Had a great time reconnecting with friends from last year and meeting new ones this year at the Recreate Conference. For being away from home I'm making good choices (not fully paleo every moment of the day, but close). Had a lot of people comment on how good I looked, which I totally attribute to clean eating and hard training!

My goal this week is to enjoy my time here, and not kill it food wise. I'm not going to be a total paleo-head, but at the same time I'm going to watch and track everything I eat. I'm still way down from starting weight so I'm not going to justr eat whatever I see and lose progress!

Breakfast:

    * Bacon
    * Eggs
    * Cheese Danish
    * Water

Lunch:

    * Reuben Sandwich
    * Chocolate Pie
    * Water

Dinner:

    * Large Chicken/Steak Salad with pico/salsa/guac/sour cream
    * Water

Snacks:

    * Small serving of bacon flavored dark chocolate (I kid you not)

Exercise:

Rest week (might try and find a CrossFit around here and pop in)

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So tonight I decided to use my "wheel of cheat" and have a little splurge on a burger. Before we started eating primarily primal/paleo, the Baconator at Wendy's was one of my favorite fast food burgers. I like to indulge in one every now and then.

My "wheel of cheat" is basically arranging the fast food meal into thirds: burger/fries/drink.

You can only "cheat" on one third of the meal, the other two have to be either omitted or substituted with a healthy primal alternative. For example, I'd substitue a soft drink with water and fries with a small side salad and eat the burger as is (with buns). That still packs a high carb count punch, but makes the meal overall way lower in carbs.

So tonight I chose to go ahead and have the full burger. I had a salad and an unsweetened tea (with sweet n low). Checked the macronutrients on that burger: 44 grams of carbs! Dang, I could have just had it bunless and basically gotten out of there with an almost zero carb dinner.

Anyways, splurged a little more on oatmeal cookies that Lydia made from scratch to take to her family this weekend. She's been stressing a bit and baking is her release. Somebody HAS to taste test them and make sure they are not going to seriously injure anyone else, right? Funny thing is I'm getting what I asked for...very upset stomach.

Breakfast:

• Leftover Chicken
• Brussels Sprouts/Onions/Cranberries
• Bacon
• Water

Lunch:

• 12 Count Chick-Fil-A Nuggets
• Side Salad
• Splenda sweetned Tea (2 packets)

Dinner:

• Baconator (double)
• Side Salad
• SweetNLow sweetened Tea (2 packets)

Snacks:

• Oatmeal cookies
• A "Jim Kay" from Wake Up Coffe Co. (a sugary, carb-laden smoothie type drink that busted my day wide open).

Exercise:

21 Pullups at CFB (Rest Day)

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Lydia made GREAT dinner tonight!! She's the best!

Breakfast:

• 4 Eggs (fried in bacon fat)
• Dried Unsweetened Banana Chips
• Water

Lunch:

• 5 Hard Boiled Eggs
• Dried Unsweetened Banana Chips
• Water

Dinner:

• Chicken cooked in bacon fat
• Bacon Brussel Sprouts (with a few cranberries/onions)
• Tea sweetened with Splenda (2)

Nutrient Breakdown:

• Fats: 52.7%
• Carbs: 17.5%
• Protein: 29.9%

Exercise:

CrossFit WOD

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Breakfast:

• 2 Eggs (fried)
• Bacon (4)
• Water

Lunch:

• Bunless Bacon Cheeseburger from 5 Guys
• Water
• Peanuts (ack!)

Dinner:

• Leftover Wings (10) from Skinny Petes
• Water

Snacks:

• Banana Chips (unsweetened)

Nutrient Breakdown:

• Fats: 62.9%
• Carbs: 5.1%
• Protein: 32%

First day in a while I've been UNDER 50g of carb foods. I clocked in at 23g.

Exercise:

CrossFit WOD

• 800m run
• 2 min rest
• 800m run
• 2 min rest
• 800m run

For time. My time: 15:04

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Breakfast:

None

Lunch:

• 12 Wings from Skinny Pete's
• Water

Dinner (CrabDaddy's):

• Salad with Italian Dressing
• Unsweetened tea with Splenda
• 12 Blackened Shrimp
• 1 Small Sweet Potato

Snacks:

• 2 Figs
• Orange Spice Tea from Wake Up

Nutrient breakdown:

• Fats: 56.3%
• Carbs: 13.6%
• Protein: 30%

This is more like it! Pretty good day. Would still like to see my carbs closer to 10% though!

Exercise:

None. I'll start back full throttle on Monday.

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Breakfast:

None

Lunch:

• 2 Pieces of pepperoni pizza from Broomellis (planned splurge, but not worth it)
• Coke (YUCK!)

