Exercise won't make you skinny.....say waaaa?

That’s right – exercise will NOT make you skinny. Exercise makes you hungry. You want a rockin’ body? Get your diet in check. Yes, people I have the secret to a great tush and flat tummy!! It’s called become a carbo-phobic….yeah, yeah, I know your Aunt Sally told you that going low carb will destroy your kidneys – all those ketones in your pee will destroy your kidneys! Gasp! And how will you get calcium for strong bones? And you will never poop again – that’s how Bob Smytheburger died – from stomach cancer – because he went low carb, mmmhmmm it’s a fact. THEY say so.

80 percent of what you see in the mirror is what you are putting in your mouth. That’s the “no-shit truth” – that’s my dad’s favorite phrase =)

Before I convince you to be a carbo-phobic let me give you some basic re-brain wiring. First off whatever illusion you have of what your body should look like in your brain – hit delete. Why? Shouldn’t you keep this mental picture of you looking like Jamie Eason or Ryan Reynolds forefront in your mind for motivation? The answer is a strong, firm and resounding NO! Perfection is an illusion that will only set you up for failure – your goal should always be feeling good and striving for perfect health. Coincidentally YOUR great body will come along with that health. All models and actors do some extreme diet or exercise regime to prepare for a photo shoot or movie – it’s not a long term solution – and as much as I hate hearing the whole “genetics” thing – it does play a role. If you are destined to have an ass like J-Lo or hips like a volley ball player than no amount of dieting (outside of the extreme anorexia) will change that. Everyone has a different body shape – love yours. Make yourself strong and healthy and then accept that perfect is staring back at you in the mirror.

Sometimes doing less is more. Eating less won’t kill your metabolism. Moving less won’t make you fat. And sometimes you just want to sit on the couch and cruise the internet or watch a couple movies – this isn’t “bad” and it doesn’t mean you are lazy. I know so many people (me included) that have chased the illusive “perfect way to workout” – we’ve bought $100 vibrams when we should have paid $8 for some pool shoes from Wal-Mart and called it a day. It’s actually called “barefoot” running for an actual reason. Not $100 fancy toe mitten shoes that everyone will stop and harass you during workout to ask “Do they really work?” running.

And I am sooooo tired of hearing about all this “play” workout stuff. You can call me crazy, lazy or honest – but I love to lounge. I like cruising the internet on my couch, reading books, watching movies, taking naps and generally being still. When I work out my goal is to lift heavy ass weight to make my muscles pretty so I look good in a bikini. I also require myself to get my heart rate up so that my heart is strong and resilient so I can harass my kids when they have their own place (I so am going to leave sticky finger prints all over their microwave, leave wet towels and my dirty under ware on their bathroom floor and leave every light in their house on when I visit) – and my body and mind hate long distance running – so I do not fun stuff like burpees, sprints, box jumps, jump rope and whatever else I can come up with that gets the job done in a quick albeit painful fashion.

Ok, so we’ve scratched perfection and I’ve promoted that doing less is OK – so what about this whole carbo-phobia thing? Well I’ve written posts about this before in my blog….ehhemm – you can find it here: http://i-am-paleo.blogspot.com/2011/05/why-arent-you-asking-for-better-weight.html.

But the truth is calories in versus calories out is horse shit. Carbs cause your insulin to spike – insulin causes fat storage – yes, smart ass I am aware that protein causes insulin production – you should keep reading those cliff notes on insulin and you will learn that inuslin’s counter hormone is glucagon and glucagon moves fat out of stored tissue for fuel – and when you eat protein insulin AND glucagon are produced. When you eat carbs only the insulin is produced – which locks those carbs away as fat storage for later use as fuel – however, if you don’t have any glucagon production than the fat never gets out to be used – so your brain keeps crying for more glucose (because the whole starvation mode is real – but it doesn’t happen when you stop eating – it happens when you eat too many carbs!). So we get fatter and more puffy and most importantly more sick. This is the obvious explanation as to why if you are a vegetarian you are an idiot and you will be fatter than designed and you will eventually get sick. Don’t get mad at me – I didn’t design the human body.

I will end this post with one last food for thought: diet books and diet pills are designed to make money – if they actually worked then you would have no motivation to buy more - cause you'll notice there is always version 2- a new and improved version of the original. They are designed to fail – they are designed for the fat and confused – why not take a few minutes and learn the basics about your body and keep your money. If you added up every diet book and supplement or ab roller you’ve ever bought I bet you could have taken a vacation to Cancun and if you were a carbo-phobic I bet you’d look great in a bathing suit while you are there.

Are you loyal to yourself?

I haven’t competed in anything in a while; my last competition was in 2008. It was a physical fitness competition and I had a great training partner, Crystal. It was a basic competition – box jumps, shuttle run, hang, stuff like that. Crystal and I trained religiously Monday- Friday – we did our normal power lifting exercises and then side by side we went through make-shift exercises similar to how I would compete when it was go-time.

The competition wasn’t what I was expecting – I didn’t feel like the other competitors trained well or brought their A-game. I took first place but I walked away feeling cheated of the victory. I know this seems crazy – I should have been pretty ecstatic – but it felt wrong and it didn’t feel satisfying.

I haven’t competed since. I have looked at other competitions, particularly Crossfit games – and I am intimidated. Yep, ME, intimidated. There are some serious athletes that compete in the Crossfit games and I am not sure I am up to that – but I don’t want to do another competition where I show up and I feel like I got cheated – especially when you pay to sign up for these things – seriously I have enough effing scratchy cotton t-shirts…I’m competing for “that feeling” nothing more and certainly nothing less.

I am doing the Metro Dash in a little more than a month (38 days to be exact)– I don’t have a training partner anymore, haven’t since October. Well Rowan and Ruger are usually in the gym with me – they like to lick my sweat from the floor and Ruger likes to try and jump on the treadmillwith me. Crystal is in Okinawa now and Ray works out with his fellow coppers at work.

I’ve considered signing up with the local Crossfit and went and worked out over there to check it out. What GREAT people! They have great unity and are very supportive of their athletes. It was a great vibe and even better - they have great equipment – but with the girls and Ray taking jiu jitsu, my work travel and let’s not forget the simple fact that I have spent a shit load of money to put a gym in my basement I am choosing to be my own coach.

This is difficult – there is no one to count my reps, there is no one to watch my form and there is no one there to keep me honest. Staying honest when you work out by yourself is really hard. When you feel like puking and the workout you’ve set out before you becomes overwhelming in the middle of it. When you are pushed out of your comfort zone…like waaaayyyy out of your comfort zone and your instinct is to get back in your zone – but you have to keep yourself out of that comfort zone so you can get better….but it’d be SO easy to cut reps, or take weight off the bar, maybe skip a sprint.

But I can’t; because I don’t want to show up at the Metro Dash and compete against someone and they win and walk away feeling like I cheated them out of a victory because I didn’t train hard enough.

I don’t want to show up at the Metro Dash and be defeated – I want to be in the top three female competitors. I’m going to compete – not give it a try I want THAT feeling.

I know that digging deep when it really matters ESPECIALLY when no one is watching is what defines my personality. I won’t cheat on my deadlift form just like I won’t cheat on my job. I won’t skip a sprint just like I won’t skip a difficult conversation with my daughters. I won’t take weight off the bar to make the workout easier just like I won’t dump my workload on a co-worker to make my work week easier. I won’t shorten the reps in a difficult HIIT just like I won’t shortcut homework time by doing the algebra for Sydney when SHE JUST WON’T GET IT…..even an hour later.

