Where does your meat come from?

If you are following the Paleo diet, there's a very good chance the main component in your diet is meat, especially if you also do Crossfit. Protein, protein, protein! Growing up, I had the normal diet that is common in the United States, which is basically meat with every meal. In the winter of 2008, I moved to Chicago to be with my boyfriend, who only ate fish and chicken; no beef, no pork. I quickly adopted his diet, since we lived together and it was just easier when cooking our meals. I had no problems or stress with this diet change, since Chicago is a big city and living here does make it easier when you have 'dietary restrictions', as my coworkers call it.

A couple of months later after the move, I read the book "Skinny Bitch" and it changed my life and my views of the foods I was putting in my body. I quickly changed to a vegetarian, or rather, pescatarian diet, since I was still eating fish. I started buying soy milk instead of dairy, rarely ate cheese, and never bought eggs. After spending the weekend with a vegan in December of 2009, I decided to go all out vegetarian; no fish, no meat, no eggs of any sort. I still didn't drink milk, but I did enjoy cheese. And I had no problems with this diet. You can say the main motivator behind this diet choice for me was the inethical treatment of 'factory farm' animals, which is where most of the US meats come from.

Four months after that: enter Crossfit. Initially I went back right away to eating fish in order to get in my protein. But since I no longer live on the coast, where fresh ocean seafood is plentiful and inexpensive, it became difficult to afford eating fish all day, every day. It got pretty boring. So against my wishes, I started adding chicken back into my diet.

I hated it. I felt guilty with every piece of chicken I ate. But I knew it my body needed it and that my first and foremost concern should be my health. So to ease my guilt, I made it a goal of mine to try to find the best chicken around, in terms of healthiness and humane treatment of the chickens.

Thankfully, I didn't have to look far; Treasure Island in Lakeview/Boystown sells Miller Amish chicken. Although this chicken is much more expensive than your regular brands ($12 for 2lbs, which is roughly 3 large breasts), it is well worth it to me for what you get at that price and it helps ease my guilt.

1) The President's Message specifically talks about their humane treatment of the chickens
2) All of the farms and processing centers are in close proximity to each other in the Midwest and to me, which makes their carbon footprint minimal
3) They are fed an all-vegetable, drug free diet and are hormone and antibiotic free.

So long story short, what's my point? Know where your food comes from. Know how your food is being grown, how it's being processed. You work so hard to achieve great fitness, whether it's marathon training or Crossfit, so you should also work hard to ensure you are giving your body exactly what it needs, and nothing less.