Day 4-5-6

Good Morning, y'all!  This is Day 6.  I apologize for not being here on the night of day 4.  I was exhausted from the reintroduction of Paleo and Crossfit.  I forgot that jump starting your clean eating habit and working out can drain out your energy.  At first I thought I was getting too old!  But, I regained some of my energy yesterday (Day 5).  This morning, I'm getting more of energy back too but then I checked my Period Tracker app, oh I start in a week.  That kind of explains why I am dragging with exhaustion and sleepiness.  Hey, it's my blog, I can get as personal as I want.  This is the point of blogging, right?  Blog, blog, blog, blog and blog whatever comes off of my mind.   

Luckily, I stayed loyal to food logging in my food journal book.  That way, I can remember what I ate or drank to make blogs about it.

Anyway, on the night of Day 4, remember, I made pot roast for dinner?  It was a success.  It was so good.  See the picture below.  However the hour before I took it out, I had to check it to be sure it was tender or meat falling apart.  It wasn't quite as tender as I'd like it to be so I increased the temperature to 300 degrees for about 30-40 minutes.  Ta-Da!  It got tender enough for me to take the dutch oven out of the oven.  I let it rest for the next 20  minutes.  My husband couldn't wait to eat so it didn't rest as long as Id like and it tasted heavenly delicious.  

Pot Roast with onions, celery, and carrots. (Day 4 Dinner)

After dinner, I was still really craving for something sweet.  Regrettably, I had a fat ass bowl of fruit cereal.  I put a whole banana in the bowl along with 4 strawberries, quite handful of dried cranberries,  shredded coconut, and pecans.  More than 1/4 cup of chilled canned coconut milk cream, and cinnamon.  Boy, was I stuffed.  I so regretted it.  I couldn't burp.  I also drank water too soon after dinner and dessert.  I was miserable.  I wanted to kick myself.   I looked so pregnant.  ;-(  oh, hell yes, I also drank a cup of pure organic grapefruit juice.  Go figure!  What was I thinking?  too much fruits + too much sugar= weight gain.

The next morning on  Day 5, I gained 1 lb.  Back to #154.  Well, shit, I wanted to kick myself for overindulging on dessert portion.  Then I checked my food journal book for Day 4, I realized I ate too many fruits servings.  And nuts too.  According to an article I read somewhere, that if you eat too many fruit servings, you will either gain weight or stuck at the same weight.  So, I had to watch my fruit intakes.  1-2 servings a day is suffice.  Let me find a link for you! http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/nutrition/healthy-eating/eating-too-much-fruit-is-this-ever-a-problem.html#b

and 

http://www.caloriesecrets.net/can-eating-too-much-fruit-make-you-fat/

So, I made a plan to omit fruits but to one serving and a handful of nuts only for Day 5 and so forth.  Here goes...

Breakfast, I had cappuccino (coconut oil, unsweetened vanilla almond milk frothed and cinnamon) and a Muscle Pharm Combat protein smoothie (I know it is not a dairy free, but I needed the protein and I wasn't too hungry for eggs or wasn't in the mood to chew food because of my stupid over indulgent the night before and besides I was feeling sore from crossfit).  What was in my MP smoothie: MP Combat protein, spinach (handful), few ices, unsweetened vanilla almond milk- less than a cup, water (until the liquid reached to 1 cup in my Blendtec blender) and 2 tbs of Chia seeds, just because.  It was yummy and fulfilling until lunch at noon.  Picture of my lunch below.

More information on MP (muscle pharm) http://musclepharm.com  We purchased their products via Vitamin Shoppe.  Good prices, or you can order them via Amazon if you can find cheaper prices on these.  

http://www.vitaminshoppe.com/store/en/vitamins_minerals/index.jsp?sourceType=ps&source=go&adGroup=Brand_Term_Only&keyword=vitamin_shoppe&cm_mmc=Google+Adwords-_-Brand_US_Vitamin_Shoppe-_-Brand_Term_Only-_-vitamin+shoppe&gclid=CJa--YPPhbwCFcTm7Aodk3sATg&gclsrc=aw.ds

Or

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=muscle+pharm

Day 5 Lunch.  Leftover chicken thigh and simple salad (romaine, avocado, carrot matchsticks, LVOO, and lemon juice)  Never go hungry or empty stomach when you need to step out of the house to run errands, therefore you ll binge on crap food away from home.

