Finally in a groove... diet is pretty paleo, minimal cheats, feeling strong in WODs...
I can't remember how long I've been eating paleo again but I like to not think about it. As long as it makes me feel good, that's really all I care about.
For the last month, I have been trying to avoid gluten, even in any cheat meals or unavoidable cheats. It's been a long time since I had a craft beer... I switched to red wine and NorCal margaritas. Just one bad cheat last weekend at a wedding where they had Molly's Cupcakes, so I'm feeling pretty good in general.
WOD-wise, I think my cardio is finally back but still need to get used to pushing past that muscle burn. Been feeling strong in the strength portion lately but still need to maintain awareness of things like a recovering hip and shoulder. I need to do more shoulder and mobility WODs more frequently.
I'm pretty happy about cleaning up my rack position since Rudy's article. I haven't smashed a bar into my collar bone/chest in a while and that's a real improvement. I think it helped me get my C&J PR (105#) and my squat clean PR (115#) even though it was a bit ugly (dropping elbows). Still have trouble bringing the bar back down from a Jerk. The 5x3 FS felt good at 103#... my last PR was 125#... I might be ready to try for it soon with appropriate hip warm up.
Friday, October 29, 2010
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Teeth
Sorry I've been neglecting my blog. Been a bit busy traveling for work.
I managed to stay pretty paleo last week... mild cheats: Korean food (meats were probably marinated with sugar) one night, half a glass of wine another night.
If you dread dentists like me, a relatively short and painless teeth cleaning session would be another reason to eat paleo. I first noticed that I had less buildup about 6 months ago. Hygenist compliments me on how clean my teeth are and I'll have to admit that I'm not even a regular flosser. Yesterday was my second teeth cleaning since going paleo and it was even less painful than the first. Hygenist looked genuinely surprised at how little she had to do. Other than some stains from coffee, I'm doing okay in that department :)
Here's a good meal idea that reheats pretty well: paleo shepherd's pie (adapted from Mark's Daily Apple
Ground beef
Diced veggies (I used onions, peppers, carrots, butternut squash)
Mashed/pureed root veggies (for the potato part, I used celery root and butternut squash)
Seasoning
Chicken broth (organic, low sodium)
- Cook onions until tender in olive oil. I did this in a dutch oven.
- Add ground beef. Cook until done.
- Season to taste: salt, pepper, rosemary, thyme... or use Kirkland No Salt Seasoning
- Add peppers, carrots, butternut squash. Cook until soft.
- Add chicken broth for flavour and moisture. To save it from being too liquidy, I didn't add too much as I skipped the coconut flour in MDA's recipe. Reduce.
Mashed/pureed veggies:
- Chop root veggies in smaller pieces. Boil until tender. Drain.
- Puree in food processor or use hand blender. Add appropriate amounts of butter (if you're not strict paleo). Salt and pepper to taste.
Extra steps that I didn't do:
- Put ground meat in pan. Spread pureed root veggies on top.
- Add some butter/oil. Make designs if you're creative.
- MDA says to bake 30-35 minutes.
Enjoy!
I managed to stay pretty paleo last week... mild cheats: Korean food (meats were probably marinated with sugar) one night, half a glass of wine another night.
If you dread dentists like me, a relatively short and painless teeth cleaning session would be another reason to eat paleo. I first noticed that I had less buildup about 6 months ago. Hygenist compliments me on how clean my teeth are and I'll have to admit that I'm not even a regular flosser. Yesterday was my second teeth cleaning since going paleo and it was even less painful than the first. Hygenist looked genuinely surprised at how little she had to do. Other than some stains from coffee, I'm doing okay in that department :)
Here's a good meal idea that reheats pretty well: paleo shepherd's pie (adapted from Mark's Daily Apple
Ground beef
Diced veggies (I used onions, peppers, carrots, butternut squash)
Mashed/pureed root veggies (for the potato part, I used celery root and butternut squash)
Seasoning
Chicken broth (organic, low sodium)
- Cook onions until tender in olive oil. I did this in a dutch oven.
- Add ground beef. Cook until done.
- Season to taste: salt, pepper, rosemary, thyme... or use Kirkland No Salt Seasoning
- Add peppers, carrots, butternut squash. Cook until soft.
