Did you know that the average human is made up of 50-65% water? Or you couldn’t live no more than three days without it? Water is one of the most important element of living… It flows through our blood, flushes wastes from our bodies, cushion our joints, and helps digest food. I would say it’s pretty darn important!! With that said are you drinking enough? If not, here are five ways that you can start drinking more water today.
1. Your first, last, and forever
Waking up dehydrated is the worst feeling eve to remedy this, start and end your day with water… I usually have a water bottle next to my bed … Just don’t drink too much before you go to bed or you will have nightmares about having to pee.
2. Carry water
Another way is to have more water around you… That’s right folks I’m talking about carrying a water bottle (or at least have one around) with you. My personal favorite is the Nalgene bottle. It’s BPA free and unbreakable. The only thing that I hate about the bottle is when I lose it and have to buy another one (I think the remedy that solution is to have one at home, work, school, and my car). If plastic is not your thing try out the glass bottles from Lifefactory or the Stainless Steel bottles from Contigo.
So I busted out the pen and paper and thought about what people would say about me now at my funereal if I died today (as morbid is it is.. it really helped). A few things came to mind however I’m not going to discuss them. Then I thought about what I wanted people to say about me when I’m dead. Then came up with some fitness values that are in line with those things. Here are a few things that I came up with:
One of my fitness values come from life experiences, all my life I’ve been the biggest person in the room and by being the biggest person in the room there are certain things that I experienced and that I want to experience but couldn’t because of my size.
For example: I remember going to summer camp in the third or fourth grade and not being able to get a camp t-shirt nor a shirt with my team name on it because I was the biggest kid there. So when we had team challenges I was always stood out in more ways in one. The only black kid in the camp and I didn’t have shirt.
Not to make this a race thing but you have to understand where I came from…Detroit and the metro Detroit area is of the most segregated places in the U.S. The city of Detroit was about 99% black, however the surrounding cities were about 1% black and further you got pass 8 mile, such as 22 mile (yes there is such a thing), that number would be less than 1%.
So when I didn’t get a shirt at camp. I had to question is it because I’m the only black person here or is it because I’m the biggest kid here or is it both? I know now it’s because of my size but as a kid you don’t know and it makes you feel less than worthy either way.
I also remember the last day of camp where we had this obstacle course think Tough Mudder before it was cool. My team was in the lead throughout the race until we got to the last obstacle which was the wall. Being the biggest kid I helped everyone get over the wall but when it was my turn they couldn’t get me over. Eventually our team was disqualified because everyone i.e. me, didn’t make it through all the obstacles. The team blamed me for the loss.
I hate to say it but I’m done with the Paleo diet. I didn’t make my 90 day goal but I’m OK with that because I gave it 100% to the end. And believe me when I say that it wasn’t an easy feat. I decide to go off the Paleo diet for a few reasons.
It started to affect my personal life… All of my Paleo friends are online. So it’s a hassle to do things with my non-Paleo friends. Plus the fact that I had to play 21 questions with the wait staff and make substitutions to every meal eating out drove me nuts.
My marathon is coming up! I have about three weeks until my marathon and as those who frequent my blog know that I have struggled with distance over 14-16 miles. As the race day nears I want to practice carb loading for my long runs and the marathon.
I went to London for a week… This is probably self-explanatory but last week in was in London for a conference and I wasn’t going to miss the opportunity to experience London through my taste buds. I’m talking Bangers & Mash, Shepard’s Pie, Fish and Chips, Sticky Toffee Pudding, Beer, Tea & Crumpets, and oh course croissants.
With that said I learnt so much and lost a substantial amount of weight (around 20 pounds) while being on the Paleo Diet, but I am going to have to say Paleo No More! I want to thank all the Paleo folks for giving me support and encouragement. I respect you all for doing the diet but long-term it’s not for me and I’m OK with that.
I have been on the Paleo diet for 56 days. Every day that I’m on Paleo there is always a new challenge to overcome. .. These past couple of weeks is no different.
The school year just started which means I will face different scenarios that I didn’t have to worry about in the summer, for example the lunch meeting… See during the summer schedules are usually open. There are rarely any classes to teach and most of the time situations are laid back.
The start of the semester means all of that is gone. Schedules are tight and most of the time to meet with someone who is important means to go out to lunch with them and have the meeting there.
So you meet with that important person at one of the restaurants on campus and you notice that nothing on the menu is Paleo friendly. While you’re trying to make a good impression during the meeting your stomach is growling and you’re trying to figure out what dish could you make easy substitutions to without look like an ass.
Umm can I get a burger on a bed of lettuce?
The waitress, whom is on her first day looks at you confuse like she don’t know how to charge you for the meal. Then she has the audacity to ask why would you want to mess up a perfectly good burger by putting it on a bed of lettuce? Come on seriously? Why would ask me that question?
Another dreaded situation is the evening programs. You been on campus since 8 am and when you made lunch that day, you didn’t account for the program running until 8pm. The program said that they will provide food but the only thing that is Paleo friendly is the salad without the dressing because they only have ranch. That day I had to get creative and have marinara sauce on top on my lettuce.
I don’t know about my other Paleo peeps but these are the things that I experience. I wish somebody could have given me a heads up about it. Yes I’ve made tremendous gains or should I say losses in the weight loss department but it’s at the cost of other portions of my life being effect.
Something as simple as dinner in a movie with my girlfriend has to be modified. No popcorn, nachos, or pop…
Lately I found out that a 20 oz. bottle of water at the movie theater cost around 7 bucks! 7 bucks are you serious?? Because for $6.50 you can get a large popcorn, a large pop, and a slice of pizza but something as simple as water is 7 bucks.
