Corn - Cheese - Can of....

Food avoidence is proving to be as difficult as I thought it was.  But I'm getting better at it.  Kinda.  Sorta...  Don't judge me!

I'm become addicted to Paleo style cooking.  The most common ingredient that I have to swap out though is onions.  So sad.  My favorite website so far is PaleOMG.  I even downloaded her cookbook, OMG That's Paleo? for my Kindle app.  What a great resource; not to mention a great source of entertainment because her randomness, sense of humor, and style of writing is right up my alley.

Certain things have been I have avoided fairly well: shrimp, oranges, tuna, almonds, crab.  There are others too, but I didn't eat them before, so it wasn't hard to say "no!"  :)  The first hardest for me though was wheat and gluten.  However, I can count on one hand how many times I "slipped up" since Christmas; and the last 8 days have been gluten and wheat free -- yay.  Corn is the next hardest.  I LOVE southwestern/TexMex/Mexican/etc.  What three things do they use a shit-ton of?  Corn, cheese, onions.  Well BOO!  I've done my best though.  Went to three Mexican places in the last 2 weeks and twice I totally avoided everything while once I indulged in nachos (corn and cheese).  I have now weened myself off of dairy coffee creamer.  I made my own coconut cream (of sorts) and now use that; not the same, but it is a good substitute.

Eating out is SOOOOOO hard to avoid shit.  Sometimes I'm successfull and sometimes I'm not.  My boyfriend thrives on authentic Chinese cuisine which uses a ton of onions.  I now just pick them off.  Last night we went to a seafood pub and I cheated a tad: deep fried scallops (cornmeal) and hush puppies (cornmeal).  Saturday we went to Mellow Mushroom and I cheated a tad: gluten free house special (onions and cheese).

Mmmmmmm......CHEESE!

HOLY SHIT!  I freakin' LOVE cheese!

It's the best thing ever.  Damn this is to hard to not eat.  I can have goat cheese, but it's not the same.  I've been getting better and better about not eating it though.  I go more and more days between cheating.  (That sounds so wrong.  Lol.)

I need to go grocery shopping....  BAD.  I had to improvise on what to take for lunch (otherwise I would go out and grab Wendy's -- BAD GIRL!).  So I made some carrot sticks, celery sticks, a McIntosh apple, a jar of sunbutter (to garnish the previous three), then I grabbed a pack of rice thins (crackers) and something I've never eaten before:

Sardines!  Yeah.  Never had 'em.  Never seen an opened can of them before an hour ago (yes that is my cluttered desk at work).  Smell fishy (surprise there).  These don't have too much fishy taste though.  Takes a little getting used to.  I can eat them -- first one was the most awkward.  Lol.  At least the heads are off!  ;)  How did I like my lunch?  It worked.  Would I do it again?  If I was in a pinch, like today.

Here fishy fishy fishy....  He he he he.

Finally... Some answers

So I've been struggling with chronic pain for most of my life.  (Mentioned that a few times, haven't I?)  ;) Well I got super sick back in September and I haven't been the same since.  And no matter how hard I tried and how much I tried to force myself, I could never get myself back into a training/workout mode.  Finally Doc sent me to a wholistic medicine specialist (Dr. B).  He's actually a legitimate doctor (med training and all), specialized in naturopathic medicine.  Pretty cool.

The first visit is nothing more than telling him my story and answering a bunch of questions.  However, Dr. B is convinced that everything is connected.  So he sent me home with a slew of tests (blood, saliva, urine, etc) that he needed done.  Oh and he gave me homework.  4 supplements and an epsom salt bath everyday.  Yeah so the salt bath thing didn't quite happen as often as he'd hoped.  But I did do the 4 supplements:

• WholeMega capsules (2000 mg/day)
• Rhodiola Rosea (500mg/day)
• Curcumin (500mg/day)
• Alfalfa powder (I couldn't find that so he said the capsules are fine)

After I finished the first bottle of the rosea (which was expensive and I had to take 4 capsules to get the 500mg I needed), I found another source at GNC where I can take 2 capsules to get 680mg.  A little more than my allotted dose, but I figured for one bottle it couldn't kill me.  Still cheaper than the other brand I bought at Whole Foods.

