Day 8 - Struggling with Taste

Monday, June 15, 2009
This is probably a good place to catalog my workouts as well as food log.

6 am: CrossFit Workout of the Day (WOD) = "Jumping Fran"

5 RFT (rounds for time):

21 Thrusters @ 50# (women)

21 Double-unders (sub regular jump rope at 2:1 ratio)

Total time - 21:51

I should probably be eating something before I work out in the morning because your blood sugar dips so low overnight. But at 5:30 a.m., it's hard to fathom putting food in your stomach.

8 am: Egg scramble with 1 whole egg, egg whites, spinach, mushrooms, ground turkey; 1 kiwi fruit, blueberries

11 am: Ziploc bag of baby carrots - I really like cooked carrots, but I get tired of raw ones after about 3 or 4, if I don't have something to dip them in. I'll have to make some guacamole tonight. I ate the whole bag that I brought, but it never satisfied me. I was just as hungry when I finished as I was when I started. Probably because I wasn't digging the taste, so my brain wasn't getting the "I'm full" signals.

12:45 pm: Salad with ground turkey, diced red and yellow peppers, diced cucumber, olive oil and crushed red pepper. The peppers are sweet, which is good. It's just the salt I'm really missing. I'm trying to train my taste buds to not need things quite so salty. There's plenty of naturally occurring sodium in eggs, meat, etc.

3 pm: 1 orange

5 pm: 1/2 a cantaloupe with walnuts - I have never been a big cantaloupe fan. I've been trying to eat more of it, though, because of its low glycemic load. This snack was so not what I wanted today, though - I was literally choking it down. Cantaloupe must be mixed with sweeter fruit from now on - like berries or kiwi.

8 pm: Sirploin tips sauteed in canola oil with onions, simmered in tomato sauce made from pureed tomatoes, lemon juice, garlic powder and pepper; broccoli sauteed in olive oil with garlic

8:30 pm: 1 sliced banana with almond butter and honey - Dinner was okay tonight, but I felt like everything I ate today was severely lacking in taste!! Ended the day feeling unsatisfied, deprived even. Convinced myself I "deserved" this little dessert.

But, planned ahead for tomorrow. Made a big batch of guac for my carrots tomorrow, and have two spice-rubbed pork loins cooking in the oven.

I'm feeling a tiny bit dejected because I feel like I am pretty darn conscientious about my workouts and nutrition. Yet, I am still carrying 10 - 15 lbs (depending on the day) that I've never been able to shed. Not hitting the cardio hard enough is my diagnosis. Just only so many hours in the day!

Days 5, 6, 7 - Paleo is HARD on the weekend!

Day 5 - Friday
It's Sunday night right now, as I type this ... so I'm not entirely sure what I had for breakfast on Friay. But I do know it was paleo. Think scrambled egg whites and some kind of fruit.

Lunch - birthday lunch for a coworker = sushi. Open Meal #3 for the week. I hope nobody out there actually eats sushi thinking it's good for them. I suppose it depends on the type. But with the white rice, fried shrimp/grouper, creamy sauces and cream cheese that are so prevalent in many of the rolls, it is a calorie fest!! And that edamame? SALTY LEGUMES. Double whammy. It's all totally delicious. Just not worthy of a pat on the back. Definitely a "cheat" meal.

Oh, and then around 3:00, we had a small piece of cake to continue the celebration. I mean, why stop at lunch? Let the cheating continue.

I rationalized my indiscretions because I knew later that evening I would be running 3.3 miles through soft beach sand, hills, and obstacles at the Picnic Island Adventure Race. I did okay. Shaved a minute off my time from the last one we did in May. But I should have shaved more. The course was faster this time. The City of Tampa shut down the water portion of the race due to an unacceptable bacteria level. Last time, we ended the race with a sludge through waist-deep ocean water. This time, we were either on soft sand or solid ground. Should have made up more than a minute. I felt slow and cranky. Maybe because it was a Friday night after a long week at work. Or maybe because I was going into a race on a belly full of empty carbohydrates. Oh well. We'll do it again in July and I'll be better prepared.

