How to wed a Sasquatch.....

It's most likely obvious that I am not the best blogger in the world.  My earth life gets in the way of my cyber life more often than not.  Which, honestly, doesn't bother me all that much.  The big news this week/month is We're Engaged!!!!  I couldn't be happier that I have found my match in almost every way and am so glad to embark on the next leg of our journey together.  I am debating starting a dedicated wedding blog about planning for and marrying my Sasquatch.

My next big news is I finally buckled down and joined a workout class that I am adoring even if it kicks my ass on a regular basis.  After the first class I could hardly move for three days!!!  It's called Train With Intensity (TWI) and run by a really inspirational Icelandic couple Svavar and Lilja.  Due to the fact that I am horridly out of shape and never been an athlete like many of the people in the class they are letting me take one a week to get my body used to the hard work out.  In a few weeks though watch out!  I will be training twice a week with the Icelandic Viking and will be in wedding dress shape in no time.

One caveat to what I said above  - while looking amazing on my wedding day will be a definite bonus - it is NOT the reason I joined the class or am making the changes I am in my lifestyle.  The changes have been slower coming than I thought they would at first.  Things have been very stressful at work and I have not been giving myself the focus I would like to over the last month or so.  When the Sasquatch is home things are better.  It's harder to give in to stress cravings when he is around - which is awesome!  My main goal this month is to really focus on cooking at home more and therefore having things prepped to be able to avoid the stressed out cravings for pizza or the like while at work.

So Excited.....

As I have stated before I live in Texas and add to that in a major metropolitan area.  If there is one thing I should be able to find it's good beef right?  Wrong oh so wrong but I am still looking for a good source of grass fed beef.  We do have quite a few "health" stores - but I find that they cater to people that lean more towards vegan and gluten free etc.  The few places I have found to have really good quality meats are a long drive from my mid-cities location (sadly gas matters these days).  I guess people in the burbs aren't trendy enough to shop anywhere other than Wal-Mart.  

The closest store to me carries a very limited selection of grass fed beef in their freezer.  When I asked if that was really all they carried the lady looked at me as if I should be drawn and quartered for eating real meat.  She even pointed out all of the "meatless" meats they had to offer as wonderfully healthy.  I really thought she would round up a posse when I said I don't eat soy products any longer.  

Where is the cut off?

I read daily.  Blogs, books, websites.  I am trying to learn what it really means to be "paleo" It's a word I throw around now because I am at a loss for what else to call my new eating habits or my desire to have more natural foods (grass fed organic etc).  In order to be healthier and earn my Cavewoman status - must I also cut out anything and everything that is "conventional wisdom"?  Am I a bad wanna be cavewoman if I continue to see my psychiatrist and take my medication?  (I have general anxiety disorder that went undiagnosed for years - and which I finally have under control with the help of a wonderful doctor and minimal medication)  Or perhaps I am bad for using my sonic toothbrush?  I know this sounds silly but it is something that I think about as I read and learn more about the world of the modern day caveman movement. 

So much for the daily thing...

Okay so I have not been great about keeping up daily.  However, I have a semi-good excuse.  Between a major hail storm (broken windshield etc) and electrical issues my car has been in the shop off and on for a week now.  I've been depending on my mom and neighbor to get me to and fro until the dealership gave me a loaner car.  I hate my loaner car LOL!  I did not think I was attached to my silly little car but apparently I am.   Enough on that though back to what this is all really about. 

May 24, 2011

I am debating whether to do daily posts on mundane things or just share thoughts about progress etc. Today I am going to try the daily post thing.

Aside from having to be at work at 6:45 and not taking the time to pack a lunch, things have been going well today. I also did not take the time to make breakfast this morning. This means both breakfast and lunch meant a trip to the cafeteria. This can be daunting to someone who reads constantly about the importance to be as "clean" and "organic" as possible. Let me tell you I highly doubt my eggs from Parkland this morning were farm fresh and I know my bacon may not have even ever been a pig. But hey, I am still trying my best with what I have to work with. I will learn all the tricks of the trade on finding and eating the best I can even in situations where I was too lazy to pack a lunch.

The Scientist in me...

I am a scientist at heart so I always like to test things as I go. I tested myself twice this last week to see how my body would react after 2 weeks of eating pretty cleanly (no bread, pasta, rice, added sugar).

Test #1: I had a very small piece of pecan pie during a work birthday party - within 30 minutes my stomach was revolting and not happy with me at all. My head hurt from the influx of copious amounts of sugar. Won't be doing that again any time soon.

Test #2: I did break down and get some Golden Chick (baked chicken with green beans, cole slaw, and a roll). It was late at night and I had been out and did not have time to cook something when I got home so I did the drive through thing on the way home. I ate my chicken, green beans and some of the cole slaw. I then eyed that once coveted yeast roll. I ate half of it just to see and sure enough my tummy revolted again.

