This is the point where i stand up and say "Hi, my name is RC, and i'm a sugar addict".
Yes that's right. An addict.
I used to call it a sweet tooth. The more i read about sugar and it's effect on the body, the more i realize that i don't have a sweet tooth, i have an addiction. One of the hardest things for me about going paleo has been giving up processed sugars. I don't have a problem going grain free. There's been some initial stomach irritation, which is to be expected anytime you go from eating a diet that's 80% grain (yep, i'm guilty), to 0%. But the sugar withdrawal is killing me.
I get cranky, i get headaches, and i get CRAVINGS. The sugar issue is the one problem that's always derailed my best dieting intentions. It's the reason i havent been able to stick to almost every other diet i've tried. The more i start to read about sugar, and it's affect on the body, the more i start to realize why i'm having a problem.
Because i eat as much sugar and refined carbs as i do, i've pretty much rendered my body incapable of regulating itself when it comes to blood sugar and insulin levels. I'm not diabetic, but they way i've been eating, i think that's probably only because it doesnt run in my family. I just lucked out with good genes. Because my body has been relying on outside sources of sugars, it doesnt know what to do or how to react when i suddenly deprive it of those things. The blood sugar gets low, and instead of the body reacting normally, as it should, it goes "OH MY GOD WE'RE GOING TO DIE. GIVE ME SUGAR NOW!!!!". Sorry for the all capitals there, but i'm not exaggerating. The sugar cravings are intense. And, like a spoiled child, when i don't give my body the sugar it wants, it throws a temper tantrum. Killer headaches, irritation, low energy levels, you name it. At some point, i always give in. That "giving in" always takes the form of some awful but delicious sugary bready substance. It provides the immediate short term energy and sugar boost i crave, but does me no favors in the long run.
I can go without the grain. I can go without the seeds. I can go without the beans, vegetable oils, and the dairy. Where i'm really going to struggle is with getting rid of my body's dependency on processed sugars.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Date night at Crossfit
It was date night for us last night. I left work, took the train to the station nearest our crossfit, and the boyfriend picked me up there.
I'm not a fan of working out. I am a fan of anything that lets the boyfriend and i spend more time together. We had time in the car to catch up on what's been going on since we last saw each other a few days before. We got to crossfit, got our workout in, and then afterwards, we went out to dinner.
The boyfriend is always hungry after a workout. Not just hungry, but ravenous. It's a half hour drive home, and sometimes he just can't wait that long for dinner. On days like that, he takes me for dinner at a steak place we like on the way home. We have a lovely, paleo friendly dinner, and that gives us even more time to talk, without the added distraction of the dogs, the television, the laundry, the dishes, etc.
Before our weekly date night, we weren't communicating well. Sure, there were emails and text messages, and phone calls aplenty. But i think we can all agree that those arent the same as a good solid face to face conversation. Getting the boyfriend to sit down at home and have a half hour conversation about anything was always tough. There were just too many other things that needed to be done, and they provided a huge distraction. Now, between the time we spend in the car to and from crossfit, and the occasional dinner out, some weeks we get several hours of quality time. For us, that's a pretty big deal.
Date night is the reason i started crossfit. I had no desire to go to the gym. I had every desire to spend a little more time with the boyfriend. It's only one night a week, but it's a start.
I'm not a fan of working out. I am a fan of anything that lets the boyfriend and i spend more time together. We had time in the car to catch up on what's been going on since we last saw each other a few days before. We got to crossfit, got our workout in, and then afterwards, we went out to dinner.
The boyfriend is always hungry after a workout. Not just hungry, but ravenous. It's a half hour drive home, and sometimes he just can't wait that long for dinner. On days like that, he takes me for dinner at a steak place we like on the way home. We have a lovely, paleo friendly dinner, and that gives us even more time to talk, without the added distraction of the dogs, the television, the laundry, the dishes, etc.
Before our weekly date night, we weren't communicating well. Sure, there were emails and text messages, and phone calls aplenty. But i think we can all agree that those arent the same as a good solid face to face conversation. Getting the boyfriend to sit down at home and have a half hour conversation about anything was always tough. There were just too many other things that needed to be done, and they provided a huge distraction. Now, between the time we spend in the car to and from crossfit, and the occasional dinner out, some weeks we get several hours of quality time. For us, that's a pretty big deal.
Date night is the reason i started crossfit. I had no desire to go to the gym. I had every desire to spend a little more time with the boyfriend. It's only one night a week, but it's a start.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
How I became a crossfit widow....
The boyfriend and I work opposite shifts. That means that we only have one night a week, maybe two, where we're both home and awake at the same time, for a couple of hours. The rest of the time, we communicate through emails, text messages, and the occasional phone call. It sucks. A lot.
