Soccer Season Begins

Date: April 17, 2018

Author: astottler

Happy Tuesday! My day sort of felt like a weekend since i only had class 9-12…Today was metabolism which is one of my favorite things too!

I started my morning with Crossfit. My back is still fairly still today. It tightened up a lot between last night and today and I think that happens when surrounding muscles are tight. Pre-CF I had the usual Cheerios.

Breakfast:

A lemon poppyseed protein muffin with the most amazing giant blackberries.

Lunch:

A salad with grilled chicken, pear, and creamy goat cheese. Pirate’s Booty on the side.

Snack 1:

Snack 2:

Since I was going to be having dinner on the later side, I had a second snack of more amazing blackberries, plus some of thoe TJ’s Churro bites. So addicting.

Today I started intramural soccer and it went well! We have a pretty big team which means lots of subs! I actually felt more coordinated than I was expected, and it felt better than softball because I can run without any pains/feeling super slow…I definitely feel like my soccer improved over the course of the fall season. It’s so nice to be playing sports again! I actually even scored a goal. On a penalty kick, but I’ll take it. Literally the only thing I’m good at is shooting, so hey, if you place it right in front of me in front of the goal…

Dinner:

Something different! I had leftover stir fried veggies from the other night, so I made a scramble with a whole egg, egg whites, the last of my spinach, and manchego (the best scramble cheese in my opinion). Side of avocado toast!

Dessert:

A sunbutter cup and a mint chocolate.

And then I had a handful of peach Cheerios later on!

Thankfully, by this time in the evening, my back is feeling much better! Hopefully this trend continues!

Whole30?

Date: March 17, 2013

Author: astottler

Categories: Uncategorized

How’s everyone doing this fine weekend? Any fun plans for St. Patrick’s Day? Lot’s of green food for me!

Now without further ado, let’s launch into this post!Yesterday’s breakfast. Peanut butter on toast. Notice: that really isn’t that much peanut butter. Well, as it turns out, laying off nuts for a while seems to make my nut sensitivities stronger. Anyone have experience with this? A couple of hours after this meal I noticed a series of lumps on my face. How crazy is that? I think I need to try to maintain a constant yet small nut intake.

The only other semi-interesting eat from yesterday is the oatmeal I had at dinner. I knew I was having major sugar cravings, and if I didn’t try to deal with them in at least a semi healthful way, things were going to go down hill in a hurry! My solution? Chocolate oatmeal!

I made my typical Banana Oatmeal with a few changes. I was too lazy to add the eggs, and I added vanilla, a touch of brown sugar, and cocoa powder. Then, for fun, I stirred in some semi-sweet chocolate chips.

That night however, I got to thinking. I’m going to be home for 2 more weeks, which means access to all kinds of food at any time of day (or night). I could envision my eating habits going downhill fast, and that just isn’t a good way to recover quickly. I’v read about the Whole30 before, and I think adopting a cleaner way of eating is a great idea. (If you don’t know Whole30 cuts out grains, dairy, legumes, sugar, and peanuts). It doesn’t make sense for me to do EXACTLY the Whole30 (Easter…hehe), but using some of those eating guidelines could be a great idea. So I went into the next day with a day of Whole30 ahead of me. I grabbed some fruit at breakfast because I wasn’t super hungry, but I whipped up a nice egg scramble for lunch with tons of veggies and avocado.Snach was another piece of fruit. I also went to Whole Foods, looking for some Whole30 compliant eats. And wow. It made me so angry. I read sooo many labels. There was hardly anything I could eat on Whole30. And this is Whole Foods! If I can’t find things there, where can I find them?? There is added sugar in absolutely everything! Out of all the soup in the store, only 1 type was Whole30 compliant. I mean I understand the goal is to eat REAL food, as in “make it yourself” food, but still! For dinner, we picked up a Rotisserie chicken and prepared hot Brocculini. I also grabbed some fresh mango salsa (which was spicy!).I’m so excited it is starting to be mango season again! Manilla mangos (the small yellow ones) are possibly my favorite fruit ever, and I eat them almost constantly when they’re in season! We got some from Costco the other day, and they were on sale at Whole Foods!

One thing about cutting out grains….my sweet cravings go away, because I’m more focused on how I miss bread. I broke down last night and had a bite of macaroni and cheese. So after a trial day, I think I can really make this thing work for me, but with some degree of compromise. I may allow small quantities of dairy, and I won’t beat myself up over a bite of grains, or a special occasion (read: today’s field trip and feast at the Farmer’s Market), but I want to try to maintain the principles as much as possible. This could be the focus and project I need for this break. I really don’t want to compromise on sugar though, but I have gummy vitamins that have sugar. And let’s be honest. I am SO DONE with any type of swallowing pills after being sick for so long, so I’m kind of on the fence about this. Anybody have any thoughts on this new way of eating? I felt pretty good last night, and I really think I can make this work for me.

Any fun plans for St. Patrick’s Day?

