Vacation Confessions

Happy Hump Day!

You learned on Monday that I did my vacation right and didn’t force any workouts into my week in paradise. 

Want to know something else?

I didn’t obsess over being 100% Paleo either. 

I ate airplane peanuts. 

I ate beans (black and refried).

I ate rice.

I ate fried bread. 

I ate focaccia bread.

I ate Doritos. Handfuls of Doritos. (have you tried the Spicy Sweet Chili ones?)

I ate cheese.

I ate m&m’s.  

I ate tortilla chips. 

I ate the taco shell of a taco salad (and loved every crunchy bite I took)

I ate airplane cookies. 

I drank juice.

I drank too much rum.

Detox week in order? Yes!

Stress over what I ate? Never!

Huge implications on my weight and my body? Not at all! 

There was no sense in worrying over what I couldn’t eat in a group of people - so decided to live bravely, cheat moderately and confess openly. 

I live to tell the tale and I still fit my skinny jeans.

Cheers to indulging!

Redefining My Motivation

Hi fitness friends!

Most of my fitness and health goals over the past few months were driven by a serious desire to confidently wear a swim suit on a tropical vacation with my family. This was kept secret from my blog considering the vacation was a surprise, so I’m sorry that I never mentioned that in my goals. Actually I’ve also been training for my flex pose for Instagram sweaty selfies. 

Judge me, I do. 

Both of these goals were purely aesthetic, but approached with patience and done with my sustainable health in mind. 

In my opinion, I far exceeded my expectations for myself and am proud of my attitude toward toning and firming the healthy way. 

For me, the “healthy way” meant ditching the scale, lifting weights, staying hydrated and fueling my body with the good whole foods that it could use for good and not store for bad. 

This is what that approach got me, along with a huge sense of accomplishment and confidence.

This foundation I built was different than crash diets I’ve tried in the past. 

This was the game-changer and a huge positive because ‘quick fixes’ don’t exist usually mean exhaustion, fatigue and quicker re-gain because the body wants to store and secure anything and everything to prepare for hibernation. Sorry body, I’ve been an asshole to you in the past. Never again. 

Now that I have this foundation down, I have my sights on much more than ‘looking good’ in a bikini. 

I have my focus on strength. 

I have my focus on push-ups.

I have my focus on testing my boundaries. 

I have my focus on inspiring others. 

I have my focus on fitting workouts into a busier work schedule. 

I have my focus on broadening my paleo food horizons.

I have my focus on maintaining and improving the work I’ve done. 

I have my focus on being kind to my body. 

I don’t need a race to train for, or a third Tough Mudder under my belt. 

I just want to keep health, fitness and balance at the forefront of my life because I’ve found that doing so brings me great happiness. 

Happiness from the stress-relief I gain, happiness from the way I inspire others, happiness from the way I feel - inside and out. 

What’s your motivation?

Linking up for Tough it Out Tuesday with the rest of my fit-fam ladies!

The Bikini Photo

This isn't so much a confession.... but it kind of is because I'm posting a no-filter bathing suit bathroom selfie for all of the internet to see. 

There have been times in my life where I wouldn't have taken $10,000 to do something this scary.

This weekend I went shopping with the mission to find a bathing suit. Temperatures have been getting warmer and I am feeling that invite coming along any time now for a friend to ask me over for a swim. 

Rather than anxiety later, I decided that Memorial Day weekend sales would be in my favor as I went to look for my first bathing suit purchase in over 10 years. 

That's not an exaggeration. 

Victory #1 - I didn't cry. 

Victory #2 - I didn't settle on something "more modest"

Victory #3 - I was honest about the sizes I needed (top L, bottoms XL)

Victory #4 - I bought a freakin' swim suit (and actually bought three)

Victory #5 - That smile on my face. Right there. 

Drop the mic. I'm out. 

(ps - this was from Old Navy but I can't find it online)

Link up with Kathy, won't you?

