Paleo Update

Happy Sunday everyone!
I'm writing from the car on our way back from Chicago! We had a fantastic trip and I will be sure to fill you in on all the race details and share photos! For now I just wanted to jot down some of my feelings about the Paleo diet I started at the end of June. I have nothing but positive thoughts on that diet and although it might not be easy for some I foud it pretty user friendly ;) I of course had my cheat days because I had 3 vacations planned for July but for the most part I feel that I have changed my diet for the better!
Since the first month is over I wanted to tailor the diet to my lifestyle a little more so that I can stay on track and be successful.
Here are a few things I will do
1 // still enjoy my lattes with skim milk but try to only have one a week
2 // have either one bowl of cereal (with almond milk) or one piece of 100% whole wheat toast a day
3 // allow 2 days a week where I can have sweets. I of course won't eat these in excess on those days but deriving myself of chocolate is just not a good idea for me or other around me (enter one grumpy Lauren)
4 // small portion of pasta one day a week. I can honestly say I did not have pasta the entire time I did my 30 days of paleo. And even though I missed it sometimes I could have a sweet potato instead to try and curve my cravings. The night before starting my diet I had a large helping of Sgt. Peffers that really hit the spot!!
I gained a lot of help from my friend Trisha (her boyfriend is a personal trainer) for the paleo diet. I found myself texting and emailing her questions about foods that I could and couldn't have. 

My digestive system felt great and I enjoyed having more energy than I did when I tried the low-carb diet. If you have any questions or tips about the paleo diet feel free to comment! 

Curing #NOtivation { Link Up } and Paleo Update

Hi Again everyone! There is just too many good link ups today! I'm linking up with Mal @ Mal Smiles to help cure NOtivation! Her blog is a fitness one I love to follow and she got this idea for a fitness survey from another one of my favorite blogs PB Fingers. I follow both of these ladies on Instagram and they help me stay motivated to be my best healthy self! Before I get to the survey, I wanted to update you guys on how the paleo/Whole30 trial is going. I actually really like it. I love that I can eat fruit and haven't really missed bread or pasta too much. However vacation with my family was hard. Thankfully we like our steak :) and when we went out to eat I was always able to stay on track by having a grilled chicken salad or hamburger with no bun. The hard part was desert! I don't know what it is but when I'm around my mom (that might be a lame excuse for indulging) I want chocolate, pie or anything sweet and yummy! Whether it was s'mores, apple pie on the 4th of July, or DQ ice cream...I was having desert every day! Whoops! But hey I was on vacation right?!?! But I am back to being strict about no processed foods and sticking with meat, veggies & fruit! 

#NOtivation Fabulous Fitness Survey

1. What did you eat for breakfast?
I had some lightly salted almonds and a banana
2. How much water do you drink a day? 
I try to drink 1.5 liters or so. I never really keep track but I try to have a glass of water every hour.
3. What is your current favorite workout?
Well right now I am training for a 5K and 10K coming up so running has been my go to. But I love Zumba and also enjoy Turbo Kick classes

Mud Run!

4. How many calories do you eat a day?
Every since I started the Paleo thing I haven't really kept track. But I would say usually it is around 1500 calories.
5. What are your favorite healthy snacks?
I like apples with peanut butter or baby carrots
6. What do you usually eat for lunch?
Usually a salad or chicken breast
7. What is your favorite body part to strength train?
Probably my legs with squats or lunges
8. What is your least favorite body part to strength train?
Probably my abs because it is so hard to see results
9. What are your “bad” food cravings?
Ice cream, brownies, cookies...you name it
10. Do you take vitamins or supplements?
Yes, I take a prenatal vitamin every day
11. How often do you eat out?
Probably once a week. On vacation it was every day but we can't keep up that lifestyle. I love eating out because preparing meals takes so much time and it is hard with just 2 people in the house.
12. Do you eat fast food?
When I'm at work I eat Subway a lot and occasionally I will go through McDonalds or Starbucks. Usually I go to McDonalds for breakfast after work but that is probably a couple times a month.
13. Who is your biggest supporter?
I would say Alex and my sister are my biggest supporters. Alex is a great motivator and I love talking with my sister about our workout goals.
14. Do you have a gym membership?
Yes ;) here you will see why my gym membership is so important! I am a member at 24 hour fitness. I bought 2 years in advance so it was cheaper and even though in the summer I don't go as often I try to get there for the zumba and turbo kick classes. I have a community of ladies there that take classes every week and I like going to see familiar people :)

Outside of the Gym where we met!

