Meal Planning

One of the best things you can do to keep yourself on track is to write out a meal plan for the week. Here is a printable blank Meal Plan & Shopping List to keep on your fridge:

I use the meal planner for my dinners because I'll take leftovers for my lunches & every morning I make bacon & eggs for breakfast. So I have no need to over-complicate my layout by adding breakfast, lunch, & dinner spots. The convenient shopping list next to your meal plan makes it easier to determine what items you need for what meal & write them down immediately without having to shuffle through papers.

Bottom line is I love making my life easier by being organized & efficient. In turn, I love helping other people's lives easier by helping them be organized & efficient. Voila!

Race For The Cure!

Looks like there's another 5K on the horizon for this Paleoan. I'm registered for the North Texas Susan G. Komen Race For The Cure 5K! It is set in Plano, Tx on June 14, 2014. Visit Paleo Lifestyle DFW's donation site to help the fund the cause or sign up to join me & some friends in the 5K race!

I can't wait to see everyone there & be a part of such a big movement. This is my first race for the cure 5K!

Challenge Accepted!!

My friend has been struggling with weight loss & has decided she wanted to be challenged. She's tired of being tired, feeling sick (frequent migraines, fibromyalgia, allergies, asthma, sinus infections, etc.), & overall she said she's tired of being "fat." In no way shape or form is my friend unattractive or obese, but she is a little heavy for someone her height.

I love her to pieces & I want her to be healthy so of course I enthusiastically offered my help & support! She doesn't want to go full Paleo, but has agreed to a gluten free diet I suggested. So I'm going to track her progress for y'all complete with some recipes she'll be using as well as what physical exercises we'll be doing. We've taken some before pictures & will be doing her before measurements tomorrow using the Paleo Lifestyle DFW measurement chart to the right.

I will also be joining my friend in her journey & will be tracking my own progress as we begin to focus more on lifting than cardio. I can't wait to share our 30 day results!

Exercises so far:
Squats
Lunges
Dead lifts
Rows
Pull ups
Dips
Chest press
Core Leg Lifts (on the stand-up support machine)
5 minute Treadmill Warm-up
15 minute Elliptical Cool-down

We're alternating weight lifting for certain areas. Thursday we did legs, Friday we rested, Saturday I ran a 5K, today we did arms & core, & tomorrow we'll do legs again. We are focusing more on weight lifting than cardio. We spend about 1 hour & 15 minutes - 1 hour & 30 minutes in the gym each time so only 20 minutes of that accounts for cardio. We stick with 3 sets of 15 reps for each exercise. Building muscle will help shed inches & keep your body burning calories/fat throughout the day.

Tough Mudder anyone?

There's an up & coming event here in the USA called "Tough Mudder." So what it is? The Tough Mudder website says: "Tough Mudder is a 10-12 mile (18-20km) obstacle course designed to test all-around strength, stamina, teamwork, and mental grit... It's not a race, it's a challenge." The obstacles are swimming through a vat of ice water before you get hypothermia, climbing over walls, walking planks, using Olympic rings to get from one side of a mud pit to the other, jumping over fire, monkey bars, carrying logs, walking on logs, crawling through mud while dodging electroshock wires, etc.

this event is supposed to push you to your limits, test your strength & weaknesses, & bring you closer together with others who love fitness; but is it safe? I personally know someone who completed the Tough Mudder & he survived! He challenged me to do the one here in DFW in October of this year. After doing some research (surprise, surprise) I've decided not to accept this challenge. I guess I'm just not "tough enough." I've run with bulls, but possible hypothermia... count me out! I don't want to live the Titanic in real life. It's your own decision whether you want to risk it, but Robb Wolf's advice is:

1. Paleo Lifestyle DFW ‏@PaleoMichele  9h

   @robbwolf What are your thoughts on the Tough Mudder events?

   
   
   

   
   
2. Robb Wolf ‏@robbwolf  5h

   @PaleoMichele Don't drink the water! Some folks are getting some gut bugs from...problematic water/mud obstacles.
3. 
   

So the answer to the safety question: no! There has a been a few deaths and many hospitalizations as well as the problematic water/mud (& just think of how many people have probably peed in it by the time you get in, yuck...) used in the obstacles as Robb Wolf has pointed out. Participate at your own risk! You have to sign a waiver of responsibility in order to run the race. Does that sound like it's safe? 

