Easy Weekend Breakfast

During the week, I normally eat plain Greek yogurt with berries.  The weekend, however, is a great opportunity for me to enjoy some relaxing time cooking.  Eggs, bacon, and coffee are usually the staples, and I vary it up depending on what food I have in the house.
Scrambled eggs are such an easy way to get some veggies in!  For this particular Saturday, I had:

4 eggs
1/8 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (omit if Paleo)
1 small head (organic) broccoli, removed from crown, cut into smaller pieces as needed
1/2 cup sweet onion, diced
1 1/2 tablespoons EVOO

After dicing the onions and cutting the broccoli off the stems, I put the coffee brewing.  Then, I heated a saucepan with the olive oil on medium heat for about four or five minutes; I then sauteed the broccoli and onions in the olive oil until they began to get soft.  While the broccoli and onions cooked, I cracked the eggs in a mixing bowl, scrambled with a fork, and added the cheese.  I then dumped my eggs over the delicious broccoli/onion mix, scrambled everything around for a few minutes until the eggs cooked, and voila! breakfast for two:

Not pictured: the delicious Applegate Farms peppered bacon I cooked on the grill pan (I put it cooking while I started sauteing the veggies) or the grapes we also ate with it.

Enjoy!

Food in social settings

(image from johnbarban.com)

Perhaps the hardest part about choosing to revamp my dietary choices has not been changing the food I eat itself (although it was difficult at first).  It's been how other people react to my dietary changes, and it's made me think a lot about how food is, in so many ways, a part of our social engagement with one another.  There's a whole culture surrounding food and its consumption, and suddenly, I'm breaking the rules.   I don't think most people would bat an eye if each meal I shared with them lacked fruits and vegetables, but when I pick the hearty salad over the pizza, I make others uncomfortable.  Over the past few months, I've been accused of being anorexic, told I'm not eating adequate or proper foods, and people question why I choose not to eat "real food."  In some ways, I think it makes a lot of people I know uneasy.  I'm sure part of this is to justify their own food choices; for others, it's bad nutrition knowledge, and others are perfectly happy with the status quo of a Western diet; it's seen as being American; it's natural, normal, and safe.  But still, the social pressure is frustrating and challenging, especially when I visit other people's homes for meals.  Do I be upfront with people about what I'm willing to eat and not eat?  Do I grin and bear it, and deal with getting physically ill later?  (When I eat typical Western foods now, I get sick.)  Am I bratty for expecting others to accommodate for my food choices?  My family knows, and they do a wonderful job making sure I have plenty of food options (often times, it's as simple as me not eating the bread with a meal).  But for other people in my life, it doesn't seem as easy.  Since it's not "technically" a food allergy, I feel awkward demanding alternatives.  But is that wrong of me?  I'm not sure.  And it's honestly why I prefer inviting others to my home and cooking for them -- it's totally a control issue, and I don't want to have to justify myself to anyone.

(image from starchildglobal.com)

It also makes me realize how much food has shaped my relationship with other people.  In college, my friends and I gathered at the local Irish pub or Chili's for burgers and wings.  My grandmother and I used to share Oreos together and she'd always make me brownies.  In the evenings, my mother and I would take Tostitos and melt shredded cheese on them for instant nachos.  For breakfast, my mother would make the best french toast I've ever eaten.   My sister would mail me her special pumpkin bread.  Thinking about all these examples, I just get a warm and fuzzy feeling associated with them.  There are so many memories attached to these foods, and in many ways, it's cemented a bond between me and the person I shared them with.  Our relationships with food are so loaded, and it goes beyond eating what we eat simply for nutrition.

So, I don't know the best way to address food with others in my life.  I probably feel this way because I don't want to make other people uncomfortable.  But at this point, I don't necessarily want to make myself uncomfortable, either.   But some things I've realized or learned:
If it wasn't for revamping my diet, I wouldn't be able to buy workout pants like this:

I wouldn't be able to do this:

Or this:

And I'm certainly a happier person all around.  It's amazing how much my outlook on life and my mood has changed since eating a Primal/clean diet and working out with CrossFit.  But more on that next time.

