It’s official: I will be sugar detoxing

I don’t think I have grasped how difficult what I have agreed to do is going to be. But, as the saying goes, “if you change nothing, nothing will change.” So while this will be challenging, I believe it will be worth it.

[via]

I bought Diane Sanfilippo’s ebook, The 21-Day Sugar Detox (21 DSD). As the title suggests, the book offers a three-week guide on cutting out all refined sugars and complex carbohydrates from one’s diet. Diane is also the author of Practical Paleo, which is an awesome book. As I’ve kept up with her blog and listened to the podcast she co-hosts with Liz Wolfe, I have of course heard about the 21 DSD. It was always one of those things where I would think to myself, “Oh yeah, that sounds like a good idea … I should probably cut sugar from my diet … I’ll do that 21-Day Sugar Detox someday …”

Well, “someday” is now March 4, 2013. You see, the 21 DSD Facebook page leads a “group” on the detox every month. I’m not completely sure how starting with the “group” works yet, but I intend to find out, because the next group begins its detox on March 4.

This is a particularly good time to start the 21 DSD because, as I blogged about on Monday, I recently signed up for the CrossFit Open. I am hoping that cleaning up my diet will help me burn fat, gain muscle, get more energy and as a result perform better in the Open.

What’s that saying – health is 80% diet and 20% working out? Well I seriously need to work on the 80%.

As I have blogged about before, I try to stick to a “paleo” diet, but I’m usually pretty loose with it. For example, all legumes, including peanuts, are technically prohibited. But I still eat peanut butter and peanuts from time to time (because they’re so GOOD). You’re also not supposed to consume artificial sweeteners, but I drink my share of Monster energy drinks, the “rehab” ones that contain Sucralose. Basically, this 21 DSD will be a very, very strict paleo diet.

[via]

So. In a nutshell, what will I be giving up for 21 days?

Vegetables: corn, peas, sweet potatoes/yams, white potatoes, winter squash

Fruit: Everything except green apples and green-tipped bananas

Nuts/Nut Butters: Cashews, peanuts

All legumes

Grains: Any and all; including but not limited to: Barley, Buckwheat, Quinoa, etc.

Simple carbohydrates: bread, bagels, cake, crackers, muffins, tortilla chips … you get the picture.

Beverages: Alcohol, pre-sweetened coffee drinks, soda, basically anything with added sugar

Sauces/dressings: Soy sauce, bottled salad dressing

Anything diet/sugar-free: No artificially sweetened food or beverage of any kind

Ugh. I can’t believe I’m not crying after writing that list of awesome-tasting foods that I’m going to have to kiss goodbye for 21 days.

There are a couple foods I consider paleo, more or less, that I eat on a pretty regular basis and I’m surprised to find them on the “no” list. First is sweet potatoes. They have become a staple in my diet. The 21 DSD only allows them after a workout. I guess I understand this, … while they have nutritious attributes, they are pretty carb-dense. The second is cashews. I’m not sure why these are prohibited But at least I can still eat almonds.

I will admit: as I am typing this, I am getting scared. How the ffffff-flip am I going to give up SUGAR for THREE WEEKS? Part of me just wants to avoid this challenge altogether because I’ve never done anything like it. Ever.

But, here is another cheesy motivation quote for this situation: “Fear says… No you can’t. Determination says… Yes you can. Results say… I told you so.”

During this three-week sugar detox I have no doubt that I will slip up. I just hope I don’t get too discouraged by it and that I get back on the detox wagon.

At the end of each week, I will post how the detox is going. Hopefully by the end, I can report some positive results. Even if I don’t notice a big difference in my body, I hope to at least be able to say I stuck to it 🙂

Now here are some pics of delicious, sugary or grain-laden food that I am going to have to say Adios to. Yes, I took all these pics and yes, I ate either some or all of these foods. 😛

Mozzarella sticks Daniel and I split after CrossFit on Monday. Notice the Monster in the upper right corner!!

Mint FroYo with lots of yummy toppings…Daniel and I go get FroYo at least once a week.

SWEET POTATO FRIES!! Usually if I see these on the menu at a restaurant, I must order them.

Blah. OK. If I wasn’t sad before, I am definitely sad looking at all these pictures of food I’ll have to forgo for 21 days. Hah.

