Waiting for Euphoria

Everyone says how good they feel on paleo. I never got there. I started out feeling like crap. I was tired and had no energy, then I moved on to massive head ache (this because of the ketosis). I then settled into feeling normal. I have been off for 3 days and have eaten a lot of "bad food". Hey, do not judge, I am in Daytona. Daytona is home of the chain restaurant. I have had fried oysters, chicken biscuits, corn dogs, and ice cream. I feel like absolute crap. They sell only fair food at the race way so that is what I ate. Ick. So what does someone do when they feel like crap. find something better to put in your body. Oh thank god for roast beef sandwiches with roasted red peppers. I just tossed the bread. It will not be hard to convince me to go back on paleo.

I am a Klutz.

For those of you that were at CF Durham last night and witnessed me, well being me. I am fine. I have 2 stitches and had to get a tetanus shot. I am sorry that I am such a freak and accident prone. I especially apologize to Dave for bleeding profusely in front of his new foundations class.

For the rest of you wondering "what did she do this time?" I fell off of the pull-up bar onto one of our metal boxes and got a nasty puncture wound.

I am a Living Social Coupon

I am a Living Social Coupon

Weight

As if the gods were trying to make it very clear to me that weight does not matter, this happened...
As you all know, I have been doing the Paleo Challenge for the past 22 days. My challenge has been more Mark's Daily Apple than Whole 30. That is to say, I eat dairy. In the past 22 days I have lost exactly 2 lbs. This would be disappointing if it were not for the fact that my partner in crime and I took measurements at the beginning of this whole thing. I would have a tough time with the idea that I am gaining muscle to replace my fat if I did not have 2 boys to observe doing the same thing. Boys are annoying. They loose weight and gain muscle easily in comparison to women. It is very easy to tell that muscle gain is happening when the person you are married to starts to look like he is wearing baby doll tees (he is not wearing tiny tees, he is just getting too muscley for his old shirts).
This is what happened with my measurements:
waist drop of .75 inches
thigh drop of .25 inches
hip drop of 1.75 inches (and I still have a big butt)
arm drop of .25 inches
I should, in the interest of full disclosure, tell you that I am also counting calories.

Side Note:
Wiggen Law Group is the best law firm in the world. If you need help with wills, trust, divorces, etc you should call them.

Sean to the rescue.... and then Carpe Durham

I got an e-mail from Sean the other day telling me what that food truck was. It is Ko Kyu International BBQ. What is international BBQ you ask? I have no clue. Carpe Durham did a post on them though. They said that the tots were "exactly what you want them to be – golden and crispy, while a chopped rosemary topping balanced the richness of the duck fat". I now REALLY want them.

In other news, carbapolooza continues at the UNC Cancer Hospital. Today's carb comes to you in the form of high fructose corn syrup on a stick.


The woman next to me chose apple. I wonder if the makers of this sort of candy have actually ever tasted the fruit that it is suppose to be modeled after. Or seen it for that matter. Nothing says apple to me quiet like neon green.

I had my cholesterol and triglycerides checked on Friday. My Cholesterol was higher than I would like it to be. It is not high but not ideal either. I have a history of heart issues in my family and I have a mild heart murmur (my tricuspid valve is occasionally flappy). This probably makes me over concerned about my cholesterol, but better safe than sorry. On the opposite side of the coin I have some family members that live forever. My gram (great grandmother on my mom's side) lived to 102. She had a heart attack at 98 and then proceeded to tell my mom that she did not understand because she never had heart problems before. I was hoping that paleo would lower it. It did the opposite. It was raised 18 points. My triglycerides however, are on the floor. My triglycerides use to be 169. This is the The National Cholesterol Education Program's guidelines for triglycerides:

Normal: Less than 150 mg/dL
Borderline to High: 150 to 199 mg/dL
High: 200 to 499 mg/dL
Very high: 500 mg/dL or higher

Drum roll please. They are now at 59. That is a drop of 110 points.

No, I do not take fish oil. I know I should. I actually bought some through Amazon this morning with my Living Social Coupon. I also bought some red rice yeast. I will start taking both of these and start a new diet when I get back from Florida. I am going to try the Mediterranean Rx. I read an article a while back where this guy tried all sorts of different diets, 30 days at a time. I know that my experiment is not going to be that scientific. I am changing way too many factors at once. But it is my health we are talking about, so I am going to throw everything at it.

In an effort to procrastinate

In an effort to procrastinate here is a special Saturday post. It is day 19 or 20, I do not remember when we started this thing, of Paleo challenge. I have lost 2 actual pounds since this started but 9 since I started keeping track and calorie counting (right after Mexico, which was Thanksgiving).