15. How many hours of sleep do you get a night?
Haha! This is such an odd question for me because I work the night shift! When I sleep when it is actually night time out I usually get 8 hours. But sometimes during the day I will be lucky if I get 6 hours. However when I am trying to switch back and forth between nights or days, I end up sleeping sometimes for 10-12 hours at a time. I know it is shocking and seems lazy of me but I am what I like to tell Alex, a Professional Sleeper!! I know the importance of getting some extra hours of sleep rather than working out and my body can tell me when I need to choose the pillow over the sneakers!
16. Do you have a “cheat” day?
Yeah sometimes. Or I will have "cheat" items like another slice of pizza or a few cookies. Usually my "cheat" days are centered around big events like weddings or graduation parties.

17. Do you drink alcohol?
Yes

Kendra's Bachelorette party!

.... but vary rarely. It has become less and less each year. I have a great husband that doesn't drink hardly at all either so we don't have to have adult beverages to have a good time.
18. Do you have a workout buddy?
I try to have Alex as a workout buddy but he doesn't like to run because it makes him "too skinny" (must be rough!) My favorite workout buddy is in Rochester, MN right now..My SEESTER!
19. What is the best thing that has changed about your life since committing to a healthy
lifestyle? 
I would have to say that I feel better, I don't eat a lot of crap so my body doesn't feel the effects of that food. And the weightloss or at least maintaining my weight is a plus too! And I have energy to do the things I enjoy like hiking or running.
20. What was the last healthy thing you did?
I ran 5 miles around Lake Zorinsky in Omaha. It was a great change of scenery from my usual run around my neighborhood and it was exciting not knowing what was around the next turn!

June Cara Box Exchange & Day 3 Paleo Up-Date!

I had my first experience with the Cara Box exchange this past month and it was great! The exchange is sponsored by Kaitlyn @ Wifessionals and is a wonderful month long event where bloggers and non bloggers can be joined up with a couple ladies to get to know and exchange $15 packages with. I had the pleasure of being matched up with Brooks @ Cotton & Boots and Desiree @ Macke Monologues.

These two ladies are energetic, busy women that found time to really get to know me through emails and my blog! The whole Cara Box experience was awesome and I'm just sad I missed the deadline to sign up for the July one!

Desiree is a wife and mom to a little boy named Marcus (also the name of my hometown..weird huh?!) and she was actually in Omaha and the surrounding area while we were communicating! You can check out her blog to see what I gave her :)

Brooks is a southern sweetie that is engaged and pup mom to two adorable dogs! She was spot on with her carnival package and we even sent a lot of similar items! I would laugh every time I would read her new blog posts and was blessed to be matched up with her for my first Cara Box experience.

 

 

Off to the Carnival we go....

 

 

 Kobe was excited to see what we got too and he even helped me open it!

 

 

 

Sweet card from Brooks that had a little story explaining each item in the package!

 

1 // Glow Sticks & Sparklers - Just in time for the 4th of July

2 // Pinwheels - I will use them for some crafty projects :)

3 // Sunblock (non-oily stuff that I can't bring myself to spending money on, so I was really excited about this item!)

4 // Animal Crackers - Classic and were devoured within 5 minutes of opening my Cara Box

5 // Firecracker Red nail polish - Love the color and will be painting my nails TODAY!

6 // Glade Lemonade Scented Candle - This sweet fragrance filled up the whole box and the candle is already in my kitchen to bring the smells of summer indoors! Brooks said she bought one to so we will have matching smelling houses ;)

 

What a great idea and wonderful experience. Connecting women through blogland and gifts!

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Paleo Update!

As I mentioned in a previous post, I am trying the Whole30/Paleo eating lifestyle. I have worked 12 hour shifts for the first days of going Paleo and I have learned that preparation is key so that I don't succumb to carbs and junkfood on those long nights at the hospital. Sunday I prepared hard boiled eggs and frozen fruit salads.

 

Strawberries, Bananas, Pineapple and a bit of OJ

 

Now if you are critiquing my Paleo ways you may notice OJ is not allowed. Well to really give these fruit salads a kick I had to add a little ;) The hard boiled eggs were a great end of the shift snack and the fruit helped quiet my sweet tooth! My main meals have consisted of salads with chicken sausage or chicken breast and cashews are yummy when you are still a little hungry. Plus I'm half tempted to just snag a foley catheter from the stock room because I have been gulping down water which leaves me heading to the bathroom about 4 or 5 times a shift.