Welp, you’ll hear more about this detox next week. Now I am going to go have my last Girl Scout cookie…

Book Club: Gone Girl

This is my first book club post! I have briefly mentioned this in a previous post, but I will say it again: I am participating in a book club hosted by Bonnie at The Life of Bon. On her blog there is a book to read every month, and on the last Wednesday of the month participants write about what they read.

The February book was Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Brief synopsis via Library Journal: Amy disappears on her fifth wedding anniversary, and while Nick has not been a model husband, could he really have killed her? It’s soon evident that if Amy is dead, that’s the least of the reader’s worries.

****Warning: Possible Spoilers Ahead!****

As soon as I started this book, I could not put it down. I am reading other bloggers’ reviews of Gone Girl, and many are saying “The first half was pretty slow and hard to get through, but things really got going for the last half. My experience was pretty different. I found the whole book exciting, and none of it “slow” at all.

The characters – I pretty much hated most of the main characters. Amy is a conniving sociopath who will do anything – literally, anything – to get her way. Nick, her husband, is lazy and, at times, callous. Amy’s parents hold their daughter to impossible standards. Nick’s dad is misogynistic. Desi was just…ugh *eye roll* Almost all of Desi’s actions made me want to puke.

The only character I really liked was Margo, also known as “Go,” Nick’s sister. She was the only one who seemed to have any sense left in them. However, it kind of bugged me that she went by “Go.” Every time I read something where Go was mentioned, I would think “‘Go’ is a verb, not a name!”

The theme of marriage – Marriage, its high points, its low points, the deterioration of marriage – these were all big themes in the book. And, since I am not married, maybe they were parts that I could not relate to on the level that a married person might be able to. But…yeah, Gone Girl does NOT paint a rosy picture of marriage. Hah.

The profanity – I want to respond to something that Bon said on her book club blog post:

“My question is this- do people really use the f word that often? … Drug dealers and addicts and gang members I am sure use the f word as freely as they please. But in Gone Girl the characters are none of those things. They are society contributing, responsible, educated adults. I get that people who are raised on the streets and uneducated are going to use the f word like it’s nobody’s business. But educated people? Lawyers and writers and your good old average joe on the street? I live in a conservative community and I come from a conservative state, so this one honestly just confuses me. Did you see the amount of f words in Gone Girl as an accurate representation of how often most responsible, educated adults in our country use the f word?”

I have been around educated adults who use colorful language, and that includes the occasional F-bomb. A couple of professors I have had have, at times, used unsavory language in the presence of their students. Maybe this is a regional thing, I don’t know. But I think the abundance of “F words” in this book is because of the bizzarre circumstances that are occurring. I’m not saying it’s right, but I find it more understandable that characters would say the F word a lot if they’re in the middle of a possible kidnap-murder situation.

So, I don’t think the amount of F words used in Gone Girl are an accurate representation of how often most responsible, educated adults in our country use the F word – because most responsible, educated adults are not dealing with having been framed for murder!

Or maybe I just have a high threshold for profanity. I mean, Reservoir Dogs is my favorite movie…

The ending – I already gave a spoiler alert, but in case anyone ignored that and kept reading I’m not going to give away the end to you. But I WILL say that if you like justice, you probably won’t like the ending. When I read the last line and closed the book, I was scratching my head, thinking “Hmm…really?”

Overall verdict – So far I have told you that I disliked many of the characters, couldn’t relate to the talk of marriage and was not satisfied with the ending. It may sound like I didn’t enjoy this book, but I did. I really, really did. It was exciting and unpredictable. I think the fact that I hated the characters and yet thoroughly enjoyed the book is a testament to how talented of a writer Gillian Flynn is. She has two other books besides Gone Girl, and they are on my reading list now.

Word and Film gave this great description of the novel that I whole-heartedly agree with: “Gone Girl resonates so deeply because of Flynn’s rare emotional intelligence combined with her of-the-moment subject matter that informs every page of her story of two thirty-somethings grappling with a double-dose of disillusionment at the shoddy state of their five-year-old marriage run aground on the post-infatuation shoals of boredom and selfishness. This is all happening in the wake of watching their careers vaporize after being laid off from newly extinct jobs writing for magazines.”

