Things I Think My Rats Believe

As a pet owner, you probably wonder what your little animal children are thinking. I've pondered this as well and have come up with a list describing how my rats must see the world.

A Few Things My Rats Believe
1) All pet rats are spoiled. In other words, you have a rat in order to kiss him, cuddle him, talk to him, and give him cookies.
2) All wild rats are just rats with bad manners. Sadly, they have no one to teach them how to be cute and nice.
3) My poop is pretty amazing. Everyday my momma comes and gathers my poop and puts it in a special place.
4) I love being on my favorite shelf with my brother/sister, my best friends, and my favorite stuff.
5)  If I can reach it, it's part of my stuff.
6) Sniffing, climbing, touching, and chewing are all important ways to explore.
7) Rats are not 'fat'. They can be regular, round, or extra-round.
8) When my momma talks to me, all is right with the world.

Processed Foods I Am Willing to Eat

I eat unprocessed foods. That means meat, fruit, and vegetables that I buy WHOLE from the farmer's market/rancher/store. I also try to make sure it is grown/raised locally if possible. A lot of folks can't wrap their minds around this, because eating this way means no fast food. No frozen foods. No boxed food. No canned food. A "quick and easy" meal still means choppin' up stuff and cookin' it (unless it's salad).

Well, that said I will admit to you all that there are some processed foods I am willing to eat. I understand that my definition of a "processed food" may differ from yours.

So, here it is--

Processed Foods I Will Eat

1) Kelp noodles- sometimes I just gotta have noodles
2) Ketchup- I only buy ketchup once or twice a year. I get organic ketchup w/o the high fructose corn syrup
3) Tomato sauce- at least it's organic
4) Coconut aminos- ditto
5) CHOCOLATE- man, I should've topped the list with this one! I buy the 72% or more cocoa
6) Hearts of palm- well, it does come in a can
7) Applegate Organic Hot Dogs- because sometimes a girl just wants a big weiner XD
8) Mustard- again, organic and w/o a lot of strange words I can't even pronounce
9) WINE-again, should've topped the list :) And, it's fermented but since I don't do gluten (ie: no beer) I have become more of a wine drinker.
10) OMG- Diet Coke! I give you up for weeks or months, only to fall off the wagon. 


What about sauerkraut? What about balsamic vinegar? What about olives? Yeah, I buy them but they are fermented or brined so I'm not sure if they belong on this list or not.

Why share this list? Because I've run into some folks who hear that I avoid wheat and gluten and so try to be helpful by suggesting gluten-free this and gluten-free that. I smile and say I'll look into it, but usually these have a lot of added fats, chemicals, or sugar I can do without. It's important that I eat as much unprocessed foods as possible AND as little processed foods as possible.

But, I will have a gluten-free beer once in a while. :)

Good-Bye, Lily Rat :(

This morning we said good-bye to Lily. Lily was a very sweet, determined rat. She out-lived her best friend, Black Rat, so it's comforting to think that they are re-united and can sleep together under the Rainbow Bridge.

Lily was an explorer. She loved out-of-the-cage time. She would sniff, climb, run, and waddle, sometimes finding a snack, sometimes finding her way to parts of the apartment we thought we had blocked off. While very patient when receiving cuddles and kisses, she was happiest when we let her run off on her own. She would always come back and say hello, then be off.

Lily loved snacks. She also believed that the crust was the best part of the bread and that blueberries and grapes were very yummy.

Artsy photo of a very sweet rat. I miss her. :(((

Her patience was a lesson for me. While other rats might show a bit of restlessness, she would calmly rest her chin on her crossed paws with her tail wrapped around her, just patiently waiting for her people to get a clue about rat needs (salad, out-time, snacks, kisses, etc.).

She was the boss-rat of this colony in spite of being smaller than WhiskaRat and Shy Violet.

