Food - It Makes a Difference

I have been doing some work with 3 and 4 years olds in the area lately.  Lunch time is always an experience!  Notably what is packed by the parents of these children in their lunch boxes.  I am always amazed.

This picture was no exception.  This child had in the lunchbox a container of cartoon shaped mac and cheese, two ziploc bags of Fruity Pebbles, a ziploc bag of Goldfish Crackers, a Little Debbie brownie and a bottle of water.  I was so shocked, I had to get a picture of this.  Sorry the picture is so small but I did not want any of the kids faces in the picture so I had to crop it down quite a bit and all I really wanted to show was the food.  There were lots of Lunchables, the pre-made frozen PB&J sandwiches (really, you CHOOSE to not take 2 minutes to make a PB&J???), if it came in a single serving pack from the store it was there.  One child had a nutritious home made lunch each day.  There was meat, veggies, a small amount of fruit and sometimes a small dessert.  That was so nice to see!

I am not the least bit skeptical of the idea that what we eat greatly influences our brains and behavior.  When our bodies are given a diet of sugar, artificial coloring, flavoring, carbohydreates, hydrogentated oils, heavily processed items and other various chemicals we are unable to function properly.  Our bodies are designed to run on protein, fat and a few carbohydrates.  Without proper nutrition, it does not matter how much time and effort you put in to your workouts.  You simply cannot out exercise a poor diet.  Diet meaning nutrition and fuel for your body.

Like I have said before, I struggle with staying on a strict paleo diet.  This past week I have been having trouble sleeping, getting up on time, having productive WOD's I am proud of, staying fully on track with fueling my body properly and having a positive attitude about many many things.  So - I took a long hard honest look at my nutrition.  You know what?  It was horrible!  I don't like that I let myself over indulge.  It affects me on so many levels.  But - it was all my choosing.  I could have chosen differently in every situation.  I cannot blame being extra busy.  I cannot blame anyone or anything other than myself.  And, I know that I can and I will do better.  I have had so many headaches and migraines over the past month it has been a real struggle.  When I am tired, in pain, not at my best it makes it more difficult for me to take the time to cook and eat right.  But when I don't everything gets worse.  I have not been able to pinpoint my migraine triggers, but I know it must be food related.  I will figure this out.

I am a work in progress.  No doubt about it.  I try to be as transparent as I can so my athletes know that if they veer off their path, they are not a lost cause.  It can be very difficult to truly change your lifestyle.  It also can take a great deal of time to fully make the switch.  This change can be even more difficult if you live in a house where you are the lone paleo person.  When family is not fully supportive of the changes you want and need to make for your own health and there are still grain products (typically one of the biggest stumbling blocks for people) in the pantry.

There will forever be excuses as to why you didn't do this, that or the other.  Rise above.  Do what is right even when you are busy, tired, pissed off, happy, sad, whatever.  It will be worth the extra time!

BTW- I think this is one of my most disorganized, no real topic posts EVER!