Chapter 2: Keeping Track of it All: A Great Tool For You
And so it continues.....
Chapter 1 introduced us to our main, uh....only character, a 39-year old, husband, father of two, School Counselor, Health and Nutrition Coach who, like anyone, has had his ups and downs with food and fitness. In the past year, he's found himself in a great place with his fitness and food and plans to never return to The Food Place That Shall Not Be Named. We learned about goals, planning, and how to find new purpose when one has had a string of success.
One of those goals involves tracking food. Now, before you give me this......
......consider this: We live in a society full instantaneous gratification i.e. cell phones, texting, laptops, iPads, fax machines, Twitter, Facebook, cloud services, and much more.
It goes without saying that most people will find at least seventeen excuses why tracking food will not work for them. Instead of wasting precious cyberspace listing a few, let's see what great tool our protagonist is using.
MyFitnessPal is more than a calorie counter. But it is a smart tool that encompasses that very "give it to me now/instant gratification" mindset into something that takes time and patience: eating well and weight loss. This tool literally has over a million food entries in it's library making it easy to find what you are logging. It provides graphical data on how much protein, how many carbs, and how many calories you have left to consume each day and allows you to set your own goals regarding what percentage of each need to consume. Even more, it has a whole social networking component for support. Remember that team our protagonist joined in Chapter One? The one that is trying to achieve new fitness goals? With this tracking tool, now he can see what and how his friends are eating. The benefits to that? You can get ideas of what to eat, when others eat certain foods, and you can offer support and encouragement by posting messages back and forth. And one more piece of that "instand gratification-give-it-to-me-now" mindset. You can enter your information from any computer and then continue from any phone with the free application. It's available for any iPhone, Android, or Blackberry device.
DISCLAIMER: This literary piece of opinion does not receive any benefits from MyFitness Pal, rather we find it to just be a very simple, easy-to-use, intuitive, and motivating tool to aid in doing something that historically takes time, persistance, and patience.
Speaking of patience....in Chapter 3 our main character will face a few evil villains. Stay tuned to see if he can ward of these calorie sucking, carb loading enemies!
Off the grid and long overdue. Since returning to school after summer break, I've neglected the mess of stuff in my head to blog about (stay tuned!), so here's number one:
Emily is a dear friend of mine who currently lives in the Middle East (that's not a typo....I mean THE Middle East!). She has been a blog follower and supporter and recently shared her own story with me. Given her rich cultural experiences, her zest for great food, and her keen outlook on life, I had to have her share her insights on eating and her path to a sustainable, dietary, lifestyle. And check out her before and after pics!!!!!!!! I'm so proud of her!
Here goes....
No Counting? Count Me In!
I currently live in Beirut, one of the world capitals of GOOD FOOD. Hummus, kefta (barbecued spiced ground lamb), tabbouleh (parsley salad with bulgur and mint), fatouch (garden salad with sumaq and baked bread chips with zaatar [thyme]), tahini salad (tomato, cucumber, and onion salad with thick sesame seed and lemon juice dressing)…..
For the most part, these sound pretty healthy, right? Fresh produce abounds in the Middle East and especially in Lebanon, from the sweetest cucumbers to the juiciest citrus fruits in the South. You haven’t tasted grapes until you’ve pulled them (and their leaves) directly from the vine growing over your (*cough* or your neighbor’s….) patio. Those grape leave you can use later to make doualeh (grape leaves stuffed and rolled with rice, tomato, and sometimes ground lamb, and boiled in stock until they melt in your mouth).
While Lebanon entices the tongue with all of its Mediterranean cuisine, Lebanon is also known as the gateway to the West. That privilege comes with easy access to the heavy Western food that I can’t resist: pizza, hamburgers, pasta, French fries… And even though I’m not a huge fan, fast food is widely available: McDonald’s, Hardee’s Burger King. Lebanon’s national motto could be: “You want it? You got it.” It’s not hard to find most anything you want here.
Lebanon also specializes in scrumptious sweets: beqlawi (baklava), knafeh (sweet cheese and sugared phyllo dough served on soft, fruity bread drenched with sugared rose water), petit fours, fresh tamar (dates), custard, ice cream, sfouf and basbousa (sweet semolina cakes), maamoul (date cookies)……. The list could go on for 2 miles. Sweets? Can’t stay away from them for anything. If it’s got sugar, it will find its way into my mouth.
