Day THIRTY Is Here!!

Today is my Day 30 in my "Whole 30"! (And my Day 10 for my "FaceLess10"*) So...what have I learned? What has changed? What hasn't changed? What do I do now?

First, I think the "FaceLess10" was a lot harder than the Whole 30. In case you don't know what I'm talking about...I decided on day 20 of Whole 30 that I would spend the next 10 days without FaceBook in my life! (GASP) I realized I was on it WAY more than I needed to be. I found myself checking my newsfeed every few minutes as if the world would stop if I didn't find out what my FaceBook friends were posting throughout the day. Once I committed to being off FB, I found myself playing more iPhone games (Candy Crush, FreeCell, Churchill Solitaire...need I go on? ...don't judge me, I'll bet you have your own ways of killing time). So, I stopped those as well!! Ten whole days. That's bigger news than changing my diet as far as I'm concerned!

I found I had MUCH more time to read. Sadly I also found some new ways to waste time in a day (Real Wives of Dallas is a real show...who watches that stuff? People who aren't on FaceBook or playing iPhone games of course!) When I found myself "killing time" I stopped and asked what a better use of those precious minutes would be. Sometimes that meant I took a nap! Mid-day naps are glorious! I can't say I got a lot more real work done than before, but at least I felt like I was doing more with the day and this time really highlighted how much time I fritter away doing "nothing".


What I didn't eat on Whole 30

There is a set protocol for Whole 30-no dairy, grains/pseudo grains, no sugars or sweeteners of ANY KIND, no legumes. I also took out eggs and 99% of anything processed at all. I didn't modify as much as I probably "should" have because there are some additional restrictions that would have made the last 30 days "Autoimmune Protocol" compliant, but I figured being 100% Whole30 strict for the full 30 days was going to be enough, and it was. AIP takes out nightshades (tomatoes, potatoes and peppers), quite a few spices (ie cumin, coriander, and pepper of any kind) as well as nuts and seeds of any kind. While I didn't eat a lot of the AIP foods, I did have some things some of the time.  I also know I was "contaminated" at least once with butter at Smashburger.

What did I learn?

Well....not a ton except that it's EASY to not eat certain foods! Seriously. I went to a party Sunday and ate a tiny bit of guacamole on celery and didn't eat the rest and I didn't feel deprived. I didn't eat gluten free carrot cake and...well, I did get a bit sad in the moment, but I'm not sad now. That moment of want FADES pretty darn fast when I am resolved to NOT eat something. In the moment it feels tough to say no, but that no was decided long before I got to the moment of having to say it so it wasn't as hard as it might have been if I hadn't made up my mind in advance. So my take-away--decide before you have to be in the moment.

What has changed?

Well...I'm not faced with having to make the call in the moment. I will NOT eat gluten. Period. I am not willing to say I'll never eat it again because I will eat Mark's donuts again and they will be worth it. But I might not ever think other gluten is worth it for me ever again. (More on this later.) I know I will eat sugar again, but my hope is that I will be able to say "wow that (fill in the blank) is just too rich!" and push said food away and not eat it (something I don't think I've EVER said/done before!).

What has not changed (much)?

Whole 30 specifically says to NOT weigh yourself at all. Well, I didn't listen to them. I did weigh, pretty much every day. And...my weight didn't change much at all. I went down a couple of pounds, back up a couple and back down a couple all month long. Well, now that I'm looking at my Garmin stats, the exact change is that I'm down 8 pounds from where I was 30 days ago. That's a little surprising...and that's exactly why you aren't supposed to weigh every day! But I have to say tomorrow I might be up a couple again, and I started a little high compared to what's "normal" for me, so that 8 isn't as impressive as it sounds. But, I also have to say I'm pleased with where I am right now all things considered.

What do I do now?

There is a set protocol for reintroductions. But, I have to face facts. I already KNOW dairy and eggs do not work in my body. I already KNOW sugar turns me into a demon. I already know gluten pokes holes in my gut. Why would I eat any of that EVER again?

The trouble is that I also KNOW something I still causing my body to react. I'm not sure what it is. There are times I eat a meal and my hands swell up, my head hurts, my sinuses feel like they are going to explode, and the scale pops up a couple of pounds the next day. (And it's obvious where those pounds are because my lower abdomen tries to imply I'm about 6 months pregnant!)

So... I have invested in a fancy food diary. I got it last week although I haven't actually started using it but that's the plan for the next 30 days. Dwayne has been saying for years "If you would just keep a food diary you could figure out what it is that gives you trouble". The problem is that MANY foods give me trouble. The other problem is that I am NOT good at "connect the dots" when it comes to stuff like this. Food intolerances can show up three days after you eat the offending food! And, complicating it even more, there are food combinations that can cause issues even if the individual foods don't. It's like connect the dots in the stars with no numbers. Not going to happen. I'm committing to keeping the diary for the next 30 days and faithfully noting all that I eat and all that I experience and then let my engineer husband look for patterns.

