Nick's 30 Day Paleo Challenge- Day 12

As I sit here thinking about the past 12 days of my diet I started thinking about the number 12 and how important it was. Think about it: 12 apostles, 12 months in a year, 12 people who have walked on the moon (don't ask me to name them), 12 Angry Men and 12 days I have been off the crap and eating healthy.

Today was long as hell. I was up at 4am and caught the early flight back to NYC from Chicago (this was a bad idea, I wont be doing it again). Had a great time and love Chicago. Definite highlight was Second City.

Was real busy at work today as I am preparing to head over to Athens, Greece next week for some meetings. This should be real interesting as we head into week 3 of the Diet.

Today for food was pretty standard. Had some veggies for lunch and a bit of grilled chicken. Drank lots of water. The afternoon crave for sugar and other junk is almost gone. It's amazing. I hadn't really thought about it once today.

Around 7:30pm I had Braised Beef, Carrots and Broccoli from Dig Inn

Then I went out and picked up a ton of fresh produce so I could make me and Marisa a couple of Mean Greens.

Before:

After:

Delicious and really healthy for you. I put some Kale, Radish, Apple, Ginger and Celery Stalks in there. I love juicing. About to hit the sack. Till tomorrow.

Nick's 30 Day Paleo Challenge- Day 11

Well my time here in Chicago is almost over and I still haven't given up on caveman. Eating healthy hasn't been easy on the road, I've had to go the extra mile for restaurants that can serve me what I need. Also, Chicago has so many options for pizza, burgers and other junk that it has been difficult to resist, but I'm happy to report that I have.

This morning I had a western omelet with a fruit smoothie. I needed to fill up on fuel since we had a long meeting this morning. The walk to the meeting was painfully cold. With the wind chill it was -13 degrees.

After the meeting I grabbed some lunch--chicken noodle soup and fruit. I had a bunch of calls etc. to do so I worked the rest of the afternoon from the room. I wasn't hungry for a snack in the afternoon like I have been in past days. I drank a lot of water. After I finished worked we went over to the Willis Tower to go up the Sky Deck.

After that we went up with my cousin Jennifer who lives here and is getting married. It was really great to see her.

For dinner we went to eat at this place called Chicago Cut which was a really nice steak house. I totally Paleo pigged out here. For appetizers I had some Nueski's Bacon (really good stuff) followed up by lollipop lamb chops. Then for dinner I had the Rib Eye which was amazing.

Check out the before

and now for the after (ate all the veggies and picked the bone)

I had some ice water and Iced Tea (unsweetened obvi)). One other point of interest, I have been drinking my coffee black (sans Almond milk and sugar) and not hating it. I actually am starting to like it a little (heavy emphasis on "little").

Looking forward to weigh-in on Monday. 6am flight back to NYC tomorrow. Talk to you all tomorrow night!

Nick's 30 Day Paleo Challenge- Day 10

First things first, Chicago is freezing in the winter. When I walked outside this morning I felt like I was being stabbed with a thousand knives. They should call it the Chilly City because it is flipping cold here.

Back to the diet, I cant believe I have made it to double digits doing Paleo. I am feeling more and more like a caveman everyday. More importantly I am feeling better. I am actually looking forward to getting on the scale next Monday.

Despite not liking the hotel all that much I do have to say the bed was super comfortable and I slept really well. For breakfast we went downstairs to the restaurant in the hotel and grabbed something quick. I had a western omelet which came stacked with potatoes (they looked soooo processed but so good). I moved them to my bread plate which I wasn't using (obvi). I also had a fruit smoothie--strawberry and banana. After breakfast I was back to the room to prepare for my meeting in the afternoon and Mom went out to the see City (she actually took one of those bus tours)

and she had Vince Vaughn as a tour guide (like from the Break Up)--kidding.

But she did have a blast and loves Chicago. Our meeting this afternoon went really well despite the cold walk to the meeting and the walk back--everything in between went as planned.

I skipped lunch so I went and had a bowl of Chicken Noodle soup and some fresh fruit around 3pm. Wished the portions were slightly bigger but what are you gonna do. My other alternative was McDonald's which is literally next store to our hotel. It looks so tempting and I would love a Coca-Cola, 20 piece nugget and some fries but I can't. Ahhhhh!!!!!!!