So in the past 2 ½ years that I’ve lived overseas in Beirut, I’ve slowly packed on the pounds. I exercise regularly, so I was able to stave off more pounds that probably should be on my hips. But when my husband and I traveled to the States this past Christmas, I was at my highest weight ever. Like a lot of people, I’ve always struggled with my weight, but to be at an all-time high was just shameful. Unfortunately, nothing stopped me from packing on the usual holiday pounds as well as the “We’re so glad you’re finally back!” pounds from countless dinners with family and friends.
It was definitely time for a change. In the past, I had done WeightWatchers, sometimes successfully, but more often than not, within days of starting over, I’d just start using the POINTS to eat whatever I wanted within (and without!) my POINTS range. Cake is 7 points? I shall enjoy! Three pieces of pizza? Sure! In the end, I was feeding my body junk, feeling lethargic, and not losing any weight. In my opinion, WeightWatchers does not emphasize nearly enough the importance of what kinds of foods to eat; they rely too heavily on sweet substitutes that still aren’t doing your body any good. knew I couldn’t do that cycle again.
I researched some other plans and came across the South Beach Diet. I had heard of the South Beach Diet, but when it first came out, its name made it seem like such a fad. After finding the first edition of the book on the clearance rack for $2.00 (thank you, Half Price Books in Indy), I read it within a week. I was blown away: it made sense. Maintain an appropriate blood sugar level to keep from binging on sweets and carbs that only tax pretty much every body system. Make your body work to extract nutrients from the foods you eat instead of serving your body simple sugar.
I decided to go for it. Eat from the approved food list. Phase I: Ditch pretty much all carbs and sugar (including fruit) for 2 straight weeks, restoring blood sugar to a normal level. After that first day, by ditching simple carbs, you're teaching your body to reach for long-term satisfaction foods, not sugary fillers that will make you hungry within an hour. Phase II: Reintroduce some carbs slowly, and eat from a new list of approved foods in addition to the other already-approved foods from Phase II. After reaching goal weight, move to Phase III: Seemingly all foods are “approved,” within reason. By that point you'll know what your triggers are and how to manage them.
For me, South Beach is a sustainable diet. I’ve lost a solid 20 pounds in the last few months, and for the first time, those pounds are staying off. I'm not kidding when I say that I crave vegetables with my dinner now.
Over the years, cooking has become one of my heart’s passions, and the South Beach book itself comes with tons of recipes. They’re good; not “out of this world” fantastic dishes, but solid recipes. My real cooking savior has been Kalyn’s Kitchen, a home-cooking blog that features healthy, low-glycemic recipes. The blog’s author, Kalyn Denny, had major success with the South Beach Diet, and initially started the blog as a way to keep track of all the recipes she was trading with friends. Kalyn is one of my cooking heroes.
I don't like too much restriction (like WW POINTS or an all-or-nothing food list like Paleo), but I do need guidance (like the SBD flexible food lists), and I need lots of grace. I go off plan. Frequently. Sorry, but if someone visits us and brings baklava with them, I’m eating it. Something I love about the South Beach Diet is that when you screw up, or you go off plan for a bit, there's no panicking that you don't have enough POINTS to make it through the week. You just start over again with the next meal. Or you go back to Phase I for a week or two. I'm sure that others can do that with WW, but I never could. I would just eat whatever I wanted until the next Monday rolled around, and hop on the crazed merry-go-round all over again. Had I not strayed on the South Beach Diet, I could have probably met close to my goal weight by now, but for now I’m cool with this steady weight loss.
No counting POINTS. Or calories. Or carbs. Or fats. Or portion sizes. Or anything. As those “Hooked on Phonics” kids might say, “The Sauth Beech Dyat werks fer me!”
scrambled eggs w/smoked salmon, onions, bell peppers, light english muffin (toasted of course), sliced tomato, and fresh fruit
Here's some more information on what colorful eating can do for you.....
I'm visiting my mother this weekend in Cincinnati for Mother's Day as well as going out for our 16th wedding anniversary (free babysitting!!!). We are excited to go to a new restaurant on a side of town I love to visit. I can't make any healthy promisses as I hear this place has their own infused tequila!! But..... I always plan on making full reports on solid food no matter where and what it is!
My wife has been creating a photo food journal, and it had me thinking this morning as I made my breakfast. (She's got a pretty cool blog too.)
It got me thinking about the wealth of information I've been learning from my Health and Nutrition Coaching Program through The Institute of Integrative Nutrition. No one way of eating....no one combination of foods....no one diet......just have a sound dietary lifestyle made of whole foods that are good for you. Sounds easy, right?!