What happened to "Tiger (Cub) Blood"

I was fairly certain how I was feeling on Day 10 was more from the IV steroid treatments I was receiving than my diet; the last several days have been a confirmation of that certainty. I'm back to being exhausted and not thinking clearly in general. I know there will be more than one person who thinks this because I'm not eating grains, pasta, bread and rice. But, no...that's not why I'm feeling this way. My diet hasn't contained any real amount of that kind of food for years, even training for Ironman. This is certainly a result of Hashimoto's Encephalopathy. I get my next three days of treatment in a week (Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday). I'm looking forward to it more than Christmas!!


*No gluten, ever??
I say I don't think I'll eat gluten ever again (except Mark's donuts!) because everything I have read says people with autoimmune conditions/diseases should NOT eat gluten, ever. When my issue was "just" my thyroid it was easier to say "this pizza isn't going to kill me". But this new twist on Hashimoto's has been scary to say the least. The antibodies are attacking my BRAIN. We take thinking for granted, at least I used to. My health is more important to me than any gluten filled food could possibly ever be. And, if I thought eating Mark's donuts would kill me, I wouldn't eat those either! I've read too much about how the immune system works to ignore it. I'm not saying it's bad for everyone, but I believe it's not good for me. Until something/someone convinces me otherwise, I'm avoiding it like the plague. Until I go to Arkansas the next time and then Katie bar the door, I'm having not one, not two, but THREE cream filled bits of heaven in my mouth!!!  (I'll skip the chocolate milk, but I might make one of the three a chocolate covered cream filled yummness!) Because Mark's donuts will "always" be worth it (unless I find myself living down the street from it again, and then they won't be as worth it as they are now!).

Thanks for stopping in. :D

SLURP....(that's me drinking the Koolaid)

Thursday at ITF we got to use the rowing machines!  I know it's silly, but these are the nicest rowers I've used (that's not saying much, I haven't used many...), and I was rocking the row.  And we learned how to do a proper dead lift.

Unlike rowing, I've had experience with the dead lift.  But, as I told my coach when we got started, I know I've never done it correctly because I have NEVER felt it anywhere (except sometimes my lower back, but not in a "oh that's working a muscle" kind of way, more like a "that's not supposed to feel like that" kind of way).  The theme of the day was "you can't recover from a bad set up"...so we spent a LONG time on proper set up for this exercise.  We build the move from the ground up starting with where our feet belong all the way up to our head.  Since there were only three of us there we got a lot of individual attention along the way.

The WOD was three rounds of rowing/dead lifts/squats-for time.  I came in second (the guy beat me so I'm not crying over it...).  I realized when it was over that I really could have lifted a good bit more weight...but I didn't know what to expect so I went with the standard "women's 101 weight".

I have to say...I'm three classes in and I'm hooked.  I love it.  I absolutely love it.  It's short enough that it's not onerous.  It's varied enough that it's not boring.  It's tough but doable.  And, since you are doing it for time there's an element of competition (with your tribe mates and with yourself).  I love that we encourage each other, we push each other (well, I see the regular classes doing that with each other...we are just starting out so we aren't really there just yet with each other....well, I do it because that's just who I am...)

I can't say that I'm at the point I will tattoo the logo on my chest (I'm not even there with Iron Man)...but I have definitely hit the "Koolaid Point" and I'll be downing another big pitcher full this week.

***

Running update:  After Thursday's workout I did my long run (18 miles and they were pretty decent trail miles).  Friday I ran another 14.5.  But yesterday I didn't do my run because I am in fact listening to my body over the slurping of the Koolaid.  I hadn't gotten nearly enough sleep all week so I went to bed early Friday night and slept late Saturday (6:30!!).

***

"Diet" update:  (I really dislike that word...maybe I'll call it the "lifestyle update"?)....Well....I should probably change the title of this blog post to "drinking the Kombucha", but I won't since only a few people would get it.  I have become "that person".  I had a "big cooking day" today in order to get ready for the coming week.  I made a chicken and deboned it.  I made a huge batch of sausage.  I made tuna and chicken salad.  And I have a menu planned for the week.  All-in-all I think it's worth the effort I'm putting into it.  I haven't seen any change on the scale but I have seen a slight change in the way pants are fitting.  More than that, I've felt a change in my brain (no brain fog) and in my gut (although that isn't great yet...it's better than it was).  I think the reason it's not great is that there is a group of foods (FODMAPs) that cause digestive issues for a lot of people (i.e. gas, bloating...irritable bowl syndrome...).  Cleaning up my diet has almost spotlighted the fact that FODMAP foods give me trouble.  I have hit a decent groove with food right now so I'm not going to complicate things more by taking that group out too right now.  But I am trying to pay attention to it as much as I can.

Now...let me get back to my Koolaide/Kombucha....  

SLURP

Until next time... 

:D

Who Wants Easy?

not me, not my kitchen

It's been eight days!  I think I may have cooked more home made meals (things that involved measuring and reading a recipe) this week than I did all last month! I have never been a "cook" but I have always wanted to be one.  I finally realized it's like anything else...if you want to do something well, you have to keep doing it and REFINING the way you do it.