After I finished working I head down to the gym for a quick sweat. I used the treadmill, bike and did some free weights. It's getting easier to workout, but I still don't love it like some people.

For dinner we went to the Drake Hotel and ate at the Cape Cod-- a really good seafood restaurant. For an appetizer I had some grilled shrimp and the house salad followed up by the chicken (I know lame choice at a seafood restaurant). This place had amazing bread also. I really wanted a piece but resisted.

After dinner we headed over to Second City to a see a show (the 102nd Revue). It was hilarious. All the actors were so funny. I think we'll be seeing them on SNL in no time. We left the theater around 9:30 to head home. I prepped for my meeting tomorrow morning and now I'm rounding out my 10th day with a post to you all.

Something non-diet related but hilarious I saw today:

Till tomorrow friends!

Nick's 30 Day Paleo Challenge- Day 9

Day 9 in the books and we are taking the Paleo Challenge on the road. Currently posting from:

Started the day off in proper fashion, hit the alarm a few times despite sleeping really well (some habits are hard to break) but got into work around 8:30am. I skipped breakfast/fruit shake this morning simply because I just wasn't hungry (I think that is a good sign). Had some coffee with soy almond milk (yum) and started my morning. Had a few calls and things to go through before heading out here, but did have time for a quick lunch with a fellow Caveman, Ben Simmers. Typical greens, salad and grilled chicken for lunch today. I like this stuff (meat and veggies) much better than Paleo baking, but it is still fun to try new things.

We got to the airport a little early and they were able to put us on the earlier flight. I know that's not diet related, but its awesome when stuff like that happens. Before I did get on this early flight I grabbed some snacks for the flight--mixed berries, some cantaloupe, banana and a bottled water.  I stayed away from the peanuts (legumes--bad) and complimentary Coca-Cola products they were serving on the flight.

Another awesome thing, not diet related, happened in the cab on the way to the hotel. I saw this sign:

You may have to zoom in on your phone, but it says that Vomit Clean-up Fee will cost you an additional $50.00 USD. I thought that was hilarious. Do you think the driver is like "ok, so it's $18.50 for the fare, $5 for the toll and $50 for the vomit. Cash or Credit?"

As soon as we checked in (I hate the hotel) we went out to Morton's. Here's mom chowing down on some bread and butter (none for me):

For dinner I had a mixed green salad, Lamb Chops (delicious) and some grilled Asparagus. I washed all that down with a nice cold glass of water.

Some now I am back at the hotel. It's about 9 degrees outside (so happy I'm not smoking anymore). Busy day tomorrow but speak to you all in the evening night. I'm beat.

Nick's 30 Day Paleo Challenge- Day 8

Nothing significant today happened in my diet. I was home sick today and have felt terrible all day. I think my body is still adjusting to my new diet.

Ohh yeah, by the way...I lost 10lbs. I'm down to 242. I'm on my way....till tomorrow. Headed to CHI-town for work. Not to worry -- got my paleo hat on and my gym shoes packed.

BTW, did I mention I lost ten pounds??!??!

#PALEO

Nick's 30 Day Paleo Challenge- Day 7

Well day 7 has come to an end, it was easier than day 6, but still a struggle at time. I'm exhausted and fell asleep a few times tonight. I only woke back up just to post. I really want a soda or a cigarette now, but I'll finish this and go to bed.

I started out the morning by making Blueberry Pumpkin Paleo muffins:

They tasted great and will certainly help with the mornings which I have struggled with. The next thing we moved on to making was Paleo Chicken nuggets

These were not easy to make but they also tasted great. As we were making them I wondered if McDonald's does it the same way (I don't think so). We got some ground chicken and coconut flour which are new to paleo cooking for me. 

I made some broccoli and had a nice lunch as a result:

 For dinner we had stuffed red peppers which came out really good but didn't really agree with me all that much. I think my body is still getting used to eating healthy. 

I'll write more on this tomorrow. It's been a long day. 

Nick's 30 Day Paleo Challenge- Day 6

Okay so quick update before I get in today my diet today, the Paleo Banana Bread that I made last night was THE BOMB.com. It was so moist thanks to the coconut oil and tasted great. It didn't have sweet sugary rush you get from good banana bread, it was better. 

Today was pretty uneventful in terms my diet. Reflecting on the day I am pretty upset about it. Here is how the day went, I started off my morning (I got up around 1030am) having the left overs from last night (Pork Chops and String Beans). The string beans would be the only veggie I would have all day  :( That is where my disappointment lies. I need to make sure I am eating much more fruits and vegetables. 

