The lesser asked HOW - since y'all know the why...

I am on cloud nine right now! I just got my Vitamix delivered and just stuffed the fridge full of kale, spinach and so many other veggies/fruits that I cannot wait to emulsify... BUT I digress.

I often get asked why in regards to my new paleo lifestyle but the how I stumbled upon this amazing new way of living is far more interesting and seems like "destiny." (Aw. Big softie!)

One blog, three words (and an ampersand): Bacon & Skinny Jeans.

The author (although she seldom writes now as she is busy kicking people's asses with Crossfit and running her site Superhero Unleashed) is Emily Schromm and she is what many call a "paleo goddess." Why?

• Her body is on point,
• Her exercise is intense,
• She fucking loves bacon and;
• She lives in Denver (I'm adding this since it's my dream location)

When she isn't busy shaping her life and changing others' (she's also a Certified Personal Trainer and competes regularly with Crossfit), she's shouting from the mountain tops of Colorado (or Thailand for those watching MTV's Challenge Rivals II where she's currently - you guessed it - kicking ass) about how to become "your own superhero." Pretty inspirational and motivational if you ask me - I want superpowers from bacon too, damn it!

Anyhow, I clearly am not in Denver (as seen by my sad face and sweat stains from just merely walking to and from my car IN THE GARAGE) so I've always followed her Twitter and Facebook closely to see what workouts I could snag and what foods I could try.

Things intensified as I saw she was beginning a 21-day "Superhero Blueprint Challenge" earlier this month. Her request? Go with her for three weeks on a (less-strict) Paleo and exercise journey. No grains, no alcohol, no sugar - no crap (peanuts she deemed were fine, same with full-fat dairy if it doesn't bother your gut). I saw it as an interesting challenge and a way to shake things up a bit - something to do to see if I'd notice a change and vainly get back into the ONE pair of jeans I hadn't gotten into since about 3-months pregnant. I got my husband and a friend on board and we set out on the journey...

And here we are! With four pounds down (five for my husband, 12 for my friend), an inch off my waist and hips - but none off my thighs lol go figure - I'm fitting into those jeans that have been folded on the top shelf of my closet and I'm able to wear tighter-fitting tees that before exposed my muffin top. But really the greatest part - aside from the look on people's faces when I put butter in my coffee or tell them "yes, I really DID saute my veggies in bacon grease" - is the community that's been building on her Facebook page.

People all over the world are doing this challenge and we are all getting to post recipes, exercises, snack ideas, and so many other neat things together. What kind of "diet" have you EVER been on that can create so much excitement? Don't believe me? Go look. Or check out the hashtag #21daysuperherochallenge on Twitter and Instagram where, over the last 18 days (wow) everyone (including me!) has been posting pictures of beautiful bacon strips, happy cagefree eggs, crispy kale chips and bulletproof coffee! It really IS so much fun.

Anyway - that is the HOW. You know the WHY. Now you need to get your ass up and DO.

And don't y'all worry - I'll make sure to post as soon as I join her next challenge!

Until then - do some Burpees with Em!

Derailment (and I ain't talking about the railroad)

Argghhhh. I had a bad day yesterday. After I wrote my post, things just kept swindling.

Until dinner, that is. What an amazing meal! We made spaghetti squash and topped it with homemade spaghetti sauce with meatballs. I'm talking about fresh grassfed beef, organic basil, thyme, garlic and onions... just glorious. Of course, the meatballs were mashed, taking away from their glory, to assure the meat was thoroughly cooked as our son was enjoying the meal with us (as he usually does, unless it's steak night - I ain't eating a well done steak for ANYONE)!

To take a mental health break from the day I'd been having, I ran 1.8miles downtown since it was only (hah!) 90 out. (Ohh Texas - you and your heat.) Hit up the loft gym and did curls, thrusters and manmakers until I literally couldn't catch my breath any longer. Decided to do some yoga in the house and hit my yogi life goal - doing "The Crow" without faceplanting or having wrist-splitting pain.

I was craving sweets after my workouts so I made some paleo hot cocoa which included: 100% pure cacao, coconut milk (or water, but I can barely handle this version) and some cinnamon. I decided against using cow's milk as, again, I'm not a big milk drinker and the lactose (aka sugar aka carbs) were 4x that of the coconut milk with not nearly enough of the fat! Remember, fats are GOOD for you - they are what your body was designed to use for energy.

Pretty stoked for parmesan-crusted tilapia tonight - who's with me?