I am trustworthy, I am loyal, and I am dedicated to my husband, my daughters, my job, my diet and my workouts…..I hope my competitors at the Metro Dash are too.

My Pap, My groceries list, My tips, My recipes

OK, since this IS a Paleo blog - I wanted to touch on the basics! There are a lot of books on Paleo, or Evolution eating, or Atkins, or South Beach or low carb- whatever you want to call it. I think South Beach sucks because of all the fake food - Atkins is better except they kind of got into the whole money making business and starting making a ton of fake food too. But Dr. Atkins basics (which are over 30 years old) are solid.

This isn't a "new" diet either - this is the way people are intended to eat - and this is also how people used to eat. My grandfather is 85 years old - and this is how he eats....well he does have two beers every night =) But he is in outstanding health. You can have a conversation with him without yelling, and he is extremely intelligent. He lives by himself, he has better eye sight than I do, he still drives and once a month he drives three hours to visit his parent's and wife's graves. He's a little skinny and he's really difficult (must run in the family). But he is Paleo - he doesn't call it Paleo - he calls it common sense. Which I think is awesome and crazy - how did we get here? How does my grandfather know that bread will make you fat but this generation thinks you should buy shape-up shoes and count endless calories?

So here are MY basics to Paleo:

Grocery List

**Key things when shopping for food mainly stay in the outside lanes – veggies, fruits, meats, eggs.
** Read ingredients: do not take the labels word for “all natural” or “healthy”.

Apples, Bananas, Rasp, Straw or Blueberries, Pineapple (fresh or frozen)
Unsweetened Applesauce or Unsweetened Pumpkin
Organic Spaghetti Sauce (no sugars)
Beef
Steaks
Bacon
Pork Loins
Fish
Chicken breast tenderloins
Lunch meats
Cinnamon
Walnuts, almonds, pecans
Raisins
75% or higher Cacao
Cocoa Powder
Cage Free Eggs
Ketchup made with agave (an organic version sold at Giant)
BBQ sauce made with agave (an organic version sold at Giant)
Bag of salad or lettuce or spinach
Veggies (fresh or frozen) (Asparagus, cauliflower, broccoli)
Seasonings – you can get anything as long as it doesn’t have any sugar or is minimally added.
Cashew Butter
Almond Butter
Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) or Walnut Oil
Cooking Spray
Butter
100% Maple Syrup
Honey (for sweetner)
Agave Nectar
Unsweet Almond or Coconut Milk


Rules to eating:
Meat, Veggies, eggs, nuts and Fruit
o In that order. Your new food pyramid looks like the top picture.


No-No’s
o Legumes: kidney beans, garbanzo beans, black or red beans, chick peas, lentils and peanuts – NO BEANS
o Dairy: milk, cream, yogurt, ice cream, all cheese
o Seeds: sunflower, apple, apricot, plum, peach, nectarine, flax, watermelon
o GRAINS: wheat, flour, bread, pizza, tortilla, sandwiches, oats, grits, cream of wheat, cereal (all kinds), ice cream sandwiches, cookies, rice, crackers, pasta, noodles, macaroni, couscous, cornbread, buckwheat, cracked wheat, quinoa, sorghum, millet, amaranth

Never eat non-foods
o Non-foods are sugar free foods or food made with artificial sweetners: splenda, sucralose, saccharin, aspartame, acesulfame potassium. Basically if you can’t pronounce it or you can’t point to it on the food chart.

Water and Coffee ONLY
o No soda, diet soda, juice, Gatorade, powerade, fruit drinks, etc. Water or BLACK coffee only. You may add coconut milk and agave to your coffee in moderation.
o If you have to have alcohol: wine or tequila

Eat when you want and what you want as long as…..
o The foods are on the approved list. There is no need to count calories or portion control.
o Losing weight and health is not a simple solution of calories in versus calories out. You can maintain weight and lose weight by counting the calories you consume and restricting what you eat once you have consumed the number of calories you set as your daily allowance. However if the calories you consume are from foods that will make you sick you are not achieving health. By restricting calories you will play the endless game of counting calories and thinking about food. Life shouldn’t be about 2000 calories a day or hitting the gym to burn 450 calories each day. Life should be spent enjoying your family and having fun and most importantly being healthy. Avoiding grains, dairy and legumes will give you that health and that freedom.

Recipes (these are ones I have created - if you have more SHARE!!)

Meatsa Pizza

Package of sausage
Veggies of your choice
Tomato sauce

Press sausage into a pie pan and bake until brown. Sautee veggies on the stove. Be creative. Add garlic, onion, Italian seasonings, peppers, olives – make it flavorful! Spread sauce over meat and top with veggies.

Cashew butter melts

100% cacao squares
Mini muffin liners
Cashew butter
Agave

For 12 melts: 5 squares of dark chocolate – heat until melted – add agave to desired sweetness. Pour muffin liner ¼ full with chocolate. Put a dot of cashew butter in center and pour chocolate over top. Chill.

Mashed Cauliflower (like mashed potatoes)

Boil whole cauliflower in water for 30 minutes. In a casserole dish mash with fork. Add 2 TBSP Butter or Olive Oil. Lemon pepper to taste.

Paleo Ice Cream

3 c Unsweetened Almond or Coconut Milk
1/3 c agave nectar
1/3 c cocoa powder
2 tbsp vanilla
1 tsp xanthum gum
Mix ingredients in blender on whip. Pour into ice cream maker.

You can also make plain vanilla by leaving out the cocoa powder. Or add in fruit or different extracts (like mint with chunks of chocolate for mint chocolate chip)

Steak Chili:

12 oz thinly sliced round steak
1 large green, red, yellow pepper diced
1/2 cup diced onion
½ c cranberries
1 can diced green chilies (4.5 oz)
9 Jalapeno pepper slices (diced)
14 oz can diced tomatoes (slightly drained)
1 tsp. cumin

Spray nonstick pan with cooking spray. Cook beef fully. Add remaining ingredients. Simmer covered 20 minutes. Simmer uncovered 20-30 minutes (until desired consistency).

Meat Loaf

Beef
1 egg
3/4 cup coconut milk
1/2 small onion, minced
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
¼ tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce (or 1 tsp rooster sauce)
1.5 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Spices your choice

Heat oven to 350. Mix ingredients. place in a baking dish. Bake 35 minutes or until center is set.

Spicy Thai Chicken
6 servings

Ingredients
1 1/2 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in chunks
1 medium red and green bell pepper, cut into strips
3 tbsp almond butter
1/4 c agave nectar
2 TBSP Lime or Lemon Juice
Olive Oil
1 tsp (I put 1 tbsp) Thai-style red curry paste
1 tbsp chopped green onion

Directions
Spray wok or nonstick frying pan with cooking spray or several squirts of lime juice. Sauté the chicken add ingredients – heat and serve.

Yummy pancakes
1/2 c unsweetened applesauce or unsweetened pumpkin
4 TBSP Cashew Butter or Almond Butter
2 eggs
Cinnamon to taste
1 Tbsp Vanilla

Mix. Grill on low to medium heat

You can also take this same mix and put into mini cupcake liners and bake until set for mini muffins. Be creative and add berries to the mix or slivers of dark chocolate.

