Paleo - Week 2

Here's my wife again - week 2 of our Paleo journey.

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Week 2:

I didn’t do a daily recount but rather here are a few observations I have made about my 2^nd week of trying Paleo.

1.       I have found myself looking more at the ingredients on food than looking at the nutritional information. I can more easily spot ingredients that I shouldn’t be eating. Even on food marked ‘all natural’ there are things that I shouldn’t consume.  Speaking of ‘all natural’ – be careful of that label, the FDA’s definition of ‘all natural’ is very broad.

2.       That $200 food processor I bought? It was worth it. I have made food that I never would have attempted to make if it were left to just my grater and/or a knife. A tip on finding a decent food processor comes from my Dad…..if it can make dough? It’s a good one.

3.       What I used to consider not sweet enough is now too sweet. My family and I went to a baseball game over the weekend and my husband bought him and me a green tea. Unfortunately he didn’t realize that they were diet. We went ahead and opened them and we literally had to sip on them throughout the entire game they were so sweet (and still ended up only drinking about a ¼ each of them).

4.       I went ahead and weighed myself for pure comparison. I weighed myself a week and a half into this and I was down 6lbs. I knew I had lost weight since my clothes were feeling looser, I just didn’t know how much. My husband has lost considerably more than I have – of course….men….they suck. But more importantly than the weight, I feel better.

5.       My recovery time on hard workouts is 100% better. We rode 18 miles of mountain bike trails on the 4^th of July. About half way through we stopped and had nuts, dried fruit and jerky and then started in again. Towards the end of the ride we were hurting but we no sooner stopped and we were already feeling better.

6.       We went grocery shopping over the weekend and all in all we spent about $250 (at three different stores….a chain grocery store, a co-op and a Whole Foods type of place) and we bought only three items that could be considered processed….1 box of cereal, 1 bottle of creamer (I still have not given that up) and 1 pint of Vegan ice cream. I was pretty proud of that.

7.       Speaking of grocery stores – when you visit three within an hour and a half of each other and you use your debit card at each one? Apparently that alerts your bank to unusual activity and they have their fraud department get in touch with you to verify your purchases before your card is able to be used again. That? Was awesome.

8.       All in all, I feel good. I feel like I’m mixing up our meals well enough that I’m not getting bored and I feel like we are making up new meals as we go as we figure out what we like and don’t like. I’m also trying a lot of new foods which I would have never done before. Case in point? We made Lamb Sliders - White Sweet Potato for the "bun", homemade Mayo, Lamb sliders, romaine lettuce, tomatoes and pickles. This meal was a huge hit! Then we finished this off with dessert - Carrot/Gingerbread muffins topped with Coconut butter frosting. Yum!

 

9.       My husband thinks that just because I went Paleo and just because I enjoy mountain bike riding that I will also now enjoy camping. He spent Saturday afternoon scouring websites for tents and cots and tri-pods and cast iron cookware. I spent Saturday afternoon making sure our Internet connection went down every time he went to “check-out”.

Lindy-eo: Week 1

My wife and I decided to give Paleo a try for 30 days. She is journaling her experience, how she feels and what pisses her off about it. Here is her take on Week 1.

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“Lindy-eo”

I call it Lindy-eo because I am not 100% paleo. I have a few items that as of right now I have not removed from my daily consumption and I am totally okay with that. I didn’t start this to fail and I know myself well enough to know that if I restrict everything I love, I will quit.  I still have my morning coffee – with creamer. I don’t allow myself anymore creamer than that one sitting though, which is a huge change. And let’s face it, without my morning coffee/creamer mixture – innocent people could die. I also still use Mio to flavor my water.  Mainly, I started this, not for weight-loss (although that will be a hell of an incentive to keep going if that happens) but to see if over-all, I feel better (cleaner) on the inside.

Day 1: I feel pretty good. I’d like to know what the hell I’m supposed to eat but I feel good. I’m guessing my body is still hungover from the carb-fest I had last night before starting this “lifestyle change.” Mmmmmm…..french fries are still living large in my memory bank at this point.

Day 2: I felt very tired today but Ryan and I still went mountain bike riding. Before our ride I ate some gummy fuel things (which are most certainly not paleo but I needed something before our ride). We went 8.5 miles on the wooded trails so I’m guessing I burned those puppies off pretty quick. I felt really good after our ride. I stopped at Moe’s for my dinner, which will probably be my go-to eat out place since I easily know what I can and shouldn’t have there.

