A year and a half

You put WHAT in your coffee?

Butter.

I put butter in my coffee.
To clarify, I put high-quality, unsalted butter in my coffee (I like Kerrygold). And I don’t just plop it in the coffee, either– which would be weird, oily, and gross. I blend it with a proper blending tool (in my case, I use a Magic Bullet. Not a silver bullet which is an entirely different device…) for 10-20 seconds, until foamy. I’ve been doing this for nearly a year. I have only shrunk in size, by the way. I have more energy, can go longer without feeling hungry, and I don’t get the jitters. It’s also great as a pick-me-up before my AM workouts.

This butter coffee is known as Bulletproof Coffee and it will rock your world. Don’t knock it til you try it!

The other benefits aside, it tastes FREAKING AWESOME. I often put in a teaspoon of coconut oil (instead of the MCT oil that the Bulletproof Exec recommends), a drop of vanilla, and cinnamon. Sometimes I mix it up and put in a square of Lindt’s 99% Cocoa.

By the way, Lindt’s 99% Cocoa is pretty incredible. It’s surprisingly not bitter. It’s rich and creamy and all the things good chocolate should be. Who knew that chocolate that is more than 90% dark doesn’t have to taste like baking chocolate? It’s a revelation!

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Also, I’m now about 12 weeks into CrossFit and loving the shit out of it. I even have baby triceps!

Yesterday I attempted (a modified version of) “Fran”. Fran is the most well-known CrossFit work-out. It’s 21-15-9 thrusters and pullups. The elite athletes do it in, like,  2 minutes. It’s INSANE. I don’t know how they do it. It took me 3:40 just to do the first set of thrusters and I only had 55# on the bar. I also had to modify the pullups and use a green band. It took me 11:21. Ain’t no shame in my game– Fran is HARD!

Serious business. Also, GET THOSE ELBOWS UP!

This is what I’m eating…

I just want to say that I made an awesome lunch:

-Grass-fed ground beef (cooked in a dab of avocado oil) w/ purple cabbage, onions, a bit chopped garlic.

-Baked sweet potato w/ a little ghee & a dash of cinnamon.

-hardboiled egg

-a few raspberries in coconut milk.

That sounds like an awful lot of food.
Especially given that I had some of that ground beef/cabbage combo for breakfast with 2 pcs of bacon & 2 eggs.

Whatever. It was awesome.

… Right?

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Also, I ran the Dexter-Ann Arbor Run (10k) on Sunday w/ B’s sister. It was so fun & I even PR’d it.

Am thinking about doing CrossFit again but since my Yoga payment is likely going to send me into the red this week, I probably ought to see if I can come up w/ a budget for myself first. I’m such a fucktard with money. OR, I live firmly in the present. Throwing caution to the wind.

… or probably just the first thing, a fucktard when it comes to money.

Whoopsie Crumbs: Blog Update FAIL

Oh, heeeeeeeey, blog reader…

Sorry about the long absence. I got bored of blogging about my Paleo Challenge… also, I wasn’t being a great example of the Paleo Lifestyle– far too many cheats for my taste. I’m still somewhere in the 70-80% range, but was going to start feeling like a total asshole if I had to keep blogging every single thing I put into my mouth (…that’s what she said). Oh. And I’m lazy.

On a related note, got some folks on the paleo wagon & they’re far better at it than I am. They actually read the books I recommended on the topic, whereas I… merely own the books & plan to read them in entirety… one day.

I spent a third of my entire paycheck at Whole Foods & Trader Joe’s yesterday. I’m pretty sure that my checking account will be marginally in the red when my Amex automatic bill pay clears today or tomorrow, but at least I’ll have taken measures to assure food is in the fridge.

Too bad I also discovered a dress I really want from ModCloth.com. Quel dommage!

Still loving yoga, starting to hit up the gym regularly… still avoiding running like the plague. I think I psyched myself out. I’m going to have to get over that soon– I have races & events looming in the not-so-distant future.

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Reading Katherine Dunn’s Geek Love for book club and am really enjoying it.