Been taking the supplements for about 6 weeks straight and my energy isn't what it used to be, but it is way more manageable.  And my appetite peeks its head out every now and then.  So it's helping taking the edge off.  I feel focused more often than I was so that's a bonus.

So I returned to Dr. B earlier this week.  One test never made it to the lab (stupid FedEx), but the others were there.  Vitamin D was at rock bottom.  Neurotransmitter test came back retardedly low on.... nearly everything. Except PEA and Dopamine; which has Dr. B really confused since the norepinephrine and epinephrine are nearly non-existent. Yay. More confusion. But those two things being so low explains why I am so sleepy all the time and why my body feels so sluggish. So... Some answers. There were other crappy results as well.

Food testing is what has my head turning right now. For the next 8 weeks, I am told to avoid all items "in red" on the list. Maybe later I can try adding some of the lower scoring foods back in. Essentially, no more: cow dairy of any kind (it scored SUPER high), almonds, asparagus, corn, crab, eggplant, gluten, grapefruit, haddock, malt, mustard, onion (scored very high -- makes me sad), orange, peanut, black pepper, shrimp, tuna, and wheat. Grrr.... Doc (original dr) said he'd help me with ways to swap out those items. Dr. B said he was going to put me on a Paleo diet, until he saw that almonds were on the list; Doc says it's still my best bet and that it can substituted in the meantime.

*sigh* I have about 15 more tests to get done. And I have 3 more supplements I have to take to start getting my numbers back up (already on 4 supplements). Still don't have any specific answers, but Dr. B and Doc seem to be rather confident that food avoidance will help kill most of my chronic pain.

I said I was going to wait until after Christmas until I start moving towards this food avoidance thing.  Well It's the day after Christmas.  And I'm looking at the can of tuna on the counter thinking, "I'd really like a tuna salad sandwich after my workout this morning."

Damn....

Sometimes it pays to click on links

Recently, I've become addicted to Drew Canole's website FitLife.  His "Alpha Reset" program is intriguing and I think it may be worth a try.  But what I like most are his articles, vodcasts and blog posts.  His information is sound.  There are plenty of research journals and articles that back up his information.  So why do I just read those?

The way Drew Canole presents the information is so much easier to understand.  Sometimes he gives a TON of information at once, but he mostly gives it in small doses with links to other pages where he provides more detail.  I like it a lot.

For example:

3 Fats That Are Good For You

He gives a small brief overview of the 3 fats to familiarize you with them.  Then he gives links in each category that helps provide more detail.  I'm always getting newsletters about the "wonders" of avocados; I so sick of all the same-ol same-ol.  I almost didn't click on his extra link.  When I did, his supplemental page had information that I was not familiar with.  I thoroughly enjoyed it.  Some of it was repeated, but most was not.  He got kinda technical with it too, but it's still easy enough to follow.

I also suggest reading the supplemental link for coconut oil if you get the chance.  I like using coconut oil, but I've never been sure what to do with it.  Just saying, "Oh!  You can do anything with it!  Just swap it out for -blah blah blah-," is not enough for me.  I'm not that adventurous or creative when it comes to food/nutrition.  He actually specifically gives multiple ways of using them in smoothies and a snack.  I'm actually rather excited!  I'm going to get my tub of coconut oil and give it a try tomorrow!

Nutrition is so frustrating...

I haven't been as diligent on the whole Alkaline Diet thing the last couple of weeks.  I know!  BAD ME!  But I'm back on track this week.  Kind of.  Lol.

Before last week (my school went on Spring Break...  So did my diet), I was aiming for anywhere between 40-60% of the food I ate being from those alkaline lists.  I noticed something...  I wasn't getting enough grains or meat.  To be honest -- I wasn't craving meat, so I didn't eat it.  Not to mention that pretty much all meats are on the "acidic" list.  I know I haven't been getting enough protein.  I was also having problems with grains.  From what I keep reading, grains are a staple in an athlete's diet.  But most grains are "acidic."  So I haven't been sure how to find that balance.

