Nick's 30 Day Paleo Challenge- Day 4

Day 4...brutal. Woke up with one of the worst headaches I have ever had. Felt like I got cracked in the head repeatedly with a hammer. I took a personal day from work to chill out and sleep over my sugar detox hangover.

I needed some food though and a ton of water. I went to this place called Hu Kitchen which is Paleo paradise. They have Paleo Bread and Paleo Muffins. Not the greatest tasting but better than nothing.

Paleo Muffin:

Paleo Breakfast:

I still felt like crap after this feed so I headed back home and hit the couch. Woke up around noon and had some lunch from Amish Market.

Beef....its what is for Lunch.

Around 6 pm I stopped by Le Pain Quotiden (sp) also known as "The Communal table." My buddy wanted a french press coffee and when he asked the lady behind the counter she looked baffled and gave him a drip coffee that had probably been sitting there for 4 hrs.

This place is not the best for a Caveman to be hanging out:

Lots of good junk food:

The remainder of the evening I watched this show Vikings.....awesome. New favorite show on TV.

I also grabbed dinner from the Palm.

A Chop

Some greens

I went to sleep feeling much better and have been getting really restful sleep. Feel like I am coming through the detox and should start feeling more like myself. I forget that when I treat my body like a garbage dumpster this is how I feel. However, I am taking some steps to change that.

Happy Friday.

Nick's 30 Day Paleo Challenge- Day 3

Yesterday was pretty much the same as the day before. I skipped breakfast and had some coffee/water in the morning. Had a bunch of stuff going on at work. For lunch had some greens with beef.

I left work about 5pm and had this really great drink on the way home super refreshing.

Had a few other pieces of Chicken as well for a snack.

For dinner I went to the Palm with a co-worker. I had the bacon wrapped scallops, salad and Lamb.

I stayed away from the bread basket despite it looking so good.

We had a meeting at 10pm with a firm on the other side of the world so we headed back to the office to prepare and have the meeting.

Finished up around 11:30pm and headed home.

Still have/had terrible headache. Constantly hungry. Want to give up. But Wont.

Till tomorrow.

Nick's 30 Day Paleo Challenge- Day 2

Pretty standard Day 2 stuff for me. Slept well but woke up with a headache and absolutely craving a soda. I went for the Water and a piece of Fruit.

I skipped Breakfast which wasn't the smartest move since I was famished by noon. I had lunch with one of my buddies from work at 12. For lunch I did salad, beef and sweet potatoes. We had a meeting in Midtown from 1-3. I picked up a coffee from Starbucks before we walked in. I asked for Almond Milk and the guy at Starbucks said "I feel like its coming, so many people are asking for it. But as of now, NO, we do not have Almond Milk."

After that I was still struggling so I had another fruit salad. I am definitely eating way too much fruit but early on like this it is the only thing that really helps.

The rest of the day was uneventful. I worked.

On my walk home from the job I picked up a chicken from Amish Market. Ate half of that as well as some more fruit (Berries, Pineapple and Banana).

Headache hit me again in the afternoon. Around 9:30 pm I was hungry again and decided to have some eggs and bacon. The craziest thing happened to me. I got double yolks in 3 eggs. Check it:

One of the yolks broke, but it was a double. Take my word for it. How crazy is that?

I also cooked some bacon (but did so in moderation):

So at the end of Day 2 I was exhausted, had fits of a headache all day, but feel good mentally. Watched the first half of Kick Ass 1 and so far have been laughing my ass off.

Talk to you all tomorrow.

Nick's 30 Day Paleo Challenge- Day 1

I'm back. Completed one full day of Paleo yesterday. It wasn't the hardest day 1 of something I have ever had, but it certainly wasn't the easiest.

Over the time period between my last post and now I have had many many Mexican Coca-Cola's, a lot of Chinese food and tons of other crap. Quick update on all that has happened:

I went skiing:

I picked up a new sport and have been playing it a ot. Typically around 3x times a week:

Dippin' Dots came to NYC:

I discovered a Tennis court right in Grand Central. Here I am after a late-night match

I got TSA Pre-Check so I don't need to wait on lines anymore at the airport. Yes!

Had a root canal....sucked

Weird Dentist Chair Selfie:

I discovered the cream puff

Had Gus's Fried Chicken in Memphis, TN. Definitely not Paleo, but real good.

I bought a big ass Flat Screen Television.

Cat is doing the same.

So as I said yesterday wasn't to bad. I started out with a Salad (Chicken, Carrots and Olive Oil). Washed that all down with a strawberry/banana smoothie:

Next up was a bike ride across the Manhattan Bridge. Terrible going up the bridge but nice ride down:

After that took the train back home and stopped at my Mom's to fix her TV for the 18th time this week (kidding Mom). All her animals are doing well. Doesn't one of her Cats look like a Lion with its haircut:

Her hair gets matted so they have to cut it.

After that I went shopping and said goodbye to all the junk I have in my home:

Lots of good stuff from the Amish Market:

Said goodbye to my best friend (The Mexican Coke):

I cooked dinner last night. Couple of steaks, Sweet Potatoes and Broccoli:

I'm feeling a little sluggish but pushing through. I tipped the scales at 237.8 so I'll keep you all updated on how I am doing.

