The Things I Think About...

Yes, I've been negligent. My deepest apologies...

Because I've been in the midst of moving my life, I haven't been doing a lot of cooking. Seriously. Like none. It's bad. Anyways, though I haven't been cooking Paleo things, I've been thinking a lot about Paleo-ish things. In particular, I've been thinking more and more about how I should care about my surroundings and my treatment of my body externally as much as care about the food that I'm ingesting. I think this is a pretty common trend among us Paleo followers.

Here's the things I've been thinking about:

1. How to make my OCD cleaning habits more Paleo-friendly. Why on earth do I think that spending 30 minutes inhaling the fumes from my Lysol with Bleach bathroom cleaner is okay? It's being inhaled INTO my body, meaning that my body has to process it in some way. Sure, I'm not drinking the stuff and rushing off to the hospital for ingesting something poisonous, but my body still has to deal with the impurities/toxins that I end up inhaling. I've found this website which gives recipes for homemade household cleaners for various different services such as oven cleaner, tub/shower cleaner, dishwasher cleaner, etc. I've already talked to my roommate about switching over to the natural cleaning methods, and once I use up what I've got (yes, I'm frugal like that), I'm making a run to Sam's club for white vinegar, lemons, and a giant bag of baking soda. And borax if I can find it.

2. Paleo skincare. As I had mentioned the other week, I managed to get a staph infection from rowing camp. I went to my dermatologist (who I hadn't seen in two years) a week later just to make sure everything was healing well. And while I was there, we started talking about my history and continuing breakouts. In general, as long as I'm eating well (i.e. following Paleo), my skin tends to stay in decent shape in comparison to what I used to have back in college. However, I do still have little blackheads or whiteheads that pop up on my nose and jawline. It's not something I usually stress about, but sure, I'd like it to be gone. So my dermatologist convinced me to get these antibiotic wipes that I can use to remove the bacteria from my skin. She said it'd be good for clearing up the last of my staph infection, and would work for the breakouts on my face as well as for any heat rash I may get (my body does not handle heat rash well - it must be all of the Scandinavian blood in my family). So I gave it a try. I started using the wipes on my face once a day for about a week. The result? Not so pleasant. My face really broke out. In addition, it dried out my skin, so not only were my cheeks and jaw covered with red splotches, but also it was starting to flake and scab, even without picking at it. Pimples developed. I kept with it for a few more days, because I know that a lot of times things get worse before they get better (Such as stomach aches, headaches, etc. associated with starting Paleo - sometimes called the carb flu. Almost all of the paleo/primal blogs/books/dietary challenges out there tell you to be prepared for some immediate negative side effects.). After about a week and a half of this, I stopped and went back to just doing the oil cleansing method using a castor oil and grapeseed oil mixture, with apple cider vinegar + water as a toner, and either coconut oil or jojoba + rose hip seed oil as a moisturizer. And what happened but my skin started to heal and clear up within two days. What I'm taking away from this is that while medicine is indeed good for killing off bacteria/viruses that shouldn't be in/on your body, such as a staph infection, it may be best to allow your body to take of itself, but not stressing it out with bad food or unnecessary medicines.

3. Natural makeup. Since I've been thinking about skincare so much, I also started thinking about making the switch to natural makeups, meaning minus the toxins. Makeup gets into my pores (and probably causes part of my skin problems), and can get into your system via your eyes or your nose. I'm not quite ready to make the switch to much more expensive products that don't necessarily stay on as well, but I imagine it's going to happen at some point in time. And the funniest thing about all these thoughts about makeup is that Mark's Daily Apple just put up a post yesterday about it as well.

4. Motivation. I've been lacking motivation lately. That void mixed with a combination of work stress and moving stress has led to me snacking on sweets a lot and not working out as much, which in turn has led to me gaining weight. Yeah, the number on the scale isn't everything, but I do want it to be less. Overall, I feel pretty healthy: I still eat less sweets than some people I know, I exercise via rowing, I have decent physical endurance, my blood pressure is in the healthy range, etc. Though I'm sure the doctor would say that I could lose weight, it's not a major health concern from an organ-functioning standpoint. However, I've been having more and more joint pain lately. My ankles and knees tend to give me grief for any physical activity that I do, and I'm tired of going for a run and then limping my way downstairs to the freezer for ice packs for my knees (this happened Tuesday night). And usually that leads to me wallowing and eating sweets. Not exactly a cycle I want to be in. Anyways, I've been thinking that I need to refocus my goals to something that is more important than just my self-image. And what do you know, I've found it... Reducing joint pain. As a soon-to-be 26-year-old, I should not be having such frequent joint pain. Though I do remember my mom telling me even as a teenager that I seemed to have more aches and pains from soccer injuries than she did. According to an article on about.com, "Even small weight changes make a big difference because joint forces in the hips and knees increase about 3 times that weight with normal walking. This means that 15 pounds of extra body weight is felt by the knees as an extra 45 pounds." Ah, there's the rub... Motivation and will-power isn't everything, but I'm hoping that this can help me re-focus on my health goals.

