24/366 Do you mind?

I know I post daily-and I do enjoy doing so... but it is late and I am tired and don't feel like looking at  a screen... this is me offering to post tomorrow. SO... temporarily this is my post for tonight-Tomorrow I WILL edit to add more.

ETA:

So my day was pretty good. I actually was kinda crabby and I think it is because I waited too long to eat (went to bed hungry and woke up hungry) etc. Also I just kind of felt blah but Ben pointed out that soreness can make one feel that way. I felt fat and lazy... but walking was so extraordinarily painful that I could hardly stand to do it. I am doing much better now thanks... I will return to CF next week for 2 WODS/Week until the end of Feb... then March will start 3WODs/week... Then April I might mix it up and do 2 WODS and 1 OLY ... we'll see... experimentation is fun! OH the reason I am waiting is because we have company starting today and a pretty busy weekend ahead of us-so I would rather be able to move than to have to stumble around. That is all.

Food for today(yesterday) was 2 eggs with left over (From Ben's dinner last night) bacon and sweet potatoes and mushrooms (I didn't want mushrooms so i traded all my mushrooms for a small piece of bacon with Ben... without his permission :) )  Lunner was chicken... it was marinaded again... this time kinda lime/teryaki style? IDK it was good tho. I made some red-pepper aoli to go with it and it tasted delicious! (Thanks Mims!)

And for dessert we had smoothie/shakes... I would go with shakes. A hand full of strawberries and a couple scoops of vanilla and chocolate fuel with some milk OMG SO GOOD!

 This is the chicken before it goes in the fridge to marinade over night... YUM!

 Before cooking....

 eggs and stuff

 After cooking...

 Chicken on the plate before I decided just to take it to work.

 This is my to go containers... ps the onions and red peppers and garlic tasted like CRAP after marinading and stuff... I suggest cooking new ones if you want veggies with it... Just really mushy and odd...

Shakes. MMM

So that was the day-Sorry it took so long for me to post. This weekend is nerd-weekend (also known as Magic The Gathering Dark Ascension Pre-Release Weekend) My posts will be short (shocker) but they will be good! :)

Have a great FRIDAY!!!!

Manda

23/366 OMG I AM SO SORE!!!!

This post will be short. Because I am tired and I have a chicken to marinade.

BUT I do want to at least post something...

Breakfast-primal fuel (we are out of real food-this is dangerous... grocery store here we come)

Lunch/dinner-Chicken *tortilla* soup... no tortillas... there were beans and corn tho-20%... It was free food and it was better than me eating the cinnamon rolls on the counter next to it (thanks R! ;) )

Speaking of R (not saying full name to respect her-I don't know how she would feel about being posted about) I totally introduced her to the Primal Blueprint... She loves it! Luckily she was already on the right track which made her completely susceptible to the information. SUPER awesome! Also she was a vegetarian for 5 years! She knows the negative impacts it had on her body which is just awesome to hear! Today she came in to work and i heard someone walking briskly toward my station... she stopped right in front of me and said "OH MY GOSH! Salmon skin really is the bacon of the sea! YUM!" And then she left cuz I got a call... I was cracking up and she sat next to me and just kept saying "YUMMY!" and I just kept giggling! :) I love my job!

SO... Every inch of my legs are sore... my lower abs are sore (Yep they are in that flabby tummy somewhere...) and my shoulders are... well a bit sore... I didn't make it to the pull ups REMEMBER?!

I don't know about tomorrow's workout. I took an Epsom Salty bath tonight and that should help-we'll see how I am feeling.

Do you use Fish Oil? I hear it helps with soreness, inflammation, and a lot of other things... if so whats the best bet?

Hope your Thursday ROCKS!
Manda

22/366... Slow going and Baseline at CrossFit

Hello there. If you read my post earlier today-I really thank you. Apparently it got some attention because it had a lot of hits... in a FAST time frame... if you are one of those who commented <3 thank you and I love you too!

On to the rest of the day. I woke up feeling kinda sniffly. I did sleep last night, however, but woke up at 830am feeling SPLENDID (other than sniffles and itchy throat) and just wasn't sure how I could be so awake.