- Add chicken broth for flavour and moisture. To save it from being too liquidy, I didn't add too much as I skipped the coconut flour in MDA's recipe. Reduce.
Mashed/pureed veggies:
- Chop root veggies in smaller pieces. Boil until tender. Drain.
- Puree in food processor or use hand blender. Add appropriate amounts of butter (if you're not strict paleo). Salt and pepper to taste.
Extra steps that I didn't do:
- Put ground meat in pan. Spread pureed root veggies on top.
- Add some butter/oil. Make designs if you're creative.
- MDA says to bake 30-35 minutes.
Enjoy!
Friday, October 15, 2010
Snacks
If you prepare well and eat clean meals when you're hungry, you shouldn't need to snack in between. But for people starting paleo, it'll take some getting used to wean off snacks or, if you can't get a clean meal when you're hungry, you're going to need clean snacks.
When JJ and I have time, we make our own paleo snack kits.
It contained:
0.75oz of jerky
0.75oz of various nuts (macadamia, almonds, pecans, walnuts, pine nuts)
0.5oz of dried fruits (berries: blueberries, strawberries)
It's a pretty high caloric snack because of the fruits and nuts but at that time, it worked well for us. We've since dropped the dried fruits because it really doesn't help with weight loss but I think that kit was a good beginning. We have a Foodsaver so we can make more at a time but you can make batches in zip top bags too.
When we got lazy, we bought piles of Caveman Mix from Dick Stevens. However, they've since sold out (couldn't keep up with demand, didn't fulfill all orders, stories of bad customer service) so I'd look elsewhere.
Tom Windish's homemade jerky recipe is probably worth trying if you want to avoid sugar and preservatives in store bought jerky.
I'll talk more about coconut in another post but something that has worked for me and JJ lately is coconut flakes. We've seen these at Fox and Obel but you can also get them on Amazon for a decent price.
I keep a bag at work and a can of almonds too (preferably naked or the sea salt kind) for when I run out of paleo kits. When I have some time, our next batch of homemade paleo kits will have coconut flakes instead of dried fruit.
For ultimate portability, I stick with Trio bars. It has more sugar than I'd like but the ingredients are, for the most part, paleo:
Ingredients:
Cashew, Almonds, Pistachios, Blueberries, Sesame Seeds, Sunflower Seeds, Pumpkin Seeds, Dates, Raisins, Rice Malt, Natural Flavors, Evaporated Cane Juice and Sea Salt.
Starting with "Rice Malt", it gets a bit dicey (okay, what exactly is in "natural flavors" that it needs to be listed?) but it's better than Zone bars...
Remember, if you can't pronounce the ingredients, it's not paleo!
When JJ and I have time, we make our own paleo snack kits.
It contained:
0.75oz of jerky
0.75oz of various nuts (macadamia, almonds, pecans, walnuts, pine nuts)
0.5oz of dried fruits (berries: blueberries, strawberries)
It's a pretty high caloric snack because of the fruits and nuts but at that time, it worked well for us. We've since dropped the dried fruits because it really doesn't help with weight loss but I think that kit was a good beginning. We have a Foodsaver so we can make more at a time but you can make batches in zip top bags too.
When we got lazy, we bought piles of Caveman Mix from Dick Stevens. However, they've since sold out (couldn't keep up with demand, didn't fulfill all orders, stories of bad customer service) so I'd look elsewhere.
Tom Windish's homemade jerky recipe is probably worth trying if you want to avoid sugar and preservatives in store bought jerky.
I'll talk more about coconut in another post but something that has worked for me and JJ lately is coconut flakes. We've seen these at Fox and Obel but you can also get them on Amazon for a decent price.
I keep a bag at work and a can of almonds too (preferably naked or the sea salt kind) for when I run out of paleo kits. When I have some time, our next batch of homemade paleo kits will have coconut flakes instead of dried fruit.
For ultimate portability, I stick with Trio bars. It has more sugar than I'd like but the ingredients are, for the most part, paleo:
Ingredients:
Cashew, Almonds, Pistachios, Blueberries, Sesame Seeds, Sunflower Seeds, Pumpkin Seeds, Dates, Raisins, Rice Malt, Natural Flavors, Evaporated Cane Juice and Sea Salt.
