Another Nutrition Blog?!

Nutrition has always been a huge topic of interest for me. My body is extremely sensitive to what I eat. Over the years, I've made some close observations to my mood and health in relation to what I consume. For example, as a child, I was a total sugar freak. My mom tried raising us in a sugar-free household. I remember hating the taste of carob, and thought honey was weak. If I went to a friend's house to play, my first stop was always the pantry to raid for sugary treats. Of course, it's no wonder why I was cranky kid with one hell of an attitude. I also remember having wicked insomnia growing up. I didn't correlate my sleep problems with nutrition until recently. (By the way, thank you to my sister Rebecca for catching my magnesium deficiency. 1000mg of magnesium a day drastically improved the quality of my sleep.)

As I got older, I began doing my own research on healthy eating. I majored in Nutrition and Biology for a few semesters, but noticed that when took nutrition classes, I got overly-obsessed with food. It never got too out of control, but I developed a bit on an eating disorder and realized that my quest for health was spiraling me down a very dangerous path towards bulimia. I made a command decision to drop Nutrition and just focus on Biology in order to stop going nuts over food. This is why I have a huge issue with The Zone. If I actually have to measure out my food and keep close tabs on "blocks", I'll go crazy.

During my quest for the optimum consumption plan, I have tried many different methods. From ovo-vegetarian to macrobiotic to raw vegan to blood type diet to Hippocrates diet to "don't give a shit, pass the queso and a margarita" and now Paleo, I have to say, I'm going to stick with Paleo. I've done a lot already. My ex and I got pretty creative with raw vegan, and we basically mastered the sprouted nuts and seeds concept. We would make our own almond milk, energy bars, dehydrate our own fruit, and had a rather delicious although not so attractive sprouted buckwheat groat cereal recipe. I have to admit, while I did feel good as a raw vegan, I was too delicate. If I strayed at all, I would soon end up on my knees in the bathroom throwing it all back up. So much for cheat days. My endurance was awesome as I ran a sub-21 minute 5K. At the time, super-strength wasn't my concern. I was all about being a Skinny Bitch and often quoted The China Study to people who were interested in why I chose to be a vegan.

Since discovering CrossFit, I tried implementing vegan/macrobiotic nutrition with it. Guess what. It doesn't work. I remember telling my coach Dave that I wasn't eating meat. That night, I got a message from my other coach, Deric, "What do you mean you're not eating meat?!" I was stubborn, proud, and wanted to prove that plant proteins were as good as animal proteins. Yes, I was lean and had good muscle tone, but putting 95# over my head was definitely a struggle. After a couple of months, I gave in and tried Paleo. The Paleolithic Diet (AKA The Caveman Diet) is a relatively simple concept. You follow the Hunter/Gatherer style of eating. Eat clean meats, fresh vegetables, raw nuts and seeds, some fruit, and that's about it. Forbidden foods include dairy, grains, legumes, and anything processed. The big key to staying Paleo is quality protein and eating plenty of good fats. I eat an avocado a day, keep plenty of raw almonds and walnuts near by, and coconut oil is a huge staple. I put coconut oil on almost everything; eggs, steamed vegetables, baking, etc. If I stray and have Ezekial toast, I use coconut oil and himalayan salt instead of butter. The fats are what help keep you satisfied and prevent that "dried up" feeling. I need to take a leap and really go strict, but there are some things that I really have a difficulty letting go (primarily beer, wine, and dark chocolate).

After adapting the Paleo diet to my life as well as finally adopting CrossFit in full, my body transformed. I've always been an athlete, and sport the build for it. But, soon after making these changes, my large-for-a-white-girl booty and tree-trunk soccer-style legs finally became proportional to the rest of my body! Not only that, but thanks to amazing coaching from Deric, Dave, and the rest of the CrossFit Cedar Park crew, I started ticking off WOD times, adding weights to the workouts, and got strong.

This week I've started my girlfriend Tara's Healthy Girl Challenge. It's a 6-week program in which we need to accumulate 25 points a week. We get points for eating vegetables and working out, and lose points for eating junk food and drinking booze. The challenge was a $25 buy-in, and whoever completes the full 6-weeks gets to split the pot of money (now at $550). What I like about her challenge is that it isn't overly-complicated, over-obsessive, and is pretty realistic. I think on my own, I naturally earn about 30-35 points a week (as long as I don't have a crazy sugar melt-down). In case I need a little extra motivation, she has her own blog as well to help us all get through the challenge. Check it out! Even if you're not in the competition, there's some good information. www.wholehealthmadeeasy.blogspot.com