Ben and I figured out that the culprit was a scented oil diffuser (is that what they are called? with the pretty jar and the reeds?) I got it for Christmas and Ben set it up the other day when we cleaned... apparently it got to me in my sleep. I did not feel well at all. Very crummy-I wish that I didn't have the reaction to scents that I have but it is what it is... I am the reason your office is a "Scent Free Zone" I will take the blame-that's fine. :)

So I went to CrossFit this morning and did my baseline. I think I should say, "I attempted to do my baseline." If you don't know what the baseline is it is like your first *workout* at crossfit to see where you stack up... 500m row, 40 squats, 30 situps, 20 push ups and 10 pull ups. I made it through the first 4 ... by the pullup part I was at 14:30 mins and was about to faint. My trainer told me to take a break... when she asked if I had eaten... I realized I had not... at least not much. So... rule of this story... eat before you WOD. I am going back Thursday for the noon class. I am thinking 2x/wk for a few wks then boost it up to 3x/wk. I am excited to get going on it again but I would be lying if I said that I was not disappointed in myself. It is really hard to start back from the beginning-from worse than the beginning. Ben told me let this be a message to ourselves not to let this happen again-and I think he is right. The only way I can look now is forward. The best option is for me to be able to respect that this is where I am starting... whether it be starting over or not... this is a beginning and beginnings are not easy, especially when it comes to starting a new lifestyle change.

 Thanks Mims... this pic fits perfectly!

So then I got home and we had Primal Fuel (Vanilla) with whole organic local milk... it was really quite yummy. :)

Then we had lunch which was a couple pineapple bratwurst (Which I dipped in mayo mixed with that bbq sauce)  SO GOOD!

For dinner I met with one of my very best friends and bridesmaid Tove. We went to Grille 26 (the awesome restaurant) again... I had steak tips with asparagus, onion and mushroom... and balsamic glaze it was very good!

Then when I got home I was still hungry and I cooked up some scrambled eggs with cheese and my favorite salsa... some of which we still have in the fridge left over from last week! :)

So that is it. I hope your day was equally pleasing. Be safe tomorrow!

Manda

A post about elitism and exclusivity... because I felt like it.

I am not the kind of person to baffle you with my incredible knowledge. Nor am I the person who has 35 links to all scientific journals. I have never been one of those people who is convinced at the drop of a hat once it has been "proven" by science or some doctor or scientist somewhere said something that sounded like it might have been proven. I guess part of that is because I am a person who relies mostly on my own intuitions and feelings towards things overall.

Being Primal (and I am Primal not Paleo as it has been made pointedly clear in the last day or so) is a choice I made because it FELT RIGHT to me. That is it. I saw some people (Tim and Brenda) who had some kick ass results. Just like in OA you find someone who has what you want and you make them your sponsor... Brenda was already my mentor for interpreting in my internship-why not take that a bit further and have her be my "Primal Sponsor"... worked for me. I saw her results and I copied her behaviors. I read "The Primal Blueprint" and I spent hours upon hours on Mark's Daily Apple. None of this time was to learn the science behind it or know all the technical reasons or the "proof" ... it was to see other people's results and to build relationships that, to this day, are still going strong. (I think you will agree Melissa, D, Deanna, Amanda, Batty, Jenn, Teri, Amy, and Shannon) The friendships I acquired and the knowledge I gained from them are invaluable.

Since then there was a Facebook group created for other Primals... it has a really inventive name it is called PRIMAL... (I know right?) From there I branched out and met even more friends who are SO important to me (Porter, Amber, Roger and more). My relationships continued to grow and I was, at the same time, able to grow as a person. No one needed to send me an article or link me to a boring lecture to tell me this is what was right. No one had to prove to me that these relationships meant something-it is just the way it is. It felt right, and so it is right.

Something I always loved about my experiences on MDA (I am not a huge forum goer anymore because it took on a feel that I don't support which I will address later) is that no matter what I had to say there was always someone there to back me up or support me. Not with *cold hard facts from the Internet* (Come on people-really?)  but with their emotional support which is what I, as a human, really need. Maybe I am less evolved than I should be... maybe I am missing the whole "Intelligent Being" wagon that rolled by... if that is the case *Shrug* Oh well... I highly value the spiritual side of my being and if I had to sacrifice that to be more intelligent... then no thank you.

I guess where I am going with all of this is that something I have valued and cherished for so long (Since February of 2010) something that has quite literally saved my life seems to be taking on a trend that all too many things do. The trend of "elitism and exclusivity" as I put in my blog title. I am not one who has ever done anything to fit in. I am true to myself regardless of what it does for my social life. I have never been a fan of fads or cliques because they EXCLUDE others. I have been that person. I have been on the other side of the bully's stick and it was never easy. To think that making snide comments about a person's life choices is not bullying is just as ignorant as saying the sky is not blue. And if your first instinct is to respond to this with a scientific documentation proving the sky is not blue, you should know, I DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT!

