paleo and Nascar. two words unlikely together.

Well, I must say, this week went by pretty seamlessly in my paleo-eating. I struggled, but not nearly like last week's end. Except... for yesterday. Sunday. Nascar Day! Oh... you didn't know I was a mega-dork Nascar Fan? Well, I am. We all gotta little redneck in us, right? Anywho. I had been stressin' the race. Why? Well, typically this is how a race day goes:
8:00am  -  Gates Open
9:00am  -  Arrive to the dirt parking lots (along with 55,000 other people... this is NOT an exaggeration)
9:01am  -  Crack open the first beer
9:31am   - Crack open the second beer (and so on...)
10:30am  - Start the mile+ walk towards the raceway. This is a two-beer walk.
11:00am  -  Reach Merchandise Mile and talk crap about the drivers merch you don't like until you end up standing in front of the Kyle Busch merch trailer and suddenly can justify spending $125 on a #18 M&M Toyota racing jacket. Then you remember you only have $100 and beers inside are runnin' $8 a piece. And you're more thirsty than cold.
12:00pm  -  Enter the gates and fight the tens of thousands of people toward your section, holding onto the friends you're with (cuz you'll totally get lost).
12:05pm  -  Find beer tent and drop an easy $20 on double fisting beers (who wan't to walk back down the grandstand during the race... not me).
12:30pm  -  Chaplain prayer. God Bless America. Fly over. Gentlemen, Start Your Engines!! (Best Sound Ever!!!)
1:00pm  -  Race Starts. Four hours of standing up and down, cars racing over 100 miles an hour around the track, wrecks and cautions, pit stops, yelling and screaming at your driver while the person behind you yells at you for being a fan of your driver.
4:30pm  -  Stumble down the grandstand, cow-hearded to the parking lot. Hopefully you know where you parked. Hopefully you have a DD. Must grab another beer (or two) for the walk.
5:00pm  -  Hang out in the dirt lot to let the traffic die down. Keep drinking the beers you brought.
8:30pm  -  Looks like a good time to leave. You're the last car in the parking lot. Thanks DD, for putting up with us.

Do you see the trend?
Can I tell you that beer is NOT Paleo?
Can I tell you that food is secondary on days like these.
Now do you understand why I was sweatin' it?

I was DD. I was totally okay with that. I've done it before. I planned and prepped for the day. I packed my lunch, brought plenty of water. It ended up just being me and friend Ry (we're Nascar pals... never been to a race without each other. Aw, Tear. lol) The day went true to schedule, less the beer on my part. As we got ready to make the mile+ walk to the raceway, Ry decided he was going to eat inside. Okay. I wasn't hungry, and couldn't remember if we were allowed to bring in food (beer I know we couldn't... they make a killing off the alcohol sales... especially with all them rednecks. hehe)
So we got inside and holy mother of all things good in the world... look what this Paleo-Eating Girl found...

A Big Huge Texas-Sized Turkey Leg!! Holy Carnivore is right! I mowed down on that thing for over an hour! And ate every last bit of meat off the bone. It was sooooo pleasant. And I was soooo full! Happy Girl!

As the race started I was jonesin' for a beer. It just feels so un-American. But, I stood my ground... repeating my mantra (I Am Winning This Paleo Challenge... I Am Winning This Paleo Challenge) and before I knew it, I had made it through the entire day! Yay Me. Go Team Jen!

The race was pretty stinkin' awesome! Crazy drama, crazy wrecks, and crazy finish for the #18 (he led the entire race, and gave up the last two restarts, leading to a third place finish.) I was home by 6:30pm.

Life is good.

my mojo came back

Yes, it did, and I was so happy to have it back with me!!

My Beloved Scrap Mojo!

No joke, people... one morning I woke up, and crafted up like, 6 cards and mailed them! Yes, it really happened. And it happened so fast that I didn't even get a chance to take pictures of those cute little things!

Oh well... because...

The very next day I woke up and the mojo went all ballistic on me and I pumped out... ready, wait for it... FIVE whole entire 12 x 12 scrapbooking pages! Five... in One Day! It was raining scrap-happy mojo all over the place to the point that I went out after 7pm (I'm a hermet after 6pm) and went to the craft store for a few necessary supplies (new craft knife, adhesive, glue, etc). I can't even explain it all, it is pretty much straight up magic! Yep, nothing but unicorns and glitter in these parts of my world! hehe

Wanna see?

And guess what... there's more on the way! hehehe. YAY!!! I Love Scrapbooking again!!

paleo challenge. week two.

*credit

Week Two.
That would be this past week. Also known as the week that includes Candy Holiday Number One aka Halloween.

Monday I came out the gates strong. Food was prepped, my days are grab and go. No big problems there. I was a teensy bit on the tired side because I didn't get to bed at my regular hour (between 8:30pm and 9:30pm, no joke. I'm an old lady.)

Tuesday was much of the same. We were lifting heavy (1 Rep Max) for three days straight so we were told to up our calorie intake by 20%. I should have listened. And I should have made those extra calories come from delicious sweet potatoes (because I only roasted 10 pounds of them on Sunday. lol) After doing work at Urban Warfit I could tell in my body that I needed to up the intake. Note to self.

