Category Archives: Food

Being Healthy

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So, this weekend I went out to Montana for my grandmother’s funeral. Even though it was sad, it was somewhat of a relief to know that she is finally resting and at peace. And it was great to see my family that’s spread out all over the world.

And it’s kinda gorgeous out there this time of year…

I’m going to go on a bit of a ramble about health and nutrition, and just want to start off by saying that these are just my opinions, and I am NOT a registered dietician or a doctor or anything legit. Besides a fitness and food fanatic that is. Which makes me somewhat qualified to speak my mind. On my blog. So here we go.

For years, my grandparents have been in poor health. My grandfather has had multiple rounds of cancer, kidney issues, back pain, hip replacements, you name it, while my grandmother suffered from diabetes and towards the end of her life developed dementia. Much like Erica mentioned last week, I always assumed that these things ran in my family and I was more susceptible to diabetes and other health issues. But since I’ve become more educated about physical activity and nutrition, I’m sort of realizing that a lot of their health problems (and many of our nations’ health problems) could have been avoided just by exercising and eating well. I know that this isn’t rocket science, and I shouldn’t be credited for making such an earth shattering discovery (…you can credit me if you want), but it really opens up your eyes when it hits so close to home.

When my grandparents’ generation was growing up and raising kids in the 1950′s and 60′s, there wasn’t much research and education about nutrition and physical activity. As a result, much of that generation developed poor eating habits that stuck with them for life. And look at all of the health problems that most of our grandparents are faced with! Look in your grandparents’ (or parents’) kitchens, and count how many pill bottles are in there. For everything- blood pressure, heart rate, diabetes, arthritis, constipation (ew), you name it. I just can’t help but think that maybe if doctors prescribed eating well and going for a walk a few times a week, the number of pill bottles would go way down. I’ve been studying for my personal training test and there’s tons of evidence (by people way smarter than me) about the direct link between preventing chronic disease and nutrition. So WTF?? I hate to sound like a conspiracy theorist but why isn’t this a bigger issue? Why isn’t everyone waking the f*ck up?!

Also- do you know that only 31% of adult Americans engage in physical activity 3x a week? THIRTY ONE PERCENT is SO pathetic! And that’s for only 20-30 minutes at a time. Is it really any wonder that we have the largest rate of obesity and the biggest slew of health problems in the world? I don’t think so.

When people ask me why I work out so much, or why I eat Paleo, I always have the same response: “it makes me feel good”. And it does. But another reason I’ve been thinking of is that “because I can”. Because I’m still young, and am naturally the fittest and strongest I’ll ever be. Because I want to invest in my future and my health. Because I don’t want to end up like my grandparents (as much as I love them, SO so so much). I want to live for a long time, and I want my kitchen to be full of delicious, amazing food- not pill bottles.

What do you guys think about this? Am I being a b*tch? I feel like I got a little harsh at the end for criticizing my grandparents’ lifestyle, but I’m just trying to be honest and keep it real. Much like J-Lo, I’m all about keepin’ it real.

I’ll stop talking now and leave you with some eye candy from Montana.

Anyone else want to move?

-Emily

 

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Eating Your Feelings

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I’ve come to the realization that I’m a totally emotional eater. Some people starve themselves (not on purpose) when they’re stressed, upset, or anxious about something. Other people, like me, stuff their faces and try to eat their away their emotions. Let’s discuss.

Friday night, I went home to spend the night at my parents. I met them for dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, Chiara, and applauded myself for ordering fish and forgoing dessert despite my tequila cocktail induced buzz.

I was SO sore the next morning when I woke up. After my Core Fusion class last week, I taught Advanced spin, and then had a CrossFit WOD Friday morning that consisted of 100 squats, 100 pushups, 100 pull ups, and 100 sit ups. Um yeah. About that. First of all, I was so dead tired I didn’t move in my sleep. Woke up in the same exact position I fell asleep in. That NEVER happens. Probably because I was too sore to move. It was actually painful to lift myself out of bed, everything hurt. But on the bright side…

 

… my abs were all sorts of ripped up (for me at least). Why can’t abs look like that all the time? When you first wake up in the morning, that flat stomach feeling.  It’s the best. WTF abs. How sore they were.. was not the best. Erica and I were supposed to go to a WOD at her local CrossFit, but we were both so sore that we went for a nice long walk instead. It was much better because it was a beautiful day and gave us a chance to catch up.

