I am Thankful....

For Music...

Being able to Work out and Eat Healthy Food.

And for a Wife who puts up with me.

And for El Toro's Chicken Tortilla Soup!

Pre-Thanksgiving Paleo

What a spread huh?

Let's count it down....

Bottom left - 3 proteins - all seasoned with my African - Moroccan spice mix of Salt and Pepper, Ras al Hanout, Hot Madras Curry Powder, Garam Masala, Cumin, Curry and Turmeric and pan grilled in a hot cast iron skillet with no oil:

Big Ahi Tuna Steak

Tilapia Fillet

Thin cut Chicken breast

Across the table from left to right:

Sauted kale and pork and venison sausage

Sauted banana with cinnamon, olive oil and vanilla

Baked Sweet Potato with a half pat of butter, salt and pepper, olive oil, a drizzle of honey, cinnamon and vanilla

Thin cut sauted sweet onion, squash, zucchini and jalapeno slices (with seeds removed)

Spring Mix Salad with tomato, radishes, carrot sticks, boiled egg, chocolate almonds and sunflower seeds

Shock Top Shokolate Wheat beer

Thanksgiving one day early!!!

Not that's a plate of Paleo Goodness that will keep you lean and make you Thankful you're eating this way year round!!!

Rinse and Repeat! What's so hard about this people?

You know.... I gotta say.... I just don't get it.

I simply do not understand why there are so many people walking around carrying too much weight....

And I don't mean people doing Farmer's Walk with 90# dumbbells.

I mean Fat People.... I know that's not politically correct..... and I realize it sounds critical and judgmental.

But it's not.... 

Hey if you wanna walk around looking like the Michelin Man or Woman... More Spare Tires to Ya!

I just don't get it.... Why would anyone MAKE THE CONSCIOUS DECISION....

To be like that.... To look like that...

When all they have to do is eat like this -

The first 2 pics are continuations of the previous post but come on folks, it took less than 15 minutes to prep this meal (Sweet Potatoes were baked in a big batch 2 days ago)....

And it's Gorgeous and Delicious and You can eat a lot of this type of food....

And still lose weight!

The information is out there..... The information is right here....

Where are you and your 50 extra pounds?

STOP eating the Junk.... and START feeding your body what it wants and needs!

Here's a between meal meal of sauted kale and pork and venison sausage and a small avocado.

That's < 300 calories and a lot of nutrition.

You could eat this meal 6 times a day and still have only consumed 1800 calories.

You work out an hour per day and only eat 1800 calories and odds are you will lose weight and look and feel great!

You want a full blown 800 calorie meal and beer.....

Fine!

Mound up the Spring Mix with tomato, radish, carrots and dice up a half a roasted chicken breast and add an ounce of olive oil and some balsamic and dust with salt and pepper and thrown in a great Chocolate infused beer.

Eat all that and you'll be full and your body will be ready for the next workout!

Another 300 calorie mini meal of cast iron skillet grilled tilapia over sauted kale and bananas with some fresh strawberries.

3 more meals on the road....

Of Discovering a New You!

Tuna and Eggs for Thanksgiving?

Spreading the Love....

Ahi Tuna steak cast iron skillet grilled, bok choy and kale, baked sweet potato with a little olive oil, s & p, honey, cinnamon and vanilla, banana sauted with a little cinnamon and eggs over medium.

Oh Well.... There's always Shokolate Wheat!

Stopped by Food King on the way home looked for some Comfort in a Bottle and was pleasantly surprosed to see that Shock Top put out a Chocolate / Vanilla infused beer.

I paired it with a nice salad and fruit, roasted chicken and baked sweet potato.

Delicious Beer.... Delicious Meal....

Chocolate Beer, Paleo Meal and the Voice....

Great Combo to end a Tough Monday!

Might as Well get on the Porch with the Bitches and the Puppies....

There's an old saying in the South.... 

Are you gonna run with the Big Dogs or are you gonna stay on the Porch with the Bitches and the Puppies?

Had a helluva time doing the Overhead Squats tonight and was basically pissed off cause they were killing my shoulders like they always do and I blurted out a sentence of expletives relating my pain and displeasure and my hero Will Black returned....

"Why don't you just go down in weight?"

To which I fired back.....

"Well if I'm gonna do that, I might as well not even come."

I mean, come on, there was this invasion of Young CrossFit guys who obviously came from some CrossFit Planet cause they were lapping me on rounds....

And I'll be damned if I'm gonna go below Rx and get lapped.

So.... No.... I may not be able to run with the Big Dogs, but I'm not ready to sit on the porch and drink Sweet Tea with the Women and Children either.

My performance was below par.... plain and simple...

But I was there and I tried.

And that was good enough for today.

Tilapia and Chicken meets CaveMan

Tilapia fillet seasoned with my African - Moroccan spice mix and browned to a golden hue in a cast iron skillet...

On a beautiful bed of spring mix, tomatoes, radishes, carrots, banana, Fuji apple and strawberries.

Samed bed but with avocado added.

With bok choy, kale and aspagus in the skillet.

Add a breast of roasted chicken and some fruit and nuts and you got a nice looking easy to fix Paleo meal.

The Music Speaks to Me

The title of a song gives you a lead-in on what the song is about.

My wife asked me a while back.....

If I was stranded on a desert island for a month and was allowed to have only 2 things, what would they be.

I think I said a fire starter and a heavy knife or machete.

But I think that I need to edit that....

I think one of the 2 things would have to be an iPod type device with the music loaded on it that I have on my cell phone.

Been stuck in this for a while.

That's comforting but doesn't help me here on earth....

Been battling this guy my whole life....

Found out I'm not quite....

But I'm still a Pretty Tough Old Man.

Caffeine and Protein

If there's 2 things I have to have in my diet....

It's Caffeine!

A beautiful Starbucks Cafe Americano with Turbinado Organic Sugar, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Chocolate, Vanilla and Half and Half!

And Protein!

If you don't have time to cook Paleo, then buy a roasted chicken, Fuji apples and raspberries and some pepperoncini.

That's a 1 minute Paleo meal that gives you beautiful colors, tastes and textures.

Packing Paleo and Planning Your Work Day... For a Workout!

When I go to work away from home, I always get up a little early and make and pack enough food to allow me to eat throughout the day....

At least 3 small meals with some sort of protein, veggie and fruit.

I prepackage the meals so it's easy to eat while I'm working.

That way I get paid and stick to good eating habits at the same time!

I also think ahead for what I'm gonna need to allow me to maximize my work time and still allow me to workout.

So I pack my gym bag with everything I need - workout clothes, preworkout supplements, Creatine powder, bottle, lifting belt, wraps...

But most importantly, I do everything I can to schedule my day to allow me to make my workout.

In this case, I worked in Alvin right up to 4:45 and then left work and drove straight to CrossFit WMD in Angleton for a 5:15 arrival which gave me enough time to change into my workout clothes, do the prescribed warmup and be ready for the 5:45 pm WOD.

May not sound like much but setting your day up from the start with the end in mind gives you something to look forward to and won't leave you at the end of the day without a workout and with that sinking feeling of....

"Where did my day go?"

8 hours of work, some good eating, an hour and a half of CrossFit including a final set of 5 push presses with 155 and a 15 min AMRAP with almost 5 rounds of:

15 Sumo Deadlift High Pulls
10 24" Box Jumpovers with Burpee
5 Ring Dips

A Pretty Good Day!!!