Well.....between my wife's photo food journaling and the health coaching stuff, it hit me this morning as I made my breakfast.
A NEW GOAL: Make a point to prepare as many dishes as possible that are as colorful as possible. No counting points. No formulas to come up with blocks. Not much thinking. All diets have their places, however they rarely offer people life-long/sustainable dietary habits and some can get stale. While many state reasons why the CAN'T do something dietarily, this seems like a good way to get nutrients in your diet w/little to no thinking.
Why? More color=more nutrients=healthier living=feeling good.
My breakfast: Oatmeal with fresh strawberries, apple, and dried blueberries.
If you are interested in more information about Health Coaching, feel free to drop me an email at cspinhealthy@gmail.com
I'm also offering free health histories while I am still in training. This is an hour devoted to talking about your own health and wellness. We can do this face to face, via Skype, or by phone.
These are not the fries you're looking for.........I hope.
I like french fries (and Star Wars) just like any other natural born American. However, I try to stay away from fast food simply because I don't like how it makes me feel, and I know fast food is the fast way to fast el b's!! But....when it's time to splurge with no guilt (check this blog out from a fellow Institute for Integrative Nutrition colleague of mine on no guilt eating.) I try to eat fast food that is not packed full of "stuff".
Wendy's is promoting "Natural Cut Fries".
.....and the truth of the matter is they are not all that natural.
--They are sprayed with sodium acid pyrophosphate, a chemical that prevents them from turning brown from two baths in frying oil
--They are coated with dextrose, a sugar derived from corn, for similar purposes
--They contain dimethylpolysiloxane, a silicone-based chemical that helps keep the vegetable oil from getting foamy after countless rounds of frying.
Here's the article I found explaining this in more detail and comparing how Five Guys Burgers is a better choice when it comes to your french fries. If you are going to splurge and eat fries, you might as well eat with no guilt and no crap in them.
Just some of the gack I took in while on vacation. Don't get me wrong. We grilled chicken, burgers, etc. with salad and such for dinners in while feasting on great seafood our last night out, however on vacation I found myself with little conscience about what I was eating, how much I was eating and how often I ate. All the while, I rationalized it as, "I've come so far. One week won't destroy me."After all, it's vacation. I've needed a break from work and the stresses of life and I deserve it." (more on this excuse in a bit) Then.......
Upon returning home from a 12 hour car ride that consisted of a trip to Crackerbarrel and Chipotle, I woke up the following day to "get back into it" at Crossfit Carmel thinking I'd be a bit off my game, but.......
I attended the 9 a.m. workout which was.......
As Many Rounds As Possible in 20 minutes of......
5 pull ups
10 push ups
15 air squats
After my first round, I felt like.......
No energy, weak, and dejected. I've never.....EVER wanted to quit a workout in my 10 months or Crossfit until this one, but I didn't. I took my time and finished with 13 rounds.....much slower than I've done this in the past. But......I thought it was a good warm up for why I showed up: I wanted to re-try the Crossfit Games Sectional WOD #3 as I discussed in my previous post. This was....
165 lbs. squat clean
165 lbs. jerk
On vacation I did this WOD at Crossfit Hilton Head and produced 7 rounds. Not a great result by competition standards, but I was happy with it by my standards and expectations. However, on this day, back at home, after the worst workout feeling I ever had, I could barely lift the bar over my head. In fact, the first attempt at cleaning the weight sent me almost on my a*s! BLECH! I felt TERRIBLE and
I wanted to start sending invitations to my Pity Party before the five minutes were up. BUT.......here's why I love where I work out. Here's why I love Crossfit:
People were still encouraging me, screaming at me to keep it up, get after it, stay focused all the while there was Trent next to me....a 44 year old guy pounding out his 26 rounds and Caitlin hammering out her 25 rounds! And there's me....stating I want to bag it......clearly struggling..... and Lin, the owner/coach, is yelling, "Do another clean. Just stay in it." And so I did. My result:
2 rounds plus 1 clean. BLECH!!!
Since no one was attending the party I was clearly trying to throw, I reflected quickly on what I'd been doing to my body the past week and refused to pout, kick, or scream (at least not in public).
