Day 23 came and went like many others. I am really starting to get the hang of this Paleo thing. This is probably the latest I have ever posted. More than 9.5 hrs since day 23 ended. Don't worry I haven't been hiding in a corner stuffing my face with Devil Dogs and Slurpee's (although I would like to be). Instead I have been eating well and exercising.
Yesterday in the morning I OD'ed on Bacon and had 8 stripes. Aggressive, I know. It's just so damn good. I also had some scrambled eggs (my specialty) and some water. I pushed on through to lunch and had some chicken, beef and greens. Again, didn't finish my plate. Had a few meetings the rest of the day (I did get caught in the rain, BUMMER) and tried to drink as much water as possible. For dinner I have steak and carrots. Weird choice but I was down at my moms and that was all she had for a veggie.
Two hours of hoops last night. I am exhausted, but my jumper is coming back little by little. Need to play more.
Sleep pretty well. We'll see what Day 24 holds.
NN
Thursday, March 13, 2014
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
Nick's 30 Day Paleo Challenge- Day 22
Hello from the Paleo world. I wonder if Cavemen had as much trouble sleeping as I have had in the last few days. It's getting better but still not great. Last night was the closest I came to sleeping straight through (still came up 2 hrs shy of my alarm).
Yesterday was a fairly uneventful day. I woke up so goddam early since I cant sleep straight through the night and had some eggs with bacon. One of my eggs had a double yoke (bonus!!). I have almost polished off the bacon I got from Wisconsin. Looks like I will be going back to Applegate Farms Bacon for the next few days.
When I got into work I had some coffee with Almond milk and powered through until lunch where I had some chicken, veggies and salad. For a snack I had some fruit around 4pm. I worked until 6pm.
I am starting to see that I actually require less food. I am so accustomed to getting big portions of things but since I have been eating healthy I haven't been finishing them. I find myself full. I still need to make an effort to drink more water during the day. However, a day at a time its getting better. The amount of fruit I had yesterday was much less than I've eaten in previous days. I think this has to do with the fact that my stomach has felt full.
For dinner I had chicken and veggies but I didn't even finish the plate. Normally I would be licking my dinner plate like a dog.
Overall I am feeling really good about the way things are turning out. I am losing the fat in my face and have even lost a whole pant size in my trousers.
Tonight is basketball so I should get a really good 2hr sweat going from 9-11.
Note: Since I am having so much with this 30 day challenge and I really do enjoy seeing how far I can push my body in terms of my health I have decided what my next 30 day challenge (and blog) will be:
Nick's 30 Day Juice Challenge.
My plan is to finish the 30 day Paleo Challenge out strong, have 1 day where I allow myself some bread, Coca-Cola (god I miss that), Cake, etc (basically everything but a cigarette) and then head into the 30 Day Juice Challenge. I know this will be difficult and I am doing this to try and learn the benefits of juicing and how difficult it is. My overall plan for a healthy lifestyle is to return to Paleo, but I would like to get a lens into the Juice Craze. Not sure what will happen, but I'm sure we'll have a lot of fun.
Yesterday was a fairly uneventful day. I woke up so goddam early since I cant sleep straight through the night and had some eggs with bacon. One of my eggs had a double yoke (bonus!!). I have almost polished off the bacon I got from Wisconsin. Looks like I will be going back to Applegate Farms Bacon for the next few days.
When I got into work I had some coffee with Almond milk and powered through until lunch where I had some chicken, veggies and salad. For a snack I had some fruit around 4pm. I worked until 6pm.
I am starting to see that I actually require less food. I am so accustomed to getting big portions of things but since I have been eating healthy I haven't been finishing them. I find myself full. I still need to make an effort to drink more water during the day. However, a day at a time its getting better. The amount of fruit I had yesterday was much less than I've eaten in previous days. I think this has to do with the fact that my stomach has felt full.
For dinner I had chicken and veggies but I didn't even finish the plate. Normally I would be licking my dinner plate like a dog.