I have been taking a page from Tamara Cohen and photographing my progress. I am now a big proponent of this because I would never notice a difference otherwise. Weight loss happens gradually and you might miss it. I was told by a friend that my face looks thinner. I thought she was smoking crack but then I looked back at my photo booth picture I took of my last haircut. I took a picture of me doing the same pose and sure enough; my face is a little thinner.

Oh Pandora... how I love you.

I love Pandora. It reminds me of all the amazing music that exists in the world. Some I know about, others may have slipped my mind, and then there are new delightful surprises. Sometimes, Evanescence comes on. All I have to do is press the little thumbs down (they are a little dramatic for my taste) and that song is replaced with Gary Jules' Mad World. Nice come back Pandora! Life is better with a sound track. The music almost makes it okay when I spill coffee down my front.... almost.

I have very different taste in music depending on what I am doing.
Photo editing = Singer Songwriter.
Driving = Anything
Hanging out by the pool = Island music (Jimmy Buffett, Bob Marley, etc)
Going to sleep or waking up = Classical
Working Out = Boody Music (Lil Wayne, Beyonce, 50 Cent, etc)

There are two other trainers that have play lists I really like. Occasionally they have a song that does not work for me but over all I really like when they put their iPods on. It might be a fun experiment to try Pandora out one day, maybe tonight at say, 7 pm.

Things I love

A friend told me recently that she had read an article that links negativity to weight gain. So with that in mind I am going to list things that make me happy, in no particular order.

Friends (including Rich, he would be the number one friend)
CrossFit
Photography
Family
Gurtie (She is Pure happiness and love)


I also like napping, so does Gurtie.

Working in a hospital is weird. The majority of people eat all sorts of bad things and do not exercise. They also smoke. It seems odd that people see the bad stuff happening to other people because of that behavior and then still do it. Occasionally you run into a CrossFitter that smokes or drinks diet Pepsi but they are few and far between and then they usually try to hide it from the rest of us.

I really think life is about small goals to get where you want to be. Little incremental changes sometimes make the biggest difference. If someone starts exercising they might notice it is hard to breath and then that leads to quitting smoking.

I was talking to a guy at work today about his new exercise program. He has an Xbox Kinect. He asked what my goals were. I said to get ripped. I then asked what his goal was. He said to walk up stairs with out getting winded. That is a very good goal. Much more functional than my goal. If playing Xbox gets you there, that is awesome. Moving is important and most of the time technology makes it so we do not have to move. Good for you Xbox creators for making your technology help the body as well as entertain the mind.

Damn You Food Truck

A food truck parked at Motorco last night and none of us could figure out what its tag said. Me, being naturally curious and wanting to get to the bottom of things; I ran across the street to ask what it said. No one was actually in the truck(they must have been on a bathroom break). They did, however have a sign that said "tater tots cooked in duck fat". That is what curiosity gets you ladies and gentleman..... No real answer to your original question and a craving for something you did not know existed. I can not stop thinking about how delicious those tots must be.

I am down 9 lbs since November, although Dave thinks it is just my Lululemon pants. The last 3lbs have been since I started paleo. I am having a tough time with what will happen on the 27th. On the one hand, I would love to know what a heavenly tater tot tastes like. On the other hand I want to see my abs. I think I am just going to lighten up for my trip down to Florida and then go right back on it when I come home. That is the problem with this kind of extreme diet; you plan out your day after with the idea of eating everything in sight. I would like a Berliner from Gugelhupf for breakfast. I would like Sushi and a Bojangles biscuit for lunch and a Sicilian Stromboli for dinner. Oh and a Taco from that weird check cashing place. That is like 4k calories in one day. Not good!

Moderation is so hard after deprivation.

Uh Oh!

I have not been doing it on purpose, I promise. I am just a bad dieter. I was a bad vegetarian too. I think I will just eat this for lunch and then realize after the fact that lettuce has practically no carbs. I just need someone to feed me because this takes too much effort. I am glad that Dori made me start using MyNetDiary.com because it keeps track of everything and I can see what I am doing wrong. For the past week my average carb intake: 68 grams. That is thanks mostly in part to pineapple. I am really bad at taking care of myself. I seriously need to tighten up.

Symptoms Of Ketosis

The symptoms of ketosis, generally, last for several days, extending to a week in some cases, until the body becomes used to burning fats instead of glucose. The ketone level in the body may go down, but it is not to be seen as an indicator of not losing weight. The feeling of ketosis is temporary and passes away in a week among dieters. Given below are the common signs and symptoms that are associated with ketosis.