Day 5, got enough energy back to dress up nicely to run errands with my hubby.

After my husband and I finished with our errands in Austin, we picked up some BBQ because our kids wanted some.   The BBQ's were very good!  We had lean briskets and fresh broccoli salad that had carrots and onions in it and some vinaigrette.  And I had one small clementine orange the following. That was my first and last fruit of the day.

Oh, not to mention I chugged down a gallon of water a day, I visit bathrooms frequently.  This at Poke Jo's BBQ place, their pubic women's bathroom, this I love!

Oh, between our errands, we got hungry 2.5 hours after our lunch, so we ate some mixed nuts (purchased from Costco).  We felt satiated.  

3 hours after dinner, we had MP combat protein drink before bedtime.  Instead of fruits. 

Now, Day 6 (my weight remained the same, #154- I guess from water retention, I am nearing to menstrual cycle due date or my muscle has grew.  My husband has mentioned that he is noticing my jawline more now and that my top waist is slimming down.  I still have that bulging belly.  So that probably explains from water retention and over indulgent on fruit servings the past few days).  I'm trying not to disappoint myself and I aim to continue my clean eating program anyway.  I remember 3 years ago, my weight loss did not start to drop until around week 2-3.  Also, it took months for you to gain weight, therefore; it'll take a while to lose all those gained weight.  Agreed?  Miracles don't happen overnight but wishful thinking, right?!

Breakfast: my husband made breakfast for us.  Such a sweetheart isn't he?!  We had scrambled eggs with sausage, kale, and an avocado (a big slice).  

AND NO I DID NOT HAVE MY CAPPUCCINO THIS MORNING!  I took fat burning powder instead which equivalents to 3 cups of coffee.  So, laid off Cappy this morning.  BPI Stim-Elite is what we took upon our awake on an empty stomach.  We'll see in a few weeks for the results.   This BPI Stim-Lite contains green coffee bean concentrated extract.  Let me get a link for you.

http://bpisports.net/products/stim_elite

I'll be back for Day 6 Crossfit/Lunch/Dinner blogs.  Have a great day, y'all! Oh, and happy Friday too!  TGIF!

Meli Emmons

Day 4 Breakfast/Lunch/Crossfit

I can't believe I'm on day 4 already.  So far so good except I'm feeling a little bit tired today which means I need to up my protein and fats intakes since I'm back into working out. 

As usual I had my regular cappuccino (verismo espresso pod, coconut oil, frothed unsweetened vanilla milk, and nutmeg). 

After I got back from carpooling my kids to school, I made breakfast of an omelette and 20 oz of water.  Then I had a cup of green tea the following. 

Breakfast were of 2 eggs, breakfast sausage, asparagus, spinach, and avocado.

Right after breakfast, I cleaned up the mess then I forgot I had to prep for dinner--crap more clean ups!  So, I started to prep pot roast for dinner because it takes all day to slow cook it.  You want it so tender and so rich in flavors.  Believe me, it's the best. 

Eye round roast, celery and including its stalks of heart, onions, and carrots.  Just sea salt and black pepper.  I'm simple with seasonings, usually. I don't like overpowering my recipes with too many ingredients. I like to add as few ingredients as possible to my recipes including seasonings. I personally think that celery and its heart really give it a kick in flavors.  

Eye round roast, celery, carrots, onion, sea salt, and black pepper

Chopped up vegetables including celery stalks of heart

In a large mixing bowl, season your meat with sea salt and black pepper, coat well.  Oh, I see my reflection on the bowl.  

Then transfer your meat into a large frying pan on high heat.  Brown each side of the meat (cook each side for about 1-2 minutes or until browned- no oil no butter).

Then transfer your browned meat with fat facing up into the pot atop vegetables. Add about 5 cups of water.  Cover and bake at the bottom rack in your oven at 225 degrees all day long (about 7-8 hours) When it is almost time for dinner, like 30  minutes - 1 hour before, check the pot to see if the meat is tender enough (meat falls apart easily). If it does that, take it out and let let it rest for 30 minutes, with the top covered.   If it does not,  then continue on cooking it for another 30 minutes to 1 hour at 300 degrees (keep checking). 

