Hello.

Good morning!

This morning I am starting this a little late today because the kids wanted me to take photos of them. Since I needed some shirts modeled, that worked out well.

So, my thoughts right this second... I am so glad not to be a super-smart, informed, reformed vegan. The vegan community that preaches love and compassion has been so hateful to people who decided to return to eating meat for health reasons. Seeing that kind of hate is upsetting for me-  no matter who it comes from. I understand believing with your entire soul that what you are doing is noble, righteous, and best for optimal health, because that is what I believe about my paleo diet with all of my being. I just really do not like seeing hate spewed and then spreading like wildfire from either side.  I feel like every time I try to get away from this, I find another thread on the etsy forum where someone is bashing people for eating meat, or click on a video that is supposed to be a paleo lecture and end up looking at a film intended to scare or shame meat eaters. I don't believe in factory farming either! Sometimes I listen, hoping to hear a good argument just so I can really consider all options, but I have never even heard a valid argument for it (although I have heard many very compelling arguments that have good intentions but no facts to back them up.) In general I feel like both groups are supporting health, compassion, sustainability, and eating whole foods... we just have different opinions on what that means. I believe in compassion for animals and for people. I also believe that MOST OF US on both sides feel this way, and do not hate the other side. I do not hate vegans/vegetarians. I think really, a few bad apples...or bananas... are making one side or the other look bad.

I also don't like seeing so many lies about health thrown around like gospel. For example, dietary natural fats and cholesterol are good for you. They are not bad for you. They have never been bad for you. Unfortunately, it was pounded in to our heads for so long, that even knowing better it is hard to come to terms with.

I remember when I was in high school, I decided I needed to lose weight, so I went on a very low fat diet, because fat was the villain. I bet I ate less than 10g of fat a day, and my diet consisted mainly of rice-cakes and fat free candy. I lost a lot of wieght, but obviously that was not an optimal human diet!  I also think some of these choices helped create the carb intolerance that I have today. That is another lie. "There is no such thing as carb intolerance or insulin resistance." Ugh. I wish that MORE people know about carb intolerance and insulin resistance. It would have made this journey to reclaiming my health much less frustrating. I understand why people who have not experienced it directly, or second hand may not understand it. It challenges the fundamentals of the conventional wisdom on nutrition. After experiencing it first hand it is very clear to me that it is real.

Anyway, I should get on with things.

Yesterday's food:

Bf: 2 slice bacon, 2 eggs, sprinkled with a little cheese and green chili, fatty coffee
L: Sardines (about 1/3 container), small Salad with oil &vinegar and a little cheese, 1/2 avocado 
D: Wild pronghorn Tenderloin Chops... about 3 oz (omg, the pronghorn cut was amazing, Adam was given these at work) Kale cooked in grassfed butter with almonds mixed in. 
Fatty Chai. Keto Lemonade (water with a good squeeze of lemon, a little apple cider vinegar and a few drops of liquid stevia) 

beef bone broth... not full fat, due to taste

I did have a roller derby practice yesterday also. 

Good morning!

Today was weigh in day, and I was only down one lb from the week before, So that was a bummer. I had my period last week, so I am sure that was related.

This weekend was nice and relaxing. I did not practice on Saturday, which is unusual.

I enjoyed taking the kids to the Zoo on Saturday with my husband. We met my brother and his son and it was nice for the kids to get to play together. My brother has done a similar keto diet for a long time so we got to talk about that.

I am finding that I am not really eating. I will post my meals :

Bf: 2 slice bacon, 2 eggs, sprinkled with a little cheese and green chili, fatty coffee
L: not really hungry, beef bone broth
D: still not hungry... 1 avocado, 1/2 cup sauerkraut (it had elk brats cooked in it so I am sure there were some calories there) Fatty Chai.

So... not really enough of anything, I need to eat a little more.

Anyway, time to get to work!

- Erica

A small rant.

Good Morning!

I found myself ranting in thought while in the shower about a certain  youtube-famous vegan fruitatarian and how bad fashion is sometimes.

I listened to a video of a vegan ranting about how she is allowed to be angry at paleo people specifically- but I am sure she really meant all meat eaters- for eating meat and then listed a lot of reasons that made her look like a complete idiot. Probably because she IS a complete idiot. I don't agree with factory farming, but it is incredibly ignorant to think that just because you don't eat meat that nothing died to feed you. Agriculture has practically wiped out entire species of plants and animals AND animal products are required to grow healthy plants. She also feels that she is paying for peoples sickness (from eating meat) but meat, cholesterol, and saturated fat are not responsible for heart disease, or any disease, that was a big lie based on bad science. In fact, fat, protein, and cholesterol are necessary to build healthy cells (yes your body can scrap together a low quality version of these, because otherwise we would DIE...) . In addition not eating any animal products leads to major deficiencies in most people that CAN cause severe health issues. I hesitate to say all will get sick on that diet, because some seem to do well on it,  but I really feel that a raw vegan low fat diet will eventually take it's toll on almost everyone. I certainly don't care what they eat (with the exception of the vegans I know personally and care and worry about) but the lies being spread like gospel concern me A good read, with some facts about nutrition  (I have seen the linked site accused of "cherry picking" evidence, but in reality that just seems to be an excuse to dismiss the evidence, which is not really hard to find, but very concise on this site.). I could go on... but I don't like being a hater, life is too short for that, and honestly, I don't want to stoop to this person's  level. I just really believe that eating responsibly and ethically sourced meat (especially including organ meat, wild salmon, marrow broth, etc) in addition to as many veggies as your body can tolerate (I can't tolerate many, but I love eating them) is better both for health, society, animals, and the environment.

