Killing my TV habits

I watch a lot of TV. I have several shows that I like that come on at certain times during the week, and I'm not always home to watch them. However, I do have DVR (Digital Video Recording) and when I come home from work, I sometimes sit in front of the tube and catch up on all my shows. Well, sometimes this can take hours.

I'm not proud of this fact, so I'm doing something about it.

I am more than halfway through a 30-day challenge involving my diet, and I have seen tremendous benefits from it. I am eating healthier, feeling better and performing well in my workouts. I want to do something similar that involves cutting TV out of my life, so I can use my time much more constructively and subsequently become a better person. Therefore, starting on Tuesday, November 3rd, I will be starting the 30-day TV Challenge! What's involved? Glad you asked! Here are the rules (I wrote it with the perspective of more than one person doing this challenge):

- For 30 days, television and movie watching will be extremely limited in the following ways:

- Each day, you are allowed to watch only one television show, regardless of the length (30 minutes, 2 hours, etc.) OR one movie, regardless of the length. If it is a mini-series, you can watch only one episode of the series at a time.

- Once you have watched your show or movie, you are not allowed to watch any more TV for the rest of that day.

- Exceptions include major news events (please don’t loosely define “major” for yourself; the point is to drastically limit your television watching).

- While you are not watching TV, fill your time with something productive and beneficial to you (you are limited only by your imagination)

- Video games count as TV watching. If you choose to substitute playing video games for your daily TV show or movie, you are allowed a maximum of 30 minutes per day.

- If you go a full day without watching TV, playing video games or watching a movie, great! However, your unwatched TV time does not carry over to the next day. Only one show, movie or 30 minute block of video game time per day.

- If you use the TV to help you develop a specific skill, you are not under a TV time limit. For example, if you are learning how to play piano and there is a TV show that specifically teaches you how to play piano, and you watch that show while practicing the piano, you can watch as much of that show as you like (as long as you’re practicing developing that skill!). If you choose to do this, this counts as your TV watching for the day.

- If you decide to cheat, you’re only cheating yourself out of being a better person.

This will be tough for me, and no doubt will I be tempted to cheat. However, there are so many tings I want to do and see done, and watching TV takes away from the time I could be spending doing those things. This is primarily for me, but if you are interested in doing this challenge with me, let me know and we'll improve ourselves together.

Thanks for reading and feel free to give me a call; I'm a lot more likely to answer, now that I won't be watching near as much of the idiot box. ;)

Paleo Challenge - Day 17

Breakfast
- One egg
- Two egg whites
- Apple
- Banana
- Jalapeno Chicken Sausage

Lunch
- Hamburger (93% lean)
- Lettuce
- Carrots
- Tomatoes
- Onions
- Red/green onions

Dinner
Chipotle
- Steak
- Lettuce
- Grilled peppers and onions
- Tomato salsa
- Green pepper salsa
- Red pepper hot salsa
- Guacamole

Snack
- Can of Del Monte diced pineapple (no syrup, only in pineapple juice)

Paleo Challenge - Day 16

Breakfast
- Eggs
- Jalapeno Chicken Sausage
- Apple
- Banana

Lunch
At Ledo's Pizza:
- Buffalo Chicken Salad
- Chicken
- Buffalo Sauce on the side
- Lettuce
- Carrots
- Hot peppers
- Onions
- Tomatoes

Snack
- Bag of nuts and raisins

Dinner
- Meatballs in sauce
- Broccoli

Snack
- Banana
- Pineapple

Paleo Challenge - Day 15

Breakfast
- Eggs
- Habanero peppers
- Onion
- Pineapple
- Banana
- Strawberries

Post-workout drink
- Water with agave, lemon, lim

Lunch
- Jalapeno chicken sausage
- Chicken breast
- Salad with:
- Lettuce
- Tomatoes
- Onions
- Mushrooms
- Green/red pepper
- Lemon/Lime Cashews

Dinner
- Chicken from El Pollo Rico
- Salad with:
- Same as above
- Lemon/Lime cashews

We had a great halloween party tonight with lots of yummy food! Too bad most of it was on my "no eat" list!

