Mar

TGIF – CrossFit, Calories, Books, and Diaper Free Babies

— by Tiffany in Tidbits

What a week! TGIF!

A had a health hiccup recently that threw me for a loop but I was able to get things under control. Basically my thyroid went wacko and I slipped back into hypothyroid symptoms despite my medication. Once again my hair started falling out and my basal body temperature dipped to 96.2 on average. Panic started to set in and I began to doubt my diet since diet is what threw my thyroid into a tailspin in the first place. I was able to figure out though that my symptoms started right when I joined a CrossFit box. From there it was not hard to figure out that my calorie expenditure went way up and my calories going in, did not. It was accidental calorie restriction and that is well known for causing low body temperatures and thyroid problems due to bodily stress. I didn’t even think about it because I wasn’t losing any weight. In fact I gained some. But yet I know that I have gained an incredible amount of muscle since I started doing CrossFit. I am well on my way to Linda Hamilton’s Terminator arms and Tamilee Webb’s Buns of Steel. Booyah!

So I started eating 500+ calories more than usual each day and my temperatures are steadily going up. 98.3 as of yesterday! I also decided to try and vary my carbs to more greens, veggies, and fruit instead of Lara bars and yogurt. And despite eating way more, I lost a teeny bit of weight this week so I know I am not eating too much. My hair is loss is already slowing greatly too. Things are looking up!

Despite that snafu, I am so very much in love with CrossFit I can not even express it. This video kind of does it justice:

If not maybe this piece of sheer awesomeness does. I got a kettlebell necklace from Flashletics this week. Love, love, love!

I have been spending lots of time outside gardening and just sitting on my beloved Adirondack chair reading a book and earthing. I believe in the concept so much. Any time I have even the slightest ache or pain it is gone within minutes of digging my feels into the dirt. I also decided to visit a chiropractor to work on persistent back pain due to years of working at a desk and that is also improving. Once weekly I get a massage, chiro adjustment, and a session on a traction table. If only I could move my computer desk outside onto the grass I think all my problems would be solved. ;)

So far I have started radish, lettuce, and rainbow chard seeds inside my house in my little greenhouse. I also repotted a red raspberry bush into a bigger pot. It already has lots of leaves and new growth. I also have pink hydrangea starting to get growth and an indoor purple hydrangea blooming. Yay for spring! Can’t wait to get started planting inside our raised bed.

The kids and I also did some crafting outside but I probably won’t share info on that until Screen Free Week, which is from April 30th to May6th. But here is a preview:

Books I have read of late:

The 4-Hour Workweek – In general I really like the ideas and concepts presented here. It encourages you to forget the old concept of retirement and the rest of the deferred-life plan. It’s all about living your dreams now and not putting off things like world travel, especially in unpredictable economic times.

The Self Sufficient-ish Bible: An Eco-living Guide for the 21st Century - An awesome book to read on a warm spring day outside. It seeks to show you how you can live a more self sufficient, eco-concious lifestyle without drastically altering the way you live now.

Parenting Without Power Struggles: Raising Joyful, Resilient Kids While Staying Cool, Calm, and Connected - Always good to have reminders and tips.

Fever (Chemical Garden) - The sequel to Wither, which I loved. Didn’t like this one as much but still excited for the third book.

The Goddess Test - Kinda liked this book and want to continue the series. Its about a young woman who gets an offer from Hades to marry him and help him run the Underworld if she can pass seven tests.

Other Cool Links:

Enjoyed this post by Matt Monarch of Raw Food World about his diaper free baby daughter. Really wish I had tried EC with my babes!

These RSVP Herb Scissors are wonderful! I need these pronto!

This article on Getting Your Kids to Plug into Nature. I love how Diane recommends getting kids outside even if it is rainy. Just put on some boots, a raincoat, and get out there!

I plan on making a grain free carrot cake for either Easter or Earth Day or both. Maybe this one?

Have a great weekend all and feel free to share amazing links you have discovered recently in the comments. Don’t keep all the good stuff to yourself!

Friday, March 30th, 2012

4 Comments

http://www.facebook.com/krissy.richardsonblack Krissy Richardson Black

I read the 4HWW about 2 weeks ago and have implemented many of the suggested strategies such as batching email and limiting distractions and it has freed up a ridiculous amount of time. I must have been wasting a lot of time even though I thought I was working so hard.

You should check out the 4 Hour Body. I actually heard about the 4HWW while reading Primal Blueprint and thought it sounded interesting. All good stuff. Love your blog:)
- http://www.naturemoms.com/blog Tiffany
  
  I like 4 Hour Body too!
http://naturalmomstalkradio.com/blog carrielee

Tiffany, I’ve been silently concerned since you began posting about a paleo diet. I’ve never tried it personally, but I’ve been reading from bloggers I admire that after feeling great for the first few months on paleo (the “honeymoon” effect), they began to experience low thyroid symptoms. Matt Stone at 180DegreeHealth, Anne-Marie at Cheeseslave, and there are a few others I can’t think of off the top of my head (search the comments on their posts on the topic and you’ll see what I mean). I’ve been wondering if this might happen to you eventually.

Personally, I find that when I dip too low carb, I begin to feel “off” and hypoglycemic. Then I crave white rice. After eating it for a few days I feel better again. It might be worth looking into.
- http://www.naturemoms.com/blog Tiffany
  
  I have followed all of that as well and heartily disagree with them. When this happened the high carb diet they push popped into my head but actually if you look at Anne-Marie’s blog she mentioned that she was barely eating back then (aka when her problems appeared) and I think she even said she was only eating 1000 calories a day, so I believe calorie restriction was the culprit more so than carbs. It is easy to do when you limit your carb options. I will have rice when we eat sushi, once a month and I will eat potatoes once a week. I am actually not low carb. I very rarely dip under 100 grams of carbs per day and I think 50 grams is considered low-carb. Rather than just go the higher carb route I decided to see if more calories would correct it and sure enough I think that was it.
  
  Also, not a fan of Matt Stone so much as he actually encourages junk carbs like Haggen Daz and Doritos.