Paleo Diet: Day 11

11 days ago, I started myself on the Paleo diet.  There was no cheating in these 11 days, as I ate nothing but the diet allowed and restricted myself from all the things I could not eat.  I was very determined to remain disciplined and was rewarded by losing 7 pounds in the first 5 days! 

During the diet, I mostly baked and grilled meats like chicken, pork, steak, and salmon while adding only peppers, Mrs. Dash, and parsley/cilantro leaves as my seasoning.  I'd prepare a big bowl of salad with raw mushrooms and tomatoes thrown in that I could add to my meals throughout the week.  I'd fry eggs with olive oil and add them to the salad to add some extra flavor, since I wasn't allowed to use any dressing.  Other sides included steamed broccoli and cauliflower or corn on the cob.  I'd have one freshly sliced orange every morning, a banana for an afternoon snack, and grapes or apples late at night if I wanted a snack.   As for drinks, I didn't have anything but water.  Some people recommended tea, but I just don't like tea and couldn't find anything else I would rather drink...so I drank tons of water, lol.

In the first week, I had already noticed that the fat around my face was gone.  Mentally and physically, I felt fine.  I didn't have any cravings to eat any of the foods I was abstaining from.  In fact, I felt like I couldn't eat as much in a single sitting and after my meals, my stomach never felt bloated.  I also noticed that I didn't have to 'deuce' as often, and when I did, it wasn't as much. I could really tell how effective the diet was in terms of eating healthy and losing fat.  One thing I did notice however is that my body became sore from workouts more easily, but this was probably due to the drastic change in nutrition.

After 5 days, I had lost 7 pounds, but I noticed my waist wasn't trimming as quickly as I hoped.  In addition, I didn't continue to lose weight as quickly like that first major decrease and I continued to hover around 183 lbs the next 5 days.  While I had lost an inch around my waist, it was becoming apparent that the fat around the stomach requires a lot more time to trim.  As stated by my friend Matt, "the belly is the place we retain the most fat" and so it will take the longest to reduce.

Day 11: front view (right)- 183 lbs, 35.5" waist

Day 11: side view (right)- 183 lbs, 35.5" waist

Nonetheless, I have been very happy with the results.  However, in light of my discovery that I probably won't be able to lose that much more weight through December 20th (which was my original goal), I have decided to back off the hardcore Paleo diet and transition into what I will call the "Palineo Diet!"  Thanks Matt for the name suggestion.  Pandeo was another choice, but sounded too much like a diet for a panda bear.

The Palineo diet will consist of a normal diet without as much restriction, which some Paleo insight.  For example, it all starts at the grocery store for me.  In the past I would buy lots of breads like hot dog and burger buns and also a lot pastas to make things like spaghetti and fettuccine.  The Palineo diet will not allow me to make these purchases individually for myself.  I will continue to just shop the meats, fruits, and vegetable aisles for my home cooking.  Rice will become my main grain if I want to compliment meals.

Palineo will allow me to have salt and sugar.  Sugar has never been a problem for me, but it is an additive in many drinks and sauces.  My old seasonings will return and there won't be any restriction on that.  In additional, I will cook with only olive oil and will no longer be using vegetable oil.

As for drinks, beer is allowed again, and I celebrated my success (and diligence on such a challenging diet) with a couple Bud Lights last night.  I am allowed to drink milk again, but will alternate my morning glass of milk with fresh fruit.  Sodas will also have a restriction.  Instead of soda everyday, I will limit myself to one can every other day.

I should expect to have some of the weight I lost come back, but my hope is that in time, I can continue to lose weight or maintain what I have lost with a renewed perspective on the way I eat.  190 lbs and the way my face had pudged up was just too much, and personally I felt a diet was necessary.  I'm proud that I was able to stick with it for 11 days,  and I'm ready to move forward toward a healthier and thinner me!

Out with the Old, In with the New

When I bought my house in 2005, it came with 3 brand new stainless steel appliances.  There was a refrigerator, a dishwasher, and a stove/oven - all Kenmore products.  I had never really used a glass-top surface electric range before, but over the years I learned to enjoy its convenience and efficiency.

A couple weeks ago, I pressed the Bake button on the top-left part of the control panel and the side of the panel snapped.  Apparently the panel was held in by some plastic pieces that pressing it hard enough over the years caused it to snap.  The right side was still in tact, but it was just more difficult to press the buttons.  I continued to use the stove and oven as so until finally the right side collapsed as well.  The panel was now sitting inside the top part of the range, making it very difficult to access the buttons.  I decided to pull the panel out so that I could access it easier.  Everything still seemed to function this way.  However, when I tried the Bake button, there was a big spark and the circuit board was shorted and fried.  I guess the wires in the back were touching each other.  Whoops!  Rather than go through the hassle of trying to get it repaired (one would have to replace the panel and the top of the oven, but this thing is pretty old), I decided to just go looking for a new range.