Dinner - Courtside Grill (TO GO; we were quite a sight): salad with peppers, onion, tomatoes, craisins, gorgonzola cheese, walnut-crusted tuna steak, balsamic vinaigrette and blueberry preserves. (Except for the cheese and the prepared dressings, this would have been on-plan. We'll call this one "Paleo-ish")


Day 6 - Saturday
Breakfast: Coffee with hazelnut creamer; omelette with spinach, mushrooms and tomatoes
Lunch: Leftover bowl of chicken vegetable soup (last serving from the batch I made earlier in the week)
Snack: One piece wheat bread with almond butter and blueberry preserves (Not at all Paleo, but wanted something quick, and at least I sub'd almond butter for peanut butter)
Dinner: Cantina! Yum. Chips and guacamole; one chicken soft taco on small corn tortilla; one fish soft taco on small corn tortilla; 2 hibiscus margaritas (Definitely Open Meal #4 ... the count is creeping up)


Day 7 - Sunday
Breakfast: Panera coffee with half & half and Splenda; fried egg sandwich on ciabatta roll with Vermont cheddar cheese; 2 bites of Eric's strawberry cream-cheese danish (Open Meal #5)
Lunch: Evos buffalo chicken wrap; air fries; Diet Coke (Um ... Open Meal #6)
Dinner: Ciccio's Basic Bowl - brown rice, lettuce, broccoli, chicken, sun-dried tomatoes, balsamic vinagrette (This is another one of those "Paleo-ish" meals ... just the brown rice and bottled dressing disqualified it. And P.S. - I am having some serious tummy issues right now. Maybe the rice just wasn't worth it.)


BUT! I did go to the grocery store tonight and have all my meals and snacks planned for the upcoming week. Very much looking forward to getting back on track!! I really do like eating this way. Weekends are just busy and we eat out WAY too much. But check out the beautiful bounty that is Paleo! Almost makes me want to cry, it's so pretty. :) Here's to a healthy week!

Day 4 - I Thought Peanut Butter Was Good For Me?!

Day 4 - Thursday

6:30 am: Coffee with 1 tbs. hazelnut creamer (Hey, if caffeine and 1 tbs. of pasteurized creamer a couple times a week is going to give me cancer, then so be it. You gotta live a little!)

8 am: 2 egg whites, scrambled, with 1 tsp. walnut oil, black pepper and salt-free Mrs. Dash tomato basil seasoning (so good); 1/2 a cantaloupe, blueberries and chopped walnuts

11 am: 1 small apple with 2 tbs. almond butter*

12:45 pm: Leftover chicken vegetable soup

4:15 pm: Another bowl of leftover chicken vegetable soup

6 pm: OPEN MEAL: Team happy hour at the Venue - fried coconut shrimp (with sauce); several pieces of sushi (with white rice); spinach/feta pastry; crab-stuffed mushrooms; 3 glasses red wine (TERRIBLE! - but fun. And only my second "Open Meal" of the week.)

*Notes: (1) So, why almond butter instead of peanut butter? This is a controversial one. But here we go. Let's start by first establishing that peanuts are not nuts at all. They are legumes, along with beans, peas, and soybeans. Legumes are edible seeds enclosed in pods. The peanut "shell" is its pod. The "peanut" is actually the plant's seed. Peanut butter is widely used by bodybuilders as a diet staple because of its healthy dose of protein. It's also widely recommended by doctors and dieticians to vegetarians as a good source of protein in absence of lean meats. Another of the peanut's highly lauded benefits is its low saturated fat content. Nearly 80% of its fat content is cholesterol-lowering monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. All good so far. The problem is two-fold: (a) No omega-3's in those polyunsaturated fats, so it's all omega-6's you're getting. The standard American diet is already extremely weighted toward omega-6's, at the expense of omega-3's (the heart-healthy kind). Frequent consumption of peanuts or peanut butter puts your fat ratio even more out of whack, the consequences of which are any number of inflamation diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, and even heart attack and stroke. (b) Legumes contain nasty little anti-nutrients called lectins. These are large proteins resistant to stomach acid and digestive enzymes. Since they do not break down, they bind to the gut wall, damaging the lining, and degrading permeability, which means they get into your bloodstream. Once they're in the bloodstream, they can get transported anywhere in the body and bind to cell membranes in arteries, organs and glands. This binding is thought to begin antibody reactions that lead to autoimmune disorders and degenerative diseases. In fact, when scientists study atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries that can eventually lead to heart attacks and strokes) in lab animals, they routinely feed them peanut oil to stimulate the formation of the disease.

Day 3 - The Importance of Meal Planning

Day 3 - Wednesday

7:30 am: 2-egg omelette with diced tomato and scallion, in canola oil; 1 whole grapefruit

11 am: 1 peach (Meant for this to go with lunch, but was starving and needed something. Would not normally eat something with such a high glycemic index without a protein or a fat, but didn't have anything else at work!)