Typical day for me:

Breakfast (6:30AM):
Freshly made smoothie (all alkaline foods & and I always include spinach)
Half a bagel -- toasted -- with peanut butter or almond butter
Glass of milk

Snack (sometimes!  10AM):
Banana

Lunch (2PM):
Salad (romaine, spinach, bell peppers, black olives, cucumbers, berries, carrots, broccoli, onions, sometimes cheese) with a vinigrette dressing
Hunk of cheese or small serving of cottage cheese
Piece of fresh fruit
Sometimes the other half of the bagel -- plain

Snack (4:30/5:00PM):
Random (Carrots, cheese, deli meat, chips & salsa, half a PBJ, smoothie, celery)

Dinner (late evening):
This is usually where my diet goes out the window.  My boyfriend is NOT fond of my new food choices.  Whenever I cook something that is more of what I need to be eating, he's not a fan ("It tastes...  Healthy....").  We almost always eat dinner together.  Although I am getting better at making good choices during this meal -- especially when we go out. 

Last week I saw Doc and he said he was concerned I wasn't getting enough protein.  He also told me that he pretty much only eats brown rice and quinoa as his "grains."  He is worried that my diet is still triggering the inflammation and pain in my back.  He urged me to try going gluten-free and dairy-free.  He said it was more about "substituting" rather than "avoiding."  He wanted me to start juicing vegetables 2x a day and drinking a protein drink.  He told me to get Vega powders as they are totally vegetable based.  He also urged me to shop around online because it is rather expensive.  He wasn't kidding.  Then he wanted me to be more diligent about taking my magnesium supplement, Natural Calm.  He also wants me to start taking probiotics; he believes the flora in my instestines may be shot because of all the dairy I eat.

Needless to say it's a long list.  It's rather overwhelming too.

Over the weekend I did some thinking.  I'll start with small things.  Here's what I've done so far:

• Swap out my bagel with a gluten-free Enligh Muffin (made from brown rice flour)
• Get back to eating more fresh produce
• Make a veggie juice at least once a day
• Keep smoothies
• Take the Natural Calm every other day

I bought some packets of the Vega shakes.  It has a....  Distinct flavor.  He suggested putting it in my juice.  Did it.  I'm not ready for that.  Not to mention I was burping the shake flavor all damn evening.  Blech.  So next time I'll put it in ice cold water, shake it super good, and only use one or two spoonfuls of it for a while.  I'm trusting that it's more of an acquired taste.

Overall, I'm MILES ahead where I was nutritionally.  Ever.  I'm hoping that it'll be a positive influence on my race performance.  It has to be.  My skin and hair look/feel better.  Body feels more energized and "cleaner" inside.

Baby steps...

Another smoothie to try

I ran out of strawberries (BOO!) so I couldn't fix that awesome smoothie combo Doc recommended.  SO I made up one and it was AWESOME!

• Half a can of Blue Monkey coconut water
• 1 kiwi (peeled and sliced into chunks)
• Pineapple chunks
• 1 Mango (peeled and cut into chunks)
• More than a handful of spinach (stems removed and leaves torn up)
• Handful of ice cubes

Damn this one was good.  Sorry I don't really have measurements.  I kind of go by what looks right...  Lol.  This does make 2 very large servings though.  Could easily be shared by 3 people.  I had a rather large helping of this with half of a bagel (toasted with butter) for breakfast this morning.  It was great.

I don't know what the nutritional value would be or the calorie count, but it's full of nothing but good things.  :)

Give it a go!

Random Hydration Thought

I used to work for a police department.  I went through the academy and became an officer -- all that jazz.  The academy was run similar to a military bootcamp.  We did heavy PT often.  Needless to say, while in class, we were constantly drinking water.  I was drinking so much water that I had to make a trip to the bathroom every 60 minutes.  I was drinking over 60 oz of water Mon-Fri (it was variable on the weekends).  Once on the road, I was drinking 50-60 oz of water most days of the week.

My trainers preached to us that we need to be drinking nothing but water.  One guy drank a soda with his lunch and the trainers made us PT until he (and a few of us) vomited.  Nice huh?  Lol.  One time we were doing defensive tactics training (high intensity, high energy, 8 hour workout basically) and I started having tunnel vision.  Odd because I had drank a shit-ton of water for the days leading up the class.  I ate a breakfast of whole wheat toast with peanut butter, banana, and a very tall glass of orange juice; it was enough for fuel, full of carbs, and light enough that I wouldn't barf it back up at the academy.  So it wasn't like I didn't eat anything.  But I fell over while we were doing up-downs.  One of the fire instructors came by and gave me an oxygen mask and checked my blood pressure.  No real sign of problems there.  He asked me how much fluids I had been drinking and I told him.  He then reached into his bag and gave me a sports drink.  I felt 100% better within 5 minutes of ingestion.