Overall I am feeling really good about the way things are turning out. I am losing the fat in my face and have even lost a whole pant size in my trousers.
Tonight is basketball so I should get a really good 2hr sweat going from 9-11.
Note: Since I am having so much with this 30 day challenge and I really do enjoy seeing how far I can push my body in terms of my health I have decided what my next 30 day challenge (and blog) will be:
Nick's 30 Day Juice Challenge.
My plan is to finish the 30 day Paleo Challenge out strong, have 1 day where I allow myself some bread, Coca-Cola (god I miss that), Cake, etc (basically everything but a cigarette) and then head into the 30 Day Juice Challenge. I know this will be difficult and I am doing this to try and learn the benefits of juicing and how difficult it is. My overall plan for a healthy lifestyle is to return to Paleo, but I would like to get a lens into the Juice Craze. Not sure what will happen, but I'm sure we'll have a lot of fun.
Monday, March 10, 2014
Nick's 30 Day Paleo Challenge- Day 21
Well, it's Monday and it's weigh-in day. I came in at 233.8. That's 19 pounds. I had weighed myself on Sunday and I was down 20lbs (232.5) but if we are going by the rules, its 19lbs. Still very happy about that. I'm down almost a pound a day. I know that is not sustainable as we head in the final stretch of the Paleo challenge.
Okay to the day behind my now. I am still not sleeping well. It sucks. I fell asleep last night after I posted and then was awake by 330am, up again at 6am and then just stayed awake. Felt good this morning but by the afternoon was shot.
For breakfast I had scrambled eggs with bacon. For lunch I had some grilled chicken, salad, green beans and sweet potatoes. I was still feeling a bit hungry after this so I had a fruit smoothie (banana strawberry). Again, to much fruit through the course of the day.
I was home at 5pm, went out for a little at 6:15pm and then was asleep by 7:30pm. I know I should be staying awake, but I just cant. I am up now, posting this and then trying to go back to sleep. I missed dinner this evening and trying to keep it like that.
Right now I wanted to order some greasy crap from the diner and watch TV until 3am. I would have 2 16oz Coca-Cola's in the can with ice, a large bacon cheeseburger with fries, a piece of chocolate cake, smoke 8 cigarettes and watch the two episodes of The Walking Dead that I missed when I was away. After that aggressive feed I would eat a bag of cheese doddles as an after dinner snack. Believe or not I lived like this for a long time. I wouldn't think of anything right now of calling up and ordering all that junk. It's sounds real compelling to me.....but I wont.
Hanging in there...
Okay to the day behind my now. I am still not sleeping well. It sucks. I fell asleep last night after I posted and then was awake by 330am, up again at 6am and then just stayed awake. Felt good this morning but by the afternoon was shot.
For breakfast I had scrambled eggs with bacon. For lunch I had some grilled chicken, salad, green beans and sweet potatoes. I was still feeling a bit hungry after this so I had a fruit smoothie (banana strawberry). Again, to much fruit through the course of the day.
I was home at 5pm, went out for a little at 6:15pm and then was asleep by 7:30pm. I know I should be staying awake, but I just cant. I am up now, posting this and then trying to go back to sleep. I missed dinner this evening and trying to keep it like that.
Right now I wanted to order some greasy crap from the diner and watch TV until 3am. I would have 2 16oz Coca-Cola's in the can with ice, a large bacon cheeseburger with fries, a piece of chocolate cake, smoke 8 cigarettes and watch the two episodes of The Walking Dead that I missed when I was away. After that aggressive feed I would eat a bag of cheese doddles as an after dinner snack. Believe or not I lived like this for a long time. I wouldn't think of anything right now of calling up and ordering all that junk. It's sounds real compelling to me.....but I wont.
Hanging in there...
Sunday, March 9, 2014
Nick's 30 Day Paleo Challenge- Day 20
So happy to be back in the US. Love Love Love America!!!
Had a pretty good day today. Woke up real early around 7:30am, went out for a jog down to my moms. I did take a cab back. I'm not totally there in terms of fitness, but I'm working on it.