Finished Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card and it was awesome.

Thanks to B, I’m now also obsessed with the tv series Angel— which I started watching in the middle of season 3, apropos of nothing… Am pretty sure David Boreanaz plays only one character ever. He’s lucky he’s good at it. I realize Agent Booth is Angel. Same person.

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By the way, I’m still awesome at breakfast scrambles– it tends to be my most paleo meal of the day. Today, for example, I made a big ol’ paleo breakfast: 2 pieces of bacon, 2-egg scramble w/ garlic, chopped shallots, scallions, spinach & mushrooms (all cooked in the bacon grease). A few raspberries & blueberries in a bit of coconut milk on the side. YUM! So freaking good.

Paleo Challenge, #14 & #15

Day #14

Honestly? I don’t feel like updating this right now.

I did fairly well, eating-wise (except for the piece of cake I had at a wedding shower).

Went rollerskating with B & Rob on Sunday. The regulars at the roller rink should be characters in  a Christopher Guest movie.

Day #15

Had a pretty standard paleo day (beginning with one of my excellent scrambles with lots of veggies & some bacon)– except for the cup of tomato basil soup I had with lunch. Am still angsty over it. It definitely had cream in it & I’m not sure what else might have been in it.

I had vinegar & oil dressing with my Traverse City (w/ grilled chicken salad). I’m beginning to prefer vinegar & oil to any other dressing. One day maybe I’ll even progress to lemon juice.

Dinner was an entire bag of buffalo jerky (whoops) (apparently there’s 3.5 servings in 1 bag. LIES!), some raw cashews, &  1/2 of a pear. After yoga I tried some of my roommates beef stew– so good. All paleo, as far as I know.

So, portion-control is still a major issue. Am working on it.

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In other news, been slacking on the running. Just not motivated when it’s this cold & wet. Yuck.

Went to moonlight yoga on Monday (Day #15) & signed up for 60 days unlimited at Serendipity Yoga. Also shopped around for a gym & think I found one I really like. It’s month-to-month & there’s no BS contract that makes it near-impossible to leave. Customer reviews were good. It’ll be my next paycheck’s main purchase. Woohoo!

Paleo Challenge, Day #12 & Day #13

DAY #12

Breakfast: 2-egg scrambled, chopped shallots, mushrooms, peppers, 2 pieces of bacon. 1/2 pear (w/squeeze of lemon)

Everything Scramble.

on side.

Lunch: some raspberries, celery with raw almond butter, a small bag of  Omega-3 trail mix.

By the time I got home from work I was starving, so I ate a bunch of macadamia nuts, more trail mix  & a piece of smoked salmon.

Dinner: went to California Pizza Kitchen. I got the CPK Cobb Salad with full-on blue cheese dressing. They had an option to put beets on the salad. I like beets. Also had a mojito. I totally cheated, though, & split the CPK version of lava cake with B. It was delicious. I didn’t feel guilty.

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Tried to watch “Mr. & Mrs Smith” with B, but as usual– snoring & drooling less than 30 minutes in.

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Day #13

We can just rule this day out for the Paleo Challenge. I had a pretzel dog (that’s what happens when you let yourself get too damn hungry & are wearing high-heeled boots in a mall) & a Godiva chocolixir. And a piece of Olga bread. Not all at once, but all in the same day. Can you say FAILEO?

The Devil

I did have some nutrition, however: a small grilled chicken salad for lunch & nuts & part of an apple & I managed to cook a duck filet by myself for dinner (I had an egg scrambled with chopped shallots, mushrooms & spinach as well). The duck filet was a big victory. I EATED A LOT OF FOODS!

I suppose the Paleo Challenge is a journey. Today was terrible for eating. The Godiva cocoa made me feel kinda yucky after, so won’t make that mistake too often.

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I haven’t gone for a run in DAYS & I can’t even go to yoga tomorrow (B’s sister’s shower)– but there are classes I plan on attending Mon, Tues, & Weds.

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Life is good… busy… which is good. For me.

