tasty treats of primal eating

following the primal way of eating for the occf 30 day nutrition challenge provided me with the opportunity to eat some really delicious food combinations (and some not so tasty ones). here are some photos of just a few of the yummy foods i consumed during that time, as well as today!

(From 30DNC: Broccoli Quiche, Zucchini Carbonara and Roasted Grape & Onion Pork Chops. From Sunday 3.25: Breakfast Burrito (Filling & Rolled Up), Jambalaya)

and the winner is...

ME!

i won the nutrition challenge. :D when i thought about doing the challenge, i wasn't going to be a paid participant, i was just gonna follow the diet and see what happened. paige talked me into being a full participant and now, i'm certainly glad i did! i never thought i would win though...i just wanted to change the way i ate and see how it would affect my workouts and how i felt. it changed everything for me and it has certainly changed the way i look at food and at life in general.

i have already, but i sincerely thank everyone (coaches, fellow athletes, my family, friends, etc.) for their love and support. i couldn't have done it (nor have stuck with it) without them. i'm gonna do it again in 30-day increments until it becomes second nature for me. :) i'm looking to see what the next 30 days will hold and what the results may be.

oh, btw, i won the pot. 440$. i sure could use that right now. :)

13.2 lbs...boom!

the 30 day nutrition challenge is complete! i made it 30 days without a sunkist, potato chips, bojangles, etc. it actually wasn't that hard because most of what i was making and eating was actually really delicious! i promised to post pictures and i will...in the near future. for the remainder of the week, i am vegging. i had bojangles for dinner last night, i am drinking sunkist (although i'm not over-indulging)...i actually even almost forgot about my girl scout cookies.

as for my results: in the scope of body composition, i moved up in bmi brackets from moderate to good. awesome! with regard to weight loss, i lost 13.2 lbs. amazing! of that 13.2 lbs, 7.6 was fat mass and 5.6 was fat-free mass (which is not great, but is contributed to variables like calorie intake, dehydration at time of testing, etc.). in terms of measurements, i lost inches everywhere (chest, waist, hips, thigh, biceps), with the greatest change being at my hips with a difference of 1.75". in the photos, there wasn't a huge difference (at least to me) from the front, but definitely from the side.

in more tangible results...after swapping my winter wardrobe for spring/summer duds, i found 3 pairs of jeans that i've held onto. the first pair i pulled out was a size 2 long from gap. my reaction, "when was i ever a size 2?!" just for kicks, i tried them on - zipped and buttoned. my response, "TODAY!". WHAT?! a size 2? holy moly! today, i tried on pants at ATL after my shift. my next purchase will be black pique crop pants with zipper detail..in a size 4. the size 6 was just too big. weird!

so, i'm taking a few days off my "diet" (also to include celebrating my irishness on saturday) before i get back into it next week. i'm gonna do another 30 day challenge, go get another body composition test/have paige measure me and compare my results. i am SUPER close to my goal weight...about 3-10 pounds left.

the moral of this challenge: what you consume makes a HUGE difference in how you feel, how your body reacts, how you look. couple diet with working out (i prefer crossfit) and changes happen, baby!

source: crossfit impulse

on tuesday, february 13, i will embark on a new adventure: a 30 day nutrition challenge through oak city crossfit. 30 days of no sunkist, no orange juice, no potato chips or lean cuisines..basically, 90% of my current way of eating is eliminated. awesome.

how it works: 1. pay the 40$ buy in; 2. take photos and measurements and add them to the body composition information from last month; 3. declare which diet you will follow: whole30, paleo, primal, or zone; 4. at the end of 30 days, have another body composition test done. if i've lost (+)10% of my FAT MASS (not overall body fat percentage!), i'll get 20$ back. the rest goes towards the prize money for the winner. the winner is the person who has the biggest decrease in fat mass (as a %).

the program i have elected to follow is primal. one of the main differences between paleo and primal is that a primal diet allows for some dairy. basically, it's the philosophy that it's more important to eat, move and live according to how humans were designed and not according to society's artificial developments of the last 100 years.

i toyed with the idea of participating in the challenge without the financial obligation. but, i figured it's better to take the risk and go all in. and believe me, i'm in. plus, the financial incentive is enticing. ;)

this week's meals/snacks

breakfast

- broccoli quiche

lunch

- arugula & blueberry salad with raspberry vinaigrette

- cranberry tuna salad

dinner

- zucchini carbonara

- curry coconut meatballs

snacks

- nutty blueberry protein balls

- tropical avocado and shrimp

- chicken egg drop soup

wish me luck!! :D