Primal Blueprint 30 Day Challenge - End of Week 1

It's the end of the first week!  How did everyone do?

I have been doing decently with it.  I've struggled a couple of times, but I've been doing the best that I've done in a long time on my exercise!  My biggest battle is going to be getting control of my eating habits.

Early to the Party...

Apparently, MDA wasn't ready for the challenge to begin.  That, or I jumped the gun by 12 days!

Click here!

(Their logo for this year certainly is prettier than mine.)

Meal Time! Enchilada on Flaxseed Tortilla

Following a Primal Blueprint/Paleo/Low-Carb lifestyle is great, but sometimes you miss your old friends like bread, chips, corn, and tortilla shells.  I mean, what is a sandwich without bread and what is a taco salad without the tortilla shell?

Some friends of mine pointed out the fact that if I was really hurting for my grainy friends, that I could always look to alternative sources of them like flaxseed, coconut, and almonds to name a few.  When my sister announced that enchiladas were on the docket for dinner, I started to panic a little.  You see, enchilada filling is delicious and it fits in with Primal Blueprint eating, but it's just not the same without the tortilla wrapper.  

I decided that I needed that wrapper, but I wasn't going to settle for anything less than PB standards.  This set me out for my local grocery store.  There, I picked up a couple of bags of milled flaxseed and some baking powder.  I soon returned home and looked to the Internet for the next step.  I was lucky to find this site with a recipe for flaxseed tortillas and bread.

I followed the recipe for the most part, and it turned out decently.  My few critiques are as follows: 

• The flaxseed needs to be ground down even further until it is closer to a powdery consistency.  Left as is will be fine, but if the person eating the tortilla has issues with texture, then this may not be for them.
• The seasoning for the tortilla needs a lot of work.  It was very salty tasting.
• The final product had very little in common with the flour tortillas that come to mind.  It was very thick and brittle, and very similar to a cookie in hardness.  This one definitely wasn't made to wrap around anything.

All of that said, the final product was very filling.

As far as the enchilada filling, it was a very simple recipe.  We used meat from a rotisserie chicken bought at the store, a small 8oz. tub of the Philadelphia Cream Cheese - Santa Fe Blend, and a can of crushed tomato. Mix that together with a half cup of shredded cheddar cheese and put it in (on) your tortilla shell.  Throw some more shredded cheese on top with some enchilada sauce (not in the picture above) and bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit until the cheese is melted on top!

I hope you guys enjoy this simple recipe.  Leave a comment if you have any suggestions on how to make this better!

Primal Blueprint 30 Day Challenge - Day 5

We're five days into the challenge.  How is everyone doing so far?

I'm finally done working at my old job, so my days spent eating on the road are officially over.  I have had a couple of days of light exercise, including an early morning jog and light strength training yesterday morning.  The weather outside here in Kentucky is close to perfect for getting outside and enjoying the weather.

As far as my diet goes, I've not been behaving the best that I could have.  But one can only eat the same kind of salad so many times in a row before harming themselves starts to look like a viable option.  There might have been a candy bar, a soda, and a piece of pizza.  

The great thing about Primal Blueprint lifestyle is that it's forgiving.  I don't beat myself up for getting off track, I just work harder at getting back on track!

Primal Blueprint 30 Day Challenge

Since my wife passed away, I've not been taking care of myself as well as I should have been.  I started eating crap foods again, I stopped exercising as much, and I started smoking again.  There; it's all laid out on the table now.

I've known for a long time that I couldn't let myself go for long like this, or I would find myself right back in the same situation I was in last October.  I refuse to go back to that size and be an absolutely miserable human being.  It's the last thing I need.

A couple of weeks ago, the idea hit me that I needed to go "hardcore" back into my diet and exercise routine for at least a month and get myself back on track.  Low and behold, Mark Sisson just happened to start up his yearly Primal Blueprint Health Challenge on August the 4th.  I may be a little late to the party, but it's never to late to get yourself healthy.

Starting today, September the 1st of 2011, I am going on the Primal Blueprint 30 Day Challenge.  I'm going to Grock out with my socks out.  I'll be following the exercise routine he provides and the diet as well.  No breads, no pastas, no sugars, no refined, processed, "just like" foods.  

