Thursday, October 6, 2011

I am a Recovering Vegetarian - A Paleo Education

I am a recovering vegetarian.

By chance I recently came into acquaintance with some individuals who practice the Paleo diet. Before you gear up to battle me with every argument in you arsenal about why I should not be on a "diet," hear me out. I have immersed myself in nutrition and fitness information for the past six years, and I still suffer from digestive dis-function more than the average person. I placed 11th at a recent cross country race, with an injury, six hours after binging on hummus and flat bread - only to binge again to the point of illness two hours post-race. I have only had fast food, or any fried food for that matter, once in the past three years. It troubles me that I cannot manage to go a day consuming less than 2000 calories without feeling the onset of starvation. The math doesn't add up.

Do you have any idea how infuriating it is to do everything in your power to have a healthy body, and still suffer from ill health? If I have a slice of pizza, I will feel it for five days. IT IS TERRIBLE.

I have never been a full fledged vegetarian. I ate meat occasionally (maybe 2-3 times a month). From everything I have studied before, plants are the best way to get EVERYTHING. I have watched documentaries on American meat industries that make it almost worth cutting a few years off of my life for the sake of preventing animal cruelty. I really haven't discussed this "eat style" with anyone because more than anything, I feel bad. Eventually I want to move to exclusively humane meats, but to be honest, I am just learning my A,B,C's when it comes to eating meat.

To apply one discipline to another, Joseph Pilates once said something to the tune of, "you have to be where you are to get to where you are going." This is a paraphrase. Google failed me on my search for the direct quote, but you get the point.

So -- I roasted a chicken tonight - with my mom. It was great fun.
Everyone enjoyed watching me try to carve the finished bird. (super serious) It is a good thing I am not a surgeon.
It was delicious. Much more delicious and filling than all of the loaves of bread I have eaten in the past few months. We roasted veggies too. After I had eaten my fill, I waited for my second wind. I worked out today, and I should be so hungry I could eat a truck load of food, right? It didn't happen. I just sat down satisfied and wrote this.

I am so lucky to have a family that is supportive of my experiments in health and fitness over the years. I cannot be classified as a yo-yo dieter, as I have remained (within five pounds) the same weight my entire adult life. I am just passionate about finding a path through the maze of conflicting nutritional "information" available today.

I just want to feel good - and live an active life that makes me happy.

I have leftovers for my lunch tomorrow. So excited.






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About Sam

I am a writer in Omaha, Nebraska sharing my adventures in the foundations of healthy living - nutrition, being active, and being funny.

I was born in Kansas City in the sweltering summer of July, 1986. I was nearly born in the car because I was so pumped to get my life started. I have been bouncing off of the walls ever since. Growing up I hung out with the big kids who were even older than my sister (and best friend) Allie. I quickly developed an "I'm over it" 'tude toward kids my own age whose pastimes seemed juvenile - an interesting perspective coming from a preschooler. My snobbish worldview was hard earned however, as I was forced to learn both multiplication and division early to keep up when we played "school," and I was always forced to do dangerous stuff first to make sure it was okay, like eating unidentified berries and making the first run on super steep hills while sledding. We biked all day, ate wild honeysuckle, painted the house with mud, and collected cicada shells for no reason other than they stick to fabric and freaked my mom out.

I quickly realized that even little legs can get you as far as a car can, and as a young child, you really have nothing but time. My adventures were only restrained by the fact that adults do not find it acceptable for young children to explore the town on foot unaccompanied. I prematurely developed a desire to be an independent self-supporting person, so I opened a Kool-Aid/popcorn business to finance my big plans. Looking back, I would say that the only issues holding me back were my limited advertising budget and the fact that I was still too short to ride roller coasters. People just don't take you seriously when you can't go on the upside-down rides.

I was moved to Omaha in the second grade. I continued walking all over the place, exploring surrounding neighborhoods and visiting grocery stores to pick up my favorites: Goldfish, Sprite, and sugar cigarettes. I don't even think you can buy those anymore, and for the record, I never started smoking.

I never lost my hard work ethic, and I needed to increase my income to afford my new hobbies of beading and Polaroid photography. At the age of ten I mailed in a response to an advertisement for paper delivery routes without discussing the issue with my family. Sometimes you need to take matters into your own hands when people don't share you vision. The people at the Omaha World Herald must have had a good feeling about me becuase they contacted my parents to tell them that they wanted to hire me but would feel better if there was an older family member onboard. I still wonder if Allie holds any resentment toward me for pulling her into the labor force when she was only twelve.

In third grade, I followed Allie's lead and began taking dance classes at Mary Lorraine's Dance Center. For the next eleven years it became "what I did." Nowadays, I train more like an athlete, but I will always move like a dancer, and being in a studio will always feel like home.

After high school I relocated again (this time of my own volition) to study "everything" in the College of Business Administration at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln. I acquired a degree in marketing and finance that I may use someday. More importantly, I became a close friend and Alpha Phi sister with a cross country runner who easily persuaded me to train for the 2005 Lincoln half-marathon. I have been running ever since. In April 2011 I developed plantar fasciitis after jumping into an intense 50-70 mile/week schedule. This is the first athletic injury in my life. Although it has been indescribably frustrating both physically and emotionally, the silver lining is my increased receptivity to more variety in fitness disciplines.

I enjoy Pilates, yoga, enjoy Zumba, plyometric interval training, running, walking, and seeing how quickly I can run up stairs without losing my lunch. When I am too exhausted to move, I read and write. I love fiction, non-fiction, cookbooks, poetry, philosophy, song lyrics, and comedy. I have been writing for as long as I can remember. I love spell check, and felt tip pens.

I am happy and optimistic most of the time. I enjoy living simply and deeply. I hope you enjoy what I have to share.







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