New Blog

After taking some time off, I have begun blogging once more. I believe the new blog represents my authentic self. I hope everyone who has been blessed by this blog in the past will come visit me at my new site, Uncaged Canary.

Blessings,

Corrie

January 28th, 2013

As I mentioned earlier, I am trying to go to bed earlier.  Reading The Primal Connection has solidified the importance of this for me so I am trying to cut off my media after dark.  Point being, I am going to try writing these blogs in the early morning for the day before.  Not sure how my memory will hold up, but I guess we’ll see.  Monday is a CrossFit day.  We had the usual lengthy warm up.  400 meter run, spider mans, mixed grip pull ups, burpees and some mobility.  Lifts were Snatch and Back Squat.  Snatch is my least favorite lift.  I’m going light and working on form.  That is pretty much the case for all my lifts right now because I am trying to keep my stress level low.  WOD was 500m row, 12 KB swings and 12 pull ups. 3 Rounds. My time was 11:47 which is fine by me.  I got to take an outdoor walk during Finn’s acrobatics class.  Per the usual these days, I listened to a podcast.  Diane and Liz had Mark Sisson on talking about The Primal Connection. Mark is a big proponent of barefoot walking so I gave it a try and I encountered glass in the grass after about 10 seconds so the shoes went back on pretty quickly.  I’ll have to try it again in my own yard.  Oh, I started using Liz Wolfe’s coconut oil/baking soda deodorant yesterday.  I warned all my peeps at the gym just in case!  After a long day, CrossFit, and an  outdoor walk, there was no stink at the end of the day!  I was super pumped about that.  However, I am still do the No Poo hair washing method and I cannot give that glowing reviews so far.  I am a grease pit today!  Liz says to stick it out for 2 weeks before you make a verdict so I am doing that. Will keep you posted.  Also, I got some godly council about my 3 way situation at Bible study yesterday. Just confirmed that scripture really says that vengeance belongs to God and not to me.  I just need to stand firm in the knowledge that I am doing what He called me to do and he will intercede on my behalf.  That is how I was feeling anyway, but it was nice to have that confirmed.

January 21st, 2013

I slept well last night.  Always a huge blessing.  Monday is a CrossFit day so after I read all my Bible passages and worked on my memory verse (Ephesians 1:15-20) I headed out the door with Finn.  Since it was MLK day I knew there would be extra kids at the gym (which there were) and she had a great time playing.  My philosophy at CrossFit right now is: 3 days a week and not pushing too far beyond what is comfortable.  I really can’t do anything that my body is going to perceive  as stress.  It has meant dropping back and doing my pull ups with a band and doing my handstand push ups off a box instead of the wall, but that’s ok.  I wasn’t sure how it would feel not going all out, but it just feels like I’m being kind to my body.  Treating my body how I would treat someone else.  It actually feels pretty good!   I took another walk in the sun today while listening to a paleo podcast.  It wasn’t nearly as warm as yesterday (42 degrees) but it was still nice and sunny.  I did good with my eating window- starting at 9 and ending at 7.  However, I did get the huge belly bloat again tonight!  This time I think it was pineapple that did it.  Maybe.  Who knows.  All I know is that one minute I am fine and the next I look 6 months pregnant!  It’s crazy!!  The next 21 day sugar detox starts on February 4th so I am going to do that and see if there is any relief from that.

January 20th, 2013

So for the time being, I think I am going to use this blog like a health journal.  Just a place to jot down what did and didn’t go right in all aspects of my health on a daily or at least semi-regular basis.  It’s helpful to be able to go back and have some clues for what is and isn’t  working in my life.  Today was a good day.  I woke up at 7:15 feeling good enough to get my whole crew (and myself) ready for 8:15 church service.  For the past week I have woken up early enough to read my Bible and do my lights before getting out of bed.  Without the use of an alarm clock I might add!  It feels so nice to have already done those two things before I even start my day.  I started a new Bible study group last Monday and we are reading through the chronological Bible in a year. We also have a particular passage each 2 weeks that we are focusing on.  Right now it is Genesis chapter 2-3, the story of Eve.  In addition, we are memorizing 12 fairly lengthy passages over the course of the year.  I mention this here, because I wholeheartedly believe that my spiritual health ties in to my physical health.  They can’t be separated and when this area of my life is full and working, my physical health also reaps benefit.  I have been using the Bible apps on my Kindle Fire and I have to say I LOVE them!  There are all sorts of plans and different versions that keep me on track.