Paleo Challenge - Day 14

Pretty good day of eating all around, though I'm not sure about lunch.

Breakfast
- Breakfast with "the family" at Silver Diner
- Omelet with Ham, Onions, Peppers
- Side of strawberries

Snack
- Jalapeno chicken sausage
- Banana

Lunch
- Caribbean food with Jesse Hoagland on HU's campus
- Curry chicken
- Lettuce w/ some type of dressing. They put the dressing on without me asking. I ate it, but if I had a choice, I probably would have left it off. It WAS tasty though...

Snack
- Jalapeno Chicken Sausage
- Pineapple

Post workout drink
- Water with lemon, lime and 1 tbsp Agave Nectar

Dinner
- Grilled chicken
- Salad with:
- Lettuce
- Onion
- Tomatoes
- Carrots
- Mushrooms

Paleo Challenge - Day 13

I did my food shopping yesterday and am now stocked for at least another week! Even with that, I found myself eating out today for lunch (another work day, and a day having Class A Apparatus Driving) and eating dinner at station 16. Lunch was not so stellar, but I believe I still kept it Paleo.

Breakfast
- 1 whole egg
- 2 egg whites
- 1 TJ's jalapeno chicken sausage
- habanero pepper in the eggs
- banana
- pineapple

Lunch
- TACO BELL!!!
- Beef on a bed of lettuce. That's it!

Snack
- Bag of nuts and raisins
(Not sure about the paleo-ness of raisins)

Dinner (at station 16)
- Baked chicken
- Green beans
(I know there is debate about green beans, but I like the argument that they are more "green" than "bean"

Gonna have breakfast tomorrow at the Silver Diner with some of the fire department guys. Should be fun!

Paleo Challenge - Day 12

Got to go food shopping today...woohoo! Restocked on the veggies, meats and eggs. I've now added in egg whites and chicken sausages. It says minimally processed, so hopefully this counts.

Breakfast
- eggs
- habanero pepper
- Strawberries
- Blueberries
- Raspberries
- Blackberries

Lunch
- chicken
- lettuce
- tomatoes
- red/green peppers
- mushrooms
- Pineapple

2nd Lunch
- rotisserie chicken
- lettuce
- pickles
- tomatoes
- strawberries
- blueberries
- pineapple

Dinner
- Chicken
- Lettuce
- Carrots
- Tomatoes
- Red/green pepper
- Pineapple

Paleo Challenge - Day 11

Ugh...what a night...virtually no sleep. Wish I could have gotten some today, but it's been one of those Sundays where it's one thing after the next after the next. Still stuck with the Paleo today, though I need to buy some food tomorrow.

Breakfast
- IHOP Colorado Omelet with:
- Sausage, Bacon, Beef
- Onions
- Peppers?
- Little bit of pineapple and grapes

Lunch
- The rest of the omelet that I didn't finish.

Dinner
- Mom's home cooked chicken
- Mixed veggies (not sure what was in them)

I REALLY had to deny myself today...today we celebrated my grandma's birthday (91!) and she and my mom made their absolutely DELICIOUS mac and cheese. Everything in me wanted some of that, but I had to resist. Also had to resist an amazing-looking cake my mom made. Cavemen would have eaten my mom's cakes...

Paleo Challenge - Day 10

Working today...Fran KILLED me yesterday! I didn't get to eat my chipotle until way after the workout was done. Fortunately, I bought some lemons, limes and Agave nectar to make the little post-workout concoction Judd has. Hopefully it will do some good!

Breakfast
- Eggs
- Chopped up beef patty
- Onions
- Apple
- Banana
- Orange

Snack
- Turkey meatball from Trader Joes

Lunch
- Salad from Giant with:
- Fajita chicken
- Lettuce
- Spinach
- Chopped tomatoes
- Chopped onions
- Green, red and yellow peppers
- Sliced carrots
- Jalapenos

- Strawberries
- Pineapple
- Peaches

Snack
- Almonds

Dinner
- Ground beef
- Lettuce
- Onions
- Tomatoes
- Apple

The guys were having tacos for dinner tonight...had to make due and leave out the tortilla, cheese and sauce.