Paleo Recipe: Coconut Whipped Cream

So you're on a mission to be Paleo (or you're just cutting out dairy) but you still want an alternative for whipped cream?

Well I've got you covered!

Boosting off of my Trader Joe's confessions, I wanted to show you how to use two easy ingredients to make an amazing summertime topping.

What you'll need:

1 can Extra Thick & Rich Coconut Cream (14oz)

1 can light coconut milk (or regular coconut milk, or almond milk!) (14oz)

Empty the contents into a food processor, blender or a bowl and begin to stir until all the thick cream has mixed with the liquid for an even consistency. 

One blended, pour into a container and cover, then place in the fridge overnight.

You can also place your blend into the freezer for about an hour for a similar right-now-have-to-have-it result. 

How have I been using it? On my morning protein shake of course!

Try it out and let me know what you think!

Fit Friday Inspiration

Some serious fitness amazingness went around the internet this week and I don't even know if I read all of it. But what I did read I loved.

I am seriously so inspired by all of the ladies I've met through blogging who are getting themselves in shape and want to help others do it too. 

And the thing that I love most is that these girls are normal. They're like you and me. They have full time jobs and they like to wear dresses and they admit to being human. They are real.

In the spirit of "I am not an expert" I want to share some of the best real-life-just-like-us inspiration:

:: Anna talked about Finding Fitness Jesus and how you can too!

:: Nadine tossed her excuses and helps you with how to sneak workouts into your day.

:: MacKensie got me pumped about her Paleo Grocery Shopping List (seriously, nailed it)

:: Mia shared her inspiring Transformation Tuesday with some tips you can borrow!

Keep those Sweaty Selfies coming, please!! (Tag me @JessiFitPdx)

Linking up with Amanda for Friday Favorites. 

Sending You Elsewhere

Today I had an (ironic) post about how we should all be getting more sleep.

When I got home from work, I sat out in the sun and it zapped up my energy - leading me to take a 3 hour nap (yes!) and still needing an "early" bedtime by my standards at 10pm.

So rather than half-ass my post, I am going to send you elsewhere to my wing-mom who wants to talk a little more about Paleo and the way that she handles some of the nay-sayers. 

Thanks for making my day easier, mom (like always). 

See you tomorrow!

Paleo Cinco de Mayo

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

In years past, tonight has meant a feast of tacos, margaritas and all the tortillas, guacamole and salsa I can fit into my mouth. Same for you guys?

Well not this year. 

Now that I'm Paleo, I have zero desire for any of it. I never thought I'd say I don't feel like tortilla chips and salsa but here I am - not planning on having any tortilla chips or sugary margaritas this evening. I minored in Spanish just for the margaritas so now I feel like it was a waste of money (only kind of kidding).

While I don't want to say "skip the holiday", I do want to offer some healthier options for you to still celebrate in a sombrero and not sacrifice the hard work you've been putting in to change your lifestyle and health. 

Quick and easy tips:

- Stay away from tortilla chips - if you're at a restaurant as for them to hold the chips till the entree.

- If you can't hold the chips, put your portion on a plate and avoid grazing. 

- If you must have a margarita, drink 2 glasses of water for every one margarita.

- Try to substitute lettuce for your taco shells.

- Use greek yogurt rather than sour cream.

- Skip anything fried.

If you're staying in, here are some amazing paleo recipes for you to try tonight!

Good luck and let me know your Cinco de Mayo plans!

Paleo Meatloaf

If you were here yesterday for humpday you now know that I claim I'm a horrible cook. 

In efforts to redeem myself in the kitchen and maybe get married someday I feel the need to share one of my paleo staples.

In honor of Earth day this week, I'm going to recycle a post I originally published on December 4th 2013 on my lifestyle blog before any of you wonderful people were here!

Enjoy! 

It's clean, it's mean and it's Paleo! 

