Things I'm Loving Tuesday?

So, on all the blogs that I read, they do these fancy "what I ate Wednesday" and "Things I love Tuesday" and various other themed daily entries. Well, I'm not that creative and I wont be making up my own so I'm stealing the idea. That, and I found a lot of things I really do love and want to share so I figure I'd try to make it into something kinda nifty. (It's a really great thing that I don't blog for a living. I'd be broke.)

Things I'm Loving Tuesday Version 1.0

1. PALEOmg.com
   
   Considering I'm working on improving my overall health by attempting (and currently succeeding!) at eating for my blood type, this site is simply perfect. According to my blood type (O Positive), my diet is basically that of Paleo. No carbs. No Dairy. This website has an array of delicious and creative ways to mix things up a bit. Most recipies are super easy to make and don't take a lot of prep.
   
2. 10+ Reasons I love my Ugly Body 
   
   I don't think I can "like" this enough. Roni recently posted about women's health magazines and the real effects that they may have on society as a whole. I commented and was quoted in the blog post (omg quick write something worthwhile in case anyone clicks the link to my blog...). It reminded me very much of this article and how much I love it. It's not what anyone looks like on the cover of a magazine or what we assume other people think beauty is. It's how freaking awesome our bodies are for what they can do. Huzzah!
   
3. GIANT PANCAKE VIA RICE COOKER
   
   I don't have anything to say about this. Just yes. All of it. And please add all the other things I'm avoiding kthanks.
   
4. My new Garmin Forerunner 220
   
   Having a new Garmin means all new PR's! My garmin connect has all my old records but the watch itself has all new data....so every time I complete a run I get a new record for longest run! And really, what makes you feel better than knowing you've ran further than before? Not to mention the watch is filled with bells and whistles that are incredibly helpful. OH! And the battery life? WAY better. CHECK. 
   **Garmin still hasn't accepted my request to be a sponsored runner. Something about I drink too much wine and I don't run fast enough. Anyway, they didn't pay me to write this. All opinions are my own.
   
5. How to insert the number "6" into my boyfriend's Son's birthday cake
   So - I've been on Pinterest. I think I may really have a problem. I've got to remove the app from my phone...but I just can't bring myself to do it. Today I actually found something useful. My boyfriend's son turns six soon! Hooray! And I found this link that gives instructions on how to insert numbers/shapes/letters/whatever into the cake so that when you slice it, the number shows! AMAZING. So, like the amazon whore I am, I ordered the numbers cut out set and will do a test run as soon as it gets here! Hooray!
   

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Five Days Down - Twenty Five to Go

So here I am - five days into this crazy new diet scheme of mine. That's not fair, I shouldn't call it a scheme. Experiment, maybe? I updated you all with the news that I'm was going to begin to eat based off of what my blood type is (O Positive). So, I ordered the book from amazon (NO I couldn't get it on my Kindle...damnit). I got it in the mail and my heart sank a little more with every turn of the page.

A lot of things that I love are out. And a lot of things I prefer not to eat are in. According to this book, I'm basically supposed to shift to what's very similar to a Paleo diet. No dairy. No Wheat/Carbs. No potatoes. No avocados. My heart is literally empty.

But five days in and I can say I've made it. The hardest part is having to literally think before putting any food in my mouth. I've had some slip ups (namely: skittles). But no dairy or carbs or anything like that. I do feel better and my tummy is no longer screaming at me. The flat belly feeling you have when you wake up first thing in the morning? I have that all day. It's kinda nice. I haven't weighed myself so I don't really know if there's improvement there. I'll let you know after a full week or maybe 2.

What it really boils down to is this: I can't live my life eating cheese and bread and such. I desperately need to expand my food horizon and this is a great way to do it. If I'm going to not be hungry I'm going to have to learn to love other veggies and such. Either that or I'll starve - and we all know that simply isn't happening.

Food journals are super easy when you're not eating carbs or dairy. Everything you're allowed to eat is mega low calorie so days like today I didn't even bother. I know I was at my weight loss calorie intake amount. And I'm not hungry. I'm not painfully full either. Content - nourished.

I just have to keep repeating: I eat for nourishment not for reward or comfort.

I had to have The Why Talk

I’ve talked before about “The Why.” I truly feel it’s important for people to have a solid reason for why they have set any goal and why they should ruthlessly pursue it through all the hard times that failure surely seems more imminent than success. Life isn’t butterflies and rainbows. It’s tough and cut throat and either you’re going to work hard and make it or…you’re not.

Anyhoover, last night I had to have a very strong “why” discussion with myself. As I mentioned before, I’m attempting to “eat right for my type” which cuts out a lot of things from my diet that I thoroughly enjoy. Avacados…gluten…dairy. Basically, I’m left with meat and veggies and most fruits. I grilled organic steaks and burgers and sausages. All of these things I’m allowed to eat (plain, of course). But…there was also Mac and Cheese and French Fries.

I had a bad day. And let me tell you about what happens when I have bad days. I eat. A lot. And I eat everything. Food is (and always has been) synonymous with comfort for me. So. I had the talk with myself. “I am doing this because I have a weight loss goal. I have a fitness goal. I want to sleep better and have a better functioning body. Some of these things simply aren’t good for me and should not be a part of me because they’re only going to make me feel bad.”

I didn’t eat the Mac and Cheese or the French Fries. It felt like a victory. Me:1 Food: 0. I ate my meat and snow peas and was left feeling satisfied and not needing anything else. I promised myself that I’d try this for 30 days to see if it helped. Maybe it will – maybe it won’t. The only thing that I can do is try. And now that I’m 5 days in, I can say I slept better last night and my tummy has been much happier.

But gosh do I miss cheese.

Feeling Some Kinda Way...

...Not really sure what kinda way that is. One where I haven't been too pumped up to blog. I've been swaying in and out of what I think is the right method for me and how I think I should continue down my running path. I think I'm getting out of my funk, so cheers to that. Here's a freaky-fast update: (Note: I HATE Jimmy Johns. Gave my entire office food poisoning when we ate there the day before Christmas Eve. And they wouldn't even refund out sandwiches. Dicks.)

• I got a fancy new Garmin for my birthday on Saturday. Specifically, the Garmin Forerunner 220. It's amazing. And purple. I cannot wait to run tomorrow and see how much faster this bad boy makes me... oh... That's not how it works? Crap.
• I donate blood to the American Red Cross 4 times a year. They finally got around to sending me my donor card with my blood type on it. (I'm O Positive!) I've been doing a good bit of research on Eating for your Blood Type and apparently there are thousands of people who have seen dramatic result from eating specific things and avoiding specific things based on what their ancestors with that blood types ate. IE Don't eat things that you ancestors didn't have access to. O Positive people apparently have slow metabolisms, slowly functioning  thyroids and are predisposed to obesity. HOORAY! Oh what's better? Everything I like to eat are things that I'm not supposed to eat. Carbs. Dairy. Avacados. CRAP. So. I'm going to give it a whirl and see how it goes. This weekend was filled with a buuuunch of stuff a good, healthy person shouldn't eat anyway in preparation for tomorrow's Day 1. I'll keep ya posted.

Really, that's about it. I'll let you know when something amazing happens. Or I'll simply let ya know if my Garmin made me Bad Ass Rocket Machine.

Cheers!