Paleo Challenge - Day 9

Ok, so yesterday was the first day that this challenge really FELT like a challenge to me (i.e. I was MAJORLY tempted to eat lots of non-paleo foods). My desires for Pizza, Chipotle burritos and beer were raging, as well as a need to snack on cookies, sweets and other refined sugar and carb-laden treats. Fortunately, I didn't give in, but man...Papa Johns never sounded so good.

Breakfast
- Eggs
- Beef patty, cut up and mixed in with the eggs
- Onions
- Habanero pepper
- Apple
- Orange

Lunch
- Beef patty
- Guacamole
- Lettuce
- Chopped tomatoes
- Chopped carrots
- Chopped red and green peppers

Snack
- Tuna
- Apple
- Mixed nuts

Dinner
- Chipotle salad w/
- Double chicken
- Lettuce
- Grilled green peppers and onions
- Tomato salsa
- Green chili salsa
- Red chili salsa

Paleo Challenge - Day 8

Breakfast
- Eggs
- Hamburger patty, chopped up
- Onion
- Green and red pepper
- Habanero pepper
- Strawberries
- Pineapple

Lunch
- Beef patty
- Pineapple
- Mixed nuts

Dinner
- Beef patty
- Lettuce
- Tomato
- Onion
- Mushroom
- Green and red pepper
- Broccoli
- Pineapple

Paleo Challenge - Day 7

Today's a work day, and things haven't gone quite as planned, so I had to adapt and overcome.

Breakfast
- Eggs
- Habenero pepper
- Onions
- Banana
- Strawberries (I think)

Snack
- Almonds

Lunch
- Ledo's steak salad with:
- Shredded steak
- Lettuce
- Tomatoes
- Pepperocinis
- Onions

Snack
- Leftover turkey sausage from last shift
- Almonds
- Strawberries
- Pineapple

Dinner
- Hamburgers
- Mixed veggies with:
- Peas
- Carrots
- Corn
- Green beans
- Lima beans

- Pineapple

I don't think corn, green beans or lima beans are technically Paleo. I'm gonna try to avoid them in the future. Guess I really can't trust fire house meals anymore.

Paleo Challenge - Day 6

Another day at home, another day of controlled eating. Let's see how it works out!

Breakfast
- Eggs with:
- Habanero pepper
- Onions
- Strawberries
- Grapes

Before lunch, I had a dentist appointment that left the right side of my mouth quite sore. Had to eat everything on the left side of my mouth. :)

Lunch
- Beef patty w/ reduced sugar ketchup
- Banana
- Grapes
- Almonds

Dinner
- Ground beef w/
- Onions
- Habanero pepper
- Red and green peppers
- Cilantro

- Grapes

Paleo Challenge - Day 5

I'm home from work and just finished breakfast. Since I'm home, I have absolute control of what I eat, so today will be a very good food day!

Breakfast
- Two eggs
- Sliced habenero pepper
- Diced green and red peppers
- Diced onions
- Ground turkey
- Apple
(I ate the apple separate from everything else. I was going for an omelet, but I put in too much meat and other stuff. Regardless, this came out great! The habanero made it pretty spicy, but definitely not unbearable.)

Lunch
- Ground beef patty w/ low-sugar ketchup
- Red and green peppers
- Guacamole
- Banana
- Grapes

Snack
- Almonds

Dinner
- Ground turkey with:
- Red and Green peppers (diced)
- Diced onions
- Diced habanero pepper
- Diced carrots
- Reduced sugar ketchup

- Strawberries
- Grapes

Snack
- Almonds

All in all, it was a pretty good eating day. Definitely felt full after dinner...I had a lot of ground turkey in there, so maybe that did it. It also might have been the grapes and strawberries. The almonds I had after dinner are definitely keeping the hunger away. I had about three handfulls, which is plenty. I'm looking forward to seeing how my athletic performance is affected. I need to go to crossfit tomorrow.

