Thinking About Going Paleo?

I took the plunge.

I went Paleo 4 weeks ago and I must admit at first I was skeptical, at first I said what no more oatmeal? I was sad for a bit.

But the more research I conducted, the more convinced I became.

I have celiac disease and a dairy intolerance so really I was more than half way Paleo. Really it was going to be easy to make the switch I just was holding on to some things like gluten free pretzel sticks, oatmeal, tofu, soy yogurt, etc. Not a whole heck of a lot but I liked them.

So what is Paleo and where do you get started?

This is the question I am recieving quite often and so I decided to make a nice list here for all who want to know! I am no expert and am learning new things about it everyday. But for me this is where I have started and what I have learned so far. This is how I am making it work for me.

I started here at Paleo Diet I say I live paleo lifestyle, I do not really enjoy that D word hehe Or I simply say yes I eat live a cave woman ;)

I bought this book for pretty fair price at amazon Paleo Diet for Athletes This book is great it really explains the science behind the paleo nutrition and has some good recipes to get you started. I liked how it told me what kind of nuts are good vs. bad and what oils to use when cooking. It also sets up ideas for pre fueling for exercise, post race, and the whole time before and after leading up to races and or rigorous workouts. This I found to be the most helpful because I really learned a lot.

Mark's Daily Apple is a great website and I enjoy his emails daily. My friend and fellow no more bs'r Gene pointed me to Mark's website!

I also am subscribed to Civilized Caveman Cooking I like seeing his recipes and testing them out!

All of the websites have tons of additional links on them to more paleo lifestyle websites so you can navigate pretty easily from there.

DO you still follow Weight Watchers?

Yes I do. I weigh all my protein, and count my oil points I use. I track it all and eat within my daily points plus values. The only difference really is what I am eating. All whole some fruits and vegetables, lean protein, and healthy oils.

I started this to help my marathon training and it is helping. I really believe the saying 'garbage in garbage out'. if you want your body to perform at its peak then you need to fuel it with proper nutrition. You do not put cheap gasoline in a Cadillac.. why would you put cheap processed food into your body to fuel a workout?

Have you found your eating has evolved over time as your workouts increased or got more intense?

Things I Fear the Most

This is a great topic from the awesome women over at Fitness Blog World Please make sure to go visit the other blogs for some more motivation!!

The topic this week: what are you scared of that seems to be holding you back?
Why is this holding you back and what must you do to get over it?

I have over come many fears in my lifetime, but it seems with each new fear that I conquer another one creeps in. Perhaps this is normal and we cannot live without any fear as humans. But I do know this: I lived in fear of failure for 10 years being over weight and unhealthy. I will not live with that fear any longer and I did over come it. But again with slaying that fear brought new ones.

I fear I am not being a good partner and mom when I go off to train as much as I do. I workout 7 days a week and I switched to early AM workouts to avoid missing too much family time. I have tried to combat this fear with those habits and it is helping.

I fear that I will fail. period. With that failure this girl will come back and haunt me:

Every day when I look in the mirror I see her, and it is like a ghost that haunts me. I picture her before I head out for a workout, and when I feel like skipping one I remember her. When I feel an urge to binge creep in I look at her and remind myself of how close she can get if I am not careful. Honestly I live in fear of that girl every damn day.

And that is the hardest fear to over come. And that is why I fight so hard.

Wow this one was hard to admit....

What do you fear? How do you deal with it?

Paleo Apple Muffins

Going Paleo does not mean not enjoying some yummy treats from time to time. I like having something sweet after a long run and I do not want to use energy bars, even the whole raw ones have quite a bit of fat and cost too many Weight Watchers Points plus for my liking.

So what is a girl to do?

Experiment in the kitchen of course!

These are inspired by my grandmothers famous apple squares. It was a dense apple square full of flavor and calories of course ;)

Paleo Apple Squares

4 tablespoons of coconut flour
1 apple peeled and diced up
1 egg
2/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
2/3 cup pumpkin
1/3 cup coconut milk (I use the so delicious)
2 teaspoons cinnamon


Blend apple sauce, coconut milk, pumpkin, and egg until smooth. Then add the coconut flour and cinnamon. Once blended add the apple chunks.

I used a muffin pan simple because its easy. You could use a loaf pan just as easily too. I baked these at 375 for an hour. You really cannot over cook these they will not be dry.

I had one warm with a cup of coffee and it was alright. Honestly I was not crazy about it....

But then I put them away in the fridge over night and had 2 after my long run on Sunday

I am so in love with these it is not funny!

They melt in your mouth literally and are so amazingly sweet and rich, I had to look back over my ingredients because I was shocked at how good they tasted. Eating them cold is they way to go!!

I definitely will be eating these cold and bringing them to races :) my new found treat!

Total Points Plus for this recipe is 11. So I called them 1 point for 1 and 3 points for 2 at a time.

Week 3 Marathon Training

I still find it hard to wrap my head around the whole, I will be running a marathon in a few short months! But I will be :)

I hope everyone had a great weekend and holiday! I had an awesome week and we got out to see the local fire works last night:

Training this week took all of my effort. Not to physically do the exercises, but more so to stay disciplined and get up and schedule them in. There were a few mornings where I did not want to wake up but I fought through and made it happen every day.

Monday - Body pump class at the YMCA at 5:30 for an hour

Tuesday - I ran 1 mile fast on the treadmill, 6 minutes plat for .75 of it and then 10 minutes to cool down. Just testing the waters with some speed. Then I hit the elliptical for 3.4 miles in 26 minutes. Then it was time to get peanut so I picked her up and when we got home we went for a 2 mile jog with her jogger for 20 minutes.

Wednesday - A 5k in the morning for 33 minutes. This was toughest run of the week, mainly because I just was not feeling it for some reason.

Thursday - A 5k in the morning for 30 minutes. And another 2.5 miles at night pushing peanut for 30 minutes. I am trying to do a few evening miles every week if only to get my body used to the heat that it will be facing for the Rock N Roll Half marathon on August 7

Friday - Surgery day for peanut, I woke up at 4:30 and did a speedy 5k just to get rid of some tension, got it done in 25 minutes. Everything went well with her.

Saturday - I hit the gym quick for a 30 minute TRX class.

Sunday - I was so happy to run my long 11 mile run with 2 friends at DW Park in Brockton. We took our time and got it done in 1 hr and 54 minutes. I felt good about the hills and my quads were a little sore but nothing major.

One thing I have learned this week: Do not push your self on long runs! The Jeff Galloway method is what I am using and he stresses that long runs should be 2 minutes slower than your ideal race pace. I have never trained doing my long runs this slow. I was skeptical, BUT it seems to be working because I still retain my speed on my other runs and I do not feel like I am going to collapse after my long runs. Training is just that, training and I need to remember that. He says on long runs you are building your endurance not building up speed and I think that is finally clicking in this thick skull ;)

Hope you all had a great week!