• Tiredness or fatigue Yes
  
• Headache Yes
• Feeling thirsty all the time Yes
• Bad breath No
• Metallic taste in the mouth No
• Weakness Yes
• Dizziness Yes
• Nausea or stomach ache No
  
• Sleep problems Yes

6 out of 9 yes

Body Fat Calc

I found this today. It is a little disappointing to see how far I need to go but I thought I would share anyway.

Stupid strong internal abs

The transverse abdominus muscles are the deepest muscles you have. They can not be seen or felt from the outside but they help with posture. Rectus abdominus are the pretty muscles. They are commonly referred to as the six pack. I am beginning to doubt the existence of my rectus abdominus. I can do crazy amounts of sit-ups with out a problem. On the GHD I only really stop because I get dizzy and on knees to elbows my hands give out way before my abs do. But I can not see or feel my abs under my layer of fat. A few of my friends are seeing their abs but I can not remember ever seeing mine. Even when I was really thin, I never saw them. Maybe I just have super strong transverse abdominus muscles and I should just try to be happy with that..... but damn if I do not want washboard abs.

Today's temptation is brought to me by Panera:

I think that I will need to continue on this diet after the 30 days because of this office. Peolple are always offering me carby delicious food. If I ate everything I was offered in this office I would weigh 20 billion pounds.

Temptation thy name is bread

I like bread in almost all of its manifestations. I am sure this is not a surprise.

Today I had to ride up the elevator with a pizza delivery guy. I made the mistake of telling him "Wow, that smells amazing." I must look cute today or something because he then said "Me, or the pizza?"

Now, I have hung around boys my entire life. I know how to respond when they make a perverted comment. I just shoot one back at them. I actually had one of those today too and did not blink an eye. I can not remember that one exactly but it had something to do with a box of toys, you get the idea. I even worked with cops for 4 years and let me tell you; those boys are all about the sexual harassment. As odd as this might sound, I am comfortable with that kind of comment. It does not faze me in the slightest. I can come up with a witty retort and move on with my day. A comment like the pizza dude made, I have no clue what to do with. It makes me thankful iPhones exist so I can just pretend I did not hear it because I am listening to TI too loudly.

Then I went to get my amazing salad for lunch and they had the nerve to throw in two slices of a baguette for free.

Do you like the photo? I tried to make the bread look ominous.
I have run out of time I need to go teach my bootcamp. Sorry but I have no nice tidy way to end this. All I can say is I am an awkward girl that does not know how to flirt. I blame Rich because I have been with him for 17 years. Here is proof:

Key words for Bull City CrossFitters

For some reason I can not get this to be any bigger or clearer for that matter.
Blogspot has this new section of the blog that lets you look up how people are searching you. These are my top ten searches for the past week.
1. Paleo London Broil Recipe -This makes sense
2. Overhead Squat - So does this one
3. Squat Test
4. Paleo London Broil - Apparently I need to post a good recipe for London Broil
5. 90 degree Overhead Squat Test - You guys are really concerned with your squats
6. Taylor Lautner CrossFit - Seriously, I posted one picture of the man as a joke in 2009
7. Are there any CrossFitters not Following Paleo - :) yes, but this month a lot of people are doing a 30 day challenge.
8. Bull City CrossFitters
9. Do CrossFitters Shave - This one made me laugh... hard. The answer is: yes, a good number of us do.
10. Fitness Challenge

Can you tell that there is nothing for me to do at work today?

HOLY CRAP LOOK AT WHAT I FOUND!

This has nothing to do with CrossFit or Fitness or diet but it was too awesome not to share.


Can you tell I am bored at work today?

Anemia test

1. Examine your skin tone. Do you have very pale skin color? Even if you have a dark complexion, your lips may be pale and your skin may appear "washed out." - I am always pale. I have no clue if I am even more so.
   

2. Consider whether you are fatigued or irritable all of the time. These are common symptoms of anemia. - Yes, definitely
   

3. Ask yourself whether you have frequent headaches or loss of appetite. These are usually early signs of anemia. - I have been getting headaches, but that could also be sugar withdrawal.
   

4. Consider whether it is difficult for you to concentrate. This can affect your work and/or school performance. - No, I do not think so.
   

5. Ask yourself whether you're craving unusual foods. This is called pica, and you may find yourself craving very bizarre non-foods, such as soil and paper. - Not dirt and paper (if I craved that I would think something was seriously wrong) but I wanted a Boston Cream doughnut the other day and could really go for some pudding right now.
   

6. Take note of your moods. Anemia can bring on feelings of depression. -I do not think I am depressed just tired and easily annoyed.
   

