unmasked dreams

This is my journey to a healthy lifestyle. Follow me through my ups and downs and all of the changes I make, no matter how big or how small. Here's to becoming a better me.

[unmaskeddreams]

Days 6-10

Well… the time change has officially screwed me over. Let’s just say that I have simply fallen off the wagon the past few days. Friday – I had a few bites of cake. I should have said no, but after eating it I felt less guilty than I would have if I had eaten the entire giant piece of cake I was served. Maybe next time I will really pass on the cake. That night we decided to use as our cheat night because Saturday we were planning on staying in and unpacking (yes.. we are still in some boxes). I grabbed a wrap at our favorite sports bar and only ate the chips that I used to scoop the ranch onto the wrap. I suppose that is better than eating the entire basket of fried chips they give us. After eating two meals out, I could totally feel a difference in the way that I physically felt. I slept awful and felt bloated all of Saturday. Saturday- We had a few errands to run so we had a small breakfast, stopped by IKEA to pick up the right size shelf and a few other things (we can never get out of that store for under $100!) and then we popped into Chipotle for a quick lunch before finishing up a trip to Best Buy and Michaels. Chipotle was so delicious. I passed on the rice and beans, loaded up on chicken, grilled onions and peppers, lots of lettuce, a little sour cream, pico and guacamole! It was quite heavenly. For the first time I was not jealous of my fiancé’s bowl, packed with rice and beans and a pile of cheese, because mine was really delicious and after feeling like pure shit from eating out the night before, I just wanted to feel good. And I felt good. Sunday- Sunday we ran more errands.. we are officially Costco members and are really excited about it. We walked through the store taking notes on all of the prices for Paleo foods that we can now buy in bulk. I am quite pleased to say that there are a lot of Paleo options there, and of course for great prices. We loaded up on peppers, cucumbers, mushrooms and asparagus for the week and managed to spend less than we did at IKEA the previous day. Who the hell knows how that happened? We made a trip to Whole Foods and were finally home for the day. Unfortunately, I had a slice of pizza from Costco (holy yum!) for lunch and I was so full that I hardly ate anything for dinner. Monday to Wednesday- well.. like I said.. the time change sucks. It just plain sucks. I slept awful the first two nights and overslept last night so now I am extra over tired. I am annoyed. My eating has been ok, but I haven’t spent any time with Shaun T. I am a little disappointed in myself, but I have made the conscious decision to focus on eating right and getting some sleep this week and restart T25 on Monday. I have happily been able to take Finn for a walk every day since Sunday so I suppose that is a plus! Stupid time change. Stupid, stupid time change.

[unmaskeddreams]

Days 4 & 5!

Thursday was lovely. I finished the 4th day of T25, ate healthy and overall just felt really great. I made the most delicious smoothie for breakfast, had another Salad in a Jar for lunch, some apple sauce and green beans for snacks and we made breakfast for dinner: Paleo pancakes, eggs and bacon. I was really happy with how the pancakes turned out… they reminded me of a combination of pancakes and French toast! Usually I post the day after, but I am usually really busy on the weekends so I am going to post now for today! So far, Friday has been awful! Let’s be real.. 50 minutes of T25 is like death. 50 minutes of lunges and squats in T25, you may as well have dug a grave for me. I would have happily jumped in. I am so sore and tired from waking up without enough sleep. BUT doing both tapes this morning means I don’t have any to do tonight.. and that is a damn plus! I had another smoothie for breakfast, but I got lunch out as part of my 85-15 Paleo plan. I grabbed some Mixing Bowl and it was like heaven. After struggling this morning, it was nice to feel like I was able to eat something comforting. Weird part is… it was healthy! Instead of two scoops of white rice, I asked for ½ scoop of brown rice. I had a nice portion of spicy pork, lettuce, seaweed (my fav!), zucchini and mushrooms. I did enjoy a little splash of the Soy Ginger sauce, but overall it wasn’t a bad choice for being a “cheat” meal! I am actually quite proud of myself. The true test: cake. There are a few birthdays this month in the office, so we are celebrating with some cake. For my own self-esteem… I am going to opt out of cake. That is the plan anyway. I suppose my next post will show what really happens! We have pizza on the menu for dinner tonight, Paleo of course, but I don’t know if we are really in the mood for pizza. I am sort of craving chicken. We’ll have to see!

[unmaskeddreams]

Day 3!