How do you address food with the people in your life?  What's the best way to explain this dietary change?

It takes a village...

... to get me in shape.

You know how fitness magazines recommend working out with a friend?  The idea is that if you grab a workout buddy, you'll be held accountable to going to the gym, and you'll actually get in shape!  In some ways, it does sound brilliant, but I've never managed to coordinate with/coerce friends or family members to join the same gym or to get together for a workout.  Alas, I guess I had to create my own support network.

And that's exactly what I did, and that's part of why I think I've been able to stick to this exercise/eating plan out for the past eight months.  (Oh, and also because I now crave it and love it.  But it takes time to make something part of our routine, and that wouldn't have been possible without a community to support me).

Over a year ago, I was going to the gym on my own, and working out about three or four days a week.  I usually schlepped on the elliptical for 45 minutes, and maybe I did the stairmaster for another 10 or 15.  Then, I'd probably do some crunches, and if I was ambitious, the occasional walking lunges.  Or maybe I'd run a mile or two on the treadmill.  I'd exercise for at least an hour and a half, but nothing I did seemed to make a difference.  I needed help.

It all started with finding the right trainer.  I had worked with four other trainers before, but I felt like a) they either weren't in great shape themselves and weren't committed to a serious, physically active and nutritiously healthy lifestyle, b) didn't take me seriously and just wanted my money, and c) didn't think women could be physically strong.  (One trainer I had was committed to getting me to do push ups, but he left the gym to become a consultant.  His loss!)

Enter Melissa.

 She's the first trainer I've met who said that I could be strong and physically fit, and that I didn't need to spend hours in the gym to do it.  Even though I was a girl, that didn't mean that I couldn't lift weights and do pull ups -- in fact, I should be doing all those things, and that I could and should live by "I am woman, hear me roar!"  With Melissa, I untapped the idea that I am strong, I am amazing, and I can do anything if I set my mind to it.  She's the perfect match for my feminist self.  Plus, she lives and breathes what she preaches.  She is crazy strong, and she's always finding ways to push herself even further.  My guru, indeed.
She's also the first trainer I met who sat me down and said that I needed to change my diet if I truly wanted to be successful at getting healthy and in shape.  And being "healthy" didn't mean Diet Coke and 100 calorie packs -- it meant eating actual, real food that wasn't highly processed and packaged.  She challenged me to check out Primal/Paleo foods and to try it for "just a month."  The great thing about it? Melissa encouraged me to make changes as I saw fit, and to read as much as I could to see what I thought about it.  No coercion, but realistic.  If I wanted "my insides" to be healthy and not to just be skinny, I had to eat foods like fruits, veggies, and fats to actually be healthy.

(Photo courtesy of TopNews New Zealand -- check out the article above!)

I'm never one to back down from a challenge; plus, I was desperate.  After tracking my calorie intake for months on livestrong.com (eating anywhere between 1400 and 1600 calories a day) and not losing any weight, I knew I needed a better plan of attack.  So, I read about Primal foods, made changes over time, and told Melissa about the foods I ate -- the good and the bad.

What also made Melissa exceptional is that if she ever saw me at the gym, she would always come over to check up on me.  And if I'd ever be working out when she would, she'd have me join her workout.  Seriously, I think there are few trainers in the world who would basically train a client for free.

And through Melissa, I began to meet other trainers at the gym.  If I ever worked out and Melissa wasn't there, Erik, Rob, or Meng would come and check up on me.  They'd check my form, give me tips, or maybe a hard time if they hadn't seen me in a few days.  Steve taught me how to kip and helped me on my pull up form.  Phoebe would create work outs for me and work out with me on those days when I just didn't feel like doing anything.  And slowly, I began to meet their clients, and we'd talk and touch base.  We'd share a tough day, sing each other's praises, or give exercise tips.  Sometimes, we'd even work out together.