Last year she had a tumor removed. Earlier this month, two more were removed. She seemed to be quite strong and active for an old rat (over 2 years old) so I felt she would survive the surgery and recovery. She did, and was her old self again (after 3 trips to the vet to re-stitch her owie) for a few days. Then, Lily seemed to slow down. I thought she was taking it easy after perhaps pushing herself a little much so soon after her recovery. But last night, we noticed she was trying very hard to breathe and was unresponsive to the snack sound. This morning we brought her to the vet who said she had pneumonia. :( She was just getting weaker and weaker. We decided to say good-bye and spent about 20min in an examination room, just holding and talking to her. I know she appreciated it, and gave us a final happy-rat face. At the end, I broke down and even though we knew it was better for her it was very, very hard to give her to the dr.

I loved her very much, my special girl.

No Coffee o_O

Honestly, part of me still doesn't know why I chose, actually chose, to stop drinking coffee. After all I had given up- bread, pasta, cake, pastries (i.e.: nothing to dip in my coffee), ice cream, dairy (no cream in my coffee)- why was I letting go of my only comfort, my friend coffee? First of all, it's for 30 days. But, let me try to explain this to myself. again.

As we all know, coffee has caffeine. Even decaf coffee still has an appreciable amount of caffeine, and this caffeine affects our brains. Most of us, myself included, LOVE THIS AFFECT. THAT'S WHY I DRINK COFFEE. *ahem* Anyway, caffeine blocks hormones that make us feel sleepy, so we don't get quality sleep. And, caffeine other hormones in the brain that make us feel good and alert. This "alertness" is for danger, so your body is in "fight or flight mode" every day which is not healthy. Also, if you are prone to panic attacks, caffeine makes them worse. I am not prone to panic attacks, but who knows what-all types of mental woes I've inherited (and I've inherited quite a few).

And *sigh* I almost hate to admit this, but my weight-loss has been non-existent. I been trying for a year now, seriously since July, to lose the extra weight I've gained being back in America. Healthy eating and exercise don't seem to be working so maybe, just maybe, too much coffee is hindering my weight-loss. Since it does increase cortisol levels there may be something to it.

So far? Well, today is Day 3. On Day 1 I felt lousy. Huge headaches, tummy ache, couldn't focus on any one task, couldn't sit still, couldn't do anything! Napped for about an hour. Day 2 I subbed and that was not good. I was a bit scatterbrained and still had difficulty focusing. Today, my headaches are better but I've been tired all day. I did take a nap, but it was short. I still have a hard time focusing on tasks.

But, I'm hopeful and am looking forward to meeting myself at the end of the month.

I've Become THAT Person

I've spent almost my whole life as the type of person who can, and did, eat almost anything. I felt fortunate in that I didn't have any food allergies or religious restrictions or new-age ideals against any types of foods. Sure, there were those years of "dieting" to lose weight with the occasional indulgence. And, yeah, I did discover a slight intolerance to lactose, leading me to greatly reduce (but not totally eliminate) my cheese and ice cream intake.

When I began the Paleo/Primal lifestyle I was delighted! Food was full of flavor and I still got to eat many of my favorite foods. It was a relief to eat bacon and eggs without the guilt. Steak became a healthfood (as long as it was grass-fed, of course). Trips to the farmers' market were an adventure as Froody and I harvested familiar and new fruits and vegetables. I was eating things like chard, kale, and kohl rabi along with organic heirloom tomatoes. Ah, life and eating were good!

The only downside was the fact that I wasn't losing any weight. Granted, I hadn't gained any, either, but I really, really, really wanted/needed to lose at least 25lbs. So I became more strict. In doing so, I changed. No longer the person who ate anything I was the one at the restaurant who asked all those annoying questions: "Is it unsweetened?", "Can I get that without the bread?", "There's no rice or pasta in it, right?", "No cheese, please, and can I just have oil and vinegar on the side?" "Can I have the side salad instead of the french fries?"

Seriously, it's that strange for me. We even had dinner with some friends, one of whom only eats raw fruits and vegetables. While she was making the salad she asked me if I wanted corn in it. I said I could pick it out, but she basically said it was the first time she had to deal with someone else's diet. For a change. That really got to me!

