After the Feast

Weight: 210.0

Yes, I lost .4lbs after having a feast last night. 

For lunch, I had two V8s--one original, one spicy.

I went to the sauna after work:
30 mins sauna
15 mins swimming with family
15 mins sauna

Then I came home and made dinner.  It was about 7:30 when I started making dinner and I sat down to eat at about 8:15.

I put some coconut oil and olive oil in an iron skillet and began slowly cooking two frozen skinless/boneless chicken breasts. The stove is gas and I set it on the lowest level that I can. I put a light layer of spices on them while they were thawing.  Garlic salt, chili powder, ginger powder, savory powder, cumin. While they were beginning to thaw, I diced up several slices of onion. I added them to the chicken and then diced some more for a guacamole I was about to make. I opened a can of Rotel tomatoes and chilis and put the juice in the pan with the chicken. (This also served to slow the cooking process a little more into thawing more than cooking.) I added all the tomatoes I wanted to the bowl for guacamole and then put the rest in with the chicken (about half the can). I looked through the fridge for something else to add to the chicken, it just didn't "feel" like it was right.  I settled on four asparagus stalks. I cut them in thirds and added them to the pan. Then the onions felt light, so I diced up the rest of the half onion I'd started with and put it in with the chicken. I still didn't feel it was right, so I lopped off a little cabbage and chopped it into large chunks and added it.  By this time, the chicken needed to be flipped over, so I flipped it and layered the same spices as before.  I turned the heat up a little to get the whole thing to simmer faster and boil off some of the liquid.  At this point I decided to add some dry chili pepper--and realized too late that it didn't have a filter on the container, so I got about two tablespoons into the mix.  I thought it would be too hot--but it really turned to be in the "medium" range on heat when all was said and done.

While it was finishing cooking, I focused on finishing the guacamole.  Two avacados, half a can of rotel tomatoes and chilis (with the juice poured off into the chicken dish) and about 1/4 of an onion, minced. I added a layer of garlic salt and made sure it was a smooth mashing of the avacado.

I put a bowl of broccoli florets and brussel sprouts in the microwave with some water for 5 minutes, then let it sit for a bit, then 3 minutes more.  On top of this, I put about a tablespoon of coconut oil and then lightly dusted the top with garlic salt.

Next I set out the ingredients for my juice. 
3 stalks of asparagus
1 cup kale
1 cup baby carrots
1 cup cabbage
1 cup broccoli stems
2 plums
2 apples (one granny smith, one fuji)
1 lemon
2 cups globe grapes (with stems and seeds) -- both very good for your health!
1 kiwi
2 thumb sized ginger root

This made about 40oz of juice.

I also juiced another thumb sized ginger root and put that juice in the chicken mixtures.

By the time the guacamole, brussel sprouts / broccoli and juice were done, I was finished cooking the "chicken fiesta" (seems like a good name for it).  :)

To eat the guacamole, I used three stalks of raw celery. It was perfectly crunching and left the flavoring to the guacamole, which was ideal.

It was nothing short of a feast.  A delicious, paleo-friendly feast.  :)

I also snacked a little on some salted, roasted sunflower seeds while watching a movie last night--maybe 1/4 cup or so.

My stomach didn't gripe at me last night.  I didn't feel uncomfortably full.  At about 10pm, I needed to use the restroom to push out the food I'd had the day before.  I slept so peacefully.  I awoke this morning and felt rested.  I have energy and I'm alert this morning, still pleasantly "full".  It's hard to explain. I am not full. I can tell my stomach is empty, but I *feel* like I'm full.  I have no desire to eat.  I have no hunger pangs.  It feels like my stomach is telling me, "Thank you, you were so kind to me last night I won't bother you for awhile, even though I'm empty.  I know you treated me well and I know you'll treat me well again, so I'm not griping."  :)

My reading of the Paleo Solution has taught me a *lot* with regards to the proper fats and proteins and how they work together to give your body what it needs.  It has also been stressing proper sleeping time and darkness.  I'm working on both.  I still have some light in my bedroom (an alarm clock, some light seepage around the blinds) but I'm currently working on length of time sleeping. I went to bed last night about 10:30 and woke up at 6:30 with another alarm set at 7:00.  I woke up at 6:30, peed and back into bed to snuggle for 30 minutes.  During that 30 minutes, I slowly came awake so that when the7:00 alarm went off, I was ready to get out of bed.

The Paleo Solution recommends no alarms, no light, and enough sleep so that you wake up without needing an alarm.  The "no light" thing seemed odd at first because it also said not to use a mask.  It talks about how the red blood cells change when they detect light *through your skin*. This signals the brain and you don't release a specific hormone that you need that allows you to sleep completely restfully.  This I've gotta try! LOL I've had such an improvement in my rest and sleep that I can't imagine how it can get better, but if it can, I'm in! :)