Tuesday, August 31, 2010

I Love Paleo

Paleo has been this catalyst… and I know that I will probably be eating like this for the rest of my life. There are several things that assist in keeping the decision solid: my skin clearing up, and that the weight is coming off to name the big ones. But, it is also how I feel. Even when I am starving hungry, it is a different hungry than when I was eating all that crap. This is more of a "Hello, this is your stomach, please eat something" rather than the "HARVEY NEED FOOD NOW -GRRRRRR". Harvey being the name I gave that very nasty mood that took over when my blood sugar would drop when I got hungry, usually the shakes and nausea would follow. This usually resulted in my consuming a huge amount of pasta, or french fries. And, as I have been typing this out, it has just occurred to me that I haven't gotten the shakes from being hungry since starting Paleo. Like it wasn't hunger that gave me the shakes, it wasn't having sugar and/or glutton. That is kind of scary, now that I think about it.

There is something infinitely more satisfying about life when I know that what I’m putting into my body is good for it and also that the work-outs I am doing at CrossFit give me a much greater since of accomplishment. I mean – it is so much better for the psyche than the endless hamster wheel that is the elliptical machine at the gym. I also have camaraderie while working out and have made new friends. After a particularly difficult WOD (workout of the day) we talk and joke while regaining the use of our appendages. I have never thought that I would be one of those people that willingly gets up at 5:15 to go work out. But I am, and I love it. Also, my coffee drinking is way down, because after CrossFit - I don't need any caffeine.

And the most interesting thing that has changed, is the Internet searches that I do. It used to be that I would start obsessing about something or the other, and trying to locate it (never mind that I didn't need a new coat, purse, pair of boots, the epic 7 month search for the "perfect white bag") and actually get into a world class bad mood if I couldn't locate it! These days, I hunt down Paleo recipes and read my Nigella Lawson cookbooks for meal ideas, (altering the Nigella to Paleo when needed). And I am having so much fun doing it.

Monday, August 30, 2010

Grouchy

Need more snacks. I can't seem to loose this nagging hungry feeling and it is making me grouchy because, I end up grazing all afternoon.... and craving a block of cheddar cheese.

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Fall Clothing - Post of Twee-ness

It is time for the thrilling and exciting time of fall shopping. For the first time in YEARS there are only a couple of things that I "need" for my wardrobe and they are mostly for work. This is because I am shrinking out of all my current fall/winter wardrobe. Boo-Hoo. And I have decided to finally get the damn things that I have been wanting for several years. Like a chocolate brown elbow sleeve cashmere turtleneck. (currently watching one on eBay - bitch will be mine!!!! if all goes well in like 13 hours.) Wait... where was I? Right! So the rest of things I "need" that aren't for work? A pair of yellow corduroy's and a sweater coat. I know. Y'all are just RIVETED. Now... for finding that pair of caramel colored knee-ish high boots. Those bitches are being elusive. Because I need to try them on with my mega-calves - apparently athletic legs don't want boots? I don't get it. I would really rather not have them shipped only to have to send them back. Total bummer. So - DSW better get some this year.

Of course living in Atlanta, I can wear tee-shirts and tank tops almost all year long. And doing CrossFit means that I am going to have to get more work out clothing. Honesty it's about time that I get some nice work out stuff. I might even get a new gym bag. The excitement!

Stay tuned to see if I win the sweater!

ETA: BOO-YA! I won the sweater! WOOOOOO!

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Heart Breaking - But Not So Much Now That I Think About It

So - Paleo is going well! Very well - in fact 10 pounds in 2 weeks well. That first week - dropped like 6 pounds - they were called: Beer, Goldfish Crackers, Cheezit's, Doritos's and Pop-Tarts. Slowed down to 4 pounds last week, which is better actually because this is a 3 month challenge and I don't want to plateau too early. The only heartbreaking part, when I think about it, is that I no longer can have beer. Because by removing all the gluten from my diet has done such wonders in for my skin, my digestion and my energy levels in just 2 weeks, I don't want to screw that up. I will miss beer, I really will, but not enough to dwell upon because for the first time in almost 6 years my face has cleared up and for the first time since I started to pay attention, my "belly issues" have gone away. Just like that! Poof! On the bright side: Wine and dark chocolate are still in the mix! And after the Paleo Challenge is over a move to the Primal Blueprint (basically the same thing except for the addtion of dairy).