After I prepped the dinner meal,  I rested my feet for a little bit before I changed into my workout gear. 

I didn't do my coach's WOD. I wasn't ready for double unders and power snatch yet. Jealous again but ,I of course, had to get creative with my own workouts. 

3 sets of 10 reps strict press using bar #65-cute, I know but not easy when wearing the surgical boot-gotta retain my balance.

3 sets of 10 reps bent over rows using bar #65

21-15-9 Dumbell curls #20 and #25

21-15-9 Dumbell triceps #30 and #35

3 sets of 8 reps lateral rises #10

WOD 

Nonstop 4 rounds of  bar #85 10 deadlifts and 10 ring rows  (My PR ((personal record)) in deadlift was #275 but I had to watch out for my post-OP feet so I had to go easy and light on weights.  Just for a couple more months. I will increase weights gradually as I go). Again, remember, I was out of crossfit for 2 months after my first surgery and then 2 weeks after my 2nd surgery.  My patience will pay off. First I have to focus on my eating habit and slowly reintroduce myself back into getting fit again.  

As for lunch, I was too tired to fix the meal as a matter of fact. But thank god for leftovers.  I had a beef sausage (like brats) salad. Romaine, carrot matchsticks, orange bell peppers, sauerkraut, avocado, lemon juice, and LVOO (light virgin olive oil).  Cup of peppermint tea to aid in digestion.  Night shades give me gases or indigestion sometimes (bell peppers, jalapenos, tomatoes, and chili peppers for example). 

I'm going to retire right now until the next blog on dinner and snack or dessert.  Like I said earlier, I'm feeling a little bit tired so I think I'll get my power nap. 

Did you eat clean and workout today?  I sure hope so!

Have a great afternoon, y'all!

Meli Emmons

Day 3 Snack and Dinner

Cant believe its almost the end of day 3!  Almost half way to 7 days.  Now, that's not too bad?  My headache has subsided today. It's probably from detoxing.  

Later this afternoon, the soreness of my muscle from yesterday's workout has begun to grow. Now I'm really starting to feel them more and more by the hour.  I'm going to down a cup of unsweetened almond milk and L-Glutamine powder before bedtime.  Hurts so good!

As for snack 2 hours after lunch, I had a fruit bowl which were of 3 strawberries, half a banana, few walnuts, some shredded coconuts, 1/4 cup of chilled canned coconut milk cream and cinnamon.  So delicious!  

Snack or Dessert.  Fruit bowl or Fruit Cereal.

 I also had sparkling coconut water with my snack. I recommend you to try those!  They have variety of flavors.

Can be found at your local food stores

http://www.lacroixwater.com/product/varieties/coconut/

After lunch, I had to prep for dinner meal- slow cooked Herb De Provence chicken thighs in which I often make them. So easy and cheap and delicious!

It takes approximately 3 hours to slow cook.  You can never go wrong with Le Creuset Dutch Oven but if you don't have those, any kind of Dutch oven will work. Or use a slow cooker. 

http://www.target.com/s?searchTerm=dutch+oven&category=0%7CAll%7Cmatchallpartial%7Call+categories&lnk=snav_sbox_dutch+oven

Coat chicken thighs well (with skin on) with a handful of Herb De Provence, sea salt, and black pepper. That's it. Yes, I told you it's so easy and cheap. Plus it's delicious too!  Then place them in Dutch oven evenly with skin facing up.  Cover and bake at 285 degrees for 3 hours.  Then increase the temp to 350 degrees and take the top off and bake again for another 20 minutes or until skin are golden and crisp.  They are fingerlicking delicious!  

Herb De Provence (can be found at your local health food store in the bulk area or you can find a bottle or order online. But buying in a bulk is way a lot cheaper)

Place chicken thighs with skin face up evenly in your dutch oven.

Don't they look scrumptiously delicious!!!   I swear they are to die for!  

Then we had pan-fried asparagus with coconut oil, sea salt, black pepper, and freshly squeezed lime juice.  

I know... paper plates, what was I thinking!  Just don't start with me on this one.  I often get picked on about this. ha ha.