As I mentioned in my previous post I attended my friends Tod and Amanda's wedding today. Here they are getting married. Congrats Tod and Daisy. Beautiful ceremony and we all had a blast!!!!

The ceremony was great, the reception was a bit of a struggle for me as it relates to food but I made up for it by dancing and having a good time. The band rocked! The food stations were unbelievable. The Italian one looked amazing. I would have eaten everything on that table (and wanted to). 

Also, there was no soda from the gun, but they did have those little pepsi bottles which I like just as much, so a bit of a bummer. I wanted a soda tonight like you wouldn't believe.  I ended up having the steak (8 pieces) which were so tasty  and washed that all down with a nice cold Pellegrino. Then dessert came:

 

I almost gave up because of this little guy:

But instead Marisa ate it for me and I was saved to live another day in Paleo Paradise.

The wedding ended and we had a great time. Since we were in the neighborhood we hit Whole Foods in Columbus Circle (it's open until 11pm--awesome!) and grabbed some usual stuff from the store--Coconut Flour,  Raw Honey, Coconut Milk, Palm extract sugar (yes this is Paleo--I checked). Tomorrow I am going to be baking a Paleo cake. I need a treat after making it through tonight.

Talk to all tomorrow!

Nick's 30 Day Paleo Challenge- Day 5

I feel like I have thoroughly kicked Day 5 in the ass. I struggled a lot today with temptation (Friday's are going to be rough) but have made it through proper Caveman Style. At one point in the last two days I did check my Paleo App to see whether KFC was in-bounds....it wasn't and thought this was funny:

 Today I decided to start off a little different then the last 4 days. I was so inspired by "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead" that I decided to go for juice this morning--Strawberries and Bananas. It was quite good and somewhat filling, I have to admit I was missing my cage free eggs by 1030am.

I was still pretty sore from the last two days of working out, but wasn't exhausted. My body still had energy and I wasn't falling asleep. I made it through the morning and into the afternoon. For lunch today, we decided to venture down Madison Ave to Dig-Inn. Dig-Inn is Mecca of lunch spots for Paleo's. You can basically eat as much as you want of everything there. Today I went with Braised Beef, Sweet Potatoes, Carrots and Broccoli on top of some Kale.

Normally, I would spit this food up since everything except the beef is in my wheel-house but I am actually starting to like it. I washed that all down with a nice glass of cold ice water...Look at me go:

I made it through the rest of the afternoon craving free and was able to get a lot of work done. As I mentioned before I am heading to Chicago next week. Need to stay on track with my meals and exercise. I have a plan though and all of you so I should be good.

When I got home all I could think about was having a burger with fries and a nice cold Coca-Cola. I was also craving Chinese food from Shun-Lee here in the City. I ate there last friday and it was soooo good.  I did pass by a Dominos as well which looked very enticing (love the breadsticks and thin crust there)....

Instead tonight Marisa and I went to the Palm on 2nd avenue and had some Pork Chops, Green Beans and Iced-Tea unsweetened. Very Tasty and total Caveman.

After dinner I was still craving something sweet and since all of the normal crap I used to eat is no longer available to me I had to search the web for something (I did this all from the dinner table). I landed on Paleo Banana Bread. After dinner I went to the supermarket to get some ingredients (most of this stuff I never even knew existed):

- Almond Butter
- Coconut Oil
- Almond Flour

As we were walking home and I was thinking about the $56 dollars I just spent in Morton Williams, it was clear that making the healthy choice when buying ingredients is not cheap and a lot of times (in my case) you need to seek out what that expensive healthy choice is. Doesn't seem right.

Cooking has become a real passion for me over the last few months so I am really looking forward to getting more and more into the Paleo recipes that are all over the internet. It seems like they have one for almost everything. Here I am greasing the pan with coconut oil as I am about to pour in the Paleo Banana Bread mix we just whipped up. I'll let you know how that turns out.

Tomorrow will be tough. I am heading to the wedding of my dear friends Tod M and Amanda and there will be an open bar serving Coca-Cola (probably from the gun) all night. Also, the food sounds amazing (so many stations) and the dessert is from Amy's Bread.

Wish me luck!! Till tomorrow friends.

