Day 2: Ugg goes southern comfort for dinner

Sometimes we run from our food and other times we run to it.


Paleo - what does it really mean?  There have been a few meme's out there describing what Paleo is and how it really works.  In theory, people are supposed to eat the way the cave man did - too bad we really don't know what that diet exactly entailed.  There have been some usual suspect though: meats, fish, nuts, regional veggies, seeds and leafy green vegetables (anything that could be hunted or gathered).  This means no pasta, grains, cereal, candy or overly sugared things*.  *Please Note* I am not advocating a complete loss of these items, but please be mindful of what you are putting in your body.  I'll post later on the dangers of sugar and processed starches.  I think there is a healthy balance and it is one you have to find for yourself.

Now some interesting facts that I am just learning about as I read.  I got into a conversation regarding grains and if we should or should not eat them.  I had some knowledge dropped on my like a 45lb weight.  One a given day a person should only have 6-7 servings of grain.  Even with this recommendation the rate of obesity continues to rise to alarming rates.  Over 33% of us are obese and the numbers are getting higher.  I don't think this is a direct result of the grain consumption, but most grain items are packed full of energy that most of us don't burn off in a given day.  To play devil's advocate for a second - grains can't be that bad humans have eaten them for thousands of years.  Agreed.  Humans have adapted to consume these items, but like all things grains have adapted not to be eaten.  They have a natural toxin, Lectin, which can prevent the GI tract from repair itself.   I am reducing my grain intake to reduce my sugar intake.  Simply put excess sugar gets stored as fat in our body.   Hopefully this will force my body to start burning my wonderful fat stores when I work out.

I have talked to some people about their thoughts in regards to the Paleo diet and how it has been perceived and better yet how it has been received over all.  I noticed a large trend with the paleo diet - CrossFit.  I've done CrossFit for a bit and will eventually make my way back to it.  Basically it is a workout that will kick your butt on a daily basis, whip you into shape, chew you up and spit you out and at the end of the day you will be in great shape both in terms of mental and physical strength.  I have some friends that stick to a stricter paleo diet and typically will only eat raw fruits and vegetables.  Those raw foods are also without seasonings and excess salt.  Kudos to those people and I really mean it.  That diet is hard to keep up with on a regular basis.  I am struggling with my food prep time now, I could only imagine how much longer it would be to clean, cut, store all of those items...not to mention cooking the meats.

There is a major draw back to this type of strict diet.  Your body makes enzymes to digest foods and when you aren't eating those foods your body doesn't make those digestive enzymes.  At face value, it doesn't seem like that big of a deal.  Consider this scenario, you've been going strong on a diet of raw fruits, vegetables, lean mean and root vegetables for a month or two.  Everything is peachy until you have a craving for a fast food burger - you eat it and within minutes or hours your body lets you know that eating that garbage was a bad decision.  It may become my mantra for this entire experience - moderation is key.  Both in the diet and in how you approach a diet - any diet.  I am looking at an 80/20 split for my diet.  Following it 80% of the time and allowing the occasional indulgence here and there.

Dinner tonight:  Shrimp and "Grit"

   Left over parsnip and cauliflower soup that was simmered to remove the extra chicken stock.  I added some butter to it.  The shrimp was wild caught pink shrimp ($5 at Kroger) cooked with some olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, and Cajun seasoning. Asparagus was roasted with some olive oil, garlic, and Balsamic vinegar.

It was very good, but I ate way too much.  Need to learn that portion control thing.