Under the Weather

Date: February 21, 2013

Author: astottler

Categories: Uncategorized

Well, it’s been embarrassingly long since I’ve posted. I kept meaning to post, I really did! But things kept coming up! I swear! So how am I doing? Right now, I’m sick. Fever, chills/hot flashes/aches. Yay. I think I was sick yesterday and didn’t realize it because I was pretty achy and weak. And then I had a very wet and very cold practice on the water yesterday afternoon. When I got back, I couldn’t feel my feet. At all. After dinner, I decided an early shower was in order, and it took a good 20 minutes under direct heat to regain feeling. Then when I was freezing/burning up it finally occurred to me to take my temperature, and sure enough, I had a fever. This morning, I woke up with a higher fever. I went in for my workout, as we had a short erg test (a watts test) which is basically all out for a minute. I did a 4k warm-up and really struggled, which is when I decided I was definitely not up for a 2 hour workout. On the plus side, I’ve gotten a lot more sleep than normal lately! I still have a temperature, but tomorrow is our hard workout, and I’m really hoping to be well enough, because making up 2 ergs this weekend plus practice would be impossible.

Enough complaining, let’s play catch-up! This weekend I decided what I was eating really wasn’t working for me, and I just wasn’t feeling well most of the time. Well, I’m 85% sure I have some type of gluten intolerance or sensitivity. Besides my usual foggy-headedness, when I thought about it, tons of memories from the last 4 years rushed back to me where I got a stomachache after eating grains. I always assumed I was just eating too much, at the wrong time, or too much sugar or something. After some research and discussion wiht my family, I decided I needed to try Paleo. However, I’m not super strict Paleo. I’m including beans and legumes, occasional peanut butter, and small quantities of dairy if they’re in other foods. This is simply because I need lots of carb energy for my activity level, and because otherwise there would be NOTHING I could eat in the dining halls. But first! At home, I spent some quality time with these guys!

How adorable are they?? That’s what I love about going home! As it turned out, being home was the perfect way to kickstart my new way of eating. It is a much more controlled environment. Here are some of the awesome Paleo meals I’ve enjoyed:What better way to start than a green smoothie? (well, greenish…) I think this is my favorite way to eat green smoothies. Spinach. Frozen cherries. Water. Delish!

Lunch with my fabulous high school friends! Don’t worry, I skipped the bagel. The place we went had the most amazing pancakes, but no more for me.

Love them! I ended up spending 2 nights at home, enjoying my kitties, so I got to have a delicious veggie filled dinner.

Thai butternut squash soup=amazing! I still have a little in the freezer. Recipe courtesy of Cooking Light.

I also made a little treat. Paleo Pumpkin Muffins! But I made them in bread form because everything is more delicious in bread form. It was delicious! I was too dumb to take a picture at the time, so here is a slice I had for snack.

They have a nice light and almondy flavor. I froze the rest of the loaf, so when I have a major bread craving, I will be set! So how have I been feeling? Absolutely awesome! After discovering that grains really do make me feel bad and crash, it’s been easier to avoid them (for the most part). I also noticed that I don’t feel the need to overeat. I’m leaving food on my plate a lot more. And in class, I’ll be tired, and keep expecting the crash, but I remain alert. It’s amazing!

These are 2 Ingredient Pancakes from Carrots n Cake. I was amazed how normal the texture was! So good!

I actually had an omelet made at the dining hall! It was a long wait, but really good! This was yesterday morning. Another thing I figured out: I’m chronically dehydrated, especially yesterday. So I spent the time waiting forcing fluids down my throat. I also got some Coconut water, because I feel like I do drink a lot of water, so maybe I’m missing some type of electrolyte balance? My recommendation? Get the pineapple flavor and drink cold!

Here’s the thing though. About not being super strict. Boundaries blur…and slowly I fall off the wagon. For example, yesterday, I had some very dairy-filled frozen yogurt. And then today was worse. To my credit, I’m sick. And I decided that means I have no willpower to resist a waffle. So guess who felt foggy today and had a stomachache? One thing leads to another. I had some other grains today too. So I don’t feel great. Which is why some degree of rigidity is necessary. Because it’s easy to fall off. Part of the problem came from the fact that I was feeling bad/weak yesterday. At first I worried that with my new way of eating I somehow wasn’t getting the proper nutrients, so I kind of let myself go a little. Silly me, it never occurred to me that I might actually be sick…So the plan is to go back on Paleo tomorrow and be a bit more strict. As in, ABSOLUTELY NO GRAINS (this is the priority), and no dairy. And I could seriously cut down my nut consumption as well (my poor skin). It’s kind of tough having all these new things I need to follow at once, but I feel like in a way I am sick (I mean besides my current illness…) and I need to eat this way to get healthy again and heal myself. So I’ll keep you updated on my progress. Not going to lie, I’ve been looking up recipes for Paleo cake….

Do you have any good Paleo/gluten free recipes?