It's no great secret that eating poorly and not sleeping well have adverse effects on the body. Certainly, this is not groundbreaking news. But I made one decision based on this pitfall in which I found myself. I'm not going this long eating this way again. It's not worth it based on what I enjoy doing for exercise. It's not worth the impact it has had on my mood, my confidence, and my spirit....all things often overlooked.
My solution? --ramp up the veggies (nowhere near enough of them in my body the past week --eliminate alcohol for a period of time (maybe one or two on the weekend if any) --eliminate grains for at least a week (going back to my Paleo ways to cut back inflammation in the gut!) --water, water, water (a given) --Eliminate cheese (vacation was first time in several months! Make me lethargic and tears up my gut!) --Look into juicing (I've been toying with this idea as an occasional cleanse, so stay tuned on this.) ***BE REALISTIC: Perhaps the most important here......
Clearly I was trying to be the guy on the left. Who did I think I was? After all, I'm the one studying to be a Certified Health Counselor. I'm the one who has proven to myself that proper dietary habits combined with strength training and endurance training can transform my body, my fitness, and my spirit. I'm the one who has been so excited to lead this new life and so who did I think I was with such an expectation?!?! Shame on me! So.....
It's a new day. A new start to getting back on track. And it's really no. big. deal. I'm glad I've put myself through two Whole 30 Paleo challenges. I'm glad I'm studying different dietary theories. I'm glad I continue to surround myself with like-minded folks. I think it allows me to not only be realistic, but it provides the confidence to snap right back into action and TAKE ACTION. In the past, I would have wallowed longer than an hour or two. I'd string a week like I just had into several weeks, months, and before long I'm right back to where I started on the left side of the My Progress page.
And so today, my in-laws were in town and took the family out to breakfast, and so we found ourselves a superior spot on the north side of Indianapolis called Tulip Noir, a great place for local, organic food, coffee, etc where the menu changes with the seasons! I usually dive right in for a smoked salmon sandwich w/cream cheese, bagel, etc., but......remember my solutions above? Instead I went for the veggie hash and eggs. Check it out on the Spring menu. (My 8 year old son genetically ordered the smoked salmon sandwich and would not budge on giving me a bite! Maybe all things do happen for a reason?!)
Have you been in a rut? What have you done to get out of it? I'd be interested in hearing from you. Drop me a comment or an email.
I loved our vacation, our time with friends, the beach. At the same time, it's good to be home. I'll keep you posted.....
So I spent the last week under the sunny skies of Hilton Head Island, a family destination and tradition of ours for the past couple of decades. This time, we went with family and friends, which meant instant entertainment (and built in babysitting) for our children. That meant.....daddy and mommy could actually vacation a bit. THAT meant.......a week of food that I normally do not eat (stay tuned for a follow up post on that, for I have a lot to say on my return to "food reality").
After a few days of fun in the sun, I ventured away from the family to Crossfit Hilton Head, just a couple of miles from our beach house. I was excited to be at a new gym, away from home, and I was a bit nervous not knowing what to expect. I was a bit insecure about working out with a younger guy who played college lacrosse at Syracuse! BUT.....I was more nervous about how my body would react after treating it like a playground the night before (again....more on that in a post to follow). I'll give you an idea of SOME of what I ingested then night before.....
Daiquiri bar at Hilton Head's famous Frosty Frog
Walking in, I was immediately greeted by Craig, the owner (of Crossfit...not the Frosty Frog!) After some idle chit-chat, a couple of others walked in, both visitors to the island like me. We spent time stretching together. We all did two minutes of as many double unders as possible, and then we all spent time working on our shoulder mobility with a lacrosse ball. The workout of the day was brutal on a normal day let alone after stuffing myself with toxic food and drink the night (ok...NIGHTS!) before.
Here's the WOD (Workout of the Day)
That is a total of....
150 squats
105 pull ups
45 ring dips (I used a resistance band under my knees...just can't do them alone....yet)
My time: 24:23
At first it was a bit intimidating working out with a guy who played college lacrosse at Syracuse, however once the workout started, I never thought about him as Craig, the owner, was coaching, motivating and pushing me just like I was at home.
It was nice to go 12 hours away from my home gym and get the same kind of instruction, coaching, and motivation. Reminded me of this....
So I retuned the next day to complete the Crossfit Games Sectional WOD #3. (If you don't want to click on the link, I'm competing in the sectional workouts of the Crossfit Games to see how I stack up against others out there in the world as this truly is a world-wide event. No way in hell, I'd advance, rather it's a litmus test for me to see where I am fitness-wise.)
As Many Rounds as Possible of....