I started my morning, again, with T25. Good lord is this tape difficult…. Or maybe I am just that out of shape. Either way, I finished the 25 minutes and was dripping in sweat. That’s always a good sign! I had another Paleo apple muffin and banana for breakfast, leftover fajitas from the night before for lunch, and some apple sauce, carrots and a few strawberries & one sliced kiwi for snacks. I was really hungry all day, so going forward I need to bring some more protein to work (that is what the book tells me anyway!) to fill me up. Dinner… well typically by day 3 I am already craving pizza or Mexican food and of course, the thought of a cheesy, ground beef quesadilla with refried beans was stuck in my head. But… I ignored those thoughts and threw together my own version of shrimp linguini. I used my new mandolin for the zucchini noodles (yum!), did a half and half mixture of butter and coconut oil to cook the shrimp, added some garlic and sea salt to the pan, and made a side of Brussels sprouts. I loved this simple dinner so much that if there were any left, I would have had seconds. My fiancé actually said a handful of times that it was the best shrimp he has ever had! And believe me, he doesn’t give compliments on food unless they are well deserved! Yay me! I had one Paleo chocolate chip cookie to finish the night off, and headed to bed early. I love how I am feeling so energized during the day (without caffeine!) and sleeping so well at night. So far I am so, so happy!

[unmaskeddreams]

Day 2!

Well.. T25 is quite difficult. I can’t wait until the day that I can do the moves the Shaun T does and not the moves that Tanya does; for now I am just happy that I can actually get up and complete 25 minutes of exercise before I start my day. That in itself is a huge accomplishment! I made a delicious smoothie with almond milk, a banana, one teaspoon of natural peanut butter and some frozen strawberries and pineapple for breakfast. It was delicious! It didn’t need any additional sweetener and I felt full for most of the morning. I know, peanut butter is a no-no on Paleo, but our Whole Foods was out of almond butter and I needed something with some substance to fill my smoothie. Luckily, I found some Almond butter at our regular grocery store after work! I had another Salad in a Jar for lunch, a natural apple sauce cup and some carrots for snacks and wrapped up the whole day with some chicken fajitas… minus the wraps and cheese of course. I piled up some red, yellow and green peppers with onions, put a half of a chicken breast on top, added a few drops of sriracha to make it spicy, a small amount of sour cream (I know… again!) and I made some AMAZING guacamole that I am more than craving while I write this. In the past I would buy an avocado and the guacamole packet from the store and BAM! guacamole… this time I mashed up the avocado, added random spices that sounded like it would work, squeezed some lime and it was done. It was actually tastier than the packet guac. Go figure! I love dessert. Dessert loves me. So, I decided to try to bake some Paleo cookies. The batter… YUM! The 100% cocoa dark chocolate death bar I bought for nearly $4… I almost threw up. I have never tasted something SO DISGUSTING in my life. So.. I threw away batch #1 (ugh!) and gave it another go and just used some of the dark chocolate Hershey kisses in my freezer. Tasty, check. Fiancé’s approval, check! After two days of T25 and eating healthy, I already felt like I had more energy. However, by 9pm I was more than ready for some sleep. I crawled into bed with my pup and fell asleep before my fiancé even got up the spiral stairs. Oops!

[unmaskeddreams]

I am not a fan of water. It is bland and boring and I just don't like it. However, if I can make it pretty and tasty, then everything will be just fine. So pretty IKEA glass and lemons make me want to drink water. Simple enough!

[unmaskeddreams]

Day 1!

I was unexpectedly home for the day because of more snow and ice – not sure what the hell is happening this winter here in Virginia! Whenever I can have a free, paid day off I absolutely take full advantage! Luckily this snow day fell on Day 1 of my healthy lifestyle. I slept and extra hour, mostly because I had stayed up a bit later than I would have had I not known I would have the day off, and when I rolled out of bed, I immediately put on some workout clothes. Without second guessing anything, I popped in T25 and began the first disc: Cardio. Wow. Not enough words to describe how out of shape I am. My fiancé who also is doing T25 with me agreed… it was painful! But we both finished the 25 minutes and checked the “barely made it” box!

Measurements: Weight: 157 BMI: 29.6 Chest: 31.5” Waist: 33.0” Arms: 14.5” Thigh: 27.0” Calves: 15.5” Now that I am totally embarrassed… I will definitely look back at those numbers if I ever fall off the wagon. On Sunday I had made some Paleo Apple Muffins for a few breakfasts throughout the week. I warmed one muffin in the microwave, added a tiny bit of the healthy “butter” on top and peeled a banana. Although I know V8 isn’t Paleo friendly, we have a Costco sized stack of them to finish up, so I had one with my breakfast as well. For lunches I premade five Salads in a Jar – thank you Pinterest! Sometimes I eat with my eyes first… and these salads are really pretty and quite enticing. There was an amazing mix of spinach, kale, veggies and fruits and all tasted just as fresh as if I had cut it up right then. So easy. I did add a little Lite Raspberry Walnut Vinaigrette because I have some in my fridge and I love the flavor, but I only added 1 tablespoon and will not buy it once it is gone (sad). For dinner we made butternut squash noodles, salmon, asparagus and broccoli. I never really liked salmon, I am a white fish kinda girl, but I thought it paired really well with the sweet squash. I was pleasantly surprised! Overall, Day 1 wasn’t so bad after all. The food was delicious.. I forgot how much I love and miss eating fruit.. and T25 left me fairly sore but in a good way! Day 2, here I come!

