Time! --> 30 Days Give-or-Take the Last 10

For the past month (from April 19th through May 19th), we have been participating in a 30-day Paleo Challenge with our CrossFit box people.  And while I usually would not participate in an all-or-nothing challenge, this time I did.  Well, we did.  Garrett and I decided to attempt it.  We started one day late and gave it our best effort.  We broke about the time Mothers Day came around when I decided to order a chocolate ganash soufflé for dessert.  I'll call this a gateway dessert because other things clearly followed.  While we do not view this as a total failure in nutrition, we did technically fail the all-or-nothing challenge because either you did it or you didn't.  Either you got an A+ or an F.  There was nothing in between.  And, that is ok.

What the Paleo challenge did for us was to reveal a way of nutrition that we would like to follow closely but not, at this particular moment in time, strictly.  This is not to say that we will go all nutty and drown ourselves in grain, sugar and dairy products (isn't that a lovely bathtub style vision?).  But, we are not going to beat ourselves up if we decide that maybe today we will go ahead and have a smidgen of raw sugar in our espresso.  We will not feel worthless if a bit of blue cheese would just really make this salad perfect today.  And, in the world of Paleo nutrition, we will not fret over choosing the lesser of two evils when deciding to use either cow's milk or soy milk in our espresso as well.  

We have, in fact, changed our dietary intake drastically this year by no longer buying cereals or potatoes or rice. We've brought home a hell of a lot less cheese and milk and butter.  No more are the days of buttered toast and sugar drenched espresso for breakfast followed by a dinner that included either a potato or a rice each and every time.  We have made a tremendous start and that is good enough for us for now.  We will continue to strive for better as we always do.  Right now, right here, this is good enough.  

Aside from just knowing that this is a better way to eat, how do we feel?  We feel lighter, faster and more agile.  We feel less lethargic when we CrossFit.  There is more gumption and less panting.  My asthma, while still a pain in the ol' gluteous maximus, feels less threatening.  I can tell a difference in my total energy between when I eat Paleo and when I don't.  And, I'm talking about the next day or two from when I ate.  It carries over and carries on for a period of a couple days.  

Here is a sampling of various meals that have happened for us over the latter half of our challenge (please note that ketchup, cheese, creamy dressings and added sodium are are not Paleo):

But, clarity came for me during this challenge when I began to receive comments about my appearance and how good or different my appearance was from the past.  Things like, "I can see it in your face." or "I see a change in your shoulders, your posture and across your back." and "I just have to tell you how good you look, Dione."  I'd say it is the Paleo but I would also say it is the CrossFit and the hiking.  There is a happiness that all of this brings to both me and Garrett.  And, lastly, I would say that it's the folks at my particular box, Paradiso CrossFit, that bring us smiles.  I love this group.  I appreciate how they challenge us and how they inspire us.  They live the example that we are now living and through this example we rise to the challenge.  There is a lot of laughing that goes on with this group and I look forward to spending many many years with them.

The Ignorant Hiker

I am not a hiking expert.  I am training for a six-day hike in the Austrian Alps.  To prepare, I have had many conversations with experienced hikers who have offered useful information for my local hikes.  I hope that this information will translate to what I need to know for the Alps.

As it turns out, some of you out there are actually reading my blog and watching me on Facebook.  I like this.  Thank you.  You are telling me that you want to hike or you want to CrossFit or you want to know more about this Paleo thing.  You don't really understand everything that I am doing but you want to know more and want to know how.  Again, I am not an expert.  What I will offer you here is a compilation of basics that I follow for myself.

A Quick List of Hiking Basics for Dione

Don't be ignorant.  Our first hike was actually the Na Pali Coast in Kauai, Hawaii.  We were not prepared in the least.  That, my friends, will be an entirely different blog entry.  Let's just say that we didn't do anything on this list.  Not one thing. You are already one step ahead of us because you are here reading this.  Don't be afraid to ask questions.  Question asking is good.

Know your hike.  Research your hike and know your trail.  Know your elevation.  Go to your local hiking store (like Adventure 16 or R.E.I.) and pick up a map that details the route and the elevation of your intended hike.  Bring this map with you on the hike.  While the map will be general, it will help you to be familiar with the layout and distance of the trail as well as how quickly the elevation changes.  Sometimes the trail head will have a kiosk where you can pick-up a more detailed map for you specific hike.  

Eat before you even think about stepping on the trail.  You will need the energy.  Then eat again while you are on the trail.  Eat goods things that give you good energy like meats, veggies, fruits, hard boiled eggs, nuts.  We usually eat something on the way then plan a lunch destination as part of the hike.  This spot is usually the highest point on the trail.