This recipe is directly from mom and I've been using it for glorious meatloaf meals in between chicken, turkey and other great protein sources.  If you follow me on instagram, you've seen the spaghetti squash + meatloaf work lunches and you may have drooled. Well here's your chance to make it for yourself! 

All you need are 5 easy ingredients (seriously only 5!) and hardly 15 minutes of prep time. Important note about these 15 minutes is that you'll need (and want) to get your hands dirty! Nothing like being wrist-deep in raw meat and eggs. 

Good luck! 

How amazing does that look? 

Here's an easy way to eat it - with spaghetti squash! 

Make your own and tag me on instagram! Email me with questions using the comments below! 

Phew - that was easy!

Paleo Cooking Confessions

Are you here for some quality humpday confessions?

Good - because I'm about to share some pretty good ones about my paleo lifestyle and my prowess (or lack thereof) in the kitchen!

Me in the kitchen in one word: disaster. 

I'm great at following directions but I'm pretty bad at caring enough to follow them. 

One of the main things that I love about Paleo is that it's pretty hard to mess up meats and vegetables. I don't buy much variety so I don't have to learn how to prepare all the different kinds of dishes with dozens of ingredients to keep on hand.

My real only focus while cooking is looking cute.

And if I can't look cute, it's important that what I've got cooking looks cute.

Just kidding, I'd never do that!

To be honest I'm pretty boring with the range of foods that I eat. I get asked all the time if I get tired of the same lunch or the same dinner options. Truth talk? No! I love the way I feel when I'm getting my meats and vegetables and it really takes all of the decision making out of my hands because I only know how to prepare a few things anyway.

(this gif has nothing to do with anything... except for everything.)

The foods I eat make me happy and I know what I'm putting into my body at any given time - so no label checking in my world!

Just don't judge me for my smoke detector -

Or the silly dance I do while I wait for my meatloaf.

What are some of your cooking confessions??? I'm sure you have some good ones! 

Linking up with amazing Kathy!

Paleo Things I Ate this Week

Now that you've read the cute version of what Paleo is, how about I show you what it means to me? 

In this case, consider "me" to be you - a busy full-time working girl who eats meals at her desk and demands more time back in her day to do the things she enjoys. Sounds like you right? Good Let's try to change all of that over time, but for today I'll ask you this:

Want to have your mind blown?

Besides the smoothie you see below that I have every morning for breakfast - there's only SIX different foods in this diagram made up of my favorite lunches and dinners this week.

:: Organic Romaine Lettuce
:: Vegetable Medley (broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, etc)
:: Grilled Chicken
:: Chicken Jalapeno Sausage
:: Eggs
:: Sun-dried Tomatoes

Oops, seven - you see all the sriracha don't you? #noshame

Now I'm not saying this is ALL I ate this week. 

I had almonds, banana chips, almond milk, carrots, other fruits - I even had a ring pop (you remember those things?)

What I'm showing you is that it's easy to plan healthy meals all week without getting crazy-fancy about it. 

Want some homework?

This weekend during your grocery trip try to buy the following:

:: Romaine Lettuce

:: Choice vegetable (broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, brussel sprouts!)

:: Chicken (your choice - anything but "fried" or "breaded")

:: Eggs

Pair these main foundation prep items with other ingredients that sound good to you and show me what you make! 

Pro Tip: Cook your meats for the entire week and put it into tupperware. Probably by Wednesday you'll thank me. 

Comment below with questions if you want some inspiration other than what's above. 

Happy eating!

So You Want to Learn More about Paleo?

So you're here because you want to learn a little more about Paleo, right?

When people ask me where I learned what I know about paleo, my confident reply is that I learned it all from my beautiful mother who has adopted the lifestyle and changed her health picture over the past year. It was silly of me to be late to the party but I'm thankful to have her support and her expert cooking every time I go home. 

For those of you who don't have that resource in your life, how are you supposed to learn?