Honestly giving up the breads, cereals, rice, pasta, corn, tortillas, etc. wasn't all that hard. Cutting my alcohol back to a drink once or twice a month isn't that terrible, neither was giving up sugar and chocolate. The most difficult thing was cutting out all dairy (you've already messed with my coffee MoFo!! curse you for taking my creamer!!).

I feel like I'm the weird one making sure what I eat is gluten-free, dairy-free, and sugar-free; that it's wholesome and organic; that it's locally grown (a plus). If I eat gluten or dairy, I feel bloated and nauseous. Even if it's a little bit. :( Now, I have to think about each bite of food and ask myself 1) Will this make me sick? and 2) If so, is it worth it? Because I will. get. physically. ill.

The longer I follow this lifestyle the more I come across folk who also have wheat and dairy sensitivities. (OK, lets' call them what they are: allergies). I've even heard of some restaurants having allergy-free menus. Gee, if so many are sensitive to gluten, maybe it's time to put down that bagel and have some more bacon.

The 12 Days of Christmas- CrossFit Style

Merry Fitness to All, and to All a Good Workout!

Today, our gym co-hosted a Holiday Workout and Pig Roast. At first, I thought it was so awesome that our gym has created this amazing and fun community, one where we'd love to participate in a sort of "workout/party".

When we arrived, we discovered that this Holiday Workout had a theme: The 12 Days of Christmas. This is what was posted on the board when you walked in:

1. Weighted 100m run- run as fast as you can carrying a weight (I used a 10lb medicine ball. One of my trainers carried a 50lb keg)
2. Pistols- one-legged squats
3. Knees-to-elbows - hang from the pull-up bar and bring your knees to your elbows or as high as you can
4. Box jumps
5. Burpees- ugh... basically, fall on the ground, do a push-up (I do planks), bring your feet under you into a squat, then jump up and clap your hands above your head
6. Pull-ups
7. Sit-ups
8. Ring dips- I did regular dips on a tall box
9. Kettle bell swings (I used a 12lb kb)
10. Tire flips- flip a tractor tire. Choice between large and super large (I did the large one)
11. Hollow rocks- lie on the floor and curl up, keeping your abs tight, then rock back and forth. Is harder than it sounds
12. Hand-stand push-ups- yup, get upside down and do a push-up. (I did it kneeling on a box)

So, you had to do the workout like the song: 1 100m weighted run; 2 pistols and a 100m weighted run; 3 knees-to-elbows, 2 pistols, and a 100m weighted run....

I think you get the point. And you should've seen everyone's face as soon as this workout sunk in. I was none too happy about it, but I was determined to do it.

Man, there was a lot of cursing involved. At least on my part! (Hey, isn't Jesus the reason for the season anyway??). The trouble is that at first it's not so bad, but that 100m weighted run gets harder and harder. The worst part, for me, was the 10 tire flips. Jesus Christ... Goddamn f***in' tractor tire... Yeah, you're flipping a tractor tire 30 times!!!! Some of the middle ones also were deceptive. You're like, "*pshaw* 7 sit-ups... that's cake!" But you're doing 6 sets of 7 after all the kettlebell swings/pull-ups/and tire flips which are all things that require solid cores. It was also hard on my hands because you're doing 7 sets of 6 pull-ups and 10 sets of 3 k2e. For the first time in my life, the burpees were not the suckiest part of the workout, and that's saying something!

In the end, a lot of people showed up for this workout and we had to do it in two heats. I joined the first heat. It took me 50 minutes to do this 12 Days of Christmas Workout, which is very long for a Crossfit workout. But, after a little cry I felt better and am very, very glad I did it. :)

Farewell to Cream

Dear Cream-

We've been together for a while now. Without you, I don't know if I could have dumped sugar out of my life. But my friends are telling me that you're no good for me and that I should give you up. :(

This is hard for me, too, Cream. It's not you- you're great- it's me. Somehow you're keeping me from reaching my goals. I decided that losing my excess weight is more important to me than how you make my coffee taste in the morning.

I see this as a temporary split. Maybe, in a month's time, we can try again. I hope that in the meantime we can still be friends.

Good-bye and God bless,
Janola