Monday, February 22, 2010

Diet Overhaul and Moving My Jiggly Butt


Ew, my butt needs some squats.  Seriously. Too much information? Too bad, I need to scream it from the mountain tops to shame myself!


I have been a weight lifter for the last 13 years or so.  In the last year, things went a little haywire.  Training became sporadic and then, eventually, faded away into oblivion.  I'm pretty sure that all of my hard-earned muscle morphed into liquid that now sloshes about while I walk.  O.k., I'm exaggerating, but I really do feel lousy.
Striations in a butt.  Too ambitious?  That there would be my hubby. What was that about fat making you fat?  Ha! So, I don't want to look like that, but I wouldn't mind a fraction of the lean/hardness combo.

So, while our diet would be considered great by some standards, I see room for improvement.  For one, we need to get rid of all the sugars in our diet, including the raw honey (liquid sugar with a massive wallop of fructose to really give it to your fat cells) that finds it way into my tea every afternoon.  Speaking of tea, caffeine seems to have become a mainstay in my diet.  It's terrible for my sad little adrenal glands so it, too, has to go.  Bye bye organic coffee in the morning with my big dollop of lovely, raw cream.  I will remember you always.


And while I don't think there's anything inherently wrong with raw, organic cheese, I'm going to cut back on that.  I find that I have a pretty tough time really leaning out with cheese so I'm going to experiment a bit there.  I'll let you know how it goes.


So, that's what has to go.  Here's what I want to do more of:
  • Increase my consumption of raw animal products (eggs, meat, fermented raw dairy).  I eat a good amount of protein, but most of it is cooked to some degree.  I'd like to increase the raw foods for a while and see how it affects my energy and digestion.
  • Increase my fermented veggie consumption
  • Lift!!  I will start lifting weights again this week.  Heaven help me!  Nothing like the pain one has to pay for being a slacker for a few months.  
  • Maintain my level of healthy fat consumption for now.  I might play with that a little later.  For now, I'll leave it where it's at (meaning, plenty)
  • More bone broth soups.  I really notice a difference when I'm consuming these nourishing, mineral-rich broths.  Right now, we have broth a couple of times a week, I'd like to increase that.
  • I'm also going to switch out my raw butter for ghee in order to get rid of the remaining lactose in my diet.
  • HIIT - High Intensity Interval Training three times a week.  Sprints, hill runs, stair runs, all done for short duration, high intensity to rev my metabolism and preserve lean mass (the fat burning engine).
  • Longer duration walks in the woods, because it feeds my soul.
Now that I've put it out there, I'm committed.  Here's what I want to get out of the deal:
  • Firm up all my bits
  • Clear my brain
  • Improve my energy levels
  • Kick the caffeine habit
  • Improve circulation and liver health
  • Feel strong and powerful in body and mind
What about you?  Want to join me?  I'm looking for more energy, to feel good in my jeans, and to improve my digestion.  What do you want?

5 comments:

  1. Those goals are all ones I've been contemplating for a few days now. Maybe I'll start my own commitment with you. Question: What do you consider a "healthy" level of fat consumption and what do you use as your go-to source of fat? (OK, I guess that was two questions).

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  2. Just when I bought you two bags of organic European coffee beans...

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  3. 'Healthy level of fat' is a bit ambiguous, but that's intentional. Everybody's optimal level of food consumption is so individual. I hesitate to say that xx grams of fat are required everyday. You can play around and see what level of fat leaves you satiated for hours after you eat, but still leaves you feeling good. I find that if I don't eat enough fat in a meal, I get hungry again within a couple hours. If I eat too much, I feel heavy and I crave sweets (I believe Paul Chek attributes this to your body asking to be revved up due to you having swung too far in the other direction of the pendulum). I think that's likely pretty accurate.

    Still, it's not rocket science, we just need to make sure we're getting some good fat with every meal. Healthy fat sources include saturated fats from grass fed (and finished) meats, cod liver oil, unrefined coconut oil, organic raw butter, ghee, raw cream, whole eggs etc..

    Anonymous2: Well, I was sure they would be here a month ago! Now you have me thinking that I should hold off until I get my Euro coffee! No, damn it, I have to stop drinking that devil's brew now! No, well, maybe I could wait and finish it all off with some amazing Euro coffee. Nope, I'm committed , I do not want your coffee!! But, if you already sent it, it's not like we could halt the mail or anything. It would be a terrible shame to waste it...

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  4. Hi Tara,

    I found your site from a comment you left on Vin Miller's NaturalBias.com.

    It's good to find folks like you and Vin to read and learn with.

    From the comment above you wrote, "Healthy fat sources include saturated fats from grass fed (and finished) meats..."

    From what I've read over the last couple years, grass-finished meat is supposed to be better for you regarding the EFA proportions.
    A downside to that seems to be the leanness of the resulting (grass-finisished) meat.

    I was going through my Nourishing Traditions book recently and was surprised to find in the "Beef & Lamb" section this statement:
    "It is entirely appropriate for these animals to be fattened on grain during their last few weeks. Such practices imitate natural processes, as ruminant animals get fat on seeds and grains in their natural habitat during summer and fall. Grain feeding is an ancient practice that ensures that red meat contains ample amounts of fat.

    It sounds as though they mean that during those last few weeks, the animal is on pasture, but is given a good amount of grain as well.

    None of the grass-finished (red) meat producers I'm familiar with have mentioned this grain feeding during that last few weeks. Maybe some of them don't do it because they still don't have the whole picture: that it's not just about omega 3's and 6's, but about total fat content as well.

    As long as the EFA ratios didn't get badly warped, I wouldn't be one to complain about fattier meat. I'll take all I can get.

    What are your thought on this?

    Thank you.

    Robert

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  5. Hi Robert,

    Thank you for your thoughtful comment. I turned your whole question into a new post as Blogger limits my comments and I just can't figure out how to change the darn thing.

    You can find my answer here: http://harvestinghealth.blogspot.com/2010/03/grass-or-grain-finished.html

    Have a wonderful day!

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