke for the third time in 3 months on Monday, while I was roasting vegetables. Deep breathing was called upon here. But never fear because I got a crock-pot for Christmas! Now I am a crock-pot virgin. I have never cooked a meal in one. But here was my chance.
I took inspiration from Erika over at the Everyday Paleo site. She has some great recipes over there and this one immediately jumped out at me.
Creamy? I love cream. Chicken? I love chicken. Soup? Erm hello, it's winter! Click on the link and it will take you straight to the recipe I used:)

Putting my ingredients into the crock-pot was odd. It was just a mass of raw things and for hours it looked like nothing was happening. Had I done it wrong?

 9 hours later, this is what materialised....

I know it doesn't look the most appetising of things to eat but it was hearty, and warm, and creamy! Next time I will add some more seasoning as it was a little bland, but for a first attempt, not too shabby.

Another thing I am loving on the Whole30 is toasted coconut. So delicious. I could eat my weight in these. I think I need to cut back a little on this though. I am finding myself grabbing handfuls throughout the day when you aren't supposed to be snacking. It isn't even because I am hungry, i'm not. But they are just so crunchy! This is what I like most about them. That satisfying crunch that you only really get from crisps or crackers; toasted coconut replicates this. I'm such a child...all about the texture.

Week 1 Complete!

I have to say, I feel pretty darn fantastic right now. I have resisted every temptation, every opportunity to slip, and stuck to the Whole30 like glue. And my body is thanking me for it!
I don't feel hungry at odd times of the day, I don't feel sleepy one minute and wide awake the next, none of these insulin peaks and crashes making me feel like crap and make my PCOS come out to play.
I feel healthy.
It is also great not trying to keep track of every single calorie that enters my body, or leaves it via exercise. After counting calories for so long, it was second nature, but also an obsession. I wouldn't say I had an eating disorder (please, I'm overweight!) but I definitely thought and worried about calories most of my waking hours and panicked on  daily basis about it. No-one wants to be weighing carrots or crying over accidentally drinking regular coke. I would slip, eat a bunch of bad stuff, and yes I would enjoy it at the time, but the next day, and the day after that, I would want to punish myself for it.
But now I am eating good proper food...with fat! Oh my word. When I was dabbling in Paleo, I would ignore their suggestions about fat intake; I felt that that was a sure fire way of ballooning, and it would have been actually. As I was not 100% Paleo, the dairy and other 'treats' that I was eating daily would have made me put on weight if I ate a bunch of fat too. My body would get it's energy from sugar, while happily spreading the fat to my stomach!

 I know I know, it has only been a week! I am sure that I will change my mind about some of this, but for right now I am happy.

Today I spent the day making food to take back to University with me tomorrow, so that I will have some Whole30 meals ready to go for the first week of term. I made cumin carrots, Tex-mex scotch eggs, and a hhuugggeee shepherd's pie again! It is going to be tricky once I am back at uni. Going out with friends will be challenging, and living with other people will test my will power, but I am confident that I will see this through. I want that massage at the end of it!

Returning To Normal...For Now!

After the anger filled, craving packed, cranky, tired day that I had yesterday, I woke up this morning hoping for a better day. And it worked...eventually! I woke up just how Melissa and Dallas Hartwig (Whole30 God's) said that I would on days 4 and 5:

"Day 4 dawns and you tentatively step out of bed, expecting to feel like you took a strike from Thor’s hammer in the temple. Instead, your head is surprisingly clear. Your limbs all feel functional. This could be a good day! You walk into the kitchen and as you’re greeted by the smiling face of your significant other you are suddenly overcome…with the desire to punch them in the face for smiling this early in the morning"

Well, at least I know that what they are preaching actually works. My symptoms were down to a tee! However, the rest of the day has been surprisingly clear and peaceful. An extremely emphatic greeting from this cutey helped get my mind away from punching my family members in the face...

 A long walk was what I needed to clear my head and re-evaluate. I came back, caked in mud and dog slobber, tucked into some scrambled eggs and smoked salmon, and felt rejuvenated. Then it was off to a coffee shop with my brother for a black coffee (not quite as yuck as a few days ago!) and some studying. Tonight I am off to my cousins for dinner. This will be my first test at a meal at someones home while on the Whole30. I've warned her that I will be picky! My plan at the moment is to eat before I go; this will feel weird but I need to learn to put my goals first and not cave to temptation.

According to Dallas and Melissa I will constantly wanting to be napping over days 6 and 7. If you don't hear from me for a couple of days...you will know why!

How is your Whole30 going?

Have you taken any new exercise classes this January? Or started a new workout routine?

I know that I have been ignoring the moving part of this blog...I will tackle that soon!

Sugar-Less Haze

Day 4 of the Whole30 is nearly over. Thank god. I thought this was going to be fairly easy. I smirked to myself a little when my Whole30 Daily newsletter on days 2 and 3 told me I was probably feeling tired and grumpy. 'Not me!" I gayly cheered and sprang up to eat half of a scotch egg, moaning in satisfaction at the yummy, meaty, goodness! Then I woke up on day 4.