Turkey sausage and eggplant lasagna

1 lb eggplant

1.25 lbs 99% lean ground turkey
1 tbs red pepper flake
.5 cup onion, chopped
.5 cup bell pepper, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup canned chopped tomatoes
1 tbs chopped fresh oregano
1 tbs chopped fresh basil
2 eggs
1 tbs chopped parsley

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Peel and thinly slice eggplant. Arrange in one layer on baking sheet and bake until tender. Meanwhile, sauté garlic, onion, bell pepper, red pepper flake in nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray until soft. Season with salt and pepper. Put in a bowl and mix eggs into veggies. Add turkey and brown until cooked through. Season with salt and pepper. Add chopped tomato and a bit of water and simmer for ~20 minutes. Add basil and oregano stir through and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Assemble by spreading .25 cup sauce in bottom of baking pan. Add a single layer of eggplant, followed by a layer of sauce mixture. Layer casserole until all ingredients are used or baking dish is full. Cover and bake on 350 for ~20 minutes.


Stuffed Peppers
You can use red or yellow peppers but they need to stand up on their own.
6 large bell peppers
1 lb. lean ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cups broccoli
1 can (15oz) tomato sauce (I like to buy the tomato, garlic, basil flavored)
1/4 tsp garlic powder or more for taste
1 tsp salt more or less for taste
You can chop up any other veggies too if you like and throw them in.

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Cut thin holes out of top of pepper and remove stems, and seeds. Cook and stir ground beef with onion or any other veggies you are throwing in. Drain beef mixture. Stir in salt, garlic, rice, and only 1 cup of the tomato sauce; heat through.

Lightly stuff each pepper to the top with the meat mixture. Stand peppers upright in an ungreased baking dish (8x8x2). Pour remaining tomato sauce over tops of peppers. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake for 15 more minutes. You can sprinkle some low fat cheddar cheese on them and bake for the last 5 minutes if you like.

Check out Primal Toad for more Paleo stuff @: http://www.primaltoad.com/

Relax! Stop being such an a$$h*le!

These were the words I uttered to my oldest daughter as I dropped her off at the bus stop. Yeah a pretty harsh way to start her day off…. agreed. To make matters worse I was headed to the airport to leave for Texas for a work trip. Sigh….my oldest daughter is hitting puberty and most days I feel like I brought her into this world I sure as hell should be able to eat her.

But I am not so sure puberty has anything to do with it. She has been like this for many years and my youngest is at an age where I can distinctly remember Sydney already acting like this. Rachel is fun, she is positive and full of life. People naturally gravitate towards her and love her immediately. Rachel dances to her own tune, we are in the grocery store and we all look over at her and she is dancing to some song in her head and you can’t help but laugh – when she sees that you have caught her she acts a little bashful but then breaks into a full goofy dance. No one can do the percolator better than Rach. Ha ha

Sydney rarely smiles, she can point out the worst in all of her classmates and she is somewhat a soloist. My oldest daughter is my reflection. She may look like her daddy but damn if she doesn’t acts like her momma. Intense, intimidating…and an all-around a$$h*le.

Parenting is hard - it's the hardest thing besides marriage that I have ever done. And in an attempt to always be a good role model for my daughters I took this realization as a slap to the face and I realize that I may need to change some of my ways to help my daughter adjust to life and be more content and happy. I asked my husband what exactly it is that makes me intense, what are the exact things I do that come across as intimidating…or as he likes to put it “dick mode”.

Well, he says…then he pauses, he laughs a little, shakes his head. I can tell he isn’t sure how to answer this without hurting my feelings….or worse, provoke my dick mode. “Sometimes when people are uncomfortable or are trying to explain something you stare at them too hard.” What? I STARE too hard. What does that even mean? “You make too much eye contact,” he says. Are you kidding me! You are SUPPOSED to make eye contact with someone you are talking or listening to it shows you are paying attention. “Easy, Ang.” OK, okay you are right, please explain further (dripping with sarcasm). “It’s the way you look at them, and NO not everyone makes eye contact with people they are talking to. And when someone is trying to tell you something or in a group you have this way of staring them down, and they don’t want to tell you the truth or tell you anything!”

Ok, ok, I’m tracking, I think….I can work on this. Don’t make eye contact. OK, never mind I can’t do that. How about make less eye contact? Not completely stare them down? Ummm how about I leave it at this, I’ll attempt to try this…no promises.

What else you got.

“Well you kind of point out people’s flaws…to their face.” Well you shouldn’t talk about people behind their back, that’s cowardly! Ray kind of shakes his head, laughs a little, looks down and then re-composes himself and says, “you’re not getting it – no one likes to hear how bad they are.” But how will they get better? I mean seriously maybe they are clueless and I need to fill them in, right? Maybe if I tell them what they are doing wrong they will have like an awwwuhhawwwawwa moment and unfuk themselves…right….maybe? OK, I can seriously work on this one! Say positive things. Check! Keep the negative to myself and curb the urge to correct.

OK, now we are improving.

What else you got.

“You know how when someone is talking to you and you are done listening and you just walk away or worse you tell them they are done?” Errr…yeah, I guess that one is pretty bad. I always feel a little bad after I do that, but not bad enough to stay and listen to their dribble. So how do I solve that one? “ Just smile.” Well hell I can do that…..”You can?” he asks. I kind of give him that are you kidding me look, and he says…………..

“You should smile more – you come across as emotionless, people don’t want to be around someone who doesn’t seem interested in them.” Sigh….I have to be interested to smile? “ And don’t stand so close to someone, especially when you are trying to make a point.” I’m kind of scratching my head at this point – am I really that bad? Hell I’m 5’5” and a 130#s it’s not like I’m stepping in to start a fight or use my “immense” size to intimidate. Is everyone so weak that I’M INTIMIDATING? Or is that everyone is that insecure about themselves? OK, OK, I recognize I am seriously getting off track.

Pffffttttt…………This sounds like more work than I anticipated……maybe I’ll just stick to my bacon and squats.

Ahhh, but I can’t! I have to set a good example, and after all I am raising strong independent women, not training Marines for combat…..So here is what I am going to do….I’m going to continue to eat Paleo and shred out my muscles, I’m going to continue to sprint so I can race like a panther, I’m going to continue to power lift so I am strong – because stronger people are more useful and generally less aggravating (ok, I know that was dick) – I’m going to smile more, I’m going to compliment things about others that I like out loud, and I’m going to ignore bad habits that have absolutely no effect on my life….and I may even break into a dance when that fun song plays in my head at the grocery store while I’m picking out my produce…..because after all life is too short not to laugh more.

Raising Independent Women

When meeting new people you talk about your family, you refer to your children as “your kids” or I usually refer to mine as “my girls”. I get asked, “You are raising girls?” and I always reply, “No, I’m raising strong, independent women.”

I don’t want little girls, girls who fuss over their hair, their nails, worry that jeans make them look fat or that they laughed too loud and people are staring…or worse….not getting dirty!

I am leading by example. I am always right beside my husband on our home improvement projects, carrying 70#s worth of tile over and over, mowing the lawn, pick axing holes in the ground for plants, holding one side of an auger…by the way, whomever invented that wicked machine should be shot for not making a reverse. Whatever he’s doing, I’m doing.

I’ve cut all my hair off to prove that it doesn’t define me. I am beautiful without my mane (although I do miss my long locks). I don’t jump on the scale – hell we don’t even have a scale. I don’t talk about having a big butt – hell a big butt means a better squat! My ass can have its own area code if I can ass to grass squat 205#s.

I have a career – not a job – but a career. I don’t look down on woman that their main job is child rearing – hell I know first-hand how hard it is to work fulltime and be a mom; I’d love to have just been a mom while the girls weren’t in school. But I wasn’t able to and in my opinion I think that a woman who has a career has a better knowledge of the world to pass on to their children; a woman with a career is also able to help carry the family finance load with the man. It takes two parents to have a baby and it takes two to raise them; both the mom and the dad should be home equally – a man who has to work all the time and is never home or available emotionally is no good for the kids or their wife. My mom and step-mom have been out of work for 17 (over 17 for my step-mom) years and I really don’t feel that they have any worldly advice to offer to my brother s and sisters; they are in essence children themselves. Both my dad and step-dad work from dusk til dawn to keep their families a float and when they are home they are exhausted – and unfocused – raising kids takes a lot of energy – energy working dusk til dawn won’t leave you. This, of course are extreme cases but it is relevant to mention as it is the case in a lot of families.