[unmaskeddreams]

Why am I doing this?

March 3, 2014 is the day I decided to change my life. I have so many things to look forward to in life, especially in the next 5! months and I don't want to be overweight for any of them. I don't want to get married in a size 12 wedding dress, I don't want to wear a one-piece bathing suit on my honeymoon just to feel partially comfortable laying in the sun, I don't want to have to suck in for every photo I will take before, during and after my wedding and I definitely don't want to see the photos we are spending thousands of dollars on and hate the way that I look! I want to be healthy and happy and comfortable being confident who I am, inside AND out. I have started T25 and Paleo eating at the same time. I might be crazy but why bother working out if you're going to eat like crap and feel like crap? Why not just go head first and tackle all of the problems at once, but at my own pace? Will I eat 100% Paleo? No, probably not. I drizzled about 40 calories worth of my favorite lite salad dressing on my salad today. Why? Well, I have some left and I don't want to throw it away and because a tiny bit will not do me any harm - not any more harm than the hundreds of calories in Chinese food that I ate for my last supper before starting this journey! It's more about my overall journey and not about the little things here and there that could cause a minor bump in the road. I would honestly be worried if it was smooth sailing the whole time! I will likely post about each day the following morning. This way I have plenty of time to really understand how I felt... was I happy, angry, hungry, tired, etc. I don't want to rush to write a post without truly knowing how I felt during the whole day. I can always look back and see what changes I need to make, if any! I have also decided to put it ALL out there for myself. Because if there is ever a day that is sour and I want to give up, I will be able to look at where I started and why I wanted to begin in the first place. This means.... I will post every Monday my weight and measurements. I am scared shitless. I don't like looking at them, let alone share them with anyone who happens to stumble upon my blog. I am hoping this motivates me to stick with this journey and make it a true lifestyle change. Goal #4: to complete two full weeks of T25! Here goes nothing!

[unmaskeddreams]

Meal planning for the first 7 days of My Paleo lifestyle!

[unmaskeddreams]

My Last Friday

I have three days until I start my new healthy lifestyle. Of course, I am beyond nervous but I know I will feel much better physically and emotionally. It will all be worth it. My cookbook hasn’t even been shipped. I hate eBay. I should’ve paid a few more dollars and gone through Amazon, but I was being frugal and I am officially paying for it. Clearly, sometimes cheaper isn’t better. Ugh! T25 is sitting right by my TV. It is still staring at me every time I sit on the couch. I am reminded every day that I start on Monday and I am really looking forward to it. I am also hoping that keeping it in plain site will remind me to be more active throughout the day and make healthy decisions beyond the 25 minutes with Shaun T. I think I am ready.

[unmaskeddreams]

Best Friends

I have known two of my best friends since middle school. For some people this may not seem like a long time, but with only minor bumps in the road and each of us living in different states, we are closer than ever. Today is monumental in my book. We have decided to start a traditional girls’ weekend each summer so that no matter where we are in life, we will always have one weekend together to catch up and create memories! I can’t wait! It will be something that we can all look forward to and plan together. Maybe it will be a beach trip, or Vegas, or just visiting each other’s homes; either way, it will be awesome!

[unmaskeddreams]

[unmaskeddreams]

Purely tired

I am exhausted. I can always tell when my body is just done and needs some rest. Last night neither of us even touched a box – to the extent that we walked around everything and avoided making any eye contact with the cardboard mess. It is extremely stressful and I really want to be done unpacking by Friday BUT it is just so damn hard to be motivated. We hustled all weekend and worked so hard and we still have so far to go and the last thing I want to do is run my body down just before starting T25 and Paleo eating. So my agenda tonight is as follows: -Watch Part 2 of the Dr. Phil show, because I certainly cannot be left hanging for another day. -Cook some dinner… we created meals this week to use up the food we already have in our house that is not Paleo friendly (tacos, soup & grilled cheese, etc.) so that we don’t have to throw anything out. -Unpack the remaining kitchen boxes & actually put the boxes in the dumpster and not on the floor in a pile! -Read The Paleo Diet book for a little while. -Watch Part 2 of the Bachelor, because that can’t sit on my DVR for more than one night, or else the ladies at work will gossip about what happened and then it is ruined for me. -Read a little more! Hopefully I can finish this book soon. It's hard to relax with the house a mess so I am going to try reading in the loft because it is the only clean space we have! I'm sure Finn will curl up on my lap and I will enjoy every minute of learning about my new future. Cheers!