165 lbs squat clean
165 lbs. jerk
In case you don't know what that is......here's an idea of a guy much lighter than me doing much better than me
I have to say...I did not think I'd even get one rep.
My score: 7 reps. I was fine with that as again....I spent the last several days not caring for my diet. BUT.......as previously stated....stay tuned for my next post on how my food impacted my second attempt at this workout.
It was great and energizing to be at a new Crossfit gym. It was awesome to get the same kind of experience as I do at home. It was great to compete away from home and do better than expected. At the same time.....I returned home feeling physically unfit, lethargic, and thinking like this.....
Stay tuned for a full report on my return to reality......
So today is Day 30 of my 30 Day Paleo Challenge. I've shared a few times that this is the second time I've done this: gone strictly Paleo for 30 Days. With the exception of one meal, one night, I was able to do this with absolutely no problem and I must say again....I feel great. No bloating. No digestion issues. More energy. I'm down 7 lbs. And, I've seen more energy at Crossfit. Most notably, I recently cut my baseline workout by just under one whole minute. I wrote about it the other day in my Rounding Third post. You can look over my entire month's worth of food complete with notes about workouts, how I felt, and some recipes along the way. Most importantly, I don't see day 30 as the finish line, rather as the beginning. The purpose of the 30 days is to rid the body of all the junk, eliminate any trace of food that may cause inflammation, and to now decide what foods I may re-introduce. Below is the short list of the foods that I think about from time to time that are not endorsed by any health conscious blog, website, or aficionado:
1. Pizza: My crack.
2. Beer, hoppy, dark beer!
3. Bread: I don't need it, but I do like the Ezekiel sprouted grain bread my wife buys, and I wouldn't mind an occasional sandwich now and then.
4. Pasta in my chili: I'm from Cincinnati. Home of real chili.
I recently heard the word Paleoification, and it reminded me of......
I thought I could think of more words ending in -ication, but I'm stumped.
Either way.....Last week when I attended the Whole 9 Foundations of Nutrition Workshop in Chicago, Dallas and Melissa, founders of the program, proclaimed that one of the mistakes folks make with the Paleo lifestyle is the "PALEOIFICATION" of it all. Paraphrasing what they said here.....
On the information superhighway we call The Internet, you can find Paleo Brownies, Paleo Pancakes, Paleo Pizza, Paleo Waffles, Paleo Cookies, and All Things Paleo. The assertion: These things should be avoided. They are to be used as substitutes for the real thing. Reason being....it will only lead to you wanting the real thing; they don't taste like the real thing; there are a lot more healthy things you could be eating in its place. (AGAIN...PARAPHRASING THEIR WORDS. NOT MINE.)
And so there I was.....shocked! Stumped! Stymied! I've fought with this the past week and I've come up with the following because it works FOR ME.....
I agree with what they are saying....now. If you are constantly substituting Paleoified foods, then you may as well eat a bit of the real thing and get back on the wagon. It's a trap many can fall into....It's like the first time I did Weight Watchers. I lost 75 lbs.! But......I did it eating everything and anything that could fall within my points. It worked.....but a few years later I almost gained it all back. It was not sustainable......for me, but I'm a fan of WW if you eat well doing it.
Eating a certain way as a lifestyle is an evolving process which contradicts our innate sense of wanting to lose weight now and make it easy. It's just not immediate and it's never easy. So now I agree with Melissa and Dallas......if you are a newbie to eating Paleo.....if you are emotionally connected to food (something I plan to write more about as there are plenty of good, healthy ways to eat....not just Paleo.)
For me.....I don't have deep cravings for too may foods, but today I needed variety. I eat eggs a lot. We buy great eggs from our local CSA and pick them up every Wednesday. I'm a food creature of habit and it does not take much to please me with food. Paleo often works for me because a nice piece of chicken and veggies spiced well often works.......for me. So this morning, my wife was out with a girlfriend, and daddy was being land-blasted with, "Daddy....what's for breakfast??!?! We're hungry!!!!" I took out a pound of sausage the night before with the full intention of making eggs and sausage.....again.
Enter..........Paleo Biscuits and Gravy!!!
Now....I must tell you....I would BATHE in biscuits and gravy....I love it that much.
If that description is a 10, then I'd give this recipe a 7.5. I took it from Robb Wolf's blog. Check it out because he has great info. and recipes.