I’m getting distracted- I’m here to talk about food. After our walk, I was eating a healthy breakfast at home when my dad came into the kitchen and told me my grandmother (his mom) had just passed away. She had been sick for awhile, and had recently taken a turn for the worst, so the news didn’t come as a total shock, but it was still upsetting to say the least. After running a few errands, we ordered sushi for lunch.

This is where that whole “emotional eating” thing takes a drastic turn…

Tuna, salmon and mango roll paired with a sweet potato tempura roll? Check. Next up was one of my mom’s famous cookies. Not Paleo, not gluten free, not dairy free. They’re made with Reese’s pieces, Reese’s, and chocolate chips. Sidenote- when I was at college, during my pre-Paleo days, my mom would send the cookies in the mail and they’d get all crumbly so I’d put the chunks in a bowl with milk and eat them as cereal. Fact.

When I got back to my apartment late afternoon, I realized I was going to be alone for a couple of hours. That’s another thing about me- if I’m upset, I want to be surrounded by people. I don’t like being alone and sitting around wallowing in my sad feelings. Because then I’ll sit on the couch for 2 hours, ignoring my piles of laundry, watching Keeping up with the Kardashians and eating animal crackers and dark chocolate ginger. That happened. I don’t want that to ever happen again.

Then my boyfriend got home- plus. He also brought home a large Italian sub- negative. Let’s back up a minute. I used to LOVE Italian subs. Like, you don’t understand. My go to sandwich anytime, anywhere. Every kind of cold cut possible, topped with Provolone cheese, toasted, with oil and some hots. Stop. I can’t keep thinking about it without drooling. Did I eat half of my boyfriend’s sub? Yes. Did he purposely get a large one because he knew I would eat half of it? Yes. Bastard.

The rest of the evening was spent curled up on the couch because I was in so much pain I couldn’t move. On top of being upset about my grandmother, I felt like shit because I ate shitty food, my stomach wanted to punch me in the face (my abs were DEFINITELY not photo-worthy then) and I was pissed at myself for having zero self control and eating my feelings. I got my act together on Sunday, and instead of wasting brain cells and going into a gluten induced coma, I went to a spin class. Talk about a total 180. Why do I feel the need to eat my emotions, when I could just go and sweat them out? I felt SO much better after class- energized, refreshed, uplifted. Pumping music, dark room, dripping in sweat, riding next to two of my best friends. Honestly, what the F was I thinking wasting so much of my time, brain cells, and hard work the day before??

As hard as it is to muster up the energy to get your butt off the couch when all you want to do is curl up in a ball and cry- do it. Next time you feel like eating your feelings and drowning your sorrows. Stop. Go sweat them out instead.

How do you guys deal with stress and emotions? Sweat, starve, or splurge? I’m vowing to change from a Splurg-er to a Sweat-er.

Well.. that just sounds awkward.

-Emily

Standard Monday Rant

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Is there any better way to start off the week then with a mid afternoon rant?  I didn’t think so.  Lets get to it.  Last Friday, I’m sitting in the conference room, minding my own business, eating lunch.  The secretary comes in and puts down her plate of bagel bites and can of Diet Coke while complaining that her triglycerides are in the 300’s and her doctor wants her to pay more attention to her health (Honey, here’s a tip, those bagel bites, probably aren’t helping).  I told her about how when I was growing up I had very high cholesterol (200+) for being so young.  I told her how I tried everything from whole grain to low fat and that nothing seemed to work.  My doctor told me that if things didn’t change, I would have to go on medication to help regulate it.  Although the medicine had some weird side effects, I was ready to give it a shot.   Thankfully, my doctor was pretty hesitant and said to wait a year.

Look! See they are good for you!  Whole Grain and Real Cheese!

It was around that time that I started CrossFitting and eventually heard about the Paleo diet.  Since my doctor had always told me that red meat and fat were the devil, I was very hesitant to give it a try (WHAT?! I have to give up oatmeal?! But..But..But its heart healthy!).   I did a little research, read the Paleo Solution and gave it a shot.  A couple months later, I had my blood checked to see what sort of affect it had on my levels. As it turns out, my cholesterol dropped from 216 to 177, my LDL (bad cholesterol) fell from 143 to 104 and my triglycerides stayed fairly constant at 89 to 97.  Suck that, low fat diet!