Soooo... Tuesday night we went over to my Mom's to carve pumpkins. Not a big deal. I had my food with me, plenty of water.
But here's the thing.
I noticed myself eyeballing the cooking jar. From the cookie jar, my eyes would flit over to the candy dish on the counter (where it is almost always filled with M&Ms). Back and forth, back and forth. I starting actually sweatin' this. I mean, for the very first time I was being truly and legitimately challenged! I knew that it meant more to me to have a perfect Paleo Day, but out of pure habit I was raiding my Mom's pantry and fridge (isn't that what every kid does when they come home, go straight to the food, the good stuff). I couldn't get out of there fast enough. (No offense, Mom).

I knew I was in deep trouble for Wednesday night.
We gathered at Mom's and there were loads and load of candy. Everywhere! It was like Alfred Hitchcocks the Birds attacking me, except they were mini candy bars. Yes, exactly like that. Well, maybe not exactly. They weren't flying at me. They were in a bowl. By the front door. I was in the family room. Out of sight out of mind, right?
Anyway, I made it through. I volunteered to walk with the kids around the two blocks. Their little legs and frequent stops were harboring my need to 'walk it out'. But I made adjustments, and all was fine and well. I did not break. I did not put a single candy in my mouth. I did not even touch a single Almond Joy. Ahhhh, Almond Joy. When my niece and nephew tried being nice by sharing a candy with me I ran away from them like they had the H1N1 virus. I stayed strong, and got the hell outta there as fast as I could. (Plus it was past my early bedtime. lol)

Thursday was the same. Grab and Go. I could totally tell the difference in my energy level from heavy lifting for three days and not upping my calories, and by 4pm I was toast. I wanted a nap (technically it was rest day). Instead I forged ahead getting my Costco run done and prep and cooking that night. You can bet your bootie I was in bed closer to the 8:30pm time than the 9:30pm time.

I woke up this morning all bright eyed and bushy tailed. I got up, got showered and before I knew it I was out the door to drop off high school students and enjoy the 40 minute drive into work, where I now sit, writing to all you good people. Today's eating schedule will be a wee bit off kilter, and I am just a teensy bit worried about that. I should be eating right now, but we have a company BBQ to attend (I haven't missed one in, like 5 years) and that's between 11-1. I need to make sure I keep my carbs upped before my 3pm workout from Hades (wanna see... look right HERE)

And Then....
Tomorrow will officially be the Half Way Point of this Challenge!!!

More to come people...

paleo challenge. the first week.

Hi y'all! Thought I'd check in with the whole Paleo Challenge thing. Because I *know* you care. hehe

This Saturday will mark the half way point. Boy am I excited for that.
Half way there. Half way to go.

What's that? How's the first half gone?
Well, to sum it up in one word, it's gone Goooooood.
I emphasized the word with extra O's (in case you didn't pick up on that, captain obvious) because although it has had its ups and downs (expected) it has been relatively easy. A bit of a cake walk. Or cup cake walk. Or rather Paleo Cup Cake Walk. Yeah, that's what it's been.

Week One:
 Was easy. And I'm talking surprisingly easy. Being that we've been eating Paleo for a few months now, the only real transition was taking out all the Paleo baking, like the Paleo Pancakes, Paleo Donuts, Paleo Cake, etc. and cutting down on the starchy carbs like sweet potatoes and spaghetti squash.

Remember, this all started on Day 1, Saturday, October 20, 2012.
I made a plan, a meal plan, and committed myself to it. Success is in the prep work, this I KNOW. So, I prepped and cooked all day Sunday and was ready for the entire week. Easy peasy when you do it all in advance. My day's are a grab and go. Day by Day I did notice significant changes in my mood, and in my body. By Day 5 I was like a power horse. Come 3pm for my CrossFit class I was pumped. I was full of energy, positive and full of light. I had come to realize that the food I was eating was (drumroll) fuel for my mind and body. In the span of a few short days I totally and completely understood the saying...

Eat to Live, Not Live to Eat. -Socrates
((I couldn't believe this was a Socrates Quote. Holy spaceballs the guy was such a Smarty McSmart!!))

Previous to the challenge I had really been sweatin' the weekends.
There is a reason I tell people that I eat 100% Paleo 80% of the time. The weekends belong to Me!
No, I don't go drinking slurpees and popping donut holes into my mouth (I mean, I totally would if I could gain no weight and it wouldn't destroy my innards) but let's be honest here.
It's Football Season, people!
In my world, that is a Big Huge Deal. Sundays are guiltily not spent in church (although I'm working on that, promisecakes God) but instead on the couch or at my beloved B-Dubs from 10am to 7 or 8pm. Yeah... I told you, it's a Big Deal. Any way I'm all about drinkin' beer and eatin' wings while watching football. I know, I'm a dude that way.
But... the first Sunday, I was totally okay.
I watched football.
I drank my water.
I put my time in the kitchen (prep and cook).
I ate when I was supposed to.
I stayed up on laundry.
I even got the hubs to go out on a walk with me to get a little glisten while burning off all this extra energy.
I swear, I felt like I was on uppers! Oh wait, I was... we call them vegetables. hehe

I had make it through Week One.
I was stoked. I was invincible. I was a overdosing veggie-aholic and proud of it!

Bring on Week Two.


...to be continued...