Tuesday, October 18, 2011

It Will Never Work - A "Dear John" to an Old Lifestyle

I know I am better off without you, but sometimes you still cross my mind.
If you have read anything I have written in the past - long while - you know I am not reminiscing over a human relationship, but over my wild love affair with grains.

When I began eating a strictly Paleo diet over a month ago, I was "trying it out." I am very experimental with nutrition, and have been accused of jumping on the bandwagon more than once. In my defense, this is slightly different from being a fair weather fan. I am truly passionate about holistic health and am willing to immerse myself in learning through experience.

"Diet" is unfortunately currently associated with a CHANGE in food consumption, usually with the primary goal being weight loss. The word diet is really a much broader way of describing the general composition of food intake to fuel human activity and vital physiological functions. According to Merriam Webster Dictionary, the first definition of diet is, "food and drink considered in terms of its qualities, composition, and its effects on health." Contemplating this more broad way of defining diet, we can come to another conclusion: we should not have to make a CHANGE in the way we eat to achieve optimum health, vitality, and longevity. Our diet should be what we are doing all the time.

In the same token, "fitness" really just means "well adapted to ones environment." Holistic and natural living is more like diving into the water as opposed to simply dipping your toes. You can easily see why I broke up with the elliptical machine around the same time I broke it off with bread.

So why the puppy dog eyes and pouting lips this evening? I found myself at Starbucks this morning, looking longingly at a beautiful and sweetly fragrant display of body destroying starchy delights. Having strictly eliminated grains from my diet many weeks ago, I no longer have cravings for such comfort foods, but with nostalgia, my heart sank knowing I could never go back.

With undeniable clinical proof of the damage caused by grains in the body, and my own personal complete health turnaround, there is no way I will ever be able to "go back" to my old diet. My switch to a Paleo diet has ended a life long battle with food intolerance. It has improved my energy, physical training capacity, and ability to think clearly. I have no doubt that it can help anyone overweight achieve weight loss, although that was not a goal or issue for me before the switch. There is plenty of awesome literature on achieving weight loss through Paleo nutrition if that is your first goal.

We had a good time. Sourdough baguette with fresh butter - big bowl of angel hair pasta - extra large popcorn at the movies. Its a small world and we will not forever be able to avoid each other. The sight of you may remind me of devouring you with ravenous abandon followed by exhausted slumber. (Perhaps my primal instincts are now more acute too. hmmmm, sigh)

But it will never work out. Hugs and kisses - with both sadness and hope for the future, I bid you farewell, forever.

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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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