Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Day 2-4: Same ole, same ole

rut (from Dictionary.com) [ruht] 

noun
1. a furrow or track in the ground, especially one made by the passage of a vehicle or vehicles.
2. any furrow, groove, etc.
3. a fixed or established mode of procedure or course of life, usually dull or unpromising: to fall into a rut.


Gosh, it's SO easy for me to fall into a rut.  That same ole rut I got into which forced me into my plateau is staring at me ... direct in the eyes like I'M the deer in the headlights!!  

How to change.  I'm coming up with a few things:  

Well, let's start with breakfast.  For days 1-3 I had scrambled 2-3 eggs with some kind of veggie... onion, mushrooms, spinach, red or green bell peppers.  If I was a great cook, they'd have been an omelet.  I'm not a great cook, so they become scrambled eggs.  Yummy, especially when I put salsa on them.  But, same ole breakfast that I can make with my eyes closed.  Day 4 breakfast?  STEAK!!!  I finally had left over dinner from last night as BREAKFAST.  Holy crud, that goes against everything I've ever thought of doing.  Typically, I'd have the left overs as lunch.  Well, I go out to lunch a lot, so breakfast it is.  

The difference?  More energy with steak and veggies.  WOW.  So, My number 1 way to change and get out of the rut is...

1.  Consider having left overs and non-breakfast foods for breakfast.  Radical thinking on my part.      

So, if I'm not eating the leftovers for lunch, what's lunch?  Well, I just said I go out to lunch once to three times a week with various culture groups or spouses groups, so let's look at my typical fare.  We're in Japan, so I like to try different Japanese dishes.  They ALWAYS come with rice.  That became my one BIG "cheat".  I wouldn't typically finish the rice, but I'd still eat it and that's NOT Paleo/primal.  So, IF eating out... consider extra side dishes!!  Even in Japan, they have different side dishes...  So, at lunch today, I refused the bread (that's typical... I'm gluten intolerant!) but also refused the rice and soup (can't guarantee the soups don't have gluten in them) and had an extra salad.

2.  When eating out, be true to yourself and your Paleo lifestyle and don't eat the potatoes, rice, and bread.  Ask for extra side veggies or salad instead.  Yes, it WILL fill you up AND gives you extra vitamins and minerals!!

Exercise.  Man, I hate thinking about this part.  I used to exercise myself into a hole in the ground just to lose weight.  NOW, I will exercise for the strength I will gain AND for the cardio changes I experience when faced with climbing a few flights of stairs or a hillside here in Japan.  I used to act like the extra stairs and hills of Japan didn't bother me... now, I just keep on climbing and get to the top with less time needed for my heart-rate to recover.  Its great, I mean, TRULY great to be able to carry on a conversation while walking up and up and up.  My goal this summer?  Climb Mt Fuji in less than 9 hours!!  Never climbed before, but everyone seems to take about 5 hours up and 3 hours down.  I've known some who take MUCH longer than that.  Well, I don't want to just say I climbed Fuji-san, I want to say I CLIMBED him!!  There IS a difference.  In my little brain, at least...

3.  Exercise, daggone it!!  Don't kill yourself, but get stronger and get better with cardio so that you can truly enjoy LIFE!!  Do it for better function and your health will improve, too. 

 And lastly, but most important in the Paleo/Primal lifestyle:

4.  Eat your vitamins, don't swallow them!  I've always had a problem with taking vitamins... no, not the physical swallowing of the pills or capsules, but why take vitamins?  Why 'take' them, when you can EAT them.  How?  In your fruits and veggies... meat, too.  They always say that pregnant women will crave what vitamins or minerals they're missing, well we do, too.  Regardless... instead of taking a multivitamin, try a beautiful salad with multicolored veggies in it!!  I LOVE my salads with more stuff than just lettuce and tomatoes.  Gosh, they're good with carrots, celery, cucumbers, red and yellow and green bell peppers, radishes, broccoli, cauliflower, yellow squash and zucchini... oh, the list goes on!!   

Well, enough preaching for now... those are just my thoughts after 5 days of being 'strict' Paleo.   

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