Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Bacon, Steak and Grilled Kale: Mealtimes will Never be the Same again.

Once I realized what my day consisted of, it became a day of cooking and backloading proteins. Once my fasting section of the day was done, I began cooking my bacon and had them with hard boiled eggs. Next for dinner, I cooked almond flour pancakes, bottom chuck steak and grilled kale. It was important to eat the coconut slathered kale with the beef, so as to assist and ensure the digestion of such rich proteins.

By the evening, I felt stuffed like the fatted calf...mealtimes were changed forever.

The one very awesome thing about going back to meat is the sensation of fullness that had been previously missing from my diet in a large capacity. Not only that, but I feel a different, stronger foundation is forming, as if I really am extracting nutrients from my food the way nature intended. My body responds well to real food in all forms. But now I'm really trying to get it to respond to weight loss, and it's no surprise that it finally is.

Dave Asprey explains that it takes something upward of years to heal any preexisting metabolic damage created from past formidable lifestyles. It also takes time to shift consciousness into a receptive state where it is willing to receive new information and utilize to its highest advantage. Ain't nobody got time for a lack of results! Not this mujer.

Speaking of consciousness, I find it valuable information inside my scope of practice that I've tried multitudinous nutritional disciplines with a moderate success rate, and here I am back at bacon and eggs for dinner. What gives? How could I at this point seem almost hypocritical to the Atkins adage of "it's going to kill you" song and dance I used to sing? What happened to the old me, besides more education? Nothing. Just more education. And what you choose to do with education is the very difference between being something individual but simple, and being unique and great.

What I find most entertaining about the whole food experiment is that the next day, I was indeed not hungry even in the least and had consumed a mere chunk of beef and kale leftovers, along with my normal morning bulletproof cup and some tea. Monday morning brought a long stretch of fasting success followed by several handfuls of mixed nuts, one apple and some pepperoni (that will no doubt keep forever I reckon) and a serving of nut thins. Then I proceeded to eat a lemon. Why, I'll never be able to answer that. But I can tell you, it was worth every lemony, sour lip-puckering moment imaginable. Would Dave approve of such sour bliss? Even though it's not grass fed beef? Yeah. Probably.

Saturday, November 16, 2013

Pancake Hacking, Kitchen Hacking, Nonsense Hacking.

 Everything seems to need hacking these days.

In fact I wished some people would have their mouths hacked. Ah, but I digress (almost).

Nowadays when I see a pancake made with flour, after years of licking my lips and contemplating the first buttery bite I ask myself, why? With this question I can now rule my world. To satisfy my sometimes present pancake lust, I bought some almond flour and worked it out with some organic heavy whipping cream and eggs. With a pinch of salt, this alone justified my pancake. After smoothing a small dollop of honey butter cream on my fluffy treat, never again would I even so much as need to consider any other fattier, more carb-ridden option than this.

In the kitchen I hacked away at tossing things out that no longer made sense to be in my midst. I looked onto my refrigerator shelves and found condiments, foods and bottles of undone, unopened or uninteresting options that clearly hadn't yet seen the trash can, but meant to jump in a long time ago. This part was easily done. I thought I had the healthiest oils in my kitchen and down to a science, but after hearing Dave's thoughts on it, I decided to take another course of action and stop consuming a majority of vegetable oils. I'm down to coconut oil, MCT oil and grass fed butter. In fact I was so concerned about having enough for my morning cup that I grabbed two packs of butter the last time I was at the store. I've never eaten more butter in my life and lost weight from such madness....but it definitely explains my deeper, inner knowing craving butter for so many years without knowing exactly why.

Growth is always about doing something slightly or even majorly uncomfortable in order to get crazy awesome results from something you don't normal obtain such successful joy from...and you're sick of not attaining that state, finally.

Thursday, November 14, 2013

A Relatively quick food log; a check-in.

I had so much to do tonight, and I sit here typing.

Not my intention, but when the writing bug bites, you swat and scratch.

