Week two

Done! Well, minus the 40 min yoga stretch.

Monday:
Fire 45 --can't say this is really my favorite at all.  I struggled getting through it.  There's others I like better.
Burn Circuit 1 --no big thang! I pumped iron right along with them!

Tuesday:
HIIT 20 + stretch -- I NEEDED the stretch after this one! I was huffing and puffing all over! Love these HIITs!
Ab Burn -- all I have to say is ow.

Wednesday:
I exchanged Fire 45 for Fire 60, much better! I love that one the most I think.  Nothing was really dry at all afterward.
Burn Circuit 2 --not long after I finished this workout my arms turned to jello and my legs were on fire.  I call that a success.

Thursday:
HIIT 15 -- short, super intense.  I feel like I'm cheating on those but I know how effective they are
Burn it off -- this is real similar to a HIIT but a little longer and less crazy...good day for it and I really felt everything from the day before

Friday:
Fire 30 -- easy little workout to get my blood going
Burn Circuit 3 -- I only thought I was jello-y on Wednesday....

Saturday:
Okay, this isn't done yet but if I don't do it I'll not be able to walk.  Can't go wrong with 40 min of yoga and stretching.


TurboFire
Week 1:
Fire 45
HIIT 20
Fire 60
HIIT 15
Fire 30, Core & Stretch 40

Chalean Extreme
Burn Phase (month 1):  Burn Circuits 1, 2, & 3
Burn intervals
Ab Burner
Burn it off
Recharge

Food Babe's investigation article.

Two posts in one day!?! *checks for fever*


This came across my newsfeed on FB, and I just need to pass along the info.  This is precisely why we stopped shopping processed foods.  This is exactly why we CHOOSE to buy local, organic, pesticide-free.  This is why, after almost two months of straight REAL eating, anything else gives us stomach aches.  We aren't used to the toxins in "food".  Why are we allowing these toxins, banned in SO MANY countries, but not here?  Why do we have to allow it in our family? We don't. You shouldn't have to either.

Why people don't shop organic and local is beyond me.  It costs too much?  If you stop buying the processed foods, guess what? You have that money leftover for real food.  The cost of organic, the cost of local, the cost of grass-fed meat evens itself out.  I live on a shoestring budget, and we buy 90% organic, local, fresh foods each week.  Sure there's things that cost more, but in the long run, its going to help you.  In the long run, you won't be spending money on medical bills, prescriptions, or weight loss aides.  Shop the perimeter or the store.  Read labels.  Figure out "code names" they use to hide the junk.  Be smart.  Read this article.  Soak it in.  Take control of your food.  Don't throw in the towel and say, "well it's next to impossible to avoid all those things in our food, so why bother?".   If just one person changed their habits, and got excited about it and convinced one more person to do the same...what a nice health pandemic we would have on our hands.

Thank you, interwebs for being available for us to gain knowledge, and be smarter about ourselves.

Food companies exploit Americans with ingredients banned in other countries    By Vani Hari

Kimchi

I am sure, as most of the world has heard, probiotics are all the rage these days.  What with Jaime Lee Curtis promoting Activia like its the next Micheal Myers movie...don't get me wrong, I'd love to see her adorable grey head fight that jerk all over the big screen but, wait.  That's not what this blog is about! *slaps self* Probiotics!  For those who live under a rock or just don't ask google, I'll summarize:  Super healthy live bacteria that we would call "good bacteria" that helps balance out you gut.  

For a more specific answer:

Gotta hold myself accountable!

Day 1 done...whoa all over again. 

Well after almost a year of not working out (please hold while I punch myself in the face for admitting that....okay done!) for MANY reasons excuses, I have gotten back on the workout train and taken off.  What a dumb metaphor.   Anyway, I can sit here and give you a long list of reasons why I didn't work out...but I will summarize with a few key points which all boil down to laziness if I want to be honest with myself.  And, lets face it ... with this title, I better just be honest.  I started out the year with some injuries, one involved my falling down the stairs that stopped me from working out, and I just got it all up in my brain  that if I went a week or two and didn't stick to schedule, that I had ruined all my work and should start over...which was dumb.  Goose was gone for 7 months (minus the weekends) and I just.got.lazy.(not to mention would have rather had TV dinners instead of making something for just me...STUPID!)  My TV broke, my PC started wearing down and becoming unreliable, my fitbit broke, worked again, then broke. Then my hard drive failed completely, the one I had ALL my workouts backed up on, including old photos and music, etc.  Blah. Blah. Blah.  All excuses if I look at it truthfully.  Except for the hard drive, that just happened.  But it was a week of tears and sap until I realized intelligent me had backed up my photos and music elsewhere....just  the videos were gone.  I suppose the last excuse was I needed to get my eating right squared away and get through the 30 day paleo challenge first.  Done, now what? GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER BRI!