Dinner:

• Slow Cooked Roast Beef w/rutabagas, carrots, onions
• Steamed Broccoli
• Mashed Rutabagas (left over)
• Water

Snack:

• Primal "Crisp" (Strawberries/Blueberries/Walnuts/Heavy Whipped Cream/Butter)
• Water
• 2 Figs

Nutrients:

• Fat: 45%
• Carbs: 39% (ashamed)
• Protein: 15.9%

Exercise:

CFB (a little light lifting)

Had a good time having friends over and eating a good paleo meal (with a primal dessert) then Kim Raines dominated us in Scattergories. Ugh.

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Had a little splurge today. Met a friend for lunch at Willie's. Pre-planned to just eat the burger and no fries. Had a tea as well.

Breakfast:

• Black Tea (2 Splenda) from Starbucks.

Lunch:

• Willie Burger
• Sweet Tea

Dinner:

• 10 Wings (mild) from Zaxby's
• Sweet Tea

Snack:

• 4 Boiled Eggs
• 2 Dried Figs

Nutrient breakdown:

• Fat: 44.9%
• Carbs: 25.7%
• Protein: 29.4%

Too high on the carb side of things. That's what a bun and two sweet teas will do for you throughout the day.

Exercise:

None

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Breakfast:

• 5 Hard Boiled Eggs
• Guacamole (fresh)
• Water

Lunch:

• Ground Beef cooked up in chili powder/garlic powder/salt/pepper/salsa served over a spring mix. Kind of a "taco" tasting salad without the shells and cheese and stuff.
• Water

Dinner (had to make due with what was served me at church):

• 3 "pieces" of pizza (I only ate the toppings - NO CRUST!)
• 1 tiny small piece with the crust (it was a corner piece of THIN crust from the square type of pizza from Dominos)
• Water

Snack:

• Leftover "Taco" Seasoned Beef Salad
• Water

Nutrient Breakdown:

• Fat: 52.5%
• Carbs: 9%
• Protein: 38.8%

I only ate about 1500 calories today, but I was noticably satisfied all day. Must be the higher level of protein intake today.

Exercise:

None

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So this week started out with me battling back a cold of some sort. I feel ok. But almost overnight I had a small cyst on my forehead between my eyes decided to rogue on me. It grew and swelled up and turned pretty painful quickly. Monday night it was pretty red and inflamed.

Anyways, I had already eaten a bit over my carb limit for the day, but I felt so bad and needed a good old fashioned, bad-for-you fast food meal. Well, I didn't need it, but I wanted it. So, I took the liberty of enjoying a Double Quarter Pounder some fries and a small bit of coke. Don't judge me! It wasn't a "binge" and it wasn't a planned "cheat" it was just something I wanted. Period. Tomorrow I'll probably eat a no carb day (or very very low) to make up for it, but because my metabolism and metabolic hormones are a lot more stable and functioning as they're supposed to I can eat a meal like that every so often and it doesn't wreck my progress. So here's to tomorrow!

Breakfast:

• Egg "Burrito" (3 eggs as the outer wrap, homemade guacamole as the filler)
• Water

Lunch:

• Chicken Tenders (the boxed frozen kind - not the wisest choice, but we REALLY need to go shopping!)
• Guacamole (at least I eat leftovers!)
• A few turnip & rutabaga chips
• Water

Dinner:

• Double Quarter Pounder meal from McDonald's (oh the shame)
• Coke

Snacks:

• A few remaining Grok Roks (they are gone now!)

Macronutrients:

• Fats: 52.6%
• Carbs: 31.6% (highest I've had in weeks)
• Protein: 15.8% (lowest I've had in weeks)

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Breakfast:

None.

Lunch:

• Wild Caught Salmon sald (olive oil/spicy mustard/salt pepper/lime juice/pickle juice/pickle chips)
• Spring Misx Salad (olive oil/balsamic vinegar)
• Water

Dinner:

• Double Bacon Cheeseburger (bunless) from Five Guys (mayo/pickles)
• Bacon Cheese Dog (bunless) form Five Guys (mayo)
• Water

Snacks:

• 2 Fried Eggs
• Grok Roks (prune/dark chocolate/heavy cream)
• Turnip/Beet/Rutabaga chips
• Black Tea from Starbucks (over ice - 2 servings - 4 Splenda packets)

Nutrient Breakdown:

• Fats: 66.1%
• Carbs: 9.8%
• Protein: 24.1%

Exercise:

CFB WOD

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Saturday

Breakfast:

None

Lunch:

• Double down Sandwich from KFC
• Water

Dinner:

• 5 Hard Boiled Eggs
• Water

Sunday

Breakfast:

None

Lunch:

• Nachos from Barberitos (not paleo or primal!)
• Splenda Sweetened Tea (2 packets)

Dinner:

• Experimented with Turnip/Rutabega/Beet "chips" fried in olive oil (turned out pretty good)
• 4 Hard Boiled Eggs
• Water

Exercise (none Saturday or Sunday). I've been a little under the weather. Trying to let the body recuperate.

