Monday, January 10, 2011

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.

5 comments:

  1. bea, if paleo makes you feel like shit... why do it? dont get me wrong...i think paleo is awesome. i dont necessarily agree with the idea that it works because my ancestors blahblahblah hunter gatherer blahblahblah... but i think that generally, eating lean meats, veggies, fruits, nuts and seeds is a good idea for people...especially in comparison to the normal horrible ass diet of the average american. that being said, when i eat paleo-ish...i feel awesome. i feel strong, i feel lighter, i feel happy, my skin is better, etc. if i felt like that eating pizza, burgers and whiskey... i would eat pizza burgers and whisky. a lot of people have success on paleo, but i dont think it is by any means the only way to achieve your goals, and i dont think that it works for everyone. i also dont think that 30 days has some magical meaning. i know melissa urban encourages people to get stoked on a month of whole30 diet-ish-ness :) (yes thats a word) to give paleo a "go", but there is no real relevance to that number otherwise. i guess this was just a long-winded, mandy version way of saying...if you feel like shit on paleo, and if you feel better eating another way... do that. you dont have to want to kill yourself for the next 16 days if all paleo is doing for you is making you feel like shit. oh...and yes...keep picking up heavy things.

    ReplyDelete
  2. sorry for saying shit a lot. i think i managed to post something without dropping the F bomb though!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I keep getting told that it will get better. I am waiting for it to get better. :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. i totally agree with mandy. everyone's bodies metabolize, store, and use food/nutrients differently. we all process and benefit from our foods in different ways. yes, i do think the basics of paleo is healthier (no processed foods, refined sugars, dairy, etc), but we are not all the same and so we should not all eat the same. you just have to find what works best for your body. i know that if i drink milk i feel like crap, so i don't drink milk. but not everyone is the same. so, i think using this "paleo challenge" is a good way to find what works for you. you eliminate a bunch of stuff for a while and then i would suggest slowly adding things back in one at a time. if they make you feel like crap then you have your answer.

    second, i totally agree with the "30 is not a magic number." 30 is easily defined, one month. people need achievable goals and i guess a month seems achievable for most people. i do think you need at least 3 weeks for an exclusion diet to work though, in terms of figuring out what does and does not work for your body.

    lastly, i agree with some of their ideas, but, in my opinion, Melissa and what's-his-face are a little too stringent for my taste. if they don't want to eat spaghetti squash b/c they think somehow it's feeding their craving for pasta, then that's fine, but sure as hell better not tell people that eating spaghetti squash is wrong. i'm sorry, i like spaghetti. i don't even like pasta so i'm not feeding some craving that i'm having for noodles.

    ok, i'll stop now. :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. I feel compelled to respond. I agree with Mandy (HI Mandy!) and Anna. Don't go crazy. However, know that if you eliminate things that have been keeping you up forever (sugar) you will feel a little withdrawal. I did. I do. And it sucks and you feel crappy. It passes, but it is different for every boday how long the withdrawal lasts. I'd say if you feel like poo for longer than 2 weeks, its something else. The other thing is that if you have eliminated a bunch of nonsensical calories that built your day to day diet, and you are not a typical overeater, you need to replace those calories with something. Enjoy a whole avocado. Eat a bigger portion of salmon. Make a coconut milk smoothie. Eat more eggs and other protein sources (the whole foods has an excellent no salt, pretty good for you turkey deli meat). Eat a crap ton of oranges. Take a look at my fb dinner pictures. I ate a shit ton and still was successful with feeling awesome and losing weight and hitting PRs.

    I guess, I'd say decide what your goal is. If it is truly elimination, then forget counting calories, and feed your body. If it is paleo for paleo sakes, and 30 days at that, then finish it, and know that for you, it makes you feel like poo. But you did it, and now you know. If it is weight loss, if you feel like crap, do something else.

    Just my 2 cents. I might have given a dollars worth, sorry. Geez, I guess we are all pretty opinionated about our nutrition.

    Oh, and P.S. you know how I feel about the Whole30.

    Oh and P.S.S. I think you are great, and strong and can do anything you decide to do.

    Final P.S.S.S. I saw you today and thought, 'damn, Bea looks hot'. Just say'n.

    ReplyDelete