Just eat real food and skip the wheat bread :)

You had to know this was coming. A new food challenge to keep my mind busy during this time while I cannot workout as I used to. It seems to me like great timing as we all know nutrition is a key factor in weight loss and since I cannot train at 100%, I must rely on my nutrition to get me back where I need to be.

Starting August 24th - 30 days eating REAL food, nothing processed and staying away from sugar. Kind of simple really :) The yes and no list...

The YES List -

Vegetables - Nothing off limits. Eat as much of the good green stuff as you can.

Meats - A heavy focus on fatty fish and grass fed beef along with chicken and so on.

Fats - Go for it! Coconut, Avocado oil, Nuts...minus peanuts.

Fruits - Every fruit is ok as long as it's in moderation. For example, not eating a whole watermelon...been there :)

Drinks - Coffee, tea ok just do not sweeten with sugar or the fake junk. Aim for at least 1 gallon of water a day.

Dairy- Kiefer is ok along with greek yogurt as long as there is NO sugar. As for cheese, blue cheese, goat and feta are ok -- again in moderation.

Grains - NO bread. I repeat NO bread...well except for Paleo Loaf or something similar that I make at home. Quinoa, Oat bran, Steel cut oats, Brown Rice ( in small amounts) and Amaranth are ok.

Sweeteners - Honey and Maple Syrup

The NO List -

NO junk. NO pizzas, chips...no matter how healthy they are, no white rice. No pasta, even the gluten free "healthy" kind. Nothing processed. No diet drinks, sports bars, bread...did I mention bread ;) No sweets. Nothing. Just stick to real, whole foods.

The Superstars to consume daily -

Tumeric
Ginger
Coocnut Oil
Avocado
Walnuts
Kale
Lemons
Berries
Nuts and Seeds (except for peanuts)

Goals for this challenge -

Lose 15 lbs
Reduce inflammation
Increase overall energy and health

Let the fun begin........

The journey continues....

The majority of you follow me on Fb so you already know about my current spinal issues but for those who do not know I will keep it brief. The short story is I have some bulged disks caused by bone spurs from arthritis that I am currently trying to control. Many of you remember my shoulder injuries from 2 years ago and how we could not find the source of the pain, well, now we know. It is all from my C4/5 and 5/6. So I am going to be receiving epidural injections, seeing a chiropractor and PT while we wait to see if the pain improves. If not,  we have consulted with 2 surgeons regarding my surgery options. But I want to wait until I have tried all I can first.

Moving forward.....

I was depressed, anxious and unmotivated when I first found out all this was going on 3 weeks ago and so now I have to get back on track.  I have gained more weight and now that the pity party is over, it's time to get back to work! I cannot train as I did before right now as it hurts to much but I can walk and ride on the spin bike until it hurts, then I need to stop.

So I am setting a new goal. To walk and bike a total of 150 miles for this month. Starting on Monday, August 24th.  I know it does not sound like much but it's a start back and we will see how it does with my pain.

Shoot for the stars right?