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I am three credits away from officially graduating. I had to complete nine this summer, post-commencement. The three I just finished were an online version of Abnormal Psychology. Now, allow me to bitch about the utter bullshit that is a college “education,” at least at my dear alma mater. A traditional three-credit class should require approximately 150 minutes of classroom education each week, for approximately 18 weeks. That comes out to about 45 hours of in-class time. On top of that, “they” estimate one should spend about three hours per credit, per week, studying. That’s 162 hours of study time, for a total of 207 hours of time invested.

The Abnormal Psychology course I just took was graded on the basis of three 50-question exams. Theoretically, I was supposed to view online lectures, plus read a textbook. However, the professor emailed exam review guides that basically included every single topic on each exam, which were open-book/open-note and unproctored. The professor warned that students should not attempt to look up the answers during the exam due to time constraints, but I had two hours to take each exam.

For the first, I studied (i.e. looked up all the topics on the review) for about an hour and took about an hour to complete the exam–98%. For the second, I did the same thing–96%. For the third, I started to study and then figured meh, screw it, since I only had to get a mid-70s score for an A in the class. I completed the test in 45 minutes, which included time spent looking up a bunch of the answers, and got an 86%. Overall, 93% average in a class for which I spent less than 6 hours of total effort. Three upper-division credits in the bag. Gosh, I’m sure glad I’ve paid them for a piece of paper saying I did four years of that.

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So, I haven’t been as strict on paleo as I’d like, though I can’t really recall the last time I ate grains, aside from some breading on some fried stuff. Beverage-wise, though, my main weakness has been the last word in the title of this blog. Funny how my taste for the stuff suddenly returned when the weather turned sunny!

Anyway, it’s amazing how rapidly I notice a difference in my body composition when I’m eating paleo. I’ve pointed this out before, but eating paleo makes me feel and appear leaner, within a day or two. I’m not bloated, I don’t retain water, and I think I have generally less inflammation.

I discussed a couple of issues in the comments to my last paleo post, which I’d like to revisit here.

Point the first: The Inconvenience and I used to get heartburn A LOT. Like, almost every night in his case, and probably 3-4 times a week in mine. We went through Tums like crazy. He’d tried Prilosec several times, to no avail. Eating Paleo cures us both, almost completely. We’ve gone through a handful of Tums betwixt the two of us since April. Maybe we’re two evolutionarily-backward freaks in a world of people suited to eating grains, but I can tell you a grain-heavy Standard American Diet makes the two of us sick, and there’s your proof. (Note: Rectification of chronic heartburn/reflux is actually a pretty common side-effect of paleo eating, per what I’ve read around the interwebs, anyway.)

Point the second: A commenter suggested I ditch the fad diet junk science and just eat a calorie-restricted diet (1500cal/day). Point the first explains the chief medical reason why I’m not gonna do that, but wait–THERE’S MORE!

I had that for breakfast, plus some black coffee. For the record, you’re looking at sweet potato hash browns fried in walnut oil, butter-sauteed mushrooms, baaaaaaaaaacon, and a fried egg. I haven’t a clue how many calories were in it, nor do I care. I don’t care because I don’t have to care. I can eat like that and lose weight. Even better than losing weight is shedding that bloating/water/inflammation so I feel and look lean.

I don’t have to weigh, measure, or track a damn thing. I can also go to a restaurant and not worry about estimating portion sizes. I get to eat copious amounts of meat, vegetables, some fruit, and glorious fat, limited only by my appetite. Oh, another cool thing? I can absolutely stuff my face and yet I never get that bloated over-full feeling like if you eat too much bread or pasta. I tested this theory once by, being a glutton for punishment, eating a boatload of bread. Yuuuuck. Yet, I can eat and eat and eat protein/fat/veggies just for the sheer joy of eating, and never feel like that.

That one was dinner the other night. It’s pan-grilled asparagus with a sausage-stuffed portobello mushroom. It was all drowned in olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

So, all that gives me plenty of energy, feeling great, no heartburn, and…

Be still my heart, it’s a jawline! I have always HATED my chin/jawline. Like, “If there’s one thing I’d get plastic surgeried…” kinda hated. That’s the lean thing I’m talking about.

And this?

