I was good with the diet on Day 1. Breakfast consisted of eggs, only to be made complete by the table-full of vitamins, supplements, and allergy meds. Work was semi-busy in the morning, so I didn’t even notice that I was thirsty or munchy until about lunchtime. Lunch consisted of a millet-bread sandwich with zucchini hummus (made by the best chef in the world!), spinach, and a roasted red pepper. And yes, more supplements mixed in some applesauce. The afternoon was slow, so in between writing Day 1’s posting, I also snacked on all of the fruit I had (grapes are the best snack for work because they are finger-sized and simple to grab, and they still maintain that sweet factor that I crave). For dinner, we made grass-fed beef burgers. No buns…are you crazy! I can’t have grains! We’ve discovered that a burger patty on top of sweet potato hash is absolutely delicious, but last night we combined the burger with bacon, guacamole and I had cooked spinach on the side. Of course, my meal cannot be complete without supplements…breakfast and dinner’s supplements involve a maneuver I have come to call “Dump and Chug”. Essentially applesauce can get old…so for the meals where I only need one pill and a liquid supplement mixed in juice, I just empty the contents of the pill in my mouth, and chug the nasty supplement-juice to wash it all down. Voila. All gone…in ten seconds flat. ;-)
Here we are now, Day 2. I have still been good. Eggs were for breakfast again, and millet bread sandwich for lunch, both complete with sides of supplements. It seems like a pretty boring and consistent diet, doesn’t it? We do mix up the dinner menu…that’s the most exciting meal of the day! Sometimes I even get to take leftovers for lunch. :)
But today is slightly different. Today is a Game Day. This means many things to many people. Normally, for me it would mean to stock up on fuel-food, and definitely don’t forget the Gatorade!!! Well, you all know the restrictions…no pasta and definitely no sugar. Two weekends ago, I had two games in one day. I stayed true to the diet and ate only what I could have. I only took water to the games. The first game went by without a hitch.
The second game started off the same…but about 20 minutes in, I started to feel some cramps sneaking into my calves. OK, I thought, I’ll just stretch them a bit…keep them loose. Not a problem. By halftime I was cramping and stretching pretty constantly. About halfway through the second half, I went up for what turned out to be the last ball I’d go up for in that game. I went up and then came crashing down with Charlie Horses in both legs. I felt like my calves were never going to release. Finally, after what seemed like eternity to me, but was probably only about two minutes, I was able to hobble off the field, thanks to the ref stretching them for me. Not only did I not go back in the game, I also limped around work for two days before finally putting heat on it. Oh, the magic of heat…Two days of heat, and I was almost 100%.
At first, I said “Screw the diet on game days!”. I purchased a compression sleeve for the worst of the two calves. This past weekend I had three games in two days. Saturday I just wore the sleeve, drank Gatorade during and after the game, and had a banana after. Would you believe that I actually felt sick after drinking the Gatorade? Here I am thinking I was doing my body a favor by giving it the electrolytes it obviously craved, and in return I get stomach-cramping and nausea. Who would have thought my body would reject the oh-so-delicious sugar I’ve ingested for as long as I can remember, and after such a short span of time? I figured I definitely needed the Gatorade on Sunday because I had two games. The electrolytes seemed to help in combination with the sleeve, so I figured I’d go easy on the Gatorade, but still drink it throughout the day. I didn’t have any cramping in the calves, but my stomach was still not happy with the Gatorade.
So what do we do? Today is Game Day. I shouldn’t drink Gatorade, but how do I get the electrolytes I need? Brawndo won’t exist for another 500 years! (That’s an “Idiocracy” reference, for those who have not seen it…)
Everyone thinks that eating a banana will give you the potassium you need to reduce, eliminate, or prevent cramping. Everyone is told that Gatorade helps hydrate, which will also help reduce, eliminate, or prevent cramping. There are natural sugar substitutes to Gatorade, such as the Emergen-C brand. But I was still mostly impressed by the less-advertised foods that have incredible amounts of potassium.
Let’s take a look at how things compare:
• Gatorade: Potassium 30mg/8 oz
• Emergen-C: Potassium 200mg/1 packet
• Banana: Potassium 467mg/1 med banana
• Avocado: Potassium 540mg/3 oz
• Orange Juice: Potassium 496mg/1 cup
• Artichoke: Potassium 595mg/1 cup
• Beet Greens: Potassium 1,309mg/1 cup
• Broccoli: Potassium 456mg/1 cup
• Spinach: Potassium 839mg/1 cup
• Sweet Potatoes: Potassium 508mg/1 cup
This list is super-abbreviated, but just look at all of the possibilities! Beet greens are surprisingly awesome, and my favorite way to eat them is to simply mix them in with brown rice.
The foods by themselves provide so much more of the potassium we need than the sports drinks can give, and they offer none of the refined sugars that our bodies don’t need that the Gatorade has. Natural sugars from fruits are good enough…I’m slowly accepting this fact. All of those sweet, yummy things I love, but I just don’t need. I DO want them though!!!
Be warned…since I’m on a super-restrictive diet, a lot of my Ideal Islands will most likely involve food that I just cannot have in these few months of my life. Today I’m reaching way back into my past. For the last couple of weeks, I have been craving ice cream and devils food cake with vanilla frosting. Yum. Probably one of the earliest memories I have of delicious baked goods is a memory of Giant Cookies with M&M’s and chocolate chips that were almost as big as my head. Oh my my, how good those cookies were. In Provo, Utah, there is this restaurant called Brick Oven, and they make these so-called Giant Cookies. Come away with me on this beautiful Spring day, and let’s bask in the sun with glorious giant chocolate chip cookies as big as our heads.
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