It's not that I won't still get it all done, it's just that it's getting done over the course of the evening in its own time. That may result in sleeping on a desk somewhere, or just simply recoffeeing at some opportune moment in the day, which I have not been accustomed to doing since the Bulletproofing had begun. I haven't had to even think about extra caffeine mid-morning or anytime throughout that day. It's actually been so awesome that I've also realized I can pseudo-cop the effects of the full shabang with a tablespoon of coconut oil. 2T was too much but one works fine for some reason. What I did was poured about an ounce of brewed coffee out into a shot glass and downed that with a glass of water so I could water down the remainder and enjoy at my leisure without any tummy pain, for both the strong coffee and oil induction at once. Then I basically waited until about 1p and sat in the sunlight soaking in Vitamin D.

...and now I am sleep hacking. But I digress.

I ate some mixed nuts, nut thins and two apples, then headed back in. About an hour later I enjoyed a peanut butter protein bar. I didn't eat again except for fluids until around 9p. At this point I made myself a couple of mini grass fed burgers with garlic and an aged cheese garnish slice. I ate some squash and purple potatoes some time later. When I need to carb back load it's difficult for me to stay too low in the carb sector, but then I realize I usually crave carbs for good reasons and not sugary, lacking in nutrition and agenda-less calories. Once I had two almond flour pancakes made with cream, I was good to go. I was super excited about the fact that I found a very effective and fluffy pancake recipe that is creamy delish and has a great taste to it. My honey butter cream is even better and mostly on the approved side (to the left) when looking at a list of Bulletproof foods.

Super hopeful that my package arrives in the morning tomorrow. I have to do everything I can to restrain myself from jumping out of my skin for a good cup.

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Turkey Talk...

Wow. Just wow.

I ate my first slice of turkey last night (you know what comes next) after 14 years. Yes. Turkey. Wow. Really Connie? What is compelling you? My whole family asked. I told them it just seemed like it was time. That's the same way I started dating Mike, the same way I conceived Kai, the same way I went into teaching. Everything I've ever done, especially important, just seemed like it was time to take care of. And so I did.

I want everyone to know that this was a long and tough decision for me. I involved all who would listen. I involved the nutritionally educated meat eaters and the vegans. Everyone had a chance to input their feelings on the situation. And everytime I asked myself if I was sure. That's what kept me pescetarian one more day.

And then it happened.

I think what made me try turkey last night was my sister. She seemed happy that I was rejoining the carnivorously inclined, and I thought, "no sis. I'm not going back to eating how the family does, but back to healthy and clean meats that had a nice life, more or less, and didn't die under a major amount of stress." That would change the flavor quality of the meat anyhow.

I don't know what made me do it, except for the compelling research that kept me on the edge of my seat about all the nutrients I wasn't getting, and how I should at least look into supplementation. But that's the problem with supplementation. There's no real logical reason, except for experimentation, that we aren't getting our nutrients from the soil. But if we have healthy farms with healthy foundations and humane butchering practices, (*gulp*, still makes me feel nauseous) with a 100 percent grass fed and finished animal, our bodies will come out all the healthier.

Quietly, impatiently waiting for my Coffee...

I'm waiting for my Bulletproof package to arrive. All I can say is, RRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!

How incredibly impatient I'm feeling! I was getting such good effects from using the MCT oil that I hate missing days of taking it. Of course I'm still consuming the butter in copious amounts, but I'm using coconut oil and in fact, can only  use about a tablespoon of the oil when in coffee. For some reason the MCT oil seems better or thinner, and can be assimilated better. That is only a guess of mine. In fact I'm getting pretty excited about the Brain Octane but felt I should curb my enthusiasm and allow my body to understand the changes occurring under the particular MCT reign.
     We could always be getting better results but I really want to make the most out of all the products I use, and since I purchased the upgraded vanilla, there are results I'm supposed to love from that alone, regarding mental performance I'm real excited about. Next I'd like to try the chocolate and the upgraded whey. I can add flavors to anything; the coffee or protein. Additionally it is starting to sound like the reports are telling me to consume L-glutamine and glutathione, commonly found in meats, particularly beef and eggs, two things I have held off consuming for 14 years...until now. I wonder what my body will experience as it goes through all these changes? I hope nothing but pure awesomeness. I'm super excited.

So I'm keeping my fingers crossed, hoping my package is waiting at the door for me when I return home. I am seriously impatient.

Monday, November 11, 2013

A Most Bulletproof Decision to Go Grass Fed and Wild Caught...