For breakfast I made some scrambled eggs (cage free) and cooked some bacon that I ordered from this really good place in Wisconsin. I had this bacon when I was in Chicago and got the name from the waiter--Nueske's. It's really good. I recommend. Have to cook it well. The whole meal (eggs and bacon) was balling. Exactly what I needed. I cooked it all with KerryGold butter. It's grass fed. Another Nolan recommendation.
.jpg)
I also tried to make some fresh squeezed orange juice from my juicer. I left the Orange Peel on (the juicer can rip through anything) and it subsequently ended up tasting like crap. I could taste the peel. It was bitter. Total failure on my part and a waste of a pound of Oranges. We'll try again tomorrow.
Next stop was Ikea. This store is a true test of a man's patience. I hate. I wont go back. Two of the things I wanted they didn't have. Empty....
This left me sad face.
I think I look thinner in the photo so was happy about that.
After I loaded all the other stuff I got in the car and got back home I need some food and a nap. For lunch I had some chicken, broccoli and fruit. I got through as much of the Americans (love that show, I highly recommend) and fell asleep.
I was woken up by a my friend who came over to help me assemble the desk I was able to get at Ikea. Again a true test of patience in assembling Ikea goods. I hate it. I'll never do it again.
Here is the before:
And the lovely bag of screws:
And here is the after:
Not to bad right? I felt satisfied for the job we did. For dinner I had some chicken vegetable soup and some Iced Tea infused mango (unsweetened).
I'm not to hungry now either. Couple of things I am realizing about my eating habits. I still go to snacking to much during the day. I find myself eating way to much fruit. It's better than Starburst or Sour Patch kids, but I do need to limit the amount of fruit I am eating a day. It's natural sugar, but nevertheless it is still sugar.
Looking forward to the weigh-in tomorrow. I know that I am going to start to plateau in terms of weight loss and I need to accept that. Will need to pick up in terms of exercising. I am still at three days a week, but need to workout a bit longer and harder.
Looking forward to getting back to work tomorrow. Haven't been to the office in weeks.
Talk to you all tomorrow.
Had a pretty good day today. Woke up real early around 7:30am, went out for a jog down to my moms. I did take a cab back. I'm not totally there in terms of fitness, but I'm working on it.
For breakfast I made some scrambled eggs (cage free) and cooked some bacon that I ordered from this really good place in Wisconsin. I had this bacon when I was in Chicago and got the name from the waiter--Nueske's. It's really good. I recommend. Have to cook it well. The whole meal (eggs and bacon) was balling. Exactly what I needed. I cooked it all with KerryGold butter. It's grass fed. Another Nolan recommendation.
I also tried to make some fresh squeezed orange juice from my juicer. I left the Orange Peel on (the juicer can rip through anything) and it subsequently ended up tasting like crap. I could taste the peel. It was bitter. Total failure on my part and a waste of a pound of Oranges. We'll try again tomorrow.
Next stop was Ikea. This store is a true test of a man's patience. I hate. I wont go back. Two of the things I wanted they didn't have. Empty....
This left me sad face.
I think I look thinner in the photo so was happy about that.
After I loaded all the other stuff I got in the car and got back home I need some food and a nap. For lunch I had some chicken, broccoli and fruit. I got through as much of the Americans (love that show, I highly recommend) and fell asleep.
I was woken up by a my friend who came over to help me assemble the desk I was able to get at Ikea. Again a true test of patience in assembling Ikea goods. I hate it. I'll never do it again.
Here is the before:
And here is the after:
Not to bad right? I felt satisfied for the job we did. For dinner I had some chicken vegetable soup and some Iced Tea infused mango (unsweetened).
I'm not to hungry now either. Couple of things I am realizing about my eating habits. I still go to snacking to much during the day. I find myself eating way to much fruit. It's better than Starburst or Sour Patch kids, but I do need to limit the amount of fruit I am eating a day. It's natural sugar, but nevertheless it is still sugar.