I’ve served my country – eight years in the gun club. And although it would break my heart if they came to me and said they were leaving for the military – I’d be damn proud and wear a “my daughter is a “Coastie, Marine, Airwoman, Soldier” every Saturday and Sunday.

I’m loud – and I’m not ashamed to take up space. My mom used to tell me little girls should be seen and not heard. Cross your legs so as to take up as little space as possible. Only eat 900 calories a day so as to stay petite. And I generally tried to stay quiet, I didn’t express my opinion and attempted to please everyone around me…oh and I lived on half a peanut butter sandwich and skim milk until I was about 25. I realized in my 20s that this was a total bullshit way to live. I started being animated when I spoke…I mean who isn’t paying attention when you are describing the fruit flies that have invaded your house when you are pretending to be a fruit fly! I speak up when I don’t like something – actually I could probably be a little bit more subdued when it comes to things I don’t like.

My daughters take jiu jitsu, they get hit in the face, they have “boy sweat” rubbed into their face, they get choked….well actually that doesn’t happen too often, they are really good! They know how to do an arm bar, and a sweep. I like that they get hit in the face – I want them to know pain – I want them to shake off pain.

No, I’m not raising my daughters to be manly – I’m raising them to be independent, strong and courageous. I’m raising them to be able to take care of themselves regardless of the situation. I’m raising them to be loud and vocal and take a stand for what they believe in and what they feel passionate about. To not be ashamed of what they believe in or to ask questions….that is the only way to learn. I’m teaching them to eat Paleo – so they are healthy and live healthy, happy lives. Cause in the end what defines YOU is who you are and what you do – so who are YOU what are YOU doing?

Boozing and YOUR balance

http://youtu.be/XsoNd6uO7CY
(me rocking some push presses)

Boozing….I have seen and read a ton of articles on booze and it’s negative effects. Most of the articles end state is to give up the booze! But I love me a good weissbier or a vodka martini made w/ vermouth and extra dirty…hell you could probably put the olives in the beer…hmmm….may try that.

But I was trying to get to a point. As I strive to be the perfect health specimen I cannot enjoy a “few drinks” without a major hang over, but I still like to have a few drinks. You can’t beat that numb feeling it gives you.
So what is the solution? I am in California and I got up with a friend I haven’t seen in about nine years. We had burgers as big as our heads and drank some weissbier…mmmm….besides the fact that we decided (while intoxicated) that it’d be cool to climb down the cliff on Carlsbad beach and throw rocks into the ocean (and I didn’t climb down, I rolled, smacked my head and messed up my ankle) it was a great evening talking about 1999 and everything since.

The next day and even the day after I suffered from a hangover, that whole remember to breath, in out, in out, don’t bend over, don’t get up too fast, I’m hungry, I’m going to throw up, I can’t drink water, I’m so thirsty, my brain is too big for my skull – I’M NEVER GOING TO DRINK AGAIN mantra.

Now having done my blood glucose testing and cruising the internet for every bit of information on blood glucose testing I could find and pricking anyone’s finger that would let me test theirs I feel like I have a better understanding of what is going on in the body while processing alcohol. I am by no stretch of the means an expert…hell the more I learn the more I realize how ignorant I am. But I know from the info I have gathered, that my blood glucose levels have dropped significantly and that my liver is not going to dump any glucose into my body until it gets done processing the alcohol out. So my best bet is to eat some fruit, drink some juice and attempt to rehydrate and of course suck it up.

I don’t drink often because it makes my stomach look like Buddha and my genetically predisposed double chin puffs out. But I do enjoy it – I like that feeling after a beer or glass of wine where you start to feel a little numb and the fact that the house still needs cleaned and the lawn mowed just doesn’t seem to matter for a little while. The balance I have found is to only drink once a month and to limit the intake. I keep my abs and stay single chinned and get my alcohol enjoyment too…it’s all about balance for me….that is MY end state. =)

Why aren't you asking for a better weight loss method?

When I would “cut” which is the term used to reference cutting body fat for a show, I would play the numbers game. 1750 calories a day; composed of 60/30/10 split between protein, carbs and fat. Making sure I counted the fat and calories from my fish oil supplements and the BCAAs. A deficit of a normal 1900 calorie diet and on top of my usual weight lifting I had to jump on the treadmill to burn 350 calories a day to get a total deficit of 3500 calories a week because 3500 calories is one pound. Are you confused yet?

This was the life I lived when I competed in fitness competitions. The constant numbers game – I analyzed everything that touched my lips….EVEN MY GUM! And it wasn’t even as simple as looking on the back of labels and saying this has 50 calories so I can eat 1700 more today, because I had to determine what those calories were….carbs, fat, protein…..because it ALL mattered.

I had to reserve all my hard earned muscle while trying to burn all the stubborn fat and if I was really lucky put on more muscle…because everyone knows muscle burns more calories than fat…a whole five calories per pound of muscle!!

On that note I will admit that this made no sense to me. Muscle burns FIVE measly calories per pound more than fat? Wow, I really feel cheated. But everyone was talking about it. Pushing the muscle burns more fat theory. I just wanted more muscle because it looks kick ass in tank tops, bikinis and jeans….BUT don’t forget it burned FIVE more calories….EVEN AT REST!! Holy crap!

This is a bit crazy of course - but if you do calories in versus calories out this should seem pretty familar albeit extreme.

This makes no sense people! It really doesn’t. Let’s look at this realistically; I’ve said in a previous blog post that our bodies don’t have calorie sensors. If you don’t know how many calories your body is burning – for organ function AND expended energy – then how do you know how many to eat or to retain your deficit? The thing that amazes me the most is this complicated method people hang on to with a death grip! It sucks to live like this, every thought on food and your next work out – but this is what we are hanging on to? Really!?! And the worst part is IT’S NOT WORKING!!! People are getting fatter, and sicker and we have more crazy diseases everyday…and new ones developing from the medications that you have to take to control symptoms to these diseases. I don’t understand why someone isn’t asking “There has to be a better way?!”

There is a better way…Paleo, low carb, Atkins, Evolution diet, whatever you want to call it. Your food pyramid should be meats, veggies, eggs, nuts and fruit in moderation. Don’t count a single calorie – eat until satiated – if you aren’t hungry don’t eat (there is no need to graze…previously ranted about). Don’t consume your thoughts about calories, workouts, and macronutrients. Think about your family, take a walk, breath deep, watch a movie, read a good book, scrapbook…do something that makes you HAPPY!

And reap the benefits! I promise you if you can stick to a food pyramid like this and cut out starch, carbs and sugars you will feel better, look better and be less sick!

Animals: in the zoo and at your house

I have been to the Washington, D.C. zoo seven times; that’s right SEVEN times. I am not a particular big fan of the D.C. zoo, but when you have two kids in elementary school and live outside the National Capital Region this is the place to go for field trips. Actually if I am being honest every time I have been (SEVEN to be exact) to the D.C. zoo, the animals are hiding in their indoor dwellings and the only animals you get to see are the birds and lizards.

