LadyM's seduction continues (sur son propre velo)

[LadyM]

I've wandered into the darling resort town near my beach to do a little writing and thought I'd check in since I took the plunge and indulged in some delicious ice cream. I've been longing for it and thought, hey, why not go ahead and try a dairy re-intro before I'm on proper vacay in case it doesn't go well? Then I'll know not to do ice cream on the boardwalk in Rehoboth to save me some pain. So, we shall see.

The beach was, of course, marvy, and yes, I did roll up a towel for lumbar support and it did the trick! Thanks, Bethany!

Derval, I also got stuck into The Island and am enjoying it very much. The perfect beach read! Thanks for the rec! I'm obsessed with Tana French, a Dubliner, and Denise Mina, a Glaswegian, both of whom write stupendously good crime novels. Have you read them?

Anyway, I cancelled drinks. Figured ice cream and extra beach and resort town time was a better choice.

OK, back to proper writing now. I'm sitting outside at a cafe I love and the weather is absolutely perfect. Happy, happy. And that's not just the sugar talking, yo.

[Nadia B]

Which one did you get?

[LadyM]

Which one did you get?

Haha, I got two scoops because I couldn't pick just one: toasted coconut and salted caramel with chocolate hunks in it. So good. Satisfied now. And so far, no ill effects.

The last time I had ice cream was the Fourth of July, and it was delicious then, too. But it's certainly nothing to develop a habit with. A rare summertime treat, for sure. Plus, who could afford a habit with the fancy specialty stuff I have a taste for? My two scoops cost me $9. I'm not kidding.

[LadyM]

Well, the only effect I'm feeling from dairy is I woke up with slightly puffy stiff fingers. This is a dead giveaway to me that something didn't sit right and I haven't felt it in a long time. I used to experience this daily! Anyway, it's not dramatic or tragic, but it is a signal to me that dairy is something to seriously limit. And so I shall.

[pjena]

Oh my, those ice cream flavors sound good!  That would be in my worth it category, too. 

 

Good for you taking note of your body's signal not to do that too often!  I try to notice those little things, too.  They don't always deter me (I'll have a glass of wine tomorrow with my mom despite knowing it will give me a little sore throat, likely a poor night sleep and bloat in the morning), but they do help keep the off roads to a minimum.

[Nadia B]

That would be my choice probably too. I am crazy about pistachio and hazelnut too. The best ice-cream flavours I've ever had was...wait for it - tomato carrot celery. I kid you not, it was the most delicious thing in the world. Liquid Ceasar ahaha. Second best one was vanilla with gorgonzola. Ok, drooling is over.  

 

I feel like this is the only approach to off-roading. I will not touch a store bought ice-cream from the tubes with a 5 meter pole or eat crappy chocolate bars, donuts from convenience store etc. While some people might think it is because I am a health nut or have allergies, the first reason that stops any internal debate in a first place - it does not taste like food. It tastes like I am eating granulated sugar by spoonfuls. I mean I love myself enough. 

[LadyM]

Well, I'm solidly back to w30 template eating. It's interesting to observe my monkey mind wandering into "Well, I could have . . ." territory, but then I just gently guide it back to calm, benign, healthy choices and say, " yes, sweetie, you can ALWAYS have . . . but now we're choosing . . ." Works like a charm.

And note to self: immediate return to strict template eating is the only way back from off roading. Simple and perfect. Also works like a charm.

But I know I'll have a paleofied swypo dessert session in the kitchen before long. I've still got banana nut muffins in the freezer from my last go round. Keeps things interesting, and then I lose interest. Like most things. Ha!

Swimmer boy and I have set a date one week from tonight. I have no expectations. It's the only way with these things.

[Deb.]

LM I'm officially stalking your log and lovin' it. 

Need to know what swoon sauce and awesome sauce are! 

[LadyM]

LM I'm officially stalking your log and lovin' it. 

Need to know what swoon sauce and awesome sauce are!

Hi Deb! Thanks for dropping by! You can find the recipe for awesome sauce here: http://theclothesmakethegirl.com/2014/03/10/bacon-jalapeno-burger-balls/ though it's woefully not in any way AIP compliant.