So, after I told my secretary the condensed version of that story, she was like, “well you’re young., when you are old like me, things are different…everyone in my family has high triglycerides”.  Yes, I am sure things are a little different when you are older, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible.  As a grown woman, you should realize that Bagel Bites are not an acceptable meal. Don’t tell me you’re eating them because they’re convenient. Eating a banana is convenient. Let go of all those stupid excuses that prevent you from achieving your health.  Stop blaming everything on your “bad genes” or “slow metabolism”.  Don’t blame everything on “oh it runs in my family”. You can change the habit- you can change what runs in your family. HTFU PEOPLE!  Dallas and Melissa from the Whole 30 say it best; your genes are the bullets in the gun.  You personal choices are what pulls the trigger.  Lets start taking ownership for our actions and man the eff up!

Happy Monday
-Erica

 

Playing Catch Up

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It’s Wednesday. Last time we posted was on Friday. NBD. No but seriously, it is a big deal.  WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO THIS WEEK/THIS YEAR/THIS MONTH?! Let’s recap on the weekend, shall we?

Jams
I didnt post my playlists on Friday, mostly because I was too busy oogling our CrossFit Hottie of the Week, but also because I was so swamped that I didn’t have time for new music last week and re-used some playlists. I did make a sweet Maroon 5/Rihanna mashup playlist for my Thursday night Reboot Advanced class. Such a fun ride. I usually play longer songs, but having a bunch of quick ones made for a fast paced class and it flew by.

Food
Definitely splurged big time this weekend. It was my boyfriend’s birthday, and we did it up big! I surprised him with a dinner at Mooo… a steakhouse we’ve been dying to try (and how amazing is that name?) Totally splurged on sides (parmesan crusted onion rings? truffled french fries? yup), cocktails, wine, and a big ass filet.

I even put on a big girl outfit and heels! Things got CRAZY. And I hate to disappoint all my Paleo peeps, but the weekend of splurging didn’t stop on Friday. Sunday night, the actual night of his birthday, we had a mexican FEAST at his mother’s house. Enchiladas, cheese for days, and birthday cake.

Vanilla cake, chocolate icing, and Rolo’s and Heath bars stuffed in between. If this isn’t the definition of Paleo food, then I don’t know what is.

On a totally unrelated note (PSYCH) I got hit with a stomach bug on Monday afternoon and was out of commission until last night. Although there is a bug going around my office, I’m sure my weekend of stuffing my face didn’t help either. I literally was on my couch for all of Monday afternoon and most of the day Tuesday. It was great to get some rest and reset my system, but I ended up teaching last night and this morning. I needed to sweat it out, and I get SO antsy sitting around, and there are only so many episodes of “Teen Mom” a girl can watch (don’t tell me I should have been more productive with my time.. you know you do the same thing when you have a sick day…!) I’m back on track today with eating clean and am feeling almost 100%. And my birthday isn’t until December, so I have no reason to eat cake until then :)

I’m trying out a few new workouts this week that I’m very excited about. Will be sure to post some recaps and reviews. Also- I have a huge burn mark on my arm from doing faux muscle ups at CrossFit last week. The straps kept hitting my arm a certain angle every time I’d go up, and I didn’t realize it was just casually ripping away a layer of my skin. Everyone now thinks that it’s some sort of hair straightening accident or cooking accident, but I want to let everyone know that I’m way too badass to spend my time in the kitchen or making myself look pretty. This is a motherf*ckin’ battle wound, bitches! From doing muscle ups! (no one has to know they were the ones from the ground…. shhhh)

Happy Humpday!
-Emily

 

 

 

 

 

Stomach Issues and Other Fun Stuff

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So, last week I told you guys that I was participating in a nationwide, 60 day Paleo challenge called the Lurong challenge.  Well, today is already day ten!  16.67% of the way there, woot woot!  I finally feel like my body is back to its old self, which I’m really excited about.  Emily and I decided to keep a belly book of everything we eat so we can see how our bodies react to certain foods (and keep us from eating dark chocolate at every meal).  From this, I’ve learned that my stomach is not really a fan of salads.  It seems like every time I eat a salad, I’m bloated for the rest of the day.  Does that happen to anyone else?!  Maybe it’s just a hint that my salads are gigantic and I should chill out a bit.  But, who knows.  I’ve also learned that apples don’t agree with me.  Which is the strangest thing because it’s a freaking apple.  What food is simpler than an apple?  Come on body, get your shizz together.  For a good laugh, check out our belly book below.  Its borderline embarrassing how much we eat.  Whatever.