Weekly averages for macronutrients:

• Fats: 56.1%
• Carbs: 13.8%
• Protein: 30.1%

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Last time we did a 6 week challenge we had 2 old fashioned splurges where we planned to indulge and eat some more "conventional" sugary carbs. Both times we planned ahead and expected to feel a little lousy afterward. We did.

This time is no different. Personally, I love doing these challenges because I love to attack a goal with pretty strict discipline. Today is my brother-in-law's birthday so we decided to have a piece of cake tonight. I feel pretty bloated and yuck but it was pre-planned and expected.

Breakfast:

• Egg "Muffins"
• Smoked Sausage
• Water

Lunch:

None.

Dinner:

• Salad/Olives/Banana Peppers/Celery/Cheese
• Deviled Eggs
• Steak (4 oz)
• Shrimp (6)
• Quail (Whole)
• Sweet Potato
• Water

Snacks:

None

Nutrient Breakdown:

• Fats: 91.2g/34.7g Saturated (53.1%)
• Carbs: 73.1g/32g Sugars (18.9%)
• Protein: 108.1g (28%)

Exercise:

Rest Day

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So, I thought I was all "chickened out" after eating so much the last few days, but I worked out of town and the only real option for lunch for me was a BBQ place. I ordered the chicken and what was served to me was a HALF CHICKEN! I ate it all!

Breakfast:

• Egg "Muffins"
• Smoked Sausage
• Water

Lunch:

• Half a Chicken
• A small serving of Cole Slaw
• Water

Dinner:

• Primal Broccoli Soup (not fully paleo, but a DELICIOUS recipe from Mark Sisson's Primal Blueprint Cookbook) - we added in some bacon!
• Water

Snacks:

• 1 Square Dark Chocolate
• Prunes
• Small serving of Cranberries
• Water

Nutrient Breakdown:

• Fats: 126.6g/58g Saturated (58.2%)
• Carbs: 84.5/29.2 Sugars (17.3%)
• Protein: 120.2g (24.5%)

A little high again on the carb side, but still under 100g. Those dang PRUNES are so high in carbs!

Exercise:

CFB Wod

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Breakfast:

• 4 eggs fried in bacon grease
• 5 strips of bacon
• water

Lunch:

• 10 Chicken Wings (Leftovers)
• Water

Dinner:

• Steak
• Baked Chicken
• Cabbage
• Collard Greens
• Pulled Pork
• A dash of pepper & hot sauce
• A few strips of fatback
• Water

Good times with some of the CrossFit Brunswick crew at Ole Times Buffet. You can eat a lot of meat at a buffet! Just stay away from the junk!

Nutrient Breakdown:

• Fats: 101.9g/30.4g Saturated (45.3%)
• Carbs: 74g/46.7g Sugars (14.6%)
• Protein: 203g (40.1%)

This is probably lowest fat day I've done and the highest protein day I've done. A lot of meat in the mix will do that!

Exercise:

CFB WOD

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Today was a chicken kind of day. I had leftover hazelnut crusted chicken from Monday's dinner for breakfast AND lunch. And then had all you can eat wings for dinner! I'm ready for a steak tonight! I'm all "chickened out!"

Breakfast:

• Hazlenut Crusted Chicken (leftovers)
• Water

Lunch:

• Hazlenut Crusted Chicken
• Spring Salad Mix topped with olive oil/salt/pepper/walnuts
• Water

Dinner

• About 30 wings from Skinny Pete's of varying flavors (With the sauces it makes for a bit higher carb intake per wing, but I had eaten a realtively no carb day up to this point so I wasn't afraid of the extra carbs).
• Water

Snacks:

• None.

Nutrient Breakdown:

• Fats: 227.7g/50.8g Saturated (62%)
• Carbs: 57g/2.6g (6.9%)
• Protein: 256.6g (31.1%)

I'm happy with those percentages, though the carb count may be slightly higher as I estimated the wings.

Exercise:

CFB WOD

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Monday morning I weighed in at an incredible 7 lbs lost. I'm going to chalk it up to a little flucuation and maybe difference in scales, but regardless I'll take 4.5-5 lbs for the week! Feeling good.