So I learned the importance of balancing water and sports drinks.  But the paramedic said that I needed to be drinking 80-100 oz of fluids each day.  It has stuck in my head for all these years and still has me puzzled.  I'm 108 lbs.  Why would I need 100 oz of water?

So today I randomly did a search with the question "is how much water you drink based on body weight?"  The first link was a useful one.  Granted, it only gives you an estimate based a long series of questions.  Mine said "58.5 oz."  That's roughly what I've been drinking the last month or so.  So I guess I'm on the right track.  :)

Gotta try this...

It's pretty damn good.  Although I can't take all the credit.

Friday I was in a..... foul..... mood.  Lol.  Many reasons.  But I was still in a foul mood when I went to see Doc.  He did some more of that fascia work/therapy/treatment/whatever-it-is-called.  You know...  The stuff that he did 3 weeks earlier that made my upper back, shoulders, and neck seize and spazz out for an hour or so (but felt wonderful later that day).  He was real conservative this time to keep that from happening.  Instead, I stayed in even more excruciating pain than I walked in with.  Good news is that  Saturday I woke up feeling much less painful.

Anyway...  I was making conversation about some of the alkaline diet stuff I've been trying lately.  I mentioned that not everyone in my house is so keen on my food choices as of late.  Lol.  I also mentioned that I have been making a crap ton of green smoothies and stuff.  I told him how I tried to just come up with one on the fly and it was ok, but definitely didn't have any other fans in the house.

He then told me to try something: coconut water, bunch of strawberries, red apple, bunch of spinach, and an avocado.

He mentioned a couple brands of coconut water to look for at Whole Foods.  I settled on Blue Monkey.

I've never had coconut water before so I don't know what's good or bad.  I tried a sip, and it was different, but not bad.  I'm not the biggest fan of coconut typically.  I had to do some searching to find it though.  I found the tall cans in the juice aisle and the tall box in the refrigerated drinks at Whole Foods.

I used half of the can, bunch of strawberries, a gala apple, and a bunch of spinach.  I bought an avocado.  I even took it out of the fridge on put it on the counter.  But I just wasn't sure about that part.  I know the health benefits of avocados.  I also know I'm not a fan.  Lol.  I don't really like them.  I don't even like avocado products like guacamole.  So I held off on the avocado for now.  I'll try it next time.

Without the avocado, this was AWESOME!  I was so thrilled.  Even without the avocado, there is so much good stuff in there for you.  Super tasty.  Now I need to go get more red apples (we always have a stash of green ones at the house) so I can make more.  I had it for breakfast this morning, but it would feel great after a swim or something too.  Ermahgerd! 

I'm tellin' ya.  You gotta try it.  I don't think you'll be disappointed.  :)

Holy hell

I ate like absolute crap last weekend.  Last week I did pretty good overall, but I did crap this weekend.  Pain was pretty bad on Sunday and Monday I was in bad shape too, but I still went swimming and did some weight training.  While in the pool, I decided to try and keep up with the guy in the lane next to me for my last set of 100.  Oh I kept up (score!), but my shoulder paid the price (BOO!).  It was so searing, burning, stabbing...  When I finished, I held onto the side of the pool with my "good" arm and literally bit the deck for a few minutes to keep from screaming.

Tuesday I went for a short run between work and seeing Doc.  I wanted to do a trail run, but the rain came a bit early.  I didn't enjoy the idea of a mud run, so I just stuck to the paved trail.  I made it a sprint workout of sorts.  Felt great when I was done.  Just what I needed.  Shoulder held up fine too (yay!).  Still hurting pretty bad from the swim, but that mind-splitting pain didn't return.