This past weekend I competed in the Garage Games: Survival of the Fittest. A little CrossFit competition that was a lot of fun. I have only been doing CrossFit for like 2 months, so I think that I was the least experienced competitor there, by at least 6 months. But! I finished the first WOD and wasn't eliminated which was what I was shooting for. The first lift in the second WOD was my 1 rep max weight and I managed to crank out 6 before I saw stars and my knees buckled. I am very proud of myself. And look out because next year I'm gonna totally KICK SOME ASS! Here is a picture of Freya getting ready to do a dead lift (using the bar that I used for some cleans):



The best part of the entire day was getting to watch Goosey play around with the pull-up bar's and the dead lift. Sadly I was still competing when she did her pull-ups (w/ Daddy assistance) and there was no camera at hand. She also walked up to the dead lift station (185lbs) and pulled on the bar with her Daddy behind her cheering her on. Making sure we weren't in the way of competitors, I noticed there were about 5 or 6 guys all heavily tattooed, and about 215lbs looking over at her and they just had the goofiest grins on their faces. I am still giggling about it now, 4 days later!

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Like a ton of Bricks

There I was... having a nice Sunday afternoon. The kid is finally starting to play on her own (granted in fits and spurts) but she was playing in her "fort" and I watched two episodes of Gilmore Girls. I loved that show. I still watched through the contrived temper-tantrum the creator/writer threw and the shitty non-ending we got as a series finale but... I really liked the characters. Mostly I loved Lorelei, and her wardrobe. Especially her wardrobe.

I have gotten pretty hippie-dippie of late... ill-fitting skirts, sport bra's, wallabies.... I"m suddenly starting to feel very sorry for my husband.... Anyway! I am now winding my way back to the land of the stylish (this is becoming a joke in our house) more to the Lorelei inside as I like to put it. Think: jeans that fit well, dresses, a handbag that isn't a nasty canvas tote... BOOM! I want to be a pretty girl. Just like that! It makes me really wonder about myself sometimes.

And I discovered: when I don't feel good (in this case being about 30lbs over my usual weight) I take it out on myself by dressing in things that will accent the part that is bothering me and then focusing on it. Totally a good productive way to go about solving a problem. Hey! Go out of your way to make sure you continue to feel like shit! Thanks to CrossFit and the Paleo diet I am comfortable in my skin again... like I am worth the nice things I look at online.

This year my goal is to go with my off-beat style, have fun and mostly remember it's not what the "in" article of clothing, accessory, shoe is - but how does it fit? that should matter. That might be the suckiest sentence ever... screw it, I don't feel like fixing it.

Now... if I can just win that Marc Jacob's bag on eBay for like $35 I will be over the moon! And it will become the SQUEEE heard around the world. Now - to make that list of for my fall wardrobe search. And now that I think about it... start looking into Christmas ideas also.

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Cross-Fit and Paleo

So - Sunday we started the "Paleo Challenge" at our Cross-Fit gym. The Paleo Challenge is pretty simple actually - follow the Paleo diet, before and after pictures, body fat percentage and training improvement from 8/9 to 10/30. The Football totals were pretty intense, I am still pretty sure that Hugo is the most difficult thing I have ever done (5 rounds for time of: 400 m. run, 21 pull-ups, 21 kettle bell swings, 21 box jumps, it took me 46:07. The other is called the baseline and it's a 500 m. row, 40 squats, 30 sit-ups, 20 push-ups and 10 pull-ups - did it in 7:18.


I am very excited about this challenge because the Paleo diet is something that we have been talking about doing for several years - basically eating lean meats, veggies, fruit, nuts and eggs. NO GLUTEN and very little dairy. I made a smoothie yesterday as a snack for after the dentist (because I was still numb and didn't want to risk chewing food) and it was egg white protein powder, cup of frozen berries, ice and water. It was so good that I had to fight Freya to get it back when I gave her a sip. She will be getting her own little smoothie now after she ran off with the one I made for breakfast this morning.


Sunday was the hardest day by FAR. All either of us wanted to eat was carbs! I was cranky and hungry feeling even after I had eaten. But on Monday, the very next day I was feeling so much better, my energy was up and I noticed that I'm drinking way less coffee! So much so that I have put away the coffee maker and am using the French Press - so better coffee to boot.

I can't wait to see how much I improve - both physically and mentally on this challenge. I am willing to bet that my face will clear up and that my rosacea flair -ups will almost completely go away. And for the girl that always had belly issues: haven't had any since Sunday. Yay!!