30 day challenge

We blew that one right out of the water!  We did our 30 day paleo eating challenge, and lemme tell you...it was so easy a caveman could do it!  *slaps knee*  Okay, maybe it was the transitioning period we had going into it, maybe it was that we were mostly on that mindset as it were.  I don't think there was a day where we were like "I want pizza" or "I need cheese!", it just kinda went seamless.

Day one, I went through all our sauces and spices, and condiments since it was the last thing in our kitchen to purge.  Anything that had fake flavor, msg, wheat (no matter how they tried to disguise it), rice, added colors or preservatives, or dairy went into a bag and into the basement.  We've since thrown it all out knowing we can live without it.  We instead use herbs from our garden, spices that were just that...spices, sea salt, pepper, evoo, coconut oil, pork fat, ACV, liquid aminos and white balsamic vinegar.  The flavor of the actual food is allowed to really shine without disguising it with "fake flavors".  We still to try to buy as much of our meat we could from the market, but sometimes just had to do with "store bought" and that is okay.  It's how we've been living for months already.  Nothing else really changed except we got smarter about looking for hiding items listed above and didn't buy those.  Oh, and no more rice, pasta, bread, potatoes, or beans.  No problem. *shrugs*

As for what we ate, I was amazed at some of the things we had.  Let's start with breakfast.  I mean how can you have a bad day when you start it off with a fat filet and a veggie omelet?  Or how about "paleo breakfast burritos" for a nice change?  Maybe you want something totally different like cereal?  Well, how about "paleo granola"?  I have tried several variations, but most always have a base of this one.  Every day I had eggs and meat in one way or another.  I figured out the very first week that for my body; if I ate the combo of steak, eggs, and a veggie that I would stay full until dinner time and not even think about food or hunger.  So whaddya know, for me breakfast really is the most important meal!  And to think I had gone SO MANY years without it.  Most mornings we either had a pork chop or bacon with either fried or scrambled eggs because it's just easy.  As we got farther into the month I experimented from probably my favorite website so far: paleomg.com .  She has some of THE coolest breakfast ideas!  I made a meat crust quiche that we couldn't stay out of, and just tonight I prepped a "mexican hash egg bake" for breakfast this week.

Lunch was usually a handful of granola for Goose, or a piece of fruit for myself, if I even thought about it.  Dinner time was Goose's culinary godlike abilities time to shine.  We did some experimenting with sauces.  He ended up  throwing some different flavors together and came up with a very delicious Asian Stir Fry sauce with a tahini base.  I do love tahini.  We liked the flavor so much we've repeated it three times.  We also pulled some great mexican dishes together, paleo style.  We did attempt to make a paleo tortilla for fajitas, but I think for the time it took to make them, it wasn't totally worth my time so I'd rather just eat the fajitas without the tortilla.  Carnitas were also amazing!  Of course steaks for dinner! On those nights I would usually save my steak for the next morning and put it towards my breakfast.

Now, lets talk about the sweets.  Sometimes a girl needs a glass of wine or a piece of chocolate, amirite?  Have no fear! I was not deprived of my two favorite things.  I just had to savor them in severe moderation.  I made my own chocolate (a process that can't be easier, and so settling knowing what's actually in it) and stored it in the freezer...you know, for the times I just need to fix my sweet tooth.  Eventually I forgot that it was in there.  I did make a couple desserts that I will most definitely do again and I found chia seed pudding.  Wow, where has it been all my life?  I should have tried out coconut milk long ago...yum!  I made the original version the first time, and put some into a big fruit salad (which didn't last a full 24 hours, fyi) and just yesterday I whipped up a chocolate version that will be divine over the strawberries in my fridge.  For me, I think knowing that these treats are in my freezer and are super healthy (calorie dense, yes but still), makes it easier to not crave them.  I just have a small morsel on occasion, and I'm satiated.

On February 1, we celebrated our 30 days with blue cheese atop our steaks for dinner.  But as far as sticking to strictly paleo, we will.  Every now and then we will have a little cheese, or a bit of potato if we want but really, we are stuck this way.  :)  It was so much fun finding out how some of these super tasty meals were so healthy for us.  For Goose's birthday (today) I surprised him with chorizo and mozz stuffed, bacon wrapped poppers and I nearly died at how wonderful this concoction ended up being!  I have said several times this month, "I can't believe THAT'S PALEO!"  Giving up rice, grains, potatoes, beans, and processed foods may not be for everyone but in this house it's the perfect way to go.  I mean, how bad can it be to be able to enjoy a steak for breakfast?  And any lifestyle that promotes bacon, is a real winner in my book!

