Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!

I am in a happy, happy tummy place right now! Why? Because of this amazing stuff:

So I went to Henry's today because I needed Sunbutter (which is worthy of a blog of it's own! We're talking tons of fiber, good fats, and 25% of your daily magnesium needs, but I digress...) So...sunbutter shopping today led me to discover this little gem: Galeos World's Best Miso Toasted Sesame Seed Dressing. My first thought...Hey! I can eat seeds! I mean, I love lemon juice...and right now I get to enjoy freshly picked lemons from the E.S.G.'s yard... but a salad dressing I could have once in a while, that I don't have to feel guilty about, would be nice!

Now, the ingredients aren't 100% Paleo - it's made with fermented soybean paste, pure honey, toasted sesame seeds, rice vinegar, and sesame seed oil. But at least I can pronounce it all! And the nutritional information is what landed it in my cart: a 1 Tablespoon serving has 22 calories, 2 grams of fat, only 35 mg sodium, and the card, fiber, sugars, and proteins are all 0.5 grams. So very little damage done, sugar-wise...and there was a potential for some great taste!

So I took it home and had it for lunch. Shredded napa cabbage and sunflower seeds with flaked ahi on top...mixed up really nicely with my new Miso. Took a bite...and that was that. It tasted so amazingly good that I ate it...right then and there...without even thinking about taking a picture! So you'll have to just imagine it in your heads!

So, minimal badness...maximal flavour goodness. I'll take it!

Foreshadowing...

So I was answering comments on my blog, and realized I still had an old draft sitting out there...alone and unread. Looked at the date and realized it was written 4 days before Brett told me that he was moving out...that, without a word or a shot at working things out, he was simply walking away from our 20 year marriage. And I was struck by my last couple sentences... "I'm learning, I guess. Life doesn't usually work exactly how we'd like it to, or think it should...but I guess you let yourself be maudlin...for a second! and then move on and make the best of it." ha! how's that for a nice bit of foreshadowing?! Thank goodness I already was thinking like that, huh?! It's been six months now...and I'm truly happier than I've been in years. And though I hate what the kids are going through right now, I do have to respect him for having the courage to do what I'd been wanting to for years. I have a couple friends going through some really tough times right now...and I just want to remind them that things happen for a reason and that you are never given more than you can handle. And that no matter how crappy things seem, you still have us...all your friends...who love you tremendously! And though sometimes it seems that fate is awfully heavy-handed in dealing with us, maybe it's because we're just too damn stubborn to do what needs to be done on our own!

End of Summer Blues

So today was the last day of summer for my kidlings. My daughter starts her first day of high school tomorrow. My boys are still at school right down the street from the house. They went to bed excited and a bit nervous. Reilly asked me when you stop feeling like that before new things and I'm not sure how much he appreciated me telling him that I still get those wriggly worms in my stomache before I do something new. Now they're finally asleep and I'm supposed to be loading the music for my back-to-back Xbiking classes tomorrow morning. Instead I have those same wriggly worms in my stomache, but it's because I feel guilty.In years past we always celebrate with something special. One last trip to the beach for them and our favorite fish tacos at Harbor Fish and Chips. Or going to see a movie, which we very seldom do. Or having friends over for a last fling. Today I taught smack dab at noon...and we had to pick up Katy's clarinet from school...last minute school supplies...a two hour meeting. We did go to the mall so Katy could buy the coveted checkerboard Vans for the first day of school and we gnoshed hardcore at Soup Plantation for an early dinner. So we did have a little treat, but nothing spectacular. What sucks - is that I KNEW today was going to be like this - so we went and saw Harry Potter 6 last Friday when Brett was actually home with us. But today was sort of anti-climatic. And I honestly don't know whether they are feeling gyped or not.So today was the last day of summer for my kidlings. Which means that tomorrow is the first day of school. Funny how one follows the other, huh?! Katy is set. Carpool is picking her up and she would absolutely die if I even entertained the idea of walking her into high school for the first day. But my boys are still my babies. And regardless of whether they might normally walk or ride their bikes to and from school, everyone knows it's a mandatory mom duty to take them the first day and embarrass them with pictures and generally make a nuisance of yourself. But tomorrow I can't. Our one instructor had knee surgery today and the other one has kids of her own. Not a lot of options. I'm praying that the entire population of Riverside County stays healthy tonight, so that Brett can get off half an hour early and do the honors. If not, the boys will be off to school alone on the first day. And that makes me sad.But I will wake up early in the morning and make them a kick-butt breakfast and give them big hugs and kisses and make sure Ian walks Reilly to his class if Daddy isn't there. Then Thursday morning, I'll be up bright and early to walk the boys to school - camera in hand - ready to get a picture or two with the teacher. I'm learning, I guess. Life doesn't usually work exactly how we'd like it to, or think it should...but I guess you let yourself be maudlin...for a second! and then move on and make the best of it. Tomorrow - bright and cheery me will be back. Tonight - thanks for listening to me ramble!