Old Range - 2005 Kenmore

Since I cook pretty much every day and am also on this Paleo diet that even more so requires home-cooking, I wanted to get a replacement as soon as possible.  I went to three stores and looked at models.  I started at Lowes and found a GE and a Samsung I liked for $600 and $650 respectively.  I then went to Home Depot and they pretty much had the same inventory.  Sears was my last stop and they had the same as both of the previous stores, but they also had Kenmore models, but not for very cheap.  I decided I wanted to get the Samsung model.  Since I was at already at Sears and each place had the same thing, I asked them when was the earliest they could deliver the range.  Sears told me Dec 23...  I then went to Home Depot and they told me Dec 11th... Lowes turned out to be the winner since they were able to deliver the next morning!

New Range - 2014 Samsung

I installed the new range myself, using the old hookup cord.  I also learned during installation that I can have a gas range if I had wanted.  The new range has some cool new features, like convection baking, which baked my salmon perfectly the other day.  You can also set a cook time so that the oven will turn off automatically.  There's multiple cooking surface areas on the front two elements, so it nicely fits the pot you are using.  And finally there is a warming center...I guess that's kind of neat too.  I was lucky to get the stove at the end of the Black Friday sale that continued through Wednesday after Thanksgiving.  The range was $650 for me and apparently it's back up to $900 today online.

Although my old range was a good one and probably could have worked for longer if not for the poor panel design, it's nice to have a new range to play with!

Paleo Diet: Day 1

When I first learned that LeBron James had gone on the Paleo diet, I thought to myself, "why would LBJ need to go on a diet?"

For a while now, I have noticed an increase in my body's weight over the years.  I'm simply not as young as I used to be (now 31-years-old) and my metabolism probably isn't as fast.  And for anyone, as you get older it just becomes more difficult to exercise as easily due to life's other priorities, or perhaps your body just can't handle vigorous workouts as often as it used to.  I measured myself on the scale the other day and I now come in at 190 lbs and my waist measures 36.5" (+/- a half inch). In summation, I feel like a Fatty McFatty. :/ So I've been thinking, if the greatest athlete in the world feels the need to go on a diet every once in a while, why can't I?

I didn't spend too much time researching diets.  Over the months, I've read enough about the gist of these new era diets (gluten free, wheat belly, Atkins, etc) to understand the simple concept: cut out the crap and eat healthier.  Enough of my friends have tried some variation of some diet and it's worked for them in whatever way they chose.  And so begins my time on the Paleo diet...

DAY 1:

First things first, I had to make a list of the things I could eat and the things I couldn't and put it on my fridge so that I was reminded every time I got hungry.  This is my first time ever attempting a real diet, so it's a little intimidating at first.

DON'T EAT:
• wheat, grains, pastas, breads
• dairy, cheese
• potatoes
• soda, sugar, salt
• BEER
• vegetable oil

DO EAT:
• meats, fish, poultry
• eggs
• vegetables, fruits
• olive oil

This list is based off the Paleo website and is altered slightly based on foods I personally enjoy eating.

All of the items in the "DON'T EAT" section were hard to give up.  I noticed right of the bat that salt is in almost everything: my seasonings and my sauces. :(  And of course, beer is going to be tough to abstain from drinking, but I've gone weeks without drinking to prove to myself that I could, so it shouldn't be that bad.

Day 1: side view- 190lbs, waist 36.5"

Day 1: front view- 190lbs, waist 36.5"

On my first day, I had pork chops for lunch and a steak for dinner.  I used pepper and parsley seasoning, so fortunately it didn't taste bland.  I had a couple fried eggs using olive oil and then raspberries for my late night snack.  I then steamed enough cauliflower and broccoli to have for a few days to be added to the leftover meats I'm bringing to work for lunch.  Orange slices for breakfast, banana for afternoon snack.

I'll continue to maintain my normal workout schedule at the gym, which consists of lifting weights twice a week and running/playing ball another 2-3 times the rest of the week.  My goal is to knock off 10 lbs and at least 1.5" off my waist and do it all by December 20th, in time for the holidays back in Scottsdale, since maintaining the diet would be tough to do at my parents' house and there will be several of festivities where I'll want to enjoy an alcoholic beverage.  I'll return with updates after the 10th and 20th days.  Wish me luck!