Hydrate.  Hydrate.  Hydrate!  I personally bring 100 oz of water on my hike (thanks, CamelBak!) and have found that I tend to run out at about 4 1/2 hours.  You will find your own personal level of hydration.  But, if you wait until you are thirsty to drink your water then you are already too late.  Keep drinking it down.  Your hydration is key in cooling your body so that you don't overheat.  It runs through you and it cleanses your pours.  It also help flush out toxins that would impede your joints.  Non-impeded joints are a good thing when hiking.

Stretch.  Stretch your hamstrings and whatever ails you before you hit the trail.  I don't do this part very well.  

Be aware.  Take it upon yourself to become familiar with what you should be aware of while you are hiking.  These things could be rattle snakes, mountain lions, ticks and poison ivy/oak.  Be able to identify these things when you see them.  This is important and is your responsibility to yourself.  Do not rely on others to convey this information to you.  

Don't go off the trail.  Since you are new to hiking, you will want to stay on the trail.  Do not venture off of it.  People get lost and/or hurt this way.  It's real simple.  Don't be that person.

Leave no trace.  You come out to nature to get away from the city.  If you didn't want to enjoy the beauty of it then you would hike Figueroa through downtown Los Angeles.  So, please, leave no trace of yourself out here.  Any litter that you create should be tucked away into your backpack to go home with you for disposal at a later time.  There should not be a trace of your plastic bottles, energy bar wrappers or broken shoe laces anywhere on the trail.

Let go and Enjoy.  Afford yourself the opportunity to breath deeply and enjoy your organic environment while you are out here.  Fully immerse yourself in your senses.  Let go of all those daily things that grind you down.  Practice letting go by sucking up what nature has to offer.  Love it.  Respect it.  And it will be there for you the next time you need it.

I average about two hikes per week.  At least one of those is with my loving husband, Garrett.  The others are usually with a good friend like Heather or Lizzie.  Sometime soon I hope to get my beagle out there on the trails on which she would be allowed.  I also look forward to including many other persons on our hikes who are open to the challenge.  I have included everything that I can think of for me at this point in my training.  If you think of anything else please post it here.  Your comments are welcome!

I'm Hike-a-licious.

If I haven't mentioned it before, my husband and I are preparing to hike for a mere six days straight in the Austrian Alps.  This hike is to occur in July of this year.  On July 10th-ish we will join our friends Rob and Petra on the 21st day of their hike in the Alps which will have covered points in Germany, Austria and Italy.  As a group, we will finish up the hike in six days as we head northwesterly back toward Germany.

To say the least, Garret and I are greatly concerned that we will hold the group back.  In order to minimize the amount of backholding that may occur, he and I have been training.  We have been CrossFitting and we have been hiking.  I am fully immersed (though I always feel as though I could be participating more) in CrossFit while he has dabbled in the on-ramp program at our box.  We have developed a habit of hiking together on Saturday mornings while I have also developed a habit of hiking at least one other time through the week (thank you, Lizzie and Heather!).  For me personally, this makes four to five days per week where I am kicking my ass in some sort of physical challenge.

Combine all this physicality together with our participation in our box's 30-day paleo diet challenge and these three things seem to make for a fulltime job in themselves.  Every day is consumed with thoughts of "How am I going to challenge myself physically today?  What am I going to eat today?  What am I not going to eat today?  How often am I going to eat today?"  We are ever referencing the Paradiso CrossFit website and Nutrition Blog and those blogs and Facebook pages of our PCF cohort.  In fact, I feel like a food-ophile carefully scanning images of everyones breakfast, dinner and snacks - having food envy and moaning in delight over things like sauteed cauliflower in place of rice. 

Garrett and I have faced obstacles because neither one of us considers ourselves very good cooks really.  He can throw down on some fish or stirfry and I get requests for fried chicken or banana bread, but to say we feel competitive as chefs in this Paleo challenge is not going to happen.  So, as I've said before, we do the best we can.

Things that I have discovered about myself this week:

1) I can't sautee asparagus to save my life.  There is a fine line between delightfully tasty and just damn soggy.

2) I have attempted twice to hard boil a dozen eggs and both times, though hugely varied in approach, I managed to pop, clank, explode and otherwise abuse the shells of my unsuspecting protien delights.

3) Salt is just damn necessary in some recipes.

4) Espresso requires either a smidge of milk (soy or the moo kind) or a smattering of raw sugar.  We have both declared that we will give up one or the other but not both.

5) No matter how hard I work or how disciplined I consume, Garrett (who is doing far less than me physically) has already reached his high school weight and is concerned that he may lose too much.

And, on a more positive note:

6) Meat rocks!

7) Avocados are a welcome flavor (this one is for you, Rob) in most dishes.

8) Tuesday morning Farm Fresh To You produce deliveries are one of the highlights of my week.

