Namaste! (Yoga this morning…….)

Got up this morning just in time to throw down one of my famous protein shakes and head for Yoga.  (Bed Head and All.  Those people don’t care…..I don’t think any of them had bathed either.)  I am pretty certain that you cannot look like Madonna (if such is your goal) by using Yoga as your only form of exercise.  But, at the same time, I have become a pretty big believer in its healing benefits when coupled with a vigorous week of other types of exercise.   I started joining Angie at her Yoga class about 4 months ago.  And, I basically never skip….even when she is needing to sleep in (like this morning).  (I went without her.)

I hustled back from Yoga in time to watch a couple of friends being timed at this week’s WOD of the CrossFit World Open.  And, that only allowed me enough time to grab a shower and a protein bar (to take with me) to Charly Kate’s tennis lesson.  That was plenty really.  I knew lunch was right around the corner after the tennis lesson.  If you are going to make a habit of grabbing a bar as a meal or snack replacement, please make sure the bar you are grabbing has no more than 5 to 7 grams of sugar….and, that it has no artificial sweeteners in it.  Good luck on your search for one that matches that criteria and that you can also stand to eat.  If you cannot identify one that matches the requirements I listed above, then don’t eat one.  Plain and simple.  Grabbing something just because it is quick may not work.  (Remember, the whole plan is to avoid glycemic spikes….not create them.  You would actually be better off to fast than to grab something that is going to spike your insulin and glucose levels!  And, in fact, if your belly is still a long way from looking like the cover of US Weekly magazine’s issue on Celebrity Beach Bodies, perhaps fasting mid morning every once in a while wouldn’t be a horrible idea.  Or, since I am not much of a faster, how about grabbing a handful of raw almonds and calling it good for the morning snack?)

Anyhow, Charly Kate had a fantastic tennis lesson….the first one that was ever attended by her sisters….for obvious reasons.  And, when she does well at her lesson, she gets to pick the Saturday lunch restaurant.  So, don’t groan when I tell you that, yes, we ate at Grande Street Cafe…again.  (We love that place.)  Perhaps it was the low impact exercise of the morning.  But, my body was just not screaming “feed me”.  So, I settled on a nice mixed greens salad with blue cheese crumbles, toasted almonds, dried cranberries…..and, I think that was a balsamic vinigerette type of dressing.  And, paired with it, I ate that whole stack of Tuna Tartare all to myself.  THAT was tasty!  As usual, I washed it all down with unsweetened iced tea.  I guess I should drink more water….but, the main thing is what NOT to drink.  And, that list is basically anything that is not unsweetened iced tea or water.  Luckily, I happen to love both.  If you don’t already, you will too once you have been eating low glycemic for about 7 to 10 days.

Although I was definitely satiated following lunch, I also knew that I was going to have something a bit more substantial than my normal afternoon snack to get me through to dinner.  And, I was right.  About 3:30, I started looking for just what that something might be….and, as you have probably already guessed, it turned out to be one of David’s everything-but-the-kitchen sink protein shakes!  Down the hatch….and, the belly feels good again.

And, finally, dinner.  It is Saturday night.  And, Angie and I decided to make it “adult night”…..and, furthermore, we decided to make it “just the two of us adult night” on the Country Club Plaza.  We pulled out of the drive (without any dinner reservations) at about ten minutes past 6 pm.  Neither one of us knew where we wanted to go.  But, with spring in the air, we were hoping (just like the rest of Kansas City) to find somewhere with an open air patio and a nice spot to do a little people watching.  We found it!  We snuck into Zocalo Mexican restaurant just in time to grab a high top in the bar….prime people watching space.  And, since tomorrow we are going to be in Sedalia for Easter, we decided that tonight would be great for our “Cheat Meal”.  (Note:  Having your cheat meal at night is NOT a good idea.  The truth is that the last time of the day you really want to spike your insulin is just before you start thinking about heading for bed.  Why?  Because the body gets confused when it sees high insulin levels and actually mistakes them for high growth hormone levels.  And, since the only time your pituitary gland can or will secrete growth hormone is while you are sleeping, the last thing on Earth you want to do is trick it into thinking it already has enough of that substance right before the time it was about to kick in and make its nightly quota!  Angie and I have basically determined to make our “normal” cheat meal be a late afternoon time slot to avoid this little one of life’s conundrums.  I suggest you do the same except in extreme circumstances such as the one we experienced today! :-))                 (Yes.  She eats what I eat too…..or, is it the other way around….either way, I see that it seems to be working on her just as well…..or, I guess most of you might say…….better!!)

Okay.  Having said all of that, how bad was our “cheat meal” really……..?  Well, we did each have a couple of margaritas.  Strike One.  Why?  Cuz they are highly glycemic.  (Wine would have been a much better choice for the alcohol portion of our meal thanks to the simple fact that it is much lower glycemic in nature than a margarita.  But, hey.  Who wants to drink wine with their little break away from reality in a Mexican restaurant?  Still, if you have a long way to go on your fat loss crusade….or, you are in a hurry to get there….I would suggest you stick with the wine and dream of future days on the beach…..you and your future six pack abs….where you can suck down a few of those high glycemic margaritas with your fit bodied loved one at your side.)  Also, we each ate a pretty good chunk of chips.  (They are highly glycemic also.)  Now, in fairness to ourselves, we ate the chips with fresh guacamole….which is made right there in the kitchen from fresh avocados.  And, we paired that with some freshly cut Pico de Gallo.  (I know it was fresh because it isn’t even on the menu.  And, they had to cut it up fresh for us in order to be able to serve it.)  Avocado and fresh tomatoes and onions….wow, you really cannot do much that is better for your body than that.  (Google all three of those bad boys.  They all have fantastic probable health benefits.  And, they all taste great!)  The problem is that none of that makes eating the chips okay.  Remember, a few handfuls of chips has the equivalent glycemic spike to a full-size Snickers Bar.  (That probably isn’t a good thing to do to your body right before you get ready to head for home and hit the rack.)  For our entree, we both ordered short rib tacos with roasted zucchini in them and some aged cheese.  All of that was great.  The only problem is that something usually holds your tacos together….and, ours were no exception….they were held together by white flour tortillas.  Yes.  You read that right.  I ate white flour tortillas tonight.  If I had any sense left in me at all, I would have done what my wife did and just dumped the innards of the tacos into her plate and ate them WITHOUT the tortillas.  (They were less messy that way anyway.  And,  I think we all know how I feel about messy food.)  But, I didn’t notice her little trick until I was on my very last taco.  And, it seemed pointless at that point.)  In truth, instead of eating white flour tortillas right before bedtime, you would be just as well advised to pour gasoline all over yourself and then light yourself on fire.  In summation, I don’t think the meal was as disastrous as many others that come to mind.  But, still, you won’t see pictures of tonight’s fare on this blog very often……….Even so, mmmmm, I love guacomole!  And, mmmmmm, I love short rib tacos!

Over and Out.  Me and Old Trusty….(my Camelbak water bottle)…….. are heading for bed!