Swoon sauce is made and sold by a friend. It's a magical combo of almonds, lemon, garlic, cilantro, coconut aminos, and some other secret ingredients, I'm sure. Also, not AIP. Sorry. Great name though, huh?

[Deb.]

LOVE both those names. 

Ohhh so sad re compliance, BUT, I will continue to be obsessed with this one, where I just leave out the peppers. 

Requires anchovy love!

http://nomnompaleo.com/post/31668858279/leons-caper-and-anchovy-miracle-sauce

I do believe the sauce maketh the meal, so I am always on the sauce prowl. 

 

Am enjoying reading the log and cracking the M for mystery 

[Deb.]

PS maybe I'll get inspired to make an AIP Awesome Sauce. I see possibilities. 

[LadyM]

PS maybe I'll get inspired to make an AIP Awesome Sauce. I see possibilities.

Have you figured out a compliant mayo? I made an avocado based one the couple of weeks I did AIP last year, but it was the spices that I missed the most. I'm lost without my cumin! I have cut waaaay back on my peppers and nightshades and I'm pretty much off coffee, too. So, I've retained some of the practices. They're congruent with an Ayurvedic approach to balancing excess Pitta.

Love that nomnom sauce! (I'm a sauce queen, fo' shiz. It's one of my best secrets to success.)

[Beets]

Rainy+gray+lay around reading all day = my dream come true.

The gyoza meatballs sound fab. (Catching up as usual.) I wonder if that Swoon sauce is Lebanese? Reminds me of a reall yummy Lebanese sauce/condiment a friend makes.

I completely agree about email v human connections. It's so easy to fall in love with a fabricated customized version of someone, presented in emails.

Honestly my first thought about the prolonged emailing was "married," but I'm probably just being a crazy old cynic! Ignore me.

Your ice cream sounds amazing. Congrats on finishing the most laid back easy whole 30 ever completed.

[LadyM]

Thanks, Beets. It was a pretty super chill W30. Today the off roading was a bit much though. Yesterday was compliant, but this afternoon the sugar dragon got the best of me and instead of a template dinner I succumbed to a (dairy and soy free) chocolate bar from the depths of my freezer as well as those swypo banana nut muffins I made ages ago. Also polished off three dates that had been hanging out in my fruit basket for more than a month. Wow. I think it was a combo of eating my feelings+pms+not eating enough carbs.

Now I'm not sure where this leaves me for my trip. On one hand, I just want to relax and not think about food restrictions for five days. On the other hand, I know I'll feel terrible if I don't make good choices. Oh well. I guess I'll just trust that I'll find a middle way, keeping in mind that priority number one is to relax and enjoy.

What I usually do is skip breakfast bc it's generally pastries on offer. I drink tea instead. Then a simple salad with protein for lunch, and something as compliant as possible to eat for dinner with a cocktail and/or ice cream one night. I almost always come home feeling slimmer than when I left. So, I'll keep that intention, too!

[LadyM]

Also, Derval, those lepers are totally bumming me out!

[Derval]

Ooops, sorry, not a very happy read!

[pjena]

I'm with you, M.  Off-roading opens the door for the monkey brain to run wild.  Just need to calmly get back on track.  For me, it was the not worth it and not eaten for a good reason cabin rice krispie bar.  My brain then decided it wanted to rebel.  I'm getting back to just calm eating. 

 

I'm also aiming for a middle ground on my trip in a couple weeks.  I don't want to worry about food.  But, I want to feel good.  I plan to go with the flow, but try to stick to meals and template and limit sugar.  If I limit my food off roading, I can enjoy more wine.   I'll suffer the consequences of the wine, I'm sure, but I don't need to add sugar overload to that.

 

Good luck to us both!

[LadyM]

Travel day. Layover at ORD. Vacay over.

Had a wonderful time and completely off roaded in utter caution thrown to the wind style. In fairness, it happened gradually. Day one: stayed compliant except one cocktail with dinner. Every day while my friends ate dry cereal, pastries, and coffee with milk and sweetener, I ate boiled eggs for breakfast. When they had sandwiches and chips with diet soda followed by candy, I ate big salads with tuna for lunch.

But I had fish tacos one night--gasp! Gluten--, ice cream three times (totally worth it homemade bought and eaten fresh from the farm), some kind of fruity malt beverage (beer for girls/déclassé wine cooler territory) by the pool, and then last night I had a cheesesteak, French fries, root beer, a piece of salt water taffy, and a slice of homemade peach cobbler. So, totally off the rails last night, and I enjoyed it, knowing it won't happen again until next year most likely.

