Weight and Paleo....again

A few weeks ago I was desperately seeking some weight loss because I could not fit into my bridesmaid dress. I had no idea that those damned things ran small so I was essentially wearing a smaller size than my normal?? Anyway It wouldn't fit and I seriously took it to the seamstress and she said that I needed 2 inches taken out but she could only give me one! I had three weeks until the wedding and losing 5 pounds was more of a mind &*&%^ than anything else. I couldn't do it because I kept sabotaging myself with the foods the kids were eating candy, popcorn, eating out ect.

Needless to say I got "desperate" and bought this meal plan and it was a grain free meal plan. I was like eh WHATEVER I need to lose these few pounds or inches so I can get into this dress. I knew that this way of thinking wasn't healthy but what was I going to do? I HAD to fit into this dress. I am in the military supporting 2 kids and a house and I just can't throw $150 out the window because a dress doesn't fit.

SIDENOTE! I DO NOT CARE THIS BAD EVER ABOUT WEIGHING OR LOOKING A CERTAIN WAY THIS DRESS WAS GOING TO POTENTIALLY COST ME $150 + THAT I DON'T HAVE TO SPEND!

I made it through the first week on the meal plan and it wasn't that hard but I did eat some popcorn (that and chicken wings are my vice) I wanted sugar one day and sugar was in this popcorn so I ate it LOL. Not so great of a first week but I managed. I ate grain free the rest of the week. You know the story because I posted pictures on my last blog post. So fast forward. I am still doing the meal plan the dress fits and I feel better than ever! I have no complaints what so ever and that makes me happy because I thought that it was going to be terrible lol I have lost minimal inches and lost a pound from it BUT I lost the inflammation that I was having due to maybe I assume grains?

On that same weekend my husband told me the best news that I have heard in years! Other than the fact that we were leaving Kodiak, AK. LOL He was ready to have baby #3 with me! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

I have never planned a baby the way my husband and I are planning it now and we are going to start trying here very soon. Which makes me ecstatic but also scares the living crap out of me. My last 2 pregnancies I had a handful of these "amazing" pregnancy ailments and I don't really want to experience them again :( I did not have enjoyable pregnancies because of these ailments and I want a healthier lifestyle for me and my new baby.

I didn't really know that grain-free was a part of being paleo, so when I started doing some research on grain free diets google hooked me up with Paleo diets lol. Paleo seems to fit what I am doing with my diet though because I am not eating legumes, dairy, or grains. I cannot really digest lactose so I try to stay away from it unless it comes to pizza lol. Anyway I have been doing a lot of research on how eating less carbohydrates and keeping a good diet for myself would help the baby and the primal way seems to make sense to me. I know I have gone vegan and vegetarian and I may seem a bit faddish but I don't blog about every single facet of my healthy lifestyle. Giving up grains has reduced my flatulence, I am not so tired all the time, and I can eat with no bounds but I don't over eat. I don't get bloated after I eat and I don't get the FULL feeling anymore like I did when I would eat breads and pastas. I would ALWAYS go to the cupboard for something sweet after having a starch like that other than oatmeal. So for right now I am just going with the flow.

If/when I get pregnant I will totally blog my whole experience because I think that people should know about it. I know there aren't many blogs out there now and the ones that are have very little information as to what the person ate and how it helped them and what not and they stuck to the general pregnancy aspect of it. I guess over the next few days I will talk about my past pregnancies and how I felt about them and the symptoms that I had with each of them to keep you posted.

What is Paleo? The Cliffnotes version

I know that in another post awhile ago I talked about eating Paleo for a week and I never really did lol. 

I recently stumbled upon more information and I have become seriously intrigued and I wanted to post an overview of what it is. Paleo is first and foremost a lifestyle, it is usually taken on by people who do Crossfit and that is why I believe it has become so popular but also because of the increase in autoimmune diseases in the United States. I of course stumbled upon it the second time by accident because I was eating grain free and lactose free which is essentially Paleo. 

I don't really like to label myself as anything but I eat like everyone else. Vegetarianism didn't work for me because I had a family that ate meat and it was too hard to see all the meat there and I WANTED to eat it. It was just something that was not for me and I don't necessarily have the budget to buy groceries for three different diets. My husband wasn't on board at all and that was fine with me but I held on as long as I could and it seriously did turn out to also be WAY too expensive. SO, I went back to my normal eating habits and I ended up eating a lot of processed foods such as Cliff Bars and that led to drinking and eating lots and lots of popcorn, late night snacking and it led to my weight gain. Ok so you know the rest of the story and here I am today. Please be reminded that I just started this over a week ago and I am still new to this whole idea. SO what is Paleo. 