Afterwards, I saw Doc and told him about my run on Saturday.  He was super excited!  But then I told him about the pain on Sunday, Monday's swim, etc.  Kind of a bummer, but he was excited to hear that the running didn't agitate the pain any further.  He asked me how the alkaline food thing was going and I told him I was trying, but I ate crap (and drank crap) all weekend.  Then it dawned on me.  Pain came back with a vengeance after eating junk food for nearly 2 days.  Oops.  Lol.

So since Monday morning, I've been back on this alkaline food thing. I've been drinking a lot more water in the last 2 or 3 weeks than I used to.  I remembered my swim coach (who has been following an alkaline diet for years) always had a slice of lemon (or two!) in his water bottle.  I looked it up and read that it helps make the water more alkaline.  Not to mention that lemon is one of the most alkaline forming foods.  So today, I'm giving it go.  I'm not a fan of lemon water, so I started with a small slice.  Lol.  :)

I have discovered the joy of butternut squash today.  In the deli section at Publix, they had a cup of butternut squash and apple soup.  I ate it for lunch today and was very surprised.  So glad I grabbed it instead of the chili!  I remembered Doc mentioning it a week or so ago too, so I looked up recipes for the stuff.  I found an easy enough recipe for roasted butternut squash.  I'm glad I read the reviews and saw that the cooking time was incorrect.  I'm going to give it a go this evening.

Doc also mentioned quinoa as a good alternative to rice and grains.  I also found out that quinoa can be prepared in a rice cooker.  Score!  So that's what I'm making this evening for dinner.  Boyfriend may or may not like it.  He was pleasantly surprised with the spaghetti squash I made last week.  Maybe he'll tolerate butternut squash too.  Lol.

Doc did a number on me yesterday though.  My left shoulder is tender where he had to hold a couple of spots and now that little spot next to my left shoulder blade is really hurting.  He said he's going to do fascia work on Friday.  Hopefully, I won't seize this time.  :)  I'm debating on taking the motorcycle to work (and Doc's office) Friday.  Doc might kill me though.  I'll think on it... 

Eating more raw foods

So Doc told me that I needed to try and eat more Alkaline.  Last week I asked him about some specifics on where to start.  He told me to do a Google search for an alkaline food list.  I found a few:

• Detailed listing of Acid/Alkaline Forming Foods
• This was my favorite of the bunch.  I keep returning back to this one as a reference.
• Alkaline Food Chart
• This one is ok.  It has pictures and is more colorful, but I still found the other easier to pick through.  This one does rank the foods within their respective categories.
• Alkaline Food List

Most of the information on these pages are similar.  A couple of variations here and there, but the common ground is still pretty obvious.

I suck at dieting and I can't stick to any food plan.  Lol.  Doc said to start with raw food smoothies and green smoothies -- focusing on foods on the list.  Sounds simple enough.  For the last week or so, I have tried making a different smoothie each day.  Today I made up one on my own.  I used: romaine, kale, spinach, arugula, parsley, ground ginger, pineapple, a tad of mango, 1 kiwi, and some water.   I put a tad of ice after a few spins.  I liked it a lot.  I almost didn't leave any for my boyfriend.  Lol.

I did some poking around for some smoothie ideas 2 weeks ago.  My preferred website at the moment is from Whole Living.  That breakfast smoothie list is just where I started.  There are probably 3 or 4 other lists on that same website.  Lots to choose from.

So the smoothies are good and easy starts.  I even make them for after workouts.  Perfect.  :)

I've also tried to eat more foods from that list in general for other meals and snacks.  Like I said: TRY.  Lol.  I suck.  Friday-Sunday I splurged a lot, but I'm not letting it bother me too much.  I'm doing a hell of a lot better on eating prepared breakfasts at home instead of stopping at Chick-fil-a.  And I'm taking better meals for lunch.  I've been drinking 2-4 bottles of water at work.  I'm on the right track..... Maybe.  Lol.

Potato Chip Substitute

I am not a person who can stick to a diet.  The attempt at such lasts about.... a couple of hours?  Lol.  I have been one of the lucky few in this country never to need a diet.  I've always been very skinny (boney, scrawny, etc).  I even had a boyfriend at one time who believed I was anorexic.  What?!  In the past, I've been known to put down a lot of food.

