Paleo and Faileo

O.K. Friends... It's true, I've been avoiding you. I have actually written for the blog twice in the past two weeks and was unable to hit the publish post button due to the fact that both musings were whiny drivel and excuses for my lack of self control... There, I said it. I have no self control. I am not PALEO, I am FAILEO :(

The excuses started off with a particularly harried road trip for work. I was on my way to coach a CrossFit Gymnastics Certification in lovely Bedford, Massachusetts when I allowed myself a drink... or two... as a coping mechanism for a cancelled flight, drive to different airport, catch flight to New York, loss of drivers license, unable to rent a car, catch a train instead, grab a cab and arrive just in the nick of time to teach one of the greatest groups in CFG history ;) Gold Medal CrossFit... you rock!

I mean even now I can see how someone might lose their willpower under such circumstances, but the truth is I have endured far worse experiences in my life, I probably could have coped in another way. ALSO, I could have said here's one little cheat and now you have coped and can get back on track. BUT NOOOOO, that is not how I roll.

Here's how I roll: (internal voice) "Um, well, I have already failed, might as well fail BIG!!! How bout a few MORE Southern Comfort Manhattans?!?! Hmmm??? It will go well with my PALEO Steak followed by my FAILEO YUMMY CHOCOLATE SOMETHING OR OTHER DESERT!!!" Which by the way was shared with friends and was a complete joy, an incredibly indulgent and delightful experience!

My shenanigans did not stop there.
I chose more less-than-paleo options on the way home which was slightly less of an adventure, but still included planes,trains, automobiles and a fellow CrossFitters couch... Thanks again Keith W!!! You da bomb!

I continued to justify poor food choices right

down to the drive home, which included a stop at one of my favorite local diners, CJ's Sandbar (with free wifi), so I could finalize info and emails from the weekend. That little pit stop also included a mushroom and swiss burger with a side of onion rings and TWO sides of ranch dressing... YUMMMMM!

I'll start fresh tomorrow I told myself... and I did, but the point is I didn't have to fail so hard!!! Ugh, what was my problem? I was like a teenager again, doing stuff just to spite the rules. Well, I fought the law and the law won! The law that clean eating will make you feel better and lose weight. Yeah, that law. Just so you know, and you probably do already know, when you break that law you feel like crap and the scale and your skinny pants say MEAN things to you!!! It's not cool. not fun.

Weeeellllll, that was the start of faileo and then I managed to pull it together for the work week and was successfully strict paleo AND THEN another weekend of travel... Hmmm, I am sensing a pattern here... Here's the thing, it's not the traveling that makes me cheat, it's the cool people.

Eating is a ritual of bonding. It is a WONDERFUL ritual of flavors and conversation. It is a beautiful rite of humanhood.
Maybe it's my Italian blood, but I think it comes with any culture, food is just a great bonding agent. Like glue ;) except it brings PEOPLE together instead of objects. Food is the glue of camaraderie and I LOVE LOVE LOVE FOOD AND PEOPLE.

So here's kind of a problem if I don't want to FAIL, if I don't want to do it WRONG, WHAT AM I GONNA DO??? I guess I have to rewrite the rules in order to succeed. I don't mean change the rules of PALEO. I more mean change the rules for myself. Renegotiate the goals. Originally I wanted to be strict-100%-no-nonsense-cleanse-the-system-of-all-impurities-paleo. AND NOW, my goal is to be 99%+ paleo during the week and perhaps allow myself the pleasure of a nice cabernet on ONE night of the weekend (and not the 5 drinks at beerfest for my sisters birthday like this weekend... but it was her BIRTHDAY)!

Meanwhile I intend to keep tabs on my calories and the the protein, fat, carbs ratio due to the fact that when I cheat I have to pay up in the way of giving up some calories. I KNOW THIS IS NOT HOW THE PALEO COMMUNITY THINKS!!! But, it's the mindset that I possess from years of gymnastics and the threat of weigh-ins... I will work on changing my mindset, but for now, here I am.

I still intend to eat good things and keep a update of the numbers. As far as weighing in today goes... well just like I've been avoiding you, the scale and I haven't exactly made eye contact in the past few days... I will start fresh this Monday morning and hope to be a better inspiration of clean eating as the posts go on.

Fall down seven times, get up eight. RIGHT?!?!?

Japanese Proverb

Just keep getting back up on the horse my friends... you know, if that's the horse you want to be on!