I used to finish a meal and feel bloated and gross even if I had eaten proper proportions. I had not been experiencing that for the past few weeks. It seems that what I had always thought of as my dues for "over eating" were perhaps my own body screaming at me that it doesn't like gluten all that much. It sure doesn't like it when I have something high in sugar or with gluten. I know that truly going paleo will mean getting rid of dairy as well. But right now I am happy with the leap to no bread, pasta, rice and sugar (aside from the occasional >60% dark chocolate) and how it is making me feel.

Past Two Weeks

I eluded to the fact that I had actually already started working my way to eating paleo in my last entry. I won't even begin to think I am an expert yet. But I felt I had read enough to start making some serious changes to my diet.

Sasquatch and I went on a week long vacation recently. We spent a heavenly week at an old goat farm in the hill country of Texas. We had complete control over what we ate with no temptations in the pantry and no grocery just a block away when we thought we wanted cookies or some such. I felt it would be the perfect opportunity to make that first big leap. I've been standing on the cliff of paleo for months now but always seem to come up with some excuse and eat pasta, bread etc. Well we leaped together and just dropped gluten for a week and I came home about 3 lbs lighter than when I left DFW. Wow, really? Everyone had gushed over the immediate results but I wasn't expecting that at all. We had bacon and eggs (farm fresh) with fruit and Greek yogurt for breakfast daily. We had steak and fresh veggies for dinners. No bread, no pasta, no rice.

At this point I am more than intrigued. I felt great, though I owe being on vacation and stress free from work for a week for that as much as diet. It was the boost I have been needing to really focus and see that this is going to work. It was easy to continue once we got home having grilled chicken, fresh veggies, dark chocolate as a treat. I went two entire weeks with no gluten containing products and no rice. I have lost a total of 6 lbs over 2 weeks. Don't get me wrong I have a long way to go until I am a healthy individual again. However, this has been a hell of a start and a great boost to my confidence and conviction to see this through.

Who, What, When, Where and WHY!

Hey Y'all,
First off let's get the basics out of the way:

Who am I? I am a 36-year-old research scientist from Texas who has lived my life struggling with my weight. I've followed all the conventional diets out there and well, I'm still fat. I had some short-lived success for a few years ago when I went "low carb”. But, then I quit the gym, I started eating high carb craptastic meals, and I gained 80 lbs. You read that right 8 0. I am currently pretty damn miserable when it comes to my health. I have asthma (it used to be only allergy related but now even a simple trip up a few flights of stairs can set it off). I have issues with bloating (yay me!). I could go on but I think you get the picture. Actually, you really will when I do a “before” blog in a few days.

What am I about? Long story short – I am ready to make a large change in my life and for the first time I have found something that actually sounds like it really works. I have been reading a book my Mark Sisson (http://www.marksdailyapple.com) called the “Primal Blueprint”. I have been listening to Robb Wolf’s Podcast “The Paleo Solution” (http://robbwolf.com/). I have read countless success stories online about “going Paleo”. As I mentioned above, I am a scientist and listening to Robb, who has a background in biochemistry, has made me really think about dieting and not just listen to whatever is popular out there. Okay honestly, I’m not ready to diet – I am ready to change the way I think and eat and treat my own body. I think that eating "Paleo" or "Primal" is the way to go for my body. As I stated above, I had success with "Low-Carb/High Protein" back in the day. I think that the success I had can be multiplied following the paleo way of eating. I think it will help fix many of my "health" issues not just my weight but everything related. In all ways, Paleo sounds like the best possible route for me to go. So I am starting this blog to share my experiences as I learn more about Paleo and start implementing it into my life.

When? Well NOW! No more excuses. No more Miss Scarlet – “I’ll think about that tomorrow” – mentality. Today, right here, right now. (well actually two weeks ago but that will come up in the next post)

Where? The great state of Texas. - Dallas/ Fort Worth to be exact. I am hoping to cover not only my personal triumphs (yes I think that there will be triumphs) but also where I find the tools I need to do this the right way. Maybe someone will read this and be able to give me ideas on restaurants, stores, markets etc that will help me along the way. Or maybe I find them and share them with you.

Why? Well I think I covered that above. I am ready to make a change. I have a wonderful man in my life (we’ll call him Sasquatch) who loves me the way I am – but I want to love myself as well. I want to have years of life to grow old with this man, I want to have kids and be able to watch them grow up and have children of their own. To do all of that I need to be healthy first.

So that covers just the basics. I am blogging as a way to keep myself accountable and to give me a way to collect and store some of the links and ideas I have along the way. It will give me a chance to go back and see how far I have come or where my pitfalls have been. So jump on this wild ride with me and let’s see where it takes us.