Sure you could read all the best philosophy books, then when you get bored with those you'll just buy a cook book. When you realize there's no more pasta or rice in your house you get desperate and resort to pinning paleo desserts non-stop and wondering if they actually taste good while you opt for a scoop of ice cream instead. It's happened. I've been there. 

The world of paleo is big, scary and confusing to some - so today I'm letting you read my absolute favorite "explanation" that really clicked for me when I first started out. Why's it so great? 

Paleo lego characters of course!

Just click that friendly image below for the answer to your questions like:

"So are all carbs bad?" - Nope

"How come I won't get fat?" - Because you're eating good food in moderation

"Is it Paleo?" - depends - check the link yourself!

The Beginner's Guide to the Paleo Diet

Have fun learning!

My "Why"

Since we're still getting acquainted here I have to admit that I feel a little silly wanting to tell you my life story. You know I'm 20-something, you know I dig working out and you know that I'm a fan of sweaty selfies. While those things are great, entertaining and blog-worthy - there's much more to the girl behind the blog and her "why". 

If you don't know what I mean, the 'why' is the driving factor behind why one does anything. The reason you are who you are, why certain parts of your life are priorities over others and the difference between goal setting and blowing your own damn mind over and over.

There's three main points of focus to this blog - Fitness, Nutrition and Personal Balance, all of which are my top priorities in my life right now and I'd like to tell you why.

Why Fitness?

As an athlete* (if you have a body, you are an athlete according to Nike), competition and sport have always been critical pieces of my life. From idolizing strong female role models as a child to trying to become a strong female role model in my adulthood - there's been so much value in the opportunities I've earned through sport. 

Sport has given me confidence, sport has given me a voice, sport has made me outgoing and sport has allowed me to form my own identity. It's given me the tools of organization, goal setting, time-management, focus, determination and tenacity. It's formed me, shaped me, given me countless opportunities to improve and grow - both personally and professionally. 

And while I don't consider my fitness in today's world to be "sport" anymore, the principals and foundation are the same. I still gain discipline, organization, confidence, focus and triumph. I still challenge the boundaries that I (and only I) have put up for myself. 

I've seen what sport has done for me and I want to see it change your life too. 

Why Nutrition?

It saddens me to admit that I've never had a comfortable relationship with food - that is until the past six months. Food has always meant calories and calories always meant weight and weight always meant having to find a way to hide myself behind my clothes. I've always loved winter, because to me layers meant a shield that I could hide behind. You have no idea how thrilled I was to see maxi dresses/skirts become a trend because I finally had something to wear to summer bbq's and on 4th of July. It was difficult to come up with a new excuse for why I was wearing pants and a cardigan when it was 90 degrees out and I was clearly sweating. 

I think it's safe to admit here that I am not once, not twice - but a three time recovering anorexic. 

The first time I was the new girl at a preppy high school trying to fit in. The second time I was coping with a softball career-altering injury and struggled with the idea of not being able to work out. The third time was me trying to cope with debilitating insecurity and loss of my personal identity my Junior year of college.

There will be no fourth time. 

I've always known since coming out of the third time that I wouldn't go back to starvation. What really changed the maybe-never into absolutely-never was seeing the way that Paleo has changed my life. I put more food on my plate than ever before in my life and I'm losing weight. Why? Because I'm eating good food, healthy food, the right food that my body has been craving all of my life. 

If I had the chance, I'd go smack 15, 17 and 20 year old me in the face three times over just to get her to understand that her relationship with food doesn't have to be a bad one. If she would have understood this earlier in her life, I think that her world would have been so much different. The beautiful thing is that the world she could have had is still out there. It's a bright world and there's so much more.

Did you notice how the body image piece is addressed in the nutrition section rather than the fitness section? Yeah - that's because that's where it belongs. Eat well and your body will thank you. 

Why Balance?