So after 3 days I feel pretty good and have a decent amount of energy, but I will always miss chocolate!

Paleo Here we Go! & Tuesday Topics {Link Up}

 

Here I am at 3 am finally getting my second wind at work! The lovely Theresa made some fresh Folgers coffee so I'm ready for the remaining 4 hours of work!

Some of you may remember that I was doing a low carb diet. I heard about it from a co-worker and thought I would give it a shot. It did teach me some self control but I found myself tired a lot of the time and honestly really missed fruit! I have always been interested in "clean eating" and have heard a lot about the Paleo or Caveman diet. It honestly makes a lot of sense and I always wondered about the fat content when I was doing the low-carb diet and eating endless amounts of cheese.

2013 must be the year to try all different diet fads because I gave up chocolate during Lent, tried the low carb for about 6 weeks and no am on to the Paleo diet for 30 days (and if I like it and see some results then I will try to stick with it) But I guess this just means 2013 will be the year I find out what works for me :)

 

So here's the deal...I've done my research. And after stupidly questioning what "legumes" were (they are beans if you didn't know) I feel like I'm educated enough on this eating lifestyle and have prepped plenty of boiled eggs and frozen fruit but I think I will end up going back to the store in the morning for some almond flour, ground flax seed and almond butter. The biggest goal of this challenge is to do the Whole30 thing, which is 30 days with unprocessed foods. The first 5-7 days are the hardest but once you get over that hill and your body no longer "craves" junkfood then it gets much easier. Here is the website I am following. I love this paragraph on the site....

[[ It is not hard. Don’t you dare tell us this is hard. Quitting heroin is hard. Beating cancer is hard. Drinking your coffee black. Is. Not. Hard. You won’t get any coddling, and you won’t get any sympathy for your “struggles”. YOU HAVE NO EXCUSE not to complete the program as written. It’s only thirty days, and it’s for the most important health cause on earth – the only physical body you will ever have in this lifetime. ]]

And that is the mentality that I will have for these 30 days. I will think of my dear loves in Africa that do not have the luxury of "choosing" a diet plan that is right for them. I will think of the terminal cancer patients that I take care of that can't bear to keep down any type of food because the chemo is just so strong. If they can do it, I surely CAN!! So follow me as a drink my weight in water, eat more lettuce than Peter Cottontail and oh yeah..add yet another pinterest board entitled Paleo // Whole 30.

 

- Disclaimer - My Cheats -

1. Dash of milk in my coffee 2. Gum (the program states that gum confuses your brain and also has processed stuff) 3. Salad Dressing (I use the slightest bit on my salad and if I'm going to be consuming a ton of lettuce I'm going to need to spice it up a little) 4. Saltine crackers occasionally while I am at work...sometimes I feel like passing out if I can't sit down to eat and instead only have time for a 2 pack of crackers while I'm passing meds.

1 // I believe in a Thing called Love by The Darkness - One of my favorite songs to workout to and always reminds me of high school when I was obsessed with this song and would always request it at school dances. The middle of the song has a killer guitar solo which I would rock the air guitar during!

2 // Mambo #5 by Lou Bega - Senior dance finale song for my last recital! The costumes were great, I had a small solo part in it and the dance was tons of Latin fun! I still remember bits and pieces of the dance sequences

3 // Thriller by Michael Jackson - Halloween Halftime show in college where our dance team dressed up as zombies and perfected the exact choreography from the Thriller music video! The audience loved it and we always text each other whenever we hear the song because it brings backs so many great memories.

 

 

 

Zombies!!

 

4 // Streets Have No Name by U2 - Senior year of college Jazz routine where we got 2nd place at state and performed the routine at Nationals in Minneapolis. The choreography was amazing and intense. We cleaned this routine over and over and our hard work showed off!

 

5 // Give Me Your Eyes by Brandon Heath - This song always reminds me of my trip to Tanzania. The lyrics describe my trip and how I was able to see through God's eyes and witness a group of people that were hurting. I often think of this song and remember how God uses us for specific works we are set out to do.

Give me Your love for humanity
Give me Your arms for the broken-hearted
The ones that are far beyond my reach
Give me Your heart for the ones forgotten
Give me Your eyes so I can see