Preemptive Strike!

I just realized that I will be in NY tomorrow and Friday.  Then I'll drive back to CT late Friday to be at work all day Saturday.  And the roommie just reminded me that we have a Thanksgiving Dinner Saturday night after work.  

Ugh, busy schedules!

So as a preemptive strike on my absenteeism this coming weekend, I thought I'd stay up late and write a blog post now.  How's that sound?  Good?  I hope so.  'Cause if you're unhappy, I don't want to hear about it.

First off, I want to explain a bit more about my 30 Day Paleo Experiment.  If you read online about the Paleo "Caveman" diet, you'll find that the basic premise is that you can't eat anything a caveman didn't have access to.  However, if you go through a typical Paleo recipe, you'll find them using things like olive oil, clarified butter (Ghee), honey, and salted/dried meats for a short list of examples.  It may just be me, but I see a disconnect here.  As far as I understood my history - and food processing - none of those existed back in the paleolithic day.  So while I appreciate everyone's advice on some great substitutes for common cooking items and foods, I'll be sticking to a more strict version.

Secondly, I have to admit that I've already cheated.  Call the diet police!!  Call me names!!  In my defense, however, I didn't realize it.  I went to grab cashews the other day at the store when I found that they had some sort of oil in the ingredients.  "Ok, can't eat those!"  Then I put two and two together, got four (yet again), and realized that the peanuts I used for an eggplant recipe yesterday had peanut oil in it.  So given the explanation above, that's a No-No!  I have since purchased unshelled, unsalted peanuts.  Let me tell you, they are a PAIN to shell. 

Third, I've discovered that homemade lemonade is great!  Squeeze half a lemon and half a lime into a half gallon jug, fill it with water, and you've got a bitter form of lemon/limeade.  I also noticed that this drink goes well with a granny smith apple, so I might try to soak a granny smith in homemade limeade next week for a new version.

Fourth, one stat I'm keeping track of throughout this experiment is my weight.  The experiment is to gain a new perspective on food and hopefully add a few new tricks into my normal diet.  It is not in order to lose weight or slim down in any way.  Since I started finishing off the last remains of my processed foods a week or so ago though, I've noticed more definition in my muscles.  I'm also down 2.5 lbs since Monday.  So while I find ways to increase my calorie intake (more meals more often), I'm keeping track of my weight to make sure I don't drop too much overall. 

Fifth, my biggest battle thus far is meal timing and energy.  When I eat regularly, I feel great.  I never feel full and unable to run around, my mind is attentive, and ready to go.  When I put off eating (aka, when it gets busy at work or when I wake up in the morning), my energy level is in the pits.  I still have to figure out how to combat the morning energy level. 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Questions

1.  What are you up to this weekend?  Anything fun?
I still have to decide if I'm allowing myself to break the experiment for dinner at our Thanksgiving Dinner or not.  I really don't want to, but I know it's going to be incredibly difficult to stick to it unless I bring most of my own food.  We'll see.

2.  Do you exercise to eat or do you eat in order to minimize exercise?
I'm the former.  I've always exercised in order to be able to eat whatever the F I want.  I'm sure I'll still eat quite a bit of non-Paleo food when this is all done with, but I hope I pick up some new tricks.


Swim fast.  Bike smart.  Run hard.