I boiled some potatoes and peas for both my kids. They never liked like asparagus.  I didn't like them either when I was their age so I'm not worried about that now. 

Multitasking

2 hours later after dinner, I had a few macadamia nuts and some herbal tea.  I'm pretty much satiated right now until tomorrow morning.

I look forward to working out at crossfit box tomorrow.  

I hope you started eating clean. I would love to hear your stories. Share with me by leaving comments below.  Those recipes I have posted since day 1 are all made up on my own. My own creativity.  So I hope you enjoy them.  You can always modify those recipes I shared with you.  Some people have different taste or ideas.  

I'll be back for day 4 blogs 

Good night y'all. 

Sweet dreams!

Meli Emmons 

Day 3 Breakfast and Lunch Rest Day

Good Afternoon, y'all.  I'm back here to make a blog.  I wanted to wait until after lunch to make a blog on what I ate or did.  First thing I woke up, of course, I made my own regular cappuccino. Again, they were of coconut oil, unsweetened vanilla almond milk, frothed.  Brewed me some Starbucks Verona using Starbucks Verismo.   If you are curious about Starbucks Verismo, check out their website. http://www.starbucksstore.com/on/demandware.store/Sites-Starbucks-Site/default/Search-Show?cgid=verismo-machines&cm_mmc=Google-_-Brand+-+Verismo+Machines+(Exact)-_-Verismo+General-_-starbucks+verismo&mkwid=sXbSbNWDw&crid=36156097057&mp_kw=starbucks%20verismo&mp_mt=e&pdv=c&gclid=CPuk1-Wq_rsCFShk7Aod0V8A4A

And if you are curious about  the frother machine, I use Nespresso frother machine.  Great stuff. Got it from Williams Sonoma. There are other good frother machines too such as Krups and Starbucks, etc...  Here's the link on frother machine by Nespresso http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/2517183/?catalogId=7&bnrid=3120901&cm_ven=Google_PLA&cm_cat=Electrics&cm_pla=Espresso_Makers&cm_ite=Nespresso_Aeroccino_Plus_%7C_Williams-Sonoma&srccode=cii_17588969&cpncode=27-270839586-2

I'm down to 1 lb.  #153.  I remember now that you usually lose the first 5 lbs of water. (water retention.)  Which is very normal.  I think after that, you will lose body fat gradually and probably slowly or quickly.  Depends on your metabolism.  Or your workouts.  We will just have to wait and see how that goes next week.

Today, no workout.  Rest Day.  Do laundry, make up bed, clean bathrooms, vacuum the floor, make love to my husband.  Prepare dinner meal, make plenty so we can have some leftovers.  Leftovers are great!  Saves time and bucks!  Best of all is less clean ups!  Right?  The typical housewife duty :-)

My regular morning cappuccino.  

 For breakfast, my husband made breakfast for us.  Sweet!  I  had 2 eggs, scrambled and 2 small breakfast sausage patties.  That was it.  Yep, simple and quick meal.  So easy to make.  Again, great protein source.  2 hours later, I had a small clementine orange and a cup of hot green tea.  Plus lots of water too before, during, and after breakfast.  Keep hydrating throughout the day, everyday.

As for lunch, I warmed up leftover Irish meal, cabbage, onions, and corned beef.

I rest my feet when I sit down to eat my meal. 

 I made Warm Kale Salad, cayenne pepper (1/4 tsp), sea salt (1/8 tsp--  I put too much of salt in it... yikes!!  Go easy on salt next time, Meli!) some dried cranberries (2 TBS), some pecans (2 TBS), and EVOO (1 TBS) (extra virgin olive oil).  That was it.  Just a little bit of each ingredient into kale.  Place them into oven casserole dish and cover.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 8 minutes.  Just to get them warm not wilted.  

They would have been so delicious if I didn't put too much salt in it!  Damn it.  1/8 tsp next time.  

For snack, I haven't decided yet.  Too soon to think of something.  I will post on what we have for snack on my dinner blog later.  

Have a good afternoon y'all!

See you again on my next blog.

Meli Emmons

Day 2 Dinner.

Hello my dear friends again. 

