Palleo Challenge, Day #5

Weigh-in: Bummer. Am up to 171.4. I ate an awful lot yesterday, plus– maybe some of it was really salty? I hope? This is the part I don’t like about weighing in, every day– when the number on the scale goes UP. So, up, like– 6 ounces from yesterday. Probably the little chicken baby I’m growing in there… WHO EATS HALF A CHICKEN IN ONE SITTING?!

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I tried to get a full eight hours of sleep last night, but I still woke up about 20 minutes early. I’m exhausted & achy, in any case.

I swear, I could use another massage toute-de-suite.

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I’m too tired, achy & full to even be hungry for breakfast. I think I’ll skip it. I won’t, however, be skipping the last of my Hot Cinnamon Spice Tea. B gave me a tin of 20 bags on Christmas Eve & I just used the last one this morning. [/addiction]

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I feel like going tanning tonight. Not for the tan (which my skin doesn’t really take), but for the coconut vacation smell & the nap. Is that so wrong?

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Ended up having a late Breakfast: small bag of trail mix (raw hazelnuts, almonds, walnuts & raisins) & my usual big, all-day thermos of hot cinnamon spice tea.

Lunch: the usual. Traverse City Salad from Rub BBQ w/ grilled chicken.

Snack: pistachios.

Dinner: spinach, feta & tomato omelette w/ some hashbrowns & bacon from Coney Island. I need groceries.

Dessert: mint tarragon tea.

 

Paleo Challenge, Day #2

Weigh-in: Do I have to weigh myself every day? Because the scale said 172.6 & then, 15 minutes later, 172.8. I can see that will make me nutty.

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Eggs Scrambled w/ Spinach & Shallots

Breakfast: 2 eggs scrambled w/ spinach & shallots, 2 pieces of bacon.

Lunch: Traverse City Salad w/ grilled chicken (same as yesterday)… except I kept the blue cheese crumbles on the salad. That wasn’t paleo, but I’m not going to lose my mind over it.

Snack: a shit-ton of pistachios. Again. They’re my kryptonite right now.

Pre-Run Beverage: Coconut water. I try to only drink it before or after a workout, otherwise I will over-do it. Like everything.

Dinner: Feeling lazy & not very creative, I made another 2-egg scramble w/sauteed green, red, yellow peppers, mushrooms & shallots. I think I also put some cashews in there. Also had 2 pieces of bacon. And a piece of smoked salmon.

…WHAT?! I was REALLY hungry, OK?

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Exercise: Ran 3.57 miles in 38 minutes. I swear, I get slower & slower every day. I meant to go farther, but I had to go to the bathroom really bad. REALLY BAD. You know? Ugh!

Ready for an evening run in January in Michigan.

Paleo Challenge, Day #1

Weigh-in: 172.8 lbs (which is crazy, since I weighed in at 177.6 last night– and that was before I ate marshmallows & bacon for dinner). I’ll try to do this every day at approximately the same time: as soon as I wake up, after I pee.

Considering that a little over a year ago I hit rock-bottom at 210 lbs, I’m not
weepy about it. And since I was 187 in October, I’m even less upset.

I’m getting there… slowly. I’d just like to move a little faster, so I can wear cute outfits. Especially those cute dresses from Anthropologie stashed in my closet since spring 2008, many of which I only wore once… some not at all. All size 6s. Siiiigh.

Yeah, I weigh a shit-ton. Always have. I’m only 5’4″. I don’t look like a roly-poly walking down the street or anything, I’m just…
densely-packed? And, yes, I could stand to lose 20 or 30 lbs. Which is what this is about.

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My alarm never went off, so my meal-planning time went to hell.

Breakfast: macadamia nuts & some smoked salmon

Lunch: Traverse City Salad w/ Grilled Chicken, almonds, dried cherries, & balsamic vinaigrette from Rub BBQ.

Traverse City Salad

Snack: holy shit I ate a lot of pistachios.

