I Love Beets!

Going Paleo has inspired me to keep trying new vegetables and fruit. So it was time to expand the horizons and I stumbled upon beets. So it all started with these:

I had to do some research and then decided I would do the bake and cook method. So you cut off the stems and then wrap them in tinfoil and bake. I had them on 350 for an hour. It was a success.

Of course I was not going to waste those nice big leafy greens! I cleaned them and boiled them to go with my chicken for dinner:

They were good with some garlic and onion. Tasted similar to Swiss chard or spinach.

Once the beets were cool all I had to do was rinse them off and that nasty skin really did peel off in my hands. I was surprised at just how easy it was.

I was left with 3 beautiful beets! I chopped them and put them in my salads!

I am a firm believer that you should always be trying new things. I was scared away by the ugly beets for many months I would see them hovering in the produce section but never brave enough to try them.

I am so glad I did! I love them! They are a little sweet but mild and juicy all at the same time. I liked having them in the fridge, I could add to a salad or heat one up and have along side a piece of chicken for dinner. They are so simple and yummy!

What new vegetables have you tried that you love?

You Are What You Eat?

I have been doing the Paleo diet for 4 weeks now and I must admit it has been interesting to say the least.

I have learned so much. You would think after 16 months of being on Weight Watchers and losing 120 pounds I had it all figured out. But truth be told I did not. I was doing well but there was something missing. I needed to clean up my eating a tad bit in order to get to my new goals.

I know I know excessive? Maybe. But I do not care what anyone else thinks anymore, this is all for me. I started doing this for my daughter and I surpassed my wildest dreams. Now I realize that this is not for her but more for me. I love being healthy, I love being fit. I love being able to workout twice a day and not feel like I will die lol.

So how is Paleo helping?

It is making me perform better. It is fueling my workouts much better. I eat whole, natural food and I am not starving all day. I focus on lean protein, vegetables, fruit, and healthy oil. Nothing processed, noting from a can or box. No more gluten free goodies... Do I miss them? Of course. sometimes. Most of the time not anymore.

Honestly, when I eat crap my workout goes pretty crappy. It is that age old saying playing into reality, garbage in garbage out. When I eat well, I workout well. I do not feel bloated and sluggish when I eat well. It is amazing how the food I eat the day before a long run affects me in a negative or positive way. I am glad I track everything I eat because I have learned if I feel horrible during a run I can usually look back at my tracker and figure out the culprit.

I am working on some pretty hefty goals. I started doing Y-Fit last week which is a cross fit style workout. I am training to run my first marathon in November. I have a half marathon on August 7th. Then Yesterday I bit the bullet and signed up for my first spartan race! So I need to be in tip top shape to be able to handle all the fun I have planned ;)

Do you notice a shift in your workout performance based on your diet?

Week 4 Marathon Training

Monday - 4th of July! No body pump because the YMCA was only open for 5 hours so I waited till they opened at 7AM (yes my body was awake at 6AM and wondering why we were not sweating) and I hit up the elliptical for 3.4 miles in 26 minutes and then I did some core work and weight lifting for 30 minutes.

Tuesday - I woke up early and headed out for a 5.75 mile run. I needed it badly to clear my head! I decided to try this run walk method that Jeff Galloway supports in his book. It worked so well! I finished my run in 47 minutes and 20 seconds! That is an 8:14 pace. I was shocked that I was that fast even with a 30 second walk break every 4 minutes of my run.

Wednesday - cross training day! I went to my first Y-Fit class at the YMCA. This is their cross fit style workout and it was great!

Thursday - Gout out early in the morning for a 4.2 mile run. It was done in 42 minutes and I could go on with my day. I was sore from the workout the day before so it was a little rough ;)

Friday - was cross training again at the YMCA and the y-fit class.

Saturday is a slated rest day. I went out in the morning for a quick 3.1 mile run. I just like to keep my legs nice and fresh and a small run helps me do this.

Sunday was my long run. My training plan only have me go long every other week and scale back a bit on the other weeks so this 6 miler was not bad at all. I did learn to take water though, by the time I finished it was already 75 degrees and I was very hot and thirsty. I ran this one in 53 minutes. I did not take all of the walk breaks I should have.



What I learned this week: Take those walk breaks! Jeff Galloway clearly knows what he is talking about and those walk breaks will not make me slower. In fact they keep my legs fresh so I can run consistently faster the entire time. I further learned this on my Sunday 6 mile run where I stopped doing my walk breaks about 20 minutes in. And it showed in my fatigue and slower pace. The breaks keep your legs fresh and moving faster.

Go Visit Me

Hey everyone!

Today I am guest posting over at Cubicle Dad's awesome blog!

Come by and see his amazing transformation and say hi!

My Guest Post