 I'm glad day 2 is almost ending. Looking forward to day 3. 

The end of my day 2 meal: Dinner.  Oh wait.  Actually dessert was my last meal after dinner.  

I had beef patty with mustard, avocado, and sauerkraut. And Not Really Greek side salad. 

Then for dessert I had fruit cereal which were of 4 small fresh strawberries, half of a banana, few dried cranberries, few slivered almonds, some coconut milk cream (chilled can of coconut milk) and cinnamon.  

They were scrumptious!  I'm talking about the dessert!   Dinner was good too.  I'm a woman, most of us have sweet tooth. I'm a big sweet tooth. Unforgivable! 

I've been feeling so tired after I took my shower after lunch.  I realized I'm going through "carb flu". This will pass in a few days or so.  Symptoms were of having headaches, feeling fatigue, and physically tired or foggy brain. That being from working out extra hard at crossfit and going through paleo challenge too. I remember I felt this way when I first went paleo 2 years ago.  It's a good sign that my body is getting rid of ASD crap. I've befriended my toilet today. Drinking a lot of water sure sends me many trips to the bathroom.  

According to my picture below this is how I kicked back on the couch eating my dessert and watching Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. One of my favorite drama reality shows.  At least I'm not in it. 

My feet are looking much better. Especially my recent left foot surgery which was done nearly 3 weeks ago.  At end of day, they do get tired, swelling, and sensitive.  Feet off the floor and elevate!

Good night, y'all.  See you on my day 3 blog!  

Sweet dreams

Meli Emmons 

Day 1 Dinner

Turnip, homegrown by Coach Brandon's father.

Dinner time.

Damn it. My family gets to eat mashed potatoes.  Don't worry, there's a substitute for that!  Mashed turnips. (Thanks to my crossfit coach, Brandon whose dad grew turnips in his garden, gave me some turnips).

Peel and cut turnips into cubes. Boil them in the water until firm.  Drain the water. Mash it with 1 tbs of coconut oil and some sea salt and pepper!

Anyways, i had mashed turnips, homemade chicken wings, leftover roasted beets and asparagus, and not really Greek salad for dinner.

Mashed Turnip

For chicken wings, place wings in a large bowl. (OH WAIT, preheat the oven at 325 degrees) Season the wings with 3 tbs of oregano, enough of sea salt and black pepper to your taste.  Coat well.  Place seasoned wings to the baking sheet.  Bake for 1 hour then increase the temperature to 350 degrees and bake for another 10-14 minutes until crisp. 

Dried Oregano Chicken Wings

As for Not Really Greek salad. Peel cucumber and cut them into bite sizes. (2 cucumbers) 1 cup of shredded carrots or more. 1/4 cup of sliced Greek olives, 1 tbs of oregano, 3 tsp of apple cider vinegar, 2 tbs of evoo (extra virgin olive oil), &  season with sea salt and black pepper

Doesn't that look scrumptious!

Ingredients you need to make Not Really Greek Salad

Roasted beets and asparagus- some another time I will post the recipe since it was leftovers. I cant remember what I put in it.   

As for dessert, I probably will have half an apple, diced and  1/2 cup of frozen berries (thawed) into a bowl with 1/4 cup of chilled canned coconut milk which I will add 3-5 drops of stevia into coconut milk.  Sprinkle some pecans and shredded coconut and cinnamon.  I call that fruit bowl or fruit cereal.

Dinner plate.  I actually did not eat the leftover roasted beets and asparagus because I got full. 

Sweet dreams!

Meli Emmons.

Meli's Day 1 of 30 Day Paleo Challenge. It's not a diet. It's a lifestyle clean eating.

Welcome to my CrossPaleo-According-to-Meli blog!  This is my first blog, so bear with me here.  I am still learning here. 

This is me as of now.  January 2014 at #155 First day back to Crossfit after 2 weeks post surgery.