Thus concludes my two cents on Gone Girl. March’s book is The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. I went out and bought it today, and I’ll be starting on it tonight! My next book club post will be March 27.

The CrossFit Open!

Before I could change my mind, I decided to sign myself up for The CrossFit Open last week. The 2013 Open begins March 6 and goes until April 7. I’m not a “CrossFit superstar” by any means (yet). I most likely will not make it to regionals. But I am so excited!

My goal is to get to the point where I can seriously compete. I was really inspired when I saw this video of Lindsey Valenzuela doing a 200 lb snatch!!

The video begins with her successfully completing the snatch, but later in the video it shows a few of her unsuccessful attempts. I like seeing this example of perseverance and hard work. It makes me want to go to my CrossFit gym right now!!

Everyone who signs up for the Open gets an athlete profile on games.crossfit.com. Even though I’ve been doing CrossFit for about seven months, I do not consider myself an athlete…so, it’s weird seeing the word “Athlete” by my name.

…weird, but I like it 😉

So, I consider this a beginning, and I’m excited for it!

Each week of the Open, I plan on blogging about my WOD experience.

I am also considering doing the 21-Day Sugar Detox starting March 1, for various reasons. I have been wanting to try it for a while, but I think this would be a good time in particular for me to try it because I think ditching sugar would help me perform better at CrossFit.

I will be completing the first Open WOD March 9! Until then, I’m sitting tight.

Companion cubes and duct tape roses

Have you ever seen the film, The Big Lebowski? If you haven’t, YOU SHOULD. Jeff Bridges character, “The Dude,” has some awesome lines. One of which is, “I can’t be worried about that sh*t. Life goes on, man.”

I tend to have a type-A, worry-laden personality. Recently I’ve been trying to realize that there are things I shouldn’t be worried about. But it’s hard when you’re so used to obsessing in your head about the tiniest details. About Murphy’s Law.

[via]

One of the things I used to worry about was Valentine’s day. I had to make it be perfect. I would obsess over all the details: the perfect gift for my boyfriend, perfect plans (would we go out to dinner? would I cook?), a perfect outfit, etc.

I used to set very high expectations for Valentine’s day, and would subsequently be let down when the actual day came.

Because Valentine’s day is supposed to have those perfect, fancy things in order to be special, right?

Well, as it turns out, wrong.

This year, Daniel and I took a pretty laid-back, hands-off approach to Valentine’s day. It was great. I didn’t stress over getting the details to be perfect, and as a result I could just enjoy what transpired.

First of all, neither of us were planning on exchanging gifts. I told Daniel he didn’t have to get anything (and I seriously meant it! That wasn’t code speak for really wanting something, haha), and Daniel said the same thing to me. However, I got him a gift anyway. It was more of a cute, inside joke type thing.

Daniel is an avid player of the computer games Portal and Portal 2. So I got him a plush companion cube, which is an object from the game.

Shadow and the companion cube.

He was totally surprised and happy, and saw the humor in the gift.

Then Daniel said he actually had a gift for me, too, and I was surprised. They turned out to be some duct tape roses.

Purple is my favorite color, and all three had some purple element to them. I put them in a mason jar (with coins) on my dresser, and they make a great decoration.

Later that evening, Daniel spontaneously told me he wanted to take me to dinner. So we went to this awesome, delicious restaurant called Greenhouse. It was a spur of the moment decision, so I didn’t dress up or put a heap of makeup on; but Daniel was dressed pretty casually too, so I felt comfortable. We shared a bottle of Cupcake Chardonnay. I put my phone in my purse and we had a great conversation.

Ok, this post might sound a bit corny. But my point is that this is the Valentine’s day that, over the past few years, I stressed the least over, and consequently I enjoyed it very much.

Daniel and I didn’t clear February 14 of obligations weeks in advance. We didn’t get each other expensive gifts. We didn’t dress up in fancy clothes, make reservations and order prime ribs. This Valentine’s day was the least “fancy” one I’ve had in the last few years. It was also the one I have enjoyed the most.

Crap Cosmo Says

If you enjoy reading Cosmopolitan magazine, this blog entry is not for you. Warning: snark ahead.