Starting with "Rice Malt", it gets a bit dicey (okay, what exactly is in "natural flavors" that it needs to be listed?) but it's better than Zone bars...
Remember, if you can't pronounce the ingredients, it's not paleo!
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Breakfast - preparation is key!
For a lot of people starting on paleo, I've heard of a lot of trouble with breakfast, especially if you're used to eating items like cereal, toast, bagel, oatmeal, etc. Preparation is KEY to eating paleo and it is even more important with breakfast when you're in a hurry to get to work.
In my opinion, breakfast is the most important because it sets the tone of the day. I generally wouldn't skip breakfast but I am usually hungry. If I eat a big enough breakfast, I manage to stay feeling full throughout the day and as a result, make better choices around lunch, dinner, or the choice to skip a full meal.
We prep veggies and meats on the weekend so that we have enough for the week. Between me and JJ, we can go through up to 2 dozen eggs in a week. We throw in our omelets anything from chard, pepper, onions, bacon, salami, ground beef, sundried tomatoes... you can put ANYTHING in a scramble and it takes about 5-10 minutes to cook in the morning.
Don't forget to eat enough fats at breakfast: nuts, olive oil in your omelet... I've taken to drinking coconut milk in the morning to up the fats.
Monday, October 11, 2010
Welcome Paleo Challenge friends!
I'm pretty excited about a new group starting the paleo challenge! JJ and I started eating paleo a while ago and even though we've gone through various degrees of strictness, we never looked back.
In honour of the challenge, I want to help you kickstart paleo so I will be refocusing my blog over the next few weeks.
If you want to dig through old posts of when I was going through the paleo challenge, just find ones that have a label of "paleo" or "recipe". There will be some paleo dessert recipes floating around... also, feel free to ignore that peach ice cream recipe since it's not paleo.
A little background...
I am Chinese so I grew up eating rice. When I started my full time job in Chicago with Bagel Fridays and easy access to places like Venice Cafe, I started eating lots more refined grains and my body reacted adversely to it. I got the shakes about an hour after eating a bagel, instant ramen, or 10 servings of pasta in a sitting (that's what they gave you, so that's what I ate). I began paying more attention to my body's reactions and JJ started to eat paleo when he joined CF. We both lost lots of weight within the first 4 months back in early 2009. Over time, my body felt better but you will go through phases of low energy when you reprogram your body to run on fats instead of sugars/carbs. Give it a chance (2-4 weeks) if you're brand new to paleo and your body will thank you in the long run. It is easy to give up refined carbs and grains once your body experiences life without it.
Good luck! Feel free to post questions, requests, etc! JJ's the creative one so I'd be happy to share his recipes!
In honour of the challenge, I want to help you kickstart paleo so I will be refocusing my blog over the next few weeks.
If you want to dig through old posts of when I was going through the paleo challenge, just find ones that have a label of "paleo" or "recipe". There will be some paleo dessert recipes floating around... also, feel free to ignore that peach ice cream recipe since it's not paleo.
A little background...
I am Chinese so I grew up eating rice. When I started my full time job in Chicago with Bagel Fridays and easy access to places like Venice Cafe, I started eating lots more refined grains and my body reacted adversely to it. I got the shakes about an hour after eating a bagel, instant ramen, or 10 servings of pasta in a sitting (that's what they gave you, so that's what I ate). I began paying more attention to my body's reactions and JJ started to eat paleo when he joined CF. We both lost lots of weight within the first 4 months back in early 2009. Over time, my body felt better but you will go through phases of low energy when you reprogram your body to run on fats instead of sugars/carbs. Give it a chance (2-4 weeks) if you're brand new to paleo and your body will thank you in the long run. It is easy to give up refined carbs and grains once your body experiences life without it.
Good luck! Feel free to post questions, requests, etc! JJ's the creative one so I'd be happy to share his recipes!
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Another 3 in a row
On Tuesday at 7pm, a monster class showed up and Bryce handled it all smoothly. "Everyone's doing tomorrow's Metcon!". Okee dokee, Coach!
12:10 with regular red-banded pullups for me and 10# WB.
Feeling those lunges in my butt and quads on Wednesday but I already committed to myself that I'm making up Tuesday's so there I go.