See ya soon! Eat Clean :)

Day 9 - I Don't Want to do it Wrong!!!

The Paleo Diet Rules: Eat Fresh... That means I can grab a Subway right??? ummnotsomuch!!!!

As I wander down this "strict" paleo road again, there are so many opinions, thoughts and practices regarding eating this way, it's enough to drive me CRAZY!!! Not that that's hard to do!!! And while I get hung up on food, the Paleo mindset also includes getting rest, getting exercise, stress management - which has scientific/chemical reasoning behind it, just like sleeping in complete darkness!!! It's a lifestyle to aspire too, but here's where I get in trouble... I DON'T WANT TO DO IT WRONG!!! And that is causing me stress! I mean c'mon, people are watching! I will be judged, not to mention I am a pretty critical judge of myself!!! You should hear my little inner voice...it's NASTY!!! It will tell me things like;

you're stupid!!! you don't know everything, you're probably doing it wrong!you have dimples on your butt! other people are way stronger and healthier than you!!! who do yo think you are?? oh shit you just ate a banana you are a total failure, bananas are paleo right? if you have to ask, you ARE stupid!!!

that little voice needs to STOP...AND BTW...

I'm not stupid.

I may not know everything there is to know about the decline of political power in the nation of Calcutta (is Calcutta a nation)?
I don't actually know how to dissect an aorta or even fix a weenis, but I'M NOT STUPID!!! I am human and alive and in search of as much junk (good junk) as I can fit in my head!!! (Unfortunately, sometimes older junk falls out or gets put up in the attic in an unlabeled box and I forget what is in there or where I put it exactly, but hey, it's in there!!!)

So here is my plan... I will continue to be as strict Paleo as I can possible be and if I have a question about something I want to eat, I will continue to google, text and read books and then make my best educated decision about the healthiest possibility at my disposal...FAIR??? Fair! (What I am saying here is I might use butter and it might not be clarified grass fed butter, but mostly I use coconut oil so DON'T JUDGE). BTW how does one feed grass to butter??? Hmmm???

Some of the areas I have heard varying opinions on include fruit... Some say fruit is fine. Many preach the importance of keeping the sugars low for insulin resistant folks... Here's a little quip I found:

"If you are very much overweight or are insulin resistant, I recommend that you initially limit high sugar fruits (grapes, bananas, mangos, sweet cherries, apples, pineapples, pears and kiwi fruit) from your diet until your weight starts to normalize and your health improves. Try to include more vegetables in lieu of the high-sugar fruit.... Note that some fruits (avocados, lemons, and limes) are very low in total sugar and should not be restricted."

found at http://thepaleodiet.com/nutritional-tools/fruits-and-sugars

I HAVE A CONFESSION... I had a kombucha!!! I hemmed and hawed over this decision!!!

Kombucha is an effervescent tea-based beverage that is often drunk for its anecdotal health benefits or medicinal purposes. Kombucha is available commercially and can be made at home by fermenting tea using a visible, solid mass of yeast and bacteria which forms the kombucha culture - totally got this from wikipedia

So, this tea has SUGAR in it!! I was so distressed about making this choice cuz it's HEALTHY, it's hippy dippy and granola-y (WITHOUT THE GRAINS OF COURSE)... I was talked off the ledge and assured that the "beasties" (aka the probiotics) eat the sugar and so the level is very low... WHY AM I STRESSING ABOUT THIS???? Prolly cuz I want you to think I'm so smart AND pretty ;) And I really to want to get the maximum benefit out of these first 30 days. I want this to be a true DETOX of all the crap that I put into this little machine... (Well, slightly enlarged machine due to personal holiday food management issues) ;0l

So, the goal is... and I reiterate... to CHILL OUT!!! But, to maintain a high standard of healthy fresh food choices that include:

meat, seafood, eggs, tons of vegetables, some fruit, and plenty of good fats from fruits, oils, nuts and seeds

And does not include:

added sugar, real or artificial, alcohol, grains, legumes, dairy, white potatoes

http://whole9life.com

I bet you're wondering how I'm feeling??? Aw, that is so sweet, you are so thoughtful :) Thanks for asking! Well, I actually have been fighting some sort of undertheweather bug since early December... I've done a round of antibiotics (pre-paleo, not that that matters, I would never worry about that...yesiwould). So mostly I feel like my head is under water and that I may have swallowed a golf ball...or two, but besides that, I feel less icky in my tummy. That is a very scientific description of not feeling so bloated... it's VERY NICE! Also, not that you asked, but the BM's are much smoother in their execution...knowwhatimean?? I mean I'm not so constipated!!! Sheesh, make me spell it out why don'tcha.

