Friday, January 18, 2013

A horrifying word....diet

Every person in the world has done some form of a diet, one way or another.  Usually diet means, count those calories, low fat, low fat, low fat.  Then came Atkins, pulling the rug from underneath us with a very meaty/low carb diet.  Don't forget South Beach, Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers, and the list goes on.  So many diets that the word itself should be introduced with thunder, lightening and a dark gloomy sky because just hearing it creates terror.

I have done my fair share of all those diets and I have never succeeded at any of them.  Instead, I resorted to foolish/drastic measures and became bulimic. That eventually evolved into not eating for days.  I loved food so much that I started to fear it.  Finally, I just gave up and ate whatever whenever, resulting in a big weight gain and tipping the scale at 223 lbs.  All in all, I really screwed up my metabolism with my shameful eating habits and needed to find a healthier balance.  Crossfit helped me get there.

I never heard of Paleo until I started Crossfit.  But after eating Paleo style, I refuse to refer to it as a "diet".  I love food, but my problem is I love the "wrong" foods. I also love to cook and experiment, which goes great with Paleo.  So what is Paleo?  Check it out where I blogged about it a few weeks ago to give an idea of what it is.  With Paleo, I have had brownies, burgers with homemade buns, fried chicken, steak, meatballs, pizza, hummus, and the list goes on.  It just makes me overall feel better, and my cravings for the naughty foods completely disappear within a week of eating Paleo.  I even flavor my drinks with water enhancers, like Mio, which are yummy and help kill my sweet cravings.

A typical Paleo day for me...(scrambled eggs, sea salt and nitrate/nitrite free bacon)
Baked chicken in spices, carrots, onions, garlic and mushrooms.  With garlic mashed steamed cauliflower.
Fried chicken bites with steamed veggies of my choosing (Lately I have been addicted to steamed cabbage)

How do I get away with fried chicken?  Easy, batter the chicken in egg and almond meal then fry in a little bit of coconut oil. I use just a small frying pan and put enough oil just to help me get the almond meal crispy.  If the chicken is thick, I throw it in a pyrex after frying and let it bake at 350 until fully cooked.  There are so many recipes and free apps for paleo that it makes the options endless.  I never count calories, I never concentrate on what I "have" to eat.  I simply think, what am I in the mood for, find a Paleo recipe and attack!  They even have crockpot recipes, which rocks when you are not in the mood to cook dinner.

So far, 2 weeks of Paleo this year which must be working because I didn't get to work out until Thursday this week.  Ya, I got sick again.  This time an ear infection and on the edge for bronchitis round 2.  But I am back on the road to recovery.  I was so frustrated while I was sick because all I could think about was crossfit  Finally, upon my return on Thursday I did 2 WODs and today I did an extra round, rowed a mile and completed a burpee challenge after my WOD.  Ahhhhh, it is good to be back...again.  LOL!

Last week, I weighed in at 201.3 and this week I am down to 199.1.  Not bad for just 2 days of working out, but I am telling you...Paleo has a lot to do with that.  Here I am on Thursday getting back in the swing of things.  I admit, I struggled pretty hard that day but I still completed my WOD and even attacked a second WOD!  Whoot whoot!

I hope this time I crushed my cold for good!  It would be nice to get back in the swing of a normal weekly routine again as I missed all my crossfit buddies who help get my day started with a smile.  

Work it and cook it baby!
Anna Dubya 

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