Our Food Environment

When we think about how our far-away ancestors lived, it’s vastly different than how we live in this modern day and age. We are fortunate to have running water, electricity, refrigerators, cars, and iPhones. Many of these conveniences make our lives easier, but can also make us less healthy. Advances in science and innovation have allowed for the engineering of thousands upon thousands of food-like products which are displayed in grocery stores, purchased and consumed by millions. For most of us, in any direction, not too far away, there is a food source. We can drive to Hannaford if we forget ingredients. No need to forage the earth for hours for a few nuts and berries; or hunt for days for one animal that might feed our family. We’re expending much less energy, but consuming much more. In the USA this issue is compounded by the major discrepancies in socioeconomic status and can be much different in rural versus urban versus suburban areas.

People around you

When I started eating paleo, the people I was closest to were not doing the same. I was surrounded by pizza, beer, bread, and other gluten-filled things. I did my best to stick to my plan, but it was hard with peer pressure. When the three other people at your table order a pitcher of beer you say, “f*ck it, I’m having beer.” This is completely normal. It’s hard to fight the tide, so don’t beat yourself up if you feel influenced by your buddies. If you feel like the slip-ups are truly getting in the way of your progress, then it’s time to find new friends. I’m totally kidding, of course. There are a few things you can do. #1 – Explain to your friends that you have some goals that you really want to achieve, so your food choices are going to reflect that. #2 – If you’re going out, eat something before you go out so you’re not hungry and tempted to eat things you don’t want to eat. #3 – Check out menus before your decide on a destination/restaurant. Make sure there are paleo-approved items and options so that you’re not in a tough spot when it’s time to order. If your friends are truly giving you a hard time and they are not willing to support you, then it might be time to hang out with some different, more supportive people for a while. There are instances when others are not supportive of your goals and choices simply because of their own insecurities. 

The willpower myth
I have heard this so many times…”I just wish I had more willpower”. While focus and effort are necessary for staying on track, you can’t fight your body. When first transitioning to a whole-foods diet and eliminating sugar it’s tough to resist cravings. We are naturally drawn to sweet and fatty foods because they are energy-dense. A helpful strategy is to replace processed foods with a whole-food alternative. If you have ice cream after dinner, have some frozen berries with almond or coconut milk over top. If you like chips and dips, try bite sized veggies and guacamole or salsa instead. Another helpful tactic is to plan when you are going to “let loose”. If you know you’re getting together with friends on Saturday night, that’s when you have those cheats. You know that when Saturday night is over, it’s time to get back in the clean-food wagon. 

Sometimes you just need to play dominoes, wear a fedora, and drink whiskey out of a wine glass.

It becomes your new normal, but it takes time
It’s easy to talk about these strategies because these are the things that I have done along the way. I always tell people though, “This is a journey and a process.” Changing behavior is hard. “Normal” is what you are used to, day in and day out. To change those patterns takes time and conscious effort. If you are willing to give it time and forgive yourself for slip-ups along the way, eventually your normal will shift. It will no longer feel right to eat pizza, it might not even taste good anymore. You’ll recognize the foods that you can get away with and the ones that make you feel like crap. You’ll stay away from the ones that give you negative feedback once it happens enough times.

This is what happens when I eat gluten. It’s happened too many time. I no longer eat gluten.

Be Realistic
Since going Paleo back in 2010, I have gone through periods of time when I am super-strict about my eating and then more lenient with the choices I make. I try to eat based on what my body is telling me. I used to stress a lot over “eating this and not eating that” which set me up for a very black/white-good/bad view of food. Those of you who read my blog know that I am NOT a proponent of “Everything in Moderation” and I don’t operate that way, but I have realized that if I am hyper-focused on something, it adds unnecessary stress. We should not be stressed over food, we already have enough going on! Always keep your goals in mind and try to connect the dots between food, emotional feelings, and how you’re physically feeling. 

