Week 1 Update!

Ryan & I survived the first week of our meal plan!!
Having completed the plan before, I went in knowing what to expect and handled the first week as well as can be expected. Ryan, however, is new to the system so he definitely went through an adjustment period during the first few days of following the meal plan.  First, he isn't used to eating so many meals a day. Prior to starting the plan, he was eating three larger meals a day and he is now eating five smaller meals a day.  He has figured out how to time them to his schedule and has done a good job of eating all his meals.  Second, it was the second day of the meal plan before I realized that different portion sizes are suggested for men & women so poor Ryan didn't eat enough food during the first day! As soon as I figured out the information about portion sizes I adjusted his serving sizes accordingly.  Even then, Ryan's body is used to fewer but larger meals so his body was adjusting for about three days before it was accepting that it would receive the smaller more frequent meals.

Although we have followed the plan for the vast majority of our meals, we have made some exceptions.  The meal plan Allows for "cheat meals" so we used one of those for a mother's day celebration but we had an additional sushi cheat (not bad for a cheat) for our other mother's day celebration (we can't just celebrate one mom!) and Ryan enjoyed a small cheat for his birthday celebration at work.  Overall we stuck to the plan & we're already seeing some results.  Without even stepping on the scale, we noticed that Ryan's body was changing because he went in a notch on his belt!  Our body fat stats are as follows:

Ryan:
Day 1: Weight- 188.4 / Body Fat- 17.1
Day 7: Weight- 181.8 / Body Fat- 15.8

Rocio:
Day 1: Weight- 130.0 / Body Fat- 23.2
Day 7: Weight- 126.2 / Body Fat- 22.3

Ryan tells me he hasn't weighed 180 since "highschool maybe freshman year in college" so we might be going back in time here.  WE WILL NOT SEE RESULTS LIKE THESE EVERY WEEK.  The results the first week are more dramatic than other weeks in part because of loss of water weight (due mostly to inflammation from eating processed food) & in part because your metabolism responds to the change in diet.  Of course, this isn't all diet either - Ryan & are back on track with workouts which include multiple cardio sessions and strength training sessions each week.  I suspect that some weeks we may even put on some weight because of increased muscle mass - this is one of the reasons I like having a scale that tracks body fat -  body fat can definitely go down while the number on the scale goes up!  It is difficult to lose weight without losing significant muscle mass but it can be done.  I don't have a target weight or target body fat that I am working towards, instead, I'm just focusing on my overall health.  I hadn't had abdominal pain in a long time but definitely started experiencing some after my two week binge.  Thankfully, that pain has faded away & I'm feeling great again!

Some of the food we ate:
Top left: Daily mid-morning snack- green smoothie- two new recipes per week.
Bottom left: Breakfast usually includes eggs with toast or french toast (wheat/gluten-free) plus bacon.
Top & bottom right: Dinners are always high protein- here we have salmon plus asparagus & some fire roasted tomato turkey soup.

I'm really excited to be taking on this meal plan with my Hubby.  I love that he consistently pushes himself harder.  Earlier this week he approached me with a serious face & for a moment I was worried about what he was about to say...but then he said he wants to increase the number of times we hit the gym each week.  What?!  He wants to go up beyond his usual three strength training sessions per week!  I love it!  I love that he's getting something positive out of having an active healthy lifestyle and that he wants to push himself even harder!  It definitely helps me stay on track when I can rely on him to eat well & work out consistently with me.

It begins!

So, Mr. Gosewehr & I have started the four week Betty Rocker meal plan! I'm so excited!  We took photos and wrote down our body composition stats and I'm super excited to post weekly updates on our progress.

Now the less exciting: I'm just going to go ahead and tell you that following a meal plan like this will inevitably lead to criticism from others.  I don't know if its that people feel uncomfortable knowing they couldn't be disciplined enough to follow the plan or they compare their body to yours and wonder why you aren't satisfied or...God only knows what the heck is going on but people will Criticize you, ask Questions, tell you about Fad diets that worked better, accuse you of eating All the time (5 small meals per day people), push Free food on you, and in various other ways try to divert you from your plan. It's going to happen. Stay strong. Suck it up. Deal with it. Your results will speak for themselves.

Here are some photos of a couple of things I've prepared so far!

I had poured the first breakfast into a loaf ban for baking in the oven but my oven BROKE!  I wasn't about to throw perfectly good food away so I tossed the contents from the loaf pan into a stove-top pan and made an omelette - a squiggly strange but delicious tomato, kale, chard, spinach & egg omelette.

