HARVEST MOON

Had a harvest moon last night. This is the full Moon that occurs closest to the autumn equinox. According to the Farmer's Almanac, in two years out of three, the Harvest Moon comes in September, but in some years it occurs in October. At the peak of harvest, farmers can work late into the night by the light of this Moon.

ANYWAYS.............

After a lecture last week, I had several students ask me about eating and physical fitness. It started out like this:
Student: "Are you a trainer?" "No, not technically." I said. The conversation turned quickly to physical fitness and eating. With another student asking me what I had been doing since last year because they had seen me around campus and had noticed I had "leaned up". "Oh don't get me wrong Mr. Sandoval, you looked like you were in shape, but now you look really in shape." Turns out this young man had recently lost 40 lbs by modifying his diet (Weight Watchers). I told him about crossfit and eating clean. The whole class overheard and I started getting bombarded with questions. "You don't eat bread, or dairy products?" "No, I don't and I don't miss them either."
I finally said the buzz word ("paleo") and the intensity increased. "What is that? Is it safe? Does it work?" If people want information, If I know the subject matter, I will tell them. I've been deprived, so I know the feeling. I said my general disclaimer and told everyone to look up the website. There's a TON of info out there, especially about supplements. You don't need to spend a ton of money on supplements in order to be healthy. Exercise and eating clean goes a long way. There are plenty of workouts on the web too.  IT'S  SIMPLE AND IT WORKS!.

"Just like riding a bike"

I did the EVA wod last Saturday (09/04/10). Yah, she's NASTY. I finished up feeling gassed, but pushed myself, especially through the pullups.
800m run
30 kb swings
30 pullups
5Rounds for Time.

Afterward, my wife and I had a great breakfast and decided to meet my younger brother at the beach. I loaded up my surfboard and ice chest (full of fruit and water) and hit the road. Sounds a bit odd considering 10 years ago it would have been an ice chest full of beer and junk food. I must admit that for several years (actually more like 5) I was too embarrassed to go to the beach, much less even paddle out to the lineup. You already know the story, I got middle aged, fat and  consumed with my career. ANYWAYS, I waxed up my board, put on my rashguard and paddled out on my 7'6" funshape. A funshape is a bit bigger style of board with a rounded nose instead of a pointed nose. They are typically a tad thicker than a normal board and with more buoyancy it makes it easier to paddle into waves. IT'S NOT A LONGBOARD. Nothing against longboarding, it's a blast too. It's all about timing. I duck dived and paddled to the peak just like the old days. Once out, I couldn't find my groove. Paddled around and couldn't catch anything. Finally caught one and barely stood up............ then caught another and did a small turn and fell off. That was it, I came in...... My brother laughed at me...... "You rusty old man?" "Yah, sorta." I said. You have to understand, he's always been better at surfing...... I just looked at him with a smirk and said my timing was off. I ate some fruit and drank some water and felt like a kook. Good thing about being a crossfitter, I was recovered and ready to try again in about 10 minutes. This time I paddled out on my brothers KG fish shape. He doesn't like using it any more and opts for his longboard because he's gained a little weight. It was just what I needed. Caught a wave within the first few minutes, then I was off to the races..............It's amazing what dropping even 10 lbs will do in the water. I've got the bug back. Been checking the surf report and buoy reports all week. Thanks to tropical storm Hermine which brought in some surf. NEXT STOP...... kiteboarding.  Been looking for a used rig.

FOOD for THOUGHT

PALEO......... hmmmmm, my 15 year old daughter cracks up when I say I eat the caveman diet.... I asked her why she finds it amusing and she said she gets a visual of me walking around in Tarzan attire trying to catch and kill something to eat.....  She's on an interesting diet herself, she claims to be a pescatarian. A pescatarian refrains from eating all meat and animal flesh with the exception of fish. A pescatarian is not a vegetarian. She uses that word loosely, (vegan gets thrown around quite a bit too). She says, "No Dad, that's vegan or vegetarian" when we start talking specifics. She does eat dairy products & breads, which I have been trying to convince her to change.




Paleo update:
I've been on the Whole30 for well over the 30 days now and I feel great......it's TRUE. I didn't do it to lose weight. I did it because I had hit a wall.  I'm eating about 3000 calories a day, or more. I have been eating clean for some time now, but finally went strict. Being disciplined is not hard, I remember when I was in the service (got out in 1993) people thought I was crazy because I would fast for 24 hour periods (and only drink water) once a week (did it for several years). I did it for focus and maintaining will power. I have fasted quite a bit in my life. My wife and I have done several 10-day fasts to clear our minds and bodies, I digress. Anyways, going clean on the whole30 really helped my stomach pains to go away. I was supplementing too much (every day) with protein shakes. You should really take the time to know what you're putting in your body. What supplements are you taking? Do they have artificial sweeteners? Artificial sweeteners are chemicals that trick your taste buds. What effect is it having on your body on a molecular level? Not blasting supplementing, because I do it too. Just make sure you know what you're taking and what it ACTUALLY does (not the blurb the company selling it tells you). Much safer, in my opinion, to eat fruit. ALL NATURAL. Take an inventory of your supplements and you may be surprised, (see supplements, Part I). If you over do it on protein shakes, it will take it's toll on you (see adverse effects of protein supplements). The Temple of Apollo @ Delphi said it the best: "Everything in Moderation".