Bah! I slipped up!

I feel like I am playing Chutes and Ladders sometimes. I slipped up on Mothers Day (Day 21 of the Whole 30 diet) and the trap door opened up beneath my feet. I am writing about it here for the same reasons I am doing my sewing blog on wordpress-its got more future potential should I want to take it that far.
I don't think I will keep this blog going-but who knows. The blogosphere is dotted with my markings it seems:)

Crab Apple Tree and me

Day 20. I have concluded that I can take photos of myself (or have them taken) and not feel shy about sharing them.

I wish that I was actually ready for the photo-I had just finished a sprint/walk around our 2 acres when I decided to hang out at my favorite spot-the crab apple tree. Its a very cool and shaded spot and even on the worst of day of summer heat, its an amazing refuge.  The wind was blowing alot yesterday and I wanted a picture before it blew the blossoms off entirely.

I have wondered for a long time if crab apple was not related to rose. I don't know if you can see close enough if you click but check it out:

The leaves are nearly identical (I know you can't see them) and the flowers are similar to wild (and prairie) rose. Its fruit is similar to rose hips as well.  I know I can look it up-just haven't bothered to yet.

At anyrate, I enjoyed a warm day out in the sunshine-I am avoiding gardening because I want my hands to look marvelous for a job interview tomorrow-so I am using this time to pamper myself a bit. I went through a healing crisis of sorts last week-in a lot more pain than before but its seems to have subsided.

I continue to stick to the program and feel better about it today than I did the day before. Each day brings less challenges and I accept that there will always be something that tempts me away from my own good health.

I hope this post finds you well!

Day 17

I wanted to not count down to day 30 but it seems that I am getting impatient. I wanted a bowl of cereal yesterday or oatmeal or toast,  which I enjoyed in the past sometimes for dinner. I was actually a little upset that I couldn't have something so simple. I had leftovers which I wasn't in the mood for. I was tired. I didn't want to cook. Can't I just open the stupid pantry and pull something out and just eat it for once?!!! A silent mini fit.

However, when I went upstairs to change into pajamas, a glimpse in the mirror made me more determined. I am still overweight despite my weight loss and I don't like it. Being cranky however, I was a little bit more down on myself than I intended.
Reason? Stress. Stress= Carb Cravings-for me anyway. A discovery!

 I have an interview for a job-a job that I didn't realize my counselor applied for though she did ask me if I was interested and I said yes. It went in one ear and out the other for some reason. What happened was that I got a response. A response! 

 This is the second response in two weeks but the first one-document handler position-was an agency that, upon confirming my availabilty for an interview never bothered to make an appointment. Interestingly, this second response can lead to a similar position as the first one-document handler.

I feel good that my resume would get a response at all. I've been out of the workforce for so long that I expected it would be hard to be taken seriously so to get this much interest in such a short time is gratifying.

At anyrate, this second job sounds very promising except for one thing-the hours.  
I'd like to work those hours but I don't know how it will fit in with my lifestyle needs-i.e. doctors appointments for both me and my husband. I can manage mine I think but not his. Do I need to manage his? I don't know. I am "what iffing."

This question has kept me up at night because I don't want to short change an employer. Yet its not the thing to bring up at first interviews either.

 I am very happy to be interviewed-I would like the practice regardless of getting the job or not. And meeting people who might not want me for this job but could possibly keep me in mind for other work-thats invaluable.

I am going to spend today on inner reflection and focus on what comes up. I can possibly have my job counselor negotiate but I am not sure that I am going to disclose things to the company just yet.

What would you do?

Day 16

Its been uneventful except that I was craving gum. Infact I have been craving it for awhile which is odd since I rarely actually chew it. Instead of worrying about it, I visit my trusted and lovely spruce tree and take a couple of needles to eat. I don't see things like spruce, pine or other foraged goodies on the no-no list. lol.

The above photo was taken last year-our tree hasn't got its cones yet this year. Its one of my favorite trees and I visit it daily to admire it.

Evergreen needles taste like pine at first but as the flavors develop they end up tasting a bit citrusy to me. Its a lovely taste.

Also, I have cheated and weighed myself because I am sewing and my measurements seemed off the other day-I had to remeasure a couple of times and sure enough, I am dropping some inches. I knew my pants were loose but my bras are too:(
The only part of me not getting smaller actually is my waist!
I have lost 6 lbs! 8 if I consider that I had been working on eating more Paleo for about two weeks prior to seeing my funtional doctor-I had lost 2 lbs before that visit and the Whole 30 diet.

I was doing my walk and sprint routine the other day and ended up pretty sore. To that, add a fall I took because my Dansko shoes-the most comfortable I own-are not flexible enough to handle a rock on the grass. I went forward, broke my fall with my hands and then landed on my knees, not on the grass-that would of been too good. I landed on the gravel path just next to the grass which of course triggered my knee pain. The same day but earlier, I twisted my ankle on a part of the property that has a hidden man made four inch wide ditch.
All up, I have decided  that until I heal a bit from the pain of being battered on Day 14, I will ride my stationary recumbant bike which is not my idea of fun.