Breakfast:

• Egg "Mug" (scrambled eggs microwaved in a mug - with sausage)
• Water

Lunch:

• Tuna/Salmon (wild caught) Salad (made with olive oil, mustard, a splash of pickle juice, salt, & pepper)
• Water

Dinner:

• Hazelnut Crusted Chicken (made a batter from ground hazelnuts, almonds, and coconut flour - seasoned with salt, pepper & a dash of orange peel - turned out pretty good - would love to figure out a good sauce to drizzle over it and still keep carbs low).
• Brussel Sprouts (steamed/butter)
• Water

Nutrient Breakdown:

• Fats: 96.6g/26.3g Saturated (59.7%)
• Carbs: 38g/7.7g Sugars (10.5%)
• Proteins: 108.5g (29.8%)

Yesterday felt good. I STUFFED myself on the chicken last night. It was VERY filling. But pretty low carb overall. So that was good!

Exercise:

Crossfit WOD

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Week 1 is officially in the books! Feeling great. Made it past the initial upset stomach and slight headaches usually associated with going a little more low carb. Not that we were killing it before, but we definitely took a little liberty during the holiday months. So coming back into this paleo challenge we definitely knew our bodies would let us know!

Breakfast:

• None

Lunch:

• Double Down Sandwich from KFC
• Water

Dinner:

• 2 Whole Eggs (fried in bacon grease)
• 5 strips of bacon
• 5 Sausage Patties
• Water

Snacks:

• Primal Pumpkin Nut Muffins
• Pistachios

Nutrient Breakdown:

• Fat: 176.8g/57.9g Saturated Fat (62.4%)
• Carbs: 54.2g/12.2g Sugars (8.5%)
• Protein: 185.1g (29.1%)

Kept the carbs closer to my 50g per day mark. Got my protein up to almost 30%.

• This week I averaged about 2,400 calories per day.
• Fats: 61.5%
• Carbs: 13%
• Proteins: 25.5%

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First weekend of the 8. I weighed in this morning and I'm down 5 lbs. SWEET!

Breakfast (Grandy's):

• Scrambled Eggs
• Bacon
• Sausage
• Strawberries
• Primal Pumpkin Nut Muffin
• Water

Lunch:

• None
• Water

Dinner:

• Roast Beef
• Carrots
• Shrimp
• Spring Mix Salad topped with Olive Oil/Salt/Pepper/Walnuts
• Water

Snacks:

• Primal Pumpkin Nut Muffin (2)
• Pistachios

Nutrient Breakdown:

• Carbs: 139.7g/45.3g Sugars (17.9%)
• Fats: 223.6g/55.7g Saturated Fat (64.4%)
• Protein: 138.9g (17.8%)

Had too many carbs today. Trying to stay under 50g. Hit 139. Uh, yeah. TOO MANY! Fortunately, the carbs I DID EAT were not refined, sugary, empty calories. Even the primal pumpkin nut muffins are loaded with a little more nutrients than something else sweet like that. Typically, I don't mind a day or two per week, where my carbs go up a bit, as long as most of the time I'm keeping them low.

Overall, my weekly percentage is: 61.5% Fat/13% Carbs/25.5% Protein)

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Breakfast:

• Primal Pumpkin Nut Muffin
• Water

Snack:

• Black Tea (2 Packages of Splenda)

Lunch:

• 2 Buffalo Wild Wings Sliders (Only the patty - NO BUNS!)
• Substituted Side Salad (No dressing) for fries
• Water

Snack:

• Primal Pumpkin Nut Muffin (we were trying to get rid of them!)

Dinner:

• Ground Beef with chili powder and onions served over spring mix salad - topped with salsa.
• Water

Snack:

• Pistacchios

Nutrient Breakdown for the day:

Trying to keep my carbs under 50g. Went over a bit today, but not too bad.

• Fats: 109.6g/46.5g Saturated (56.6%)
• Carbs: 65.8g/20.2g Sugars (15.1%)
• Proteins: 123.6g (28.3%)

Exercise:

Took another rest day. We've been running ragged lately. Have to get up early in the morning and want to just spend an evening relaxing.

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The week's almost up! Had a big test of willpower tonight. We hung out with family and there were soft drinks, oreos and m&ms everywhere! We didn't have any!

Breakfast:

• Omelet (2eggs + bacon + sausage + onions)
• Water

Lunch:

• Tuna (White Albacore) + Pink Salmon (Wild Caught) Salad = tuna + salmon + oilive oil + mustard + lime juice + splash of pickle juice + salt + pepper
• Water

Dinner:

• Baked Chicken (Breast + Thigh + Drumstick + 2 Wings)
• Spring Salad mix topped with olive oil + salt and pepper and garlic
• Blueberries
• A few Sweet Potato Fries (baked)
• Water

Snacks:

• Primal Pumpkin Muffin (trying to limit myself to 1 per day!)

Overall Nutrition Breakdown:

• Fat: 101.8g (53.8%)
• Carbohydrates: 54.8g/21.4g Sugars (12.9%)
• Protein: 141.9g (33.3%)

Exercise:

Rest Day

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