One thing I have noticed at all the zoos I have been (not just DC's) to is that there are postings everywhere, especially near the vending machines and eateries stating "DO NOT FEED THE ANIMALS – IT COULD KILL THEM." It makes me wonder why feeding some animal crackers (no pun intended) to our children is OK but we can’t give them to the gorilla, who have a similar make-up as humans. Hmmmm……

I have two dogs, a German Shepherd and a Pit Bull. They are very different dogs. Not just their breeds and the amount of hair they shed, but their personalities are incredibly different. Rowan, my GS, is very well trained, is a bit of a scardy cat and is laid back. She spends most of her time in Rachel’s bed and doesn’t socialize with the family unless she wants fed, petted or to pee.

Ruger is our Pit. He is an absolute maniac. He runs everywhere, he chases light, he’ll eat the floor right out from under your feet, he loves to cuddle and he cannot stand to be away from his people.

The one thing they have in common is they CANNOT eat “people food”. This was distinctly displayed when the neighbor boy fed Ruger goldfish crackers through the kennel while he was over. Ruger threw up and had diarrhea at the exact same time. I’ve never actually seen a dog do this – and hope never to see it again. YUCK!

This is my question to you…if you wouldn’t feed your dog junk foods why do you feed your kids or yourself these items? If the zoo doesn’t want you to feed the gorilla crackers because it “could kill them” then why are you eating them? We all know it won’t kill our dog or the gorilla to feed them crackers, it makes them sick, which is a pain to clean up and over a long period of time you can tell their diets are poor: they lose color in their nose, their coats lack shine or fall out, they lose their sight, their hips and feet start to get arthritis. Why would this food not have similar long term effects on you or your kids?

I love the science behind "Why you shouldn't eat this or that" but if you take it down to the basics - then this is it folks. Why are you eating the same foods that you wouldn't feed your dog? And if your answer is "it's an animal" well you should remember so are you.

Banana Splits and Intensity: This isn't a Cult!

I am often described as “intense” ,“intimidating”, “confrontational” and other ummmm…compliments. I will admit I take certain things very seriously…uh, perhaps too serious. My overall lifestyle is one of them. I have very specific values that I hold myself too and want my daughters to honor and live by. I don’t expect my friends or family (family being those outside of Ray and the girls) to live by my expectations, however I do find that I get along better with people who have a similar perspective on life. I’ve learned to “just say no” to people and that is often seen as being an asshole….so be it.

This may seem contrary if you listen to me rant and rave, but I actually do get tired of complaining and am trying to loosen up.

So why am I ranting and raving about all this now? Well I have been super stressed about my diet lately. Measuring glucose levels, cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL, LDL, monitoring body temperature, weight, body fat – over analyzing every morsel of food – fasting (even when I’m hungry!). It’s all been a lot – as I recognize in a sane mind that this has been a bit of an overkill. Today my husband played hookie and we went to get lunch and see a movie. We went to the mall as it was closest to the movie theater and of course they have the normal food court fair. I immediately tensed up. I wanted some Chick-fil-a French fries and a big banana pudding milk shake…gosh could they make that picture any more delicious looking? But I got a steak salad, poured some vinegar on it and ate it with my bottled water. Sigh……I tell myself there is more to life than “treats” and that I plan to work out later and need the proper fuel. Yeah, yeah, what the eff ever.

After the movie (Priest is totally predictable btw, action is OK, but it was mehhh….) we head to the grocery store and we get the normal Paleo stock. Ray is hungry again – you want to just go home and have another ham lettuce wrap? What I meant was if I have another ham lettuce wrap I will be a complete bitch all night. Ray being the good husband he is said let’s go get some burgers. While we are eating our burgers sans bun – we ate some fries. “Let’s go for it.” I said. Ray asks what I want…..A BANANA SPLIT! It was delicious! We shared a Baskin Robbins – Peanut Butter Chocolate, Strawberry Cheesecake, Oreo Cheesecake in hot fudge, strawberries and peanut butter sauce with whip cream and cherries sprinkled with peanuts banana split. I cherished each bite slowly letting it melt in my mouth. It was cold, creamy, syrupy, soppy, the banana was just the right ripeness, the whip cream did that thing it does where it completely fills your mouth then melts – peanut butter….oh god how I’ve missed you. I’d eat an old shoe if you were smeared all over it…and your warm and drippy.

A coffee….WITH CREAM. Oh my gosh how I miss cream in my coffee!!! So off to Dunkin Donuts we went. Ray wanted a donut, we got an éclair and shared it. The coffee was creamy, sweet and hot. The éclair was flaky and sweet, the chocolate icing was gooey, the pudding was a buttery rich velvet delight. I was satiated. My stress was gone. I felt focused and relaxed.
This was the first time I have cut loose since we went Paleo back in December. It was the first grain I have had other than a few beers. The second time I had ice cream but before I had measured my serving and stressed each bite…..and then measured my glucose levels. The first time I had French fries!

I am not planning on having any of these treats on a regular basis – but it was nice to cut loose and not worry about my cholesterol, blood glucose level, body fat or fueling for performance. My triceps aren’t going to flab up after my junk food binge, my thighs won’t rub, my abs will still be defined. Because I am intense, I am intimidating, I am loyal to Paleo, but like Robb Wolf says, this isn’t a cult, but I still want to be as healthy as I can; that includes body and mind and every once in a while you should let loose – every once in a while should be defined as every few months, not a few times a month.

There is no reason to beat yourself up for wanting to have these treats – they taste great – hell they especially taste great when you don’t eat them for 5 months! But just remember they will wreak havoc on your body in excess; but when you feel yourself starting to feel like you want to sit in a corner and pout while everyone else enjoys a slice of pizza – maybe you should remember “this isn’t a cult” ;-)

Cholesterol, Carb-mania and being a responsible body owner

Have you ever googled: lower cholesterol naturally? I have, my husband and his mechanical heart valve have taken me more internet searches than any other topic in my whole entire life. When we had our last visit with the cardiologist we found out that Ray’s cholesterol was too high, it was higher than average but it was also in the alarming range for someone who has a mechanical heart valve and had a heart attack. This was frightening, you can relate if you have ever been through open heart surgery and a heart attack with a 33/34-year old (respectively).

So my google search told me that Ray shouldn’t be eating animal flesh. It is high in cholesterol and the body makes all the cholesterol it needs naturally. It suggested exercise, low stress and a diet low in animal flesh. I was on the brink of suggesting we go vegan after I did another google search on every food I could think of and found that we were going to have to cut out meat, poultry, fish, eggs and dairy. This left vegetables, fruits and the boasted “healthy whole-grain”.
Luckily a week into that diet we decided to go Paleo after extensive research on why a diet high in protein (especially red meat), veggies, eggs, and nuts with fruit in moderation was better for you than a diet rich in “healthy” whole-grains, veggies and fruits.

I know you are thinking the commercials and even the box of oatmeal promises to lower my cholesterol, cheerios are HEART HEALTHY! What are you talking about “Crazy Kool-Aid drinking Paleo lady”?

You are going to have to hang on here, I am about to take you down a road of biochemistry and science….it’ll be a bit bumpy but I will try and throw in some humor here and there to keep your attention.

Let’s talk about carbohydrates – I posted on a forum last week that your food pyramid should be meats, veggies, eggs, nuts and moderate fruit and counting calories is useless and got my head bit off. Where do you get your mental focus if you cut out all carbohydrates? You HAVE to count calories and macronutrients! Carbohydrates are sensationalized for their “energy providing powers”! And many will argue when I tell them that carbohydrates are not good for you that I am confused and just lumping all carbohydrates together. I get reminded that there are two classes of carbohydrates, simple and complex. Simple being your sugars and complex being foods like potatoes and oatmeal. Let’s take a look at the “good” complex carbohydrates. Potatoes and oatmeal actually spike your blood sugar levels higher than simple sugars, thus causing a higher rise in insulin levels. Insulin’s number one job is to get glucose out of the blood and store it and lock it in your fat cells. My point here is all carbohydrates, whether simple or complex are turned into glucose during the digestion process.

