My Stash Stash

I read that caffeine exacerbates anxiety, so I'm trying to quit. It's only herbal from now on!

Grain-Free Diet: Week 3

I'm not dying to have some bread, but I would like it. This diet is significantly easier than I thought it would be. I was even able to stick with it while on vacation. I guess I am eating a lot more corn than I should be. I've been eating vegetable chili, tofu shirataki noodle soup, and black bean brownies. I guess there isn't much to update. This diet has just become a normal part of my life.

Fresno Travel Diary

On Friday night, I went to Fresno with Rob to visit his family. It is about three hours away from the Bay Area. We listened to Bad Religion, Rancid, Sundials, and Science Police on the drive there. We got there at around 11:00 at night and went to sleep.

The next morning we ate breakfast, played with the cats, and went out. I wanted to go to some thrift stores because I am a junk-lover. Plus I figured they would not be as picked-over as the ones in San Francisco.

I found a place that had pretty good reviews called Yoshi Now! On the drive there, Rob mentioned that it was near the Chinatown Youth Center. I asked Rob why a woman was picking through a giant pile of trash dumped in the middle of a city street.

We ended up going to 4 thrift stores because there are many of them concentrated in that area. They all featured the same junk. I couldn't stand the smells and wanted to leave. Rob wanted to get something to eat so we started walking around the Fulton Mall. It doesn't have any restaurants so I don't know why we were walking there. There was nothing but discount stores. It appears that downtown Fresno is pretty much the same as the Mission District in SF, except without all the hipsters.

Rob drove to a different neighborhood and told me to point at a place where I wanted to eat. I saw an interesting place immediately: the Yosemite Falls Cafe. It looked just like a lodge from the outside. We both ordered vegetarian skillets. Our visit coincided with an Oakland Raiders fan luncheon. Neither of us are big Raiders fans but it didn't stop us from gawking at the players.

After lunch we went to Fig Garden. I bought a Tippi sweater at J. Crew and some tea at Whole Foods. Then we went to Rasputin. I bought two CDs, North Sentinel Island by The Copyrights and Life Won't Wait by Rancid. We listened to the Rancid CD on the way to Rob's aunt and uncle's house in Kerman where we were going for a birthday party.

The next day Rob decided that he could no longer entertain me and that we should leave. We ate lunch at Rosa Linda's in Selma. Then we played arcade games at Pizza Planet. I reviewed it on Yelp.

I'm the first one to review? If this place was in San Francisco, people would be going nuts. it's filled with half working arcade games from the 80's and most of them only cost 25 cents to play. I guess there just aren't any hip nerds in Selma.

We went back to his parents' house and Rob started doing their taxes. For some reason I developed an intense craving for ice cream topped with potato chips. However Rob would not go along with me so my craving remained unsatisfied. He kept saying that he was really full from lunch. I wasn't since my lunch was basically a salad since I'm still on the no-grain diet. We left around 7:00 had fries from Carl's Jr. in Los Banos for dinner. We listened to Indestructible, And Out Come The Wolves, and The Transplant's self titled on the way back. Regrettably, I did not have Tim's solo album on my iPod.

Grain-Free Diet: Week 2

My diet this week

This week, I found out that carbs are sugar.

During week 1, my meat consumption increased 100%. Before the diet began, I only ate meat at dinner. During the first week I began eating meat at lunch too.

However, the lack of carbs in my diet finally caught up to me resulting in a huge sugar craving. I munched on Doritos, ate a big bag of M&Ms, and made another batch of chickpea "blondies," which I mainly ate for breakfast.

I finally began to cook again. I made a few bowls of tofu shirataki noodle soup and lettuce "tacos" filled with textured vegetable protein and red bell pepper for lunch. I another made big tub of hummus, which supplied the majority of my calories.

Mostly, I think about what I am going to eat when this diet is over.

Grain-Free Diet: Week 1

I'm accidentally paleo.

I cut grains out of my diet for February. It's not actually paleo since I eat still eat legumes and quinoa daily.

I began this diet on February 1st. I have had some grains, but only in minuscule amounts. I haven't denied myself soy sauce or breading on fried chicken. But I haven't eaten any rice, noodles, oats, or wheat for the past 8 days. I allowed corn and potatoes but I only ate them on the first 3 days of the diet.

By the forth day of the diet, I lost my appetite. Usually I love cooking food for myself, but since Monday I have been relying on microwaved meats, raw vegetables with hummus, or plain boiled vegetables. I don't think much about food anymore and I'm never hungry. I just force down some food to survive.

I actually feel quite energized. I've been reading Getting Things Done by David Allen and actually getting a to-do list in writing. I designate a few tasks per day. Grading mountains of homework has been a breeze. I usually go to work exhausted and leave super-hungry. Today I just had some raw carrot and celery sticks with spicy tomato hummus for lunch, went to work energized, and left feeling normal. Since I'm not spending all day fantasizing about my next meal I've actually been able to get work done.

I never thought of myself as a person addicted to grains, but I was wrong. I used to have to have a baked good for dessert every day. I made a pan of Chocolate Chip Blondies at the beginning of the diet. I ate them pretty quickly but I have no desire to eat or bake any more of them.

Most people recommend upping your caloric intake by adding more fat to your diet if you lose your appetite, but I would like to see where this diet is going. If I end up losing a lot of weight, I'll just end up gaining it back once I eat grains again.