So we are on to Day 5 of 62 in the Paleo Challenge. I realized today that I was growing envious of the children as they drank their cups of milk. I have probably had milk nearly every "normal" day of my life. By that I mean when I am not camping, hiking or travelling in some way. As long as I have had refrigeration I have had milk. It is cool and tastes good.
While Gwen was at Girl Scouts I took the other two to Costco. They love munching on the free samples. We bought all manner of nuts. We have walnuts, cashews, macadamia nuts, almonds, pecans. I bought some organic baked apple chips to try and trick everyone away from potato chips and nachos. That didn't work but at least I have another snack food. Dried fruit and nuts need to be consumed sparingly due to the sugar and the fat that reside in them. . . but they do offer some alternatives and variations to the normal meals. I ended up throwing away a chocolate and peanut butter protein bar, a couple of kashi granola bars and skipping all sorts of other "free food" stands. I didn't break. It was perhaps the first time in my life that I have thrown food away instead of just eating it. It makes me feel bad. . . but it makes me feel good. Bad for being wasteful. Good for resisting temptation. After the two trashed snacks I realized that I shouldn't let them try it if I don't think they will eat it. So there was some disappointment in the Costco trip today. They didn't get nearly as much food. We bought nuts, fruit and beer though. Why did I buy beer? Because there were a few I hadn't tried and it was cheap. Crazy logic for a guy who is making beer and wine at a pace that is faster than the rate at which it is being consumed. When zero is consumed that doesn't take a lot. Anyway, that is a whole lot of information for tying to say "I bought some cocounut milk." The early reviews from the kids are that they like it better than almond milk.
So my score for today is an 8. It was a hard earned 8 and I am proud of it. If I could only learn to sleep. Here is the WOD for tomorrow:
"Fran"
21-15-9
Thrusters (95#/65# is Rx for men/women)
Pullups
I fully anticipate a lot of scaling. The idea is to do this "benchmark WOD" now and then again as the last WOD of our Paleo challenge. My hope is that the improvement sells the program. Crossfit, Paleo or both will make you healthier and I would contend happier.
Food: any nourishing substance that is eaten, drunk, or otherwise taken into the body to sustain life, provide energy, promote growth, etc.
ReplyDeleteThats pretty cut and dry. Food is what allows us to survive. Paleo makes sense, and really I don't think its too difficult to follow, however, I have several advantages over some...
Celiac Sprue: This craze that is called gluten free, well, I was avoiding that shit about 18 years ago and long before it was 'hip'. Its a bitter sweet movement to me. Sweet in the sense that nearly every food manufacturer makes something I can now eat, bitter because its made me look like one of the crazies eating this way because they are "gluten sensitive". I could rant for days about these folks, but I will spare you the time.
With this craze, I have also noticed that I have begun to pack away more pounds. I used to mail order pasta ($8 per pound) for special occasions. I used to not have all these options. I used to more or less eat paleo without even knowing it. I ate meat, and veggies. When I was fifteen years old I understood more about food than I could have ever possibly imagined.
So I don't have to worry about wheat, rye, barley, and imported oats. That takes the staple grains out. I have a fondness for cheese as anyone in my faimly knows, and I will eat cheese still, as my brother will drink beer. However, I plan on only eating the cheese I make.
Oh yeah, I am a type 1 diabetic as well, so that makes sugar an easy bullet to avoid as well. I will tell all of you that eating paleo will make you healthier and feel better. No blood sugar spikes. Stick with fruits and vegatables, simple to digest. Nuts and lean meats as well. Modification of my diet has allowed me to cut my insulin usage by about 30%. The exercise is where I stand to gain. I will bring it in, but it has to be a gradual process. I found that a good blend of cardiovascular activity (long hike, etc) mixed with crossfit will be a good start as my knee starts to strengthen.
But enough about that, I actually wanted to do a bit on food.
Its easy to preach and not do, but I believe I am a doer.
Bad food (fats and sugars) are capable of changing your brain chemistry as much as alcohol, cocaine, or other hard drugs. I have been on the dark side of alcohol, so I will say from experience, bad food can do the same thing. The most obvious form of this is Type 2 diabetes, which I frequently call 'fake' diabetes, because in reality, a little self control and discipline can more or less cure it. For the record, my pancreas doesnt make insulin, its been about 20 years since I was diagnosed, and what a learning experience it has been, but more on food and addiction...
Its considered okay by society to point out the faults of smokers, so why can't we do the same with people who clearly don't eat properly? Type 2 diabetes is about to get our society into a stranlehold, and we merely allow people to continue to eat garbage. My biggest problem with type 2 is the alarming rate of kids getting it. People would rather take a pill to fix the insulin resistance than change their lifestyle.
We all have two aspects of our brain; the rational brain (neo-cortex) and the animal brain (R-Complex, reptilian complex or old brain), these two can work against each other.
Eat fatty, sugary food, do drugs or drink booze, then the dopamine gets let loose. If it feels good, tastes good, etc., then it must be good for me. Lizard brain in full effect.
So I eat rational now. My body wants the bad, but the decision is up to rational me. I decide, so I am responsible.
I guess I share this because we probably all know someone with type 2 diabetes. We need to call them out before they either have no legs to walk on, or maybe they end up dead.
Either way, not good options. I believe we have a responsibility as a culture to start and work this problem out.
Thats my two cents anyway.
Friday, 10 Feb 2012
ReplyDeleteFriday is called Juma in Dari and Juma is the Afghan Sunday, the day of rest. I spent my Day of Rest, resting! As did my CrossFit partners.
Unfortunately, I did more than rest on Juma. I ate like there was no tomorrow: an ice cream bar at lunch, a bag of chocolate covered pretzels on the way to Surf & Turf, fried shrimp at dinner, ice cream after dinner. I gave myself a big, fat "0" for today's Paleo Challenge. It's like taking a "0" for Yahtzee, right?
That's how it goes some days. I get to the point where I say, "Why am I punishing myself? I'm in Afghanistan! F-this." And I partake in the Baskin Robbins we get here. Not all the time, but some days just call for it. And then I feel like CRAP the next day.
Jonny: Looks like the writing bug bit you! Thanks for your thoughts and personal journey/challenges. If anyone has odds stacked against himself, it's you. But I also believe you can do it. I think it's exciting your doctors are on board. Refreshing, actually.
ReplyDelete(I like your cheese stance--you can eat some cheese!)
Ditto Lisa's cheese comment. As long as I'm giving up a point each day for cream, I go ahead and put feta on my salad. :)
ReplyDelete