This last one is easy. I've never been very patient, I've never been good at handling all of the pressure (that only I have put on myself) and I'm always out 'chasing' after something. Whether it was trying to be the smartest student, the best pitcher, the most clever or the wittiest & prettiest - I've never found satisfaction in the things that I've already accomplished. 

I've never found great ways to build success on top of success because each new goal I try to pursue I feel like I'm starting over. 

The word 'balance' means many things to me. It means being able to fall asleep at night in the dark silence and be beaming with peace and happiness. It means having a 'someday' vision of being present for my children and my family to be the best mother I could ever hope to be. It means setting myself up with attainable and realistic goals - goals that push me closer to my passions, not just what society's goals are for me.

Balance is bliss.

Thanks for letting me share, it's important that you know the girl behind the blog if you're going to take this journey with me. 

An Easy Weekend Recipe to Try + 10k

Oh hey, did I mention that I'm running a 10k this weekend? You know the one I've hardly trained for?

If you read the introduction post you know that I used to be a pretty serious runner.

For four years straight I ran 100 miles a month - every month. No exceptions. 

I always said that it 'kept me accountable', but really what it did was held me back from discovering the amazing world of fitness that I now understand to be weight lifting, high intensity training and dance class. It also kept me from that thing called 'balance' that I try so hard to achieve in my life these days.

Here in 2014 I've only ran a total of 14 miles (hello, it's April!) and I have a simple goal for the 10k - to finish under 55 minutes.

But today isn't all about me - it's about you too!

Yesterday I had a reader ask about a healthy breakfast idea so I want to send you into the weekend with a simple three ingredient recipe from the archives that you can try, no experience necessary.

You'll need:

Veggies (any kind you want - 1 cup per serving)
Eggs (2 per serving)
Chicken Sausage (1 link per serving)
7 minutes to prepare, 3 minutes to devour it maybe that's just my time

Let me know if you try it this weekend by tagging @JessiFitPDX in your instagram food photo.

Wish me luck on the 10k and do something for yourself this weekend!

Wait, What Do I Eat?

Hello and welcome to Not the Average Bear if this is your first visit!

If this isn't your first visit, it means you're savvy and you won the game this week by paying close attention to my power moves in the beautiful world of the internet.

Once again, I have to assume there's only a few reasons you came to this sparkly, shiny and new (read: baby blog) corner of the internet. 

1. You're my dad (hi dad!)

2. You like fitness.

3. You like eating clean.

4. You like eating Paleo.

5. You want to learn more about fitness.

6. You want to learn how to eat clean or what the heck paleo is (?!?!).

7. You hopped over after the official reveal from my Lifestyle blog (thanks!)

Yesterday we discussed the foundation of what I'm going to be bringing you when it comes to fitness.

Today, we're going to cover the basics of #3 and #4.

My approach to nutrition has changed significantly in the past year and it always leaves people asking me "so, what do you eat?". It also has them saying, "wow! What is that, it looks so fresh, healthy and wonderful!" I like that question better.

Starting weight lifting made me want to give my body the best shot possible to grow those healthy lean muscles. To me, that meant cutting the dairy, cutting the grains and cutting the sugars that only boosted my cravings in my past-life. It meant sticking to clean vegetables, healthy meats and the biggest secret of all:

All the water I can drink.

Simply, I try to follow paleo in all areas possible - with the occasional let-loose-and-live cheese + alcohol allowances.

Why paleo? Because I've seen results in myself and others!

Since starting Paleo:

+ I've lost 15 pounds
+ Dropped a pant size
+ Can show off my arms for the first time in years
+ Am confident beyond belief
+ Don't miss bread, pasta, pizza or milk for a minute.

Expect to see beautiful creations like this and more on this page, with recipes, how-to's and substitutions for some of your favorite foods that you're not ready to give up on.

You should read my absolute favorite explanation of the paleolithic diet to understand what it is that "we" eat.

From there you can follow along and ask me all the questions you want!

Until next time!