5. Ergonomics. I am most comfortable sitting cross-legged. I do this at my desk at work. Or I sit with one leg folded up with that ankle resting under the opposite leg. It gives me nice large red marks on my legs, but I'm comfortable that way. As I mentioned above though, my joints have been hurting more lately, and I've been experiencing more pain after sitting at my desk for a long time, so I'm trying to force myself to sit like a normal person. It's difficult and uncomfortable, but I'm trying.

21DSD - Days 16, 17, and 18 - External Health

It's back to work, my friends. The glorious long weekend has passed and it's back to that same old grind, though a bit more intense right now because we're rushing to meet deadlines. I mean, we're always doing that, but one of the upcoming deadlines is a BIG one. With the rushing around that I've been doing throughout the day, I haven't been eating so great. I'm still 21DSD-acceptable, but not balanced. Let me share with you what I have been eating.

Tuesday: Breakfast: 2 eggs and 2 strips bacon, Lunch: Garden vegetable soup, Dinner: Lamb Chop (see below)

Wednesday: Breakfast: N/A, Lunch: Almond butter, carrots, and celery, Dinner: Pistachios

Thursday: Breakfast: Chili with poached egg and avocado (see below), Lunch: Chicken breast and avocado, Dinner: Chicken breast

So where's the veggies? And seriously, on Wednesday I ate nuts, nuts, carrots, celery, nuts, nuts, and nuts? What was I thinking? Bad idea. My stomach was angry, and I've realized that nuts make my face break out. Boo. Sadly, this is what happens when I go out of town, get sunburned, and not want to move. Lesson learned.

My sunburn from this past weekend got me thinking about how I take care of myself internally (I've changed the way I eat to make myself feel better), but I'm obviously not taking good (enough) care of myself externally. Sunburns are bad! Sure, the burn fades into a tan and then I look "healthy," but how is increasing my risk for a melanoma healthy? Oh wait, it's not. But Vitamin D is good for me... or at least that's what Mark Sisson keeps telling me (he's got a few posts about it). From here on out, I'm going to try to be more conscious of the condition of my skin, and to try to reapply sunscreen more frequently. I'll wear larger hats and sunglasses to protect my face, shoulders, and eyes. And I'll look into sun shirts, that I can possibly manage to wear in the brutal Texas summer.

Anyways, it got me thinking about my skin in general. I already posted previously about how I've started using coconut oil for my face and hair. And as I was thinking about my skin care regime, I realized that I had started going for the more natural/organic face washes and lotions, without truly making that my intention. As I pondered this gradual change, I decided that it made sense. Here I am, eating all of the grass-fed, free-range, organic meat that I can find, and scouring through ingredients lists to find Paleo-friendly foods with the least amount of ingredients, why wouldn't I start doing the same thing for my skin and hair?

I also happened to read a post from Hayley of Food Lovers Kitchen (http://www.primalpalate.com/blog/bye-bye-rosacea-glowing-skin-for-the-bride-to-be/) about skin care for her upcoming wedding to co-blogger Bill. She shared her skin care regime and mentioned something called oil cleansing. I know what you're thinking... how do you wash your face with oil? Here's what you need for an evening skincare regime:

Cleansing oils: Castor oil, mixed with sunflower seed oil or grapeseed oil (~1:2 ratio of castor to sunflower/grapeseed)

Moisturizing oil: Coconut oil or jojoba oil

The recommended procedure: Start by rubbing the "cleansing" oils into your skin for a few minutes. Then hold a washcloth under hot water. Wring out the cloth and apply to your face, thus "steaming" your face (if you've ever gotten a facial, you've probably had this steaming method done). Once the cloth has cooled, wipe off the oil from your face. Repeat if desired. Finish off with a thin layer of the moisturizing oil. Sleep on it. In the morning, you can either just splash your face with water, or use a mixture of water and baking soda to lightly wash your face

Personally, I don't own castor oil, so I've just been using coconut oil. Which means that my evening skin care prep before bed goes a bit like this...