Interesting fact: I never overate, and I discerned no immediate negative reactions except overall sluggish digestion, which isn't terribly new. I do think it was really good for me to take a break--from cooking, from rigidity, from obsessive thinking, from being such a control freak. I also took a break from email, internet, and my phone (save a couple Instagram posts, couldn't resist), and focused on being with my friends every single moment. A real vacation. Really lovely.

So, moving forward, I'm feeling like I can handle this. Today I'm back to template best I can on a travel day rather than saying f@$& it why not eat chips and guac at Frontera or popcorn or a donut or whatever. I have a date tomorrow night; an MLB game, my first this summer, on Sunday; drinks with the cast Monday; a restaurant week outing Tuesday; a birthday party and wedding the second weekend of September . . . And what I'm planning to do is just roll with it. Enjoy myself. Make the healthiest possible choices, which becomes more complex when not tethered to W30, even just psychologically speaking. I'm deliberately giving myself permission to loosen up for the final stretch of summer, trusting that I can ride my own bike, maybe crash a little once in a while, but dust myself off and get back on it. I feel best template eating and so I will do that most of the time. When I'm off roading, I'm enjoying myself and not causing myself to suffer unduly. If I detect such a thing happening, I'm going straight back to w30.

This is me making my way and staying as sane as I can while living the richest possible life, learning all the time.

[Physibeth]

Sounds like you had a fantastic vacation and you have a great plan to finish the summer sane and strong! Good on you!

[Geminimik]

Missing Lady M.

[pjena]

Love it!  Make your way. Ride your bike.  Maybe crash but get up and dust yourself off.   

[LadyM]

Crashed and burned last night. First date at a pizza place. Fully intended to have salad and wine but dude didn't want to order right away and ordered a fancy bread basket with dipping oil. I partook, and then would have been happy with a salad, so he suggested we split one of their specialty salads and a small pizza. So we did. I just didn't want to be or make a problem about food. And I had two glasses of wine, one of which didn't taste good to me (they ran out of my first choice, so second glass was from a different bottle). I don't know what caused it, of course, but before the date was over I could feel my eyelids start to swell. Nothing drastic, mind you, just noticeable for me.

Other than that, it was a nice date. I mean, he was very pleasant and good company. So yay for that.

But I woke up several times in the night in excruciating pain. My period started with a vengeance, so it was severe hormonal cramping, but it also felt like either alcohol poisoning or sugar shock. So weird. And terrible. I mean moaning on the bathroom floor for hours with waves of pain undulating through my body terrible.

All my plans for an early trip to the farmers market and an all-day yoga workshop have been foiled. I did make it to the farmers market at 10:30, and will likely catch the afternoon session of yoga, especially since I already paid for it, but it's been rough going. I'm much better now, but yikes.

Whatever caused last night's debacle, I can't help but think my hormones are off because of all my recent off roading. I haven't had period related pain like this in a dog's age. And I don't want to have it again for another dog's age, let me tell you. I'll talk to FMD about it Monday and then reconsider my game plan. Clean eating today for sure, and I'll see what I can do with tomorrow's travel and baseball game. I'm going with a friend from grad school who's a Crossfit queen, so I'm guessing she won't be pounding beers and hot dogs, anyway.

[Derval]

Aw sounds awful, poor thing.

Glad date went well though. Hope the rest of your weekend is good.

[Deb.]

Wow Lady M so sorry to hear all this. 

 

I personally have noticed a connection between alcohol and severe menstrual cramps - I once asked my husband to take me to the hospital because of the pain (after a 3 margarita night, and we were in Big Sur!! so he was like uhhhhh can you take a bath?)  - so I totally sympathize. I have no idea what the science is behind that. I guess you're right that for you it could be the cumulative off roading effect on your hormones. 

 

Hope you have a nurturing, nourishing day and come back into balance as fast as possible.

[Physibeth]

Glad the date was nice despite the after effect of the food. I'm actually started to connect sugar to the intensity of my menstrual cramps personally but it could really be a myriad of things. 

 

Here is to a calm healing day!