One thing I really miss now that I am “Paleo For Life” (PFL) is beer. I love beer. I could not care less about bread or pasta, but I love beer. I am thankful that there are ways to make paleo cookies and muffins because they are better (all around taste and nutritionally) than traditional bake goods and they are a good treat here and there. But there is no way to substitute beer. Sad face…well, I guess there are gluten-free beers, but they are just not Harpoon IPA.

Do you know why I don’t drink beer any more? GLUTEN! Gluten is the reason I no longer drink the beaaahhhs. Gluten is the toxic, inflammatory devil protein found in certain grains – wheat, rye, barley, etc. So, yes, anything that contain wheat contains gluten. Check out just about any packaged food at the grocery store and you’ll probably find wheat in the ingredients. It’s hard to escape. Even things you wouldn’t think contain gluten actually do…chicken broth, soy sauce, marinades, seasonings, deli meat, and imitation seafood meat (ewww)…just to name a few.

I grew up eating gluten. I always had eczema. It was a pain in the ass, especially when I became a teenager and I was actually concerned with how I appeared to others. I remember sleeping with an ice pack between my knees to numb the itch on the skin of my inner thighs. Horrible experience. Went to the doctor, got cortisone creams and ointments, took Benadryl, and all that fun stuff. “It’s probably because of the weather”…”Did you change your laundry detergent?”…never once did anyone suggest it could be diet-related.

When I moved to Oregon I was in heaven because there was a microbrewery on just about every corner; walking distance from my apartment. There was also a place with amazing pizza, American Dream, they even used beer in their dough recipe. Double-whammy! I wondered why I broke out in a full body rash, despite the fact that I was drinking beer and eating pizza about three days a week.

When I “went Paleo” in January of 2010 I stopped having regular breakouts of eczema and psoriasis. Now, after completely transforming the way I eat and adapting to “a new normal” I rarely have skin issues. Unless of course I choose to eat the gluten and see what happens. This is what I did about a month ago. I enjoyed an IPA or two and a fairly large hamburger bun and voila…

Day 1. Felt really good to be back on the clean eating wagon. I began to crave sugar late morning so I ate an orange and it was delicious. After a tough workout I ate some ground turkey with apple sauce. I skipped my usual afternoon coffee. For dinner it was meatballs and sauce and then I called it a day for the eating. I was in bed by 8:30. It took me a little while to fall asleep, but once I did I slept like a baby.

Day 2. I didn’t have my regular baked sweet potatoes prepared for my breakfast, so I ate an apple with my two eggs. The apple tasted super sweet so early in the morning. Almost to the point where I didn’t want to eat it. I needed the carbs though. When I came home from the morning at the gym I ate 2 meatballs and some chicken with tomato sauce and a medium sized sweet potato. Yum. I definitely feel myself craving sugar since I am wondering, “What’s next?” My body is looking for a sweet treat. Sorry. Trying to load up on the water. Wanted coffee around 3 o’clock, badly. Didn’t do it. Had some herbal tea instead. Had a headache all night.

Day 3. Got out of bed fairly easily this morning. Had a bigger breakfast then usual (3 eggs, 1/2 sweet potato) since it’s a rest day. I’m finding it helpful to think about what and when I am going to be eating throughout the day. I am anticipating not feeling well later in the afternoon.

The Weekend. I made plans to visit some of my best friends who live down in Connecticut. Typically we all enjoy a few adult beverages when we’re together, especially since we don’t see each other too often. I informed them of my Whole30 endeavors and they were totally cool with it. They are CrossFitters too, so they understand the lifestyle. I was not tempted by the alcohol whatsoever. They food was more of a challenge because we were eating out. For lunch I had a plain burger. Yep, a big ol’ slab of beef atop lettuce, avocado, tomato, and jalepeno peppers. It was actually very delicious. For dinner we went to a tapas reaturant so I had pretty good control over what would go into my mouth. I had lamb chops, brussels sprouts, and butternut squash. To drink I had soda water with raspberry puree and lime.