All of a sudden, I had several work out buddies.  I had other people who understood the food changes I had made.  I had people who wanted to be as healthy as I did.  Over time, I had made my own network to help me through.

And now, with Charles River CrossFit, which Erik and Melissa opened this past Tuesday, I will always have that community.  My first work out was yesterday, and it was fabulous!  I made a new exercise buddy, and  I worked to conquer those pull ups.  I cheered on others while they rowed and was complimented on my box jumps.  To me, that is happiness.  Making CRCF my new home gym is perhaps the best gift I can ever give myself -- I have the support and assistance I need to take on any food or fitness challenge.

My tips to you:
1.  Find the right trainer.  Don't just settle for anyone.  Watch them train other clients; talk to them about their fitness philosophies, and try an intro session or two together.  Don't pay for someone you don't like!  Training is a great way to get instant support and help to kick start your journey to healthy living.
2. Vary your workouts. Add weight lifting.  Weights are your friend.  Cardio alone won't cut it.
3. You cannot change your health and body with exercise alone.  Eating real foods (fruits, veggies, protein, fats, and in my case, certain dairy) is what will make the difference.  You cannot be healthy eating chips and cereal.  It's not going to give your body the fuel or nutrients you need, even if you consume the "appropriate" amount of calories.  Remember, 100 years ago, people didn't eat foods made from soy lecithin and corn syrup.  The foods we ate today are not helping us to be healthy or lead a healthy lifestyle, and we need to change our mentality of viewing them as a normal part of our food habits.
4.  Join me at CRCF if you're in the area!
5. Build your community.  Say hello to other gym members in the locker room.  Ask trainers for tips (part of their job is to be on the gym floor to help you).  Take a class and chat up the people there.  Over time, you will build a network.
6. Make changes as you can.  You aren't going to change your diet overnight, and it's unrealistic to think you'll whip into shape in 30 days.  It's a lifelong journey, and I'm still trying to figure it out.  Be realistic, be honest with yourself, and over time, these changes will be easier and feel more natural.

What keeps you motivated?

Confession

There would be no point in writing this blog if I didn't share in my successes and my moments of poor choices, so here goes...

On the up side, I had my morning plain Chobani yogurt with blueberries, sans honey.  To my surprise, it was tasty without the added sugar.  Excellent.  Another healthy choice made.

On the down side...

I had cake on Sunday and hot chocolate with marshmallows last night and tonight.

Gulp.  In every sense of the word.

The main culprit:

I have spent a long time trying to understand why I made the food choices I did.  Did I feel entitled?  Was I hungry?  Stressed?  Bored?  I have to admit, the 18 inches of snow which just fell in my neighborhood fueled part of the hot chocolate binge.  I also drink it with my husband, so perhaps I view it as a nice bonding experience, or ritual.  But did I make a bad choice this week?  Or am I being too hard on myself?

In Food Rules, Michael Pollan's Rule 60 tells us to "Treat Treats as Treats" and his final rule, #64, tells us to "Break the Rules Once in a While."  This is, in part, the advice I need to hear, considering the amount of sugar, corn syrup, flour, and butter I consumed.  I also had to remind myself that a year ago, I would have had no problem eating the sweets I did this week, and in fact, I probably would have eaten more.  But part of me feels icky (mentally and physically).

So, I took a step back.  In a way, I don't think there's anything wrong with occasionally eating a delicious piece of cake or drink a nice hot cup of hot cocoa, but three in a week is probably a bit much.  Instead of the hot cocoa as a ritual, I may grab a nice piece of dark chocolate instead.  And then, I reminded myself why I strive to eat what I eat -- so I can be a healthy 20-something who maintains my health as I age.  I refuse to accept diabetes or heart disease as a "normal" part of the aging process.  And with the GI issues I've had in the past, I will not go on medication to fuel poor eating habits.  And then I watched this to keep my health choices in perspective:

and then I watched this to make me laugh:

What kind of treats to you eat?  How do you get your eating back on track?

Why Primal?