As far as our health, I know Goose's BP has dropped significantly along with his weight.  Lucky jerk :) I also have dropped a few pounds but its very slow going, since I'm really close to where I want to be anyway.

Paleo n00bs here

After some researching on the "right" food plan for my household, I came across the Paleo diet.  It's not like I hadn't heard of it before, but I didn't pay much attention to it.  I knew without a doubt that vegan or semi-vegan was not going to work.  Besides, I'm crazy enough as it is.  I don't need meat deprivation (or protein deprivation, whatevs.) to make me a loony.  Since we had already tried to curb as much processed foods out of our lives, the transition will be fairly easy.  Once the Goose got over the idea of having to give up beans, rice and potatoes, he came around fairly quickly.  I like to think its because I armed myself with facts and science, to which he responds to more than hearsay.

Goose is a fan of the cavemen, so this wasn't as far fetched of an idea to give him.  Eat what the cavemen eat.  Hunt and forage for food.  Shy away from processed because clearly that wasn't around back then.  We still have our setbacks.  Come on, STL Style pizza is to die for.  We will have to give up grains because farming was in the NEXT era. Goose decided if he's boarding the Paleo train, he refuses to even cheat with flours to do breads/tortillas/pastas.  Good.  That's a lot of work.  I am already finding I have a lot of work ahead of me.  Boy, for a girl who said she'd marry a guy who cooks for her (and she did! I win.) I sure am taking over a lot of creative responsibility in the kitchen.  I'm not sure I can handle this. :)

I checked out website after website on recipes because as yummy as steak and salad sound, and even steak and eggs...that can get boring.  What I found was that I could make LOTS of things, lots of slight variations from what we already eat!  I can make paleo granola for Goose who needs his fix of "cereal" sometimes.  I even learned I could make my own chocolate.  Uh. Sold!

So I started cleaning out my food stuffs.  I started looking into alternate flours for those "in case" moments.   I had already ordered some coconut flour (which also came with manna, coconut flakes, and coconut sugar to replace brown sugar for ribs) and I gave away all the conventional flours and sugars in my pantry because I felt bad just throwing it out.  Out the door went oats for granola, brown sugar, flours, corn starch, corn meal, panko, Italian bread crumbs, etc.  We had already eliminated any teflon/aluminum cooking skillets because well, I paid almost $100 PER SKILLET and the frickin' things peeled right off and junk within the first 3 years.  O.o  We are sticking with cast iron skillets cuz the Goose says so.  For Christmas I got a Paleo basket with almond flour, coconut oil/flour, flax meal, and a Paleo cookbook.  I was so excited!

I am officially ready for us to do the 30 day challenge (the contest part is expired), especially after all the chocolates and treats and sweets that have made it in here over the holidays.  My dad even came up over Thanksgiving break and I made him aware we were going to be doing as much Paleo as we could. We did pretty well!  They came home one morning with Sonic and I furrowed my brow.  Other than that, the meals were quite close to Paleo, if not full Paleo.

I don't even think I have scratched the surface with this whole new lifestyle, but I am excited to try.  We will eventually be experts!  Meanwhile, here are a few meals we created while trying to be total paleos!

Some GREAT recipe sites:
http://fastpaleo.com/
http://paleomg.com/
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/#axzz2GNVtltVX
http://nomnompaleo.com/recipeindex
http://www.paleoplan.com/recipes/

Chicken Soup w/ Quinoa

Steak and eggs 

Kale Salad

Paleo Pork Roast

Mexican Carnitas (sans tortilla)

Duck in Red Wine Sauce 

Rosemary ACV marinated chicken
(topped with mushroom and onion)

Beatiful ribs!

Steak and Kale Salad

Chocolate is NOT the debil.

Chocolate

1. Eating dark chocolate (1.4 ounces of it, to be exact) every day for two weeks reduced stress hormones, including cortisol, in people who were highly stressed, a study done at the Nestlé Research Center in Switzerland recently found. Experts believe it could be thanks to the antioxidants in chocolate. What is it about dark chocolate? The answer is plant phenols -- cocoa phenols, to be exact. These compounds are known to lower blood pressure.  (Psst: Be sure to account for the 235 calories that 1.4 ounces of chocolate delivers—or you may be stressed to see extra pounds creeping on.)