Mud & obstacle runs are becoming increasingly more popular so it is safe to assume they are pretty crowded. I've run a few 5Ks & if they are at all crowded like that then I can't see it being the least bit safe as there would be hardly any room for the race/obstacles. When that many people are crowded together it's hard to move & everyone is running over each other. I recently participated in The Great Bull Run here in DFW where it was overcrowded, full of people taking selfies, participants ignoring the race officials that the event was a little on the unsafe side. I was also trampled in the Tomato Royale following the race, but lucky for me I'm pretty spry & I climbed my way out. I had a great time & it was exhilarating, but I wouldn't do it again! If you want to push yourself to the limits then push yourself with a 5K, marathon, half marathon, triathlon, in the gym or at a bootcamp. Stay safe, stay healthy, & reach your goals!

Ages Old Paleo Eating In A Modern World

Alright... here it is!! The video of my first Paleo speech as promised. The speech was timed so I was not able to cover everything I would've liked, but it is a great overview of the Paleo diet. Enjoy:

Blogger Info...

Just thought I would give you guys a little behind the scenes look at what is going on in my life here in DFW beyond being Paleo:

As you have read James & I are engaged. Well guess what: We finally picked our venue & our date, May 16, 2015! Thank goodness because I was starting to get overwhelmed. Weddings are so much more expensive than I ever realized. Ladies, a word to the wise, start saving now regardless of whether you have a man or not! Trust me, by the time it comes around you'll be glad you did. Ours will be a big DIY wedding as that is currently the cheapest way around the price-gauging wedding industry of today's world. We're going with a vintage 50's theme with some glitzy thrown in. We're super excited about the potential of our theme, especially since we both love Frank Sinatra & that whole era! (It actually came up on our first date, LoL!) Luckily, I have 5 bridesmaids & a ton of family lending their helping hands for the many crafty projects that await us. In a couple of short weeks I get to go wedding dress shopping. Hopefully, I'll get to say "Yes" to THE dress!

My first semester back at college is coming to a close & not a moment too soon! But since I'm trying to make up for lost time I'll be right back to hitting the books in June for summer classes. Yikes! I'm blowing my speech class out of the water right now & next up on our agenda is a persuasive speech. What better topic to use than Paleo!? Especially since I have already invested so much time & energy into researching the topic on my own. I just finished reading Practial Paleo by Diane Sanfilippo, a Nutrition Counselor, & it was amazing! I highly recommend it to anyone starting out with Paleo. (It's list price is $39.99, but I've seen new & used copies on Amazon for cheaper.) I would go so far as to say this is a must have in a Paleo kitchen. She explains the science in layman's terms to help us non-biochemists understand the reasoning behind choosing a Paleo lifestyle. It also has some great recipes & 30-day meal planning guides that are easy to follow. After first reading The Paleo Solution by Robb Wolff, a biochemist, I was already convinced that a Paleo lifestyle was what I wanted to try. Robb's book was funny, a bit technical, but if you skim over the "geek speak" & connect with his story you'll learn a lot. Then Diane's book reeled me into the lifestyle even further by really teaching me the simple answers to my "why" questions. i.e. Why no grains/legumes/dairy? It wasn't over my head, I didn't feel the need to lie down & put a cold cloth on my head to help a headache, but it was straight to the point & had me nodding along in agreement because she tied all of the science in together to where it made sense. Bottom line: I know that leading a Paleo life is the healthiest thing I can do for myself in today's world.

During this Fall semester I'm going to take a weight training class! My hope for this class is to share what I learn with all of you & become more sculpted. I've currently been out of the gym for a month. I know- I fell off =( Not good Michele... but I'll be jumping right back on my horsey. I can give you a ton of excuses why I haven't been lugging my butt to that gym religiously. Truthfully, I originally missed a week due to working too much OT (20 hours in one week which made for a 60 hour work week) & trying to juggle school (6 hours in classes that week plus study time) so I literally didn't have time to hit the gym. Then, since I wasn't instantly seeing the results I wanted & I had been out of my gym habit, it made it easier to make excuses why I couldn't go. I've never said that I was perfect. In fact, I've mentioned several times that I'm just your every day woman sharing my experiences in hopes of helping other people. Well, here's your proof- I haven't been exercising like I should! I'm still my slim 150 lbs Paleo eating self though. Lucky for me I'm extremely dedicated to my Paleo lifestyle because I am in love with it! Now I just need to find a gym regime that I can fall in love with too.

Wow that was a lot about me to catch y'all up! Have a great week!

Twitter & Facebook!

You can now follow my blog by email at the right of this blog post by submitting your email address & you'll automatically get an email each time I make a new post. I'm also branching out into more social media platforms to spread the Paleo Lifestyle DFW word! Want to be able to follow my blog instantly through popular social media sites?

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