I remember the first time I made chicken pot pie (no, not in my current way of eating...this was almost 25 years ago).  I went to the store, bought all the ingredients, went home, followed the recipe and made the dish.  As my husband and I were eating we were talking about how good the flavor was but that it was dry.  I went to the fridge to get something to drink and realized I completely forgot to add the milk!!  FOUR CUPS OF MILK!!!  No wonder it was dry!!  The second time I made it I made sure to pour the milk into cups where I was mixing the veggies on the stove so I wouldn't forget.  That would have worked if only all the milk was in one cup/bowl.  Unfortunately for me it was in two cups...and I only used one of them!!!  But, hey-at least that time it wasn't as dry!

You'd think the third time for the chicken pot pie was a charm...it was if you think following the recipe to a T is what it takes.  I used all the ingredients and I followed the recipe, and found it to be WAY too runny!!!  If I had never had it as dry as I had I might not have realized what I needed to
change in order to fix it to make it better.  I might have thought it was good enough.  Instead I knew that 3 cups was about right.

Anything in life we desire to do well will require some mistakes and a learning curve.  Some things have a steeper curve than others.  I have found doing those things to be well worth the time and effort more than doing the easy things.

I am beginning to feel really good again.  I'm breathing easier and I've had a few pain free day, some good runs and a good swim.


MONDAY is the day I go back to kindergarten!!  I better go buy my sleep mat...

Until next time...
:D

"What DO you eat?"

I've been getting that question for over four years now and the answer hasn't changed a whole lot until last week (upon introduction of the Paleo Approach).

Mid-2010, after a blood test told me I was allergic to/intolerant of a whole host of foods I embarked on a new way of eating.  I had been diagnosed with an autoimmune thyroid condition, Hashimoto's wherein the immune system attacks the thyroid to the point it stops working properly.  I had read that food allergies/intolerances* could cause that problem so I cut out all the foods I tested positive for.  After several months of eating that way (about 85% of the time) and not taking my thyroid hormone, my blood work came back worse than it had ever been.  I was very upset.  I discounted the fact that I felt better than I had in years, and I started this yo-yo thing with my nutrition that has been the bane of my existence.  I would eat "bad" food, enjoy it in the moment, feel bad a day (or three) later, resolve to be "better", start eating "well" for a while then some temptation would come along and derail me all over again.

I was caught in this cycle not only because food tastes good and I like to eat but also because I wasn't convinced this list of food was really all "bad" for me.  I didn't know what they were doing to my body other than this test said they spiked an immunoglobulin (IgG*) at the time of the test.  I had read a lot of research that said the kind of test I took is notoriously unreliable and would likely give different results every time.  I had also read some on "leaky gut" which basically (in a very small nutshell) says that eating "bad" food causes intestinal permeability (leaky gut) which allows microscopic bits of food to enter the blood stream causing the immune system to attack.  The immune system sees that thing as a threat to the body and develops antibodies to it.  Autoimmune conditions develop when the system goes into over drive and/or the antibodies attack tissue in the body that looks like that attacker.  (From what I have read thyroid tissue "looks" very similar to gluten to the immune system.  You know that saying "they all look alike"?  Well, apparently our immune "cells" can't see very well...)

Anyway...every thing I read lead me to believe that I wasn't doing myself any favors by simply replacing all cow's milk with almond milk.  All I might have been doing is developing antibodies to almonds.  I "knew" I needed to heal my gut, but I didn't know how.  The only thing I could really find on that topic basically amounted to "doctors" trying to sell expensive services that may or may not work.

Then along came a friend who told me about the Autoimmune Protocol (AIP).  She was sold on the "diet" because it had helped her immensely.  I wasn't sure I wanted to try another diet.  What I really wanted was to go back to school to learn about the immune system so I could figure out WHY my body was attacking itself.  I didn't want something that was going to "fix" it as much as I wanted to know why it happened in the first place so I could make sure it didn't happen again.

One day after another big "I-don't-care-if-it-kills-me,-I'm-going-to-eat-whatever-I-want-to" weekend (or month), I read a post on a private AIP Face Book group I'm part of that talked about this woman with Hashimoto's not taking meds and finally feeling really good because she was strictly following the AIP.  I googled AIP and found this:  The Paleo Mom website.  I watched the video describing what's in her book The Paleo Approach and was particularly impressed with all the science in it.  She wasn't just going to tell me what not to eat/what to eat, or give me recipes that were impossible for me to follow, she was going to tell me WHY I shouldn't eat certain things and WHY other things were so good for me.  She was going to tell me WHY my body was attacking itself and what I could do to change that!!  (EXACTLY what I wanted!)

So I ordered the book and have read about 75% of it.  It reads like a very well written textbook.  The Paleo Approach not a cook book...that's a companion book I also bought!  We started this new way of eating Thursday.

The biggest question I get is, "what can you not eat?"  Well...there's a pretty long list right now.  When I start giving that list I invariably get the question, "what DO you eat".  Meat and veggies....but only certain veggies.  There's a good long list of veggies:  broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, spinach, squash, sweet potatoes....too many to list out really.  I also eat berries and some fruit.  I don't eat ANY grains, seeds or nuts.  (When I tell people this they invariably give me the "whaaaat" look...if they haven't already.)

Will this be forever?  If I feel better and my body starts healing...yes, it will be.  Why wouldn't it?  Are Oreos really worth the price of my health and well-being?  (No...the answer is no...)

