Back to Group CrossFit this Evening. Wow. That competing thing is REALLY fun!

Posted on May 20, 2013 by David Curry

I started my day with my usual Protein Shake. (Recipe on the front page of this blog…….you should try it!) And, I partnered that up with a bunch of Organic Berries from Door-to-Door Organics. I probably had 2 or 3 cups of berries….blue berries, raspberries, and strawberries. (I ate them all the way on the drive to Charly Kate’s school…and, on the way back. If you are eating “enough” berries to provide the antioxidative benefit that they promise, it should take you a while to get them all down the chute.) When I got home, I grabbed myself a glass of my Unsweetened Organic Black Iced Tea to take up to my office to wash the whole morning’s fare right on down to my belly. And, I must admit, I felt pretty good as I started my workday.

I knew I had a doc appointment at 12:45. So, I decided to skip my normal mid-morning snack since I was going to be eating early lunch. I argued with myself about where I should go for that nutritional opportunity. But, ultimately, the big daddy pork chop at Grand Street Cafe won the most of my taste buds’ votes. And, around 11:30 am, I found myself there…seated at the bar/counter waiting for my pork chop to arrive. Thank Go0dness, the gal that was handling the bar today mentioned the Mushroom “Special” sandwich prior to me placing my order. (No. I had no intention to eat a Mushroom and Bread Sandwich and spike my blood insulin/glucose levels through the roof.) But, for the first time in my memory, that prompted me to ask her to give me some mushrooms in my veggie Saute that I was having with my pork chop. Wow. You can bet you will be seeing those on a lot of future David Lunch pictures. Loved it. And, for the 2 millionth time, I couldn’t help but wonder if the Average American Eater REALLY would have preferred the Polenta that was supposed to come with the Pork Chop over the Olive Oil and Butter Sauteed Zucchini, Squash, and Mushrooms that I actually ate. I truly would bet the pink slip to my car that 8 out of 10 people would choose what I had if you put the two dishes in front of them. The sad truth is…….they just don’t know any better.

I headed for the Doc….who, of course, told me that all my bloodwork lab markers were crazy good. (That is what happens when you Just Eat What I Eat and Just Exercise Like I Exercise.) And, afterwards, I headed on home and back to work. And, as you can imagine, I started hankering for a bit more nourishment sometime around the 3:30 pm portion of my day. Since I was running behind on my normal daily caloric load….and, since I knew that I was going to go to the group CrossFit session at 5:30….and, since I had already seen what exercises comprised that CrossFit session (think brutal)…..I knew I needed a pretty good caloric 3:30 bump. So, the whole Apple Slices and Almond Butter (about 300 calories at best) was not going to do the trick. Instead, I opted for my old trusty friend, Mr. Protein Shake….and, the nearly 700 calories that are found within the Shaker Cup that holds it! Perfect. Two hours from now, I will be ready to “kill it” at CrossFit.