1) Rub coconut oil onto face and wipe over eyes as makeup remover.

2) Place a hot washcloth on face for ~30 seconds. Wipe away makeup.

3) Rub coconut oil onto face.

4) Place a hot washcloth on face for ~30 seconds. Wipe clean.

5) Rub coconut oil onto face.

So in one evening, I use coconut oil as an eye makeup remover, a face wash, and a moisturizer. You gotta love those multi-purpose tools, or oils, as the case may be. The next time I head to the store, I plan on picking up some castor oil. But I've been doing this for 5 nights now, and so far I like it. My face feels clean, and when I wake up, even if I didn't do step 5), my face is super soft. I'll keep you posted on how it goes after more than just a few days.

For more information, check out Liz Wolfe's post here: http://cavegirleats.com/2010/12/29/cleansing-redefined/

Or find even more detail with: http://www.theoilcleansingmethod.com/

And to finish off with food... here's how I prepared my lamb chops:

Lamb Chops

1. Preheat oven to 375 F.

2. Season lamp chops with salt and pepper.

3. Cook in oven for 9 minutes per side or until internal temp reaches 140 F (if you want it cooked medium).

4. Remove from heat and let rest for 8 minutes.

21 DSD - Days 14-15 - Sunburn Relief

So, let's discuss the remainder of my Memorial Day weekend and returning to work. As I mentioned, I got super sunburned. The drive back home was misery. Most of my focus for the last couple days has been on sunburn relief. On the drive back home, we stopped at a Buc-ee's for snacks. Yeah, this is how Texans do gas stations...

I bought beef jerky. Yum! And then we stopped at a CVS located catty-corner to the Buc-ee's for me to pick up some Solarcaine spray. The aloe just wasn't enough. So I dashed into the store to get out of the sun, bought a can, and headed back outside (and into the shade) to spray myself down while my friends laughed at me from the car. It sustained me for the rest of the drive. But by the time I got dropped off at my apartment, I could barely move because my shoulders and legs were so sore and tight. I even took the elevator up to the third floor of the parking garage because I just couldn't use my arms to pick stuff up and definitely couldn't rest anything on my shoulder. I felt lazy, but it was utterly necessary.

Once I got into my apartment, I dumped everything on the floor, and dashed as quickly as I could, which was maybe closer to a waddle, to the bathroom. I carefully peeled my dress off and took a glorious, yet shiveringly cool, shower. After patting myself dry, I sprayed down with Solarcaine again, but then faced the dilemma of what to put on my sunburned forehead. Up until then, I had been applying coconut oil to my face for the sunburn, but it didn't seem to be helping much, besides keeping my skin moisturized. I then remembered reading an article a while back about how apple cider vinegar can be used for sunburn. I had some vinegar/water premixed and stored in an old shampoo bottle for use as a hair rinse in the shower, so I put some on a clean washcloth and held it against my forehead for a minute. And it seemed to draw out the heat, and felt better than the Solarcaine. I wrung out the washcloth, added fresh apple cider vinegar and water mixture, and reapplied in the following cycle: forehead, right quad, left quad, right shoulder, left shoulder, chest, and the back of the neck. Repeat again and again. I'm pretty sure I spent an hour doing that, before laying down on my couch and not moving. And I had to mix up more of the vinegar-water mixture. I finally dragged myself from my lethargy to head to the movie theater with my lake friends to see Star Trek: Into Darkness (it was awesome). After a stop to Walmart for more Solarcaine, I got home, dumped 1.5 cups of vinegar into the bath tub, and took a 40-minute cool bath. I used coconut oil as a moisturizer post-vinegar, and went to sleep happy. I seriously think that the vinegar was the better pain relief for the sunburn. The Solarcaine seems to make me feel itchy, sticky, and then dried out.

For Monday's holiday, my plans of hanging by the pool with friends got changed to sitting around my apartment, chatting, watching chick flicks, and drinking mimosas (or water if you're me). I started and ended the day with apple cider vinegar applications. And food? I was too sore and lazy to cook, so I ate beef jerky for breakfast, snacked on bell peppers that one of my friends brought over, and had bacon and eggs for dinner. It was a good, lazy day, that probably should have been spent cleaning, doing laundry, or cooking meals for the week. But what are giant Tupperware containers of frozen leftovers for, if not for lazy days?

Want to know what else apple cider vinegar is good for? Check out my post on Natural Beauty.