Day 24- Hits and misses

I cannot believe the 30 day paleo challenge is almost over. The time has flown by.  I thought with only six days left that I would reflect back a little on some of the highs and lows of this challenge.

HIGHS:

• Lost an inch on my waist so far!
• Learned to read labels not just for calories
• Realized that most of the time I'm craving sweets it's because I haven't had enough "healthy fat"
• Learned how crappy some of my favorite foods are (talking about you mango!)
• My running is finally getting back to where it needs to be
• Learning that dairy is not my friend (or at least not my stomach's friend)
• Support from my family & friends

LOWS:

• The first two weeks my energy was non-existent
• Recovery from hard workouts has taken longer than normal
• My cheat meals (couldn't pass up a few along the way)
• Missing oatmeal, sweet potatoes, & black beans
• My bank account took a hit (nuts are expensive snacks!)
• Didn't lose as much weight as I was hoping (about 5lbs was it)
• I didn't post as often as I wanted to

With six days left, I'm going to really do my damnedest to finish strong and see if I can't turn some of those lows into positives.  I have learned a lot so far and could use at least another 30 days to really figure out how to incorporate paleo into my life for the long term.  Any suggestions?

Day 17-The Aftermath

Note to self--- 48hrs of work plus first time attempting 100g carb paleo diet DOES NOT equal a successful situation.  It amazes me how my body, or maybe it's my mind telling my body, craves carb-rich "no-no" food when I haven't gotten enough sleep.  My willpower is a super-powered maniac on a full-night's sleep, but wave some tasty carb-morsel in front of my face when I've been up all night, and my willpower does an amazing vanishing act.  

So I have a confession to make: I went over 100g of carbs and anti-paleo yesterday! Ugh...I ate some oh-so-salty yet oh-so delicious corn tortilla chips. The worst part was not going over (I ended up at 127g of carbs for the day so not that far off) but the guilt!  Yes I know the goal is to eat clean 85% of the time, but I am an over-achiever. I expect 100% effort of myself at all times and am my worst critic when I falter.  

The rest of the day and even this morning, I struggled with the feeling that I let myself down and sabotaged my goals.  Somehow one slip up meant that everything was for naught.  Then after a "forced" two-hour+ nap, I woke up with the realization that one setback does not define me or this challenge.  Challenge being the key word here.  I am a carb-addict and breaking the cycle will be difficult, but not impossible.  

Today was about recovering and finding my inner-strength.  Tomorrow I will hit the ground running with renewed energy and commitment.  

This was one of my favorite quotes in college and always helped me bounce back from a rough practice or meet:

"Inside of a ring or out, ain't nothing wrong with going down. It's staying down that's wrong." 

— Muhammad Ali

"Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana"- Groucho Marx

Day 11:
Having my carbs limited to only 100g a day (except on my intermittent fast day--50g) has really forced me to research exactly what my food brings to the table.  I was under the impression that all fruit has to be good for you, no matter what.  It's from mother nature right? No, I am finally starting to realize that sugar is sugar is sugar.  Well, except fake sugar...that is a totally other beast, which I'll get into on another day.  The point is:
               Fruit = fructose = sugar = carbohydrates = The Devil.
Wait...that last one isn't right. Carbs are not the devil.  They are just slightly wicked and need constant surveillance.

Over the last few days, I've researched the amount of carbohydrates in my fruit.  The Primal Challenge recommends berries, but there has to be more than that, right? In short, yes! Sadly, there are also a few of my favorite fruits that are on the naughty list. 

A nutritionist once told me that bananas, although delicious, are the "fat fruit."  They are high in calories (105kcal), carbs (27g), sugar (14g), and relatively low in fiber (3g) and protein (1g).  One medium banana is 27% of my daily intake of carbs!!! Talk about fat fruit.  An occasional banana is allowed but there are better options. Most people (including me) think the banana is a great source of potassium. In reality, it is only a moderate source at 560mg.  A better and lower carb/sugar option is:

• 1 cup of spinach--840mg of potassium and 1g of carbs/0g sugar

My other, go-to fruit was the mango.  I ate mango salsa, mango smoothies, raw mango.  I love it.  Unfortunately, it is now on my "only on a very special occasions when I only want to eat one thing for a third of my day" list. A mango has whopping 35g of carbs and 24g of sugar!! Just to put that in perspective, that's 7g of carbs and 2g of sugar more than a mint Klondike bar (an overtime treat at the firehouse).  Not that I'm going to eat a bar, but it blows my mind to think a piece of fruit has more sugar and carbs than an ice cream treat. 