When the boyfriend started hitting cross fit on his nights off, it meant that instead of having 3 or 4 hours a week with him, I had 1 or 2. There was a little bit of a resentment on my part for that, and whole lot of frustration on both our parts. But, cross fit is working for him. He's happier, healthier, and less stressed out. The time I do have with him is a lot more fun. Eventually I got fed up with the whole "ships passing in the night" routine, and decided that something had to change. Our work schedules are fixed, cant change those. I'm not about to ask him to give up cross fit, because when he's happier and healthier, we both win. That really only left me one option...
If you can't beat them, join them... And that began my journey into cross fit, and the paleo lifestyle.
When the boyfriend started hitting cross fit on his nights off, it meant that instead of having 3 or 4 hours a week with him, I had 1 or 2. There was a little bit of a resentment on my part for that, and whole lot of frustration on both our parts. But, cross fit is working for him. He's happier, healthier, and less stressed out. The time I do have with him is a lot more fun. Eventually I got fed up with the whole "ships passing in the night" routine, and decided that something had to change. Our work schedules are fixed, cant change those. I'm not about to ask him to give up cross fit, because when he's happier and healthier, we both win. That really only left me one option...
If you can't beat them, join them... And that began my journey into cross fit, and the paleo lifestyle.
Monday, March 28, 2011
The dreaded intro post....
I'll try to make a long story short. This is just an intro post after all. Besides, i have a confession to make...
My boyfriend was right about something. Maybe. Possibly. But only one thing, and i'll never admit it to him in person.
I have this boyfriend. We live in blissful cohabitation, most of the time. After a few years of that blissful cohabitation, we got lazy, and put on a few pounds. I tried a bunch of strange diets, spent weeks convincing myself that i LOVED the treadmill in our front bedroom, and failed miserably at both. The boyfriend eventually got fed up of being fed up, stressed out (his job is crazy), and out of shape. He did a bunch of research, found a diet plan he could live with (and he swears its not a diet), and found a gym he enjoyed. He buckled down, set to making those changes with a vengeance, and a year and a half later is 60 pounds lighter, less stressed, happier, and a whole heck of a lot more pleasant to live with.
Why is this bad? Well, turns out that the diet he picked, The Paleo Diet, is pretty similar to what he'd been doing before. Only, better. And his new gym, Crossfit, is right up his alley, and incorporates the paleo lifestyle as well. He started out with noticeable changes right off the bat, and was instantly converted. Being excited about all this, he decided that he wanted to convert the rest of the world. Including me.
I don't want to say that he got preachy about it, because i know that he meant well, and wanted other people to join in the excitement. However, i don't deal well with "preachy". I'm stubborn to the core, and preachy tends to make me dig in and resist things just on principle. You bet your sweet buttons i resisted this one. I'm sensitive about my weight and eating habits enough already. His "helpful suggestions" weren't well received.
A year and a half later, he's still eating paleo, hitting crossfit as often as possible, and looks better than he did when we met (and he was HOT then!). He's happier, so i'm happier. He's managed to stick with the plan, and is definitely a success story. I'm happy for him. Really.
There's this saying... If you can't beat them, join them. So i did.
My boyfriend was right about something. Maybe. Possibly. But only one thing, and i'll never admit it to him in person.
I have this boyfriend. We live in blissful cohabitation, most of the time. After a few years of that blissful cohabitation, we got lazy, and put on a few pounds. I tried a bunch of strange diets, spent weeks convincing myself that i LOVED the treadmill in our front bedroom, and failed miserably at both. The boyfriend eventually got fed up of being fed up, stressed out (his job is crazy), and out of shape. He did a bunch of research, found a diet plan he could live with (and he swears its not a diet), and found a gym he enjoyed. He buckled down, set to making those changes with a vengeance, and a year and a half later is 60 pounds lighter, less stressed, happier, and a whole heck of a lot more pleasant to live with.
Why is this bad? Well, turns out that the diet he picked, The Paleo Diet, is pretty similar to what he'd been doing before. Only, better. And his new gym, Crossfit, is right up his alley, and incorporates the paleo lifestyle as well. He started out with noticeable changes right off the bat, and was instantly converted. Being excited about all this, he decided that he wanted to convert the rest of the world. Including me.
I don't want to say that he got preachy about it, because i know that he meant well, and wanted other people to join in the excitement. However, i don't deal well with "preachy". I'm stubborn to the core, and preachy tends to make me dig in and resist things just on principle. You bet your sweet buttons i resisted this one. I'm sensitive about my weight and eating habits enough already. His "helpful suggestions" weren't well received.
A year and a half later, he's still eating paleo, hitting crossfit as often as possible, and looks better than he did when we met (and he was HOT then!). He's happier, so i'm happier. He's managed to stick with the plan, and is definitely a success story. I'm happy for him. Really.
There's this saying... If you can't beat them, join them. So i did.
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