Food is not a moral choice

We need food. It's one of those base-of-the-pyramid things on Maslow's hierarchy of needs. So why are we so messed up about it?

Women, especially, use interesting language when talking about food. We couch it in terms of sinning, being good, being tempted. We are back in the garden. Those guys who wrote the Bible should have had the snake offering up some chocolate or a really decent pastry.

I particularly loathe the Special K commercial where a woman is in a coffee shop exchanging lustful gazes with a pastry. If I gave my husband a look like that...Never mind. And then, after seducing the pastry for a bit, she gets her coffee. When asked if that's all, she now looks smugly at the pastry she was just undressing with her eyes and says, "No, thanks. I'm good." And tightens her belt as she drives her sugar/fat chastity home.

Good for you, commercial lady. Way to control your impulses while implying that everyone else who eats a pasty is going to burn in hell for their sins. The fat will help them really light up.

Food tastes good. That's how it gets us to eat it. Which we need to do to live. Yes, a lack of pastry never killed anyone. Nor is it advisable to gorge solely on pastry all the time. But a good pastry, once in awhile, is a wonderful sensory experience.

The sugar-free aspect of the Roller Derby Workout Challenge eating plan is interesting. I want to see if I can re-set my relationship with sugar. I don't think I'm a bad person when I eat too much sweet stuff. But I suspect that too much of it may be holding me back from achieving my athletic goals. But I'm not casting a puritanical eye on others' choices.

Don't even get me started on guys and food. Popular culture shows men engaging in heroic acts of bacon-related gluttony. (Don't get me wrong, I love Epic Mealtime as much as the next person.) So they don't get the same sin/redemption narrative, but they get fed stuff like yogurt is for chicks.

Let's not buy into the marketing. Let's eat what we love and eat what fuels us and try not to get to messed up about it.

Get thee behind me, unsupportive people

Day 4 of the RDWC eating plan. Still haven't managed to do the DVD. After having been out every night this week since Friday, I am officially exhausted.

People are funny, though, when they find out you're trying out a new lifestyle. My lunch is usually up for comment, but more so now. People keep trying to get me to eat candy. I really don't understand how people can spend so much time worrying about what others are up to.

I'm not sure where I'm going with this. Fatigue makes for a rambling writer.

Roller Derby Workout Challenge Day 3

So I haven't managed to do the DVD once. But, on Sunday I played dodgeball for an hour, had a 2-hour practice Monday and tonight, I went rollerskating at public skate. I figure I got a solid 45 minutes of skating in. So, the activity part is going well.

The eating plan is solid, but very protein heavy. Chicken, chicken and chicken. This could get boring. Very tasty though, but I'm still hungry all the time. That's normal for me, though.

If one good thing comes of this, it could be freedom from Coke Zero. Although, quitting caffeine is hard. Really hard. And headachy. Yesterday, I couldn't decide if I had a migraine or withdrawal pains. How messed up is that?

So, one cuppa joe a day for this girl. And down from there. But I'm enjoying the homemade lunches and suppers. My husband and I were eating out way too much and I was wasting too much money at the sub-par cafeteria at work.

Before - Roller Derby Workout Challenge

So I can track any changes, I decided to throw in a "before" picture and my stats. Is my lack of metric measurements a sign that I'm not a patriotic Canadian?

Weight: 169 lbs.
Waist: 33.5 inches
Hips: 42.5 inches
Upper arm: 12 inches
Upper thigh: 24 inches

OK. The before picture is pending. Sometime this week, I promise.

I went back and forth about posting my measurements. Here's the thing: I'm not doing this challenge to lose weight. Strangely, for the first time since I was 11 years old, I actually don't care if I lose weight. It's amazing how wearing shorts and tights regularly and all this skating changed my mind about my body.

That being said, I couldn't think of any other way to track progress. 

That all being said,

Planning for success

Planning does not come naturally to me. Some people seem to thrive on planning. I try, but it's definitely something I have to work at.

I tend to set big goals. Goals like "I'm going to get in better shape." That's a good goal, but it's not specific. At work, my team makes communications plans when we start a project. So we figure out what the goal is and write it down. Then we decide how that's going to happen, make a list of the attached projects, who needs to be involved and then work out timelines. We also include how to measure our success.

So for the RDWC (Roller Derby Workout Challenge), I've tried my hand at planning. My goal at this point is to finish and see an improvement in overall fitness. But finishing is important. This week, I've mapped out the eating plan in a spreadsheet and I've planned my meals and exercise for the next week.

It's a start.

Bitter bean juice a.k.a. coffee and I are taking a break

As part of the Roller Derby Workout Challenge, I'm going to try to follow their eating plan. It seems sensible and I'm curious to find out if proper nutrition helps me achieve my athletic goals. It includes fish, chicken, rice, lots of vegetables, cheese, whole wheat bread and peanut butter. And my favourite food, eggs.

No coffee, though. This could be difficult since I'm a hardened addict. According to Wikipedia, source of all information, caffeine is a stimulant. And "with heavy use, strong tolerance develops rapidly and caffeine can produce clinically significant physical and mental dependence."

Caffeine has many benefits though, including enhanced athletic performance and mental alertness. Coffee may protect you against a range of diseases including cancer and Alzheimer's. But, I find it disturbing how necessary it has become in my life.

Giving it up is not going to be easy. Our friend Wikipedia states: "Withdrawal symptoms—including headache, irritability, inability to concentrate, drowsiness, insomnia, and pain in the stomach, upper body, and joints—may appear within 12 to 24 hours after discontinuation of caffeine intake, peak at roughly 48 hours, and usually last from one to five days."

Amusingly, Wikimedia Commons offers an image from NASA that shows the effect of caffeine on spiders as illustrated by a spider web. That must have been one jumped up spider! Imagine that's your job, supervising jittery spiders.

Day 1 begins with me looking longingly at the coffee pot.

Challenge is a noun and sometimes is a verb

Tomorrow, I embark on the Roller Derby Workout Challenge. The Heart Attacks, a roller derby team out of L.A., created this marvellous DVD and have an accompanying challenge, including an eating plan. Structure! Just what I need. Many of my fellow fresh meat are taking up the challenge, too. Support! Just what I need.

Roller derby has been such a gift. My first roller skating session was March 3, 2011. Since then, I've challenged myself in many ways to improve at this sport. I'm much stronger than at this time last year. My legs are starting to get definition I haven't seen in years. And while I adore a taut calf muscle, the true benefits have been beyond physical fitness. For all that it has reputation for girl drama, my derby experience so far has been mostly very positive.

The group is made up of women ranging in age from early 20s to mid 40s. We are public servants, engineers, students, stay-at-home moms, nurses and so many other things. Some are natural athletes, moving with ease and grace. Others are fighting hard for every bit of improvement. All inspire me to be better.

Today, I am prepping my house for the challenge. I am also prepping my mind and heart.