Your body doesn’t have a calorie sensor. Fat gain and loss, just like cholesterol, insulin, and thyroid function are all hormonal responses. Carbohydrates in any form raise your blood glucose levels spiking insulin response – promoting fat storage. Going low calorie is going low nutrient. Your body needs nutrients (vitamins and minerals) for normal function (including a healthy immune response, digestion, energy, organ function, etc). This is not my opinion – this is a fact.
But I’ve lost weight on a low calorie, plant based, carb grain rich diet. In the 21st century where the typical American diet is burgers in white buns, ketchup, French fries, chips, cookies, sodas, juice boxes, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and every sugar-free product the heart could desire – no wonder you saw improvement. But it’s not long term and this is why.

Wheat, corn, oats and sugar cause an increase in LDL (the small particles) and these foods also increase the LDL particles to glycate. Because they are smaller they are able to break loose and find their ways into tiny arteries. Because they are glycated the liver is unable to clean them out of the blood stream efficiently. The good news is you can reduce and reverse high LDL by reducing consumption in wheat, corn, oats and sugars. A diet rich in proteins (animal flesh) does not increase your cholesterol. Your body makes enough cholesterol for every cell in the body – cholesterol is required by every cell in the body. If you have a diet high in foods that have cholesterol your body makes less.

My goal with this blog is to give you the reader self-empowerment over your health. We live in an age of great technology and there are so many direct to consumer products available these days to help you empower yourself for better health and to be able to ask better questions of your health care provider. There are so many resources available at a finger click it is hard to associate what is factual and what is vogue. One of my ultimate pet-peeves is Dr. Mehmet Oz. This man’s reach is worldwide thanks to Oprah and the information he passes is so bogus. He is out for ratings and sensationalism. It sickens me. I am not selling a damn thing on this blog – I am just providing you facts. Always be leery of anyone trying to sell you something.

Take an interest in your health. Here are some simple at home tests you can perform routinely to make sure you are on track:

Glucometer! My favorite. This tests your blood glucose levels. You want to maintain 70-90 – this means when you have a meal test yourself before and an hour to 90 minutes post meal. Your blood sugar level should be the same after that meal.

Blood pressure cuff: normal blood pressure is 120/80. You should take your blood pressure when you are stressed, after exercise, when you wake up, etc. Getting one reading at the doctors isn’t enough. Aorta enlargement is a silent ailment that can lead to aneurism or aortic valve replacement. The aorta valve is the tree trunk of your heart – when this valve gets weak either from birth defects (what happened to my husband) or from poor diet (lack of omega-3 and a high grain diet) or enlarges you are at risk.

Thermometer: Upon waking your temperature should be 97.3 – this tells you that your thyroid function is A-OK.

CardioChek!: Another favorite. CardioChek allows you to check your total cholesterol, HDL and triglycerides.

With all this at your finger tips there is NO REASON YOU SHOULDN’T BE IN THE KNOW ABOUT WHAT’S GOING ON IN YOUR BODY!

And if anyone cares, Ray is off his cholesterol medication AND below average only four months into the Paleo lifestyle.

Robotics, kids and fasting

Today was my 11 year old's Robotic Competition - this has been an after school activity since Sept. She had to compete for a nine man team, maintain all A's in math and science and today was the day to showcase all the team's hardwork. Sydney was a researcher for the team and did the presentation portion. She did awesome! She spoke loud, clear and slow; she was animated, made eye contact and really worked the crowd. I couldn't have been more impressed or proud!

I was sad to see so many overweight children. Each of the teams bought lunch for their kids. It ranged from Chinese, Chick-fil-a, pizza, hot dogs, fries, chips, sodas and candy. After awhile I actually had to leave the room as it was hot, most kids at the 11 year old age range don't grasp the deodarant concept and the combination of that and all the fast food was making me sick.

It still shocks me to see young girls with such big bellies. I mean let's be honest being a fat guy is a whole heck of a lot different than being a fat girl. Being a fat guy you can be funny or play football. Being a fat girl....well you are just the brunt of jokes. Not to mention the damage you are doing to your body and organs at such a young age.

So I have given up lunch...that is my fast each day. It ranges from 6-10 hours. With the introduction of fasting I have been able to keep my blood glucose levels between 76-78, even post-prandial of a meal with carbs (cashew butter or fruit, and even potatoes). The best thing is I eat until I am full - I don't count calories and after the first few days which I will admit my brain was used to that glucose rush at set times, it gets easier and you don't have crippling hunger pains. And I should add that I do eat some nuts in my 6-10 hour fast, along with fish oil, cinnamon and green tea.

I am currently trying to figure out the effects of alcohol on bgl - I already know that alcohol lowers bgl - the reason being is the liver stops metabolizing food and dumping glucose into the blood stream and works on getting the alcohol which is poison out of your body. I tested my friend the morning after she had several drinks (she had a pretty good hangover) and she was at 68 - dangerously low. It was no wonder she felt so crappy. But I want to know more. Once I find it out I will share.

Happy Saturday - domo arigato Mr. Roboto....ha ha ha....my kid thought that was the sooo embarrasing today =) And I thought THAT was hilarious.

Best device to manage weight

A glucometer!

This experiment started out as a simple track your blood glucose levels for 30 days and sustains a level of 80 one hour postprandial (after eating); it sounded easy enough to me when I decided to do it, I thought I’m an athlete I eat Paleo, my blood glucose levels (bgl) would be low and I might just have to cut out some fruit, agave and wine to reach 80. Wow, I couldn’t have been more wrong! This has been an eye opening health adventure and I recommend for everyone to set a goal for improved insulin sensitivity; because the glucometer is the window to your health (Dr. William Davis).

About me:
32 year old female; 5’5” - 133#s @ 17.6% body fat. (The picture above is from my first figure competition.....I get to that later).

I am extremely active: my activities include Olympic lifting, parkour, gymnastics and playing. I eat a Paleo diet/lifestyle.

I have learned several things on my quest for the perfect blood glucose level which is 80 in ALL mammals (My Paleo love led me to study evolution...I know I’m such a nerd.) The first thing I learned is a fasting glucose level is garbage. Your fasting glucose level is the last to deteriorate and when your fasting blood glucose level has reached the diabetic range you already have organ damage. If you take nothing more away from this it should prevention is a whole hell of a lot easier than trying to live with a disease or recover from it.

Here are the basics, 80-120 blood glucose levels are considered “normal” but unless you are completely dense you should already know that diagnostic criteria pushes the envelope on “normal”.

So with this knowledge I had to wonder why the American Diabetic Association (ADA) is pushing out these numbers. Well this was a slippery slope that led to politics, speculation and ultimately the big conspiracy theory. We all know that pharmaceutical companies, the grocery and agriculture industries are multi-billion dollar operations. And with money is power. I’ll leave it at that, because I want this experiment to be based on facts more so than speculation that the drug companies are out to make us all dependent on one drug or another to keep them rich and I fell prey to that assumption (although I’ll admit I do think there is a direct link).

But regardless, the fact is the ADA is a powerful institution. But a majority of their data is 32 years out of date and they are internationally ignored.

Basics: Your pancreas has beta-cells that make insulin. Basal Insulin Release is the fancy name for the releasing of insulin.