It might sound insane considering my pain level and I know its not necessary or even recommended for the Paleo lifestyle-I want to run. I have always been on track team as a youth-I have done alot of cross country too. That was a long time ago but my body seems to be craving this type of action and I am by far a more productive runner than a walker. Walking really does hurt my feet and hips for some reason and running doesn't.

I have asked two of my friends if they would care to try to train for a marathon and both declined-not because they were uninterested but because they couldn't fathom it. One is ill and can't see past her chronic pain which I understand and the other just doesn't want to which is fine.

I miss being a runner. I told myself that if I ever got better I'd take it up running.  That is still a goal for me.

What role does excercise play in your life? Do you do the Grok thing or the more traditional gym rat type of workouts? What do you like to do?

Day 11 and 12

The 11th-
A not so good day-I woke up in a bit more pain than usual which was very discouraging as this way of eating is a last ditch effort before going on some heavy medications.
However, I have a local friend who has been on this diet on and off for Lymes disease. She suggested that perhaps my body was detoxing-I had felt it initially on an emotional level and a pain in collar bone but the way I feel now  is probably more like it. I am a laste bloomer after all!
 I also think that the stress doesn't help-its quite toxic on its own!

My appetite is way down so I am having trouble with eating enough but thats okay too. I think that I have lost some weight but I am not supposed to get on the scale again till day 30.

Day 12-nothing really to report-appetite continues to stagnate.  I ate  small portions yesterday. For dinner I ate a liver, beef and raspberry chilli (God sent this recipe to me.) I chopped lambs liver for this but it calls for ground liver. I had about a two cup serving of a smoothie.  A good breakfast of sauteed greens and hard boiled eggs.

I have an appointment with my jobs counselor this morning and have to do some shopping but I will start today with a bit more of that chilli and hope to be back home in time to eat a good lunch to get back on track here. Even a salad with a protein will do-must stop the smoothie habit!

Cravings of late have been rice. Sweet simple rice. I wonder if I will ever be able to eat it again? I will be reintroducing some foods at the end of this initial period so it will be interesting to see what happens.  I don't seem to be missing breads so much as I thought I would. Dairy isn't a big deal anymore either. Sugary flavors are missed but I can eat dates so its okay now.

Burn that junk food down! Day 10

Yesterday was a bit stressful overall so I was proud of myself for staying on the diet. It wasn't easy! To top things off, Garry brought home a favorite food of mine-a pizza! He had picked it up in a restaurant and it was in a cardboard box. Unbeknownst to me, he put it in the oven. I never do that unless we are eating it right away!
So when I decided to broil my buffalo burgers instead of bbq or pan fry-I preheated the oven without looking. Within minutes, I could smell toasted marshmallows! Looking around, I found smoke billowing out of the ovens vent. What the?!!!!

Garry managed to pull the pizza out of the oven and out the door while I got water to douse the flames. He burned himself a bit and the kitchen still smells of smoke. He was miffed but then I thought that it served him right-bringing pizza (hands down my favorite food!) into a Whole 30 home like that.

I would not feel the same if he got hurt or if the fire was out of control.

So that is one way to deal with a spouse who brings home junkfood and won't eat Paleo! lol

Day 9

I just couldn't bare being in the kitchen so I opted out of eating much.  That left me with cravings. I would of eaten a whole cake if it were presented to me. I did eat but not in the same way as the other days-just not interested. And that is okay as I didn't eat sugar to compensate because there is nothing of the sort around here. That meant that eyed the Swiss cheese and the bread. But I refrained.
That is the advantage of living in the boondocks though-I wasn't going to go to town to buy a chocolate as its a 30 minute drive.

I have an issue that I think is common though-my spouse eats alot of good food but because he tends to be starving all the time the bulk of his diet is breads. Some breads I can do without like the English muffins which I think smell like stale yeast no matter how fresh they are. But  other breads can be sooooo tempting!

My husband has liver issues so his protein count needs to be carefully tallied-he needs it but too much of it and his liver can't clear the ammonia out of his blood which leads to bouts of dementia. I think he would do great on a modified Paleo diet-one that allows him to eat grains to help him gain weight but also to keep him filled up. If I put a slab of ribs in front of this man he'd eat every last  bite and not share-he is definitely a carnivore! But balance is so important here!

While my husbands medical condition might be unique to us-having a spouse who doesn't want to give up breads as a dietary staple isn't.  He eagerly awaits the next apple pie or the rhubarb scones which I just don't want to bake right now.
He thinks I am insane to even try to do this diet. Once upon a time I thought all you Paleos out there were insane as well, so I relate. But I think he would feel better in the long run if he tried it himself if he got rid of the bread as filler.

Have you found a way to get your spouse interested in eating better? Have you come across a "modified Paleo diet"? Link? Information?