Heron, I will continue over here.. Kelly and I have been doing a LOT of gluten free Paleo baking using nut flours. Some of the stuff is so good we only make it every so often... There is plenty more that I need to try, including some Rhubarb ones since I love that plant, and I like it sour! I realize that not everyone does Paleo, but the last few years there has been an explosion in the baking area; there are plenty of items out there to make, whether they use just gluten free or nut flours.

We shot a match this weekend and had a ball. Sunday was one of those very intense lazy reset days that I seem to do a couple of times a year. I guess yesterday was the day for it, and I cannot remember the last time I had one.

John, I think it's great that you are feeling better and any loss is better than none.

Mark, yep I've noticed that there has been an increase in interest in the whole GF thing. And better quality are out there. I know I am sensitive to gluten/carbs? I get headaches/migrane/bloat after eating pastry. I am going to try GF flour and experiment. My "problem" is that I love things that are high in gluten lol. Cakes, cookies, muffin those type of baked goods does not depend heavily on the process of forming gluten to be successful that's why it's easy to sub them with nut flours. When you get into dough making its a different process. Not saying it can't be done like I said I'm going to experiment that is always fun and/or frustrating lol my goal is to make yummy chewy pasta and puff pastry that is light and airy with soft chewy layers.

Kim, I think a 2.5 gain after a vacation is a "success" and yep I doubt they are real weight gain.
And I agree with your comments in the challenge rules. Its kind of like saying fat is unhealthy and load up on "healthy carbs"
I'm still in limbo with the food thing.. Right now my weight is fluctuating at the 12lb range. I'm not tripping yet since I'm still fitting in all my clothes which means I didn't gain that much weight post holiday but I am going to try to stay under 40g carbs for 2 weeks just to get my head back in the game and hopefully this time stay in the game. You know... I know I should do but it's the doing it part that I'm struggling with. It's like a freaking addict. To be really honest... I know I'm not giving my best. So I just need to remind myself to be at my best behavior
I'm not making any excuse for my behavior just telling my story

Happy Tuesday Folks! Whole 30 complete, Black Cherry Greek Yogurt standing by.

haven't done any Paleo Baking yet but do have some stuff I'm gonna try one of these days.

Kim No worries Lass you'll be fine. I'm with ya on being done with challenges for a while, Though I'm going to help my Boss through a Primal Blueprint 21 day transformation Program, taking her the book today. See how my 1:1 coaching skills are doing.

Angela - With my knees can't do the North for winter any more. Bless you.

TTFN Folks

Kim - Here is what they say in their email Day 31. I should also note that the fact that the Primal Blueprint is a sustainable process is why I chose to get certified in the program. I chose to do a Whole 30 because I needed it try to get my metabolism under control after quitting tobacco. The additional restrictions were helpful. So returning to my norm which is primal. I did not call it a challenge and we are not approaching Cesci's program with a challenge mindset. It's about adopting habits and lifestyle that she already knows make her feel better. Just have to re orient and focus a bit. Should have seen her eyes light up when I mentioned Dark Chocolate as a sensible indulgence
I personally use the Whole 30 as a tool in my tool box, not as a complete way of eating. I can see where some may need to, and the dangers of poor re introduction of 'problematic foods' are real. It really needs a good coaching program, like Primal Blueprint, CNS and CBL are developing. Never the less here is what they say...

If you woke up on Day 31 and had a breakfast of beer, pizza, Cocoa Puffs, and ice cream with peanut butter sauce, how will you know which food group to blame when every bodily system feels like junk an hour later? (And everything would feel like junk.)

Here’s what we’d like you to do instead: introduce “less healthy” foods back into your diet one group at a time, while keeping the rest of your diet as Whole30-clean as possible. Think about it like a scientific trial, in which your Whole30 is the “control” and the one food group you are trying to evaluate is the “experimental group.” Sure, you’ll get some added sugar in many of your “experimental” foods, but the key is not combining food groups in any one testing day.