 I have decided to do 30 Day Paleo Challenge, again!  Yes, again!  Pathetic, right?  But, you'll see why.  Since my first foot surgery nearly 3 months ago (October 19th, 2013- on my mother's Birthday) and 2nd foot surgery nearly 3 weeks ago (December 20th 2013- on Kristin Granitz's Birthday!) I have gained weight, about 10-12 lbs.  Eeeek!  I wasn't able to crossfit at all for the first 2 months after my first foot surgery and 2 weeks after 2nd foot surgery (Right and left feet to be precise) My muscle started to deflate a bit by bit therefore my body fat started to increase.  Oh!  My boobs started to balloon again! So Dislike!  But I accepted that.  I had to get my problems fixed.  My feet were getting worse and painful.  I didn't want to do piss poor on crossfit in the future, so had to fix my cursed feet.  Not only that, I wanted pretty feet wearing flip flops and oh God, those sexy high heels that Ive been so jealous looking at my girlfriends' pretty feet wearing high heels and able to tolerate them.  Not me, I groan, curse, complain, and complain of my feet pains.  Damn those bunions (ugly mofo looking aliens!) and flat feet.  Flat feet, believe me, I never thought that they could fix flat feet!  Flat feet cause knee, hips, lower back, and neck injuries or pain.  That explains why I keep getting pains in my knees and lower back too!  Not frigging kidding here!  Anyway, this is off the point here, I had to state reasons here why I gained weight and not crossfit for a while since some of you probably know I've been hardcore with paleo and crossfit.  During my recovery time, my mom cooked for us.  Oh boy, were they so not Paleo at all!  Once I tasted those, oh boy, how am I gonna get out of this cursed ASD! (American Standard Diet).  We keep falling off the wagon off and on since my first foot surgery.  Enough of that, right?  Let's start the 30 Day Paleo Challenge right now!!  Who wants to join me on this one???  You can do it!

Me as of Now #155 at Crossfit Strive Bastrop January 2014

My first Right Foot Surgery in October 2013.  2nd Left Foot Surgery December 2013 (picture not shown)

What??  What the heck is that- Paleo?  Patience, my dear friends.  They help you get rid of bad cravings and bad habits of ASD such as grains, dairy, sugar, and processed food.  Here's the link on more information about Paleo. http://robbwolf.com/what-is-the-paleo-diet/ and http://www.paleoplan.com/resources/paleo-plan-food-guide/   They are great resources.  I do not call Paleo "Diet".  They are "clean" eating or " healthy lifestyle" eating which is how I think of these this way.    It helps you not to stress yourself over "Oh I have to be on a diet, Oh I need to lose weight!"  No, not this way.  I think this way myself "I am sick of getting tired, fatigued, and weak"  "I hate getting acne"  "I hate seeing Doctors all the time to get pills to fix unnecessarily problems" "I hate farting all the time."  "I hate not being able to  poop regularly and I hate being bloated all the time"  That.   That!  Think this way.  Change your lifestyle for the health not diet.  Sure, you can lose weight on this.  Sure, you will gain lean muscle.  Sure, you will feel SUPER!!!  Sure, you will feel energized.  Sure, you will be in a better mood.  Sure, you will poop regularly.  Sure, you will fart a lot less and odorless.  Sure, you will feel a whole lot better eating clean.  Trust me!  For the past nearly 2 years, Ive been eating Paleo, I have felt super great until during my recovery time,  my husband and I fell off the wagon, we have not been feeling so great.  We keep on craving for more and more of ASD shit!   Seriously, my acne have returned.  No way!!!  No way am I getting acne back.  Back to Paleo again.  But to begin eating Paleo again, you need to get rid of sugar, grains, dairy, and legumes.  This is the way your body comprehend that it no longer needs these crap in your body.  Therefore, you will be able to make good habits naturally once you complete 30 Day Paleo Challenge.  You will naturally learn not to consume ASD.  You will naturally eat clean. 

Good habits!  Right?  Ready!?  Let's go!   

Rules of 30 Day Paleo Challenge:

No Sugar (that's right, no chocolate) No Grains. No Alcohol (oh come on, stop whining.  You'll live). No Starches (potatoes, rice, etc...) No Legumes.

No Cheating at all.   Only for 30 days.  I will blog again on how to maintain your lifestyle continuing Paleo after you complete 30 Day Challenge.  

What you can eat:

Meat, Vegetables (fresh or frozen), Fruits (fresh or frozen in moderate), Fats (in moderate- EVOO, coconut oil, nut oil, nuts but not peanuts)  Meat, buy organic or natural.  No added seasons made by store.  Season them yourself! Seriously, go clean!