Paleo Challenge - Day 4

I needed to go to bed early, so I didn't get to buy any eggs or prepare any food for this morning. Had to stop by 7-11 for some protein (turkey had to do). Otherwise, I brought a bunch of fruits and veggies to work. I'll have to go out for lunch...maybe a salad. Or maybe I can just get some of the chicken from the salad bar. In case I didn't mention, I'm working today.

Breakfast
- Turkey
- Banana
- Orange

Second Breakfast
- Eggs
- Turkey Bacon
- Grapes

Lunch
- Chicken salad from Giant with:
- Fajita chicken
- Lettuce
- Diced Tomatoes
- Diced Onions
- Sliced carrots
- Jalapenos

- Sliced green and red peppers
- Guacamole
- Grapes

Snack
- Eggs
- Bacon
- Orange
- Almonds

Dinner
- The guys made spaghetti with a turkey sausage/tomato sauce and garlic bread. I took a bowl of the sauce and added in green and red peppers and carrots. It came out pretty good!
- Grapes for dessert

For future firehouse days, I'm gonna have to be a lot better prepared. Going out to 7-11 for my food gets expensive and it's not the best quality anyway.

Paleo Challenge - Day 3

Got home from work today TIRED! Gotta love those 2am calls...ahh well. It's what I signed up to do. Anyway, had a late breakfast with Nick; he and I had some things to talk about. Believe it or not, a Paleo breakfast CAN be made at your local IHOP. :) Since we had breakfast so late, my last meal was a lunch/dinner combo. I finally got to do that food shopping and got lots of fruits and veggies. I forgot to buy eggs though. I'll take care of that on Monday.

Breakfast
- Omelet with onions, peppers, sausage, bacon and beef
- Side of watermelon, banana and grapes

Lunch/Dinner
- Grilled Chicken breast and leg from KFC
- Salad with lettuce, diced carrots and tomatoes

Snack
- Bowl of grapes

Not too much to eat today. I attribute that to the late start (breakfast wasn't until 11:30a).

Paleo Challenge - Day 2

Came straight from working at station 12 to working at station 15, so all my food has been on the go. Can you say...expensive!!! Still at work at 15 and waiting for dinner to be served. The volunteers here always cook for the career guys, so we'll see what they make. I have a feeling it won't be very heavy on veggies, but I'll make the best of it.

- Turned out dinner wasn't that bad. Had to modify it a bit, but it wasn't too bad. See below for the dinner menu.

Breakfast
- Ham and eggs from 2 Panera breakfast sandwiches (I threw away the bread)
- Fruit from 7-11

Snack
- Two hard-boiled eggs
- An orange and a banana

Lunch
- Salad from Chipotle with
- Steak
- Peppers and onions
- Mild, medium and hot salsa
- Guacamole
- Lettuce

Dinner
- Baked chicken with bacon and cheese (cheese removed)
- Ceaser salad with dressing premixed in. I avoided the croutons

Snack
- Banana

Paleo Challenge - Day 1

I'm at work and it's late, so I'm not gonna make this real long. Basically, I'm doing a 30-day Paleo Diet Challenge - Nothing but sticking to the Paleo Diet for 30 days.

What I ate today:

Breakfast
- Ham
- Fruit
(everything from 7-11)

Snack
- Almonds
- Orange

Lunch
Salad from Chipotle with:
- Lettuce
- Chicken
- Peppers and Onions
- Tomatoes
- Medium and Hot salsa
- Guacamole

Snack
- Almonds
- Orange

Dinner
- Chicken
- Green beans
(eaten at the firehouse)

Lacking lots of protein, but that's because I need to go food shopping and I bought a lot of this while out and about. I'll do my shopping on Saturday.