Thursday, June 14, 2012

Yesterday, Today, and Paleo

Before I get started, my apologies for the lack of a post yesterday. It was tremendously busy at work and then my afternoon exploded into more busy. That led straight into a busy evening and by the time I got home at 8, all I did was crawl into bed by 9pm.

Yesterday afternoon was spent helping my mom out with a doctor's appointment, getting her discharged from the long term (physical) rehab center she was staying in, and getting her home, up a flight of stairs, and settled. This take a surprising amount of time and energy in 108* F. After which I had dinner plans, and then I drove my tired self home and crawled into bed. And in order to make up the time I missed at work yesterday, I woke up at 4:30 am and dragged myself into the office at 6:30 this morning. My cup of coffee this morning may more accurately be described as a tankard.

Yesterday's WOD and Nutrition 06/13/212

WOD: "Grace" It's funny that I wrote about fforgiveness and grace and then we end up doing a CrossFit WOD named Grace. Grace is 30 Clean and Jerks for time. The prescribed weight for women is 95lbs, but seeing as how my 1 rep maximum weight last week was under that, I just went with 45lbs. I finished in 4:35! I maybe should go slightly higher in weight next time. And then because we had more time left, we did a Cash Out at the end for 5 minutes, as many rounds as possible 20 box steps and 10 push ups. I was so spent I only finished 3 rounds in 5 minutes.

Nutrition:
Breakfast: Bacon Avocado and Tomato with fresh squeezed lime juice! Seriously, favorite summer breakfast!!!
Lunch: Chicken salad with southwest ranch.
Snack: Had some trail mix with chocolate covered peanuts that my mom had when I felt my blood sugar getting low in the afternoon.
Dinner: Large hot and sour soup, (not all of it) and 2 pork egg rolls from Pei Wei. I find it's really hard for me to control my servings if I order one of the regular entrees at Pei Wei. They are so tasty! So instead, I went with soup and the egg rolls. Which were also delicious. Not a gluten free meal though, and still not great choices, but even the salad dressings here are loaded with gluten. Even though Asian food is my favorite, I am finding it's a minefield of gluten, and in particular it's the sauces. It may be something that I try to learn to make on my own, but for now I may have to bid it goodbye. Also I got a Coke Zero on my way home when I stopped to get gas because I was so tired. Coffee is too much caffeine at night and I won't be able to sleep, but that was enough to get me home safe in one piece.

And now for Today:

WOD:

Rest day! No WOD!!!

Nutrition

Breakfast: Chicken in tomato sauce with broccoli. It was already made and in the freezer, don't judge me.

Lunch: Chicken in tomato sauce with broccoli. It was already with me here at work, don't judge me

Dinner: Steak, broccoli and yams! Again, only half of a yam for me.



And finally, let's talk Paleo.

I've had more than one person ask, what on earth I'm talking about when I refer to Paleo. Paleo (PAY-lee-oh) gets it's name from Paleolithic. Basically a caveman style of eating pre-agriculture.

Foods that are encouraged: Lean Meats, Seafood, Vegetables, Fruits, Nuts and Seeds, and Healthy Fats.

Foods to avoid: Grains, Legumes, Dairy, Processed Sugars, Starches and Alcohol.

This is a simple way for me to eat because I have Celiac's and I'm lactose intolerant, which makes it harder for me to deal with fructose as well. If you read back over the last 10 days, you won't see a whole lot of fruit. Maybe a banana or something that is easy to digest. Fruits I will eat are bananas, cantaloupe, and occasionally pears. I used to eat pineapple but it's just a pain to get all the threads out of my braces now. But generally speaking I just don't like fruit, it doesn't taste good to me and it hurts my tummy.

Basic ideas behind this way of eating is that grains, legumes, and dairy all have inflammatory properties that are naturally a part of their make up. These inflammatory properties have a way of building up within the human body and eventually our immune system freaks out and there are a number of autoimmune responses that the body can have. To be real honest, while I read all of the science behind it in "The Paleo Solution," by Robb Wolf, I really don't care. What matters to me is how I have felt since I came off of gluten.

Last spring (2011) my doctor figured out I have Celiac's. This explains why I've always had a problem absorbing minerals and my blood work for the most of my life has shown just trace amounts of sodium, potassium, magnesium, and calcium as well as severe vitamin D deficiency. Also add to all of that, intermittent bouts of anemia in my life, the worst lasting 3 years and leaving my very ill. When I came off of the gluten a little over a year ago, the first four days were torment. I laid in bed and cried because I hurt so bad. Every single joint in my body hurt. Rob couldn't even hold my hand because the pain was so intense. It felt like everything was on fire, iincluding my entire digestive system. But afterwards, sweet mercy! I have so much less joint pain, digestion issues, and no more sluggishness. And my blood work is more balanced as well.

A Paleo way of eating is simple, not easy. I don't care if it's not easy, because I feel so much better. It's tempting here and there to eat something that has gluten in it like I did last night, but I now have a swollen right knee and hives to show for it. And I firmly believe that the reason I got so sick when we were on our way home from Europe in April was because it was so difficult to avoid gluten on our vacation. My immune system was a mess and it couldn't fight off a little cold, in fact it turned into bronchitis.

If Paleo is something you want to look into, here are some of the resources that have helped me:

What To Eat While Paleo
This is the dowloadable food matrix from Robb Wolf's website. His site is full of wonderful information, and while the podcasts are uncensored (for those with sensitive ears), they contain a lot of very useful information. Also, his books are available on Amazon and through his site, and they are available in print and digital format for your e-reader or iPad. Below is the link to his home page.

http://robbwolf.com/

Last but not least, my favorite recipes I try are from Everyday Paleo!

Paleo Recipes from a Paleo Mom, Sarah Fragoso

Check out Sarah's cookbooks. I love her recipes! I got her cookbook for Christmas and I regularly use her recipes. She's amazing. She's also a working mom who committed herself to her health and her family's health. And even her kids are Paleo. Kids not eating processed foods? She's done it. Also her story is in the "Everyday Paleo Cookbook," and she is super inspiring. It's a hard transition to make, and it's been difficult in my house even though I don't have kids. I have a husband from Chicago who was used to Chicago eats. But even he has come to see that his way of eating now is much healthier, and that his palate has changed. He  no longer has the taste for rich foods from his native Windy City, although he will always love pizza. Good thing we can't get good deep dish here.

Let me know what questions you may have in the comments. I hope this helps clarify things for those of you who are wondering. Tomorrow I will try to tackle a brief summary of CrossFit, the terminology, and why it's so ridiculously addictive.

xo,

Kendra



5 comments:

  1. OH MY GOSH I AM EATING THAT FOR BREAKFAST.

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    1. It's life altering Tangie! You will never be the same once you have the BAT Breakfast!

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  2. P.S. Excellent post. We are with ya on the Paleo thing... Neither of us have felt so good and "on the right track" before now. Can't even tell you what the change did for Aaron's health and wellbeing. I tell everyone about it but many people can't get past the "I can't have's". (For anyone looking into this way of eating, trust me, it gets downright gourmet when you learn to cook without the grains and sugars... it's not as hard as it sounds and zero deprivation. We just learn new ways to make the foods we love.) :) YOU ROCK KENDRA

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  3. I'm gonna try that BAT breakfast, too! :)
    I love the 'grace' connection, that is so cool!!!
    I am struck again by this journey you have traveled and everything you have learned about your body--it's amazing!!! I still can't believe you have Celiac's. You have been through so much, you are so inspriring!!!
    My friend Chrissy does Crossfit and Paleo, it's interesting! SO glad it's working for you!!! Wahoo for feeling better!!

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