SO, back to the Lurong Challenge.  Everyday you log onto their website and record your meals (if it was clean or if it was a cheat).  You start off the week with 35 points and for every cheat you lose 5 points.  Pretty simple, right?  So, this morning I logged on to record what I ate yesterday and decided to bop around the site for a bit.  I I went to my diet history and noticed that I had TWO cheat meals recorded.  Since I knew I didn’t cheat, I automatically assumed it was a huge mistake, and by golly, I was going to get to the bottom of it!  After further review, I unfortunately noticed that I forgot to record my meals for Monday.  Which, I am pretty sure I did, because naturally its the first thing I do when I get to work (priorities, right?).  Anyways,  APPARENTLY, if you forget, you get hit with a TWO meal cheat penalty!  ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! I was LIVID.  Which I am sure you can tell by the use of my CAPITAL LETTERS and EXCLAMATION POINTS.  Needless to say, I am STILL not a happy camper.   It made me want send a picture of me eating a whole bag of m&ms to Lurong with some nasty note.  Although  appealing, I continued to sit there, eating my salad that I knew was going to make me feel bloated for the rest of the day.  Take that, LURONG!  Did I just make a huge deal out of nothing? You betcha!  Anyways, happy Thursday everyone!

-Erica

Humpday Rants and Raves

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Haven’t done a good rants and raves for awhile. It’s not really even rants and raves, it’s more just me rambling about whatever is on my mind. Ready.. K, go!

1.) Eva is a bitch- I was introduced to the WOD Eva on Friday last week. Oh, you don’t know who Eva is?

via Reebok CrossFit One blog

Yeah. She was a mean old lady. I scaled this back (you all know that I have a janky knee, and running doesn’t really agree with me) I did the first 800M run and then realized that I wasn’t going to be able to do that 5 more times, so I stuck to 400M runs, 15-30 kettlebell swings (still working on those) and 15 pull ups each time with the band.

 

Could I be any more complicated?

Fellow warriors, and tourists. Kind of hard not to have fun with this group…
via CrossFit One Facebook

It’s horrible/fantastic that we’ve been doing so many pull ups. I’m still using the band, but am getting the form down and feeling myself getting better. Washing my hair after is still a challenge.

2.) Stinky situations- I now do laundry every single day. I used to let my sweaty workout clothes fester in my hamper for a few days, but it just got so f-ing disgusting. Water bills be damned, I need to attempt to smell fresh to death. Current problem though: my protein shaker. When I take it on the go, I wash it out right after, and it still smells like dank protein. Solutions?! Oh, yes, I still drink out of it.

3.) Two a days- I now feel like there’s an empty void in my life if I don’t work out twice a day. Anyone else get this too?

4.) My snacking situation- I bought a bunch of food on Monday to last me through the week and all my snacks are already gone. I think I have a problem. And the only solution is… more snacks!

5.) Getting back on track- 3 days into my little “reset and stop eating cheat Paleo meals”, and I feel 100000x better. It’s INSANE  how quickly your body snaps back when you show it lots of love.

6.) Getting winded- No matter how many times a week I spin, I still get winded walking up stairs. WTF?! I don’t smoke. I have an excellent standing heart rate. I can beast a spin class. Come on lungs, get with the program.

7.) My legs- Are insanely sore this week. We did walking weighted lunges on Monday (5 rounds of 15, I did 35 lbs), and I’ve never quite experienced the sensation that I felt in my legs afterward. Like, legit wobbly legs. I felt like I was going to fall over. Little mini spasms all day. I was so looking forward to teaching spin that night and letting loose, until I remembered that I was teaching a hill climb class. Epic fail.

Pretending that I know what I’m doing. I’m glad you can’t see my face, because I definitely am wincing like a mofo. via CrossFit One Facebook

Also attempted to do some double unders on Monday, which was interesting. I’m a pretty good jump ropper, so I think I’ll be able to nail them down pretty quickly, but I definitely wacked myself in the legs and face a few times..

I was going to try to do 10 rants and raves, and I could probably go on for days, but I’ll leave it at 7. Good old 7. What’s up with you guys this week? What are you loving/hating? Can you help me de-stink my protein container?!

Happy Humpday,

Emily

Paleo Noms

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We haven’t talked about food in awhile. Let’s talk about it. It’s my second favorite thing to do, besides eating it.