I have noticed that I get a little older (I am only 30 after all) that my metabolism changes.  I knew it would happen.  And I noticed when it did.  I used to be able to eat an entire medium pepperoni pizza from Pizza Hut all by myself in one sitting -- no side effects.  Now if I were to do that, I'd be bloated for days.  Lol.  I've never been one to eat only junk food, but I do enjoy it.  I have noticed that I eat too much of it at times.  I go in spurts.

When I worked 3 jobs, my diet was awful.  I worked 18-20 hours a day, 4-5 days a week.  Made decent money, but it tore up my body in more ways than one.  When I worked for the police department and went through the academy, I ate very healthy.  I found out through the department nutrionist how to eat correctly for my body type, gender, and activity level.  Learned a lot from her.  When I left the department and was self-employed part-time, substitute teaching here and there, and unemployed the rest of the time, my diet was crappy.  I ate whatever was convenient and "felt good" (aka junk food).  I still ran a lot, but nothing like training in the academy.  Body started to show it too, but I didn't get fat.  Then I got my current job as an orchestra director at a high school.  My diet is rather controlled again and I eat healthier when school is in full swing.  During the summer, I eat more junk food.  School's in session again, so my diet is healthier again.  Lol.

I'm not very creative when it comes to eating more vegetables.  I like them just fine, but I crave saltier things for the most part (especially when I'm training regularly).  A co-worker bought me a bag of his favorite snack: Terra Vegetable Chips.  I love potato chips; he said it was a good alternative without going super-healthy.

I love them!  I am totally addicted!  I ate half the bag that afternoon.  I've brought them with my lunch for two days and now they're all gone.  They have a similar texture to potato chips.  I love the seasoning on these.  They don't taste like potato chips (obviously!), but they still are great to snack on.  They're a bit sweet.  Not as crunchy as potato chips, but that's fine.  There's a decent amount of fiber in them and not nearly as many carbs and fats.  I'm a fan.  :)

If you haven't yet, give them a shot!  One ounce of these equals one serving of vegetables.  How easy is that?!  They aren't Ruffles (my favorite potato chips), but they sure make a good substitute in my pantry.

Trader Joe's has some of their own vegetable chips.  I bought some last night.  I'll be trying them tomorrow for lunch.  :)

3 Articles I Have Found so Far

So I have found three articles regarding female athletes and menstrual cycles.  I found a good number of links, but I skipped the ones that didn't look like great sources.  The first article was pretty scientific.  Now I consider myself to be a smart chick, but I found myself rereading most of this article to make sure I caught a gist.

How Menstruation Affects Your Running

So the main gist of this article that I managed to pull from it is that there are two phases: follicular & luteal phases.  During the luteal phase (day 15-28) the body's metabolism changes and so does body temperature.  The body holds on to glycogen which can be a problem for long distance endurance athletes.  Doctors and researchers recommend increasing the carbs/hour from 40 grams to 50-60 grams.

I got a little confused when it began talking about plasma volume (sorry -- it's the musician in me).  I have bookmarked the article for future reference.  I hope one day to understand it better. I believe it was referring to actually increasing sodium levels before training during the luteal phase and increasing fluid intake.  Funny because us women usually feel bloated (which the article addresses).

Last major point I got from it was that there is ongoing research regarding women's iron levels.  The never-ending argument whether women become anemic each month or just simply have low iron levels for a time.

The Challenging Periods for Women in Training

 I liked this article.  It was a little more down to earth -- so to speak.  A common theme between all the articles is that there is scientific proof that women perform poorer during any particular phase of the menstrual cycle (unless she experiences severe symptoms).  Interesting....

The article says that a common comment made by women is an increased awareness of how the body feels while on day 1-5 of the cycle.  Personally, I find that many of my senses are heightened during the first five days of my cycle: sight, hearing, smelling, touch.  My sense of taste doesn't seem to change much.

Basically it says to listen to what your body tells you and follow it.  Big surprise there.  We should be doing this anyway.

Exercise and Your Menstrual Cycle: What Your Period Means for Your Workout Schedule

Now... I'm not a huge fan of "Shape" magazine.  It just has never set well with me.  I can't quite put my finger on it.  However, I thought the article was interesting in one major way.