[unmaskeddreams]

T25 is here!

I don't know if I should be happy or scared to death but T25 was delivered to my new address yesterday afternoon and I very excitedly opened it as soon as I walked through the door. I was so excited that I hardly even paid any attention to Finn. Poor pup. He and I opened the box together, made sure everything looked good to go and set it aside until I can start on Monday. I want to find a place to create a motivation wall – I am thinking in my closet because it is where I get dressed in the morning and undressed/into PJ’s when I get home from work. It will be a constant reminder of what my goals are and will hopefully inspire me to accomplish them! Fingers crossed that my cookbook gets here Friday so that I can start eating the Paleo way on Sunday! One step at a time... & T25 being in my house, staring me in the face is a great first step!

[unmaskeddreams]

Updates!

#1: I am so excited. T25 will be delivered today! I would start as soon as I walked in the door tonight, BUT there isn’t enough room yet. I will spend the week unpacking so that I can start my healthy lifestyle stress-free and focused. #2: I also just purchased this Paleo Cookbook from Ebay. It was recommended to me and after doing some research, it gets amazing reviews. I simply couldn't resist. Paleo lifestyle, here I come! #3: I haven’t finished reading The Paleo Diet book yet. Sigh. It was slightly misplaced during the move but I will be reading it this week and preparing to eat Paleo next week. Yay!

[unmaskeddreams]

Out of shape

I learned something very important while moving: I am so out of shape it isn’t even funny. We had set aside some things that we wanted to physically move ourselves so that we didn’t risk breaking or ruining things that couldn’t be replaced. This meant going from the second floor to the fourth floor and back down many, MANY times. So we took the elevator up (the stairs are too narrow) and the stairs back down. Sadly, we counted the number of steps because it was that awful; 73 steps from the old apartment to the elevator and 50 steps from the elevator to the new apartment. Each trip meant we had to walk at least 246 steps each time we made a trip plus the stairs on the way down, WHILE our hands were full of heavy and awkwardly shaped items. We did this more times than I can count. Horrible. Friday we got our keys and started moving some things over. Movers = A+. I was in charge of keeping the puppy calm and directing the movers where to put things and unable to answer the cable technicians’ questions. My fiancé spent most of the afternoon running back and forth from one place to the other grabbing the little things that were needed along the way. He was exhausted by dinner time and watched the TV that was resting on top of a cabinet. Friday night I made sure to unpack the things that I thought we would need the most and that would get rid of numerous boxes at once. The closet was half way tackled before bed time. Saturday morning I was relying on a venti black-shaken iced-tea from Starbucks to keep me moving. I hurt my back moving a box that I should’ve let my fiancé move. I was trying to get things done quickly because I can’t express how sick of living out of boxes I am. The right side of my back throbbed for the remainder of the weekend. It was awesome. We hung the entertainment center and TV because that was my future hub’s first priority and I am extremely happy we did. It cleared some floor space and allowed us to relax at night. We were so physically tired from the previous day that we weren’t as productive as we had hoped we would be. Sunday was full of organizing and putting things where they truly belong, in the hopes that we don’t have to rearrange anything else. My dad taught me how to use power tools at a young age, so I was motoring around the house hanging as much as I could, because it would be ONE less thing lying on the ground. I couldn’t begin to tell you how many times I tripped on boxes and bags and everything lying around the place. I hurt my left arm tossing Finn’s pee pads up to my fiancé in the loft and then while I was in the kitchen putting things away (the worst job ever!), he dropped down some trash from above and knocked over a broken lamp onto the back of my ankle. Needless to say, I am bruised all over and I am exhausted. Moving sucks. The good news? I now know that I need to get myself into shape. I was lethargic from eating so crappy and beyond tired from carrying and lifting things all weekend. I was embarrassed that after climbing the stairs a few times, I was so out of breath that it hurt and I could only walk so far before feeling like my arms might fall off and drop everything in my hands. But rather than feeling pathetic, I am going to make the necessary changes. I will become healthy and I will succeed! One step at a time!

[unmaskeddreams]

It's moving day!!!!

[unmaskeddreams]

Morning!

I drank a lot of water last night before bed. Why? I don't know; I knew what the consequences were going to be. So this morning at 6:40am, my lovely fiancé’s alarm went off. I tossed and turned after he hit snooze and at 6:50am I had no choice but to make a dead sprint to the bathroom. Stupid, stupid me. Typically, I would go back to bed for an hour or so (yay for flexible work hours!) but today I decided to get up. I hopped in the shower & threw some waves in my hair before he even got out of bed. Holy mother of pearl. I actually woke up early! The absolute best part… I feel awesome! Usually I am sluggish and rely on a cup of iced tea when I walk into the office, but today I made a cup because I wanted it, not because I needed it. That is a wonderful step in the right direction.