First Week on Paleo

Oh my, it's 36 degrees in Wisconsin in January!  Who knew January could produce above freezing temperatures.  I jumped at the opportunity and as soon as I got home from work this afternoon, I leashed up the pups and went for a walk.

With their little paws, walks during the winter are far between.  I think we've been averaging about one walk per month.  Much different than our 1-2 walks per day in the warmer temps.  It can be spring anytime now.

The first week of my weight loss challenges is already over!  As I mentioned earlier this week, I joined a Paleo Challenge at CrossFit and also joined the Chippewa Valley Challenge.  I've gotten many questions this week regarding what I can eat.  In short, here is what I cannot eat: dairy, grains, and legumes.  I am consuming meat, vegetables, fruit, nuts, seeds, and oils.

Surprisingly, it's going a lot better - and easier - than I thought it would.  I ate relatively clean before, so this is just kicking it up to 100%.  While realistically I would like to follow Paleo 80% of the time, for this challenge, and to lose weight, I want to follow it 100% for the 40 days.  I find that if I want to lose weight, I need to give it 100%.  If I want to maintain my weight, 80/20 is perfect.

For breakfasts, I've been having eggs and bacon with coffee.

Let's be honest... I wouldn't last a day if this diet excluded coffee

For lunches, I've been having leftovers from whatever dinner was the night before.  Very easy to pack up for work the next day!

For dinner, I've been keeping it the same, just without the grains.  Mainly meat, veggies, and maybe a white or sweet potato or squash!

Bacon-wrapped turkey meatballs with green beans and butternut squash... Best. Diet. Ever.

For snacks, I've been sticking to fruit.  While many people on Paleo do sugar detoxes and eliminate fruit for awhile, I have not.  I've been relying on it pretty heavily which is why I probably haven't gotten any headaches or big cravings.  I might try to cut back on it this next week and see how it goes.  I'll never eliminate fruit because I personally think that natural sugar/carbs from fruit is not a bad thing.

I have fallen in love with something new this week.  Dates.  Coconut Date Rolls.

Oh my gosh, these are GOOD!  They taste like an inside of a candy bar... or something ;)  These little babies have been my perfect little dessert after dinner.  I have one and it completely cures my sweet tooth and I'm good to go!

I've also fallen in love with Larabars, which is made mainly with dates.

I love the short and natural ingredient list and the fact that they are both gluten and dairy free!  They have awesome flavors like Carrot Cake and Banana Bread.  Mmm mmm.  These are perfect to grab if I'm on the go, but if I'm at home, I'll actually put something together for a snack.

Overall, I feel pretty good.  I'm surprised I haven't had any major bad cravings yet, but I'm sure they will come.  I've been feeling very satisfied throughout the day, which is a great feeling to have while you're following a "diet".  This week I plan to cut back a little on the fruit by only having it as little snacks rather than with meals AND as snacks.  I don't think I need all of the sugar, even if it is natural.

I'll also see how the week goes once I pick up my activity level.  This week, I was able to attend CrossFit twice, which felt awesome.

I learned how to do hand stand push ups this week and they were so much fun!  I can't wait to work on them again.  With still being new to CrossFit, I've been feeling very sore after the classes.  Therefore, I did not run once this last week.  Not even joking... It was pretty bad.  But in my defense, I went back to work and the high level of activity at work plus CrossFit plus the new diet was enough for me.  This next week, I plan to incorporate two to three days of running back into my schedule along with two nights of CrossFit (maybe three) and work.  We will see...

This week was also my first week with my new FitBit!

So far, I've learned that I'm a very restless sleeper... Dang dogs...

And that I'm VERY active while at work.  The last three days at work, I've reached over 10,000 steps in just my eight hour shift.

No wonder my feet and legs throb after a day at work!

It's definitely fun to see my activity level and it does inspire me to move more!  I love that I can see how many calories I have burned and I can track how much water I've been drinking throughout the day.

My favorite part is probably the sleep patterns, though.  I get very excited when I only have a couple of restless moments rather than 17 minutes of restlessness!  I've been thinking of ways I can get more quality sleep so I plan to use my FitBit to track my progress and see what works and what doesn't.

Questions (answer them in the comments below!):

What are your favorite healthy snacks?

How many days a week do you workout?

Do you think you're a restless sleeper?