Day 56

I woke up in a very good mood today! Not only do I feel great, but I started my first class in the Education program! I'm very excited to finally be in the program and I cannot wait to teach! =) I was relieved also to have my meals made up for the next couple days. Not having to worry about it is nice. The planning ahead thing is important for sure.. something I've always struggled staying consistent in so that will be key for me! 

Breakfast: Eggs and turkey bacon

Lunch: Bacon wrapped chicken strips and kale  [[yumm]] 

Dinner: Paleo meatballs and zucchini spaghetti   [[yumm]]

Snack: Apple

Coffee: 2 cups

1 Cup of Almond Milk 

WOD:

RECOVERY-REST DAY! :) 

Day 57

Had another crazy morning this morning. I don't know what my deal is this week with waking up late but I need to get back in 'early bird' mode since I start school tomorrow! Because I was late I threw a turkey burger on my George Foremen and steamed more broccoli up. Tonight I was a ninja in the kitchen to make sure I have lunch and dinner the next 3 days since school is starting. Like I said.. I need to PLAN PLAN PLAN in order to stay on my game! So PLAN I shall! :) For the week I made the Paleo meatballs, sauteed some zucchini spaghetti, made bacon wrapped chicken strips and sauteed some kale. I look forward to my meals this week.. ;) 

Breakfast: None 

 Lunch: Turkey Burger Patty, Broccoli, Sweet potato and Avocado

Snack: Apple

Dinner: Bacon wrapped chicken strips, broccoli and kale. 

Coffee: 2 Cups

+ 1 cup of almond milk 

WOD:

Strength: 5x1 Squat snatch + Jerk @100lbs 

    then a super-set of 3x2 clean high pull & 3x2 push press @70lbs

Conditioning: "Diane" 21-15-9 Dead lifts @125lbs + Hand Stand Push Ups (I did negatives)

                     [11:52 minutes]

Post WOD: 4x400m Run

Day 58

I woke up today late for the day/work. Just one of those mornings.. but I made sure I had time to whip up something quick for lunch today. I had 3 boneless chicken strips marinating in the fridge so I quickly through them in a pan and cooked them up. I also steamed up some fresh broccoli. I through a sweet potato in my cooler along with an apple if I got hungry and wanted a snack. 

Breakfast: none

Snack: Apple

Lunch: Grilled Chicken, steamed broccoli, sweet potato, avocado. 

Dinner: Paleo Pizza- I had another crust leftover from last night and ingredients already chopped. 

+2 Cups of coffee today

I was struggling with getting my water intake in today.. going to be more adamant about it tomorrow!

WOD:

Strength: 5x1 Squat Snatches @ 75 pounds

               3x2 Snatch High Pull with 3x2 Snatch Balance @ 75 pounds

                    Then: 15 box jumps 

Conditioning: For Time: 50 Double Unders, 50 Wall Balls (16lb), 5x3 Pull ups/3 Ring dips, 50 Double Unders: TIME: 9:52 min

Post WOD's - These are extra work outs assigned by our trainer that we must complete for the day assigned. 

Today's Post WOD: 

30 Air Squats, 30 Push ups, 200m Row, 20 Air Squats, 20 Push ups, 200m Row, 10 Air Squats, 10 Push Ups, 200m Row- TIME: 7:42 min

Day 59

Day 59... 

Today was a very relaxing day. I went to church this morning and then to the grocery store to pick up food for the week. This week I plan to make Paleo meatballs with zucchini spaghetti and also bacon wrapped chicken strips with kale. I may try and tackle kale chips this week too. Oh and I must not forget my sweet potatoes. I wish I could have my own sweet potato garden I love them that much! 

I planned to make one of these two dinners for the next 2 days but then a change of plan came about and my friend invited me over for a make-your-own pizza/movie night. At first I got a bit nervous because pizza is one of my most favorite foods and I knew I would be tempted to just have ONE SLICE! (which would lead to 2..) So I decided to go to the party but with a plan that could not fail by making my own pizza... PALEO PIZZA! 

May I say it was yummy!! I was going to whip together a recipe for the crust but had trouble finding coconut flour at the store. So instead I used Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free Organic Pizza Crust. For my toppings: Chopped grilled chicken, bacon, onion, green pepper and tomatoes over organic pizza sauce. It was odd having pizza without cheese but it was really good! I promise! 