Looks like the real stuff huh? The gravy was pretty close to the real thing. Next time, I'll use less cayenne pepper. I don't prefer it that hot and neither did the kids, but they ate it. I added a bit more salt to offset the heat for them.
These worked out well. I did't have almond flour so I used almond meal and Peanut meal, so they came out a bit dry, but when you drape the gravy over them who freakin' cares, right?!
The finished product. First words out both kids' mouths: "Mmmm....This is good." Sometimes they are the best food critics. (At least when they like it, right?!)
So........This worked for me today. It offered me variety and a break from what we always make for breakfast. Sure, I could have had more healthy options for breakfast, but check out the past 29 days of what I've eaten. Now, I agree with The Whole 9 folks in that this should not serve as a substitute for the real thing, but I'm not craving the real thing. I'm not new and struggling to find things that satisfy my food cravings. I was not having this food craving today. I just wanted something different to eat that could keep me committed to my 30 Day Challenge. I'm not emotionally missing biscuits and gravy. Pizza on the other hand.....that's a bit of a different story, but I only get that way when I'm around pizza. I don't miss pizza because I feel awful after I eat it (probably because pizza is crack....CRACK, I say, for me.) I can't just eat one piece.
So....the Paleoification of pizza for me is not the best idea, but in my opinion.... once in awhile I think it's better than the real thing from a strict ingredient standpoint.
-fication
suffix
Production; making: jollification.
Origin: Latin -ficātiō, -ficātiōn-, from -ficātus, past participle of -ficāre, to make, from -ficus, -fic.
Marinated and spiced raw meat going into the oven for the long haul.
Stay tuned for my first attempt at homemade beef jerky. I hope to have a full report soon.
All the credit goes to our friend Lindsey. It's her recipe. Click on the button below. Her blog is slammed full of amazing recipes both Paleo and non Paleo.
Yesterday started a bit differently for me. My normal Saturday routine is to get a cup or two of coffee and head to CFC for the Saturday Hopper workouts. Check out the link if you are unfamiliar with Crossfit. However, since I'm heading out of town next Saturday to the Whole 9 Foundations of Nutrition Workshop in Chicago, this was my morning to be Mr. Mom, so my wife could head to the downtown Indianapolis Farmer's Market. Check out her very non-Paleo find here. If you like marshmellows you should check it out. At least she brought back some sweet and spicy buffalo jerky for me.
Upon my wife's return, I headed out to spend just a couple of hours at the Great Lakes Crossfit Invitational at a nearby Crossfit box in Noblesville, IN, just down the road. What an event by Crossfit Indy North. I've been Crossfitting since July and it's changed my life as I've written about in post after post, but I can not begin to describe to you what I experienced in as just an audience member and cheerleader at this event.
The intensity of the athletes! The endurance of the athletes! The passion of the athletes, men and women alike! The athletes!!!!
These folks started competing at 8 a.m. and had 4 workouts to try to finish in the top 20 which allowed them to compete in the final WOD. I watched one guy do the following in just six minutes!!!!!
3 Rounds of...
20 back squats (115 lbs)
20 toes to bar
20 double unders
And that was after 3 previous workouts!!! Unreal.
Made me think of this....
An intended two hour stay turned into six hours of me cheering on the CFC folks who have become my workout friends. Here's some of them.........
Reijo doing toes to bar
Kevin and his toes to bar
Keith getting ready to squat and Nick in the back right.
Kyle fighting through his toes to bar
I wish I would have felt like Superman a few hours later as I knew I was going out to eat with friends. We went to one of the best places around our area:
In the wam months this place encourages tailgating outside while you wait on a table. While it's "controlled and civil" tailgating, it's a blast. And the food inside..........Check out the menu.
This was my second trip here. No tailgating, but our friends are neighbors with the lead chef, so we walked right in and probably pissed off the fifteen people waiting in the foyer near the space heater. Anyone who knows me needs half a second to tell you what I ordered......
If I was tech savvy I would enter an mp3 soundbite here of the Pac Man sound when Pac Man get eaten.
While the cheesy horseradish potatoes are obviously not Paleo, the duck....yes....duck! That heavenly tasting rolled duck with bbq sauce on top and stuffed with some kind of cheese that delicately oozes out of each slice......NOT PALEO........ok folks.......and neither were the three Sun King We Mac Brown Ales that I had.
Not quite part of my 30 Day Paleo Challenge. I've logged the food in my daily journal and today.....well.....I move on......No guilt. No worries. Just back on the wagon and off I go. I don't feel any real impact to my digestion or how I feel this a.m. It's one meal. It was a damn incredibly good meal from start to finish. Not what the 30 Day Challenge prescribes, but.........