Well. Kill it is what I actually did at CrossFit. One of the better CrossFitters happened to also be at that session. And, I always stretch super hard….all the way up to my “near death” level….when I am competing against him. (I cannot win in such endeavors. But, it really does push me to my absolute outer limit despite knowing that fact.) Doing the near death thing is not a good idea for every day exercise. Probably once per week is well more than enough to take yourself that deep into your possible levels of effort. But, when you do….and, when it goes well, you will feel really good for the rest of the day…..if not the rest of the week. And, that is how I am feeling right now almost 3 hours after the termination of the session……not to mention the fact that all the short duration, high burst of your upper possible energy level stuff has a tendency to induce your pituitary gland into thinking that tonight would be a real good night to produce more Growth Hormone than normal…and, also, that short duration, high intensity stuff has a tendency to make your internal thermostat keep burning a little hot for a much longer period of time AFTER you finish exercising than any other type of activity. Do you like the idea of burning fat for 4 or 5 hours of time (during which you were sitting on your bum AFTER you finished exercising?) I can tell you that I, for one, certainly do! Just Exercise Like I do! Make it happen.
Well, when I got home, I was not dying to eat…and, that means, I was probably going to miss a very good Glycogenic Window opportunity after that massive effort at the CrossFit session. I decided not to get too bent around the axle about it……cuz a shower and a little relaxation sounded a lot better than a big dosing of food. And, also, my lovely wife was sitting on the side patio having a chat with a couple of the across the street neighbor gals. So, I would guess that I didn’t actually start eating my perfect evening’s meal until about an hour after I finished exercising…..basically totally missing my Glycogenic Window opportunity! Not too smart. But, I doubt the world will stop turning over my failure. And, in truth, I was more in the mood for a leisurely approach to dinner….and, sometimes, a bit of leisure (and the stress detox that that little bit of leisure affords you) is worth the loss of a Glycogenic Window’s benefits. What were we having this evening? Well, it does my heart good to tell you that Angie has given up the boycott of all shrimp. (Thank God!) Evidently, she went to Whole Foods today….the only place in the world (evidently) that sells Shrimp that is safe for our family to eat. And, she had about two hundred pounds of it just waiting to throw in the Saute pan…..once she got darn good and ready to do it. But, wait. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Prior to all of that, I poured myself the last of the 06 EarthQuake Petite Syrah that we had opened Friday Night. (You read that right. I have a vacuum system that my wonderful mother purchased for her eldest son about 5 years ago that allows you to keep wine in good shape for about 8 to 10 days. That wonderful piece of machinery has paid for itself 50 times over at this point by allowing me to NOT have to throw out wine that we didn’t get around to drinking in the traditional 48 hour drinking window. I strongly urge that you get yourself one…….now.) Once I had savored a few sips of my wine, I was ready to dive into the Organic Girls Baby Kale Salad that Angie had made for us. I am quite certain that I have never tasted “Baby Kale”. If she had told me that we were eating a straight Kale salad prior to me getting started on it, I doubt I could have honestly given the salad a fighting chance before I poo pooed it. But, she didn’t. And, in fact, I thought I was eating Field Greens or similar….until about the 3rd bite or so. I must suggest that you pick yourself up a bit of this wonderful stuff. It is now both our favorite type of salad green! And, she threw some Fresh Organic Parmesan over the top of it with her homemade basil dressing and some Organic Baby Tomatoes. Good Gracious. Now that is what I call “A Salad”! But, the best was yet to come. Oven roasted Broccolini in butter, garlic, and sea salt……..paired with Pan Sauteed Shrimp sauteed in butter, garlic, and sea salt…….or, was that Coconut Oil? It is incredible either way, by the way. It really just depends on whether you are feeling a hankering for Coconut Shrimp or Buttery Shrimp. I don’t know which we had tonight. But, I do know that I ate every single piece that was put on my plate……and, Angie isn’t shy about loading up a plate when she is doling out shrimp. (I actually went back and found the remainder of the broccolini over on the oven and ate it with my fingers after I had finished the rest of my dinner. Yes. It WAS that good.)

Friends – I think you can probably guess what is sitting beside me right now as I type this…….my good friend, Mr. BPA Free Camelbak Water Bottle. And, that is the ONLY thing that is crossing these lips for the rest of this night. Remember, fat is very satiating. So is protein. So is anything that takes a long time to digest. And, everything I ate for dinner happens to fall into that category. It all sits and simmers in your belly (like that slow burning log that we have discussed many times in the past.) And, as a result, you don’t crave that bag of chips, that ice cream, etc that used to be a part of your nightly ritual. In fact, you are darn lucky if you can make enough room just for the water. Folks, my belly is FULL. And, it will be all night long…….not uncomfortably so. But, you can definitely imagine a “Keep Out” sign sitting right atop my belly letting the esophagus know not to send anyone else its way for the next 12 hours or so.