To simplify my life, I have a handy dandy chart:

Day 8-I love Luci's

There is an amazing restaurant and marketplace near my house called Luci's Healthy Marketplace.  My brother introduced me to their amazing healthy lunches and fresh brewed green tea. Plus they cater to gluten-free freaks like me! They have a super wide variety of gluten free protein bars and other goodies.  Luci's is a weekly staple in my life, that is until I started this paleo challenge.  I have been trying to avoid  eating out because it's a lot easier to keep track of what I eat and where it came from when I know every single ingredient.

Tonight, however, I was tired and way too sun-beaten to cook after spending all afternoon swimming. So I hit up one of my favorite spots and discovered there's more than meets the eye to this place.  Little did I know that my favorite lunch spot is also a hipster jazz bar on Saturday night with live music and dinner specials that the chef whips up in the "teaching" kitchen where Luci's offers a weekly cooking class.  I ordered pan-seared chilean sea bass with asparagus and sauteed peppers and zucchini. The best part was I could sit at one of the little tables and keep a hawk eye on the guy to make sure no forbidden foods were slipped in.  None were.  The meal was paleo and cooked to perfection! Oh and the band playing "Fly Me to the Moon" in the background sent the experience over the top.

So if you end up in central Phoenix with a jonesing for healthy meals...head over to Luci's Health Marketplace on 16th St and Bethany Home.  If it's for lunch...I'd recommend the Dirty Doctor or the Zeus Burger! Oh, and order me a large iced tea and drop it off at the house will ya...It's Goodness for Goodness Sake.

Day 6&7-

Week 1 is coming to a close. The past two days have been so busy I haven't truly had time to reflect. I'll leave that for tomorrow when I'm off shift and had a nap!

Yesterday was day 6. Most of it was spent driving back to Phoenix. I learned from my drive down that going four hours without snacks leads to a very grumpy cavegirl. This time I was better prepared. Thanks to some tips from the Guru of Gorgeous, Danielle, the car was stalked with healthy almonds and other low carb, high fat nuts and the drive was much more enjoyable.

It still seems counter-intuitive to eat "high fat" but the Susan Powter death grip of "stop the insanity" is starting to loosen up. It's not the fat that's killing us...it's the added sugar lurking in our favorite foods. Hmm...more on that when I'm rested.

Here's to week 1 down!

Day 5- Family fit

Quick blurb because it's late and it's been a long and fun day. Played tourist in Tombstone and got called out to a duel with the street re-enactors. It was super fun! I even got to fire a real gun! Would definitely recommend the Helldorado guys over the "OK Coral" actors.

When we got home, my dad treated us to a paleo-friendly home cooked meal: top sirloin, broccoli, cauliflower, and a yummy salad full of mushrooms, tomatoes, green onions, and zucchini.

After dinner, my nephew challenged me to Wii Fit. He even busted out a real hula-hoop to use during super-hoop. I kicked his butt in everything but skateboard. That kid is a freakin skateboarding ninja.

I've hit a few lows mentally during the first week of the challenge, craving carbs, getting irritable, and not getting adequate calories. Today those lows were almost none existent thanks to the support of my family and the distraction of wandering through Tombstone. Think having such a strong support group and staying busy will make this strict carb-restricted paleo challenge very doable. The results are already starting to show...the gunslingers called me "svelte!" winning!!

Day 4- Brotherly advice

Yesterday was a busy day so my entry is 12hrs late. Oops. Got up at 4:30 to row, packed, then drove to Bisbee for belated mother's day. We went to Santiago's for dinner. Had a delicious 8oz lean cut of carne asada (prime rib) and a salad that I drenched with fresh pico de gallo.

While at dinner, I talked with my brother Erik about my paleo challenge. He's dabbled in Paleo a bit, although he can't give up his once a week addiction to the Dbl Whopper plain with cheese. He was surprisingly encouraging but lectured me for not eating enough that day. With my go-go-go schedule I only had one real meal before dinner at 8:30. A few paleo snack throughout the day weren't enough to stave off the grumpiness and general lethargy. My bro made the point, which I already knew but chose to ignore, that if you workout hard you have to make time to refuel your body. Otherwise you'll end up losing muscle and be too tired to hit the gym, track, or lake hard the next day.

The other important advice my brother gave me was about guacamole. During his Level 1 Crossfit Cert training, a nutritionist spoke of the amazing benefits of avocados. In her words, "it's like green butter, put the stuff on everything!".

A little lesson on avocados: Avocado is a fruit, one of the only fatty fruits. It contains loads of vitamin E, B vitamins, potassium and fiber. Its fat content is mostly monounsaturated, so it's a healthier option than eating a ton of nuts or nut butters, which are higher in omega 6.

Dinner and a movie

Day 3-

Saw "Thor" today.  Loved it! Was definitely feeling inspired to kick ass afterwards.  That and look for an awesome set of armor.  There is just something about comic book movies that get me pumped up to workout.  Maybe it's the skimpy costumes or six-pack abs of the heros, but I watch those movies and think, "if only I pushed myself a little harder, ate a little cleaner, I could totally pull off that costume for Halloween!"

