Sweat Is My Lifeblood

I think people look at me and find my concern with sleep neurotic. Research the terms sleep deprivation, weight loss, stress, and/or athletic performance. You'll find many hits ranging from academic writings to mainstream media articles on the subject.

I was planning on listing several references and then talking about each one. After selecting a mere 20 articles, I decided that wasn't the smartest thing to do. So go do the research yourself. You'll find plenty references to how sleep deprivation hinders weight loss, athletic performance, and general health through jacking up hormonal responses and metabolism. I automatically think of unhealthy levels of cortisol, but this wasn't the only hormone that was brought up in my research. If I could spell out, IL-6 and the others, I would...ok, I wouldn't, I'm lazy. Hormones drive many functions in your body. If you screw up your hormone levels, you affect those functions.

A friend was recently wondering why her runni…

Paleo deliciousness. There was a recipe posted on the Robb Wolff website for Paleo Biscuits and Gravy. I've had a problem with a few Paleo style recipes being weak on the seasonings. If you compare my gravy coloring to the one from the Robb Wolf website, you'll notice mine is very red. That would be the tons of chipotle powder I added. It ended up being spicy enough. I halved the recipe because I only needed enough for my husband and me. It came out fantastic. I did add some fat in the form of oil when adding the arrowroot because the meat didn't drain much fat. I used the So Delicious Unsweetened Coconut Milk. There was no taste of coconut in the gravy. For the biscuits, I used crossed the biscuit recipe from Elana's Pantry and the one on the Robb Wolf website. I'm not a fan of using just the whites of egg. I buy them whole, so I use them whole. This was super easy to make, super easy to clean up, and delicious to eat. If you have some time, try it!

Things I've heard recently begin with the words "I wish I were like..." Really? If you're constantly wishing to be something or someone you are not, you need to be more selfish. There is an assumption that no good can come from being selfish. There's a good side to it though. If you have no idea who you are, if you answer questions about yourself with "umm, I don't know," then you can probably do with some time to ponder all that is you.

I've seen visual train wrecks haunting the isles of Wal-Mart. Not the prettiest picture, but sometimes I can't help but smile. Here is a lady decked out in the most outrageous outfit...happy with herself and not giving a damn about what anyone else thought. I loved that! Her life is not about me, so why care what I think? On the other hand, I've seen people absolutely clueless on what makes them happy. They have no idea what they want out of life, a relationship, or a job. Hearing nothing but "I wis…

Yesterday I was thinking about all the things I'd like to do and how little time I have to do them. I got worried that I would not be able to do all these things because I either lacked time, money, ability, etc...but then I cracked down on myself. That type of thinking doesn't get me anywhere or get me anything. Srsly.

Last weekend I read The Biology of Belief by Bruce Lipton, PhD (2005). It gets a little quacky at the end, but it's still a good read. Some parts, I'll have to re-read to make sure I'm tracking with the author. The book breaks ties with simplistic biological concepts. There's a discussion on epigenetics, how environment affects DNA expression, and another discussion on quantum mechanics as applied to the field of biology. Both are put in terms that I understand. The last part goes over the power of negative and positive thoughts. I equate it to the biological equivalent of self fulfilling prophecy.

I know, it sounds corny. Get over it. I don'…

It is week two for my Feel Better, Look Better program my health insurance recommended for me. Soooo. After reading my previous day's blog, this week's recommendations are somewhat angering.

First, they recommended a balanced diet according to the Food Pyramid. They told me to get about 55% of my calories from carbohydrates, avoid saturated fats, limit fat intake to under 30% of my calories, and to write a food journal. The recommendation for vegetables as a source of protein was just laughable. I know vegans have to look to vegetable sources for protein, but I'm not one of them. I'm do not avoid saturated fats. So meat is an efficient way for me to get fat and protein. For carb intake, the plan recommended fruit juice. FRUIT JUICE?!

The goods of week two - food journal and an emphasis on variety. I'll give this program credit in these areas. The journal was a nice template that would help the beginner. I prefer a spiral bound journal with blank pages. It was nice…

It would be great if it were so simple. People find ways to make it work though. I used to subscribe to the belief that in order to be healthy and lose weight my calories consumed had to be less than my energy expended. At one point, I wanted to drop below 130lb. I'm 5'4 on a good day, so this wasn't an unreasonable weight goal. I'd get up early in the morning and do an hour on the elliptical and 30-45 minutes on the treadmill. Either in the same session or later at night,  I'd do some weights. I'd take one real rest day and one "semi" rest day where I'd leave out something. I'd eat small toast for breakfast, a Subway sandwich for lunch, and some rice n' adobo for dinner. I kept my intake well below 1500 calories. Oh, and I eventually had to take heavy meds because double doses of Ambien and Lunesta couldn't help me sleep. When the lack of sleep got to me, I'd pass out...while driving. Nausea was constant. I overloaded on energy dr…

Earlier in the week, I was reading up on the newly minted Miss Colorado. I did some research and found this article. She discusses how her diet and exercise help her maintain her great shape.

It is absolutely lovely advice if you love her shape and who wouldn't, she's a pageant winner. Count me in that group. She's svelte, she's got skinny arms, and she spends 45 minutes on an elliptical. She partakes in carbs and doesn't believe in cutting them out. That's cool.

Miss America competitions are not for everyone though. After helping a student of mine with her prepare her speech for a pageant competition, I realized that I could never be in a pageant. Give credit to those girls. They work hard to look a particular way.