AND THAT REMINDS ME... I had a delightful conversation about just this, BOWEL MOVEMENTS and my buddy Kremer came up with a STELLAR idea!!! He says "we should invent an app that tracks BM's. Make sure the bowels are healthy. We could call it a cr-app." Get it??? a CR-APP?!?!? God that's good!

ANYHOO, to get back to ME, I have more energy, an actual bounce in my step if you will! And my joints don't hurt as much. A lot of times, especially after a particularly ugly binge on ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS tasting food or beverage, my fingers and all my little knuckles will be tight and achy. That seems to be diminishing the farther along I get on this road.

Here is where I started 9 days ago...this is embarrassing for me, please do NOT point and laugh at my love handles or my bubble butt, or my stocky stubby legs. Here are the before pictures I promised...stupid stupid stupid

On January 2, 2012

weight: 128

Height 5'0" (I don't think even a Paleo diet will change that)

bust nonexistent 35 in

waist 28 in

hips 38in

guns 18 in...JUST KIDDING :

As you can see by the expression on my face I clearly LOVE these pictures and was so excited to show you how over the course of 8-10 weeks I was able to undo much of what I had worked to hard for over the past 2 years. BUT WAIT!!! (Here comes the nice voice, the one that tries to counter act the nasty voice). I haven't lost the strength that Crossfit has given me. CrossFit is the wonderful training/gym cult/family that has given me a boost in ALL aspects of my life. If you are not a Crossfitter, I STRONGLY encourage you to check out a box near you. It can and will change your life if you let it. Whoops another tangent...go figure. SO, what I was saying was I haven't gotten so far off track that I'm just gonna give up and eat a box of doughnuts, which we all know leads to heavy drinking and that in turn can become drug use... NO!!! I have not thrown my life away! And this time I don't have to come back from a six year hiatus from working out (it's true, I did let my kids' lives run my life for a looooong time without putting any time in for my health or sanity. They still are my priority, i just try to juggle in a little time for myself now) and I don't have 30 lbs to lose to be in a good place it may be just 10-15 depending on how and or what my goals for training, eating and life are... Isn't that cool??? There doesn't need to be ONE set number, ONE set goal??? At different times in our lives our focus can be on any number of avenues and that can be OK?!?!? SAY WHAT?!?! Hold it now!!! I am on some sort of path of self discovery here...gimme a minute... ahhh that's better, thanks :)

YOU and I, none of us, have to be ALL things to ALL people at ALL times!!! And perfect is an illusion! Perfect is doing you're very best given the circumstances placed in front of you/me at any given time! I realize I am writing this, I also know that when I wake up in the morning I will be holding myself to a standard that may not comply with these thoughts, because I (and probable you to) have been conditioned to believe that anything less than THE RIGHT WAY (whatever that may be) is acceptable... but let's revisit this self acceptance thing as much as possible 'til I get it through my THICK SKULL!!!

"A man is but the product of his thoughts what he thinks, he becomes."

Mohandas Gandhi (he probably meant girls too) :P

I am not doing this paleo thing wrong!!! I am VERY aware of every calorie I put in my mouth and it's nutritional value. I have not had any added sugar although I have had a banana here and there which I totally weigh and measure and process through my little brain that MY personal needs are for the potassium and the carbs and that insulin resistance (although possibly an issue) is outweighed in this instance for THIS body!!!

Thank you. Thank you very much. Uh huh.

Up next time Banana "Pancakes" and how that is wrong and yet so right :) Plus other easy foods and recipes I use.

See ya next time... Don't be afraid to share this with your friends :)

Day 6 of the Paleo Challenge - How do I watch football without a beer?

HIYA Friends :)

I've been thinking about you all week. I even started typing on multiple occasions, but found myself either falling asleep or being distracted by the folks that live in my house ;0)

It has been a normal week of over scheduling including but not limited to back to school and work, teaching gymnastics, piano lessons, senior all night party meeting, planning a high school reunion, swimming/diving meets, taking mom to the doctor and blah blah blah... I will say with the craziness and stress I have been tempted to cheat, but for some strange reason my self-control has been kicking in. I think it's you guys, I don't want to fail in front all three of you, so THANK YOU!!!