Till tomorrow.

Nick's 30 Day Paleo Challenge- Day 30

Holy Shnikes! I cant believe its over. Yesterday wasn't to much of a challenge. I woke up feeling great (and looking great):

I had a meeting in Westport, CT yesterday at 11:30am so before we left we stopped at off Pret to grab some lunch so we could eat after the meeting.

I resisted all the good looking bread they have in there:

I knew I would have my time in the sun later that evening. Our meeting went great and I ate a Chicken Salad on our ride back to the City. I was feeling great when I got back to the City. It then started to pour on me and I had no raincoat (dammit).

I stopped off at the Amish market for some fruit and veggies. I needed to prep for the Last Supper:

Figured I had to go out on top with some Chicken and Broccoli. I have eaten so much goddamn broccoli in the last few weeks, its amazing. I do love the stuff now.

I laid around for a little. Caught the cat taking a nap in the Bathtub. So weird. This cat actually likes water and doesn't mind getting wet. He's so funny.

At night I played basketball for around 1 hr 45 mins. I could feel 12:01am coming like Christmas. I decided I would wait up to have a drink (sounds odd I realize). As soon as the clock struck midnight I reached for a Cherry Pepsi and 2 large Chocolate Donuts. Holy Shit!!!! I apologize for my language but that is the only way to describe the taste of that soda. It was amazing. Words cant really express how it felt, but it was unbelievable.

Later on in the evening (yes I had a sugar rush). I had an Arizona Ice Tea/Lemonade. I stayed up late watching Nashville. I thought about having a smoke to top off this wonderful evening, but opted against it.

I woke up this morning with a mind crushing headache. Kind of like a really bad hangover from a run the night before. My mouth feels weird (I think I am dehydrated) and I don't have the same pep in my step as before. My body doesn't like processed sugar I am realizing. Otherwise I wouldn't feel like this the next day.

This morning I went back to get a coffee from the guys on the corner who I use to go to all the time. I ordered a large coffee, whole milk and sugar (they really pile it on):

 
The guy asked me "Where have you been!??!??!" I told him I was away on holiday. I could sense he was looking at me like "Boy Nick, you really look skinny. Have you been doing Paleo?"

So here I am Day 31. Almost 24 lbs lost. Ready to destroy my body for the next 2-3 days with sugary crap and other bad stuff (not totally true, but I will indulge).

Thanks to everyone who has read and supported me during this process. It's been a lot fun. See you all on the next blog.

Nick's 30 Day Paleo Challenge- Day 29

I can't believe we are already at Day 29. This has gone real fast. Lets get right into my day.

First thing I am noticing upon reflection is exhaustion. It's gone. In the morning I am getting by with a cup of coffee and maybe a piece of fruit. I use to start my day with two blueberry muffins and potentially a bacon, egg on poppy bagel with a Sunkist (man I love that stuff in the AM). I would think those things would get me going in the morning when in reality they would really slow me down.

I also haven't had bacon in 4 days and feel good. Thats not to say I have stopped eating but definitely taking a break for the time being.

Not much to talk about in terms of diet until lunch time. I had a bunch of things to do for the job until 12, I did them, then punched out for lunch. We ventured over to Duke's again on 41st Street. Duke's is offering us way more variety then Mirage on 43rd street does. It has a much better bev selection, line moves quicker and there are so many more options. I think we will be dining here more and more often.

I had some beef, a little chicken, veggies (asparagus and broccoli) and some sweet potatoes. For like the 10th day in a row I was not licking the plate. I didn't manage to finish my meal (fine by me).

For the rest of the day I stayed focused on what I was doing. I did have a second cup of coffee with shit (I mean Silk) Almond Milk. I am learning some new stuff at work and using a new application which although challenging and fun can be frustrating. Good news I am not comforting myself or eating out of stress. Just because I didn't load a file properly isn't an excuse to down a bag of M&M's.

Before I knew it, it was quitting time. I punched out and headed to the Amish market to pick up some fruit. While walking there I had the great idea that I would remake the Paleo Banana Bread that I fumbled this weekend. I needed a little bit of Coconut Oil and Almond Butter.

Here are some of the ingredients:

Coconut Oil: Overpriced, but boy does it make a difference. Well worth the price. Roughly $12-14 dollars a bottle and will last you for some time.

 Almond Butter: Really good and much healthier than Peanut Butter. My favorite of the Butter's is Sunflowerseed butter. Yumm.

Nick's Coconut Flour: Not much I can say here. I put it in this container and label it so no one steals it. Here is what it comes in:

Bob's Red Mill makes really good stuff and has you covered in the kitchen when it comes to healthy baking.

Finished Product was much better than this weekend (it's all in the Coconut Oil):

Happy (skinner) guy eating it:

For dinner I had some chicken vegetable soup, a little bit of fruit and Teas Tea. That was it for the night.

Since I thought you might be curious I decided to do a little before and after.

Here is a browse around my kitchen/home to see the change:

Before

Before

Unhealthy in this one

I was heavy in this one


After:

This way of life works better for me. One more day and I'll have 30 days in the direction of a healthy, balanced life that I always wanted.