Nick's 30 Day Paleo Challenge- Day 4

Well Day 4 has come to an end. It was long and at certain points it sucked but it was nowhere as bad as Day 2 or Day 3 so that must mean improvement.

So where do I start....last time I left you guys I was about to head out and play some basketball as 1 of my 3 workouts this week. I should tell you the last time I played basketball was over a year ago and I had an awful time getting up and down the court (I was smoking a pack a day then). This time I still felt winded at times and don't have the same explosive first step but I didn't feel like my chest was caving in. Made me feel so good about having 100 days without a cigarette!! I got a real good sweat going too--check me out.

I had a ton of energy when I got home around 1130 but quickly fell asleep. I slept very well last night.

I awoke to Day 4 with a lot more energy then I have had in the previous 3 days and felt the sugar/processed food crave subsiding (only slightly). One of the most challenges things about this diet has been the mornings. I'm not use to preparing myself a meal before I leave for work (I usually grab a few bagels or muffins) so having to plan has been tough, but I'm getting a lot of good suggestions and help from all of you.

My morning was pretty typical, started the day with some coffee and almond milk (still hate the taste and miss the sugar) followed up with 3 eggs sunny side up and 2 pieces of bacon. When I got into the office I had a few meetings and calls etc. By the time lunch came I was starved and went out for lunch with a fellow Caveman (Ben Simmers) who has been providing support at the office...Ben kept me away from these...

 Instead I opted for veggies, salad and chicken followed up by a nice cold glass of water (times like this I am really missing Pepsi).

This afternoon was the first where I didn't get hit with a headache around 2pm. My energy levels were still starting to feel low but my head wasn't pounding like it had previously. I punched out at 5pm and headed home. When I got home I fell asleep on the couch for an hour then went and dropped off my laundry. After that I headed over to meet my girlfriend at her office for dinner and to workout.

For dinner we had pork, sweet potato fries and broccoli. It was one of the first meals where after one normal serving I felt full and didn't need to eat anymore. I did continue to nibble on some broccoli. While eating we watched this movie "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead" which Marisa's roommate wanted us all to watch and which my best friend Ryan's bride to be Maureen had recommended as well. It was a great film and inspired me to do a one week juice cleanse. The story of the guy Phil in it is amazing. I was moved. After the movie it was off to the gym for a late workout (workout 2 of 3 this week).

I did the elliptical, the bike and 60 sit-ups. Was feeling great, but of course did end up on the floor at one point from exhaustion. 

So it's now past midnight and I am about to go to sleep. It's amazing how much more energy I have when I am not putting all the crap in my system.

One side note: my weight on Monday when I started was 252.8lbs. I will be weighing myself every monday.

 I'm looking forward to tomorrow. Till then friends. 

Nick's 30 Day Paleo Challenge- Day 3

Eating healthy sucks....I really really hate it!!!! Today started off pretty miserable. I woke up with a headache and was falling asleep in a cab this morning (don't I look so tired).

After my coffee with Almond milk (which still tastes like tar to me) I needed some eggs and bacon to wake up so I jumped over to the diner across the street from work for a quick feed. In and out in less than 15mins and feeling much better. I had some meetings all through the rest of the morning and my group had a team meeting from 12-1:15pm so we ordered lunch from Dishes which is really tasty. I had chicken and Broccoli and sadly the portions were so small for me. So after that meeting I went to lunch with a fellow Caveman.

I am not to happy in this pic because someone left donuts in the kitchen and they looked really really good. I was left eating meat and greens while these just sat there waiting for someone to gobble them up (that should have been me)

 As I said yesterday the afternoon is absolutely terrible when doing Paleo. I honestly don't know how the Cavemen did it (joke). Around 2:30pm again I caught a terrible headache and forgot to bring the fruit that I was reminded to bring in the morning (sorry Marisa, you were right!). However, I carried on and finished out the day strong with some water and my mind focused on the feed that would occur this evening. 

For dinner I was thinking chicken, chicken noodle soup, egg and really good uncured bacon. 

After dinner a quick trip down to my Mom's. She is going to be meeting me out in Chicago next week and I needed to book her flight for her and catch up with her. She got me a sweet food processor. That should help with all the cooking I am doing now. Subsequently there is a good grocery store by my moms place so I picked up some almonds, pistachios and bacon from there.