So...
I have been bitten by the Bulletproof bug, in the quest to become the best version of myself possible. I've listened to the research, I've looked over the reports, and I've observed my own life. I listened to accounts of many raw vegans who went omnivore, those including Rob Wolf, Dave Asprey, Jamie Jamison and Mark Sisson. I went pescetarian for a year. And now...I've broken my fast from eating animals.

I know. It seems to most people that, as we improve our spiritual life, that we continue to make choices to preserve life and not contribute to the destruction of our planet. But as time progresses, it seems that not all our choices, even as a vegetable eating maven, has always contributed to top health or top spirituality. I know that my spiritual life changed when I first went vegetarian, but I have seen gurus who still eat meat. So it's not like siddhis disappear with the consumption of meat.... Hence, this is one of the reasons that relaxed my choice to become less of this and more of that. I do promise however, to choose the best, most well-treated food as humanly possible, given all of our environmental and spiritual concerns.

Did I cry about it? Did it bother me? Did it make me feel like less of a human? Did I see the eyes of the innocent cow in my dreams? Sure. But then I thought of what I thought God and the Universe would want for my life, what was best for it. I realize that maybe, just maybe, God would want me to eat the highest source of nutrients possible from my food, and not from a pill. Maybe it was true, that we were given options for a reason...otherwise the animals would prove to be unconsumable.

There were vices I began to rely on like caffeine and vitamins, to feel good and stay awake throughout the day. I'd constantly be looking for options to heighten my energy. At a certain point it didn't make sense that I kept fighting for this balance, even when my energy had always been optimal until that moment. I also began to overconsume sugar. This is how I knew something was grossly out of proportion.

Now after all my changes, I'm happy and at peace. I've removed the majority of caffeine intake, reduced sugar, improved the quality of my proteins and sent soy and canned, packaged food packing. I've increased my vegetables more than when I was eating vegetarian and I'm much stronger. This to me is living proof that eating cleaner protein makes so much sense to my health and well-being.

I want to know that at the end of my life, I did everything I could to the best of my abilities, and that I helped as many people as I could on my way out. I cannot convince anyone that this may be the best way for everyone to live, but at least my life can prove to be an example of someone who put out everything, herself aside at times, to help humanity improve.

List of Foods I've been consuming, Bulletproof or not.

Listening to so many reports has made the time go by. In fact, it's what keeps me from bringing a fork to my lips, is just the discipline of listening to the reports that tell me of so many important facts I need to know about the food supply, and how perilous bad food is to our health. I'm scheduling my weekends now to be about food and self care, in addition to the occasional class and seeing clients. Otherwise, I spent all day yesterday in food prep! It's awesome though because now I am ready for the week, versus last week where I purchased salads with tuna I should not consume, which inadvertently threw me out of my keto cycle. The tuna probably contained some sugars. I am pretty much of the belief now that I should continue fasting when I don't bring food from home. Or something....anything but eat out, is my belief.

I haven't been eating grains, but I've had a few bites of quinoa pasta with cabbage and broccoli rabe in the last day or so. I've also taken to nut thins (made with nuts and rice flour) with Kerrygold aged cheddar. The verdict seems to still be out on feeding our bodies ferments, so I'm going to do some more research on it. I had been loving the ferments but now I wonder if I'm not feeding a candida state in the body a little, due to my craving for it. Meanwhile if I'm going to consume a grain, it seems to be that rice and quinoa would be okay to consume. I can safely say I have not touched wheat pretty much since two months prior, and no other grains but infrequent legumes. I have most recently went back to cheese near the end of october (and before my cycle) to try the cauliflower crust pizza, which was way worth it.

My staples are: Apples, lemons, cabbage, kale, strawberries, squash, cream and grass fed butter, wild caught fish like salmon, ahi, cod, sole, pollock (though not recently due to some environmental issues) and now sardines, sweet potatoes, purple potatoes, infrequent bananas and grapes, arugula and mixed greens, avocados and tomatoes, Sunwarrior protein powder, walnuts and cashews, almonds, eggs both hard boiled, fried and deviled, infrequent beans, grass fed cheese (mostly), whole milk mozzarella and kombucha. If I consume sugar, it's honey or coconut sugar. I've had some items with refined sugars and every time I've thought of the consequence on my efforts and how long it'll take to recover from them. I know that all of my foods are not in the green zone of the Bulletproof diet, but I do shoot for the green.

