Thursday, October 6, 2011

Tired, sluggish, unmotivated?

Anyone else feel this way? I can tell you why, at least, I can explain why I feel this way today, white rice and deep fried chicken. Yep. Bob's birthday dinner of Crispy Orange Chicken over jasmine rice. Don't get me wrong, it is a fabulous recipe. Better than any Chinese restaurant can make although it is not the healthiest of meals. But it was a special occasion and we were allowing ourselves a treat. Bob and I have been eating pretty clean for about a year now. That means staying away from the whites and starches which include flour, bread, grains and rice. We've obviously cut out greasy, fried and heavily buttered foods, cream sauces, added sugars and anything processed. Most dinners are grilled meat or fish and veggies. Now, lets get one thing straight, I will and still do eat an english muffin with almond butter for breakfast once a week. I will eat pizza and the occasional left over french fries (from the kids meals) and a plate full of spaghetti and meatballs. I'm not saying I went crazy in the past year, I've just finally found my happy medium.

As you may have read in my past few days posts, I've been feeling great. I've been having good workouts and even went 4 days without a rest day. That is attributed to the fact that I have been eating well balanced clean meals and good healthy snacks. Last night I had chicken deep fried in peanut oil, covered with an orange, soy, ginger based sauce. Not too bad right, well, the sauce had a half cup of brown sugar in it too. There goes my no added sugar rule. All that was served over white Jasmine rice. Another rule broken. The moment I finished eating I felt like I was going to pass out or explode. And I felt uncomfortable all night. This morning I feel tired, slow, lazy and have no motivation to get anything done. Why? Because my body isn't used to processing all the starch and fat and excess sugar. I can't explain the specifics between glucose levels, sugar conversion and energy levels but I can certainly feel it today. Lesson learned. Stay away from bad stuff and you will feel good. Simple right?

Now to the desert. My saving grace to the calorie laden dinner. Apple crisp. http://www.primal-palate.com/2010/09/nellies-apple-crisp.html Granny apples covered in cinnamon, flax seed meal, maple syrup, coconut flour and walnuts. Oh with coconut milk ice cream on the side. It was delicious and pretty much guilt free. Why didn't I go all out and just make apple pie and serve it with full fat vanilla ice cream? Because I would physically not be able to get out of bed this morning.

We need to get smart about what we put in our bodies. Track what you eat and how you feel, even for a few days and you will notice a difference.

No WOD for me today. Taking a rest day since lack of motivation and energy would only get me hurt. I do have tons of yard work to do so its not like I actually get to rest.

Health Tip: Cut out one evil food for a week. Sugars (no artificial sweetners either), dairy (eggs are ok), bread and for the love of god, ANYTHING processed.

RIP Steve Jobs. Terrible loss for anyone who has ever touched an Apple product.



3 comments:

  1. OMG! Apple Crisp is my most favoritest thing on the planet! Thank you for posting this recipe b/c I am definitely making it!

    PS - I ate a soft pretzel this morning (stupid sales reps bringing in shit...) and I feel horrid.
    My greek yogurt was going to be my extra carb "treat" today & now I don't even want to look at food.

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  2. My tweak to the recipe would be to cut back the flour to 1 cup (too much dry crumble) and add a tad more maple syrup or honey. I think it could have been sweeter. Also I used 6 apples and cooked it 50 minutes, don't cook it that long or the apples will be complete mush... unless you like them that way.

    Sometimes I need extra carbs, and once your cf reps/weight goes up, you'll need more calories too, I just try not to eat breads if I can avoid it. I also think my increase intake of grains in general affects my seasonal allergies... I may be crazy but I've not had any issues so far this year.

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  3. Let me rephrase... the more grains I eat the worse my allergies are. So far this fall I've been allergy free since I've been cutting back on my breads and crackers.

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