I looked through the plan for the week and realized there was one meal that the Hubby can't eat because it contains shrimp...so I found a shrimp substitute and prepped the meal :-)  During my search for a shrimp substitute I learned that shrimp and scallops have about the same carb/fat/protein ratio, protein quality and a similar nutrient balance.  How bout that.  The scallops were super tasty too.  I used fitmencook's simple and clean scallop recipe from here: http://fitmencook.com/post/49214330851/giant-scallops-black-beans-brussels-sprouts and prepared the rest of the meal as per the Body Fuel System with quinoa, the kale/chard/spinach mix and some pesto.

I actually found a package of "Power Greens" at Market Street that contained a mix of kale, chard & spinach all mixed together.  Considering how often I'll be using a mix of greens in my smoothies and salads, this is ideal!!  Having one container with mixed greens takes up much less space in the fridge as compared with three separate containers. #fridgetoofull #firstworldproblems

That's just a tiny sampling of all the whole real unprocessed unrefined foods going down here at the Gosewehr residence y'all.  I hope y'all have a great weekend!

Fit Couple!!

First, the rant:

People, if you want to get healthy & fit you are going to have to work for it.  In order to become fit, you're going to have to make good choices about what you eat and you're going to need regular physical activity.  Now that I'm getting more and more into the fitness community I've really realized that the only key to a lean toned body that can perform well is a clean diet and consistent exercise.  Granted, different levels of strictness and different activities work better for different people but if want strength, a healthy heart and good health, you're going to have to earn it.

So many people will try to sell you a magic pill, powder, cleanse etc. to change your body but that stuff does not work.  You may see some short term effects in your energy levels or in weight loss but these things are not sustainable and they usually bring more health RISKS than BENEFITS.

Being part of a large fit community, I've now seen pictures of people I know being used without permission to sell products that these people have never used in their life.  Let's stop and think about that.  If someone needs to STEAL pictures of other people's progress, weight loss, chiseled abs to SELL you a product, what reason do you have to believe their product will BE EFFECTIVE.  If they can't get REAL before and after photos from people who actually USED their product, and they have to resort to TAKING photos from people who have WORKED their tush off and who are super DISCIPLINED and tout that as the results you can get from their magic pill, why in the world would their product actually work.  It's disgusting.  It undermines the hard work that these people who have their pictures stolen have actually put in to changing their bodies and it sells you a lie for profit.  You are lied to about what will happen if you use a product and you're lied to in order to make a buck.  Ugh.

Ok, now the excitement:

I strive to maintain an all-natural approach in accomplishing my goals.  Like I've said in previous posts, much of the appeal in going paleo is that it is a diet based on whole real foods.  With that in mind, health products that I think are worth buying are those that help me get on track in my activity levels and those that guide me through eating whole healthy foods.  

I bought a book from The Betty Rocker a few months back that contains lots of tips relating to diet - the book includes information regarding how to limit processed/added sugar, how to incorporate fats, carbs & proteins into all meals, pages upon pages of recipes, etc.  There are no gimmicks, there is no starving, there is no calorie counting - it is just a book to guide you through eating a variety of natural foods that fuel your body for exercise and help you lean out in the process.  I followed the instructions from this book for about 4 weeks earlier this year and saw great results.  I am super excited to go back to strictly following the guidelines set out in this book WITH MY HUBBY starting tomorrow!  Ryan consistently progresses and pushes himself in new ways to accomplish new goals.  He saw the results I achieved following Betty Rocker's fuel system and he is now going to dive in with me.  I am super excited to see his results!!  For the next few weeks, I'll be posting updates about some of the recipes we try, the progress we are making, and maybe (if he let's me!! hopefully!!) some progress shots.

Here is a link to Betty Rocker's website: http://thebettyrocker.com/

I'll be honest - I put on some weight being unemployed and put on more weight going to Spain for a long vacation.  I ate processed sugar, so many more processed white carbs and drank much more alcohol than usual during my long vacay but I am so ready to get back on track & push my body to new levels.  My body fat went from 21.3% immediately after being laid off to 22.9% today.  I'm ready to get back on track and lean out!  Let's do this!!

Monstrous Burger

So, I follow this wonderful Instagram account @eattrainlove which features many paleo recipes.  Yesterday she posted a photo of portobello burgers and I absolutely HAD TO try it!