What sense does that make? What is more economical? This type of stuff makes me want to sneak in food from home. Hey babe put this bag of almonds in your purse before we go to the movies…
There are some exceptions to making changes to everything that I eat when I’m out. One of them was this past weekend. We had a dinner a farm to table restaurant; it was amazing to see that the waitress knew where the grain for the flour to make the rolls came from.
While I sat and look at the menu trying to figure what substitutions I was going to make. It hit me if I can’t eat everything that is on the menu of a farm to table restaurant why spend the money.
With that said I didn’t eat the rolls that were on the table but I did eat the quinoa that came with my grilled calamari and the spaetzle that came with my duck. Finish the night off with ice cream for dessert. Even though the bill was well over $100… What’s the point if I can’t enjoy it 100%, right?
Grilled Calamari
Duck
One thing that being on Paleo taught me so far is if you are going to have something off diet at least let it be high quality. I’m sorry if this wasn’t helpful to anyone thinking about going Paleo… I just needed this post to vent…With that said I’m getting off of my soap box…
As far as my weight is concern I currently weigh …
Well it has been 42 days since I been on the Paleo Diet. It has been a very trying past couple of weeks but I made it through. I feel like every week there is a new challenge which means I have to find creative ways to eat.
Especially when you are out and about with friends or you’re running late to work and you forget to make lunch. One of the biggest challenges is trying to find a tactful way to ask what’s in the food without sounding like an A-hole.
I also notice that on the Paleo Diet is turning me to a less social person. Being that I’m a student, funds are limited so when my friends who are mostly students ask me to go out to eat with them nine times out of ten it’s not at a “farm to table” restaurant… it’s usually pasta, pizza, and happy hour at the bar. Since I don’t have the self-control to turn down food when it’s offered to me, I have to decline the invitation altogether. This leads to me getting fewer invitations to go out with me friends because my diet restrictions.
These are just a few things that none of my Paleo friends told me when I started this challenge. For those of you thinking about going on the Paleo diet this is something to ponder. It’s been rewarding being on Paleo, I started to drop weight like nobody’s business but my social life has changed. It’s something that you have to weigh the options on if you are in a similar situation. With that said let’s start with…
Somebody doesn’t want to be Paleo anymore!!
So my girlfriend doesn’t want to be Paleo anymore… It’s mainly because her philosophy on food is totally opposite than Paleo. When it comes to food for my girlfriend it’s all about the experience and the feeling that she get when she eat food around family and friends… Laughter, Joy, and etc… She feels that the Paleo diet takes laughter and joy from her because it’s mainly focused on eating for nutrition. According to her Paleo is “wack” and she doesn’t like that she has to go through a check list of ingredients before eating something. What really makes this difficult is we live together and I don’t know if there is a happy medium to this issue. I really don’t know what this mean if she does decide to quit… Buying and preparing two separate meals? Yeah that’s illogical. Maybe this means me quitting Paleo also? I don’t know you will have to say tune to see how this play out.
Running Performance
Lately I have felt kind of blah on the running tip but I found my mojo late last week. I am happy to say I finally made it pass the 11 mile mark, it was hardest 14 miles that I ran but I got it down. I think the mild weather and the sweet potatoes that I had the night before might of helped me get there.
My Weight
Lastly my weight is what people is the most curious about. When I started this Paleo Challenge I weighed 286lbs; after 14 days I weighed 281lbs; after 21 days my weight is 277.6lbs; after 28 days I weigh 275.9lbs; and after 42 days I weigh 273.5lbs that’s a total of 12.5lbs lost since being on Paleo.
Well it has been almost a full month since I been on the Paleo Diet. It’s definitely a learning experience as I try to figure out what works for me. I’m going to tell you the truth it’s definitely a process going Paleo, but so far it’s been rewarding. With that said let’s start with…
Somebody is having Paleo pains!!
So my girlfriend’s mother flew the past week to visit. She’s not Paleo and neither my girlfriend (GF) nor I took this into consideration when we found out that she was coming. To be honest I don’t think neither of our families knows that we are on Paleo diet.
So when she landed, she told my GF that she was hungry and to take her the Italian restaurant that we always go to after my races (Joey’s Garlic). So my GF took here and instead of not eating with her mother said made the conscious to break the diet for this occasion. She got the Fettcuni Alla Carbonara; I describe what’s in it in my half marathon recap.
My GF ate less than quarter of the meal, didn’t eat bread or anything and let just say it didn’t sit well with her. According to my GF she felt really heavy, sluggish and just didn’t feel that great until 3-4 days afterwards.
To me I think it’s interesting that her body kind of rejected what she ate after being on Paleo for more than two weeks. It’s like there is a disconnect happening from what her mind likes to eat or what she’s use to eating before Paleo and what her body likes to eat after Paleo. I think this very interesting to note… Has this ever happened to any of you?
Sugar Withdrawals
I am happy to report that I did not have any symptoms of sugar withdrawals… It only took me 4 weeks to get it right!
Meal Planning
It was my week to do the meal planning, so you know it was a production looking for recipes and such online. Here’s what I ate:
I haven’t made it pass that 11 mile mark, but I received a recipe dealing with dates and almond butter that I’m trying out. A made a batch yesterday for my long run and it helped a bit but I didn’t get me past 11 miles. I think I’m going to toy around with the recipe, add a few other ingredients and see if that helps. If you got any suggestions let me know!!
My Weight
Lastly my weight is what people is the most curious about. When I started this Paleo Challenge I weighed 286lbs; after 14 days I weighed 281lbs; after 21 days my weight is 277.6lbs; and after 28 days I weigh 275.9lbs; that’s a total of 10.1lbs lost since being on Paleo. I am very happy with my progress as I’m still trying to figure out what works for me.
That’s all I have for this week… Here’s to 28 days done and 62 days to go.