The novelty had worn off, and I was left in a crashed, sugar-less state. I felt lethargic and dozy. I even felt a little angry; "What is the point in all this? Surely a diet coke or a nibble of some chocolate will do anything to me. Those aren't the problem." It didn't help that I had arranged to go to the cinema to see The Hobbit with a friend. The cinema is like a utopia for me...pic and mix sweets, chocolate, diet coke, popcorn, and all other types of sugary goodness. I never have gone crazy like you see some people do; a tray of nachos dripping in fake cheese in one hand, a large popcorn in the other, an even larger drink under one arm, and a sharing size bag of M+M's that they are clinging to with their teeth. No, I get a drink and a small amount of sweets and leave it at that. Today, I had brought with me some carrot sticks. And boy was I not impressed. I munched on them with disdain while sipping a soda water. I could hear those chocolate covered brazil nuts that were quite literally calling out to me "Jenniiiffeerrr, just one bite, we won't do any harm!" Thankfully I ignored them and got sucked into Middle Earth.

I felt proud that I hadn't caved; that I had stuck to my guns and not given into temptation. But I also felt weak. It is only day 4 and I am already finding it tough! !here are another 26 days that I need to contend with yet. Also, what happens after the 30 days? I truly believe in the Paleo lifestyle, and I have to say, that up until today, my body felt so much...well...cleaner I suppose because of the past few days. I will obviously be eating Paleo after this Whole30, but it did make me realise that there are things in my usual Paleo diet (perhaps not everyday but often enough so as not to be justified as a treat) that definitely do not fit into the Paleo framework! How will I contend with those? Well, I have a few weeks left to work this out. Luckily, there is great help and support on the Whole30 forum and I am sure that it will all become clearer once my brain has come out of the sugar-less fog that currently surrounds it! Bring on day 5. I have a feeling that it will be much better than today. I shall leave you with a festive giggle that I found here...

 Anyone else feeling a bit crappy? Whether it is from the Whole30, a detox, or an extended hangover from New Year!

Cooking Up A New Year Storm!

I have made it to the end of day 2 of my first Whole30! Yay me! To be honest, it hasn't been that hard so far. The food has been yummy and filling, and fairly easy to make. In fact, the hardest thing about the past two days was sitting in Starbucks! I work really well there and having my usual sugar free hazelnut latte pretty much makes my day. Alas, this drink is definitely NOT Whole30 compliant...dairy and artificial sweeteners are a big no no. Today I had my first black coffee. And it was gross. My brother was with me and said that I just have to power through, that eventually I will love black coffee. Hmm, this may take a while. For the next 30 days I will just have to be content with trying the various fruit teas that they offer, with the occasional caffeine fix that the black, gross tasting gloop will provide.

So what have I eaten in the past two days? Yesterday I roasted some chicken thighs and some carrots rubbed with cumin. Yum. Today has been a big cook-a-thon where I roasted some more veggies, made a Shepherd's Pie, and made some Scotch Eggs! These recipes came from 'Well Fed', the recipe book that I have been raving about! As I am British, I wanted to try out the 'traditional' recipes first.
The Shepherd's Pie was made with ground lamb and topped with mashed cauliflower instead of potato. It came out really well; the taste was lovely and full of depth. The presentation of it leaved much to be desired though! A bit sploggy, if that is a word. I feel that it works as a description for it! Next time I will use a food processor to puree the cauliflower, as opposed to just using a fork. It will hopefully make it much smoother and easier to dish out.

Now for the main event...the Scotch Eggs! These are beasts. Literally, the size of Mr T's fist. Instead of using breadcrumbs on the outside the recipe asked for ground up pork rinds. While I was in the supermarket, I looked at bags of pork scratchings but found that they were jammed packed with names of preservatives and other ingredients that I had trouble pronouncing; those were going no where near my mouth. Instead, I bought some pork rind and made my own!

For my first attempt I feel pretty proud of myself. They definitely look like Scotch Eggs at the very least! Next time though I will add in some more herbs to the sausage meat (homemade I might add!) and put more of the pork rind crumbs around the outside.

I hope everyone has a brilliant New Year! Remember to make some resolutions for 2013, but they need to be achievable. All goals have to be SMART:

S- Specific
M- Meaningful
A- Attainable
R- Relevant
T-Timed

There is no point setting yourself up for a failure; find something that you can reach and go get it.

Here's The Whole Deal...

Ok, so Christmas has come and gone. How do I know this? The Christmas cake was finally finished this afternoon. I find it really hard to get back on track after a blip in routine. Well, this blip was more of a gaping month of off and on Paleo eating! Now the time has come to get back on it, and I am jumping in head first with my first Whole30. Terrified.

'What is the Whole30?' I hear you cry! Let me tell you. Basically, it is 100% Paleo for 30 days. No dairy, no legumes, no grains, no sugars, no alcohol, just pure food. It comes from Dallas and Melissa Hartwig's book 'It Starts With Food', and from their website. I have this book and I have read it cover to cover and it is so easy to follow, so obviously healthy! I have wanted to try a Whole30 for a while now but I am terrified. Not because I am scared of the food; i'm good at that! I am terrified of failing. As a perfectionist I know I am going to spend the next 30 days stressing over it. The problems I see myself having are with the social side of it. Diet coke can't be drunk as it contains the evil aspartame (artificial sweetener), so at the pub I will be limited to sparkling water! Also, my beloved latte's are out the window. I am actually going to try black coffee uh oh. I may add some coconut milk in and see how that works. Gross I bet!

I am starting the Whole30 on 30th December. I don't want to start on the 1st January because that is pressure in itself! Also, my best friend and I have promised each other a massage and spa day on the 28th January and it would be great to have completed it before then!

It will take a lot of will power but I am going to give it my best shot. I need to remember that I am doing it for myself; that I am in control of my own body. I can be easily swayed at times, especially at that fatal 9pm time slot where it is so easy to reach for the chocolate! But you really do get out of your body what you put in it. Wish me luck!

What are your New Years resolutions?

What is the one habit you want to break/want to incorporate this year?