Meals:

Breakfast: Eggs and spinach 

Lunch: Pork Loin (finally finished it), Broccoli and Eggs

Dinner: Paleo Pizza!! 

Day 60

Day 60 of the Paleo Challenge 

(I like to count down)

Day 1 of any sort of goal is always the easiest day. It's where you gather up all of your motivation for what you believe all you need to sustain you through this time period of your life. All the encouragement you need wrapped up in one day. Yesterday was very motivating as I got to converse with my team/coach my goals and plan. They say planning is the key to success. I agree. So that is going to be a major focal point for me. PLAN-PLAN-PLAN! 

Meals:
Breakfast: 2 eggs, 3 turkey bacon
Lunch: Pork Loin, Sweet mashed potatoes and broccoli
Snack: 2 eggs, 2 turkey bacon
Dinner: Fajitas: Chicken/steak/peppers/guacamole with a side salad that had onions, avocado  strawberries and tomatoes. 
& 3 Cups of Coffee throughout the day. I love my caffeine!! 

LUNCH...

WOD: (Workout Of the Day)
I got to work out with the REAL FITNESS crew after our meeting yesterday.

Warm up:
1000m Row followed by a series of stretches.

"BASELINE"- For Time.
- 500m Row
- 40 Air Squats
- 30 Abmat sit-ups
- 20 Push Ups
- 10 Pull- Ups
  TOTAL TIME: 5:46 min

60 Day Paleo Challenge

60 Day Paleo Challenge Starts Today!

So I have committed to a 60 day team Paleo challenge with an affiliate cross-fit gym in Naples- Real Fitness.

There are 4 people per team and there are 22 teams competing over the next 60 days. We had our seminar today where we went over tips and brain stormed ideas and plans for accomplishing our personal goals as well as our goals as a team. They also weighed us and took our measurements  We have a personal team coach that will keep us accountable by emailing/texting us throughout the week and assigning extra credit workouts on top of our wod's each week. 

I've decided to blog through this experience each day- what I eat, what I did to workout and how I feel ect. I already cook Paleo now but I am not a strict eater of Paleo in any way. (eating out and parties are my downfall) I do however believe in it 100% and would like to transform my eating habits so that it becomes a natural way of eating for me. I grew up in an Italian home where heavy carb loading, cheese, little veggies and junk food were common. Soda was more encouraged than water. I must say that I've come a long way since then but still have a long way to go.I have a lot of re-training my mind and body before I get to my goal!

What I am hoping to obtain through this challenge is better habits.  I'm excited to learn more and take another step toward bettering my overall health/fitness level!

SO HERE GOES!! =D

Pork Tenderloin

Here is another great recipe I made. It was my first time making pork tenderloin and it came out great :) I love cooking Paleo! It is so fun, easy and good!!

(I doubled this recipe to make a little over 2 pounds of PT)

Ingredients:

1/2 Cups Olive Oil

1/3 Cup Soy Sauce

1/4 Cup Red Wine Vinegar

Juice of 1 Lemon (I used lemon juice)

1-2 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce

1-2 tbsp Fresh Parsley

2 tsp Dry Mustard

Freshly cracked black pepper

4 Cloves Garlic, peeled/minced

1 Pound Pork Tenderloin 

Directions:
Combine all marinade ingredients and place pork tenderloin in zip-lock bag with marinade. Marinade for 3-4 hours. (I did overnight). 
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
In a hot skillet (cast iron preferred) over medium-high heat, sear each side of tenderloin for 2-3 minutes. Place in the oven and cook for 30-40 minutes. Let it rest for 5 minutes before slicing/serving. 

Pure Yummness!!

Bacon and Apple Stuffed Pork Chops

I have grown to love cooking! I actually get excited when I find a new recipe. All I pretty much asked for x-mas this year was cooking stuff. Coming from your typical college student eating mostly from things cooked in a microwave or quick stops, I would have to say I've come a long way. I do not get to cook as often as I would like. Its about 1-2 times a week if I'm lucky. It's just impossible for a full time working/college student to plan/prepare meals regularly. As much as I try I just have to get through this stage of my life with school. However, this is one recipe that I absolutely have to blog about. It is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! You will love it if you give it a shot I promise! 