Day 3: Crash and burn. I think I went to bed at 8:45 and slept soundly all night. I think this is a combination of no carbs (I love and miss you so much white bread!) and our intense cardio workout from the night before. I did manage to get to Barnes and Noble and get a Paleo book (Practical Paleo – I recommend it – and not just because there is a page dedicated to your poop and what it should look like – shout out to ‘Ms. Right’!). We ate some spicy ass meatballs with steamed green beans and watermelon for dinner. I also made some Blueberry/Lemon muffins – with coconut flour. Move over Barefoot Contessa, I be baking my shit with coconut flour. Of course – I also realized just how expensive this weird crap is. I mean really? Grade B syrup? Coconut flour? Grass-Fed Beef? – This is shit that’s coming from a co-op which stands for get ready to lose your paycheck in here.

Day 4: I feel less tired. I also feel lighter. Maybe not lighter as far as my weight is concerned (although I’d swear my shirts are feeling less restrictive) but lighter on the inside if that makes any sense. I made an egg salad using Dijon mustard (organic, thankyouverymuch), bacon grease, egg yolk, lemon juice, sea salt and pepper (instead of mayonnaise). It was a hit – possibly because it resembled something I would be used to eating before which I have found is key for me right now. I saw it written somewhere and I agree – trick your eye, trick your mind….make the food look like something you would have eaten before and you are likely to enjoy it’s paleo version. I wonder what food I could use that resembles a deep fried potato in fry form? We also ordered a sampler of Paleo friendly condiments and snacks since it’s the in-between meals and my lack of being able to dunk any food into an accompanying liquid that is causing me the most problems right now. I have also found that I have a love-affair for espresso with steamed chocolate almond milk. This has become my nightly treat and something I look forward to….which I think is hugely key for me as well. I tried blueberries as a mid-day snack for the first time today, and realized that I dislike blueberries a lot, unless they are in the muffin form.

Day 5: I felt pretty good this morning and I realized that I have been sleeping better since I started this.  I also noticed while at work that thanks to the bacon I cooked last night, I smell like a bacon grease oil pit. I think there are worse things in life than smelling like bacon though. I feel like I have more energy and for longer periods of time. I also find myself not thinking about food between meals. We ate dinner at a nice place in Winona Lake - this was the first time I ordered from a restaurant. It was actually easier than I thought and the meal was fantastic. Later that evening we did a 7.5 mile MTB trail ride and that was when I realized just how much I wasn't eating. We were no more than 2 miles in and I was physically drained. We made it through the rest of the ride but not without a lot of bitching from me. I noticed, however, that I also recovered a lot quicker than I normally would have. We were standing around the bike shop talking to the owner and I was already feeling much better.

Day 6: It's Saturday - I figure Saturday and Sunday will be the hardest days for me this week. I woke and felt great - had my morning coffee and hit the grocery store. A lot of the recipes I've been looking at have said that using a food processor is a lot easier so we also went to buy one of those. There are many things in this life that I would spend $200 on - never in my life did I think a food processor would be on that list. Today was the first day that I also got completely frustrated with this paleo thing. My day started off so great and then at dinner time I tried two new recipes - one was our meal (tangy taco salad) and one dessert (vanilla almond sponge cake). Neither of them really impressed me and I instantly felt discouraged. I pouted about it for a little bit before Ryan convinced me to try another dessert. We tried pumpkin muffins and my faith was restored....it literally tasted like pumpkin bread. Which was exactly what I needed - something that look and tasted like a food that I use to enjoy. I ended the day having redeemed my attitude.

Day 7: I was worried about today because it was dreary and rainy outside and it was Sunday. That usually means the couch, the TV and a snack-fest for me but overall the day went easier than I thought. I made a sweet potato, ground lamb and egg casserole which was surprisingly good. This was made entirely easier by our new food processor which shredded the potatoes in no time flat. I haven't weighed myself but I feel like I've lost weight....my clothes hang looser on me and oddly enough, I've noticed that my seatbelt in the car fits around me easier as well.

Recommendations after Week 1:

1.       Get a pay raise before you start this.

2.       Make one shelf in your pantry ‘kid-restricted’ and put all of your Paleo groceries there. Damn kids can’t be cookin’ shit with your $8.99 coconut oil.

3.       It’s much easier doing this when your spouse is doing it too. Do it with someone for mutual bitching opportunities!

4.       In all seriousness – don’t weigh yourself. Listen to your body and how you feel rather than a number on a scale. I don’t think this tidbit of advice is exclusive to this paleo thing.

5.       Stay active! If for no other reason than because before you trail-ride you get to eat those gummy fuel packet things and they taste eerily similar to gummy bears and damn….you miss gummy bears.

Trails, Beer and Calamine

Ever wake up and think yesterday was just a dream right? It couldn't have been real?! That was my Father's Day.

This past weekend was full of activity. It started out with a trip to Michigan for my wife and I's 11th wedding anniversary. We had planned on it only being a day trip but the day trip was cut even shorter with the never-ending rain. In spite of the rain, we still had a great time. We were able to still walk out on the pier, stroll through town and even ate train side at a pizza place that literally would have required us holding our plates down if Amtrak had gone by.