Here is a sample ten-day reintroduction schedule. Feel free to alter the food groups and particular food choices to suit your needs.

Day 1: Evaluate dairy,while keeping the rest of your diet Whole30-compliant. Have yogurt in the morning, some cheese in the afternoon, and ice cream after dinner. Evaluate how you feel that day, and the next day, and perhaps even the day after that. Stomach feel like you’re about to birth an alien? Suddenly feeling all congested and headachy? Skin break out in the next day or two? You may need to limit your dairy consumption to very small quantities or only certain items (yogurt, but not ice cream) during “off plan” meals, or you may decide that the aftereffects mean that all dairy is simply never worth it.

Day 4: Evaluate gluten-containing grains,while keeping the rest of your diet Whole30-compliant. Gluten is such nasty stuff that we want to break it out from the other grains, so you can evaluate it all by itself. Over the course of your day, eat a whole-wheat bagel, a side of pasta, and a dinner roll. (Most beers contain gluten, so drinking one beer would count here, too.) See how you feel that day, and the next day, and so on. Evaluate your experience and decide how often and how much to incorporate gluten grains into your regular diet—if at all. (We recommend not at all.)

Day 7: Evaluate non-gluten grains,while keeping the rest of your diet Whole30-compliant. Eat a serving of white rice, some corn tortilla chips, and a slice of gluten-free bread. See how you feel that day, and the next day, and so on. Pay attention to your reactions and decide how, how often, and how much to incorporate grains into your regular diet—if at all.

Day 10: Evaluate legumes, while keeping the rest of your diet Whole30-compliant. Try some peanut butter, a bowl of lentil soup, some tofu, and a side of black beans. See how you feel that day, and the next day, and so on. Evaluate your experience and decide how, how often, and how much to incorporate legumes into your regular diet—if at all.

Happy Wednesday Folks! Hope all is well with all of you.

Heron- Yep inner motivation is difficult, a good coach is not a luxury it's a necessity. Hope it's sorted out soon for ya.

Busy Day ahead

TTFN

John

Quick frustrating check in. Got bit earlier on my right hand by the ex foster that we are babysitting. I was trying to brush him (It's my mistake for being complacent.) He has issues hence we are the only ones that can babysit him. It's not the first time that he's bit me. He bites hard not a warning bite but with intent then right after he wants to snuggle... Like I said issues..
Anyways, I've got bit by 60 lb dogs but that lil 25lb Lhasa mix causes more damage because he had no bite inhibitions. So now I can't do much, argghhh!! I can't even hold a knife! However I am looking at the positive this incident totally gave me an opportunity to test my new herbalist knowledge of wound care and treatment.

Happy Thursday Folks! Two days of work before Vacay Starts, Paleo FX just a week and a day away.

Jen, yeah it sucks! This fat loss thing ain't easy. Keep going!! But find out what made you lose your motivation that'll help.
Kelly, what a trooper but I think you should just chill and relax this whole weekend. No plans. You might be feeling like you got this flu cold beat but if you don't give yourself enough bed rest it'll come back with a vengeance. Catch up on shows or movie, you need to rest! Rest and hydrate!
Does Fitbit give you the number in distance it steps? You should download some form of running app (they track distance) so you can have both to compare. Just a thought..

Funtastic Friday Folks! Jam time for me today.

Jen missed your post from yesterday, we must have been posting around the same time. Bummer on not feeling well. I think this time of year for some reason brings on motivational challenges it seems liek a wave washing over. The good news is that this too will pass. Sort one thing out and others seem to fall in lace. Might want to look into meditation, if you're new to it the book "8 min meditation" is a good place to start.

Kelly interested in your thoughts on the Charge. I've been thinking about it or the Surge for an upgrade.