Whirlwind weekend

Although today is technically Tuesday, it's really like my Monday because my husband was off work yesterday. And boy has it started off as a Monday...

Everything you do, you hit roadblocks. That's just life - you try a new dance, you fall or get out of sync. You try a new recipe and find it needs some tweaking. Same with trying to change your entire way of eating cold-turkey...

Sunday was our "cheat day" - it began with us heading out to a taco stand (restaurant really but that's what it's called) that we frequent often. Deviated from our usual order of tacos and nachos. I only got some queso, not really for the carb-loaded chips but I wanted to drink cheese hah! We got four tacos - shredded pork, grilled fish, shredded sirloin and chicken. Not too bad of a cheat, I say. Except it all came out cold, and after having no soap and no papertowels in the bathroom, I was NOT in the mood for expensive, cold food. Returned the chips and queso, ate two tacos and got my money back and left. Ruined the place for me as it was one thing after another after another - maybe a good thing as it's no longer a temptation...

So we headed near the local private college and hit up the bookstore to see what new books we could get for our son (and Lululemon for these crop pants that were still on my mind since getting somethings last week). Connected to the bookstore is a Starbucks. My husband gets his usual and I opt for water - they comp his and discount mine (yes, yes, I'm a barista at Starbucks and some people are really nice with our discounts - which makes paleo even harder as I started working there purely for the free drinks). SCORE one for mom. I was saving my cheat... which was when I had later hit up MY Starbucks and got a sweetened black tea. Sigh. That's a lot of sugar and not a whole lot more - I'm not even going to try and argue that there are antioxidants in the tea... I made it myself so I added extra tea and ice, hoping to dilute the classic syrup I'd pumped in with wide eyes.

Yesterday (Monday) began GREAT - I went to work to collect my tips and my weekly mark-out (a pound of Willow Blend this time) and grabbed... another water. Yay! I'm not usually down for a 2$ bottle of water but they're pretty big and I was going to my very first Barre class.

I was SO excited for Barre. I'd read and heard so much about it and it was described at the yoga studio I go to as a mixture of ballet, pilates and yoga. I LOVE pilates and yoga - so sign me up! This was the "basics" class although the instructor assured me that wasn't a synonym for easy - it was just a little slower paced to make sure our moves were proper so our lunges and warriors weren't causing us knee or other joint pain. It totally kicked my ass and I was sweating, A LOT. My ass is pretty sore this morning and it'll be interesting later when I go to the gym in our lofts and attempt some crossfit moves and definitely, some squats.

Cut to my son having a really tough day. He's no stranger to teething - he is getting his 7th tooth at only 10 months. He's a trooper, really. But add in his newfound skill of walking (running, really) and all the falls that entails with a tooth that is at its worst stage of emerging and this mom was ready to get him out of the house and out for... ice cream! Yes, the mom who gives her child nothing but organic foods and has never let him have one spoonful of commercial baby food or formula, took her son out for Coldstone chocolate ice cream with sprinkles! Totally takes his mind off of his teeth (numbs them and constricts the blood vessels so maybe, just maybe, they'll stop pulsating with pain for a bit) and he enjoyed being near a college campus and getting to see all the commotion of school starting back up. I totally ate some too - damn. But it was yummy and I'm not going to deny myself a memory of sharing ice cream with my giggling kiddo! And who's throwing away extra 5$ ice cream? Not me!

Today has been a bit of a mess. My coffee is already cold, and when I went to heat up a non-paleo meal (I'm not even going to name it because I'm pretty irritated with myself for even opening it but it was the last non-paleo thing in the house and I swear to god it was challenging me and calling me to it!), the overly sensitive smoke alarms in the loft went off. JUST as I'd gotten my son down for a nap. Fuck my life. I swooped him out of his crib, opened the doors and took him outside until the incessant beeping went off. The paleo gods had spoken - I was NOT to eat this "meal". (There was seriously NO smoke, I don't get it...). So now, here I sit, with cold coffee half way through the Teen Mom 3 premiere, writing out my son's meal plan for the week, wearing pajama bottoms I haven't worn in awhile that smell like home (1,000 miles away where all of my friends and family are), feeling very emotional. It's going to be one of those days.