We have two responses to mopping the sugar (glucose) from our blood from the food we eat. The first is the initial response. The amount of insulin released in this initial response is based directly on what our last meal was. If levels aren’t back under 100 our body utilizes the second phase insulin response. So it is easy to see how your beta-cells can be worked overtime if you are eating foods that cause too much sugar (glucose) to be dumped into your blood stream. It also sets up the explanation for my residual postprandial (fancy word for after eating) buildup I talk about later.

The real problem starts when these precious beta-cells start to die from overuse. When 63% of beta-cells die you are diabetic. You cannot test beta-cells in a living human. A biopsy will cause the pancreas to leak digestive enzymes – and digestive enzymes will do what they do best: digest, even if it is pancreas tissue. An MRI cannot be used because of the location of the pancreas. They are doing research now on beta-cell regeneration and there are projects in the work that show adult pancreas’ will convert alpha-cells’ function to beta-cell function to replace the dead beta-cells. But it’s a long way off; AND the diabetic would have to make drastic dietary change – not just medicinal treatment.

The best test for diabetes, pre-diabetic and insulin resistant related diseases is a Glucose Tolerance Test (GTT) which up until 2007 the ADA claimed a GTT was unreliable; later they said GTT was expensive and time consuming that is why the institute did not recommend GTT. The Fasting Glucose Tolerance Test is the ADA recommended test; which fasting glucose levels are the last level to deteriorate and NOT a good indicator of how things are working.
Usually by the time your fasting glucose levels have deteriorated you already have organ damage related to blood sugar levels. Your beta-cells have all night in a resting body to restore insulin storage – but as soon as you eat you are back on the Russian roulette game of balancing glucose and insulin if you aren’t eating the foods you are meant to eat.

Busy doctors refer to tables and graphs not studies; that is why they refer to the ADAs standard and use the fasting glucose level test vice the GTT. This is an actual study. Sad thing is like I said this info is 32 years old (National Diabetes Data Group. Classification and Diagnosis of Diabetes Mellitus and Other Categories of Glucose Intolerance. Diabetes, Vol 23,(10),1979. P.1039-1057.)

OK so now I had to determine what foods would spike my bgl, and I admit in my smug Paleo mind I was going to ace this blood glucose thing and I could brag about how cool my blood suagr levels are, but low and behold even on a Paleo lifestyle I was struggling the first few days to get my levels low! If I ate 3 eggs and ham and drank coffee I was looking at 116; same meal no coffee the next day 90. Anything with tomatoes would spike me into the 100’s – spaghetti sauce (all natural, no added fructose) 115; salsa (again all natural, no added fructose) 106. Apples, grapes and strawberries even with a walk, cinnamon and nuts (I’ll talk about later) would be 115.
So I was desperate to figure out why such good food items like tomatoes and apples would spike my blood sugar and what was the role of black coffee in raising my levels. I thought perhaps I am pre-pre-diabetic, if there is such a thing. I am an athlete for crying out loud, I am lean, I work out, there is no reason I should have this high of readings unless I am genetically predisposed (which I am a skeptic on genetics – I see it more as learned behavior; poor eating habit parents = poor eating habit kids.)

I went to a strict diet of meat, eggs, nuts and veggies and I was able to balance my blood sugar levels in the 80’s. I started doing some more evolution digging and came up with my own theory that fruit (and even veggies) are seasonal items. Nowadays we can have fruit year round – but our ancestors pancreas got a (depending on climate) six month break from the insulin spiker, fruit.

I also learned that walking, after you eat, adding cinnamon, green tea and fish oil all helped lower my blood sugar levels.

So I kind of had a handle on how to obtain levels in the 80s, so I wanted to expand my experiment and do some real experimenting, like what really spikes it and how bad.
I made my husband play along and we ate ¾ cup ice cream and shared a 12oz can of Pepsi – giving each of us 6 oz. I took our blood sugar and it was 80 flat for me and 82 for him! Impossible! How the hell did that happen? I was super confused, we were both bloated and really didn’t feel good from the sugar rush. I took my dogs for a walk to help burn off the excessive sugar and clear my head. I really was at a loss. This was around noonish, a few hours later I had a Paleo dinner of burger and broccoli, this same meal two days prior gave me a bsl of 80; this meal post the sugar rush = 100!! This brought me to my conclusion on residual and postprandial buildup. What was more interesting was that the next morning my fasting bsl was 100, and my normal 3 eggs and hams had my bsl at 97, 11 POINTS higher than average. I needed to get these levels lowered STAT – so I came up with a plan to fast. I did an six hour fast midday and was able to pull my bsl to 76. I worked out at the end of the six hours and ate post workout steak, broccoli and some cashew butter, my bsl was 90. Slight spike from the cashew butter (one of my weaknesses!) but all was well again.

So intermittent fasting seems to help lower bsl. Hmmm, this is a pretty useful tool. And surprisingly easy – I loved the fact that I didn’t have to drag a lunch box with me to work. My lunch box, although designer in nature, has become a ball and chain of sorts. A constant worry, is the temperature right, did I pack enough snacks for the day , I don’t feel like packing tonight for tomorrow I’m too tired, only to run around like a mad woman packing a lunch and snacks early the next am. It was a great freedom not to do this – I was only going to be away from the house for 6 hours, surely I will not wilt away and I can demonstrate enough discipline to not buy a meal/snack at work. I should mention I have a phobia of eating out – there are only a few places I trust to eat at (so much hidden sugar and wheat!) and eating Paleo out is ‘spensive!

Again, this led me to another phenomenon….the “graze”. Everyone boasts to eat small meals every 2-3 hours. I know I have even given that advice to people struggling with their weight. “Your metabolism is slow, you need to eat more frequently and speed it up.” This is actually horrible advice!! But I also see why it came about. If you live mainly on a diet of junk, and I consider junk anything other than meat, veggies, eggs, nuts, and fruits in that order, a common trait is to eat a pastry or cereal for breakfast , skip lunch and binge on dinner to “make up for the lost calories” or maybe you aren’t in the thought process of making up lost calories, perhaps it’s more, “I didn’t eat lunch so I can have a big dinner” or your bsl spiked and then fell from the sugary breakfast and now your brain is screaming for more glucose, because that is what your brain does best, scream for glucose. There could be a thought process to the dinner binge or survival instinct, regardless the theory of eating small meals every 2-3 hours to give one control and discipline over hunger was introduced.

Grazing for me caused a residual postprandial bsl. My body wasn’t fully recovered from my last meal and I was throwing down more calories to be processed – and the scary part about that is most people aren’t Paleo – so their diet is full of foods that spike bsl way into the 100 range without them even being aware (why a glucometer for ANYONE is a great health investment).

My youngest daughter is Celiac. When she was first diagnosed we played the replace gluten with gluten-free items game. She didn’t like the cookies, the pizza, the brownies, or the bread. I was repulsed by them too I could suffer through the brownies and cookies although I am convinced if you put chocolate on drywall I’d eat it. So the whole family went Paleo, the most challenging meal was breakfast. Eggs everyday got to be really old for the kids (ages: 9 and 11) at about month four. I looked for gluten-free cereals and bought Fruity Pebbles and Coco Pebbles and we used unsweetened almond milk to break the egg-monotony. The kids were ecstatic to have cereal again – I am not sure what is in cereal, maybe crack….oh wait no it’s something more addictive…sugar, that makes kids go crazy for the stuff. My kids and husband thought I was a little crazy when I first started this experiment but soon enough they were having me prick their fingers to test their bsll. This gave me even greater insight and frightening data. Fruity Pebbles and unsweetened almond milk spiked my 11 year olds bsl to 138 one-hours postprandial; my 9 year old to 118. It’s important to note that they both measured ¾ cup serving sizes of the cereal but my 11 year old finished hers and the 9 year old didn’t. They both drank water and usually they have orange juice with their eggs. I would be terrified to see what their bsl would have been if they would have had the OJ as well. Needless to say they are going back to eggs – or no breakfast.