On the Coaching front, One of my Co workers had knee replacement surgery in Dec, he's now been cleared for exercise, asked me to work him up a plan to return to ref'ng HS Football by Aug. Started him on phase one this week, He mentioned his wife was going to do it with him for weight loss, so a ran off a copy of Jason Seib's Fat Loss Directives and told him if she has questions let me know.

Co worker 2 Maris my Rec Therapist for the D Ward, has been re entering the exercise arena, (she was a Div 1 Softball Player at Tennessee), since her illness over the holidays, (nearly died from septic shock) working with her on a whole different objective, though she wants to run, some mid distance races in the future, 1/2 marathon or less. Had a good talk with her about the need to think about building muscle instead of losing weight. Gave her Jason Seib Directives and when I pointed out the pics of Jason's wife, you could see the light go on.


Well Paleo Fx one week out. Vacay starts tomorrow.

Carol - Just one word for ya, Hoooah!

Hmr I looked at everything for the different models of Fitbit. I opted for upgrading to the charge as I wanted to track elevation and yet the charge hr and surge I was not interested in tracking heart rate. I also don't do much cycling to warrant a surge. The asset I saw to the surge is a larger display that shows multiple stats at once unlike the flex that just has lights. I do enjoy that the charge will work as a watch. It allows you to track multiple stats while cycling through the menu on the band as well. The charge and I assume surge as well have a stop watch function to track your exercise that is really easy to use and quicker than accessing the gps exercise mode in my phone. Hope that helps!

Great decision on the Charge Kelly. I'm a longtime Fitbit user. Had their original model, then a FLex and now a Surge. Which, Mark, they did just add cycling tracking (on the GPS capability). Hubby has a Charge HR. If I was to do it over, I'd just use the Charge HR. The Surge is big on my wrist, and if I wear too much without switching wrists, I get a little rash under the band. For cycling I will continue to rely on my Garmin. But the HR part and elevation tracking - plus the auto sleep part, make the Charge HR a really great fitness tracker. Hubby just starts the tracking in his phone app, if he wants a GPS map of his walks.

Oh, and Heron all of them do estimate distance by steps - and you can customize your step length in the desktop dashboard. We often laugh about how many more steps hubby gets than I on same walk. I just take longer strides. So I get less steps when we walk together. I also tend to naturally walk faster (but still only around 3.6-3.8mph - remember I do not use walking as a form of "cardio" and so intentionally keep heart rate low) than him. So at times I pull ahead and then wait.

Still not sure about PaleoFX. Carol knows that I now have a business trip to Dallas Wed-Friday. Toying with changing my flight back through Austin on Sunday morning. If I go, I have full days of seminars and workshops picked out, Hate there's several overlaps where I would have to pick between two speakers I really want to see. There's a BodyIo coaching meet up Friday night (and epic carb nite). And must find time to at least hook up with you guys for a bit. Would be busy but great weekend. Should make a decision in next day or so.

Happy Saturday!

Great end to the week with two huge victories. Thursday night my good friend was over for dinner and we have Melissa Joulwan's old school italian meat sauce (very delicious!), asparagus and pasta for her and hubby and zucchini noodles for me. I knew the sauce was perfect for bread dipping and had her bring garlic bread... and managed to resist even when close to the end she says "I'm so full but this bread is so good!". Friday managed NOT to dive into chocolate when two mistakes I had made a couple weeks ago and been unaware of were discovered. Completely take it personally and want to consume a chocolate bar to console myself... but didn't! It helps my co-workers all know about my challenge.

Even started more activity! Wednesday starting raking the front yard which I hadn't done in the fall, and today picked up garbage/debris for 3 hours around the track (we are the new owners of an old go kart track). Gorgeous days both of them!

Now just to get through my SIL birthday out tomorrow and whole30 is looking good.

Jen - don't go anywhere! That was one of my greatest mistakes. It made my slip into a dive off a mountain!

Can't wait to hear about the feedback from paleo FX! And John enjoy your vacation