I got the idea for this post because on the popular forum website, Reddit, there is a whole subreddit devoted to pointing out the glaring absurdities and other weird things in the popular woman’s magazine, Cosmopolitan, and its website that make you say, “WTF?”

Some of the stuff is funny, like these images from Cosmo’s website…one page puts a plant on their list of “Hilariously Bad Christmas Gifts,” another page describes a mini-garden as “The Gift That Changed my Life.” …So what are plant gifts? Hilariously bad, or life-changing?

Other stuff is downright insulting, like this article in Cosmo UK about making a man a manket – “man blanket,” or a man that acts as your security blanket. A manket is apparently the guy you can flirt with when you’re feeling bad, but who you don’t actually want to date. He’s just there to boost your ego.

Um. Yeah. Hey, Cosmo…don’t objectify men.

I discovered r/shitcosmosays yesterday and have spent several minutes browsing various ridiculous posts. I found this post and decided I wanted to share it – and my own commentary – with you all.

This Cosmo article is about the “Manic Pixie Dream Girl,” (MPDG). Apparently, Cosmo wants its readers to be inspired by the personality of MPDGs so that they, too, can be spirited, care-free and most importantly entertaining to men.

I Googled “Manic Pixie Dream Girl” and found this description on Wikipedia (bolded emphasis mine):

Film critic Nathan Rabin, who coined the term after seeing Kirsten Dunst in Elizabethtown (2005), describes the MPDG as “that bubbly, shallow cinematic creature that exists solely in the fevered imaginations of sensitive writer-directors to teach broodingly soulful young men to embrace life and its infinite mysteries and adventures.”^[1] MPDGs are said to help their men without pursuing their own happiness, and such characters never grow up, thus their men never grow up.

Great. So, women should aspire to model their personalities after RomCom archetypes. Characters that exist “solely in the fevered imaginations of sensitive writer-directors.” Because, you know, what happens in films like “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days” and “Sweet Home Alabama” really play out in real life.

I have not read the entire article, just this little snippet here. Notice that above the pink text, the article is actually naming MPDG characters in movies. I don’t know the exact context, but it seems Cosmo is telling women to use these fictional characters as inspiration for their real-life personalities.

I mean, inspiration is one thing. But women need to realize that movies and real life are completely different territories.

Ok. Now, the pink text. Let’s annotate it.

Here’s how to spot her:

(How to spot the MPDG)

She is free-spirited.

Ok, sounds fine so far. Everyone can use some free-spiritedness.

She is FUN AND WILD!!!!

The unnecessary caps are kind of annoying, but I’m willing to let it slide. However the four exclamation points is definitely overkill. Did the person who wrote this article have an education in journalism? Or at the very least, punctuation basics?

She is beautiful, but doesn’t know it.

Humility is a good thing. I’m assuming that’s what they mean. If you are beautiful, be humble about it, don’t literally feign ignorance by saying “Aaaahhh I’m sooo ugly!”

She is cute, and often “girlie.”

Why is girlie in quotation marks? That’s sometimes meant to denote a word that’s not actually a word, but Cosmo has already made it clear in point two that they don’t care too much for grammar, spelling and punctuation rules.

She is quirky, with unique habits like collecting nail clippings or ferrets.

Woah. Woah. Woah. Hold the phone. Please, women reading this article, don’t go out and start collecting NAIL CLIPPINGS or ferrets in your pursuit to be the MPDG.

The mention of “quirky” totally reminded me of this SNL skit – “Bein’ Quirky with Zooey Deschanel.”

She is emotionally enigmatic.

So it’s difficult to tell what her emotions are? I can just picture the scene:

Guy: What’s wrong?
MPDG: Ooooh, nothing…*sigh*…*cries*
Guy: Seriously, what’s the matter?
MPDG: NOTHING I’M FINE!

From what I’ve experienced, guys (hell, people in general) hate that. Be upfront!

She commits small crimes, but it’s deemed adorable.

Really? Really. “You shoplifted that purse? How cute!” Said no one ever.
Again, women reading this article – DO NOT start committing misdemeanors in order to become a MPDG. It might work in the movies. In real life, you’ll get a fine or something else. And that ain’t cute. Your local police and/or city government, by the way, won’t give a damn if you’re an adorable little MPDG. You do the crime, you do the time. Or pay the money. Whatever.