Back at my place I thought it time to BLEND!!! I received some great recipes which I will be shopping for and using this weekend (thanks Maureen!) 

And tonight is one of the nights I work out which is why I am posting so early. I will be playing basketball from 9pm-11pm downtown...wish me luck, its been a while. I use to look like this when I was playing basketball all the time

I don't feel as bad as I did last night. I do feel a little better. I still want candy, sugar, soda, bread, rice and cake all at the same time, but its not like it was last night.....Progress not perfection.

Till tomorrow friends!

  

Nick's 30 Day Paleo Challenge- Day 2

So Day 2 has been a real bitch! I started off the day doing really well. I had some cage frees eggs and really good bacon. Just the meal I needed to get my day going. I slept well also last night so had the best possible outlook for today.

When I got into work I went to go get a cup of coffee and instead of using whole milk and sugar I just added some Almond Milk (yay fun!) and was on my way back to my desk. Still feeling good.

Couple of highlights from today, I got a new computer at work which is much lighter I finally got my iPhone lock button fixed at this store called The Device Shop (1501 Broadway). I highly recommend for anyone who has a broken iPhone. Subsequently this store was also near Junior's and their cheesecake...I stayed strong and had this for lunch:

No coke or pepsi for me and by 2pm I was in need of a bit of a snack so I took a walk over to a Grand Central to the produce section (Paleo Paradise).

By the time we got back to the office from the Grand Central my headache was full-on. I can only attribute to sugar withdrawal. I typically drank 6-7 sugary drinks and supplemented that with a ton of carb's and candy so I know this was a natural reaction (the headache). As I said I have kicked many things before (I have 98 days off cigarettes today) so I know a withdrawal when it hits me and this one isn't any different. It sucks, but you get through it.

The fruit helped but the headache was still there. By the time I got home from work I was in need of a meal. But first a quick stop at the Amish Market for some chicken, veggies, fruit and chicken noodle soup. 

When I got home I put the string beans in extra virgin olive oil and cut up the chicken. For beverage I sliced up some lemons and lime and mixed that with seltzer.

 Meal was tasty and I feel full but I am still craving some sugar right now. Maybe some ice cream, candy bar or a soda. I don't know how much longer I can hold out......ugh I hate this!!! 

Until tomorrow friends. 

 

Nick's 30 Day Paleo Challenge- Day 1

I have kicked many things before so I know that right now I am just going through your typical first day mental stuff. This is where you start asking yourself:

- Why am I doing this?
- I can just have one Coca-Cola?
- That bread looks so good. I want it.

All in all not that bad though. It's 11:32pm and I just about ready to go to bed and I have made it through Day 1 of my Paleo challenge. Here are some highlights:

1) I woke up this morning and had cage free eggs with some really good bacon--no bread and no roll.

2) I then met my mother and went to Lord and Taylor. She was buying some gloves. We stopped and had coffee, I had mine black with some skim. No sugar....that one hurt.

3) For lunch I went to this really great place called Foragers in Chelsea. There I had some really good chicken with broccoli. Probably the best meal I had all day. Great call Mo.

4) I had some more chicken later in the day--this will be reoccurring theme with my posts...me eating chicken.

5) For dinner I  had two organic beef patties from BRGR. No bun and no fries.The guys I was with had fries, milkshakes and the bun. I was so jealous of them.

6) On the way home I stopped at Bloomingdales and got a really sweet blender. Once I got home I blended up some banana, strawberries, apple, organic pineapple juice and grape with seltzer water. Not bad for a first blend, but as my friend Brian said, "Needs work." I will be blending a lot so I should get better.

Day 1 in the books!!! Talk to you all tomorrow. 

Nick's 30 Day Paleo Challenge--The Rules

Hello! My name is Nick and as you can see I am overweight and out of shape. I have grappled with the idea of really trying to losing weight for about a year. I haven't really given it a true shot though in the sense of sticking with a plan and doing what I set out to do. This is why I am embarking on a 30 day Paleo challenge to see the benefits of this diet and whether or not it works for me.

The Rules:

What I cant eat (I love all the things on this list)

1) No sugar-- goodbye sugary drinks and candy.
2) No processed food.
3) No Bread
4) No starches

What I can eat (this is what I will be starting out eating)

1) Chicken/Steak
2) Vegetables
3) Fruit
4) Eggs and bacon

Also, as an added bonus I will work out 3x week for 1 hour each time