the mind likes to have control...

But I will not let...the mind likes to play tricks on me. It likes to tell me that it is okay to eat something...just this once....it won't hurt. But I know I need to fight back.

This morning it was trying to tell me I didn't need to go workout...that I had done two workouts yesterday....that it was too cold...that I would be late to work...that I couldn't do it...that it was too soon after doing the C25K day 7 yesterday. But my body, well my body, was saying "why not!" My body said it was up for it. It said let's just go.

So, I went...and I do not regret it. It was a good run. Slow but good.

Food prep for the week...and probably a few more days...

Well, tomorrow I start the Whole 30. I want to be prepared so I cooked up quite a bit tonight. I know a lot of bloggers post photos of their food on a daily basis and that, well, just isn't me. But I did take a few photos to show you all what I am prepping for the week. The best thing is that everything I am cooking tonight will be frozen in single servings so that I can just grab what I feel like at the moment and I can vary it throughout the week and beyond.

So, here is what I made tonight.

Green egg muffins, basically eggs with broccoli and spinach, baked in muffin cups



Deconstructed cabbage rolls (organic ground turkey, roasted cabbage and tomatoes)


Cinnamon beef stew from the Well Fed cookbook (great book and website...check it out here)


The refrigerator is stocked with vegetables (broccoli, kale, asparagus) and some fruit (blackberries and apples). I am ready.

I like numbers....

I am a math geek (there I have now officially announced to the blog world that I am a geek). I love numbers. They have never scared me. I like the precision of numbers. I love equations and problem solving. I like that there is one answer to most math problems. I love the logic of solving systems of equations and mathematical problems.

That's why, over the past few years, my weight loss journey has been so difficult for me. I struggled as the equation of calories in versus calories out just did not work. I diligently wore a body bugg for months. I counted calories, added up points, but the equations never seem to yield the expected results. Per my body bugg, I was burning upwards of 4500 to 5000 calories on work out days and 3000 or so on "rest" days. My calories were restricted to much lower levels but still the scale would bounce around, up and down a few pounds. My mathematical brain was stressed.

I have struggled to find the missing part of the problem. Based on the research I have been doing and just listening to my own body, I know the missing part is that FOR ME, it may be more about the quality of calories I am consuming than the number of them. I have been focusing on nutritionally dense foods since January and I can tell you that I am feeling good. My energy levels continue to be high. My sleeping patterns are good. I am alert and mentally aware of things.

What is the next step? I want to improve the quality of my food intake so I am going to challenge myself to undertake the Whole 30. This idea is to eat high quality nutritionally dense foods and leave behind all the crap (even some of the not so bad for you crap like dark chocolate). More details can be found here.

To be honest, since January 7th, my food choices have been close to what they suggest with the Whole 30. So why am I doing it? Well, I know that I probably consume too much dark chocolate, too many nuts....all not so bad for you food but things that I should watch how much I intake.

I also think that making a decision to do this will force me to cook at home for 30 days. We have cut way down on our eating out of late and that is great but with the Whole 30, I will want to know exactly what I am eating. So, for instance, eating chicken noodle soup without the noodles at the soup and salad place we frequent for lunch is not the best choice in my primal lifestyle. During the Whole 30, I would not even consider this. I will have to be more creative about lunches and things.

I have known about the Whole 30 for sometime but have not taken the step to complete. I am ready now. I know I will be able to do it. With all my lifestyle changes so for for 2012, I do not anticipate much issue with following through on things but I do think it will be a learning experience. Oh, and I can't step on a scale during the 30 days....another good thing for my obsessive brain.

I start on Monday and I am sure I will be blogging about it often over the next 30 days. I may even get into take food photos.

"It is not hard. Don’t you dare tell us this is hard. Quitting heroin is hard. Beating cancer is hard. Drinking your coffee black. Is. Not. Hard." From the Whole30 program.