Grace and dinner

I know weird title for a post.  But that's kinda what my day consisted of.  My daughter had an orthodontist appointment this morning and then drove herself to Starbucks and school (which took way longer than if I'd have driven).  So I had to go to crossfit at 11:00.

Our WOD today was Grace.  I'd done it a few months ago, so I knew I had to get it done in about 5 minutes.  Not great, but a goal nonetheless.  Oh first the description:

Grace:  30 clean and jerks at 95#

Today I got 4:38, victory!  It was a 1 min, 19 sec PR!!  I'll take it.

After finishing Grace we had a max effort pull ups.  I got 15 on that.  I probably should've tried for more, but my hands were pinching and I didn't want to  mess them up for the rest of the week.

Then I had to run a few errands and get to Costco.  I started plotting dinner while I was driving and decided to go with bacon wrapped filets.  I saw the recipe on Food Network and have to say they were the best steaks I'd ever made so I went with them again.  I had great intentions of taking a photo, but everyone was starving and I forgot.  But they were just as delicious this time around  If you'd like to give them a try the recipe is here.  I will warn you if you're following a traditional low fat diet, they aren't for you.  If however you are paleo, then go for it!  

We had those with some roasted brussel sprouts and sweet potato chips.  And with the leftover bacon, I made bacon wrapped dates for dessert.  Yep it was a good day!

Dieting in the Zone

Like most everyone else in the world, I've struggled with my weight over the years.  After having 3 kids, my weight was about 15 pounds more than I'd like.  Then I hit my late 30's and my hormones went a little (ok a lot) wacky and I'd gained another 10 pounds in a year.  That added no energy and cravings for junk to keep me going throughout the day.  I went on natural hormones, thyroid and started to feel like my old self.  That's about the time I was able to start doing Crossfit.  I did that for 10 months and started feeling stronger, but never lost any weight.  I decided to take a month off and focus on my diet.  I did ediets and had them deliver food to me weekly.  It was a great way to control the number of calories I ate, but the diet wasn't very healthy.  They were comfort type foods that I wouldn't normally even eat.  The good news was that after 8 weeks, I lost 15 pounds.

When the weight was under control, I started running.  I was hoping that would help me to lose more weight while eating more normal foods.  After nearly a year of running, I haven't lost any additional weight.  So now I'm on to try something else.  Most all of the crossfit community seems to endorse either paleo or zone diets.  The zone diet seems like a healthy and doable way of eating.  So this week, I've been following the diet pretty well.  We eat out a lot due to crazy kids schedules in the evening, but you can eat out and remain in the zone.  I haven't weighed myself this week, but I do feel good.

I'd love to hear from others that have done the Zone diet.  What are some of your favorite meals and snacks?

My favorite breakfast is: 1 oz of canadian bacon, 1 scrambled egg, 1 oz of shredded cheese inside of half of a whole wheat pita.  Along with half an apple and 3 macadamia nuts.

My favorite snack:  hard boiled egg with hummus

My favorite dinner:  chili- onion, bell pepper, cumin, chili powder, red pepper flakes, ground turkey (or beef), 1/4 cup kidney beans, 1/4 cup black beans, 1 cup tomato sauce.  Serve with 1 oz cheese and cilantro to taste.