All I am asking is for a bit of respect. Some love and some peace. What happened to make people adamant against getting along? Is there something in us that creates the need to argue and fight? Where did that spawn from?

Just know this. I don't judge you. Even if you don't fit in somewhere else-you will always fit in with me. There is enough room in my heart for each and every creature in this world and I value all of you. Everyone is different, that is true, but we all need love to survive... if you would like I could find a scientific document to prove that is true... but I wont.

Please-think before you speak. Don't criticize someone just because they believe or do something different than you do. I was considering removing myself from my more recent group on Facebook (International Paleo Movement Group) because I feel that the point of this group is exclusivity and elitism, not support and love. I may stay on a bit longer and just post really nice and loving things on every single post I see. I think that love is exponential-you can not run out of it... and it is also contagious. Please-Spread the love.

Thanks for reading. I hope your day is just as beautiful as you are inside and out.

Manda

21/366 21DSD/3 week results!!!

So it has been 3 weeks. They are a bit of LONG and a bit of SHORT! Going day by day helps me stay in the present and be grateful for every moment of my day... however it does seem to make time go by slowly. Which is probably a good thing, too, now that I think about it. I guess it is already almost the end of January. This month has been very good to me and I feel that is just a good sign of the year to come! :)

Today's Food (since it was fairly boring) was ... a bowl of soup (it is potluck week at work and someone brought in ham, veggie and cheese soup) of course I was half way through my bowl when the lady was like "do you like it" and I was like "Oh yeah it is good... how did you get it so creamy!?" and she said... "Well i mix a bit of flour in with the butter, milk, and cheese" and I was like "DAMNIT!" (In my brain at least) I ate MAYBE a cup (like measuring cup) worth of it... so I am sure at most I got like a half a tsp of flour in total-nothing that will kill me.

I brought to work an already made Primal Fuel shake... THIS TIME we used ALMOND MILK... HOLY SHIT!!! It tasted SO GOOD! So smooth and creamy and perfectly perfect! It was like a chocolate milkshake! I am not even kidding... all I would have to do is add some ice and blend that up... It would be PERFECT on a cold summer's day... WOOT!!!! (or frozen fruit)

I also had 3 slices of bacon and some cheese (Today was a work all day kind of day-so I kinda grabbed what I could for fuel...)

Sleep--You all know how I have been sleeping lately... Like a rock for 8-10 hours every night... Well last night my head hit the pillow and I could not sleep a WINK!!! I literally stayed awake until 5am ... it was very frustrating. I don't mind if I don't need 8-10 hrs/night... I would prefer it was on my terms though! SHEESH!... I tried several things... it took a lot to get me out. I was very surprised when I woke up at 930 and felt rested. It is nearly 8pm as I am writing this and this is the first sign of sleepiness I have had all day. Not bad at all.

So now for results? Are you ready?...

Weight:
Week one: -5lbs
Week two: -3lbs
Week three: -3lbs.

TOTAL: -11 LBS!!!!

Measurements:
                                        Day 1               Day 21
Neck                                14                         14
Bicep                                15.5                    14.5
Forearm                            10.5                    10.5
Chest (over)                     46.5                    46
Chest (under)                    40                      39.5
Waist                                 40.5                  38
Hips                                  47                     46.5
Thigh                                25                      22

Total inches lost: 8inches!!!!

I mean what???? yeah buddy-this works!!! :)
Ben lost a total of 5.5 lbs but he has really slimmed up a lot too!

Next step-get started at CrossFit again... Next month will be to see how much change there is with eating healthy AND exercise... Cool huh?

I was going to post pics but I don't really see much of a difference-maybe next month k?!

Take care-have a wonderful Tuesday!!

See you tomorrow!
Manda

20/366 Short post because it is late and I am not that exciting!

So today was good. We slept in. Got up and lounged for a bit. Ben cooked some fries which were on that recipe TAWFUNGUY left on my last post. They turned out good-still not crispy... IDK if it is our oven or the fact that Sweet Potatoes just prefer being squishy than being crispy. You know what? I can relate!!! Of course we didn't have much amayozing mayo left (Yeah i did that-what?) so I made more of that as well! :) YUM! We heated up the burgers and chowed down on a fat and protein rich diet with a few carbs.