9) I surprisingly don't really miss my breads, rices or potatoes.  I certainly don't miss the way they make me feel.  And, when I think I want them, I simply remind myself how they bog me down and interfere with my CrossFit performance well into the next day (Funny, I used this same psychological trick on myself to stop smoking nine years ago). 

10) Breathing is awesome!  Achieving proper breathe is what plagues me the most in my workouts.  I have increased my lung capacity greatly in the last year and am still way behind the curve.  I am excited to ultimately work my asthma away.  When that day comes, trust me, you will know of it!

The days and days of Paleo menus have begun to blur for me.  There have been moments where Paleo was near impossible but, more so, Paleo is more accessible than you might believe.

Friday night Truxton's Gilly Burger of sin.  Notice the dark looming atmosphere.  Dione was a bad bad girl.

I'm not sure when this happened but it came compliments of Garrett (as do most of our Paleo creations) and it was dreamy!  That's apples, avocado, walnuts, butter lettuce, baby romaine, grilled chicken, etc. in that there bowl.  Mmmm...

Garrett's plate of wild atlantic salmon on a bed of fresh spinach with grilled zucchini. 

Breakfast for two days in a row of leftover browned turkey with onions and bellpeppers cooked in an omelet. 

My plate of salmon and zucchini minus the bed of fresh spinach because I simply could not fathom another mouthful of spinach goodness yesterday.

So, we eat, we drink, we crossfit and we hike.  Most importantly, we live.  We are not idle and we are not complacent.  Certainly, we are no longer ignorant of the possibilities out there for us.  And, sometimes, we rest.

Take it to the Limit

Today my box (Paradiso CrossFit) is taking on a Thirty Day Paleo Challenge. This challenge requires a 100% commitment to the Paleo Nutrition plan. The plan is that if you are taking on the challenge, to go into the box and work through "Fran." Better still, take a cold hard image of yourself before embarking on this grand endeavor, weigh yourself and then throw away the scale. At the end of the 30 days, it would be ideal to do "Fran" again and compare outcomes for improved athletic ability. I'm guessing you would have to dig your scale out of the trash can as well for a bit more comparison. What's cool about doing this with an entire box of people (I just got a crayon box visual, sorry) is that you are not the only one researching how to go about this. Everybody is searching and asking questions and shopping and cooking and submitting their own ideas on how to best go about the challenge.

My husband and I are a day short. We had a crazy and strange week/weekend that didn't allow us enough prep time for this challenge. So, we have not officially committed to the group challenge. Yet, we are following from afar. Over the last week, we have followed closely all the PCF blogs including the vast amounts of comments. I call this "the conversation." And, a quick overview late Sunday night brought new inspiration for us to ingest.

This challenge is coming at a pivotal time for me, personally, as I have officially completed the On Ramp Program portion of my CrossFit training. I will no longer be coddled though certainly the support is always there but it is time for me to truly step-up my CrossFit game. Yeah, I'm a little scared. Now I get to play with the big kids. And let me tell you, those kids are incredible! They are incredibly talented and they work incredibly hard. I have tremendous respect for each and every one of them.

I'm not going to do Fran. And, I'm not signing up for the challenge at the box. But I am going to face the challenge as best I can. You'll see evidence of that here. You'll also see my WOD's and my response to "Regularly learn and play new sports." Oh yeah, and some insight on my (and Garrett's) training for six days in the Austrian Alps. That trip happens in July 2010.

Ok, todays W.O.D. -->

3 rounds for time of:

Walking lunge, 100 ft
50 Squats
25 Back extensions

I was on my 3rd round at squat 20 when an asthma incident began to rear its ugly head. Well, it had already started to gnaw at my throat and lungs, but now it was threatening a full assault. That was when I told Diso that I had to stop (or this would get real ugly real fast). So, I didn't get my time to that point but I'm pretty sure it was around 1/2 hour and that's a pretty long time. My body ached and my lungs hurt and my throat was dry and I felt the pangs of vomit a-brewin' together with the onset of the asthma monster. However, I wouldn't trade this experience for anything. These workouts are tough but I am anxious to see an improvement in my breathing. I am challenged to the max of my physical and mental abilities. And, I love it.

I came home and did something terrible. Well, the espresso wasn't bad but the two slices of buttered toast were far from Paleo. After a rest to gain a sense of normality, I countered the days events with a beautiful Paleo lunch - 2 eggs scrambled, 5 pieces of bacon seasoned with Mrs. Dash Original on a bed of romaine and butter lettuce. A quick consultation with Assassin revealed that I neglected to include a proper carb and my answer to that was a fresh apple. I am feeling better now but my head still hurts from the lack of oxygen during my workout.

I am preparing my grocery list this afternoon for my Paleo shopping spree. We shall see how this one goes. Feelings? I am both terrified and excited. What a great opportunity!