03 February 2011

Breakfast Rethought, Redefined, Randomized

Everything in moderation, including moderation.
Oscar Wilde

Having been intrigued by the randomization and extreme event ideas posted by De Vany in the New Evolution Diet and further mentioned by Nassim Nicholas Taleb in the Afterword, I’ve started taking a look at my lifestyle to find areas that I could add some randomization. From a fitness perspective I am taking it easy with another surgery on the horizon. Once I’ve healed I can pick up a CrossFit/MovNat style workout and incorporate an ever-changing fitness plan. From a sleep perspective, I am doing great. I have been getting quality sleep in a mostly blacked out room. Having the dogs sleep in the room provides plenty of randomization, as they sometimes wake during the night with the need to go outside or wake growling to alert me of a noise they heard. When I looked at my diet, I notice my lunches and dinners are ever changing in both the time I eat, what I eat, or if I eat. My breakfasts however have become quite consistent in certain aspects.

Still eating bread in this photo.

Bread replaced with fruit.

10 eggs prepped to dump into the cast iron

The surface of the earth is soft and impressible by the feet of men; and so with the paths which the mind travels. How worn and dusty, then, must be the Highways of the world, how deep the ruts of tradition and conformity!
Henry David Thoreau

I am fine with using my cast iron frequently, but when I think about foods like eggs, I’ve probably eaten eggs for breakfast since I started transitioning to paleo. If I had to guess I would say at least 3 solid years of eating eggs for breakfast. Starting with 2 per day, sometimes I would eat as many as a dozen if it were the day after a strenuous workout or ultra-marathon. Before I demonize my egg consumption I should add that I’ve put in the effort to diversify where I get my eggs… typically pulling from 5-6 different flocks of chickens with the periodic addition of the more expensive, but far richer duck egg. Looking back, I even posted about my issue of what to do with all the egg shells I have been accumulating. Realizing this, I’ve decided to redefine breakfasts.

Breakfast Without Eggs
Having had eggs with so many breakfasts, I find it hard to imagine a breakfast without them. That being said, I will eat my last four tomorrow morning and plan to go a month or two without purchasing more. My future breakfasts will probably just include more of the other varying items: bacon, liver, heart, and scrapple. I am also planning to add more meats like ground beef and sausage and possibly an avocado once in a while. Maybe I will skip a few breakfasts and have a hearty dinner. I am not completely sure how my breakfast will evolve in the coming months, or what I will take away from this egg excommunication, but I feel this will be a good move.

As a side note, I’ve also sworn off coffee, milk, and alcohol for this same general timeframe. My thought is that as I recover from the next surgery I will reintroduce and ramp up various foods in an attempt to build muscle and achieve strength gains. Until that time, goodbye eggs.