Today I am happy to report I did push myself.  Physically, I hiked all over Dreamy Draw and wore the pup out.  Eva, my pit-bull, was down for the count all afternoon!  Diet-wise, I pushed my luck at a new restaurant (new to me...not new to this earth) and stuck to my new paleo regime.  The place is called The Phoenix City Grille.  It's right down the street from me and might be a new favorite spot.  They had a ton of wine (sadly it'll have to wait for now) and lots of paleo options.  Lots of different proteins to chose from and most importantly, lots of paleo-approved sides.  I ordered the cedar plank salmon and swapped out horseradish potatoes (which my friend reports are amazing!) for grilled asparagus and beets.  Normally I'm not a beet person, but these were pretty damn good. Plus they only had 9g of carbs along with 2g of fiber and 2g of protein.

Paleo at the firehouse?

Day 2-
I started the day with some serious trepidation...how I could possibly keep eating Paleo while on shift. Typical firehouse food is loaded with carbs, cheese, and salt. I'm used to having to pick around meals...hard to make seven other hungry firefighters avoid gluten, but ask them to eat Paleo? That's crazy talk!

Luckily for me I have an awesome and somewhat understanding crew. I talked with them while PT'ing this morning and told them about my challenge. First they laughed, then they teased me about being a cavegirl, followed by a few serious questions about making sure this challenge wouldn't negatively affect my health. After explaining myself, my Captain said he's behind me 100% (as long as I still pay in to the chow fund).

I am happy to say that all my worries were unfounded. It was my truck's turn to cook, and my Captain suggested grilled chicken fajitas with a ton of sauteed veggies. The guys ate black beans and rice, and I had a side of extra peppers and some diced avocados! Who knows...maybe I'll even convince them to say no to rice & beans next time too! For now though, I'm just happy to have the support of my crew (even with the teasing).

Day 1-A reflection of why

So today was the start of my 30 day Primal/Paleo Challenge! Now I'm sure you're wondering 1-why am I doing this, 2-why am I blabbing about this online. The second question is much easier to answer so I'll start with that. I'm keeping a "public record" because it's a way to make sure I'm held accountable and sticking to the challenge. It also gives me a chance to meditate on what is happening in my life. Too often the days fly by, and I'm left with only a faded memory of what really happened.  My mom (happy early Mother's Day) always told us to live in the present so this is my attempt.

Ok...so now the big question: why the hell am I going Primal? Or maybe you're wondering, what does that even mean? Well on a very basic level, eating primal or paleo means eating things are readily available from nature and not overly processed.  The idea is to eat like our ancestors did before agriculture turned us into sedentary creatures. Obviously I'm not going to turn my back on convenience and the advances of modern science...the occasional protein shake (low-carb of course), supplements, and the grocery store are all acceptable during this challenge! So not only am I going to eat "cleaner" but also going to readjust my carb intake. As a whole, our society eats way too many carbs!! Most of us aren't training for marathons so why do we carbo-load almost every meal? So the plan is to focus on getting ample lean protein, healthy fats, lots of veggies and fruit, and avoid added salt and carbs. Did you know they even sneak carbs into deli meat? Most is full of wheat filler so that they can save money.  It's a carb and gluten conspiracy!

Ok...so now to really answer why! I am doing this for a myriad of reasons. Here are my top three:

1) Lean up. I feel like my body has become accustomed to carrying a little extra fat (damn you thrower's diet) and I need a serious kick to reach my goal of 15% body fat. Last time I had the fat caliper test, I was at 18.9%.  The plan is to be at 15% by the time my brother and I compete in the 2011 World Police and Fire Games in September.
2) Dominate fitness/competition.  I'll be throwing hammer and shot, running a 5K, doing max rep strict pull-ups, and swimming 100m in the Toughest Competitor Alive. I also plan on running various 5Ks throughout the year and hopefully be in a position to compete in next year's Crossfit Open. Not to mention my very physically demanding job! I have an awesome and very fit crew that inspire me to push myself physically and be not only one of the top females, but one of the top overall fittest people on the department.
3) It's been a while since I have had to really challenge myself.  Things have gotten a bit stagnant lately and as a result, I've lost a little confidence and have avoided really looking at the reasons I've been stuck on this mental and physical plateau.  So this is going to be my 30-day self-reflection and kick start to a happier and healthier life.

If you want to join me...check out these websites:

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/the-primal-blueprint-30-day-challenge/

http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/most_recent/one_hundred_gram_carb_cure

P.S. Today was a success!! Today was a "fast" day so I kept my carbohydrate intake right at 50g. I'm surprised how much you can still eat.  I'm also surprised at how many "healthy" foods are super high in sugar and low in fiber.