Looking forward to the weigh-in tomorrow. I know that I am going to start to plateau in terms of weight loss and I need to accept that. Will need to pick up in terms of exercising. I am still at three days a week, but need to workout a bit longer and harder.
Looking forward to getting back to work tomorrow. Haven't been to the office in weeks.
Talk to you all tomorrow.
Saturday, March 8, 2014
Nick's 30 Day Paleo Challenge- Day 19
I am somewhere in between Day 19 and Day 20 but we'll stick with 20. I am exhausted but hanging on a few more hours till I can get to sleep and sleep through the night. We'll the last time I left you all I had just climbed the tallest mountain in all of Athens (sounds so glorious when I say it like that) and had just eaten some bread :(.
For my last night in Greece I wanted to have a good meal and end the trip on a positive note so I went back to the Butcher Shop restaurant where I had eaten at a few nights before. I had some chicken skewers and the lamp chops with broccoli. Very good. I got home that night and fell right asleep after an episode of SAMCRO.
I woke up this morning at 4am (local Athens time) and headed to the airport for my flight to Paris. While I waited in the airport I made some calls, texted with some people and had some pistachios.
My flight home totally sucked. I usually am able to get Economy Comfort (I'm not high up enough on the corporate food chain for Business Class) but wasn't able to this time. So here was how I sat for the 3hrs to Paris and the 8hrs back to NYC. FML.
For my last night in Greece I wanted to have a good meal and end the trip on a positive note so I went back to the Butcher Shop restaurant where I had eaten at a few nights before. I had some chicken skewers and the lamp chops with broccoli. Very good. I got home that night and fell right asleep after an episode of SAMCRO.
I woke up this morning at 4am (local Athens time) and headed to the airport for my flight to Paris. While I waited in the airport I made some calls, texted with some people and had some pistachios.
I did watch "Enough Said" starring James Gandolfini and Julia Dreyfus. So sad about Gandolfini. Such a great actor. Another thing that sucked was I lost my iPad mini. I left it on my first plane. I only realized as I was boarding my flight to NYC. Dammit. That iPad served me well for over a year. I hope whoever has her now takes good care of her. So long old friend...
I breezed through customs which was amazing. The line for non-US was crazy long (like a 3hr wait at least). I also found out you don't have to fill out a customs card anymore, its all computerized now. Pretty cool.
When I got home Marisa and I went right to the Smith on 2nd avenue and had some lunch. I went with Steak and Eggs with some Apple Wood Smoked Bacon on the side. So good to be back in the USA.
Later on the in the evening we went to pick up some fresh fruit and make some smoothies.
A couple of non diet related things I need to share:
1. I took this awesome photo of this guy booting out of a cab. How awesome?
2. I found out why in Greece they give you the receipt right after you order something--its the law.
Looking forward to getting some good sleep in my own bed tonight.
Till tomorrow friends.
Friday, March 7, 2014
Nick's 30 Day Paleo Challenge- Day 18
It's a sad day for me. This morning at 6:30am local time in Greece I hung up my caveman club and become a regular everyday person again--I ate bread. ughhhh. Let me explain the circumstances to you all.
So as you know I have been traveling for almost 2 weeks straight--Chicago and now Greece--and I'm tired and still getting over jet lag. So I had breakfast yesterday morning and then went to the Archeology museum. Feeling good and full from breakfast. I had at a meeting with our partner here in Greece around 1pm. I finished up at 3pm and was exhausted. I stupidly laid down for a nap (I had not had lunch yet) next thing that happened was I woke up and it was 11:30pm. Dammit.
A this point I'm still tired and extremely hungry. Nothing is open to eat and I have to go without dinner now. I hate missing one meal in a day but two was brutal. I toss and turn the rest of the night because I have just slept 8hrs during the day. Finally 6:30am comes (Breakfast is served downstairs) and all they have are hard boiled eggs (which I hate and already endured on Wednesday) and a ton of bread. So with my headache really starting in on me and my stomach dying for some food I gave in and had 3 slices of toast, an apple and a Chocolate croissant (I know, that was pushing it).