HUNGER... I haven't been hungry at all this week which is actually suprising to me. Not that you should ever be hungry with a Paleo pallet, but
because I am also keeping tabs on my caloric intake as well. I mentioned it last time and I'll tell you again, I love using The Daily Plate...well at least that's what it used to call it. It is now called livestrong.com's My Plate. (I'll put the link at the bottom of this jive - WARNING: I'm not an overall fan of my plate.gov so be careful if you're just gonna google it). I can track my calories with break downs in protein, fat, carbs as well as keep tabs on sodium, sugar, cholesterol and even water intake! It's so east THERE'S AN APP FOR THAT !!!

ENERGY... My energy has been here and there, up and down, back and forth. Today I was a little sleepy. What I first noticed is that my ALARM CLOCK WENT OFF AT 5:30am THIS MORNING!!!

After that and much later in the day when I was feeling sluggish, I checked out my food log and found that today my carbs were only 14% of my caloric intake, so I added some berries to my dinner and plan on having a baked sweet potato.

I don't know where I heard it, but I know some of my fabulous CrossFit friends aim for a 33/33/33 break down of the protein/ fat/carbs, so that will be in my conscious thought for a while to see if I can boost my energy. Some other things I am taking into consideration is that I have also been a little under the weather as well as NOT being successful on the NEW YEAR RESOLUTION to NOT overload my schedule, SOOOO, that will also be a part of my conscious thought over the next few days...minutes...seconds...what was I just saying???

WEIGHT... This week the weight is falling off... don't get excited (this is my self talk, cuz I know the first few days are water weight). So, I started on Jan 2 at 128lbs and this morning I was at 123. Four of those pounds were the desaltification of the holidays... Desaltification is a real word, I know, because I just made it up!!!

De-salt-if-ic-ation: the act of unswelling your sausage shaped fingers and toes after binge eating and drinking your way through the holiday season resulting in the shedding of water weight gain :)

So here I am with a challenge to my challenge, the DETROIT LIONS
are playing there first playoff game RIGHT NOW, for the first time since 1999 when Matthew Stafford (our QB) was 11 YEARS OLD!!!! And the truth is football sparks a physical response in me that makes me walk to the fridge and a grab an ice-cold barley pop!!! Can you here that??? It's the theme music to Jaws? I know the suspense is probably killing you... WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO JULIE??? STAY AWAY FROM THE FRIDGE JULIE...YOU'VE WORKED SO HARD FOR 6 WHOLE DAYS!!! Don't you fret!!! I will remain strong...I think ;0) No really I will...for now.

As of today I am still in the game...The same game I started on Jan 2. If you are challenging yourself to a diet or New Year goal or resolution please chime in... How's it going? Are you succeeding? Failing? I got a little of both going on right now, so since the first on is kinda rolling I will attempt to layer on the scheduling goal and I will check in with you three real soon ;)

Here's the link to my favorite way to log my food, weight and fitness: http://www.livestrong.com/myplate/

click around, fidget with it in your spare time and let me know if you get hooked or not :) I wouldn't mind hearing what's working for others!!! Keep me posted. See you soon!

Day 1 of 1 on the Paleo Rodeo

YEE HAW!!! That's right the bell has rung and the game is on!! GAME ON!!!

This morning I spent some time looking up info and reviewing some chapters from my Paleo Bible other wise titled "The Paleo Solution" by Robb Wolf. I checked over SOME rules and I compared that to some other websites which I also compared with the voices in my head that have information from somewhere... I just don't remember where...hmmm. (It mighta been from my original paleo guru...Galloway)! So, I took all those bits and pieces and I made up a dinner menu for the next week or so and THEN I made up my grocery list and THEN I spent far too much time going to Costco, Whole Foods and Kroger, but that is ONLY because I have two teen age boys in this house and some stuff I just have to buy in bulk... you know, like shampoo :) OK, just kidding I bought tortilla chips (Kirkland brand is at least GLUTEN FREE) and other kid snacks, BUT there are A LOT more fruits and vegetables and MEATS in this abode now so even if they don't WANT to be Paleo Cavemen eaters... they're slowly and secretly being weened in that direction!! Besides they already live like neanderthals! (Hey, is that the same era??? My scientific history is a bit shaky).

My menu this week looks like this:

Mon. 1-2-12: (that's tonight) - Chicken Pot Pie....NOT FOR ME!!! I already had the ingredients and it's a cheap and easy recipe! BUT OH SO NOT PALEO!!!