7. Consider whether you've been short of breath. Red blood cells are a vital part of the respiratory process, and this symptom may occur when anemia is moderate to severe. -This one is hard to tell because I do CrossFit, so not being able to breathe is par for the course.
   

8. Take note of whether you feel a sense of coldness in your extremities. This may be caused by poor circulation as a result of anemia. -Again, tough to tell it is 3o degrees out and the world has a coating of ice. So yes, I am cold but it is actually cold out and I grew up in Florida
   

9. Ask yourself if you've been feeling weak and/or dizzy. In severe cases, you may feel too weak to get out of bed, and dizzy when you do get up. - I do feel weak, not dizzy at all though.

This was not very helpful. I wonder if there is an at home prick test I could do.

TMI

This is probably more information than you need to know but.... I get really irritable when the red coats are about to march. I do not take the pill and I am very bad at keeping track so it is usually an annoying surprise. Surprise! You are going to be overly emotional for no apparent reason and gain 5lbs for a week. Guess what, you will be weaker for that period of time as well. Well, at least you are not pregnant. Yeah!

Anyway.... That is probably why I have been so grumpy lately. I am sorry. I should learn to keep myself in check. That might also be a contributing factor to me being so run down. Maybe Paleo and this week in the month do not play nicely with each other. Maybe I should be taking an iron supplement. I just hate the way they make your stomach feel.

I did however, have a good day at CF yesterday. My new bootcampers are awesome. I also have 2 return bootcampers that are 2 of my most favorite ones ever. (The grammar in that last sentence was atrocious. ) Then Melinda came up to me out of no where and told me I was hot.... I think she was lying and just being supportive but it was nice to hear. Then to top it all off, I PRed on my row. I could not breathe for the rest of the night. But who needs to breathe? My self appointed big brother tried to rain on my parade by pointing out the time and ignoring the additional meters. Stupid boy. I broke the 2 min mark, barely but 1:59. I will more than likely never be able to do that again but I did need that boost this week. Maybe I can get my hands on some HGH and grow a few more inches so I can be faster. That would be awesome.

I am not alone.

Look at what I found.
I guess I need to drink more.

It tastes like sunshine

I love citrus. When I have a good orange or tangerine it makes me really happy. It reminds me of my childhood. I grew up in Florida but would spend my summers in Connecticut with my grandmother. The best thing, in my mind, was stopping at the Florida Welcome Center and getting a free glass of orange juice on the way home. I still make Rich stop whenever we head south. I get so annoyed if we hit it when it is closed . It is like driving all the way to Wally World and finding a locked gate.
I always hated Florida growing up. I thought that there was no way I was going to live in Florida when I grew up. Now I miss it. The cold weather is probably a major contributing factor but I get home sick when watching Dexter now. I miss palm trees and Spanish Moss. I REALLY miss humidity and sunshine. Why does it have to get dark so early here? (That was rhetorical. I know why it gets dark early; I just do not like it.) In 16 days I am heading home for a few days. It will be wonderful. I will buy a tun of oranges from a road side stand and I will hope for it to be unseasonably warm.... and humid.

I just ate this clementine for a specific reason though. I have been having a hard time with my paleo challenge. Don't get me wrong, I have not cheated at all. I have just been feeling run down and generally weak. I actually slept till 10 a.m. both mornings this weekend. That is super late for me. I had a talk with 3 others that are doing the same challenge and all of them are feeling great. They came to the conclusion that I need to eat more carbs. Good carbs that is. So, today I planned out my meals with more good carbs and the result...... I am still tired. I will keep going because I only have 16 days left. Maybe, I will start to feel wonderful in a few days. In the mean time I found this interesting article from Harvard that says they really do not know what is the best source of calcium. What they do know is that you should do weight bearing exercise. So keep picking up heavy things.

best salad ever

Today has been a particularly difficult diet day. There was a baby shower at work and all the starchy and refined sugar goodness that goes along with it. Luckily I had an amazing salad for lunch today. It was: mixed field greens, grilled shrimp, bacon, and grilled asparagus. It was REALLY good.

On a separate note: I have become completely addicted to angry birds. Angry birds and a very grumpy mood is why you did not get a post yesterday.

That is all I have for right now.... I have to get back to Angry Birds.

I am a little black rain cloud of course.

This may come as a shock, but I am a bit of an Eeyore (I know you have just gasped). I am an Eeyore that married an uber Eeyore. I do know who to go to when I am feeling a bit more ennui then usual though... My Tiggers if you will. Over the last 2 days I talked to two of them. They were awesome, as they always are. Actually one is more of a Christopher Robbin (you know who you are). She is actually a very good person to talk to because she tells me that I am looking at things the wrong way and then sets me back on the correct path. Voila! Happier Bea.