2. Dark chocolate is very high in flavonoids, a type of antioxidant, which seems to protect the artery walls from becoming clogged with plaque and helps the body to maintain healthy blood pressure and blood flow.  Dark chocolate is also high in sugar and in fat from cocoa butter; however, most of the fat does not does not affect cholesterol levels - but it is still high in calories.  There is no daily recommendation for servings of dark chocolate.  When adding chocolate to the diet, substitute it for other sweets, not for healthy foods.  Eat pure dark chocolate, not milk chocolate or chocolate mixed with other ingredients.  Dark chocolate does contain ingredients that promote relaxation, but it takes about 20 pounds to feel those effects.  

• Lower Blood Pressure: Studies have shown that consuming a small bar of dark chocolate everyday can reduce blood pressure in individuals with high blood pressure.
• Lower Cholesterol: Dark chocolate has also been shown to reduce LDL cholesterol (the bad cholesterol) by up to 10 percent.

3. Doesn't Chocolate Have a lot of Fat?: 

Here is some more good news -- some of the fats in chocolate do not impact your cholesterol. The fats in chocolate are 1/3 oleic acid, 1/3 stearic acid and 1/3 palmitic acid:

• Oleic Acid is a healthy monounsaturated fat that is also found in olive oil.
• Stearic Acid is a saturated fat but one which research is shows has a neutral effect on cholesterol.
• Palmitic Acid is also a saturated fat, one which raises cholesterol and heart disease risk.

That means only 1/3 of the fat in dark chocolate is bad for you.

4. Tips

Balance the Calories: 

This information doesn't mean that you should eat a pound of chocolate a day. Chocolate is still a high-calorie, high-fat food. Most of the studies done used no more than 100 grams, or about 3.5 ounces, of dark chocolate a day to get the benefits.  One bar of dark chocolate has around 400 calories. If you eat half a bar of chocolate a day, you must balance those 200 calories by eating less of something else. Cut out other sweets or snacks and replace them with chocolate to keep your total calories the same.  A hint: Don't replace healthy foods with chocolate. Most people's diets have plenty of sweets. Switch those for some chocolate if you're going to try the truffle treatment.  Just remember to balance the calories!  A 100-gram serving of Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate Bar has 531 calories, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. If you ate that much raw apple you'd only take in 52 calories. But then, you'd miss out on the delicious blood pressure benefit.

Chocolate Tip 2 - Taste the Chocolate: 

Chocolate is a complex food with over 300 compounds and chemicals in each bite. To really enjoy and appreciate chocolate, take the time to taste it. Professional chocolate tasters have developed a system for tasting chocolate that include assessing the appearance, smell, feel and taste of each piece.  AKA...savor it.  The more you do, the longer that little bit lasts and the happier you will be.

Chocolate Tip 3 - Go for Dark Chocolate: 

Dark chocolate has far more antioxidants than milk or white chocolate. These other two chocolates cannot make any health claims. Dark chocolate has 65 percent or higher cocoa content.

Chocolates made in Europe are generally richer in cocoa phenols than those made in the U.S. So if you're going to try this at home, remember: Darker is better.

Chocolate Tip 4 - Skip the Nougat: 

You should look for pure dark chocolate or dark chocolate with nuts, orange peel or other flavorings (YES!). Avoid anything with caramel, nougat or other fillings. These fillings are just adding sugar and fat which erase many of the benefits you get from eating the chocolate.

Chocolate Tip 5 - Avoid Milk: 

It may taste good but some research shows that washing your chocolate down with a glass of milk could prevent the antioxidants being absorbed or used by your body.

5.

The Studies

Taubert's team signed up six men and seven women aged 55-64. All had just been diagnosed with mild high blood pressure -- on average, systolic blood pressure (the top number) of 153 and diastolic blood pressure (the bottom number) of 84.

Every day for two weeks, they ate a 100-gram candy bar and were asked to balance its 480 calories by not eating other foods similar in nutrients and calories. Half the patients got dark chocolate and half got white chocolate.

Those who ate dark chocolate had a significant drop in blood pressure (by an average of 5 points for systolic and an average of 2 points for diastolic blood pressure). Those who ate white chocolate did not.

In the second study, Serafini's team signed up seven healthy women and five healthy men aged 25-35. On different days they each ate 100 grams of dark chocolate by itself, 100 grams of dark chocolate with a small glass of whole milk, or 200 grams of milk chocolate.

An hour later, those who ate dark chocolate alone had the most total antioxidants in their blood. And they had higher levels of epicatechin, a particularly healthy compound found in chocolate. The milk chocolate eaters had the lowest epicatechin levels of all.

So...this means that if people have at least 1oz of DARK chocolate a day, (I recommend 70% or more) this world will be a happier place!  But remember to trade out those silly sweets like cookies or brownies that are more fattening, for this amazing little square of heaven.