I am happy. I am happy for… loopholes. 😉

Paleo Challenge, Day #11

Breakfast: Breakfast consisted of a spoonful of raw almond butter, some macadamia nuts, & a piece of smoked salmon.

Lunch: turkey jerky, mini-bag of Omega-3 trail mix (Trader Joe’s), celery with raw almond butter & a few raspberries.

Dinner: 3 pieces of chicken from YaYa’s (flame-broiled, I guess?) (not quite 1/2 of a chicken), some mashed potatoes, some macadamia nuts, a few more raspberries & 1/2 of a pear. WTF? Today must be random food-eating day…

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Today I started working at 7:30am & worked straight through until 5. I know that’s not that crazy or anything, but in our business– it kind of is crazy. So, I’m a little stressed out because there’s much more that needs to get done. Needs vs. Wants. ARGH!

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In pjs at 7pm, drinking Hot Cinnamon Sunset tea and catching up on episodes of Lie To Me. Caught up on Castle last night. Don’t be jealous of my exciting social life.

Paleo Challenge, Day #10

Got 3 new tires & front-wheel alignment– it’s feels like a whole new car!

(… except for all the dings, scrapes, giant crack on front bumper from a piece of truck tire that flew into my car on freeway, and– of course– the duct-taped-on mirror.)

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Breakfast: 1/3 hot cocoa from gas station. Bad planning, no homemade snacks= starving Molly. FAIL.

Lunch: chicken shawarma salad from Bucharest Grill.

(after work) Snack: some macadamia nuts & turkey jerky.

Dinner: Omega 3 trail mix bag (Trader Joe’s), some more turkey jerky, a few pieces of grilled asparagus, 1 salmon pattie & a few fresh raspberries. Hello, random.

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Exercise: 1 hour Moonlight Flow yoga class at Serendipity Yoga. Loved it! Slow & “easy”– but I really felt it all. Great instruction, too.

Paleo Challenge, Day #9

Breakfast: 2.5 pieces of bacon, 2 eggs scrambled in bacon grease and a few brussel sprouts.

Lunch: my usual Traverse City Salad from Rub BBQ with grilled chicken. Amazingly, I thought to get dressing on the side. I used very little. Why wasn’t I doing that all along?

Dinner: B & I went to The Emory in Ferndale for dinner. I got a flat tire on long, ridiculous, snowy commute home from work. I managed to pull into a White Castle parking lot just north of 8 Mile on Woodward. After AAA came, I was starving. It had been more than 8 hours since I last ate. I ordered the pot roast  (w/ au jus) sandwich sans bread. I also had a little faileo (not fellatio!) action going on– I ate 2 onion rings and all the fries that came on my plate. Whoopsie crumbs.

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Too tired to have much else to say.

Tomorrow will be more exciting, I swear!

Paleo Challenge, Day #6

Weigh-in: holding steady at 171.4, but I feel leaner…

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Am drinking some (loose) Maharaja Chai (Oolong) tea from Teavana that Audrey (my roommate) gave me for Christmas. It tastes like perfume. I put a teaspoon of raw honey in it, but didn’t make it taste less like perfume.

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Breakfast/Lunch: wasn’t hungry until well after noon… & then I was ravenous. Ate on the fly at some dive diner on 14 Mile/I-75. 2 eggs, some hashbrowns &, like, 4 pieces of bacon.

Dinner: B made reservations at Vicente’s (Cuban restaurant) downtown. We had tapas (one thing was a big deep-fried mashed-potato meat ball… I did not partake) & delicious paella. I drank two glasses of sangria– one red, one white. So good. Not my best paleo-styled meal– as I ate some rice & had a bit of B’s chocolate dessert. Not a lot of either, but taken with the sangrias & the potatoes for breakfast… eh.  Today was a little faileo.

Paella

We saw Brian Regan (who is hilarious) at The Fillmore where I had a shot of tequila and some jack & coke… so… yeah. I already have a headache. And my stomach hurts.

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Tomorrow I am trying out a Hatha Flow Yoga class at Serendipity Yoga with my homeslice, Amber.