Sugar is an absolute drug (withdrawals)

So this is my second time detoxing from carbohydrates and sugar. For some background, I'm hypoglycemic and get incredibly dizzy and shaky and weak when I don't eat every few hours. My husband would always make sure I had food on hand or the devil would emerge - seriously. I was SUCH a grouch yesterday and bless him for dealing with me. I snap at every little thing when I'm hungry and denying my body of sugar - even though I was eating other delicious meals - had me in a permanent pissed off mood.

So that was yesterday! A little more information - I'm a barista. I work in a coffee shop which is basically a candy shop. Every thing, including those "healthy" green teas people enjoy oh-so-much, contain sugar. Seriously - sugar is on the label BEFORE the green tea matcha powder. Think about that next time you order and think you're doing your body more than a disservice. I am pretty easily able to avoid the temptation at work, especially with the pastry case as that's never been my kryptonite (my kryptonite, by the way, is strawberries stuffed and then covered in Nutella).

This morning - I felt GREAT. Slept GREAT - I swear to you, the BEST SLEEP ever is that when your body is full of healthy fats and rid of sugary carbs. Out like a light and awake without issue - which is good news for someone with a 10-month-old kid who is already walking (running) and could care less what mommy had going on last night after he went to bed (which was work until about 11pm following by a-more-than-usual frustrating pumping session).

Cut to me actually having to drag my ass out of bed - so. weak. Dizzy. Felt like I was going to vomit. Instead of immediately grabbing sugar like I would before - I got angry. Angry that I let my body get addicted to needing such pointless, empty crap that I would actually be detoxing from it. Detoxing. Like a drug. This further fuels my drive for eliminating this stuff from my life, and later, from my son's life. For now, I still let him have gluten, and juice when his digestive tract isn't running so smoothly (is that a more polite way of saying constipated? lol), things that his pediatrician assures me are alright. I don't want to force my new lifestyle on him until I've seen the effects it has on my husband and I, and I certainly don't want him missing out on any nutrients. This usually means making him whole wheat pancakes with fresh preserves from the local farmers market as I stare at my fingers, covered in strawberry sugary goodness, from ripping it into bite-size pieces for his little mouth (and SIX teeth!).

So other than the constant battle going on inside my head - between wanting to stuff my face full of things that have, up to this point, never made me gain weight and wanting to be the healthiest I can be for my breastfeeding son. So far, I'm sticking to it and have seen a nice reflection of my work on the scale. Today is a "cheat day" however, so we will see what lunch has in store for us. I was addicted to Coca-Cola (fountain only, never canned or bottled - weird!) before all of this and will make sure not to let that creep back in, not even on a "cheat day." I call this getting my shit together - har har.

But yes - I'm four pounds down (from 115 to 111) and on day three of carb/sugar detox.

edit - I just spilled all of my bulletproof coffee on the floor while reaching for some ice to cool it off to chug before my workout. Yup. New me - same shitty luck. Huzzah!

- Cavewoman mom

Here we go!

Alright! Here I am, finally joining the blogging world - albeit, anonymously.

I guess I'll start with introducing myself: I'm a new mom, embarking on the new journey of a Paleo lifestyle for reasons I'll list in just a sec. Having this blog is going to make it easier to see my progress and to hold myself accountable. I'm an ex-journalist who has always been the type of person that has to get things out and down on paper (so to speak) and I'm hoping this will help me in my journey.

I'm starting Paleo (the "primal diet") because:

• I'm a breastfeeding mom - what I eat, my child eats. Ever since beginning the parenting journey with pregnancy, I've made the switch to grass-fed beef, organic produce/veggies and cage-free eggs/poultry.
• I have digestive issues. Neither doctors nor I have figured out what has caused my IBS or random waves of nausea and after gluten-free became the "new" fad and got more attention, it all kind of made sense that perhaps I have a gluten intolerance or at the very least, a sensitivity.
• Dairy. I've always had a love-hate relationship with dairy. I absolutely think it's grotesque that we are the only mammal that A) drinks another mammal's milk and, B) drinks milk past infancy. So nixing dairy as a beverage is easy (soy is always my go-to with Starbucks and the like, anyhow) - cheese is another thing, though. I DO enjoy cheese as long as it's full fat and hopefully, from grass-fed cows. Some are okay with dairy in Paleo, some aren't - it's just like peanuts being acceptable or not - I could care less about the semantics and care the most about the health.

This blog is going to be my place to bitch and moan, praise and doubt myself and overall just something to burn up the energy from my bulletproof coffee - hah! This is by NO means just a diet/fitness blog - I'm going to talk about what I want, when I want. This is for me.

So... here we go!