Dinner: about 10 mini-Italian sausages, some walnuts, 2 wheat-free, gluten-free flax crackers.

Oh. And 2 bites of a shitty swordfish filet I attempted to cook for tomorrow. Gross.

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Exercise: Ran last 3 days in a row, so I took today off. Also, wore fancy-high-heeled boots all day & boy, do my feet hurt. Boo. Hiss.

Oh, hey. It’s 2011.

New Year’s Resolution: write more shit. That’s a classy way of saying I mean to write in this blog frequently, whether or not I feel like it. Whether or not I feel clever or literate. So there.

2011= Big Changes. And not just because I’m really excited about HBO’s “Game of Thrones” or what’s next for my favorite Chicago-area wizard, Harry Dresden (of Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files book series).

2011 will be major, I’ve decided. I’ve been testing out the Paleo lifestyle (check out Robb Wolf’s The Paleo Solution) for past month & plan to get serious with in on Jan. 3rd. I’ll try to blog about my triumphs & setbacks. Or not. I’ll see how it goes.

Also, I really want to do the Detroit Free Press 1/2 Marathon in October, so I’ll keep this thing updated (via Daily Mile) with my progress. I’m registering for Chicago’s Shamrock Shuffle (April 20) & I really want to do at least one Warrior Dash this spring/summer (…mainly for the helmets & beer).

Also, I want to lose 20 lbs before winter turns to spring– there are dresses I need to be wearing. I’m too young and attractive to be so frumpy. I’m 30 & I’ve only got a few years before I reach my peak in aesthetic appeal… then the big decline.

To boot, I’m dating someone terrific & three months in– we’re still having loads of fun. I think so, anyway.

2011. Big things.

BRING IT.

“Are you there, God? It’s Me, Molly.”

So, I’ve been seeing someone for a little over three weeks now. It is awesome.

I haven’t dated significantly since 2006, so this is a big deal.

Historically, the three-four week mark is make-it or break-it time.

Either I get an apologetic “it’s-not-you, it’s-me… but-really-it’s-you”/ “You’re a cool girl, but I’m just not [insert your own excuse: feeling this/ready for a relationship/ not over my ex], but I’d still like to [have a casual sexual relationship with you/ get sporadic oral sex from you/see you again, but please don’t expect to meet my friends, family, or– expect anything else, really]. I hope we can be ‘friends’ [translation: hook up, occasionally, OR/I’ve found someone way hotter & all-around better. But I don’t want to be ‘that guy’]” email/text message/voicemail– OR—

I find myself getting into a relationship. Or heading that direction, anyway.

Last time I seriously dated anybody, I was coming off a highly promiscuous & neurotic time in my life. Right now, I’m in an opposite place (I might as well have been cloistered in a nunnery for the last two years & I’ve lost most of my neuroses– I know what I want & everything else can suck it)– which is a sweet relief. A soul-crushing marriage & liberating divorce can really reset priorities.

I still feel kind of gross. I got 60 bonus pounds out of my divorce. I’d have preferred the Crate & Barrel every day dishes & cutlery, but whatever. I’m making changes. I may be heavier than ever before, but I also work my ass off in the gym & am working hard to become a runner… a “Geek in Running Shoes“, if you will. Honestly, I have a really hard time finding myself attractive– let alone believing that someone else might find me aesthetically appealing. Then again, I also think less of anybody who doesn’t find me badass-awesome & attractive. Those who do, I think, show good taste & clearly exhibit exceptional imagination.

… I suppose I’m still a little neurotic. It’s all:

“Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret”

inside my head.

Part of me is squealing with delight like a 12-year old girl, the other part is holding my breath, waiting for the sick thud of disappointment… would it be an awkward dumping over dinner? I can handle it. BRING IT, I say.

… but I’d rather continue to squeal like a 12-year old, if it’s all the same to you. I’m having FUN!

Am fairly certain that year 30 will be among the best in my life… so far.

NOTE: I’ve published without editing. You’ve been warned.