For the most part, it restates the same information that the other articles said.  But one piece of information was different: A woman's cycle can make her more prone to injury -- specifically the ACL. Evidently, we (women) have poorer motor control during menstruation than ovulation.  We can overcompensate by letting the knee fall inward too much, letting the quads absorb the impact in the knees instead of hamstrings & glutes, etc.

I'll probably look more into this.  Why would "Shape" magazine mention this and not Runners Times?

My swim and weight training today went awesome which was nice compared to yesterday's awful feeling all day.  I guess I'll just stick to the adage: "Go with how the body feels."  Yesterday, most movement increased the cramps.  Today, I felt like I could go on forever.  Let's see what tomorrow brings...

Our body talks

Isn't it funny how our body will sometimes crave very specific things?  I've been craving water for the past 3 days.  Even soda doesn't quench my thirst recently.... Or iced tea.... Or milk, juice, etc.  So I've been sucking down about 60-90 ounces of water a day.  My training as of late has not been as regular or consistent as I would like, but when I do train, I tend to keep the intensity rather high.  I suppose the fact that my body is craving water is a bad thing; this possibly means that I haven't been hydrating like I should (oops).

You know I watched a documentary some time ago about a man who was shipwrecked at sea.  It was in the middle of the ocean with no land in sight.  I think he was on a raft or something.  He said he would catch fish and eat the meat part (like most people do).  However, at one point, when he would catch fish, he began eating different parts of the fish instead: eyeballs, organs, etc.  He didn't know why, but his instinct to eat the (normally) wasted parts was overwhelming.  Instinct took over him.  He survived for much longer than any survivalist would expect to.  (BTW, he was an ordinary man -- not Bear Grylls or Survivor Man.) 

Scientists figured out later that those cravings and instincts were the body's way of saying that it was lacking in specific nutrients to survive.  Fish meat is not full of vitamins.  Sure it has some good stuff, but it lacks nutrients essential for survival.  Turns out there is a specific nutrient found in fish eyes that the body requires.  Same goes for the different organs.  Mind you, he wasn't cooking his fish; he ate it all raw.  I don't know about you, but raw fish eyes do not sound appetizing to me.  The man said that he never had eaten them before and he claimed he wouldn't eat them if given the choice, but the overpowering instincts forced him to do it.  This saved his life in the end.

Sometimes we crave foods/drinks that are not good for us at all: french fries, burgers, fast food, sodas, highly processed sugars, candy, etc.  Those types of cravings are good to limit.  For me I do not (currently) possess the will power to avoid those foods/drinks entirely, but I do watch how much & how often I consume them.  After all, the Buddha even says that the path to enlightenment is the "Middle Way" -- so moderation is ok.  Denying yourself everything will create misery.

However, if we crave things like water (in my current case), vegetables, fruits, etc, maybe even a specific food (watermelon, carrots, etc), it could be a signal from our bodies that we lack in a nutrient or two.  Here we need to follow our instincts.

MX & Yerba Mate

My Spring Break is off to a decent start.  :)  Although I originally planned on swimming and running on Saturday.  I just couldn't get myself going, so I made it a total chill out day.  I did some researching, reading, and sewing instead.  It was a wonderfully calm day.  I kind of feel bad that I didn't at least go swimming Saturday, especially since I have a swim lesson this upcoming Saturday; however, I feel like the chill out was needed.  :)  It was productive in other ways.

Yesterday, Dave and I went to go dirt biking at Motocross Country Club down south of Newnan, GA.  Don't let the name fool you.  Lol.  It's a farm with a couple of dirt tracks and some woods trails in the back.  It's pretty redneck -- in fact mostly rednecks go there to ride.  Lol.  Dave and I are the minority; we actually have bikes in good working order, full riding gear (that matches! Lol ), etc.  MCC never closes.  So Dave broke the cardinal rule: "CALL BEFORE YOU HAUL!"  Yeah, we drive and hour and a half only to find the gates locked and a sign saying, "CLOSED.  Gone fishing!"  Dave was dumbfounded.  Lol.