Paleo is a lifestyle that;

Tries to mimic the hunters and gatherers from the stone ages and such. 
They eat full fat GRASS FED beef and pork without antibiotics or hormones. 
Shell fish and fish
Poultry and eggs that are cage free. 
Organ meats 
Homemade bone broth
Starches such as sweet potato, plaintains root vegetables, squash ect. 

 

They DO NOT EAT

Grains of any kind
Dairy unless it is raw and not pasteurized
Legumes of any kind
Soy  

It is all natural clean eating just like Tosca Reno's Eat Clean diet with some restrictions. The whole premise of the Paleo diet is that it is to heal the gut and decrease inflammation, bloating, gas, indigestion, lose unwanted body fat through eating foods that were similar to those of our ancestors. It is a lifestyle that is geared through healing people by eating the foods that are available to us in the least processed way possible. 

MY THOUGHTS:

I think that this is a lifestyle that is tough on those that eat too much processed food. I do think that it is totally doable for someone that suffers from gluten intolerance (bloating, gas, fullness, uncomfort after eating a meal containing a food that has gluten). I think that it will heal inflammation as I saw it in my own body. I do think that it requires some research and I don't think that you should give up anything at once. One thing at a time should do and then eliminate little by little and re-introduce things later if you feel that you can handle them and if they iritate you than you probably shouldn't be eating it anyway. 

After a week of eating Paleo and eating Chipolte I had chicken, beans, rice and avocado. It did not sit well with my stomach and even though I did not isolate the foods to distinguish if it was the beans or the rice the way I felt today was enough to know that I don't want to eat either again. I gained 3 pounds overnight and I have bee VERY bloated all day. I believe that this lifestyle works and I am very eager to get back from San Diego, get pregnant and live this lifestyle to the fullest. I feel that I am onto something here and if I am right OH boy it is going to be life changing for me :)

 

Feeling like a hippie.

Whew it has been a wild month for me! My son is here and I have barely had time to sit down a breathe. I mean I have but not the time to dedicate to a blog post. 

I know this may sound a bit faddish but the longer I am on my healthy journey the more I research things and try them out to see if they are for me or not. I mean you can read all the information in the world but if you don't put it to use how do you know if it works right? 

Well about 2 years ago I knew that I was full blown lactose intolerant. I never really drank milk with the exception of in my cereal or ice cream and of course cheese! I stopped all the dairy when I was doing P90X because I wanted that banging body and the things that I was eating wasn't helping me maintain my weight it was just making me feel like dookie about myself. I now can not digest whey protein or anything with lactose in it. Lactose pills work but I am not a pill popper and it doesn't work for ice cream and I found Almond Dream for that so it all works right? 

Anyway, I have bee frequenting the health food store in my town and everything in there is SO foreign to me because it is not at Wal-Mart or Target, I get lost looking at the labels. Since I have made changes to my diet because of lactose and the way certain foods make me feel It makes me happy to know that there are alternatives to the way that I want to eat. 

I have been eating grain free for almost a week now and I have had to make some adjustments to how I was going to make certain foods and came across some ideas on Pinterest which is amazing!!! Gotta love that website it is a power house when you are looking for something specific. Doing the grain free thing hasn't done much in the weight department but it has helped the bloating go down and has certainly helped me out with decreasing the inflammation that I guess I carry in my body. Here is what grain free has done for me in 3 days......I took these pictures first thing in the morning no food in my belly right before my workout. For comparison, I hate doing things differently when I am doing a side by side. I wasn't going to share these but just so that you can see the difference. 

Work it out! T25 Info

I just finished week 2 of Insanity and I can say that I am hella happy that I am slowly getting through this thing. It's weeks 6-9 that are going to be the killer lol.

My eating is getting better and my abdomen is looking better than ever. I have lost 7 inches all over since starting the program and THAT makes me excited. My weight is still fluctuating from 122-124 which I am okay with because salt and I have issues.....I am not too big on the scale thing I just want to stay in my sz 4s and not have anything floating over when I am standing up or having my upper thighs be stuffed like sausages in my jeans.

I am a pear shape and I primarily carry all of my weight in my upper thighs and abdomen when I do gain it so, me keeping at a certain size keeps those bad boys in check. 

I recently buckled and bought Shaun T's new workout T25, I really want to try it but I desperately want to be an Insanity graduate because I have done the darn thing 3 times with bailing on the 2 weeks to first month. I realized that Body Beast is not for me and bulking is not where I want to go in my fitness adventures so I will leave that to my husband to have ;) it's all good it is not for everybody and that is a ok with me :) I love the fact that I don't have to use any weights because I seriously am so cheap I don't want to go and buy 20 lb dumbbells ha ha ha! I know.....issues! 