Until next time...
:D

Before, Now, and Looking Ahead

I said I was going to be transparent so...here it is.  My before pictures.  Although I did take some pictures of me in a bikini (standard before shots), I am not going to be that transparent.  I decided to take my public pictures in something I would likely be seen in public wearing-a bike top and compression shorts.  

For the record, I'm much happier with these pictures than I am with the bikini pictures.  :D  This top is a little on the snug side and the shorts ride up BAD when I run in them which I like to think will change when I lean up.  Don't send me hate mail, I'm well aware that I am not the typical "before" look.  My overall goal isn't really to lose weight.  I want to lose body fat and increase lean muscle.

Here are my measurements:

Flexed bicep L 10, R 10.5

Waist @ belly button 29

Upper hip 38.5

Widest part of my hips 41.5

Thighs L 22.5 R 23
Calf 14
Weight 135

I don't have number goals.  I know that by chaining the way I am eating and adding in strength training my body is going to change.  I feel a little silly posting this because, again, I know I'm not what most people would think of when they here "before".  But here's where I really started from:

This was my first Cotton Row finish line picture in 2010.  I weighed around 150ish then.  I've worked hard to get to where I am now.  I've been leaner, faster and stronger in the past than where I am right now, but I'm excited to think about where I'm headed.

"Diet" Update

Dwayne and I started the Autoimmune Protocol Thursday.  I have already been able to tell a difference in my gut.  I'm not bloated as usual, and things feel settled.  I'm not used to eating this much protein so we'll see how that goes but for now I'm finding it worth the effort to cook all the time.  I talked to friends of ours (a couple) who have been Paleo (not AIP) for about three years.  The wife said she was having an issue with her shoulder before they started.  It wasn't serious, just achy all the time.  She said once they changed their diet that went completely away.  (It has to do with reduced inflammation.)  I have felt really very good overall.  I can't say I'm significantly better but I ran well Thursday, recovered well for Friday's run and then again for Saturday's run so I'm pleased.

If you want to know more about the "diet" (way of eating...not a "diet" that has a beginning and an end), check out the Paleo Mom's website.

Until next time...

:D

Muddy Waters

Yesterday I told you about starting up strength training at Iron Tribe Fitness.  I got to thinking, I have to update you on all the changes I'm making right now because the water will be a bit muddy when trying to figure out the main reason for me becoming a beast over the next few months!!  :D

I have started a new way of eating (yes, again).  It only took about 10 people telling me about the book "Paleo Approach" for me to decide to check it out.  I couldn't put it down.  It reads like a text book, but a fascinating one.  It's rich with science and the reasons WHY a person (like me) can have an immune system that is attacking it's own host body!  She doesn't just say "eat/don't eat these foods" she goes into what certain foods are doing in the gut.  I'm all in.  My husband is all in (as long as I keep him fed).  My daughter is putting her foot in for now.

Day one was yesterday.  It's too soon to tell anything specific, but I'm pleased with how I'm feeling this morning.  I ran 16 mostly trail miles yesterday (pretty hard for me on trails).  I expected to wake up pretty sore given how I felt last night, but so far so good.  We'll see how I feel when I run my 11 road miles today.*

...I'm counting down the days until I start with ITF...10 days from today!

Who needs a new year to start something radically different?  Not this girl!


Next time I'll tell you about the Grand Slam of races I'm doing the next three months!

Until then...
:D

Detox from "All Figured Out"

The week before I started the process I got to go out to Pittsburgh with a dear friend.  I lived it up large on all the best food the city had to offer because, "I'm starting a detox when I get back!!"  Consequently by the time I got back the "couple of pounds" was a bit more than that!  I did lose a few pounds but what I learned far surpassed that superficial loss.

I've known for a very long time I have a pretty strong addiction to food.  Seriously.  Everyone has to eat to live...but a lot of times I think I live to eat.  I think about food all day long.  I go to the pantry about 20 times a day.  The only reason I don't weigh 600 pounds is because most of the time my obsession about food leans the other way.  I am not anorexic and have never been, nor am I nor or have I ever been bulimic.  It's not for the lack of trying.  I seriously bought syrup of ipecac one time because I have almost no gag reflex and could not make myself throw up not matter what I did.   I very quickly became desensitized to the effects; the last time I took it, I had to take three times the dosage, and all it really did was make me feel very ill-but didn't produce the desired results. 

(TMI, I know....but I'm trying to come clean about some things here...)

I read an article recently on WebMD regarding food addiction.  Among other things it said, "Experiments in animals and humans show that, for some people, the same reward and pleasure centers of the brain that are triggered by addictive drugs like cocaine and heroin are also activated by food, especially highly palatable foods."  Some people might use that as an excuse, but I see that as information I can use.  I am addicted.  Food does give me pleasure.  But that pleasure is not good for me any more than cocaine or heroin are good for me.

Yes, I do have to eat.  No, I don't think eating should be an unpleasant experience.  But...when I look at WHY I am eating and retrain my core beliefs about that I can break the addiction. 


*****
I started writing the above post back in April.  I intended to write a post about the detox I did and all that I learned.  There's no telling why I stopped mid-post.  But, here I am four month later and I can't honestly tell you what exactly I learned, other than what I already really knew...I'm addicted to food.

