Day One

I have done a bad bad thing. I am not sure how I ever thought this was a good idea. So here it is. I'm just gonna say it. Well, wait....Let me explain that I am totally and utterly freaked out about what I'm about to admit. Which is stupid because I did this on purpose but now that I'm about to admit something about myself and then I may run into you at the grocery store kinda makes me want to hurl. But whatever...self embarrassment is apparently entertaining.

Alright. Here goes. I'm really going to type it this time. Really. It's about to happen. Okay. I can do this...

I gained weight.

I weigh more today than I ever have without a person growing inside of me or on the downhill slope of that person having made his or her exit.

But here is the crazy part...I did this to myself on purpose because I'm crazy. And here is why. I am constantly hearing this, "What do you know about losing weight? You are just one of those naturally skinny people." And well that kinda sucks because before now it was true. And so stupid me decided this January that I was going to work hard at gaining weight until March and then experience what it is like to have to lose that weight before summer. Because here is the deal. I want to be able to really help people meet their health goals and a lot, actually most of the time, those goals are weight related. And I truly feel that in order for me to understand the struggle and frustration with weight loss I need to actually experience it for myself.

So let me tell you how I got here. Here, by the way is 13 pounds more than I am comfortable with, 18 more than my last year's summer weight. Which let me just say right now that I understand that my measly weight loss goal is not nearly what some people have to face and work toward losing but I just am not willing to go past this point for the sake of an experience and I completely admire and am inspired by those that have a much larger battle to fight yet still remain disciplined and focused. But you should know that psychologically I am struggling. Really struggling. Like I think about my weight A LOT! I can FEEL my clothes on me. It is not comfortable. I am barely squeezing into my jeans. Let me tell you, I work up a sweat inching those way too skinny jeans up and I'm not even going to describe the efforts I go to zip those babies.

But I digress...(okay that sounded dumb). Anyways, I have increased my calories per day to about 3500, lots of fat, we are talking sitting over a jar of coconut butter with a spoon and not caring about double dipping, and grass-fed butter on everything...EVERYTHING. (Which by the way, IS SOOOOO GOOD.) The plan was to stop this excessive caloric intake March 1. But then Levi and I decided to take a trip to see the Houston Rodeo (which was surprising cool despite the poo smell) and to see my baby sister who is 6 months pregnant with my little niece. So being the brilliant retard that I am I decided to throw caution and paleo to the wind and eat whatever my little straining heart desired.

Bad idea. Terrible idea. HUMONGO awful idea. It was fun at first. I had cream and sugar in my Starbucks coffee...which is the only way I can drink their coffee bc it tastes burnt without the sugar and lactose confusing my senses. I ate fried Oreos at the the Rodeo. Those were gross, but I still ate all four. Why did I do that? I had waffles for breakfast every day. Ummm lets see what else...onion rings, a hamburger, 6 different deserts and a gas station cappuccino (I know, classy).

And at first I was shocked because I didn't feel bad. I expected to be doubled over in pain that first night. But besides feeling gross I was fine. And that was the norm for the first two days. But then gross turned into a nagging headache which later grew into a monster headache that can only be slain with prescription meds that make my head feel hollow. (Insert joke here...totally set you up with that one.) But it wasn't just me. All of my sweet family

 were experiencing major tummy issues. And let me tell you, sharing a bathroom (one that is just two feet from your bed) when kiddos tummies are funky is NOT cool.

But back to present day. I am thrilled to be done with that. You know how if you eat a ton of sugar cookies with sprinkles and then get sick and throw up you don't ever want sugar cookies with sprinkles again? (This actually happened to me...cannot eat sugar cookies with sprinkles.) Well I kind feel that way about all nonpaleo food now. I have no desire for that yuck any more. Which is a good thing considering I need to get my butt in gear and start working on losing this weight.

I took my "before pics" today. I started keeping a food journal as well. And I'm working out twice a day. Doing paleo for weight loss is a bit more extreme than just sticking to meats, veggies, fruits, nuts and good fats. I'm not eating nuts at all. This includes nut butters and flours as well. I've increased my green veggies and decreased my starches such as sweet potatoes. OH HOW I AM GOING TO MISS SWEET POTATOES. I have eliminated all sugar. ALL SUGAR. And I'm focusing on leaner meats and not going so overboard on the protein amounts. I'm really focusing on a Zone block concept with sticking to two to three blocks of protein depending on my activity level. My goal is not to lose a certain amount of pounds but to look at my "after pic" and see a noticeable difference. It's not about hitting a particular number on the scale bc that little turkey is a liar! Or at least my conception of what my weight should be is incorrect. So it's all about the picture for me. I'm planning on ending this June 1. If I get brave I'll post both before and after pics and finally have my own weight loss story to tell.

Let me just say that hindsight is 20/20 and I would never encourage anyone to do this little experiment. This wasn't a healthy choice and diet has much larger ramifications than weight. BUT with that being said I am kinda stinkin excited to see how this weight loss thing goes. I'm one day in and gonna weigh and take progress pics every Thursday. I hope posting about it will force me to stay accountable. I know a lot of you are feeling the warmer weather and starting to think about leaning up for that vacation you just booked. So do this with me. Let's give up all the wonderful things about paleo and just be miserable together. :) NO? That doesn't sound fun to you? Well, me neither. But I guess that is kinda the point. A lot of people struggle with weight because saying no to yummy foods and yes to sweating is hard...But it will be totally worth it.

OKAY NOW LET'S TALK FOOD....

So I'm not eating this right now but it is quite the lovely treat and so easy to make.

Banana Ice Cream That Doesn't Overwhelm You With Banana Flavor (It's a serious title for a serious desert as you can obviously tell by the monster bowls we used. )

Ingredients:
1 1/2 bananas sliced and frozen
3 TBSP almond butter
2 tsp honey

Add all ingredients into a food processor or blender and process or blend until creamy and amazing. Transfer to a freezable container and let freeze a few hours. (Or just eat it out of the food processor like we did.)