12:30 pm: Tilapia fillet with leftover steamed carrots and cauliflower

4 pm: Handful of dry-roasted almonds (Again, needed a snack and didn't have anything with me at work. Ate some of my cubemate's almonds. Way too much sodium.) :(

8 pm: Chicken vegetable soup made with water, garlic, onions, carrots, zucchini, tomatoes, bay leaves and pepper (Did add a PINCH of salt to my serving in the bowl because it was a little bland); Ambrosia salad, made from fresh pineapple chunks, chopped walnuts, craisins and lemon juice; 1/2 glass white wine

Notes: Did not prepare enough food for today. Pretty hungry between breakfast and lunch. Probably didn't have enough protein/fat in my first meal. Wish I'd had an avocado for the omelette. When I go to the store this weekend, I need to remember to plan for snacks in addition to regular meals. And we need to do better about cooking double portions of meat in the evenings for use the following day.

Day 2 - Analyzing the Egg; the Evils of Salt

Day 2 - Tuesday
8 am: Half a cantaloupe with blackberries and walnuts
11 am: 4 chicken tenders sauteed in canola oil with paprika, lime juice and pepper; 1 small apple

4 pm: Leftover grilled chicken breast with red onion and red/yellow peppers sauteed in canola oil

8 pm: Tilapia seasoned with lemon and lime juice, and cayenne and black pepper, then sauteed in canola oil with garlic, diced tomato, yellow peppers and scallions; steamed cauliflower and baby carrots with paprika and dill

Notes: (1) It's tricky to find a good mix of protein, fat and carbohydrate in the breakfast meal when you're limited to 6 eggs a week. That's the Paleo prescription. They quote several recent studies that showed eating one egg a day has no discernable effect on blood cholesterol level, and does not increase the risk of heart disease. So, for me - I'll do two eggs at a time, 3 times a week. The book recommends omega-3 enriched eggs for a better omega-6 to -3 balance, but I just bought a carton at Rollin Oats to the tune of $6.15. Not gonna keep that up, I assure you. The Paleo folks also assert that the high heat of a skillet or griddle increases the level of oxidized cholesterol, which can damage the cells lining your arteries and increase risk of heart disease. They recommend poaching, hard-boiling or baking. Okay ... I don't mind hard-boiling every once in a while. But I do not have time for poaching. Gonna stick with the omelettes and just keep the heat low.

(2) Notice I'm not using any salt when I cook. Chicken either featured the natural grill flavor or was sauteed with paprika, pepper and lime juice. What's the big deal about salt? Oh heavens. It's a long, tragic story. Salt = sodium + chloride. Chloride yields a what's called a "net acid load" to the kidneys when it is digested. Why is this bad? Okay - here's what's going on when you eat food -- any food. Once digested, everything reports to the kidneys as either an acid or an alkaline base. You do need both. They just need to be in balance. (Acid-producing foods include dairy, grains, meat/fish, legumes, and SALT. Alkaline-producing foods are fruits and vegetables, with fats generally being neutral.) The more acidic foods we eat, the more fruits/veggies we need to balance it out. Most Americans don't get anywhere close to the right balance. And when we don't, the body is forced to tap its own alkaline resource to stay in balance -- and that is calcium. When we eat salt, calcium is leached from our bones to neutralize the acidic chloride that winds up in the kidneys, and is then lost through urine. Over time, this contributes to bone loss and osteoporosis.

Other health problems tied to salt include aggravated asthma, high blood pressure, kidney stones, stroke and stomach cancer. But that doesn't mean we're doomed to choke down dull, flavorless food. There are plenty of spice mixes available these days without salt (Mrs. Dash makes a big line), plus you get big flavor punches by cooking with things like citrus juices, wine, garlic and onions. Experiment and enjoy!

Day 1 - Choosing the Right Oils

Day 1 - Monday
8 am: 2-egg omelette with diced tomato and 1 tbs. leftover homemade guacamole, made in canola oil
12:30 pm: Mixed green salad with chicken breast, tomato, cucumber, carrots, green peppers, slivered almonds, olive oil
8 pm: OPEN MEAL - mushroom penne pasta from Rollin' Oats cafe; 2 glasses red wine

Notes: (1) I didn't go to the grocery store on Sunday like I'd planned, so I was ill-prepared for dinner on Day One!! I figured since we'd be grabbing something "out" anyway, I might as well get something I'll enjoy! :) Shooting for only 2 "open meals" per week.

