Sunday, November 6, 2011

Kinda Focusing is for People who Kinda Want It. Go Big or Go Elsewhere.

Yesterday I spent a huge amount of money and time on groceries and nutritional supplements. I now have an account on bodybuilding.com. No, I am not body building. I am strength, fitness, and mean building.


As I had mentioned in a previous post, I have been doing CrossFit at Fit2Fight in downtown Omaha for almost one month. I went in looking for a way to make strength training less boring. I almost scrapped the whole idea when my car decided to fall apart. The combination of persistence from the gym and my own gut feeling got me to take the leap to buy a gym membership that I don't even need and hardly have time for.

I have been in that gym six days a week for a month now. My body has responded like a lighter to a firecracker. I don't even bother to bring my bullshit with me there because I know it isn't welcome.  I am not the same person I was a few weeks ago.  I am still a mere beginner - albeit a very IMPATIENT beginner. There is no way getting around it, if I want a better output, I need better inputs. Time for a no excuses nutritional game plan.

I have been following a strictly Paleo diet for the past six weeks, and starting today, I am further refining and specifically structuring my macro-nutrient intake to enhance my exercise regimen. (I do not suggest this level of attention to diet and exercise to everyone - this is obviously my passion and such devotion and focus is natural and exhilarating for me).

I started the day with an obnoxious abundance of energy. I am SO EXCITED to get everything I need for a perfectly structured Paleo CrossFit diet. This is going to be TOTALLY awesome. Extra EXCLAMATIONS!!!! :-) :-)

My excitement started to wane a bit while trying maneuver through Whole Foods among people who I swear were legally blind and had no sense of their bodies in space. These people should not be allowed shopping carts, let alone the cars the obviously drove here. UGH. I grabbed some grassfed steaks and three oranges and got the heck out before I let my frustrations get the best of me.

My second attempt at Hy-Vee only added fuel to the fire. Instead of lame music, they were playing the Nebraska football game in the store, and people literally stopped moving during plays. I almost rear ended someone into the tortilla display. I am not even sure what fresh veggies and fruit I ended up with because I was so distracted.

I was in no condition to handle food labels by the time I made it to the dreaded center aisles which should clearly be renamed to "look how much stuff we can make out of corn and soy. EFFFFF

Fourteen aisles and the only thing that made it into my cart was tuna and raw almonds. God forbid I want any cooked or seasoned nuts. Most commercially available nuts that are roasted or seasoned at all are cooked in "peanut and/or cottonseed oil." I am not sure about the "and/or" portion of that. Not only do I need to avoid peanuts due to a moderate peanut allergy, but I think I will pass on any product where the manufacturers aren't even quite sure what is in it. Super sketchy.

I am so sick of this. My fun nutritional adventure has turned into mission impossible.

I am suppose to be getting 2 grams of Protein for every pound of body weight. I am about 145 lbs currently, and consuming 290 grams of protein in one day seems about as possible as me deadlifting 290 lbs --- which has no chance of EVER happening considering I cannot fit any more meat into my little body and I am finding it impossible to find any protein supplement that contain NO lactose, soy, or wheat.

I have to be missing something. I am not dumb, and this should not be this difficult. In search of some guidance I went to Barnes and Noble in search of The Paleo Diet for Athletes by Dr. Loren Cordain. NEGATIVE. Plenty of books on being a vegetarian though... been there, done that, it made me SICK!

I started a food diary today that I will break down and analyse in later posts. Have I ever mentioned that I love numbers and like to handle challenges with emotionally detached planning and execution? Yes, I was a robot before I was reincarnated as a modern cave girl.

I am frustrated to the point of punching strangers who cannot steer shopping carts, but I know that like all things - this too will pass. Deep breath - appreciate the process. My anger is sometimes a tough companion, but it always pushes me to work even harder toward whatever I am pursuing. I don't think I was born to live an easy life. I am always pushing, and I am thankful to currently be living a life that pushes back.
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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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