From Shack to Temple Weight Loss Wednesday Paleo Rocks!!

I have discovered something over the past two weeks. Eating paleo/primal/cave man is two things: expensive and awesome!! I have managed to lose 8 pounds over the past two weeks (242 to 234) and I have got to eat..........a lot. I don't have to skimp on serving size and count calories. That may change as I progress, but only time will tell. I want to lose a bunch of weight and I am already almost 20% there. How amazing is that after only two weeks.


BlueBerry Nut Balls



I have had urges and temptations galore. I walk into our break room some mornings to a couple dozen Krispy Kremes sitting on the table. The next afternoon I walk in to several boxes of Oreo Double Stuffs. There has been left over wedding cake from the weekend before as well as our kitchen making amazing smelling things: fresh bread, cinnamon bread with icing, cashew chicken, fried chicken, etc. Some days it is rough, but I have so far avoided temptation. 

I have found ways to do that. I have nuts and fruit with me at all times. I have a recipe for blueberry nut balls that is good. It is macadamia and walnuts, coconut oil, unsweetened coconut, dates and blueberries and it sates my sweet tooth. Over the weekend I made pumpkin chocolate chip cookies with cacao nibs, pure maple syrup, cinnamon, organic pumpkin, nutmeg, coconut flour, butter from grass fed cows, pure vanilla extract, cloves, ginger and sea salt. It was a special treat, but they were amazing!

Main dishes have been salmon, top sirloin, pork tenderloin, tilapia, shrimp and chicken breast. Lots of eggs and uncured bacon and ham as well as vegetables out the wazoo. I don't think I have ever eaten this many vegetables in my life. And I like it. Then I have occasional sweet potatoes and sweet potato baked fries, tons of water with an occasional squeezed lemon and various decaffeinated hot teas. Good Earth Sweet and Spicy hot tea is my favorite by far! 



I realized how dependent I had become on caffeine. It took me over a week to have energy after 9ish in the morning. I would get up at 4, go to the gym and workout, come home to make my wife and I scrambles then go to work. An hour or two into my work day I would be physically and mentally exhausted. That has passed, thank God!

What I have discovered so far is that as long as I am eating foods that I enjoy and adding some variety I am fine. I do not constantly miss the foods that I used to eat. There are times when I have sweet cravings, and those need to be tackled as soon as possible. I can't cheat, because I have no self-control when I do. Instead, I use a mixture of cacao nibs, unsweetened shredded coconut and a variety of nuts mixed together. Fruit has saved my butt also.

Add that to the exercise I am getting everyday and the 30 minutes of prayer my day starts with and I am feeling better than I have in a long time. Will talk to you in two weeks and keep you updated on how my fight against food is going. Right now, I am winning and that is awesome.

Here are some of the pictures of the treats I have created with my wife and enjoyed eating over the past two weeks:



Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies







Paleo Pulled Pork





Top Sirloin, Sweet Potato Fried, Bacon Wrapped Shrimp, Salad

My Daily Scamble Ingredients Just Add Eggs





Apple Cinnamon Pork Tenderloin

From Shack to Temple - Weight Loss WednesdayGoing Paleo

I really like the paleo version of the Nike slogan. Nike says, "Just Do It" while paleo says, "Just Chew It." I have been struggling with my weight, partially because I am allowing a cheat a day and that gets in my way. I am an addict, an alcoholic and I struggle with major impulse control issues with things that are unhealthy. If I have a beer a day, it will sooner or later evolve into me going on a bender and waking up having no recollection of the day before. If I have a Girl Scout Cookie, my new drug of choice, I will eat the entire box. That is why I should not have a cheat a day, because I will blow several days. I need something a little more strict.

I also am struggling with my digestion and internal issues. I have major pains when I eat, and I won't get in to the details. I will tell you that I have been to multiple doctors and had multiple tests ran, and they keep telling me they have no idea what it is. I also feel fatigued every afternoon and that has to stop. I miss my energy. I have heard that the paleo diet can help with those types of problems. Those are the two reasons I am going to try the Paleo Diet: Weight loss and Feeling Better.

Finally, the third reason. Every other weight loss and feel good system that I know of is expensive and you have to add it to what you already eat. I have to pay $200-300 for the system plus buy my food every week, too. It adds up quickly, and I am broke. If you have some great product that you want me to try I would be happy to use it if you send it to me and let me use it for free. I will be your spokesperson. Otherwise, I don't want to hear about your products. I love you guys, but I am trying to: write a blog, film a documentary, start a non-profit, get funding for non-profit, find board members, find people to do various things (interview, web design, legal, financial, write grants, donate goods/money, bands), speak at churches/schools/events, work full-time, raise two kids and give my wife the attention she deserves. Read that as meaning I have no time for anything else God has not laid on my heart.

For those who don't know what the Paleo Diet is, here is a run down. It is also called the Primal Diet and the Caveman Diet with some variations. The Paleo Diet consists of eating lean meats that are grass fed, free range and hormone/chemical free. I get to eat just about any meat including seafood, and just so you know uncured bacon tastes amazing. After all, it's bacon! Then I get vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds.

You avoid dairy, grains, processed sugars and foods, legumes, starches and alcohol. I am super excited. I went out and got eggs, grass fed beef, free range hormone free chicken, uncured bacon, sweet potatoes, tilapia, salmon, tuna, walnuts then added organic fruits and vegetables. I even got almond butter to use as a dip for apples when my sweet tooth kicks in and I'm looking forward to having cauliflower popcorn. Below is the scramble I had today for breakfast: eggs, uncured ham, bell peppers, onion, tomato, avocado then I topped it with salsa!! YUM!! I could get used to eating like this.

P.S. - If anyone knows where the best selection and best economical values are in the Springfield area for good quality meat and organic produce please let me know.

From Shack to Temple: Week 6

I realize that it has been 4 weeks since I wrote a blog in this series as I talk about my weight loss. The truth is, I got sick 3 weeks ago and went off the diet. I finally was feeling better by the beginning of the week. I am a male, and not to stereotype us, but I am the biggest baby when I get sick. If I have to get stitches, not a big deal. If I am sick, I moan and groan and whine all of the time. It is actually pretty pathetic and you should pray for my wife......she is a saint for putting up with me!

To continue with my illness, I eat comfort food when I am sick. The great thing was that through my eating poorly over several weeks I never got back to eating at the level that I generally do. I was bad, but not to the extreme that I as an addict generally go to. I weighed 234 on the 4th when I last weighed, and this week I weighed 228.4 so I lost 5.6 pounds this week and I am down 19.2 pounds.

I find losing almost 20 pounds amazing. I have switched over to the paleo, or caveman diet. That means that I am eating meat (free range chicken/eggs, wild fish and grass-fed beef), vegetables, fruit and nuts. There are no chemicals or preservatives and every thing is all natural. I love their motto, Just Chew It!

The first week was not so bad, but there was some definite cravings that I had to deal with, especially when you have a break room that looks like this last week. Another day it was 6 dozen donuts sitting in there.

I feel that I have been more successful this time and will continue to be so. I felt that a large part of the reason I was struggling in the beginning of this was depriving myself then having a splurge day that gave into my eating issues. With the paleo I will allow myself 1-2 cheat meals a week, not an entire day of gorging that I found myself doing in the first couple of weeks.

Internally I feel better this time, and although it says I am 6 weeks in I am actually 4 weeks in when you take away the 2 weeks I was sick. Either way, I will be down over 20 pounds by next week and that makes me happy. I am feeling great energy wise and internally, which is also good. Look forward to letting you know where I am at next week.