So what is T25 all about?? I don't really know what the workout involves because I don't have it in hands I just bought it and it will be in the mail shortly BUT what I do know is this....

It's selling out!
It's a 25 minute workout
5 days a week Hello weekends off for REST DAYS!!!!!
3 phases 4 weeks long Alpha, Beta, and Gamma (GAMMA is sold separately)
It includes HIIT training and core training

The price???
$119.95 regular price
$89.95 coach price ;) (THAT right there is WHY I am a coach!) and
$180 for the T25 and Shakeology which is the best deal and I can't get that deal (insert tantrum) because I am a coach already and you can only get it when you are a new customer hint hint if you want the benefits of being a coach a challenge pack is the way to go because you get the $40 membership fee waived and you get the 25% discount! Basically you are getting T25 and the shakes and save $60!!!!!! BLAHHH where was this when I signed up!?!??! Here is a video in case you are wondering what it is about :)

I was thinking about putting a challenge group together for this because I want to do it with my challengers.....we'll have to see though.

How to make it through Insanity

It isn't a joke when they say that Insanity is one of the hardest workouts to ever be put on DVD, but I know that if you have seen the infomercials and the results you don't really care about that right? I mean hello GREAT results in 60 days? I have done Insanity once before and I am in week 2 of it and I am already seeing the results of my hard work! 

The first time I did it I remember having to hold back my cookies because I seriously thought that I was going to get sick. I pushed through and made it about a month before my husband came back from deployment and it was then all about him :) In the beginning when you first start you are going to think this Shaun T is on the crazy train, you are going to be out of breath, you will pause it I am sure and every inch of your body will be in absolute pain especially your calves in the first week. If none of those things happen well honey you didn't push hard enough. 

SO how do you get through it.........

There are 3 levels in each circuit I like to think of them as light, medium, and bust your tail. 

Light level: This is where you would "jog." Take it slow and get to know each exercise. Go through the movement and do it nice and easy.

Medium Level: This is where you would "run" you are going to go faster on YOUR pace not the pace of the people on the TV push a bit harder than you did the last level but don't exert all of your energy. Think of it as your run you are breathing heavier but you can still maybe say a few words to someone if they were to talk to you. 

Bust your tail Level: This is where you are going to sprint. Find something to get mad at or something that is frustrating you and just GOOOOOOO this is where your all out effort is going to be. You just PUSH PUSH PUSH you will be out of breath and all of your focus is going to be right there and your goal is to go as fast as those on the TV but if you can't get there yet that is ok it is YOUR journey not theirs on the TV. 

Rest: Take your 30 second break and repeat the madness this is where I will pause it for a minute even because drinking water so fast give me the burps lol and I have to relax a bit before I drink water so that way I don't stop to burp in the middle of the next segment. 

Pure Cardio is probably the hardest workout on the damned thing just because you don't stop but what I do is pause it when I need a break and then just keep going. 

The moral of the story is that you DON'T quit. If you can't finsh the DVD pause it and catch your breath or make a goal to finish the damned thing. That's all take your time and understand that each level is like a build up and not an all out sprint for the three levels. It's pretty easy to get caught up in what is happening on the screen but you know your own ability so push yourself but not to the point where you are going to do any harm to yourself. 

If you want me to help you with your journey please email me at jeannettealverio(at)yahoo(dot)com

Little adventure

Well I finally have a week off of work and the last thing I am going to do is stay in the house. So I did my workout this morning, drank my Shakeology for breakfast which I am LOVING for breakfast. Where have I been? HA mix a shake up and be full for a few hours in the AM so I can do other things......um yes I think I will change my shakes to the morning from now on for awhile! Anyway I digress. I got showered dressed and did some chores around the house and BAM we went out to the state park! I got bit by a HUGE mosquito....next time I will be bringing the bug spray with us my dumb a** put perfume on...HELLLO lady!

We were initially going to go to another park but they closed it which was a real bummer because I wanted them to actually PLAY at the park but that didn't work out so we went to this other state park that I drove by a million times and finally just went in and stopped. We all got out of the car and walked on this long trail that ended up at a beach. It had way too many rocks though so the kids didn't do much playing there which was a bummer but we did catch some great views and got a walk in there so that was nice. 

Here are some pictures of our adventure today!

I also did get my VANILLA SHAKEOLOGY in the mail today and made the apple pie one and it was DELICIOUS! I love love loved it! It was yummy. If you are interested in a sample I have individual packs so you can email me and send $5 and I will mail you a sample :)

Insanity.......

SO! I remember posting a few days ago that I gained weight and inches in my upper things. I have a pear shaped body and most of my fat goes in the rear end hips and thighs. Tummy is the second place that all of that crap goes.