So now it’s on to Week 2 and I am feeling really good. I hopped out of bed this morning (literally) and made my eggs and sweet potatoes. A funny thing happened…I forgot about my coffee. Normally I would bee-line to the coffee pot and pour my first cup. But today it was an afterthought. I definitely have less craving for caffeine which is nice. Before starting the Whole30 my coffee consumption was getting a little out of control. I’m really looking forward to this week at The Fort. Lots of new members and some great WODs coming up. Hard training, clean eating, lots of sleep and big smiles.

Cheers!

A few weeks ago I asked my Facebook friends to chime in and list topics they’d like me to write about. I got some really great ideas and I plan to cover all of them at some point. One that seemed relevant for this time of year was the concept that “Paleo treats are still treats and should not be consumed every day”. As a Paleo-lifestlye advocate, I remind people of this all the time, especially if they have goals to lose weight/bodyfat. I also know from personal experience that if Paleo goodies are around, I will eat them. For me, it’s better to have them as a once-in-a-while treat than an every day staple. Although there are some people who have the self-discipline to ration their treats over the course of days or weeks, I still do not believe that these things should be included in the daily diet. Here’s why:

1. Even if they do not have any added sugar or sweetener, they simulate items that usually have sugar, like cookies and muffins. They are usually high-carb and high-fat and they can stall body composition changes. Your body reacts in a similar fashion, regardless of whether the treat is Paleo or not.

2. They reinforce behavior that we’re trying to get away from. If you’ve adopted the Paleo lifestyle you know to avoid traditional gluten and sugar-laden baked goods. Creating Paleo goodies is a more nutritious alternative, but it’s really just subbing one treat for another. Better to stay away from any kind of treat if we’re trying to get away from eating them altogether, am I wrong?

3. Paleo treats keep us dependent on sweets and don’t allow us to see what our bodies can do when we eliminate them. This became evident to me during the 9-week Paleo Challenge I recently completed. Before the challenge I was baking some type of muffin or cookie or bread every two or three weeks. I was craving the sugar and feeding the addiction. But I wasn’t eating a ton of this stuff, so I didn’t really think there would be so much change when I eliminated it. During the challenge, when I was forced to alter this behavior, I stopped wanting the treats and I saw unbelievable changes in my body composition. Not only did my body change, but I actually felt better; more energy, better performance in WODs, and felt less foggy in the brain.

Quitting this stuff is a really hard thing to do. It takes a few days or weeks to rid yourself of the cravings for these kinds of treats, especially if you’re a sweet-tooth kind of person (like me). I am always jealous of people who don’t really care about sweets. Since Thanksgiving I have eaten my fair share of Paleo goodies and I am paying for it. I’ve been having cravings for sugar, I don’t feel as clear-minded, and my belly has not been happy. I’m working on telling myself “no” when I consider making Paleo goodies. For the most part it works. I also avoid wanting to eat these things by filling up on meat and vegetables. Eating a lot of protein keeps me really full and carbs tend to satisfy the need for treats, particularly dense carbs like sweet potatoes, squash, or yucca. Another strategy is to drink a lot of water throughout the day which keeps your hydrated and full and can help dissipate cravings.

There are thousands of recipes floating around out there for Paleo goodies. Anything can be Paleo-fied. Don’t let these recipes and blogs trick you into thinking that this stuff is good for you. Avoid looking at it all together if you have to. It’s easy to fall prey to the mouth-watering photos and descriptions of melt-in-your-mouth brownies and chewy gooey cookies. Those cookies are good for making you gooey, that’s for sure.

Believe me, I am a realist. I am fully supportive of enjoying your favorite indulgences a few times a year – not every day, not every week. My prescription for treat-eating is once a month maximum! Less than that if you have weight/fat-loss goals. Save them for special occasions, like the Holiday Party at The Fort :-). For now, for me, the answer is NO when it comes to eating Paleo treats. When Christmas arrives I will choose wisely…

Please post comments here or on Facebook. I’m looking forward to hearing some more strategies about how to avoid eating too many treats.