I had a pea protein shake before church.  For lunch I made a spaghetti squash pasta with onions, garlic, sundried tomatoes, red bell pepper, heart of palm, pine nuts and fresh parsley.  I added some tuna for some protein and it was super delicious.  For dinner, I had last nights leftovers- cauliflower fried rice with char sui- a recipe from Well Fed.  Something in this did not agree with me.  I became very bloated after eating.  I am sort of inclined to say it was the egg.  However, I still can’t wrap my mind around why I can have eggs in the morning and it doesn’t happen?!  The bloating is almost exclusively reserved for the evening.  It happens other times when I know I haven’t had eggs, so it can’t be the eggs exclusively.  It seems as if I can’t tolerate much food after about 5:00.  Weird.

I didn’t do any real organized exercise today, but I did go for a 40 minute walk while I listened to the last Everyday Paleo Podcast.  I have become super fond of this podcast and the Balanced Bites podcast.  It was super sunny and about 60 degrees here in Memphis today to it was really enjoyable.  I decided to stay outside for another hour when I got home and read a few chapters of a novel for me and a chapter of a book I am reading to my boys.  Mine is just a cute romance, but I am reading All Quiet on the Western Front to my boys and it is MUCH heavier.  My daughter and I are reading Dr. Dotlittle.

We went to the first meeting of our new Life Group tonight.  (just a group of families from church that get together to fellowship).  I made some paleo chocolate chip cookies.  It’s always interesting bringing paleo things to new groups.  Generally people are super sweet when they know I have genuine allergies and this was the case tonight.   A few people even ate some.  My kids ate several.  These weren’t my best batch.  I modified a recipe from Paleo Indulgences and they weren’t bad, they just weren’t my favorite.  They were very cakey and I like my cookies very doughy.

One other thing I have been considering on the health front is “restricted eating windows.”  Some people call it intermittent fasting, but I prefer the window thing.  I have been trying to really tap into eating when I am hungry and really feeling connected to my body’s cues.  I have heard over and over and over that ” you should eat breakfast within an hour of waking up”, but I am usually not hungry that early.  Right now I generally eat between the hours of 8-7:30, but I would like to get that down to maybe a 8-9 hour window of eating.  I plan on starting slowly because I don’t want my body to perceive it as stress.  I am going to try shifting my eating window from 9-7 for the rest of this month and see how my body responds.  Will keep you posted.

Daily Log

Sleep – On another good streak:)  About 7.5 hours

Exercise – This morning I started doing yoga while listening to a dramatized version of the Bible on my iPhone.  I know that sounds a little strange at first, but let me explain.  My trainer suggested a Bible study in the morning to replace my usual morning workouts (because I am now doing CrossFit).  I do Bible study in the afternoon with my kids, but I admit I have been remiss about spending my own time in The Word.  My mind tends to wander and I can’t seem to stay focused.  My mind feels most focused when I am in motion.  So, since yoga is the only trainer approved home workout right now, I decided to combine the 2 ideas and listen to the Bible while moving through (and sometimes holding) yoga poses.  My plan (which came from a dear friend who writes a blog on processing the word of God- aptly named Processing the Word) is to listen to 5 Psalms a day, 1 Proverb and 1-3 chapters of a Gospel, starting with Matthew.  I then plan to repeat that until I really feel like it is imprinted on my heart and mind.  I’ll keep you updated on how this continues to play out.  I also did a 9am CrossFit class today and a leisurely walk after dinner.

Food–

Breakfast -1 turkey sausage, 1/2 avocado, 1/2 homegrown tomato, 1/2 an orange and 1 almond flour banana nut muffin

Lunch – spinach salad with organic strawberries, 1 tbsp parmesan cheese, 8 pecans 2 tbsp dressing

Snack

Sahale Tuscan Almonds

These were not 100% paleo.  I’m not really either.  I make an attempt, but I would say that I average about 80%  Paleo with my cheats being chocolate, cheese, peanut butter and every now and again rice.  Anyway, I love almonds and I just wanted to try these.  I thought they were great.  I obviously didn’t think to take a picture until my grubby little hands had already ripped them open. Sorry!

Dinner

Paleo Zucchini Bolognese

Once again I forgot to take a picture until I had already devoured half my food. Obviously I love to eat!  There was more zucchini in here in the beginning.  This was a super simple bolognese made with grass-fed beef, onion and garlic.  Then I just added the sautéed zucchini and box of tomato sauce. I really like the boxes of tomatoes instead of the cans.  I try to avoid the BPA lined cans whenever possible (without making myself crazy since it is impossible to avoid all toxic stuff).  I seasoned the sauce with salt, pepper, basil, italian seasoning and garlic salt.  The whole family loved it.

Snack- 1/4 cup of Paleo Krunch