Midwestern Scavenging, Still On The Road

Don’t think that I’m not keeping track of y’all when I’m out of town. Thursday’s CrossFit Fenway WOD was right up my alley, and so I got after it. Of course, being on the farm in Missouri I ended up doing this out in the rain, jumping up out of a gravel pit onto a narrow ledge of the appropriate height. When I did Cindy while swinging from a tree branch for the pull-ups, at least the tree kept off much of the rain. Between the workout improvisations and the intense scrutiny of the paleo diet by my relatives over the past week, I definitely felt a bit like a caveman.

Then I noticed I was wearing Vibram Five-Fingers and a LuluLemon shirt. This realization made me feel more like an effeminate caveman who indulges in way too much consumerism, but the feeling passed by the time I finished the box jumps and had to dive face first into the pine needles to do push-ups.

Back to nutrition, though. The last 3 days I’ve been still in Missouri. There’s a lot of “eating when you can”, though I’ve been able to stick to rising early, working out, and then getting a nice protein-dense post-WOD meal immediately afterwards. Buying my own steak and egg-whites to fry up each morning makes that possible, and it’s not slow. During the day though, I tend to graze on handfuls of nuts and fruit to keep me going until dinner. I’m glad I brought along my last paleo jerky to ration out over these days. It’s time to order more.

Dinner is easy. This is the midwest. Steak steak steak, all the time. I’m getting to the point where I’m actually starting to crave a chicken breast, which is hard for me to imagine saying usually. Fortunately this week I picked up some shrimp and an aunt of mine was kind enough to pan sear some scallops in light olive oil instead of the usual “butter and wine sauce” approach. I forget just how good scallops are. Like shrimp, I think I could eat 1000 calories of scallops before slowing down, and the protein-to-calorie ratio is wonderful.

A few more observations from the road:

• Mixed greens just taste better with a bit of balsamic and a handful of baby shrimp scattered on them.
• It’s surprisingly hard to find trail mix that doesn’t have sweetened fruits (sugar added) or peanuts. Making my own in a big batch and splitting it up in bags would be easier and cheaper.
• My salt cravings have not subsided. I am also still supplementing potassium. The nifty way to balance this for me is to use Morton’s Salt Substitute, which is basically potassium chloride in a salt shaker. Easy.

In terms of my other cravings, I’m really surprised as to how my sweet tooth can get edged off by a handful of blackberries. They taste really good, until they don’t, and then I know I’ve had enough. Simple. I still think cheesy sauces look tasty, and I have been eyeing the dairy and wine in general, but I’ve got that on lockdown for now. Diet Coke continues to sing a siren song, but I ain’t listening. I can handle it. After all, I still crave cigarettes from time to time after 2 years – but I’m not smoking them.

Tonight I’m flying back through town for a moment, then off to Vermont on Friday. I’ll see you guys on Saturday morning out in Albany for the CrossFit Games Regional Qualifiers, and then bright and early Monday morning back at CrossFit Fenway! I can’t tell you how excited I am to be back in the facility again soon. I miss you people.

5/18/10

Steak, 6oz (300/45)

Omelette (110/18)

bacon, 2 strips (70/4)

Mini Larabar (100/2)

Almonds (180/7)

Sesame (160/4)

Jerky (60/10)

Pork rinds (200/20)

– yes, pork rinds. Ingredients: Fried Pork Skins, Salt. Hmm. Sounds paleo to me. I submit it to the paleo experts of the internets.

Steak, 8 oz (400/60)

Broccoli and grilled veggies (100/10)

6 seared scallops (150/30)

Total: 1830 cals, 210g protein

WOD: Cindy, 14 rounds – done in the woods, face in the brush and swinging off a branch. My hands weren’t happy about it, and the wide branch diameter definitely made all the “thumbs-off” grip practice on the high bar at CFF totally worth it.

5/19/10

Omelette w real eggs (300/30)

jerky (60/10)

sunflower seeds (190/9)

tray of blueberries (160/2)

tray of blackberries (160/2)

steak, 10 oz (500/75)

Broccoli (60/6)

Shrimp Salad (80/10)

portobello mushroom (100/10)

12 seared scallops (300/60)

Total: 1910 cals, 214g protein

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