Day 23: Just like before, but better

Breakfast

Smoothie:

• Frozen mixed berroes
  
• 1 scoop Kinetica whey (Vanilla)
• ~200ml coconut milk
• dash of water 
• crushed mixed nuts on top 

Lunch

Salad:

• Mixed leaves, carrot, mixed nuts, Omega seed sprinkle, olive oil and black pepp

CrossFit

Worked on cleans.  I don't feel comfortable/confident with my olympic weightlifting in general.  As mentioned, I'd never done anything like this before I came to CrossFit Leeds in June, and it still feels like a totally foreign/unnatural movement for me.  Another aspect of it is that I can't picture what my body is doing (compared to what it should be doing). e.g. looking at the coaches/other people I can see what they are doing, but I can't somehow translate that to my own body movement.  Hence, I can't even tell if I'm doing it right (although I do sometimes get the feeling that it is "working" compared to other times, when it err just isn't).

In addition, I have before - and again tonight - got a sort of strained/tweaked feeling in my shoulder after doing this movement.  Clearly (I think?) this means I don't have the technique down.  Its not the weight, the weight feels alright (I only do it at low weights, with instruction), but something is not quite right. HMMM.

Anyway, suffice to say, when it came to the WOD, I subbed the hang power cleans.  Not going to lie, it does feel like chickening out (I need to practice things I can't do, not avoid them) but of course I don't want to sustain an injury, which seems more likely in a time-pressured AMRAP.

6min AMRAP
7 Hang Power Cleans - subbed for Kettlebell Swings at 16kg
7 Burpee with lateral jump

Not the most exciting WOD, but I liked the lateral jump burpees (ok, 'like' may be a bit strong in this context).  I've said it before and I'll happily say it again - pretty much the best thing about CrossFit is the variety.  I'd never done burpess with lateral jump before.

Just need to work on damn cleans..

Tea

I actually don't eat a lot of wheat (before the Challenge I mean).  But there are a couple of things, and therefore a couple of dishes, that I thought would be pretty difficult to replace on this diet - e.g. occasional pasta for one.. and noodles for another.

Well it didn't take me long to get over the pasta (try 2 days).  And with the HUGELY EXCITING arrival of my julienne peeler the other day, I had a definite noodle agenda.. :D

[NB I have yet to get over the sadness and deflation felt at the failure of my spaghetti squash attempt.  As a result, I will not be revisiting this vegetable any time soon.  That, and I can't find it anywhere, again..!]

• Pad Thai: sauce: almond butter, tahini, garlic, chilli, lime juice, ginger, vinegar, cayenne, coconut milk, seasoning
• Carrot and courgette noodles with tamarind, paprika, fish sauce (anchovies and salt only)
• Onion, water chesnuts, red pepper, bamboo shots, cabbage, beansprouts, prawns, organic non GM tofu
• Sliced omelette (paprika, garlic, seasoning)
• Fresh coriander, lime juice, toasted chopped almonds

Most Pad Thai recipes call for peanuts.  A lot of Thai dishes in general do really.  

But peanuts are a paleo sin.  And I didn't see why I couldn't achieve the same/as good/better flavour without using them.  I was right.  This was well good.

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You might say, uhhh why are you avoiding peanuts, when you already eat legumes?  And even more uhhhh and what about the sneaky soy in there (organic, non GM tofu)?

Well, its about choices, I guess.  And doing what I can.

By using organic non GM tofu, I am choosing to minimise some of the 'Big Agra' issues paleo (and me!) have with soy in the first place (inc very high intensity farming, genetic modification and very high pesticide contamination).  By eating tofu, the soy has necessarily been processed.  This means some reduction of its antinutrient profile.  Although obviously, this comes at the expense of the processing (which itself is of course not paleo).  Not ideal? Not paleo? But a realistic personal choice, for me, at this time.

And as for the peanuts issue - well they are apparently a pretty unique (read: freak?) of the legumes, in that they:

1. Can harbour Aflatoxin, a carcinogenic mold 
2. Contain peanut agglutinin, a peanut lectin, which may be linked to bowel disease and colon-cancer
3. May contain a uniquely atherogenic oil: which induces atherosclerosis ie it clogs/blocks your arteries

- Atherosclerosis is a condition in which an artery wall thickens as a result of the accumulation of fatty materials such as cholesterol (wiki).

For decades, the atherogenic oil in peanuts has been used by scientists to induce atherosclerosis in cholesterol-fed rats, rabbits, and primates.  Some researchers think that peanut lectins, present in the oil, are the main cause of the atherogenicity (Mark's Daily Apple).

Yeah. I'm alright for that, thanks..

(c) Cookinglight.com

On a related topic though, I would be interested to know whether I can find out if my body is negatively affected by legumes.  I assume this would require some specific testing.  Its something I'm going to look into. (i.e. Google)...