I'd love to say I had not had times of scarfing down a whole package of Oreos or a whole bag of Salt and Vinegar potato chips after I "rehabbed" but that would be a bold faced lie.  I'd love to tell you that my diet is sugar free most of the time, but that wouldn't be true either since my favorite almond milks, the ones I drink every single day, have sugar in them.  I'd love to tell you I don't have any days when my food log shows a number so low for net calories I would get on to me if I were my own coach...but if you looked very hard, you could find my log and see that would be a lie, too.  (You'd also see I stopped logging a long time ago because I thought I had it under control....until today when my coach asked me to start logging food.  I quickly realized I was going to have to add quite a bit to my planned dinner in order to not have to lecture myself with the same words I've been giving one of my athletes lately..."you'd got to eat if you want to train!")

I'd love to tell you I have it all figured out and have all the answers...and sometimes I don't think that's far from true, but I don't LIVE them every day so there has to be something I'm missing!!

I think life is not about living it in a state of "all figured out"...it's about the journey.

Thanks for joining me on my journey.
:D

Maybe I'm Part Vampire!

Back in September of 2010 I wrote about how I was coming to believe (against my will) that garlic really was causing pain/imflammation in my body.  At the time, I had already had a blood test (an ELISA test) which showed garlic to be one of several foods that cause an immune reaction in my body.  I didn't really want to buy it.  It's interesting, the idea that food was the root of the pain I had been feeling gave me power over it, but I didn't honestly want that power.  Actually, the more honest thing would be to put that in present tense, I don't want that power.  That power means I have to change doing something I really like, in order to have something I really want.

So...here I am over two years later.  I really do avoid those foods on the list...until I don't.  Thanksgiving and Christmas this year ended up being a free for all for me diet-wise.  I went nuts and actively sought out all the foods I "can't" eat.  I did this knowingly and prepared for the revolt my body would go into.  The day after Christmas I ratcheted down and believed I would be back to normal (diet wise...and "normal" for me) by New Year's.  (It usually takes a good week of clean eating to get back to feeling good again.)

To my shock, I woke up on the 1st swollen up like a puffer fish.  My body felt like it did after a food "binge" ((keep in mind, I'm not talking volume, I'm talking kinds of foods that cause me to have certain reactions in my body))...but I thought I had been eating "cleanly" for a week.  That should have been plenty of time to rid my body of the ill effects.  ((Imagine waking up a full week after a drunken weekend party* hungover worse than you were the very next day.  *Okay...maybe not everyone has done that, but I trust you get the picture!))

My first thought was I had been wrong the last couple of years...it wasn't specific food after all.  Maybe I'm getting arthritis.  Maybe I have cancer.  (Yes, my mind generally does make that leap, and it usually is that quick...)  I mentally reviewed all I had eaten the night before...it was all "good".  Chicken with a spice blend of rosemary/basil/sea salt, roasted sweet potatoes with the same spice blend; tofu smoothie with almond milk, spinach and banana....normal stuff. 

Okay...combine that feeling with the fact I've been suffering for a while now (3-4 weeks I think) with shoulder tendonits....and the fact it seemed to be getting worse (even on Steroids).   I haven't been able to swim or run or do anything other than ride a bike...and even that has getting harder.  New Year's Day, not only was my shoulder was KILLING ME, it seemed that every joint in my body was joining in the "fun"....namely my knees.  I'm falling apart.  I have an IRONMAN in NINE MONTHS and I'm freaking falling apart.  If it wasn't food (how could it be, I'd been eating well...and even taking a prescription for steroids for my shoulder...if it were inflammation from food, the combination of removing the food and taking the meds should have taken care of the problem).  

Maybe I really am a big ole sissy?? 

Well...night before last I went to put some chicken on the grill and reached for my new favorite spice blend (Rosemary/Basil/Sea Salt)...and something hit me.  Wait, did that label say "blend"?  I read that label, right?  I read it before I bought it...I wouldn't buy it without reading to make sure there was no garlic in there...would I??  

Well...apparently I would...right there...like the third ingredient--GARLIC.  I don't know why I didn't see it.  I don't know what I was thinking--it's a spice BLEND...pretty much every BLEND has garlic in it.  I've used that darn spice BLEND almost every day for three weeks!!!!


In the last two and a half years, I have come to understand (but not like) that different foods really do have various effects on my body (dairy causes respiratory issues--sinus stuff, makes it harder to take deep breaths, coughing; wheat seams to cause me to retain water and bloat; and garlic especially causes inflammation in my body).  You would think that connection would be enough for me to cut all those foods out for good.  But my taste buds still WANT them!!  Not only that, it's HARD--REALLY HARD-- to not eat all those foods all the time.  You trying going to a restaurant and find something that doesn't contain ANY of the following:  eggs, dairy, beef, garlic, dill, peanut, coconut, avocado, or wheat/gluten (other than plain salad, hold the croutons, any nuts, cheese, anything breaded or that has been grilled in butter or pre-seasoned, and the dressing since most dressings contain egg, dairy or garlic).  Combine that with the fact I don't WANT to believe it's true and I wind up choosing to have "just a little" of the "bad" food.  Even when I make the conscious choice to eat "cleanly", I sometimes forget to read a label and wind up sabotaging my efforts.