Speaking of carbs, the carbs were SUPER useful too because we cleaned house today... We didn't get as far as I would have liked but we did get quite a bit done... which is good. The kitchen and Bathroom are SPOTLESS!!! (Because I am my mother's daughter) and the living room is comfortably lived in which is how I like it. :)

We then went to Ben's parent's house where we do our Laundry bi-weekly... I know we are lucky... and don't worry we are grateful too! :)

His pops fixed dinner... it was brats and broccoli and cauliflower with pickles... SUPER YUM... I had mustard with my brats... I didn't read the packaging on the brats-when it is free food I try to ask as few questions as possible because I feel like I am putting people out... (Like when I ask people to not smoke around me when we are in their own house, car etc. ... )

So here is a pic:

As you can see by the MUSTARD ART on the plate... I had a second helping of brats. :) 

That was mostly my day. I hope yours was beautiful. We got another 1.5 inches here in SuFu... It is gorgeous! Really warm for January still, even with the snow. Grateful to have some moisture. 

My mom takes her big test in a week and my Bro can use some help too... so if you don't mind could you do a week of prayers/good thinking/whatever makes you comfortable and sleep at night--for my family? We can all use a little boost of positivity once in a while-I think they have earned theirs. 

Thanks. 

Happy beautiful week to you all!
Love, 

Manda

19/366 A battle of will... Ben won.

So today was some day. Quite the day indeed.

Got up this morning and felt like every inch of my body weighed 30 lbs each... I couldn't hardly move I felt so heavy. Last night by the time we went to bed I was so exhausted... mostly from crying... that I conked out really fast again. I, once again, slept like a rock. I had a very vivid dream, again, as well-finally not about food... but about people and community... it was nice. Except in my dream I was late for work-Thank god that wasn't reality! YIKES!

So I was heavy and hardly human so I laid down on the couch and SLEPT SOME MORE! For pete's sake! You would think all I do is eat, sleep, and work... it's damnear close! But once I woke I felt much more rejuvenated. And I was craving burgers!!!

So I talked to Ben and asked if we could go get burgers somewhere... he said "I think that would be fine" but then we both got to discussing it and I know, and he knows, that part of this detox is detoxifying our eating out. Also I checked the bank to see if we were doing OK financially... we are *OK* but not great by any means... a pretty good reason NOT to go out for lunch. So we sat there and debated. I know that if I went out I would want BBQ sauce and that is DEFINITELY not primal... loaded with sugar... It would be hard.

So we each had a Primal Fuel shake and sat around and debated it ... for like an hour! I went from meatballs to meatloaf to burgers and back again. My primary concern was that 1. I didn't want to have to go shopping, 2. I didn't want to cook or do dishes, and 3. I wanted to be a spoiled brat. Basically that was the gist of it.

Even when we were at the store buying ingredients for things (Ben grabbed the Make It Paleo cookbook and found a BBQ sauce and I knew what the Mayo from Everyday Paleo needed) I was still not feeling well. I think part of it is the tail end of the "flare up" that I had last week. It really takes a lot out of me and limits me physically which made it really hard. Also I was just kind of in a beat-myself-up mood all day.

However, once we got done and got home and started cooking-all my worries were washed away... :) I am currently going to marry the most magnificent man on this entire planet. I know you might want to argue that your husband is better-and you might be right... he might be the perfect one for you. This one-this one was DEFINITELY made for me. He gets me every time! :)

So let's move on to some photographs shall we?

 These are sweet potato fries... Ben julienned them!

 My MAYO!!! It turned out PERFECTLY!!! Thank you Mims! (I used the Everyday Paleo Mayo Recipe)

 This is the done fries-Do you have any recipes or ideas for us on how to make them better?... they didn't turn out SPLENDIDLY... just kinda OK.

 This is the BBQ sauce from the Make It Paleo cookbook!

 The onions on the skillet after the burgers got done!

 The burgers... YUM! The satisfied my red meat craving and had bacon and cheese too!

The feast before the sauces...

 This is the post-saucyiness! (how do you even spell that?!) SO GOOD!

This was my day... it was great. 

I love you all! Thank you for reading. Have a warm and wonderful Sunday!

Manda

**PS** I don't know how the word "laid" got highlighted in white... it was not a subliminal message or anything!