While I'm a life-long fan of R.E.M., I'm not Superman. I'm human. Today is a new day and I can't wait to get to Crossfit tomorrow.
If you've read prior posts, you know that I'm on a 30 day Paleo Challenge structured/endorsed by The Whole 9 website, the best resource to me out there on all things related to my fitness and well being interests: Crossfit and eating well/Paleo. You can see my food journal for the 30 days here. If you are new reader, the Paleo diet is not a temporary, fix-it and lose weight diet. It's a dietary lifestyle. I usually refer people to The Whole 9 or to Robb Wolf's site, one of the handful of experts on the topic. The Paleo dietary lifestyle is easier to explain terms of what you can eat versus what you can't:
No grains, legumes, sugar, processed foods, or dairy.
The positive spin: Eat meat, veggies, fruits, nuts, and eat food in it's natural state. (Nothing processed.)
I've run across several people in my everyday life recently that have given the Paleo dietary lifestyle a try or they have heard about it and have made every excuse why it sounds crazy. However, I must share two success stories that have been wonderful to watch:
Situation 1
My colleague has complained about how she feels for several years. She's had two children, is in her mid 30's and would find every excuse in the book as to why something like a Paleo diet would be too difficult for her. I've mentioned it to her from time to time and she's seen me eating my meat, veggies and fruit while others indulge in their Taco Bell or pizza lunch stating, "That looks so boring to me. I want to be excited about my lunch, my food!" She tried Crossfit for awhile but the hustle and bustle of spouses working full time and a young family was a real disrupter to the nightly schedule of Crossfit. Understandable. However, she admits that working out is a chore despite it making her feel better. Also, understandable. Not everyone likes to work out. I get it. However......fast forward to the recent holiday barrage of food we are all exposed to and she recently hit her breaking point. She was ready to start, wanted resources, and dove in. She does not work out much, but she's in week 2, has been emailing me her daily food logs to keep accountable and states, "I can't believe how much energy I have, how good I feel, and how my cravings for certain foods changed." She's even lost a few pounds (not that she needed to but she has her goals she wants to reach weight-wise.) Whoalah! I said. All that success and she's not even really working out! She and I have worked together long enough, my reply was, "I told you so!" Now.....she would not mind me saying b/c she knows me but I thought.....if SHE can do it....ANYONE can! I think she'd tell you the same. I'm very proud of her! It's never easy work.
Situation 2
Another colleague of mine is a PE/Health teacher and has been athletic his whole life. He had reached a weight with which he was not comfortable and I had told him about Crossfit and trying to do something with the kids at school related to it. Long story short, he gave Crossfit a try and loved it and he incorporates it into his own workouts now. Along the way he asked me about Paleo stuff and came to a recent workshop at Crossfit Carmel to learn more about it. He's been 90% Paleo for three weeks now, has lost 25 lbs. since he started just watching his what he eats, and just said to me today, "It's so nice to lose an X off my shirt size!" Instead of talking football with each other, the first thing he often will say to me when he sees me filling up my coffee in the a.m. is about his latest squash dish or how he spiced a dish differently the night before and how we should exchange recipes. I hear people telling him how good he looks and ask how he had done it and it's so great to watch. I'm super proud of him too. The great thing is he has made it work for him and while he is not 100% Paleo 24/7, he's pretty darn close and has had tremendous results.
I've run across a few other people recently who have asked about the "diet" I am on, and when I tell them that it's not a diet rather a "cleanse" for 30 days to detoxify my body and then work certain things back in they continue to say things like......
"That sounds so restrictive and not fun at all."
"Oh, I couldn't live without my this or my that."
"I could never do that."
But these same people complain about their weight and how they feel. What I'm trying to say is this...........
When I get into something that I believe in and that works for me I go full steam ahead often with blinders on. I get so enthusiastic about it that I want everyone around me to know about it so they can feel successful too. However, I know full and well not everyone is wired the same. I love Crossfit. Many people despise working out at all. But......Situation 1 and 2 are MAJOR, MAJOR success stories so far simply because both have said.....
"This is doable."
"It's all about perspective and choices."
"This just takes planning."
MAJOR POINT I'D LIKE TO MAKE: Paleo is not for everyone, and it's not the only thing out there. It's works for me, and it can yield some TREMENDOUS change and success in your health.