It's not like I'm being faced with eating veggies or candy.  It's not like I'm choosing whether or not to put drugs into my body.  These aren't overtly, inherently BAD foods.  In fact, garlic is a natural ANTI-inflammatory food!!  ....maybe I'm part vampire? 

Well...I'm SO glad I found what I think is the problem...it's been 2 full days since the last time I used the spice.  The swelling is going down (quickly), my knees feel better and my shoulder isn't as bad today as it was the 1st.  ...to be clear, garlic wasn't the CAUSE of the pain in my shoulder, it merely amplified an issue.  I overused my shoulder so when the inflammation hit my whole body, it was like pumping air into a tire with a weak spot (I did that once...).  The air will fill the tire, but will make that weak spot POP..if you over-fill the tire, the weak spot will blow out.  The air didn't CAUSE the weakness to be there in the first place, but it was the spotlight.  So...once the inflammation goes down I have to work on getting that shoulder stronger.  ...but, one step at a time.  First, no more garlic!!  :D

Thanks for stopping in.  Come again soon!

Nutrition-Part Two

Diets.  I really hate the popular sense of that word.  "I'm going to go on a diet."  Yuck.  How about just changing daily habits to healthy ones and allow your body to change naturally?  Rather than eating grapefruits and rice cakes for a few weeks to drop some pounds, try eating a balanced array of foods and be healthy?  Don't get me wrong, I've been there more times than I can count.  That's why I feel qualified to say I hate them.  It's honestly a lot easier to just drink Slim Fast for a while than it is to change the foundation of your daily habits FOR LIFE.   It's a heck of a lot simpler to print off 14 days of a meal plan to follow than to walk the aisles of the grocery store trying to figure out what are the best items to put in the basket and how to combine it all into nutritious meals for yourself and the picky-eaters you have banging forks on the table every night!

yes, this is a picture of my real cart one time!

I have to be honest, I do not do this well.  It's one of those things I "know" and don't always "do".  I ate popcorn for lunch and dinner yesterday.  I don't believe there is any redeeming nutritious value to popcorn, and on top of that, it generally makes me sick.   However, I sure do like the way good popcorn tastes while watching a movie.  It's a habit and I know that, but not one I can easily seem to break.  So, yesterday I gave myself permission to indulge and today I'm paying the price.  And THAT is one thing I want to try to address in this post.

There is a cost to everything and our food choices are no exception.  Eating "healthy" means different things to different people.  I do not believe there is a set diet that works for everyone out there.  But if you are eating well for your body the "cost" may be not eating some things that your tongue wishes you would.  You may not get to have the birthday cake someone brought into the office, or the "hot" donuts that look and smell oh so good....or you may not get to "enjoy" popcorn at the movies.  But the pay off comes later when you feel good for your workout, or you are able to wear those jeans you haven't been able to fit in since high school!  The opposite is true as well...eat the cake, those donuts, or that popcorn and your taste buds are happy, for a time, but there will be fall out from that taste explosion in your mouth.  It may not happen immediately (most of the time it doesn't), but just like small doses of radiation may not show up right away, repeated exposure will certainly be devastating.

Most people would never consider just writing check after check without knowing if they have the money in the bank to cover the spending spree, but they will eat morsel after morsel without having any idea what they are putting into their digestive system.  Are you a label reader?  Do you know the ingredients of what you ate for your last meal?  You don't need to have a bio-chem degree to figure out some things aren't as useful to your body as others.  Why did you eat what you did for lunch yesterday?  Sometimes that answer is, "because it TASTED good" and I'm not saying that's not okay--ONCE IN A WHILE--just like it's fine to splurge every now and then when spending money.  However, the bill always comes due.  Some people who would never consider writing hot checks are effectively doing that every day with what they are eating.  Those people are the ones gaining pounds year after year.

Now, before you start talking to me about "but my metabolism has slowed down over the years" or "I watch what I eat, I don't know what's happening"...stop.  If I were to go to the grocery store week after week and purchase the exact same items in the exact same quantity...the bill would not be the same each time.  The same is true for how our bodies metabolize food.  What fuel I need will depend on not only what exercises I'm doing (and everything else tied into that -the intensity, duration, time of day, season), but it will also be impacted by the time of month and the amount of other life stress I'm under, not to mention the natural aging process among numerous other factors.

Also...most people have NO IDEA what foods are best for their particular bodies.  It took me a very long time to figure out I had a list of foods which were causing me problems.  I just have never been very observant when it comes to consequences (which is also how I ended up in some serious debt in my youth!).  But, if you are interested in being healthy (or let's face it, some people just want to look good in their jeans), you have to be a student of what's going to work unless you enjoy the "diet" cycle...go on a diet, pull out the skinny jeans, end the diet, pull out the "comfortable" jeans..."suddenly" realize you've gained weight, go on a diet and start the process all over again.

Here are three principles I think are key:

1)  Make CONSCIOUS choices about what you are putting into your body.  Don't allow your taste buds to make the decisions.  Allow the rest of the parts that make up your whole being to weigh in on your food choices (pun completely intended).  I do think it's important to allow the taste buds to win every now and then, but they can't be the dictator.