What started me on my downward spiral this time? An annoying person that argued with me about food. This was just the tipping point there were other issues too. But this was the thing that really pushed me over the edge.

For the better part of my life, 28 years, I was a pesco-pollo-tarian. I ate chicken and fish but no other meat. I also spent a couple of years being a full on vegetarian. I never attempted to be a vegan. I love cheese and honey. I do not know why but people get angry when you say you do not eat something. They get mad when you say you do eat something for that matter. Why does it matter what I put in MY mouth? You start to develop stories that give you the least resistance when people comment on your food intake.

Right now I eat just about everything. Everything but grains and processed sugar..... I still get yelled at. Why? Why do you, the person sitting next to me at work care that I eat my tuna salad on a lettuce leaf vs a slice of bread.?

The only reason I can come up with is this:

You really want me to eat the sugar coated pretzel things you left in the break room for everyone to enjoy.

Day 2

My second day is not going well. I have not strayed in the food department but I do think I pushed it too hard in the WOD yesterday. Fran was a lot heavier than I remember. I pushed harder than I think I normally would have because Becca was being so amazingly badass. It is good, I think, to have someone to chase. Unfortunately, I am paying for that chase today. I think I might take tonight off.

Day 1 again

Today is day one of the 30 day Paleo Challenge. A good chunk of my gym is taking part in this challenge. I am doing a modified version. The first modification is that I am only doing it for 25 days. Why 25 you ask.... Because I am headed to Florida in 25 days and I have no desire to be difficult to my amazing friend that will be hosting us and feeding us delicious meals made up of hot dogs and doughnuts. Also, back home we have this amazing magical thing called a Sicilian Stromboli from Genovese's.

For those of you not aware of what Paleo is, here is a list of no nos:

• Vinegar
• Yeast
• Processed meats ( hot dogs, bacon, sausage, and lunch meats)
• Dairy (milk, butter, cream, yogurt, ice cream, cheese, etc.)
• Legumes (Beans, Peas, and Peanuts)
• Nightshades (chili pepper, eggplant, huckleberry, Goji berry, ground cherry, sweet pepper, tamarillo, tomatillo, tomato)
• Starchy tubers (potatoes, sweet potatoes, yams, cassava, manioc, and beets)
• Grain (including corn)
• Refined Sugars

That is a long list of don'ts. I am only giving up the last 3. I have my reasons for ignoring the first 6 but it will just stir up a long debate through various hostile post; and I have no desire to get people up in a tizzy. So, instead lets focus on what I will give up for the next 25 days.

Grains- I have found through trial and error, that my body does not like various types of grain. Barley is the worst offender. My body hates barley. If I ever try to drink more than 2 beers in front of you, Stop Me! Seriously, stop me. I will develop flu like symptoms that will plague me for days. I am not being dramatic. I get very ill. It is not a hangover; hangovers are downright refreshing in comparison. I will never drink whiskey. Whiskey and I are not friends. Whiskey tried to kill me once and we are no longer on speaking terms. (Wow, that was a tangent.)
I stopped eating grains successfully for 10 days before my birthday. I could see a noticeable difference in my mid section. I did not feel bloated or sick. I am very aware that I should not eat grains. However, I do love pizza and good bread, so this is a tough sell to my cravings. I highlight the "I" because I know everyone is different and this is an issue I have with my body.

Starchy Tubers- When I do not have grains I rely heavily on starchy tubers. It becomes okay with me to eat french fries at every meal. French fries are a sometimes food that I have very little will power to keep in that category (yes, I did quote Cookie Monster just then) . When I was in boarding school, I ate very little else other than mashed potatoes and soft rolls. Oh, it was joyous time. A time when I went from weighing 98 lbs to weighing 110 lbs. That should have clued me in at 16 that carbs make you fat but I blindly followed what was the strongly held misbelief at the time.

Refined Sugars- Do I really need to explain this one? Everyone has always known that sugar is not something you should eat when it is not in its original packaging (i.e. fruit).

I had a very interesting discussion with a friend yesterday about all of this. She said a few things that really struck me. She made a comment on the slow creep of pounds. Lets be honest, we did not wake up one day and suddenly we were fat. She said "I am getting fat 5 lbs at a time" She was quoting someone else, but it still rang true. She also said she believes that it is not just a high carbohydrate diet that does it to you. It is a high carbohydrate, high fat, and high calorie diet that does it to you. I think she is right. I am going to try to stop continuing this trajectory towards obesity that I am on.