Here is my result:

YUM!  There are so many non-paleo foods that I don't miss but every now and then I crave a burger.  I am so excited to have found/created a non-bread burger!!  Here's how I put this together:

• Wash the portobello.  Take the stem and scales off the portobello, coat very lightly with olive oil & put it in the oven at 350 for about 10 minutes.  Use your judgment on this y'all - if your mushroom is large & thick you're going to have to leave it in there longer than if you pick a mushroom that's thin and flat.  I recommend using a thinner mushroom or thinning it out yourself so you get more of the juicy burger patty flavor without it being completely overtaken by mushroom flavor.  If you haven't had a portobello mushroom, I'm letting you know now - portobellos have their own rich strong savory smell & flavor so you're going to get some of that flavor on your burger no matter what.
• Prep the bacon.  I prepped mine in the grill side of my Cuisinart Griddler (yay wedding presents!).  
• Grill up your patties - yes, right there in that little bit of goodness left over from the bacon.  My griddler functions much like a George Forman where the grease drips out of what I'm cooking but the bit of bacon goodness that remained was sufficient.  I made my patties using grass fed organic beef, salt, pepper, and onions.
• Place your bacon and your patty between two of those mushroom caps!  Feel free to add whatever you like on your burgers.  I added avocado (because I love it and it is so good for you).  The hubby added ketchup. If you're not following the paleo diet (but you're using mushrooms in place of bread?), put some slices of cheese up on there.

There were a number of things I really liked about this recipe.  First, it has meat And the "meat of the vegetarian world" i.e. portobellos.  I put carnivore meat together with vegetarian "meat".  I'm not sure if that's brilliant or blasphemy but I really like the end result.  Second, this is a recipe I can really sink my teeth into.  It has more of a hamburger feel than something like the Mooyah burger that comes wrapped in lettuce.  I'm totally not dissing on lettuce burgers, but portobello burgers are a welcome alternative.

One last thought.  Be selective with what you put in your body.  One of the main reasons the paleo diet appeals to me is because it is based on eating what nature provides. There are no magic potions, no extreme calorie limitations, or tricks or gimmicks.  I try to keep that as the focus - I'm trying to eat what nature provides me and I'm trying to eat it in a more natural manner. I try to accomplish that by going free-range, grass-fed, cage-free, etc.  Does your meat look like this?

If you try this recipe, let me know how it turns out!

Greens!!

If you were to put any of a dozen superfoods/high nutrient foods in front of me, I would need no invitation to dig in and clean my plate.  Many of the food items that are considered superfoods fall into the paleo diet & are delicious.  I would happily dig in to a plate of berries, some salmon, a sweet potato, some nuts or an avocado *drool*

However, I am not the type of person that actively seeks out greens to eat.  Greens are one of those things that I kind of have to mask with other flavors in order to eat sufficient quantities.  It's not that I dislike greens, they just don't particularly thrill me.  In order to get my greens, I usually blend kale, spinach, arugula, etc. into my green smoothies (where they are masked by the taste of berries & spices) or I mix them into my breakfast.  The hubby isn't big on green smoothies so mixing greens into our breakfast is a safer bet if I want to ensure that hubby is eating his green superfoods.

YUM:

This is essentially the same fitmencook omelette cup recipe (http://fitmencook.com/post/33087085923/meal-prep-tip-if-youre-like-me-and-often-rushing) from last week's posts but I used a loaf pan instead of the cupcake pan.  If you use the loaf pan its easier to just toss in ingredients without putting them into a dozen little slots but you will need to leave the loaf in the oven longer to ensure that it cooks through.  I made this particular batch as follows:

• Line the bottom of the pan with bacon & put in the oven at 400 for 7 minutes.  This step is optional but my diet allows for bacon...so why would I leave it out?!
• Throw in leeks, kale & spinach (or whatever greens you want) on top of the bacon and put in the oven for a few minutes.  Essentially this wilts everything and brings out the aromas and flavors.  You don't have to just toss in greens- you can use peppers, onion, or whatever you like.
• Finally, fill the pan about 2/3 of the way with a pre-mixed egg & egg white mixture.  If you overfill, it will never finish cooking and it might spill out over the top! So don't fill the pan up all the way. (I didn't make enough egg/egg white mixture and you can see where there is a lonely unblended egg white on top of the loaf lol You will have to adjust the timing depending on the size of the pan you are using.  I used smaller loaf pans and it took about 20 minutes to cook all the way through. Poking the center is a good way to find out if it's ready.

