Day 12-22: Catch-Up

This past week has been rough. I moved into a new place, for starters. . . And work has been really busy and stressful. I didn't have any time to work out. I think I ran a total of 16 miles for the week and did one spin class. No weights, no yoga. And very little sleep. My tank has been running on empty.

Now I'm not setting out to complain to the blogosphere and whine about how hard I have it. In fact, that's not what I'm trying to say at all! It's not what happens to you in life, it's how you deal with it!

I really DO have SO much to be thankful for! I have good health! I can run and enjoy an active lifestyle! I have amazing friends and family. I live in beautiful Southern California. I have a job that is rewarding. I could go on, and on. . .

I see so many people around me who seem to go through life, with a "Woe is me" attitude. Life is just too short to be depressed, angry, or have a bad attitude. YOU ultimately are in control of your mood. YOU are in control of your emotions. It's called emotional intelligence. It takes practice and time to develop your EQ.

Another thing I've noticed about people who act this way, is they are often very inward-focused. Rather than spending so much time and energy worrying about your own problems, take a look at the lives of those around you! Who can you help? Who can you uplift? What can you do to positively impact the life of someone else? The Savior said, “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.” – Matthew 16:24-26

Now I'm not trying to get all religious or preach to anyone, but regardless of your religious beliefs, I think this quote has an important message we can all appreciate. Stop worrying so much about your own problems. Be a light to others. When you can serve others, then you will find true happiness, and it will put your own problems into perspective.

Seriously, how about all those human lives affected in Japan? My heart goes out to them.

What does this have to do with the Paleo Diet? Uhhh, nothing really! I just went off on a tangent.

So, how good have I been with my diet this past week? I haven't been perfect. It's been a combination of things. First of all, I've been getting sick of eating the same foods all the time. . . chicken breast, eggs, spaghetti squash, raw almonds, lots of fruit, sweet potatoes, salad. . . On Thursday, I threw a bunch of my food away that I wasn't eating. It was about to go bad because I had prepared it the weekend before, but just kind of lost my appetite.

I have been following a Paleo-esque type diet since January. I have eliminated almost ALL grains and dairy from my diet, except for the occasional frozen yogurt. Honestly, dairy, grains, and legumes don't even appeal to me anymore (except frozen yogurt!) This, however, limits my options of what to eat. What's the solution to this? I need to find some new Paleo recipes to try out!

Here's how today went:

3:45AM Wake up to go train a client (BRUTAL waking up, with the time change this weekend!)
4:30AM Banana
6:30-10:00AM I took a 3 1/2 hour nap in the front seat of my car! Yeah, that was intense!
10:15AM Orange, 1/2 c. raw almonds
1:00PM 8 mile run on the treadmill at work (this only works if you have some good music on your iPod, and if you are in a place where you have lots of people who know you and come up and talk to you!)
2:30PM Apple, 6 oz. blackberries, 1/2 c. raw macadamias
5:00PM Flame Broiler white meat chicken and veggie bowl. No rice.
9:45PM 6 large strawberries

I ate too many high-fat nuts and not enough protein today. Here's the macronutrient breakdown:

Cals: 1505, Prot: 63, Carbs: 125, Fat: 77.

One thing I have noticed this past week has been a change in my appetite. It could be somewhat due to stress, but, it's not just that I don't crave Neolithic foods, but I simply don't care for them. At work on Wednesday, there was a meeting for all the personal trainers. They had it catered with Chipotle, one of my favorite restaurants. I was feeling crappy that day, so I didn't care and I grabbed a chicken burrito and a bag of chips and guacamole. I ended up picking at the burrito, trying to fish out any pieces of chicken. The beans, rice, and cheese just didn't appeal to me at all. However, I ate about half the small bag of chips and the guacamole. It's funny how my taste buds have really changed.

So, I plan on being better about updating the blog about my adventures in the Paleo diet, with some recipes!