It was 1:30PM.  We decided to drive the hour up to Bremen MX Park in Bremen, GA.  That place is home for racers.  On perfect days (like yesterday) it's usually packed with riders.  It sure was when we were there back November -- and I got run over (literally!).  My arm is healed, but the memory is still there.  When we got there, it was like a ghost town.  Only about 9 people there.  The track was pretty worn from the huge crowd earlier in the day, but I could still ride it.

Yeah... That's me.  The funny look on my face is because the sun was in my eyes!.  Lol.  I swear!

We had a good time.  I'm still pissed at myself....  I didn't go as fast as I want to.  I have a huge desire to ride much faster, but when I'm out there, I don't.  >:(  I'm pissed!

MX is a really good physical activity.  It's a total body workout if you use proper riding technique.  My back and arms are fatigued not to mention my hands.  I'm surprised that my right bicep was really sore.  That's the arm and muscle I traumatized in November.  I thought it felt as strong as the left one.  Looking back, bicep curls with my right arm is a lot tougher than the left.  Huh...  Lesson learned....  I need to pay more attention to my body.

OH YEAH!  I drank a cup of Yerba Mate tea yesterday with breakfast.  Usually when I'm riding in the truck with Dave, I fall asleep -- never fails.  Especially after riding.  Yesterday, I stayed awake the entire 2.5 hour ride to the track and the 1.5 hour ride back.  I was fatigued, but not sleepy.  Like I said before, I don't believe the hype printed about products, but this one works.  It really does.  I need to look into what nutritional value this tea has.  It rocks!

Something everyone needs to try at least try if you enjoy herbal teas

I'm bad about going on a "diet."  I've been blessed all my life to have a bean-pole.  Lol.  I was always the "runt" at school.  In case you didn't know, currently I am 5'4" and 108 lbs.  Yes.  108 lbs.  When I was in the police department I started at 108 lbs, but I increased my weight through heavy-duty training and went up to 117 lbs.  Took me 3 years to lose the 10 pounds I gained.  After I left in the police department, my new muscle build-up turned to fat.  But needless to say, I'm back where I want to be weight-wise.

So, as you can see I have no reason to go on "diets" really.  I don't eat total junk food, but I definitely don't eat total "rabbit food" (as Dave would say).  I do know that there things I should change in my diet.  And every now and then, I actually find a few things that stick with me.

I love tea. Iced tea, green tea, red (rooibos) tea, earl grey tea, english breakfast tea, chai tea, etc.  I sweeten them with a variety of stuff: sugar, splenda, or honey.  A month or so ago I heard about another kind of tea: Yerba Mate.  Actually, I saw it on "Dr. Oz."

There are six commonly used stimulants found in nature: kola nut, coffee, tea, yerba mate, cocoa, and guarana.  Supposedly, yerba mate is said to be well balanced because it provides both energy & nutrition.  So I did some more reading on the internet about it.

That night I made a trip to the grocery store to get a box of it.  Rather expensive -- more than the other teas.  I didn't try it for a number of weeks.  I don't know why.  I took some tea bags to work (where I drink a lot of hot tea) and drank some with my lunch.  It was rather earthy tasting, but very aromatic (almost like flowers) and very smooth tasting.  I don't believe all the hype about energy drinks.  So I drank it more for enjoyment.  However, I did notice that by the time I got home, I felt peppy enough for a run.  I didn't have to convince myself to get out and run.  I was ready to go.  Odd.  Same day -- same thing.  Interesting...

The last couple of weeks I haven't been drinking it.  Then I drank a cup yesterday at lunch.  I felt refreshed when I got home instead of ready for bed (at 5:30PM).  I was pleased.

On the show, "Dr. Oz," the guest who talked about yerba mate said that it helps with raising metabolism.  I don't know anything about that.  From what I've read, there hasn't been enough studies to show that yerba mate has any effect on obesity.  However, I do believe that there is some merit in that it does stimulate your body.  Unlike energy drinks or even coffee, I don't get jittery or even light-headed after drinking it.  I don't even notice that it provided energy until hours later. 

The stuff tastes pretty good.  It's light enough for a spring or summer beverage, but can also be consumed in the winter just fine.  Worth looking into!

Wikipedia's page on yerba mate
Here's the brand of yerba mate I bought.  It is very informational and much easier to read.

I ran out of yerba mate tea bags at work.  Oops.  Oh well.  I'll live.  :)