(2) Why canola oil for the omelette? In my dietary fat intake, I'm looking for an omega-6 to omega-3 ratio of 3-to-1, or preferably 2-to-1. Omega 3 and Omega 6 are two types of polyunsaturated fat. Omega 3's improve blood chemistry and reduce risk of many chronic diseases. Omega 6's are also unsaturated fat but these are the kinds found in vegetable oils, baked and snack foods. Not good for you when you get too much at the expense of omega 3's. Again, ideal balance is no more than 3-to1 (omega-6 to omega-3). For this reason, flaxseed oil is the best at a ratio of 0.24. However, I recently learned that junk is expensive!!! $15 for a medium-sized bottle. Not at all practical for families on a budget. Next is canola oil, with a ratio of 2.0. This oil is widely available at grocery stores for about the same price as olive or vegetable oils. In my mind, this makes it by far the ideal choice. Olive oil actually has a ratio of 13.1 ... pretty high. This is because its saturated fat content is 13.5% vs. 7.1% saturated in canola oil. It does have better flavor though. So, if you are going to use olive oil, it's best to blend it with canola. I put it on my salad because that's all they have at work and for salads, canola oil just sounds gross.

Step 1: Read the Book

I've been convinced for some time now that most of our human ailments these days are tied to our diets. I'm not just talking the obvious - heart disease, cancer, etc. But also things like joint pain, asthma, loss of vision, you name it. I've heard a great deal of anecdotal evidence, but now I'm on a journey to collect the facts - scientific, empirical evidence. The folks who wrote "The Paleo Diet" have spent an awful lot of time conducting their own trials and documenting the work of others around the world. The book doesn't go into enough detail for my taste on how these experiments were conducted, what the variables were, how big the testing pool was ... but they do scratch the surface enough to keep me believing that finding our optimal diet really is the cure for what ails ya (whatever that "optimal diet" may be).

Here's how Paleo goes:
(1) All the lean meats, fish and seafood you can eat.
(2) All the fresh fruits and (nonstarchy) vegetables you can eat.
(3) No grains (bread, rice, pasta, oatmeal, cereal, etc.)
(4) No legumes (green beans, kidney beans, black beans, peanuts, peanut butter, soy)
(5) No dairy (milk, cheese, yogurt, cottage cheese, ice cream)
(6) No processed food (canned soup, frozen entrees, 100-calorie packs of crackers/cookies)

I've always had a pretty clean diet. I don't like hamburgers, hot dogs or chicken wings. I am drawn to "pretty" food - like sushi rolls, salad or stir-fry with all different-color veggies, or a big fruit salad. But don't get me wrong - I also love Five Guys french fries, Birthday Cake ice cream at Cold Stone and buffalo chicken sandwiches at Hooter's (to name a few). I am human, after all!

But those are indulgences I consider "cheat meals." The trick has been refining my perspective on what is healthy. Maybe using cooking spray instead of heart-healthy oils isn't the best idea. Maybe the brown rice, sweet potatoes, and whole-wheat pita, pasta and bread really aren't that good for me. Or worse - what if they're actually bad for me? Same thing with low-fat dairy. Maybe skim milk isn't the miracle beverage I once thought it was. What about my beloved "healthy" go-to's like peanut butter, green beans, and soy-based veggie burgers. If you believe the scientists who collaborated on "The Paleo Diet," it's all cancer-causing crap. Maybe it sounds a little extreme, but what if they're right?

What if the foods humans have been eating for 2.5 MILLION years are the foods -- the ONLY foods -- we were designed to eat? The Agricultural Revolution began about 10,000 years ago when the first farms and domesticated livestock were recorded in the Middle East (a drop in the bucket when you think about how long the human species has been around). And the archeological records seem to indicate that's when humanity's health problems began ... infectious diseases and childhood mortality began increasing, and overall life spans began decreasing. For the first time, humans began experiencing vitamin- and mineral-deficiency diseases like osteoporosis, rickets, scurvy, beriberi and anemia. Cereal grains had replaced much of their previously animal-dominated diets. Even more recently -- just 200 years ago -- the Industrial Revolution brought refined sugar, flours, and canned and frozen foods to our tables. In the 1950s comes the invention of trans-fatty acids, margarine, shortening, preservatives and emulsifiers, taking "processed food" to a whole new level.

Lots to talk about and debate here. I'm not even 100% sure what I believe. I certainly don't want to be one of those "everything-causes-cancer" alarmists. And I know food is intrinsically tied to our social lives these days. But I have been off dairy and grains for a while now and I feel great. I think it's worth a try taking it to the next level and cutting out legumes and all processed food as well. I want to see how easy and how affordable I can make this lifestyle so I can feel confident recommending it to the families I work with in the future. If it's not easy and not affordable, how can I expect anybody -- much less a busy mom -- to latch on?