Yes, no breakfast. That isn’t a mis-type. Whether you break the fast or not you and your kids will make it through the morning. Eating breakfast is a modern day economic prosperity; the cereal companies have led us to believe that it is a nutritional requirement. Don’t assume Associations and Institutes have our best interests at mind when they report scientific data. Scientific data can be manipulated to purport whatever findings you want. Politics play a large role in the grant money and studies they claim. This brings me back to the fasting. This absolutely amazed me and I wanted more information because I lift weights, and I love my muscle mass – and I need calories to work out and play and sustain muscle mass and if I am really lucky put more on. How would fasting affect that?

A little more background on me….I used to do fitness competitions. My first competition I went from 132#s to 118#s & 12%. I hardly had any muscle to display, I looked a little anorexic. The advice I got from the judges was to bulk. This was a frightening concept to me. Put on a bunch of weight – inevitably some of it would be fat and some muscle – then diet back down and see where I was. But for the love of the sport I decided to give it a try and my one and only attempt at a bulk went like this:

No cardio; I did a Dogg Crap style lifting routine; pre-workout I drank NOXplode; mid-workout I would eat some sweet tarts and a protein gel shot; post-workout a protein drink. I got stronger on my lifts, I put on some noticeable size, (144#, 12# gain) none of my clothes fit and I couldn’t do a flight of stairs without being winded. My legs were hamhocks, my shoulders had nice caps, my face was round, my triceps puffy and did I mention my clothes didn’t fit? And to top it all off I kept getting injured. These are relative changes – depends on who views them as to if they were good or bad. I viewed them as “things you learn as you get older in the gym” and I will never do any of this $hit again.

All the supplements started to tear up my stomach. To drink any of the powdered mixes, whether it was the NOXplode or the protein powders (if you aren’t familiar w/ NOXplode it has a ton of caffeine, sucralose, aspirin and a bunch of other chemicals – the protein powders had a bunch of vitamins and minerals and artificial sweeteners) I added as little water as possible to gag them down. I would rub my belly like a Buddha trying to get it to stop reeling. I started to get pimples on my back and routinely on my face. And I became chronically constipated with intermittent periods of blasting diarrhea. Did I mention my clothes didn’t fit? In addition to all the supplements (and supments are ‘spensive!) I drank diet pepsi, put splenda on/in everything, ate sugar free jello, sugar free chocolates, and invented a sugar free pumpkin pie - but it was OK because the only other thing I ate was grilled chicken and green beans, I wouldn’t eat steak to prevent high cholesterol and excessive weight gain (ha ha ha ha). I was always hungry and had nicknamed my hunger “my inner fat girl”. Which is kind of ironic because I was becoming fat on the outside; I watched my body fat crawl into the 20% and over range and cringed….but I was bulking I kept telling myself.

I finally came to my senses and was done tormenting my digestive system and I made the great change to my current activities of keeping the Olympic lifts, but adding in Parkour, gymnastics, sprints and playing. I also decided to go Paleo after finding a great website link on about Paleo on one of the many Crossfit links I perused surfing the internet daily. I read everything I could on Paleo and then drifted to Evolution.

So I did one of my cool functional fitness workouts on a 6 hour fast. The workout was 3x3 Push Jerks – threw up 120#s (a PR for me), then did 100 explosive push-ups (the up was two 25# plates stacked on each other) and the rest from the push-ups was a sprint on a 10% incline/8.2 pace for 30 seconds. I went the distance; didn’t quit and didn’t feel like I had any less energy than if I would have eaten.

I mentioned all the turmoil I put my gut through and my daughter’s Celiac – so let’s talk gut: your gut plays the lead role in your body for health and disease. Your gut is the barrier or gate keeper of your body, its function is to keep foreign material out of the body. If the intestinal barrier becomes permeable then you develop Leaky Gut Syndrome. What exactly is Leaky Gut Syndrome? It is when the intestines become inflamed from foods (I use that term loosely) and tiny tears happen, large protein molecules escape into the blood stream, as you can imagine these molecules don’t belong directly in the blood stream and they set off your immune system. Your immune system responds and attacks. These attacks play a distinct role in the development of autoimmune disorders (Hashimoto, Type I diabetes, Celiac, Multiple Sclerosis, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Autism, Depression, Inflammatory Bowel, Metabolic Syndrome). The scary part is you don’t have to have gut symptoms to have Leaky Gut Syndrome and the negative effects. What foods cause Leaky Gut Syndrome? Wheat, gluten products, antibiotics, birth control, NSAIDS, processed foods (anything containing fructose), wheat and seed oils are evil.

I don’t have an autoimmune disorder (that I know of) but all these items are linked to non-autoimmune disorders like asthma, allergies, skin conditions (eczema, acne) obesity, heart failure, depression, brain fog and digestive problems (IBS, gas, bloating, diarrhea, constipation).

This was a really long post to come to the conclusion (with two weeks of data vice the intended 30-days) that if you want to know how foods are affecting you and if they are truly nourishing your body or causing it problems buy a glucometer and do some of your own tests. Test yourself before the meal and within a window of 60-90 minutes postprandial. Your bgl should be the same as it was pre-meal. You should also try to attain bgl under 100.

Try a fast! I am not suggesting you starve yourself for a day or even three! But skipping a meal will not nutritionally hurt you nor will it dampen your workouts. You may lean out a bit more, but just remember muscle size isn’t a good indicator of muscle strength.

Walk post meal – this is so simple and has an amazing impact on your bgl. A ten-minute walk at a brisk pace. (Take your sneakers to work – no one should be sitting at a desk for more than an hour at a time anyways! You aren’t that important, trust me)

Cinnamon, fish oil and green tea help lower your bgl. Replacing coffee is hard, I recognize that, but when I saw how it spiked my bgl it was easy to give it up and replace it with green tea. Besides when my bgl doesn’t jump up and down I don’t get tired or foggy brained – and taking a brisk walk when I do get tired at my desk instantly cures fatigue better than coffee.

Be leery of gluten-free products – they spike bgl too. You have to find out what having treats in moderation means for your body; the only way to do that is to buy a glucometer and figure out what YOU can tolerate. Experimenting on my husband and comparing it to myself prove to me that his moderation is more lenient than what I need to practice.

Sleep!! Everyone recommends it, everyone loves it, and few do it. Lack of sleep, like coffee, raises cortisol levels which impacts your bgl in a negative way. Enough said.

If anyone is interested in my actual bgl readings shoot me an email and I’ll share.

Outside of my own finger pricking blood glucose measure testing and comparing and years of touching the proverbial hot stove with my own diet.....I got myinformation from the following:

Dr. William Davis’ website: http://www.trackyourplaque.com/blog/ which was recommended to me by Talk to me Johnnie’s blog: http://talktomejohnnie.com/

I also found my fasting information from Mike O’Donnell on Facebook and at http://www.theiflife.com/ although some great info I don’t agree with everything Mike has to say about fasting – and his end game is to sell his program.

I have been figuring out how to lift weights, eat and stay healthy for 17 years. I have been training others with the information I test on myself for nine years; I have a normal full-time job so I am selective about the clients I train in my home – if you don’t want to work, I don’t want to train you – which is why I need the regular full-time job to pay the bills. My website is http://www.the-gym-cellar.com/.