I have to say that I felt unbelievable better getting some food into my stomach. I really didn't want to eat the bread but I needed some nourishment. This has been a tough trip on me. I have been doing a lot of work, I'm alone which sucks and I am finding myself constantly hungry and tired. I also have not been able to get on a good sleep schedule which is another thing that has really affected me negatively.
The rest of the morning was not a wash. I put the laptop away and went out for a 6 mile walk. I climbed to the top of Mount Lycabettus. There is a beautiful little chapel up there and some great coffee shops.
I'm not giving up on being Paleo and for lunch I just had some Rocket Salad and grilled chicken with water. I started this blog because I needed a place to be honest and accountable.
I am leaving tomorrow morning at 6am Athens time. Cant wait to get home. I miss NYC.
So as you know I have been traveling for almost 2 weeks straight--Chicago and now Greece--and I'm tired and still getting over jet lag. So I had breakfast yesterday morning and then went to the Archeology museum. Feeling good and full from breakfast. I had at a meeting with our partner here in Greece around 1pm. I finished up at 3pm and was exhausted. I stupidly laid down for a nap (I had not had lunch yet) next thing that happened was I woke up and it was 11:30pm. Dammit.
A this point I'm still tired and extremely hungry. Nothing is open to eat and I have to go without dinner now. I hate missing one meal in a day but two was brutal. I toss and turn the rest of the night because I have just slept 8hrs during the day. Finally 6:30am comes (Breakfast is served downstairs) and all they have are hard boiled eggs (which I hate and already endured on Wednesday) and a ton of bread. So with my headache really starting in on me and my stomach dying for some food I gave in and had 3 slices of toast, an apple and a Chocolate croissant (I know, that was pushing it).
I have to say that I felt unbelievable better getting some food into my stomach. I really didn't want to eat the bread but I needed some nourishment. This has been a tough trip on me. I have been doing a lot of work, I'm alone which sucks and I am finding myself constantly hungry and tired. I also have not been able to get on a good sleep schedule which is another thing that has really affected me negatively.
The rest of the morning was not a wash. I put the laptop away and went out for a 6 mile walk. I climbed to the top of Mount Lycabettus. There is a beautiful little chapel up there and some great coffee shops.
I'm not giving up on being Paleo and for lunch I just had some Rocket Salad and grilled chicken with water. I started this blog because I needed a place to be honest and accountable.
I am leaving tomorrow morning at 6am Athens time. Cant wait to get home. I miss NYC.
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
Nick's 30 Day Paleo Challenge- Day 17
Day 17....done. Yesterday was a toughie. As you are seeing in the previous posts (from Greece) my meals are spread out over longer periods of time than usual (for me) and I am not getting the variety or the portions that the comforts of home afford me.
So I was going down for breakfast yesterday when I last left you guys. I made it through that meal despite being hungry (and slightly pissed off about being Paleo). I had some Hard Boiled Eggs (don't know why I put that in Caps) which I haven't had since I was a kid. In addition to that I had some fruit and black coffee. Mildly satisfying.
I left breakfast and went to my first meeting. One of my colleagues suggested we grab some coffee and quickly go through the agenda. We went into a coffee shop near the Bank we were going into see....they had bread and pastries....and boy did they look tasty.
Check that....
I was drooling at the mouth.....
I ended up with black coffee, no milk and no sugar. I also grabbed a water for the meeting.
After the meeting (which went really well) I had a few hours and a colleague who had flown in from London and whose flight wasn't until 7pm so we decided to go to the Acropolis and check things out. It's really amazing. It's hard to imagine how advanced Greek culture and society was so long ago. It was a beautiful day also. Sun shinning and warm weather (suns out, guns out weather) I think I look skinner in the pictures.
Front of the Parthenon
The construction you see in the front is the Greek government is aiming to restore all the old buildings and monuments that were burned, sacked and not taken care of over the years. The building is more than 2000 years old....crazy.