Tales of a 40 Year Old Salad Whore

Today is Monday. And it’s the first of the month. Most auspicious day to change one's diet all to hell and back! But first, a very important matter of business…

*get’s down on her knees*…

*shoots exasperated look at all her guy friends who instantly went there*…

*prays*…

Dear Heavenly Father….please, please, PLEASE! Pretty please, with coconut on top! Let Robb Wolf be right. Amen.

And for those who think I mock - I don’t. True, heartfelt prayer offered up!

OK. So. I work my ass off. I’ve been eating paleo for 8 months now. But with all that, I haven’t seen any more weight loss and I haven’t seen any strength gains. If anything, I’ve seen strength losses. I got my pull ups, I lost my pull ups. How frickin’ frustrating is that!? Now, I know there are multiple contributing factors. First, I tripled the number of classes I was teaching at globo’s starting in January, while still trying to maintain CF and Kettlebells (and I tried to throw some P90X in there too, because there’s some good stuff in there! ). Can you say overtraining? I’ve been called on it before, and though I try my hardest, it keeps rearing its ugly head. But I solved it! I started my catering business back up and something had to go while I got everything situated. Couldn’t be anything income producing, so there went my CF. and Kettlebells. *Sigh* But I did use my first profits to get all those pretty toys in my garage.
******************And though I used them on my own,as well as the kettlebells that were added also, I totally missed my CF family. So that’s just not going to work for me. So I can fit two mornings a week Crossfit in at the box itself, and can throw some WoDs in at home to fill in the gaps. But the point is, my activity level got a bit more sane this last month. So we’re working on the overtraining issue. Stress was a huge issue last month too, but I’m getting that under control. Which leaves my diet…


How can you improve on paleo? I’ve been eating paleo for 8 months now and, overall, am pretty darn strict. My cheats are dark chocolate (daily. sometimes twice daily.), coffee (one cup a day, but in the interest of honesty, it’s a damn big cup!), alcohol (hard liquor…usually rum or jack. About once a week. Is there a better alcohol to cheat with?). That’s all. Oh wait…and that sinfully orgasmic Pomegranate Raspberry dressing that Ken makes. Damn Ken! Just saying. But back to the question at hand…how to improve Paleo, besides the obvious cutting back on cheats. Personally, I’m going to try to dial in my macronutrients, not just indiscriminately eating. I’m honestly going to keep my coffee and my alcohol and my dark chocolate (I’ll drop that one to an ounce a day) because I’m human. If these changes don’t really kick in, then I’ll look at my small handful of cheats. But only then. At least the dressing won’t be a problem any longer, because I’m apparently now a converted salad slut…but I’m getting ahead of myself.

So I head over to Robb Wolfs’ site to do some research. And it was definitely my lucky day, because there was an entire post where he gives the macro breakdown for a 150 pound woman, with my activity level, looking to lean down. Hey! I’m that women too! Frickin’ exactly! Talk about having my information spoon fed to me! (is information paleo?) So, knowing that the numbers may have to be tweaked and personalized, I guiltlessly bogarted everything on that post. It’s as good a place as any to start!

So starting today, I’m going for 1950 calories *gulp* broken down as follows: 150 grams protein (600 calories), 50 grams carbs (200 calories), and 127 grams fat (1150 calories). Uhm….*GULP!* This is where that prayer comes in!

Really?! That’s a 31:10:59 breakdown. That scares the shit out of me! I’ve been doing about 75 grams fat a day…and it was hard for me to get it up there. My breakdown has been roughly 30:40:30. This is a huge tweak! After losing 200 pounds and being restricted to 12 -15 grams of fat for the years it took me to do that, it’s a huge mental leap to start upping your fats so drastically. But I understood the science and reasoning behind it and did it. Now I have to apparently do it again. But it’s still scary!

******************And apparently one can be a carb whore even if she’s eating mostly vegetables – which up to today has been the mainstay of my diet. So changes are a’coming!

First thing I did was load the Chron-o-meter software to my laptop. I’ve used it before and love it! You input your weight and the macro breakdown you’re aiming for and it keeps track of it all for you. Right down to your daily allowances of vitamins and minerals too! Way cool! And free! Awesome! It has a huge, existing database of foods, and you just add the specific stuff as you go. After about a week or two, you’ve compiled your own specific database and it gets less arduous to enter your meals.

And when I entered in my breakfast and pre- and post- WoD snacks, I instantly saw that my percentages were seriously off already. So to get everything back on track, lunch today was 4 oz chicken breast and 4 oz of avocado. No veggies for me! Will definitely forgo the fruit in the morning from now on, so I can get some veggies back! And I’ll have to get some different fat sources. Almonds are getting old. Started cooking with the coconut oil again this weekend, so that’ll help. And just discovered the existence of coconut butter as an alternative to almond butter, so am going to get some of that too. I really need to plant an avocado tree!

So…goals for March. Make a schedule that allows for CF, along with teaching, without killing myself. Stick to these new macro breakdown for at least a month to see what happens (except if I start gaining weight, all bets are off! I can take staying at the same weight while my body adjusts, but gaining will totally fuck with my head!). Try to minimize the stress as much as possible…get 8 hours a sleep a night. So totally do-able, right?! It’s my own personal 30 day challenge!