Then there is fashion... I have been looking at Vogue Collections and am very disappointed in the collections I have been seeing.

I have a degree in fashion design, and while I have not exactly followed that path, I it is still a passion of mine. At least I think it is... the collections I was looking at last night were pretty disappointing, and it makes me question that passion. Sometimes fashion seems like such a joke. Adam Commented on how unhappy one of the models looked, and my response was "look what she's wearing". There were a few gems, but fewer than I am used to, and honestly I page through slowly to really take things  in, so I may see some redeeming collections as I proceed. I found myself feeling bad for the models and hideous, gimmicky, styling the designers put them in. I guess that is part of the job, but it bothers me that designers humiliate models like that. 

Okie dokie, I need to get on with things. 

Have an awesome day! 

♥Erica

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Food Log (decided to get back to that)

yesterday

Bf: 2 slice bacon, 2 eggs, sprinkled with a little cheese and green chili, fatty coffee
L: not really hungry, at 3 applewood uncured pepperoni slices and one small piece of sugar free chocolate.
D: Bison liver cooked with onion and yellow bell pepper, and a salad (spinach, arugula and spring mix) with fancy cracked pepper dressing, fatty Chai

( I do organic, free range, fed natural diet, etc. and as much is locally sourced as possible)
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Happy Thursday!

It feels like Friday today! I am ahead on orders- barely- but more than usual. I have my orders for Friday completed and ready to ship today. This is unusual because I always have the most to ship on Fridays so I am often trying to just keep up by working on Friday orders all week. It is not super busy, but it is also not super slow, so I feel like I have accomplished something. :)

I do feel like there are a few things I should be doing to be more productive. I tend to get very distracted looking at forums and checking email. YES, my work email is important, but I could probably be more productive if I just checked it a few times a day. I should also only look at the nutrition and etsy forums briefly during lunch or in the morning before I really wind up for the day.

I have been doing my planks and high intensity intervals in the morning before breakfast, and I am noticing the benifit of that. I am finding that I am faster when I skate and I can get people out when I want to. My legs are still killing me from Monday. Ok... Maybe not KILLING me, like yesterday, but they are sore.

I have been enjoying fatty chai tea in the evenings and my ketones are getting back up to normal. I feel pretty good, but in the afternoons I am still feeling a lull. I am not sure if it is because I should not be drinking coffee, or if it is because I need more salt. When I drink my bone broth in the evening before practice I feel like I am coming back to life, so that would indicate it is a salt/nutrient issue.

I still have not been eating in the evenings, but lately I have been wanting to snack after practice. I am not sure that is a good thing, but I will see what the scale says on Monday.

Okie dokie, Adios for now.

♥Erica

Good Morning!

Not that anyone is reading... I don't think... But good morning, world!

I am tired this morning. My Monday workout throws off my sleep schedule, and last night I did not feel like I slept well, so the sleep deprivation is compounding.

I have been checking my ketones in the mornings while they are a little off. This morning they were up to .7, so that is good. I am still not entirely sure what threw me OUT of ketosis... I really think it was the tiniest bit of watermelon- less than a bite- that I had over week ago. I also ate a little less fat last week, and we know our body prefers to burn fat when it is getting it.

My legs are still sore and burning from Monday, so that is annoying. I used to really enjoy a specific yoga/Pilates fusion video when my body got sore, but it is not on netflix anymore. I wonder if I can get it somewhere else? If I am still sore on thursday it would be good to do for my crosstraining.

 My blood pressure is still low, but a little higher than before,  and I have been trying to get in lots of salt and water.

Salut!

♥Erica

Hello!

Last night I had speed skating class. I was disappointed by the low attendance because I specifically asked people if they would be attending, and several people told me they would be there and didn't show up. Ultimately, it was really their loss, it was a real killer workout and kicked my butt. I am sure I got stronger from it. The unfortunate thing is that I usually feel really awake after it, and it is late, so it messes up my sleep schedule. I wish we could do it a little earlier.

I checked my ketones again today and they are slowly creeping back up.

I don't have much on my mind this morning, I have been procrastinating, but I no longer feel that I have the time for that, so I need to get some things done.

I would say in general I am feeling pretty awesome. :)

Take Care!
♥Erica

Good morning!

I did  not manage to write over the weekend. I guess the only person I cheated with that is myself.

I had an awesome weekend.  On Saturday my league had a mash up bout and I won MVP blocker on my team, so that really made my weekend!

I did feel good about that game and how I played, so it felt really good that others recognized that. I did feel a little brutal in a few cases when it came to blocking some skaters, but my blood-thirst and desire to win overpowered any feelings of guilt caused by that. 

My ketones were really low this morning, and I was actually up two pounds this week when I weighed in this morning. I started my period on Sunday, so I am going to blame the small gain on that. I feel pretty good , but my blood pressure was really low ( 84/49). That is unusual because it is usually high. 

In general, I still feel awesome, still have lots of energy, etc. I am a little confused about my ketones being low, I think I need a little more fat in my diet, I cut back a little last week. 

I am feeling like I need to get started on work, so I think I need to bring this to a close for this morning. 

Hasta,

♥Erica