Just like with the No Sweets? No Sweat! Challenge, I'll be posting here regularly with updates about my progress.  I hope that anybody who still reads my blog will jump in with me.  If not, why not just commit to doing something healthier than your used to for the next 30 days?  It can be anything from eating healthier foods, adding (more) exercise to you daily life, or cutting out something that is unhealthy for you.

I'll start with what I've got for the day:  

Current Weight: 346 lbs

Let's get this started!

Paleo to Go

Who's ever felt like they were a victim of this guy?  Surely, if you have children then you see him quite often, and loathe every trip you take to see him.  If you aren't so afraid of what his food does to you, maybe you should take a look at this.  (Yes, that really is a hamburger purchased in 1996.)

So what of us that actually do try to think about nutrition while out on the road?  This is something I was forced to do quite a bit of thinking about over the past few weeks as I have been traveling back and forth between my old job in my old town, and my new home in my new town.  There is almost an hour and a half of travel time, so I often stay with friends in the old town while I'm working to keep down gas costs.

At first, I was just going with the flow and submitting to the "necessary evils," but after a while I started to feel like crap as my body revolted against all of the junk I was putting in it.  I now would like to introduce one of the things that saved me on the days I didn't have a stove to cook with.

The Hardee's Low-Carb Thickburger

When I found out about the "Low Carb" at Hardee's, it was like a new light was shining through to me.  It may only be a thickburger without the bun, but it's great for somebody who tries to not go carb-crazy when they don't have an option to eat at home.  They also have a breakfast companion called the "Low Carb" that is a simple mix of eggs, sausage, bacon, swiss, and cheddar cheese.  You can learn more about their healthy options here.

After finding these two mini-fast food saviors, I went in search of other foods that might fit either the low-carb, paleo, or primal guidelines, and I found PaleoFastFood.com.  The person who came up with this site, a person who simply goes by "Jtubbs", actually gets out there and does the searching.  They've brought me into the light for so many "paleoesque" foods that I can get while I'm on the road.  I definitely recommend going there and checking it out if you're in need of an idea for your next meal out.

Back Into the Swing

I'm finally starting to get back into a regular workout schedule.  I've not missed a session in the last couple of weeks; at least going once every three days.

My weight is still maintaining right at the same numbers I left off at.  I weighed in three days ago, and I was at 352.9 lbs.  However, I'm still not ready to start posting the weekly stats again.  I don't expect to have those going again until some time in September.

I've got a really busy month ahead of me.  Madix will be starting preschool on August the 22nd.  My final day at the hospital will be August the 27th.  I'll be working in two, three, and four day spurts up until that time.  You might see pictures of me from the old gym, and you might see some from the new one too.  Although, it occurs to me that I've not been back there since I got my membership, and they're probably wondering where I went off to.  Also, during all of this time, I am still trying to find part-time work at my new home while getting ready to start school in December, as well as finalizing everything from Amber's loss.

As for an update on my supplements, I am taking the following:

GNC Triple Strength Fish Oil (900mg x 2 daily)

GNC Mega Men's Sport Multivitamin (x 2 daily)

Cetirizine (for allergies, once daily)

GNC Ultra Probiotic Complex 25 (once daily)

USPlabs OxyELITE Pro (x2 capsules in the AM, x1 in the evening)

I am also using BSN Syntha-6 Protein Powder once a day for meal replacements.  For pre-workout, I am using VPX N.O. Shotgun v.3, which is a combination of creatine, protein, L-Arginine, Citrulline, BCAA's, and caffeine.  For my post-workout, I am using GNC Pro Performance AMP Amplified Wheybolic Extreme 60 Protein Powder.  I added the probiotics for my digestion, which could always use some help, along with also boosting my immune system.  I know that I gave the OxyELITE Pro's a bad review a while back, but I also found out that they are extremely effective when taken correctly.  I am still not an advocate for people using "diet pills" as their only source of weight-loss, but I am using this myself because I need something to jump-start my body back into it's old ways.  After I use all of these capsules, I won't be likely to buy any more.

I'll be sure to check in again soon!