30 days of paleo. No sugar. No grains. No beans. No alcohol. No dairy. No kidding.
The weekend before the start of the challenge I had brunch with my book club girls. I ate so much! Saying goodbye to all those sweets. The next day my sister and I ran the Hot Chocolate 15K. Finishers received a mug of hot chocolate with a large marshmallow, dipping Ghirardelli chocolate, a banana, pretzels, rice krispie treat, and cookies. It was so good!! It was a good way to splurge before starting the challenge. :-)
Week one was a lot of trying to figure out what to eat. I spent a lot of time prepping my meals for the week and dinners and worrying about the weekend. I boiled lots of eggs to have for breakfasts, bought fruit and salad fixins. It was tough. I don't usually think that much about what I eat. I'm learning that is part of my problem. We also were required to keep a food log. Our coaches gave us tips and feedback throughout the week. It wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be in that first week. I was anticipating being starving which I wasn't. I quickly learned that I really wasn't eating enough especially at breakfast.
Week two was a lot more difficult. The meals were not difficult. I like all of the foods I am allowed to eat. I was getting used to the prep involved. But, my energy levels were very low. My workouts were suffering too. I felt like I was running out of gas during the WODs. And I felt like I wasn't recovering as quickly as I should. I started feeling angry and tired. It wasn't so much fun in week two.
Week three there seemed to be a turning point. I'm not sure why. I was still doing all the same things, eating nearly the same things. But, it seemed I suddenly had more energy. And it also seemed that my workouts were improving. And, I started to notice some changes in my body too. I hadn't been on the scale at all. I'd told myself not to weigh myself during the challenge. We were weighed at the start and would be weighed again at the end. I just wanted to focus on the food. So, maybe my body was finally catching up to and enjoying the nutrition I was giving it. Whatever the reason, I really started to feel good about being in the middle of this food challenge.
I'm now in the last 7 days of the food challenge. I am feeling really strong. I will definitely be glad when this is over and I can relax about being caught "cheating". There's $100 at stake and that pressure is a little intense. All in all, I am very glad I am meeting this challenge. One more weekend to get through.
Monday I get retested - weighed, photographed ("after" photos), and dunk tank body fat test. My goal weight was 127 (losing 9lbs of body fat). My body fat percentage was 31%. The challenge officially ends at midnight on Tuesday.