We headed back to Indiana after we realized the rain was not going away anytime soon. On our way back we stopped at my favorite town in Indiana - Winona Lake. I have said it before and I still believe it, the place is magical. I leave there with a entirely different perspective on life. Plus, they have a wicked cool bike shop called the Trailhouse. My wife was in the market for a new bike, not a road bike but a everyday bike. One she can just jump on and not worry about clipping in, not having spandex on, but just one where we could escape and be alone together.

Never....I mean NEVER would I expect this visit to turn out the way it did!

Kristi, a shop employee was there and struck up a wonderful conversation with us. I visit often so they know me pretty well, usually every purchase is accompanied with "did your wife approve of this?" She asked what kind of bike my wife was looking for. I started in with "a commuter, something practical.... it has to be cute or she won't ride it...."

She then asked, "why not a trail bike?" I laughed and said no way would my wife get on a single speed 29er and go into the WOODS with me. Kristi went on to explain how much her late boyfriend and her had loved to ride, how he built her bike for her, how he was patient with her and went through the woods and they laughed, she even told us of a story of how she led a group of guys out on a training ride as he brought up the back - normally it would have been the other way around. She said she felt like a badass on her trail bike.

She single-handedly convinced my wife to give it a try.

It was raining on Saturday, so we said we would be back in the morning. At that point, they were calling for a 80% chance of rain. I was so bummed because I was sure if I didn't get my wife out right away her willingness to try a trail bike would subside.

On Sunday morning, I jumped out of bed at 5:00 o'hell-no in the morning (on Father's Day, no less) and saw that it wasn't raining! Not only was it not raining but they had completely revamped the forecast (something they NEVER do) and now we were looking at only a 20% chance of rain. We loaded up around Noon (even though a 20% of rain to my wife still means there is a chance of rain) and made the hour drive back to Winona Lake. We got her on a rental and we headed out to the trails! I laughed, I smiled, I honestly thought I had died and gone to heaven. My wife doesn't do nature, but she was flying through the trails like she had rode them a million times (it could have possibly been because she knew that the faster she went, the quicker she'd get the hell out of there). And she climbed, holy crap did she climb!

We went back to the Trailhouse and sized her up with a badass Redline 29er. They went through it with a fine-toothed comb, we loaded it up and took her home! That's right, my wife is a badass single- speed mountain biker!! And we are already planning our next trip - to Fort Custer in Michigan -recommended by Dave, one of the coolest mechanics around!

We no sooner get back to the house, get the bikes unloaded from the roof-rack and get them safely into the garage and the flood gates open with a massive downpour.

To me it was a sign of this was meant to be, to my wife it was see I told you it was going to rain!

We finished the night with dinner and a beer...and a ton of calamine lotion. In my excitement, I forgot the Off! and the mosquitos made us pay a high price for that.

You're my boy......RED?

Chores are done and about three hours to kill. What to do?

I could give you a slew of things my wife would like me to do but as I finished potting her new flowers for the front porch and was cleaning up, there hung my first ride, calling for me. I thought to myself....Red and I haven't been out in a long while. Hmmmmm.... She was starving for some attention and I thought why not?

I changed, threw on my hemet and took off! I think she was out to impress me because as we spun through the local trails I heard no creeks, no funky shifting, just pure power. Then again, I do tend to pedal a little faster and a little harder when I know I am on a time crunch. It was a nice little get away with the original bike that turned my like of cycling into my love of cycling. I even gave a quick thought, while hanging her back up, of taking this bike to Louisville with me this weekend for my Tour de Cure ride!

Hope you all have a great weekend, mine starts now!

Man in the mirror!

We all have done it! Walked by a mirror, or a window and seen our reflections. Sometimes we think we look good and we stop and stare at our hot selves and sometimes we see a reflection that causes us to think damnshit and move away from that lying piece of crap mirror/window as quickly as possible. That is exactly what I did about two weeks ago after looking at a picture a friend of mine took of me on a ride. The problem is my damn was more like WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED.......DAMN!!

That brings me to today! I started over. I have always struggled with my weight and I thought I had it under control, until that picture. Everyone thinks there is a magic pill, secret diary or surgery but reality is it only takes work and dedication. I swear by the journal! If I eat it, I better know exactly what it is I am eating so I can log it. Forget the fancy apps, computer logs and all that bullshit. Just good old pen and paper does the trick!


Today I broke it out! The journal!

As a matter of fact, I AM aware that my pen is from a pizza joint and I'm using it to write in my diet journal. Stop judging.