2)  Have a plan.  Know what you are going to eat and stick to it.  There have been times when I would have eaten anything but because I had a plan about what was best for me, and I had some resolve to stick to the plan, I ate the food I knew was good and then found myself not wanting the other things quite so much.  (That usually works all but one week out of the month...but again, having a plan is the key!)  Keep in mind, it's just the same as having a spending budget.

3)  Get back on track sooner rather than later.  We will all find ourselves "off track" every now and then (some more than others).  When you realize you've fallen off the healthy food wagon, don't wallow in the muck, get back on as quickly as possible.  When I'm at the store after a workout it's very hard for me to keep my wits about me.  I usually want to load up on every unhealthy carb I can get my hands on (because that is what my body thinks it "needs" because accessing stored fat is harder than taking in sugars to replace glycogen I just burned).  I've been doing pretty good at telling myself "step away from the Oreos; step away from the multi-grain tortilla chips".  However, when I come home with something like a container of vanilla frosting (with the best intentions of "I'll just allow myself one teaspoon a day") sometimes I have to throw away "good food" because it becomes painfully obvious I just don't have the self control I'd like to think I have.  Instead of going ahead and sucking down the whole container to get it out of the house, remind yourself, the only difference in it being in the trash or in your mouth are the inches on your hips (or thighs, or stomach).

The overriding key factor is to be kind to yourself.  This healthy eating thing is a process.  You have to eat to live; it's not like you can just give it up.  And, there's no single "right answer".  Be proud of yourself for caring enough to try to do the right thing.  ((Make no mistake, if you read this whole post, you are certainly trying to do the right thing!!))

Thanks for stopping in, come again soon!
:D

Nutrition

Several people have asked me questions recently about nutrition.  I have to make it very clear...I am NOT a nutritionist.  I don't remember if I heard it, or if I read somewhere that anyone can call themselves a nutritionist but you have to be licensed to have the title "dietician".  Well...I did some research today and found that to be incorrect, at least in the state of Alabama.  (See the rules and regulations here.)  So...let me state again, I am NOT a nutritionist.  I'm not a dietician.  I'm just a person who eats food!  :D

Here are some things I believe.

You have to eat if you want to lose weight.

Yes...that's what I said.  If you want to lose weight, you have to eat food.  If you try to stop eating your metabolism will slow down, your body will not know when to expect you to fuel it again so it will start storing everything as fat.  Now, you have to be smart about what you are eating and when and how much...but not eating does NOT work.

Losing weight is not (usually) a simple matter of calories in/calories out.

That's right...it's nutrition not mathematics.  Back when I first started running I couldn't understand why I wasn't losing weight.  I was accurately counting everything but it wasn't working.  Well, come to find out the types of foods I was eating were causing me to basically retain water.   (Yes, water...not food.  That saying "you aren't retaining water, you're retaining food" sorta ticks me off...)  When I cut out those foods, I lost weight.  It's very important you understand, I kept the same AMOUNT of calories, and I cut out "good-for-you" foods like milk, garlic (not many calories lost there), eggs.

When I eat those foods now, I can gain 2-3 pounds in one day.  Those 2-3 pounds are NOT due to excessive calories (1 pound is 3,500 calories....I can tell you I'm pretty sure I haven't had 10,500 in a day, ever).  You need to know what works for your body and what doesn't.  Naturally if you are eating more than you are burning you will gain and theoretically vice versa, but that equation is too simplistic for such a complex process.  And, going back up to my first point, if you reduce intake too much, your body will store what you eat and you could end up gaining weight when, on paper, you should be losing.  Part of the reason you may gain is the "calories out" portion is going to be wrong.  If your metabolism slows down, you won't be burning as many calories as you think you are.  And, if you restrict too much, you're bodily functions will shut down and you'll die.  (Cold hard fact of life.)

If you want a healthy body, you have to give it healthy fuel.

If you have a car that runs on unleaded gas but you decide to put diesel in it instead, it won't run very long.  However, if you put gas mixed with a little water, it will run, just not very well.  Everyone knows you have to eat food to live, but a lot of people eat the "wrong" kinds of foods to allow their body to function at its best.  Everyone is different.  I do not think our bodies are "one diet fits all" so I am NOT saying you need to follow a "boxed" plan.  However, I am saying you need to be a student of what works for you.  Some people I know function at their best with a higher protein diet, others seem to do better going vegan.  The key is to know what works best--FOR YOU--and to DO IT.  This requires you to 1) pay attention to what you are taking in, 2) pay attention to the results and 3) follow through.

I remember when I was a teenager.  I went to see a dermatologist for typical teenage acne.  I wanted him to give me a list of foods I shouldn't eat.  He told me there are no foods that cause breakouts.  I told him I noticed every time I would eat chocolate my face would break out.  He said, "then don't eat chocolate".  I remember asking him why he couldn't just tell me that in the first place; he explained  chocolate doesn't cause everyone to break out.  He also said it may not be causing my breakouts; it may have been merely correlated in timing.  (Maybe it was hormonal; the same thing that was causing the breakouts caused the chocolate cravings.)

