Sweet Tooth

I think maybe my sweet tooth is getting a little out of hand. Hell my whole appetite is! But that's to be expected when you workout a lot. I'm all for maintaining my weight. Don't get me wrong. I'm all for eating food and and not falling into fad diet traps. But weeks like this? They really make me want to go back to my paleo days from last summer.

I've been dealing with getting an upset stomach and bloating from the things I mean hell, yesterdays doughnut, 5 slices of pizza, chocolate bar, and post scrimmage beers and fries with my team did me NO good. Tasty, but it certainly didn't help my mood and made me very sleepy today. I fall into these trends where when I eat dairy, or lots of carbs…I crave more (surprise). These are the days where I really start to recall the reasons why I went paleo (for the short stint).

It started with creepin' on an old acquaintances blog, Kathleen Shannon. I was fascinated with her aesthetic, her world travels, and her house! I started living vicariously through her posts about trekking Mount Everest and dreaming of having a cool and crisp style like hers. In fact, she inspired me to simplify my wardrobe and to embrace a good challenge. I was also jealous that she visited Vienna, the motherland (my Dad is Austrian)!  Then she started posting about doing a Whole30 paleo detox.  I thought she was crazy. I mean, this woman is toothpick tiny. This woman has perfect bone structure and a waist that I sure as hell will never see on myself. After following her paleo journey for a while, I realized that she wasn't doing it for weight loss. She did it to be healthier. She did it to be happier. That's when I jumped on the paleo bandwagon. I didn't do a Whole30 detox, I just cut out anything that wasn't paleo. The paleo diet really changed my mood. I was happier, brighter, not as sluggish. I felt like I was getting more out of my workouts and my bloating? Non existent! I felt hydrated and whole. I just felt all around healthy. You can read about Kathleen's paleo diet and her Whole30 on her blog, Jeremy & Kathleen.

So why did I stop paleo? Well, there are a number of reasons. After I completed my first 6 week running plan (6 weeks to 5k, the same plan I'm working on again right now), I kind of lost sight of my goals. My goals seemed to be scattered and abundant. I wanted to swim 1000 yards in a certain amount of time, I wanted to run a 10K, I wanted to do a new ZWOW every single day. All this on top of derby. So I started training for all sorts of stuff with no clear guidelines or focus I got discouraged. The weather started getting colder, my diet wasn't changing. I was eating everything paleo that I would eat during the summer, but I started feeling sick. I was dropping weight rapidly and feeling dizzy. In hindsight, I realize I wasn't eating seasonally or eating the proper portions for an athlete. With all this stuff going on, I started going out more and partying more…and well…one thing leads to another and I pretty much spiraled out of control (by my standards).

My derby wife, Betty Bout It was very helpful during this time though. She started talking to me about the importance of eating carbs and even taught me how to cook vegan meals. I started feeling happy and healthy again. I was eating HEALTHY carbs, and eating plenty of vegetables and not as much meat. Fast forward to now. This week has been the extreme. All junk food. I can't stop. All cheese and fried stuff and beer and soda and candy. I just can't put it down. It's got me thinking a lot though. The weather is getting nicer, I'm now a bike and bus commuter (due to trying to sell my car in an attempt to be car free…a whole other blog update!) And, well, I think I'm at a that point in my running plan where I can go back to MOSTLY paleo. I'm not ready to give up certain beans and grains yet. I am ready for more veggies, more fruits, more healthy fats and proteins. And Dammit, I want a steak!

So with that said, Friday is pay day and I plan on putting together a mostly paleo menu and doing some paleo grocery shopping. Sunday I will be marathon cooking and freezing meals for the week. I think this will be very helpful since I'm on such a tight schedule.  I feel confident about this idea and can't wait to really grab my nutrition by the balls.

Last Night's workout
Was supposed to be a rest day, but I scrimmaged, rode my bike 12.6 miles, did 60 crunches and 30 push ups.

Tonights  workout
2 scrimmages
60 crunches and 30 pushups
and by the end of it all I will have riden 12.6 miles today.

On tonight's menu? Vegi shishkabobs with Acorn squash, zucchini, black olives, onion, tomato, and maybe some brown rice or quinoa.


AND *sorry for the long update* I think I'll start taking more photos to add to my blog:) Not enough pictures happening these days.