She is blissfully unaware of men’s intentions, and breaks many hearts.

Well I’m not surprised Cosmo is making playing with men’s emotions sound cute. I mean, they wrote that horrendous manket article that I mentioned earlier.

She makes lemonade and Twix pancakes for breakfast.

Is the MPDG five years old?

And then below the pink text, Cosmo delves into why women should strive to be a MPDG – she attracts MEN, of course! Isn’t that the end-all, be-all in life?

The line, “She makes him…really love acting as a kind of romantic jumper lead.” Because that’s just what real life is – acting roles, like life is one big movie.

I did not mean for this post to be malicious. I believe that Cosmo often conveys negative messages to women and I want to point those messages out in all their negativity. Stop and think before you read. Just because it’s printed in Cosmo doesn’t mean it’s legit or a good idea.

Food for “Mondays”

This post is part of my “Eating REAL Food” series, in which I chronicle my attempts at and experiences with the paleo diet, gluten-free eating and real, whole foods. View other posts in the series here.

Disclaimer: I am NOT a doctor, so please do not substitute this blog post for professional medical advice! Thanks.

Ever had a “case of the Mondays”? Ever experienced a week where every freakin’ say was like a Monday?

Well, the first few weeks of this school year were relatively stress-free. But I guess that was the calm before the storm, because this week, Lord…this week!

It’s been one of those weeks where I have several cups of coffee throughout the day, and maybe even an energy drink. It’s been one of those weeks where, if I’m lucky enough to get a 15-minute window of free time, I use it for a power nap. It’s been one of those weeks where I forgo CrossFit and blogging so I can do schoolwork.

When I can’t make it to CrossFit, I try to place extra-high importance on eating healthy. Because when you’re tired, pressed for time and still have work to do, suddenly the Del Taco drive-thru looks very alluring.

Resist the temptation, my friends.

I have a few go-to paleo meals that require minimal preparation. They’re healthy and yummy, and don’t have the potential to wreak havoc to your health like fast food does.

If cooking a large quantity of something beforehand isn’t an option, here are some fast-prep meals:

[via]

If I’m truly in a pinch in the morning and don’t have time to make anything for breakfast, I grab a Larabar. I love Larabars because they have a super-short ingredient list of REAL foods, are grain and gluten-free, and come in delicious flavors like cherry pie and pecan cookie.
Try to be conservative with Larabars, though. They pack in a good amount of sugar and carbs.

Baked sweet potatoes are easy and delicious. I take a small to medium-ish sweet potato, poke several holes in it with a knife, and microwave it for about seven minutes, or until it gets squishy. A couple days ago I made some bacon to put on it, and added cheese.

[via]

If you’ve got 15 minutes or so, you could whip up some bacon, eggs, and sausage (or some combination thereof). I find it expedient to make a scramble: I chop up the bacon and let it cook a bit, then crack two eggs on top of them and scramble everything together. If I’m extra hungry I may add sausage, too.

I have become very skilled at making green smoothies quickly. Drinking your lunch through a straw on-the-go definitely fits in well with a busy lifestyle. Above is a green smoothie I made my mom when I went home last weekend. Yes, I’ve gotten my mom hooked on green smoothies 🙂

Leftovers are your best friend! Find a day when you have extra time to cook some dishes that will provide ample leftovers to last you through the week. These are some foods that I find hold up pretty well in the fridge:

Meatloaf is very good left over. I used this recipe from Mark’s Daily Apple.

Soups and stews also make good leftover meals. The sweet potato bacon soup we made a few weeks ago lasted Daniel and I a whole week. Last week and this week, we have been enjoying some beef stew.
The above picture might not look too appetizing, but I promise the stew in that picture was good and filling! Daniel made an improvised beef stew with shredded beef from U.S. wellness, bacon (also from U.S. wellness), broccoli, onions, tomatoes and various spices.

Ground beef, kale, and carrots and green beans. This was Daniel’s plate, I don’t cover my kale with cheese 😛

Finally, Daniel and I make seasoned ground beef with side veggies a lot. It’s nothing fancy or intricate, but it keeps me full.

I hope no one else has been experiencing a week of “Mondays,” like me. My week may be stressful, but at least I’m eating well!! Feel free to leave your go-to quick meals in the comments 🙂