His vs. Hers

I want to start with a big shout-out to my wonderful hubby.  When I moved in with the Hubby, he weighed in at about 206 pounds.  He now weighs 187-ish and definitely carries more muscles mass than before.  He's a runner, he lift weights, and his eating habits improved so much since we got together and, I do NOT force anything on him!  He has changed his habits of his own volition.  He realized it felt good to run - he liked it when he slimmed down - he likes pushing his body in new ways.  It's his journey.

All that said, our exercise and diet patters do not always align.  There are many foods that I like to eat that the hubby is not fond of or that I do NOT eat but that he loves.  You know what I do about it?  I let it be.  I try to accommodate his needs and be gracious about it when we can't agree.  It's his job to decide the health journey that is a good fit for him and it's my job to concern myself with my own health journey.  Our needs aren't the same - our goals aren't the same - and our habits will reflect that.

I had two things to eat today that were for me and me alone.

1) Paleo pancakes!

Here is the recipe I used: http://guiltykitchen.com/2012/10/19/paleo-pancakes/

I left out the hemp hearts and put in more coconut flour but other than that I followed the recipe.  I like how these pancakes turned out!  I've had several disasters making paleo pancakes so I'm excited when the end product looks and tastes at least similar to "normal" pancakes.  I've had some recipes that end up as crumbly messes, some that taste more like an omelette than a pancake, etc.  Ryan has not enjoyed a single paleo pancake recipe and at this point has altogether given up even sampling any non-standard pancakes.  These pancakes tasted good, were fluffy, and maintained a good shape so I'm pretty pleased with them.  Following the recipe yielded these six small pancakes.  I ate three and was pretty full so I put the other three away for later use.  Coconut flour based pancakes are definitely more dense and more filling than standard pancakes.

2) Sweet potato fries!

Ryan loves potatoes but he does NOT love sweet potatoes.  Every now and then he tries sweet potato and thinks it's fine; for example, he likes the baked sweet potatoes at Texas Roadhouse - think Butter, Cinnamon, ooeygooey.  I made sweet potatoes like the ones at Texas Roadhouse once at home but it was just too much sugar and butter for me - that's not a dish we can put into the regular rotation.  Anyways, I love everything sweet potato so when I feel like having potatoes, I just make His and Hers potatoes.

So what's the takeaway? Live the fit life.  Your journey will inspire others.  Others' journey won't look exactly like yours. Encourage others to choose their own path based on their preferences, goals, and what works for them.

Day 7 Report!

Food: Ok y'all, I had planned to go grocery shopping but ended up at Nissan for four hours waiting for an oil change and to be told my car needs additional work. So, I will grocery shop tomorrow and hopefully post more interesting recipes at that time.  For now...

Meal 1: Breakfast on the go - Protein Bar!  I've tried several protein bars & shakes and many of them don't keep me full or they taste bad.  I discovered these Atkins bars a while back & really like them, even though I don't follow the Atkins diet.  I get the "snack" varieties and Ryan gets the "meal" bars which are bigger & keep him full.  One of the good things about these bars is the low glycemic index.  I won't go too much into it for now but I try to keep my blood sugar balanced throughout the day to avoid energy spurts and crashes & low glycemic foods help me accomplish that.

Meal 2: Leftovers! Chicken, spinach & green beans.

Meal 3: More leftovers! Sirloin, avocado & feta.

Meal 4: Smoothie!  I love smoothies because they are a great way to get a couple of servings of fruit and you can always toss in some protein to give the smoothie texture and to make it more filling.  This one has strawberries, raspberries, juice of a lemon, kale, some cranberry juice, lots of unsweetened coconut flakes and a couple of tablespoons worth of hemp hearts. In hindsight, I probably could have left out the lemon and added nutmeg & cinnamon for a more consistent flavor.  Experiment! Learn from your experiences! Tweak your recipes until you find something you like.

Meal 5: A little guilty pleasure...some dark chocolate.  Yes, I'm human and have needs too.  Have your little indulgence & move on.  Don't let your indulgence be so big that it undoes all of your hard work!

Exercise: NONE.  I had more sore places on my body than well places so I decided to give my body a much needed rest.  I'm really surprised at how much yesterday's jog took it out of me.  We've been treadmilling it more than running outside lately and I think those hills are what got me...but I plan to double up on my workouts tomorrow!