This is all in addition to the Bulletproof coffee mornings where I consume 2T of MCT oil and butter nutribulleted into smooth, rich creaminess. I've been doing a coffee shot lately outside of my brewed coffee to give me a jolt and also to lighten the heavy flavor of the coffee. This most recent organic blend is so far my favorite. This guy started the organic movement in coffee so it seems sensible to assume that he has the best coffee next to Dave Asprey's suggestions. Though this is better coffee than the last organic bag I've purchased, I'm still looking forward to the five pounds in the mail waiting for me.

Truth is, the Bulletproof morning with all the accoutrements is still the very best combination of ideas for my body.  Not only do I feel optimal, I don't have additional cravings for caffeine and I feel quite awake. I'm even waking up better as well. I may be adding to that list of foods rather soon.


A Rant on Discipline and Rebellious Food Behavior.

I have always been annoyed with how resistant I am to eating with discipline.

I mean, I've been successful with it, and I begin to see results...but then there's that moment where I have to get all crazy on a food choice, and then I lose it all together.

What's important to understand here, that as soon as the food hits your gut biome, all sorts of hormonal manifestations occur. What drug am I looking for? What experience am I trying to have? It's not so awesome that I keep searching for the perfect food high, though I don't know a soul who doesn't do exactly what I've done in this debacle.

I realize that I have to keep playing this game with myself in order to continue improving my mission. If I am going to somewhat obsess about getting better and creating a higher performance state in myself, then I have to ask myself these questions. I would worry more about  the person who thinks that what they do is perfect and are completely happy with not changing a thing. It's so important to keep changing! Staying the same is what breaks us down and down and down....

I remember having my mom tell me about food. She had me on high protein, low carb diets my whole life. At the time I was working within the limits of my understanding. Thank goodness the world doesn't completely beat down on me for this. I couldn't eat this and couldn't eat that. It's not that I didn't want to, it's that I was told it would make me sick...but then none of us in the family had any willpower to stay away from the foods that would one day kill us. But now I realize that mom wasn't completely wrong, even as I rebelled from omnivorous behavior to vegetarianism, then on to pescetarianism. What we did then, probably saved my life, and had no idea why.

One very positive aspect to all of this is to see myself as that food rebel that continues to chip away at self improvement, which says much about my commitment and discipline. It's only as grim or as wonderful of a picture we choose to paint.







A Change in Schedule...Deviant Bulletproof behavior.

The third weekend was met with birthday surprises, inadvertently throwing me off my bulletproof regimen. I had no idea my coworker friend would sugar bomb me with a delicious mango cheesecake friday, and some fried rice and honey walnut shrimp on Sunday. Whatever sugars I consumed in those two days threw me into a tizzy, one in which about a week was lost while climbing back onto schedule. Lucky for me, I'm human and I err, so it made it alot easier to make a mistake without drilling what was left of my discipline into the ground. Though I did not excuse myself and say "oh that's okay, you can always come back," I documented the shift and it was noticeable. I didn't feel quite as optimal as I had prior to that perfectly fasted moment. But even that would take a few days, so the next level had not even quite begun...

The following week came with yet more surprises that I should more closely document. Sometimes they are subtle and sometimes they are vast. Either way, I feel changes in my mood and physiology, when I eat different foods. As I've become more accustomed to eating fish again, I have noticed that I've thought of steak on more than one occasion...and then when I finally realized that I was eating ahi tuna as a form of meaty steak-like sustenance, I decided I may need to consider more than just the tuna....

In my life today, I am asking the question "why" to the foods I choose and what I decide is okay to consume. I'm looked at among my friends as an explorative eater. (You may want to question my motives should I begin to consume insects.) I'm not really like the people who live a primal life, feasting on organ meats, nor am I the vegan/vegetarian righteous one who perfectly preserves the life of the animal. I've never been the astute, well disciplined guru, nor the to-the-letter dieter who's planning for a fitness competition. Even in the fact that I am currently alive and breathing, could be considered a deviation in itself, as, according to my mom, I would not have lived if it were not for the doctor that refused to lose another child that belonged to her. I guess I've been deviant since the very beginning.