The Crossfit Games and any Crossfit type of competition is the pageant of "our kind." Some of us eat Paleo, some of us Zone. We take our diets seriously. We don't succumb to mainstream promotion of any way to eat. Whether we're a m…

You eat health and you get a fair amount of exercise during the week. Sometimes, you take long walks and sometimes you play a pick-up game of ultimate frisbee with friends. Despite all your efforts of dieting and exercising, you still haven't meet your goals of performance, health, fitness, etc. You're doing everything you should, so what is the problem? If mediocre is all you want or good enough seems just fine to you, then you give up. Really, there's so much more the health and wellness than diet and exercise. There are plenty things that can thwart your efforts.

Number one on my list is sleep. Some people, like Robb Wolf, rank sleep above all else. Apparently, we humans need a lot of it.You ever feel like you do the exercises you need and eat as clean as possible, but you still are not happy with your performance? Check your sleep. There's a good chance that both quality and quantity are suffering. I try getting more sleep before opting to take a performance enhan…

Last week, I had to take my health insurance's health assessment. Yes, I had to because if I didn't I would get another $15 taken from my paychecks until I did. Despite my relatively high score, I was told I could make immediate improvements on my weight and activity level. I was also offered a chance to sign up for some free coaching programs with the suggested program called Feel Better, Look Better topping the list.

This week, I got my first email from the program. The topic of the week - setting goals. Really? They obviously don't read my blog. So, after being told by the assessment program that I had areas needing improvement, I was prompted to set my own goals. Problem? Yes. If I need to set my own goals, I must recognize a need to do so in the first place. When a program tells me I have to set my goals, I feel it should set them for me. I obviously don't see a problem with my weight or activity level, I feel no need to set a goal. The team that developed the ass…

I like to read "stuff." For Christmas, my dad bought me several books. The two I finished most recently were The Essential Guide to RF and Wireless by Carl J Wesiman and Better Than Good: Creating a Life You Can't Wait to Live by Zig Ziglar. Neither book ended up on my all time favorites list.

I doubt you're reading my blog because you are into wireless technology. I do have a job and it does not include blogging. It includes a lot of involvement with wireless technologies. Honestly, I also have an interest in things other than fitness and health, RF technology being one of them. I find it nice to have hobbies and interests that do not include the gym. I am an advocate of making oneself multidimensional by having hobbies and interests that do not include the gym. So, to give myself some depth, I got caught up on wireless fundamentals. Quick book review - if you've worked in the aerospace industry (aside from SATCOM), this book will be nothing more than a referenc…

I complain about a lot of things, including workouts. Consider it an acknowledgment that a workout sucks, but I will finish it. My goal isn't to bring someone's mood down. My goal is to let that person know, I understand the suck of the moment too. There are also times I am working out a problem, one piece at a time. While the entire movement isn't great, maybe the first part is. It's all my mind can handle. I acknowledge the problem I'm having, but I'm still trying to make progress on it. My goal is not to say "look at me, look at me," but to remind myself that progress can be slow and I will get there if I keep trying.

There are also those that know what their problems are and don't fix it. They continue to complain about it. Take an inflexible person. He/she knows that the limited range of motion is going to make movements difficult, but this person refuses to work on flexibility. They don't stretch out after a workout nor do they warm up b…

Pets can teach us a thing or two. This is my spoiled rotten kitten. She's not of kitten age any more, but she might as well be. That green ball is a lacrosse ball. It's a pretty dense ball, heavier than a tennis ball. My cat doesn't weight much, definitely under 10 lbs. She's got typical cat paws, nothing like hands. Yet, she managed to take that ball from the living room to our bedroom...up the stairs. WTF?

One time, I caught her playing with a house slipper of mine. It was about the same length as her. She carried it up the stairs in her mouth.Crazy!

So what's the lesson? Aside from unconditional love, this pretty kitty has unconditional heart. I've seen plenty of people with "heart." Kenny Florian has a lot of heart. And I've seen people "heart" their way to a prelim tournament. You better have something to back up all that heart to get farther. You either have heart because you have talent or you use your heart to develop more skills…

I've been eating as close to Paleo as I can for "awhile." People now know that I do not eat or try not to eat certain foods. Around the holidays, I hear a lot about offending people by not eating the food they give you. I get that. Whatever your reason, it can be hard for others to understand that something they created isn't good enough for you to eat. Trying to explain that can be pretty hard, especially if they are non-believers. I tried to be partially accommodating this year as proof that I'm not as selfish as the naysayers would believe. It isn't always about me and here is my attempt to show you that...

From now on, you can fuck off...

I received some candy the other day. I have had sweet indulgences before, but they were usually homemade, had little processed foods, and fewer preservatives to extend their shelf life. My tummy was not prepared for what would happen next. A few bites of chocolate (which I typically love) and up came a not equally tastin…

Today was supposed to be the first day on CF Football programming. I'm not going to lie, I was pretty pumped. We got out there, warmed up on a chilly morning, got done with the strength portion of the workout. As I'm getting ready to start the METCON, I find out it is time to leave. WTF? Really?

I'm disappointed. Nothing in the workout was confusing or should have taken a long time. When I see the workout left incomplete, I'm slightly worried that we're not being efficient with time. I could either wallow in remorse or make sure it doesn't happen again. I'm not big on regret, so guess what...time to get in gear. First thing - less talking. A few words exchanged every so often can add up to 10 minutes. We could have done the workout with that time. The other thing is a faster warm up. Warm ups are no joke. I'm not a spring chicken and it's pretty cold outside (and inside), so a good warm up is crucial to for maximizing output during a workout and inj…