That being said, it's been great to watch two people succeed and feel better about their food, their weight, their overall health, and their lives. There is an energy about the both of them and quite honestly it's just fun and energizing for me to watch. Change can be hard. Eating can be emotional, but if met head on and taken one day at a time, one week at a time, one month at a time, then before you know it.....you are on the way to feeling better and improving your life. It's hard to listen to others make excuses and complain when I explain the ins and outs of eating Paleo. I guess because it's just become how I eat. I don't see it as restrictive, annoying, and painful. I see it as how I fuel my body so I perform better in the gym, on my run, and it just makes me feel better in general.
I'm looking forward to learning more about things as I'm going to be attending The Whole 9's Foundations to Nutrition Workshop on January 9th at Crossfit Tri-Cities in St. Charles, Illinois (in Western Chicago...about a three hour drive). I can't wait to get more info. so I can take my nutrition to another level. It's going to be an information packed day and I can't wait to share what I learn here when I return.
Remember this scene from the movie Castaway with Tom Hanks? He is stuck on an island alone, the victim of a plane crash. Great film. While I can not fathom the mental strength needed to survive such a thing (Just ask Louie Zamperini. Read my recent post about him. HE'S amazing and he is NOT FICTITIOUS!), it's this scene that came to mind tonight when I was struggling to figure out what to do for dinner.
I came home from work today and cooked up a bunch of sausage for morning breakfasts, and I steamed some broccoli for lunches. While doing that, I noticed........nothing for dinner. No meat thawed, but I have had plenty of meat today. I needed to mix things up. I knew we had a busy night. The kids had dentist appointments. I was going to Crossfit, and I had to hurry home so my wife could go to yoga soon after. I was resigned and satisfied to have a salad for dinner and call it a night. Then......in the depths of the freezer, our eyes met. (Not my wife....she went to yoga, remember?!)
THE SEAFOOD BLEND FROM TRADER JOE'S!!!!
I had forgotten we had this, and I love this stuff!!!
My spirits were lifted because I knew I'd crave something more than rabbit food....er....salad after working out.
I stir fried this in a wok with coconut oil. Threw in some fresh mushrooms, bell peppers, fresh spinach and steamed broccoli. Added fresh garlic and lemon pepper to taste! A successful Paleo dinner.
It's that time of year. Everyone is going to lose weight. Weight Watchers, Sugarbusters, The Zone Diet, gym memberships, no sweets, no this, cut that......
Resolutions schmezolutions! They never last. They often look like this.....
My solution to no resolution.....
Set a goal and go get it.
Start slowly and plan.
Find a friend and partner up.
I'm going to start 2011 by continuing on my path. I'm going to do the following:
1. Go Paleo 100% for 30 days straight and integrate into my dietary habits full time afterwards: No grains, no legumes, no sugar. Eat all things in their natural state. I'll email a friend doing the same thing after every meal to stay accountable, and he will do the same. This worked great last time. The goal here is to cleanse my system and hopefully find gains with my endurance and overall health. Check out all the details of The Whole 30 plan I will follow. It's part of The Whole 9 website, a great foundation for all things Paleo. I'll be reporting regularly on what I eat, how I feel, and what I do working out, so be sure to follow and share your thoughts if you like.
(I did this once before and you can read about it here as I was asked to share my thoughts with my Crossfit Carmel friends.)
2. Continue to use Crossfit as my main means of getting stronger, increasing my endurance, and losing weight until I reach my goal: Be under 225 lbs. (When I started Crossfit in June I was 260 lbs. I've taken photos of my progress along the way.) I have yet to find anything that works for me better than Crossfit. It's pushes me to my limit and beyond each and every time. While I realize it is not for everyone, I have seen huge gains in my strength, endurance, and confidence about myself fitness-wise. It's the most humbling thing I've ever done athletically. Again, it's not for everyone, but it is for me.
3. Run another half marathon (I'm considering the Flying Pig Half Marathon in Cincinnati, Ohio.) and at least 1 sprint triathlon in 2011. My PR for a half marathon is 2:07, however the Flying Pig is full of hills, so we'll see. I have not run any long distances since starting Crossfit back in June. I have all kinds of Crossfit goals. Some of them I will share from time to time, however I've said all along that I want to use Crossfit as a means to do other stuff.
So what will you do this year to stay healthy? I'd love to hear from you. Feel free to post a comment or email me at cspinhealthy@gmail.com