What you can drink:

Water (2 liters a day-- oh come on befriend your toilet), coffee, and teas (go easy with caffeinated drinks a day) 

What you CANT have:

sodas, alcohol, fruit juice, potatoes (except sweet potatoes if you are training or exercising) rice, honey, maple syrup, coconut sap or sugar, etc...

"Before" weigh ins and photos must be taken on the first day of 30 day. 

"After" weigh ins and photos must be taken on the last day of 30 day challenge.  If you like, you can take "After" photos and weigh ins on the 15th day of 30 day challenge.  

Sample of First Day of Meal

Day 1:

Breakfast- 2 eggs, scrambled. 2-3 bacon strips.  Half of an avocado.  

Snack- an apple with 1-2 TBS of almond butter (no sugar)-make your own nut butter. Or softened coconut oil sprinkled with cinnamon.  Or a cup of blueberries with 1/4 cup or less of chilled canned coconut milk or unsweetened almond milk if you cannot have coconut oil.  Some people are allergic to coconuts.    Or sliced banana with unsweetened vanilla almond milk.  Pick one of these.  You get an idea.  Don't over consume.

Lunch: homemade chicken wings.  (buy spices from bulk at Whole Food Market or Central Market or your local natural food store)  I use Herb De Provence or New Mexico Chili powder or Oregano.  I season chicken wings or any kind of chicken with sea salt, black pepper, and oregano.  Make sure they are well covered with seasonings.  Bake them at 350 degrees for 45 minutes-1 hour or until they are crisp.  A side salad with homemade salad dressing such as lemon juice and EVOO or LVOO (extra virgin olive oil or light virgin olive oil) or any veggies of your presence

Dinner: leftovers from lunch if any.  If not, Salmon or any fish, steamed or broiled or baked with seasonings of your own.  Asparagus, or wilted spinach or roasted veggies, etc..

Drink Herbal Teas or Water throughout the day. They will help your body rid of these toxins/fats.  

For pre-workout meals:

An apple or 2 scrambled eggs, or a tablespoon of each almond butter/coconut oil.  Or half a banana with little bit of almond butter.  Don't eat too much.  Eat 30-45 minutes prior to workout.  Or you can have trail nut mix (no chocolates no candied or sweetened dried fruits.) 

Post workout meal: L-Glutamine and unsweetened almond milk (within 30 minutes post workout) and eat protein/carb/fats meal immediately following.  (see carbs? I don't mean rice, potatoes, bread, etc..  I mean vegetables or sweet potatoes)

DO NOT EAT AFTER 7 PM.  But if you are ravishingly hungry after 7 PM, go ahead and have an apple or drink herbal tea.  Apples help burn fat.

KEY: Do not over consume your meals.  Eat in moderate portion.  Eat like a child would eat but eat big on meat and veggies.  Eat small on Fats and Fruits. Drink BIG on water!

TODAY IS MY FIRST DAY OF 30 DAY PALEO CHALLENGE, I weighed myself at #155.  3 weeks ago I was at #159.  Yikes!  Still stuck on #155 since then.  That is when I have decided to do 30 Day Paleo Challenge to get rid of dairy because my acne has returned and  sugar and grains (oats, rice and potatoes- SOB!!!)  

I had coffee with  3 tbs unsweetened vanilla almond milk (foam) and coconut oil (2 tbs).  2 eggs, scrambled with 1 1/2 bacon strips and half an avocado.  Water.  Lunch is next, I need to go and make chicken wings!  

Join me!  You can start tomorrow!    

Ohhhhhh, the most important thing is, log in your weight and meals in the journal book.  I write mine in the journal book.  It does help!  Also, you will need to log in your meals on my blog.  It will help us motivate each other.  And to help you to stick with your challenge together too!

I'll be back for more blogs!   

Meli Emmons

Overhead Squat at #105 February 2013

Me in December 2013.  Gained weight since first foot surgery.  See my frigging tummy bulging out!!  From #145 to  #159 Dislike!

Me in February 2012-2013 From #170 to #145  Now you see why I am doing whole 30 day challenge again!