Day 4: Going nuts

I haven't been sleeping well this week. Not sure if it's because of eating paleo, or because it's hot in Fountain Valley or because I've been sore lately from the workouts.
Regardless, my restlessness at least has one benefit: I can remember what I dream. And last night's was nuts.
Even though today is a rest day for me, sometimes I'll dream about what the workout will be at CrossFit. It's like my subconscious is anxious about what grueling workout awaits when I wake up.
Today, I dreamed that our WOD wasn't a workout at all and that instead, we had to make paleo food for old people. Justin had brought in these old 1950s grimy ovens, and we were supposed to be baking meat. But some people added beans and sour cream -- like they were making a cassarole -- and the food blew up in the oven. I woke up so confused, not because we were asked to bake at the gym, but because I thought for a minute that I might be allowed to eat bean burritos after all.
I definitely didn't eat burritos yesterday:
Wasn't feeling good in the morning, so I didn't eat until lunch. Had a shrimp salad during a work meeting with tomatos and almonds.
Then at 4, before crossfit, I was starving again so I went to this sandwich shop by my office and asked them to scoop some tuna in a cup and throw in half an avocado and tomato slices. I thought I might throw that up during the second round of lunges yesterday.
Then I met some girlfriends for day-after-birthday dinner and had a chicken salad with avocado and almonds on top.
Here's the lunchtime salad:

Day 3: Afternoon motivation

I only have a few minutes to post, but I had to write something today because I'm so stoked after tonight's workout. I usually go to CrossFit in the morning, so I've never met the crew that comes at night. Still, seeing their names and times on the white board each day makes me feel like I've known them all this time. CrossFit is like that. It fosters a sense of community that I love. So tonight I finally got to meet a bunch of the crew that I've been seeing, and watching what they can do gave me a whole list of stuff to envy. Like Punky, who can cross her jumprope while doing double unders. And Mel, who can do real pullups.
Our WOD (workout of the day) tonight was named after me. And it was rough.
100 m walking lunges
21 pullups, 21 handstand pushups
100 m lunges
18,18
100 m
15,15
100m
12,12
100 m
9, 9
100 m
6,6

My legs are burning after finishing that (my time was 20:30, with some modifications -- I used a band with the pullups and did pushups on a box), but I feel great. Better than I have in a long time...

Day 3: Good morning guilt

Had the best birthday celebration last night with some great friends at Shik Do Rak in Garden Grove. If you've never been, you must try. It's basically a meat-eating frenzy.
And while the beef we're grilling up isn't exactly lean, it also doesn't contain sugar or carbs or any of the other stuff that's not allowed on Paleo. The meal comes with tons of delicious little side dishes, such as seaweed salad and kimchi. The only thing I really love that I couldn't eat was some bean sprouts.
Well, that and the chocolate cake my friend Cindy brought for my birthday because she didn't know I was on this diet. And now comes my confession -- I have wasted my first cheat day. I couldn't say no to a double chocolate cake topped with candles just for me. So Forrest and I split a small slice. (Forrest is my boyfriend who works out at CrossFit South Bay. He's also doing Paleo.) And I might have had some beer, as well.
Then on my way home from dinner, I saw a facebook post from Zac about how he came home to a freshly baked batch of brownies and didn't eat them. And this morning I saw that Justin made up a "Jen" WOD for my birthday today. So I'm feeling guilty. But also really determined to see this through. And grateful that I work out at a gym and am going through this with such encouraging, all around awesome people.

Day 2: Dejavu

Today has been ridiculously busy so far. Usually, that's pretty standard when I squeeze in CrossFit before early meetings.
But what I learned today, is that without pre planning, this diet could get really boring, really fast. Here's why: This morning, I wanted a hard boiled egg before working out, but I didn't have time to make a batch last night. So instead, I grabbed a handful of walnuts.
When I got back, I ate half an avocado, some slices of turkey and some fruit -- which is exactly what I threw into a bag for lunch before bolting out the door this morning. (That's a photo of the lunch spread, plus some more walnuts. The dollar is to buy water since I forgot my bottle.)
Anyway, I love avocados. And turkey. And pineapples and kiwi. So for today, the lack of variety is no big deal. But next week I'm going to try to make a batch of lunches at the beginning of the week so I have at least SOME eating diversity. Any ideas?
In terms of workouts: Lindsay and I both felt a little weak this morning. I'm glad Justin -- all around awesome guy who owns Orange Coast CrossFit -- blogged today about the adjustment period for this diet. Made me feel slightly less like an ass when I couldn't front squat more than 90 pounds because I thought I might pass out.
On another note, today is my birthday. And I'm especially happy that one of my all-time favorite guilty pleasures is not prohibited on this diet (or at least I think it's not). Korean. Bar. B. Q.
I'm going to look up some of the side dishes to see what's legal and what's not (e.g. can I eat bean sprouts or the thinly-sliced daikon radish that you use to wrap up the meat).

Day 1 recap

So it's the end of day 1 Paleo challenge, and already some delicious foods have tested my willpower. I went to the movies with some girlfriends tonight, and the smell of buttered popcorn was hard to resist. Then we went to Daphne's Greek for dinner, and I watched my friend eat spicy hummus and pita -- one of my favorites.
Still, after the meal when she was saying how uncomfortably full she felt, I was feeling satisfied and reenergized from my chicken kabob, glad I had passed on the starch. (My kabob was really good -- came with grilled onion, red and green peppers. I ordered it with a salad, minus the feta cheese and dressing. Instead, I squeezed some lemon on top of the lettuce and added salt and pepper. Was so yum!)
My goal for the week is to get the balance and portions of the meals right. I felt great after breakfast around 8:30 this morning, but I didn't eat again until after 2 p.m. (turkey slices, fresh kiwi and pineapple and a tablespoon of almond butter). I was feeling hungry again just a couple hours later, so I ate more turkey with avocado. Then I took some walnuts and water with me to the movies. But I felt tired for most of the afternoon -- until I ate dinner really. I don't know if that's because my body is adjusting to life without sugar, or because I'm eating too much or not enough of a particular food group, or because I had a long day at work and my brain was tired of being awake.
It's definitely tired of being awake right now....

Day 1 Paleo Challenge

Hi everyone. I'm starting this blog to track my food and fitness during a three month Paleo challenge at Orange Coast CrossFit in Newport Beach.
I never thought I'd do something like this. I'm a total foodie -- even freelance dining reviews when I'm not working. So the idea of eating only what the cavemen had available (ie: no breakfast burritos or gelato) has always been slightly horrifying.
But for the past two months, I've been working out at CrossFit, and I'm in love with the challenging workouts, the encouraging people who are sweating next to me every day, and how strong I feel after only a couple months.
If I can feel this great without watching my diet at all, imagine how trying this diet will feel! Plus, I'm going to try to take photos and describe the food I eat to see if Paleo is as limiting as it sounds.
Judging by breakfast this morning, I'm going to do just fine:
Three eggs, scrambled with turkey bacon, shallots, red and green onion and fresh cilantro. Half an avocado on top.
Yeah, it's a big meal. But I had a big workout this morning.
3-3-3 Deadlift. My last round was at 160.
After that we did five rounds for time of 7 pullups, 7 dumbbell thrusters (#20), 7 ring dips and 30 double unders.
Today I weigh 147.5. I'm 5'8.