With lingering soreness in quads and butt, I was pretty disappointed with my performance. Maybe my body hasn't completely switched over to burning those ketones yet but I know they're there. Maybe it's affecting my recovery. Maybe maybe maybe.
Bench 5×5: 55-65-55-55-55
65# was a struggle so scaled back down. Former 1RM was 90#. First time benching in what seems like 6 months. It's going to take a bit of work to get back there.
Metcon with 63# jerks, 44# KBS: 8:11
Man, those jerks were hard for me. Push jerks in the 10 round but after a few press outs, moved to split jerks the rest of the way. I can't seem to bring the bar back down without it crashing into my sternum. Lowering it slowly took a lot out of me. Cleaning it a few times on the 8 and 6 round sucked. Arms and legs felt pretty weak through it all. Burpees and KBS were unbroken and moved at a decent pace so that was cool.
Post: butt and quads were too sore to tackle that 10x100m row. Worked on cleans instead as it didn’t work for me in the WOD. Got up to 93# which was a PR for PC. I could have squat cleaned the 103# but mentally bailed. I pulled it high enough but I just couldn't get under it quickly. Felt partially redeemed so called it a night.
Resting today.
12:10 with regular red-banded pullups for me and 10# WB.
Feeling those lunges in my butt and quads on Wednesday but I already committed to myself that I'm making up Tuesday's so there I go.
With lingering soreness in quads and butt, I was pretty disappointed with my performance. Maybe my body hasn't completely switched over to burning those ketones yet but I know they're there. Maybe it's affecting my recovery. Maybe maybe maybe.
Bench 5×5: 55-65-55-55-55
65# was a struggle so scaled back down. Former 1RM was 90#. First time benching in what seems like 6 months. It's going to take a bit of work to get back there.
Metcon with 63# jerks, 44# KBS: 8:11
Man, those jerks were hard for me. Push jerks in the 10 round but after a few press outs, moved to split jerks the rest of the way. I can't seem to bring the bar back down without it crashing into my sternum. Lowering it slowly took a lot out of me. Cleaning it a few times on the 8 and 6 round sucked. Arms and legs felt pretty weak through it all. Burpees and KBS were unbroken and moved at a decent pace so that was cool.
Post: butt and quads were too sore to tackle that 10x100m row. Worked on cleans instead as it didn’t work for me in the WOD. Got up to 93# which was a PR for PC. I could have squat cleaned the 103# but mentally bailed. I pulled it high enough but I just couldn't get under it quickly. Felt partially redeemed so called it a night.
Resting today.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Building confidence
Rudy's rack position article from last week was really helpful. It was time to put it in practice (I still kind of want to make up that WOD). I'm so excited because the wide grip tip worked for me. Built confidence with each clean as it landed PROPERLY on my shoulders. No wrist pain either. WIN!!!
Today
Back Squat 1RM (30X0 tempo): 143#
This tempo thing is pretty cool. First 143# attempt wasn't deep enough. The second one, my right knee caved in. Finally got it on the third one. I feel it in my left hip. No pain but yeah, I feel it.
Worked on negatives/banded strict pullups
Very close. Got a deadhang on the thin band. Rudy thinks I might get it in 3-4 weeks with constantly varied work on it :)
Metcon @ 53#, red band: 4 rounds + 6 cleans
I am just so happy with the cleans. For the first time since starting crossfit, I think I am finally doing it right! Pullup work before this metcon made me really slow in the pullup part of the WOD.
Post – 75 sit-ups (worried about wrecking my abs so cut it after 75)
Today
Back Squat 1RM (30X0 tempo): 143#
This tempo thing is pretty cool. First 143# attempt wasn't deep enough. The second one, my right knee caved in. Finally got it on the third one. I feel it in my left hip. No pain but yeah, I feel it.
Worked on negatives/banded strict pullups
Very close. Got a deadhang on the thin band. Rudy thinks I might get it in 3-4 weeks with constantly varied work on it :)
Metcon @ 53#, red band: 4 rounds + 6 cleans
I am just so happy with the cleans. For the first time since starting crossfit, I think I am finally doing it right! Pullup work before this metcon made me really slow in the pullup part of the WOD.
Post – 75 sit-ups (worried about wrecking my abs so cut it after 75)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)