There were probably a lot of Paleo diets going on then so I felt right at home being on that sacred ground.
When we finished up going through the site we went for lunch near by at a Bistro. There are a ton of good restaurants near the site (that's what they told me) and we picked the closest one.
For lunch I had some shrimp (boy did I order wrong on this one, you'll see what I mean in a minute), some vegetable soup (not like what we have at home, its a puree, not a lot of taste to it) and the steak.
The appetizers (which I didn't love):
The shrimp is on the left....ewww. Not good.
For my main I had meat and veggies (minor relief):
I wanted this bread soooo bad:
When we finished up lunch. My colleague headed back to the airport and I headed back to the hotel. I was so beat that I took a nap (that really screwed up my jet lag). I fell asleep for 4hours and woke up hungry, still tired and unsure of what time it was.
I found this restaurant in a Fodor's guide that looked right up my alley, it was called "Butcher Shop." So I decided to go there for a feed and to check it out.
Great call by Fodor's. This place was as close as I was going to get to Smith and Wollensky's out here. The selection was great and the food was amazing. I had some broccoli, lamb chops (yum) and some chicken skewers. I didn't finish everything.
One funny thing I have to mention about dining out in Greece is that literally right after you order you're food they give you the bill. I haven't had a situation yet where I ordered something else after the bill came (I might try that tonight just to see what happens).
And again...amazing bread I had to pass one. Check it:
Till next time...
Nick
So I was going down for breakfast yesterday when I last left you guys. I made it through that meal despite being hungry (and slightly pissed off about being Paleo). I had some Hard Boiled Eggs (don't know why I put that in Caps) which I haven't had since I was a kid. In addition to that I had some fruit and black coffee. Mildly satisfying.
I left breakfast and went to my first meeting. One of my colleagues suggested we grab some coffee and quickly go through the agenda. We went into a coffee shop near the Bank we were going into see....they had bread and pastries....and boy did they look tasty.
Check that....
I ended up with black coffee, no milk and no sugar. I also grabbed a water for the meeting.
After the meeting (which went really well) I had a few hours and a colleague who had flown in from London and whose flight wasn't until 7pm so we decided to go to the Acropolis and check things out. It's really amazing. It's hard to imagine how advanced Greek culture and society was so long ago. It was a beautiful day also. Sun shinning and warm weather (suns out, guns out weather) I think I look skinner in the pictures.
Front of the Parthenon
Back of Parthenon
The construction you see in the front is the Greek government is aiming to restore all the old buildings and monuments that were burned, sacked and not taken care of over the years. The building is more than 2000 years old....crazy.
There were probably a lot of Paleo diets going on then so I felt right at home being on that sacred ground.
When we finished up going through the site we went for lunch near by at a Bistro. There are a ton of good restaurants near the site (that's what they told me) and we picked the closest one.
For lunch I had some shrimp (boy did I order wrong on this one, you'll see what I mean in a minute), some vegetable soup (not like what we have at home, its a puree, not a lot of taste to it) and the steak.
The appetizers (which I didn't love):
The shrimp is on the left....ewww. Not good.
For my main I had meat and veggies (minor relief):
When we finished up lunch. My colleague headed back to the airport and I headed back to the hotel. I was so beat that I took a nap (that really screwed up my jet lag). I fell asleep for 4hours and woke up hungry, still tired and unsure of what time it was.
I found this restaurant in a Fodor's guide that looked right up my alley, it was called "Butcher Shop." So I decided to go there for a feed and to check it out.
Great call by Fodor's. This place was as close as I was going to get to Smith and Wollensky's out here. The selection was great and the food was amazing. I had some broccoli, lamb chops (yum) and some chicken skewers. I didn't finish everything.
One funny thing I have to mention about dining out in Greece is that literally right after you order you're food they give you the bill. I haven't had a situation yet where I ordered something else after the bill came (I might try that tonight just to see what happens).
And again...amazing bread I had to pass one. Check it:
Till next time...
Nick
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)