I have determined that the best thing that I have done on this diet is cooking all of my meals ahead of time, from scratch. I have been going to the grocery store across the street from where I work and getting a few pieces of their baked chicken every day: “Three baked thighs, please.” The hot bar at the grocery store broke the week before last, so they pre-packaged all of the baked chicken. This is how I found out that the baked chicken had sugar added. Sugar really seems to be my mortal enemy, because I have noticed that I haven’t been sleeping as well (although that is the only thing that I have noticed). I really didn’t think that I was having that issue. My weight loss had stopped, which was aggravating, but it wasn’t creeping upward, so I didn’t think about sugar.

This week I have eaten nothing but food that I prepared over my long weekend, and I can tell a huge difference in how I feel. I have lost two more pounds, and I am sleeping fantastically. My motivation to work out has returned. I went to the gym last night, and I am still thinking about trying Crossfit.

All of these things make cooking ahead the best thing that I have done. It will require more work during the weekend, but I am willing to bet that I am saving money as well as getting my weight loss and motivation back on track.

One thing that I did make this week was mashed cauliflower. My fiancé and I used to get the bags of steam-in-the-bag garlic cauliflower for mashed cauliflower, but once I was eating Paleo we couldn’t because it has sugar in it. So I took a head of cauliflower and cut it into florets and stem pieces. I threw it in my steamer with some minced garlic and steamed it all for about 10-15 minutes. Then I threw it all in the food processor with a little bit of butter and some salt. That was some of the best mashed cauliflower that I have ever had; it tasted a lot like what I used to make, but it was creamier.