Yesterday, my aunt and uncle took us to a murder mystery dinner to celebrate my birthday a little late. When we were ordering drinks and appetizers, Geri asked me what we wanted to share. As though it were no big deal to us...and it wasn't...our only option on the menu was sweet potato fries and we said that. By no means are we trying to make others eat the same thing we do, unless they want to, but she looked less than thrilled with our choice. Eventually, we settled on 2 things - nachos for them and the fries for us. (They weren't EXACTLY paleo anyways...covered with brown sugar and dipped in a little ketchup. Don't judge me!) While we were eating the appetizers we were talking about the Meatluck we'd had that morning at WCCF. She said, "I thought you guys couldn't eat meat?" Confused, we both answered that yes we could - just not carbs and crap. Moving on to my recent cooking, we were talking about the scallop recipe and when I showed her the ingredients on my phone, she was puzzled over coconut cooking oil. "It has a lot of fat in it, right?," she said. Mark jumped in to try to explain how, yes, that was true, but different fats. She didn't seem to buy his explanation. So finally, to make things even more awkward, dinner is served during the murder mystery and its all pasta. I probably would have been ok with cheating or maybe not eating, but Mark wasn't. He asked for a gluten-free plate for the both of us and this giant chicken, broccoli, and mixed veggies thing came out. It actually wasn't bad at all, but I didn't make a huge dent in it because I was still pretty full....and on glass of wine #4 - aka spifflicated? (Roaring 20's lingo for tipsy). Shortly after I put my fork down came the..."well, aren't you going to eat?" comment. I can tell at this point, even though she tries to act neutral about it, she thinks we're on some crazy diet where we starve ourselves or we only eat eggs and cayenne pepper while standing on our heads at Crossfit. (If that's next week's WOD, I'll skip it! Don't worry!)
Since yesterday wasn't the only resistance and skepticism to Paleo that we've had, I feel like I should just clear a few things up. First and foremost, Paleo is not a CRAZY diet. Its a lifestyle where we just choose to refrain from certain things because they're bad for us. Don't get me wrong....I love carbs. I love the way they taste and they love me. Carbs are addictive. Whenever I eat McDonalds I CRAVE it for the next few days....often times giving in and having it again...perpetuating the cycle. Its hard to give them up - trust me. I'm Italian and I LOVE pasta. Its not to say that I won't have pasta ever again...I will. But without carbs, I get less of the "food baby" that used to happen after I ate carb-filled meals. (The food baby is that post meal bloat that you get that makes you resemble someone who is maybe 3 or 4 months pregnant. It is not attractive.) I also like sugar. I like soda. I like orange juice. But, they are bad for me and there's a history of diabetes in my family. Dairy is something that I might eat in moderation when we are done with our strict month. I will need the calcium.
Secondly, we are not starving. Just because we've given up a few things does not mean we're not eating. If you've followed this blog at all, we log about food EVERY day. I'm eating breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. I am not hungry. I am not only eating meat. I am eating protein, veggies, fruits, nuts and drinking water. We can still eat out. I just have to be more careful about choices. We can make modifications at almost any place. I've eaten Tac Quick's squid curry twice in one week!
Okay, and finally, we are not torturing ourselves at Crossfit. Crossfit is supposed to be tough and it is. Its supposed to make you work hard and it does. How else are you going to see change? No one at WCCF looks like they're going to fall over from exhaustion. Everyone looks fit and strong and guess what? A lot of them eat paleo, too.
So, I hope that if there was a question about what we're doing. Maybe that clears it up? Maybe that will make you google it? or maybe that just makes you feel better because its happened to you, too?
Food for Saturday:
Breakfast/Lunch = left over stuffed pepper
Snack = 1 pc of turkey jerky, coffee w/ heavy cream
Dinner = salmon and mixed veggies (awesome dinner made by Kelly and Brian!)
.....a few glasses of wine.....I lost count.
Snack = cucumbers and 1 pc of turkey jerky
We didn't go to Crossfit today. Actually, this week may be lighter than usual due to a strained muscle I have. I didn't have pain on Saturday too much during the workout, but I woke up today with my shoulder very irritated. I will workout this week, but no overhead lifts. :(
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