Lately, I've had some peers come up to me to ask me about my weight loss.  "What are you doing?" and "How did you do it?" are the common questions that I've gotten, and it makes me giggle to think that I unlocked some kind of magic formula to a healthier lifestyle.  In some ways, my eating habits and exercise routine have been pretty magical and intuitive, but I'd never describe the road as inherently easy.

I digress.  Anyway, I normally give a brief overview of what I've taken away from a Primal diet.  This is perhaps the easiest way for me to comprehend Primal eating, courtesy of Mark's Daily Apple:

I, however, am not that disciplined of a person, so I have adapted these principles as best I can.  I do my best to eat protein, healthy fats, lots of vegetables, fruit, but I do eat dairy (usually in the form of Greek yogurt and cheese with some half and half and sometimes milk).  I'm hardly the perfect example of Primal eating -- I do eat the occasional rice, soy and sweet potatoes and I have gluten in moments of weakness.  I'm a sucker for a decadent brownie or a good piece of cake, although for reasons I'll discuss later, my body is happier to avoid it.  And perhaps my biggest downfall of all is sugar (often in the form of honey).  But, my Primal lifestyle is a work in progress, and I'm figuring out what my body can and cannot handle.

After I explain the basics of a Primal diet to the inquiring party, I'm inevitably asked, "how could you give up gluten??  Why did you go Primal?"

That's a great question.  And it's a question that I don't have a single answer to, but I'll do my best.

First, I'm pretty sure I have an obsessive personality.  For awhile, I tried writing down everything I ate, whether that was in a food diary or online.  For me, it was disastrous.   Every single forkful I put in my mouth, I scrutinized and repeatedly beat myself up if I felt I was eating too much.  In the end, I rarely ended up losing weight, and I'm sure I wasn't getting enough nutrients/calories, etc.,. I needed.

After I got married and had gained back weight, I was putting in lots of hours at the gym, and trying to eat healthy (which included grains), and I wasn't losing any weight.  I was now in a vicious cycle, and I knew I needed a change.  I was at a breaking point of frustration.

When I started reading more about a Primal/Paleo lifestyle, it seemed liberating.  No counting calories/grams of fat/weighing food!  As long as I followed the main principles of Primal, I wouldn't need to have such a destructive system of recording my diet, and I stopped sabotaging myself, both mentally and physically.

For me, eating Primal is about eating clean.  It makes sense that I shouldn't put processed food and other junk in my body.   Eating fruits and veggies and meat makes sense to me.  Eating foods that are chock-full of hormones just doesn't seem right in my eyes.  If "you are what I eat," I'd rather be broccoli and chicken than McDonald's and high fructose corn syrup.  And historically, it does make sense to me that our bodies weren't meant to process grains.  Evolution is a long, long process.  And if we were, why are gluten-free diets and menu options becoming a mainstream part of our culture?  Maybe gluten-free is the current fad, but between celiac disease and other gluten allergies, there has to be some validity to leading a wheat free life.  (I know, I know, the same argument can be made for lactose intolerance.  But we can discuss that later).

I'm sure many people feel healthy with gluten in their diet, and in some ways, I am a little envious.  But at the same time, when I avoid gluten, my environmental allergies subside, and I don't have any GI or stomach problems that I typically have when I do eat grains.  I feel healthier.  And that's important to me.

And I think what finally made sense to me is that eating Primal is a lifestyle choice.  When I tried the Special K/Lean Cuisine/Fat Flush Plan diets, I found that it was all about dropping weight, and then reintroducing foods and calories.  But the moment I brought "normal" foods back into my diet, I gained weight.  For me, it isn't realistic to "diet."  Primal really allowed me to make a change holistically, for the better, and I do view it as my lifestyle.

I'd love to hear from you! Have you tried going "Primal" or another kind of diet/lifestyle change?  What foods make you feel healthy? What foods do you avoid (or try to?)