That’s a dress I haven’t worn since August 2004. Interestingly, I think it fits me better now, despite the number on the scale being higher. For one, I’m shapelier, and for two, again: leanness. I’m on my way to getting rid of the dreaded skinny-fat, which was pretty much how I always was. I used to be quite slim, but I was never in shape. I’ll admit that the exercise side of fitness is still my sticking point, but making so much progress with unfucked eating habits alone is a great motivator.

So is seeing this:

My only exercise has been basic daily activities/farm chores. I haven’t done anything special other than change the way I eat, and that’s the back/shoulders I have at the moment. (And yes, I was changing baler teeth topless. Living in the country rocks.) What a great foundation to start from when I actually get motivated to do some lifting, eh?

So, there’s my daily dose of vanity. I’m not gonna shove paleo down anyone’s throat; I’m just putting my progress out there as evidence it works for me. If you’re the type who gets off on points/counting calories/whatever, and that works for you? Stick with it. The only thing I really encourage, based on the experience of myself and many many others, is giving yourself the opportunity to try an elimination diet. Take 30 days or so and eat the most basic of meats/veggies/some fruits, and then reintroduce foods at the end. Maybe you’ll discover you’re actually really sensitive to dairy, or maybe you’ll discover you aren’t bothered by grains at all. One way or another, I think you might be surprised.

So, yes… I’m a bit jaded about higher education. Next time you meet a young person who, by choice, shirks the societal expectation they attend four years of second adolescence, and instead joins a vocation or pursues entrepreneurship or even enlists, kiss them for me. They, not the academics, will save the world.

On a totally unrelated note, I’m starting another 30+ days of strict clean eating, and decided I’ll blog it here. I think the paleo/primal blogs are often annoying with all the “caveman” talk and imagery, and they also are often so focused as to gloss over how this can work in the real world for real people. I’ll put up my first post about it later. Expect lots of food pictures for a month. I like food. A LOT.

I done been commenced! Wheee.

http://db.tt/3iLZGzO

The long and short of how it works is it basically creates a virtual folder on your computer, which syncs with the “cloud” (I really hate that term) and is accessible from anywhere. You can have Dropboxes on multiple computers and mobile devices, plus access it from any web browser.

Obviously, use discretion when it comes to the sensitivity/security level of what you upload. Right now I’m using it to have easy access to a class project I’m doing; when I’m done, I can just send a link over to my instructor for her to download all my materials.

Speaking of class, who has two thumbs and picked up her graduation regalia today? THIS girl!

It’s making for some long days, sleep deprivation, and reduced Internet time, though. Bear with me. Hopefully I’ll have dazzling tales of my aviatrix adventures soon(ish).

I don’t mention nearly enough that my life is awesome. It should be illegal to have this much fun. I’m inclined to say something cliché like, “I must be doing something right!” but vague fortune-cookie lines aren’t necessary. I know exactly what I’m doing right: I decided, consciously, to live happily and freely. Seriously. I think about what I want my world to look like, and I work to make it so. Happiness snowballs, too. Once you start thinking positively, it’s easier to ignore negativity. When you start enjoying hard work, you start to crave it. Being a happy, self-actualized person attracts other such people, and pretty soon you find yourself in the middle of an awesome little tribe of badasses.

I’ve been on a quest for self-improvement for some time now, but a lot of it came into focus when a good friend of ours was killed in a car accident last month. It was a freak thing, and it hit us hard. However, as cheesy as it sounds, I’m overjoyed by the fact Nathan lived every moment of his life as if it might be his last. He did the things he wanted to do, with passion, and he did them well. He led an inspirational life, and I’m richer for having known him.

I never knew seeing death could ignite such a passion for life, but on top of my general snowball of happiness, it really has. I’m excited for every day I have, for the chance to love and admire the good people in my life, and for wherever the road ahead of me may lead. I’m positively giddy, to be quite honest.

So. I didn’t mean to go all motivational speaker on y’all, but I feel the need to preach the creed of living and enjoying your existence, because we humans are freaking awesome and we have a universe to conquer. Create happiness and get to it.

:)

P.S. I spent last weekend in Montana, and we’re pretty sure it’ll wind up being our long-term home. I really love Idaho, but Montana is something special.