Plus it is PALEO! Kudos there =D

Ingredients: 

2 TBSP Coconut Oil 

1 TBSP Lemon Juice

1 TBSP Minced Garlic

Salt/Pepper

Paprika 

Season Salt

2 Gala Apples (pealed/diced)

1 Medium Onion (diced)

10 Slices of Bacon (diced)

6 Thick Pork Chops 

Instructions:

-"Pocket” your pork chops by piercing the fatty side of the chop. Wiggle your knife side to side until your “pocket” is about 5″ long and 3″ wide (70% of the chop). Salt and pepper/season each side of pork chop.

In a medium pan (highly recommend a cast iron skillet), melt coconut oil over medium-high heat
Cook apples, bacon and onion until onion is softened and bacon is crispy, about 8 minutes
Add garlic, sage, paprika and lemon juice and toss for 2 minutes. Remove stuffing from heat, transfer to bowl and set-aside.

Stuff pork chops with as much stuffing as you can fit and use a few toothpicks to close and prevent spilling (about 1/4 -1/2 of the stuffing should be leftover for topping).

Insert pork chops into the hot pan to sear on each side. Cook each side of the chops for 3-5 minutes in hot pan over medium-high heat.

Transfer pan at 350 degree to oven and bake uncovered for 35-45 minutes.
To serve, warm remaining stuffing and spoon on top of each chop and serve over some sort of veggie. I used asparagus and it was great! 

Wah-La!!

Isaiah's Commission

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Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, 

"WHOM SHALL I SEND? AND WHO WILL GO FOR US?" 

And I said, "Here am I, Send me!". 

He said, "GO AND TELL THIS PEOPLE: BE EVER HEARING, BUT NEVER UNDERSTANDING; BE EVER SEEING, BUT NEVER PERCEIVING. MAKE THE HEART OF THIS PEOPLE CALLOUSED  MAKE THEIR EARS DULL AND CLOSE THEIR EYES. OTHERWISE, THEY MIGHT SEE WITH THEIR EYES, HEAR WITH THEIR EARS, UNDERSTAND WITH THEIR HEARTS AND TURN AND BE HEALED." 

Then I said, "For how long, O Lord?" 

And he answered: "UNTIL THE CITIES LIE RUINED AND WITHOUT INHABITANT, UNTIL THE HOUSES ARE LEFT DESERTED AND THE FIELDS RUINED AND RAVAGED UNTIL THE LORD HAS SENT EVERYONE FAR AWAY AND THE LAND IS UTTERLY FORSAKEN. AND THOUGH A TENTH REMAINS IN THE LAND, IT WILL AGAIN BE LAID WASTE. BUT AS THE TEREBINTH AND OAK LEAVE STUMPS WHEN THEY ARE CUT DOWN, SO THE HOLY SEED WILL BE THE STUMP IN THE LAND." 

Isaiah 6

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Fearfully & Wonderfully Made

Psalm 139:14 "I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well." 

I recently watched sermon by Louie Giglio called "How Great Is Our God"

Now let me start by admitting that I am the most un-sciency person around.. (hence my glorious made up word there).. and i'll admit there were things said in this sermon that make me dizzy even trying to follow.. but it doesn't matter because i'm not going to be quizzed on my comprehension level of science. 

[[PRAISE JESUS!!]]

The goal here is to understand the massiveness and greatness of our God. 

If i'm completely honest with myself and you, I would tell you that Psalm 139 (particularly verse 14) never really stuck with me as I have read and meditated on it in the past. I mean I understood that God made me and he loves me just as I am and that He wouldn't have it any other way.. but I never really understood how or why or what it even fully meant for that matter. The realization that this sermon gives really helped me grasp and understand the power and the divinity of God much more than I had ever imagined before. The funny part is.. as true as it is, it still only gives us a microscopic glimpse of God's power. 

I seriously cannot wait to one day be face to face with my Savior and my Lord to be in complete aw of Him and fully understand His mighty work in me and in this world! 

I encourage you to open your bible to Psalm 139 and read it out loud with full confidence in the Lord declaring that truth into your life.