Inauguration

Last night at dinner, I shared with my family my latest fitness success: I was considered an "athlete" in an athlete profile put together by my trainer at her soon to be open CrossFit gym in Massachusetts. (I'll share more later on why this is a big deal for me!) After lengthy discussion, one of my sister's presented me with a simple challenge:

"You're the quintessential girl -- you've struggled with your weight, and you finally have figured out how to manage it.  You should help others with food and exercise too."

I'm not one to back down from a challenge, so why not take my sister up on this opportunity and share my fitness and food journey with others?  And I definitely could use the support myself!

So here goes...

I never liked exercise.  Period.  I was the girl in P.E. who hid behind the varsity soccer players, praying that the gym teacher would never notice me.  My junior year of high school, the gym teachers started a new exercise option for gym class: walking around the field outside.  I'm pretty sure the "walking" option was initiated for me.
My food intake was pretty horrific at times.  I grew up in the "You feel sad? Have a cookie" and "There's nothing for dinner?  Let's make Kraft Mac 'n Cheese" household.  (Don't get me wrong -- at times my mother would whip up a pretty fantastic dinner, but I think a lot of American families can relate to the "food in a box/can for dinner" and "food is heavily attached to emotions" syndrome.)  I managed to maintain a somewhat normal weight, but I definitely wasn't fit.

Then came college.

Unlimited access to food!  I felt entitled to eat whatever I wanted, just because I could!  And it was yummy!

And I hit this:

Which is hardly the heaviest I got.  I think I destroyed the really heavy photos.

I started college at about 130 pounds, and here, I was about 155 pounds, which is a lot for someone who is 5' 3".  At most, I was tipping the scale at around 160 pounds, and that scared me.

What was perhaps the most startling was realizing that my clothes didn't fit.  I had always been a size 4 or 6, usually a small or a medium.  And now, I was trying to find pants in a size 12.  How did that happen?  But instead of figuring out how to fix it, I condemned myself to always being overweight and struggled with my body image.

After college, I continued to yo-yo up and down.  I tried everything imaginable to lose weight: Lean Cuisines, fad diets, hours of chugging away at cardio, personal trainers... and nothing stuck.  I continued to bounce up and down, and here's how I looked with I graduated from graduate school, three years after I graduated from college:

Less than college, but maybe 10 pounds lighter, and hardly fit.

And then I realized I was getting married in two and a half months, and hit the gym hardcore.

At the time, I thought I was being hardcore, but I was chugging away on the elliptical, doing "girly" push ups, and punishing myself by meticulously watching my food intake and stressing over every little bite I put in my mouth.

On my wedding day, I had reached the fittest I had been in a long time -- 137 pounds, and looked like this:

Compliments abounded!  But I didn't know how to maintain it, and started a new job in August, where lunch is provided and cookies and brownies are in abundance.  Even though I was going to the gym on a regular basis, I ballooned back to 149 pounds without realizing what had hit me.

And then, in June 2010, I was introduced to Melissa, CrossFit and Paleo guru (aka a personal trainer).  Honestly, this moment is what changed my life, and I would not be where I am without her.

Here I am today -- about 131 pounds, size 2, and still working towards finding my best self.  And I did it by changing my relationship and perspective with food and adhering to a Primal lifestyle and realizing that I could be a strong, athletic woman through CrossFit.  Once my perspective on my weight and food changed, everything else could change, too.

Why am I writing all of this to you?  To share how I've come on this journey, and to discuss ways to be fit and healthy in a busy society.  I work full time, and finding a work/life balance is exceedingly difficult, but as I'm learning, not impossible.  I'm also a teacher at an all girls school, and it's important to me to set a healthy example for my students and to teach my students that they can be strong, healthy women.  I don't want to see them struggle the same way that I did with food and body image, and while I know they will, I want to teach my girls that they can be everything they want to be -- and that a healthy lifestyle is important for their physical and mental selves.

I still have a lot to strive for, but I plan on sharing workouts, recipes, and tips for leading a healthy life in a busy, stressful, and fast food world.  I hope you'll join me in my simple challenge!