Paleo Fish Tacos

 

I’ve been wanting to test out making coconut flour tortillas for awhile, and had some leftover sea bass so figured I would attempt to make fish tacos. I gotta say- these things were bomb diggity (WordPress, don’t auto correct diggity to “dignity” please and thank you). I found the recipe from Free Coconut Recipes (didn’t know such a site existed) and topped them off with sea bass, avocado, cilantro, lime juice, salsa, and an all natural cream cheese spread with peppers and spices (obviously, cut this out if you don’t do dairy, and if you’re not trying to appease a non-Paleo person). The tortillas tasted amazing, I tripled the recipe, but only the first one came out in true “tortilla” form (AKA you could fold it up and eat it like a real taco).

Too legit to quit

The key was to allow the batter to spread immediately upon hitting the skillet. The first one spread easily- super thin- because the skillet wasn’t really hot, so next time I’ll turn the heat down. The last ones sort of tasted like coconut omelettes, which were still delish.

Steve’s Paleo KrunchOH MY GOD stop what you are doing right now and go purchase this! Immediately! A friend gave me some to try out and holy balls these are like little packets of heaven. Super filling, and crumbly, and delicious. And there’s bacon. ‘Nuff said. Get ‘em here. Lots of other amazing looking products that are great for on the go! Goodbye, paycheck.

PaleOMG Pumpkin “Granola”Clearly I was on a granola kick last week. I highly recommend that you make this if you’re looking to satisfy the pumpkin obsession that is sweeping America right now. “OMG PUMPKIN SPICE LATTEEES!” This is a healthier version, and way tastier. I made an enormous bulk supply to last me for hopefully a month, but realistically a week. If you don’t already stalk Juli’s blog on a normal basis like me, you’re missing out. I skipped the maple syrup, and am just realizing that I forgot to add coconut! WTF is my problem! I’ve been eating it plain, or with coconut milk and some fruit. Ah-maze.

Paula Deen’s Lettuce Wraps

Yes, you read that right. Paula Deen made something healthy, and PALEO. I was a little upset that I wasn’t going to be soaking my lettuce in butter and deep frying it, but what can you do? I made these with my boyfriend’s mom, and we used a different vinaigrette. That I don’t have the recipe for. But it was delicious- lots of lime, oranges, jalepenos, and other stuff. Why am I even posting this? I’m giving you no relevant information. I really just wanted to share with everyone that Paula Deen made a recipe for shrimp lettuce wraps. Is anyone else as blown away by this as I am?!

So that’s what I’ve been loading up on. I started a little 2 week reset today, so I’ll be doing a lot more cooking and preparation over the next couple weeks. I just feel like I haven’t been super Paleo since I got back from Bermuda. I’ve been eating healthy, but I also haven’t been saying “no” to sweets and cheats. So, little reset. My body needs it, so does my sanity. And Erica and I started a food diary together, so she is going to yell at me if I eat anything bad :)

Holler if you have some recipes you want to share! But if there is chocolate involved, I might start to cry a little.

-Emily

Dear Starbucks, I GET IT.

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Last week I mentioned that my gym was participating in a nationwide Paleo challenge called the Lurong Challenge (http://www.lurongliving.com/challenge/).  Well, ladies and gentlemen, that time has finally come! The challenge officially started Monday and I could not be more excited.  For some reason, I always seem to struggle with eating clean in the summer.  I just want ice cream all of the time.  However, since it was 40 degrees when I woke up this morning, I think it’s safe to say that time has officially passed.  So yes, I am really looking forward to the next 60 days.  AND, what’s even better is that I won’t be traveling, so I can fully commit myself to the gym again! Woot Woot!

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http://www.crossfitgreensboro.com

Another thing I can credit for my lack of clean eating is the introduction of vanilla soy lattes into my life.  Oh. My. God.  Seriously, those things are life changing.  I mean at $5.25 a pop, they better be.  At first I limited myself to one a week, but that unfortunately never happened.  AND THEN, I found out that if you registered a Starbucks card and bought 5 drinks, vanilla and soy would be free! SCORE!  $3.85 for a little slice of heaven is definitely easier to justify than $5.25.

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This will probably my one of my future children’s costumes. (http://rotflpictures.com)

HOWEVER, on Monday morning, the official first day of the Challenge, I get a lovely email from Starbucks saying they will no longer honor the free syrups and soy milk options.  ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! My whole world came crashing down.  However, after some thought, I figured it was probably the universe’s way of telling me to chill the eff on vanilla soy lattes.  Nothing about the drink is healthy or Paleo.  So, thanks for the reality check Starbucks, I heard ya loud and clear.

Do you guys find a certain time of the year to be more difficult to eat clean?  What do you do to prepare for it?  I need your suggestions!

-Erica