I like to have goals, and the best way for me to meet my goals is to sign up for events. Last year, I rode the RAIN (ride across Indiana) 160 miles one way, one day. To some that sounds bizarre but for me, I loved ever mile! I knew with every stroke I was getting closer to meeting the finish line. Since that day I added about thirty pounds. So, I signed up for the RAIN yesterday and my goal is to see the man in the mirror from today thirty pounds lighter by July 13th! So, what does your mirrior story tell you? And what are you doing to say....damn!?

Me after last years RAIN.....

......awww-damn.....yum-my........ (my wife edited this post and totally added that)

The time a tree gave me a hickey.....

ah yes...FREEDOM or so I thought.

I had a little eye opener last week and it made me stop and think, life offers no do-overs! You get one chance to do what you want and I tend to do what I want. Work was sucking the life out of me. I had no time for friends, kids, my wife and of course my bike! ---this list is not necessarily listed in order of importance.

It was time to make changes in my life and get this show on track. I followed up my eye opener with phone calls to the doctors office and I contemplated what I wanted to do with my career. Ask my wife, I don't drag my feet on much and my job was no different. I made an offer to my employer which allowed me a little more FREEDOM. My employer wasn't so much interested in my offer or my FREEDOM so I politely resigned.

....with no real guarantees in the near future I tasted FREEDOM!

Freedom's just another word for nothin' left to lose
Nothin' don't mean nothin' hon' if it ain't free, no no
And feelin' good was easy, Lord, when he sang the blues
You know, feelin' good was good enough for me
Good enough for me and my Bobby McGee 

The crazy thing is.....everything lined up perfectly. Once I made the decision to quit, all the cards seemed to fall into place. And once I felt like everything was lined up, the next decision I could make was heading out for a ride, in the woods, with a friend.

We jumped on our bikes and pedaled on down to the trailhead, as we approached we discussed easy or moderate route? We both agreed quickly, start easy and end hard. Two minutes into the easy ride....and my friend hit the dirt. I laughed. Karma laughed. Then I hit the dirt.

I felt every bone in my body crack. I'm pretty sure I hit the tree going 15 25 35 45 mph. After I laid there for a second to make sure I was still alive, all body parts were still attached and I could still move my legs, I couldn't stop laughing. I'll have to admit though, the bruise the hit left behind is pretty badass.


Exhibit A:

The one thing that pisses me off about the entire experience though? I wasn't wearing my GoPro camera. Leave it to me - get my ass kicked by a tree and have nothing to show for it, except a wicked hickey bruise.

Happy Ending (*that* kind of happy ending, as a matter of fact)

My wife is posting again....she thinks she's funny....

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We'll get back to bikes in a minute, but first, the back story…..

There are only a handful of times I can remember that I have sent my husband the "don't be mad" text. The text that says, in no uncertain terms, that I have done something, or more accurately bought something, that probably in hindsight wasn't a good "investment." Editors note: Since when are shoes NOT a good investment, thankyouverymuch.

I'll admit, I'm not a big shopper but when I'm in the mood, I'm in the mood. And this one time? I was in the mood.

I had spent the weekend with my sisters - which should have been a warning to my husband in and of itself. We had done the normal shopping, of course, but the real purpose of that particular day was my younger sisters upcoming wedding. I was to walk away with a Maid of Honor dress purchased for myself and a Flower Girl dress purchased for my daughter. By the end of the day and by the time those purchases had added up, I knew I was in big trouble. A dent that big in the checking account was surely going to be noticed by him, and fast. I blame the Flower Girl dress entirely.

So, I came up with a plan. A sure-fire way to make sure the topic of money and more importantly how much of it I had spent was a short-lived one. I got home from the shopping trip and snuck everything into the bedroom. I wasn't hiding my purchases, I was preparing. If my plan was to work, I needed to get it set-up. I needed to set the trap, bait my husband and wait.

I piled all of the receipts onto the center of the bed and next to the receipts, I piled my new treasures. I stood next to the bed and waited. And just as planned, when my husband finally walked into the bedroom he immediately zeroed in on the bed and the damage I had likely done. The look on his face was one of sheer terror, followed by "what in the hell did you do?!". 

Ex-cel-lent, I thought. *hands rubbing together mischievously* My plan was working.

I waited a beat, didn't say a word, reached down and yanked up my shirt - fully exposing the girls and rendering him speechless.

Ladies and Gentlemen, this is how I spring a new, large, purchase onto my spouse.

Fast forward to this past weekend. My husband went out biking and as he always does he took pictures and video of his excursion. As usual, he posted some of those pictures to Instagram/Facebook/Twitter. Unlike unusual - as I was scrolling through those same pictures, I realized that I didn't recognize the bike. 

What? The? Hell?

Where'd the…..?

What'd he…..?

Are you kidding me?

He. bought. another. bike.

Ladies and Gentlemen, this is how my husband springs a new, large, purchase onto his spouse.

Passive - Aggressive - Bullshittery

-----At least with my way, somebody is gettin' a happy ending.------