Tues. 1-3-12: Taco Night - again it's kid/family friendly. I will brown some beef and use fresh condiments like tomato and onion and wrap it all nice and neat in a lettuce leaf OR SEVEN!!!

Wed. 1-4-12: Baked Salmon (or grilled, snow permitting)

Thurs. 1-5-12: Jambalaya (The Paleo Solution - Robb Wolf recipe) I can't wait to try it!

Fri. 1-6-12: Italian Sausage Kabobs (I bought the no nitrates, all natural good stuff)

Sat. 1-7-12: Steak Stir-fry - no soy sauce, no rice. JUST LOTS OF MEAT AND VEGGIES

Sun. 1-8-12: Burgers - buns for the kids - LOTS of lettuce and tomato and onion and mushrooms and mustard for me :0) but no bun :0/ s'ok I know how much better I'm gonna feel as soon as this sugar detox/withdrawal headache go away!!!

Breakfasts will mostly look like eggs or left over meat, maybe some nuts or an avocado for the healthy fat and possible a SMALL piece of fruit for the carbs...WHO AM I KIDDING??? ITS FOR THE SUGAR, BITCHES!!! sorry detox talking... I could also eat vegetables if I really need the carbs...OOOH or a SWEET POTATO...YUM!

Besides eating correctly I am also trying to let go of some holiday pounds that I picked up and I don't mean the ones in my back squat...well I guess kinda :P (psst, that's not me -->)

I feel my best when I'm around 115 lbs. As of this morning the STUPID scale said... 128 lbs. WHAT? I said it 128 (gag) lbs. Now for some of you that might seem HUGE and for others it might seem ridiculously insignificant... KREMER!!! (He's bigger than me)!
But lets bear in mind that I am 5 feet tall and nothing else. When I plug in my age and height and weight (128) into a Body Mass Index (BMI) calculator it labels me as being on the cusp of obese...Do I believe that??? HECK NO!!! (Well maybe some days...I am a girl lets not forget). But DO I feel better when I am lighter and lither? HECK YES!!! Truth is I feel better when I eat cleaner AND I feel even betterer when I eat cleaner and lesser... OK that's not entirely true, sometimes I'm hungry...But the cool thing is I can eat a clean snack and it will hold me over much longer than a doughnut snack - OH GOD BUT DOUGHNUTS TASTE SO GOOD, but again I FEEL better without the tasty taste of crack also known as sugar.

I am logging all the stupid things that go in my mouth right now and it is a big pain in the TUKUS, tookus, toockis??? In the BUTT! BUT (I said butt but) BUT (I did it again) it really does become a habit and a bit of an obsession actually. I use a website called The Daily Plate and it's on livestrong.com and I LOVE it because it has just about every food in the universe on it and it breaks it down into pretty pictures and graphs and it's kinda like a game right now because I've set my weight loss goal and in return it tells me how many calories I should consume to meet that goal and there is a line and I don't want to cross the line!!! But sometimes I do (hangs head in shame).

Anyway (I am so easily distracted) here is the breakdown of my food intake today:

Food Item	Servings	Cals
Poached Eggs (2)	3.00	210
Morton Sea Salt	1.00	0
Casual Gourmet Chicken Sausage Roasted Red Pepper & Spinach	1.00	120
LouAna Coconut Oil	0.33	40
Casual Gourmet Chicken Sausage Roasted Red Pepper & Spinach	2.00	240
Chicken Liver Raw	1.00	116
LouAna Coconut Oil	1.00	120
Almonds	0.83	141
Whole Foods 365 Organic Sauerkraut	3.00	15
Fitness	Minutes	Calories Burned
Gymnastics - general	30.0	-116.0
Totals:		886

There are different ways of looking at the data on the website. I was at 1000 calories (WHICH IS STINKING LOW, probably a little too low) BUT it also shows my fitness, or calorie burn (because I told it to) and then it calculates your net calories for the day...Pretty cool huh???

Well, it is way past my bedtime on a school night, but I wanted to share this ONE DAY OF SUCCESS with you before I head back to work where there are not a lot of paleo choices so I really have to plan ahead or starve or fail :0/

Happy hunting/gathering my friends!

Oh, BTW, the BEFORE pics have been taken... I HATE THEM, so they're in the shop for air brushing and just as soon as that's done I'll be sure to share ;)