I noticed it happening because my shorts were fitting CRAZY tight around my legs. Once upon a time ago I hated the thought of wearing shorts and for that reason alone I got so excited when shorts didn't hug my thighs :) I don't want to buy new clothes, I want to wear the ones that I already have because I spent REALLY good money on my clothes and buying a bigger size than I normally wear for me is being okay with getting bigger and if I go there than I am just going to keep letting these little things compound right?

I just want to make it clear that I don't really care about how much I weigh, I sincerely care about my clothes fitting me and not having to buy a bigger size. Now don't get me wrong I am not a one size fits size. I have to buy a medium sometimes to get a better fit and that is okay with me I just don't want to be the bigger size ALL the time. I understand vanity sizing and all that marketing bologna but I can't stress enough I don't want to get bigger because I was already THERE.

I knew that Body Beast and the way that I was eating was not enough for me or maybe I was truly bulking and that's okay but my thighs got bigger and that is not something I want to compromise LOL. If you are a girl reading this I hope you understand lol.

This is where I started. THIS is where my journey began and THIS is NOT me. My weight doesn't define me but my confidence does and THIS girl is not confident. THIS girl had issues with her body, with her mind and she was scorned and in pain. This picture shows a girl who at that very moment decided to make a change in her life. SHE was going to be healthy and she was going to look like she once had before because she always said that kids will not stop her from having what she wanted.

Little did I know that I would be here today standing tall and confident and in love with who I am as a person inside and out. I am healthy and I LOVE that what I feel on the inside is showing on the outside. I am taking care of myself in more ways than one. This was me then and I want to stay where I am now and grow into a more loving and wiser person than I am today I want to keep moving forward and not looking back.

My thighs not fitting into those shorts while it may seem vain and insecure or whatever negative thoughts one would think it truly showed me that I was reverting into a life that I don't want to see again. It may have been my thighs but I was eating poorly, drinking a lot more than a glass or two of wine and it was not going to church. I was sliding backwards in all areas of my life and my body was telling me otherwise. So I started changing things.

I wake up early and pray to God and thank Him for all He has done. I workout and I am now currently doing Insanity and I am in LOVE with it! I also eat better I am writing down what I eat to keep accountable and I am doing my Bible Study and Bible reading everyday.

It is a great Bible study if you are interested in it. There is SO much I want to blog about in the coming days and I am glad that I am off work so that I can share with you all! I can't wait!!!

Family........

I love the little life that my husband and I made for each other. It makes me happy and every day I look up to the heavens and thank God for giving me the life that I had always dreamed of. I can't help but to want more, I want more happiness, more smiles, more time with my family. 

For the past year now I have been VERY vocal to my husband about wanting another baby. The time isn't right really, we have a mountain of debt we need to pay off and we pay like $900 in daycare just for Boogey. It's pretty rough to try to manage paying off our debt and trying to plan to bring a new life into the world. 

At times I think that it's not meant to be and other times I think that it may be time for me to make the bold move to get out of the Coast Guard and pursue another adventure. I get all confused with what God wants for my life and I think I read signs and all but then sometimes I am wrong ha ha ha! I guess I should just trust him and let things be what they are. I don't really know what the plan is for us but I do know that the one that makes the "MOST" sense is for us to get rid of our debt with a sense of urgency and get this baby making on the road. 

I want a baby for so many reasons but the biggest reason is for Cristian to have someone. Brandon and Cristian have each other but they don't live together. I know that in a few years Brandon will be old enough to make a decision on who he wants to live with if he makes that choice but I can't depend on that. I want Cristian to have someone that he can live with and be with all the time. The fact that I am in the Coast Guard makes that hard for Cristian and Brandon. Don't get me wrong now, they have a wonderful relationship they paly, laugh, and talk with one another but they don't see each other often and I don't know what the future is on the location of my life will be lol. SO I want Cristian to have a sibling that he can be close to. 

I am also such a planner. I envy those people that have a lot of kids and then worry about the finances later ha ha ha. I wish I could be like that....I mean I was with Cristian nothing mattered and now it makes me wonder why am I so worried now lol. Am I smarter now? Is it not the time yet? I don't know why I am all planny about this maybe it's the excessive cost of daycare in Massachusetts.....there is so much I want to do with my money I am trying to fit it all in.......see this is my head. ha ha ha. 

Having two children in the house really freaks me out but I want this for him and I am willing to put all things aside and live unselfishly and give him another baby. It will be hard to get rid of all this debt in the time that we want to get rid of it but at the same time it will all be worth it in the end. I don't know when this is going to happen but I wanted to put it out there in the world so that way I can be held accountable lol. 

Until next time!