That doctor said the same thing I've been hearing my whole life-I need to know my own body better than anyone else, because I live in it.  Although there are some absolutes, after all, no one can live off rat poison!; there is far more grey area than black and white when it comes to food.  How many calories I need to eat, what kinds of foods will upset my digestive system vs rev me up, how long it takes for my stomach to process food to avoid intestinal distress during a race....these kinds of things (among others) are what people have to figure out for themselves.  Yes, there are some good guidelines and some starting points that work for a majority of people, but what works best for you requires a level of self awareness most people simply do not care to have.

Take the time and effort to get to know your body...it's the one you'll have the rest of your life!

Thanks for stopping in, come again soon!!
:D

Food Will Be the Death of Me

For quite a while I have been hyper-vigilant with my food choices.  Other than not quite eating enough before Wet Dog, I've done well at watching the kinds of foods I'm eating as well as how much.  I've also stayed away from all the foods on my food allergy/intolerance list, even all weekend at camp.  I took and made all my own food (baked -well, microwaved- potatoes with fake butter, gluten free waffles, protein powder). 

Until Sunday.

A while back after an open water swim my tri training group went to a place called Stevarino's in Scottsboro.  It looks like a hole-in-the-wall and is in the middle of a strip mall.  Not the place one would expect to find the best (looking) pizza in the WORLD!!  ((I'm not kidding you...that pizza looked better than what I had in Italy, and from what everyone was saying it tasted as good as it looked.))  Well, that night I chose to eat a seared tuna salad.  Don't get me wrong, it tasted great, but, come on, it was nothing compared to pizza.

Over the course of the camp weekend I road passed pizza nirvana no less than six times.  After all the calorie expenditure and being repeatedly faced with temptation...I caved Sunday afternoon and begged my husband to take me to Stevarino's.  We drove down there only to find is CLOSED.  I wanted to cry.  Rather than seeing it as an opportunity to make a better choice, I started thinking about other pizza places.  The only place I could think of that might be worth intestinal distress is also not open on Sunday.  Third place was not only open but on the way home.  After scarfing down some cheesy garlic bread (which wasn't actually very good) I ate some good (but not spectacularly fabulous) pizza.

Monday morning I woke up with a POUNDING, SPLITTING headache and a nose I couldn't breathe out of.  Tuesday and today I have battled total intestinal distress.  From past experience, my best guess is I'll continue having "issues" for the rest of this week.  Why can't I remember the momentary good taste of food is NOT WORTH the inevitable week of suffering.  I talked about it over and over all weekend.  I can't count the number of times I told my story....how I couldn't lose weight and felt so horrible until I took the food allergy test and cut out the food on the list.  How I lost 4 pounds the first week and have felt better than I have in my life during the times I'm eating completely clean.  And...how I feel like garbage when I eat those foods.  How could I ruin it with pizza ...especially pizza that wasn't my first choice??

I hope the more I talk about it the more I can remember it's NOT WORTH IT!!!  I'm sorry for subjecting you to my melodrama!   But...thanks for stopping in...come again soon!! 
:D

Petrol, Natural Gas, Hydrogen, Ethanol...Food?

I bought a new-to-me car back in October.  It had a turbo engine in it.  The manual specified premium gas and pure synthetic oil.  One month, and less than 1,000 miles later, that turbo engine had to be replaced.  We were told the previous owners used inferior gas and oil in the car which caused sludge in the engine.  I'm no car expert, so I have no idea if that's the real reason the engine went kaput or not...but it makes sense to me.  Every engine, mechanical or living, requires proper fuel to run efficiently.  If I were to feed my cat fish food, he might not live long.  If I were to put cat food in my lawn mower's gas tank, it wouldn't start.

Knowing this, I can't understand why I would go to the pool yesterday at 11:30 and think I could swim a ridiculously hard-for-me workout having eaten only half a banana in the previous 17 hours.  Can you say BONK??  No wonder I was exhausted.  No wonder I couldn't finish much less finish strong.  No wonder I battled a headache the rest of the day.

Our bodies need fuel...more than that, they need PROPER fuel...to operate optimally.  Just like my car's engine was made to function with a certain octane gas and viscosity level of oil, my body was designed to perform at its best on certain kinds of food.  And, just like my car and my husband's car require different kinds of fuel, so too do our bodies.

I'm not a doctor and I haven't yet learned the why behind the what...but I'll tell you what:  You MUST listen to your own body and learn its needs in order to determine what fuel will keep you in top working order.  Yes...there are guidelines out there (eat carbs before exercise and a mix of protein and carbs afterwards) but beyond that you can not simply follow a plan developed for someone else's "machine".

I found out about a year ago my body has an immune response to a list of foods.  I hesitate to call what happens an "allergic response" because most people think that means anaphylactic shock.  My body's responses to the various foods on that list range from sinus issues, to intestinal distress, to a subtle shortness of breath, to joint pain and inflammation.   When my diet is clean, I feel, and I am able to function, MUCH better.  When my taste buds' desires override my long term focus for overall health and wellness...my body pays a price for about a week.  LONG after the memory of the delicacy has died, I continue to feel the effects of putting inferior fuel into my engine.

If you intend to drive a race car, you better be prepared to learn how to drive it, to learn how to maintain it, and to learn the proper way to fuel it...or you better be prepared to park it in the garage.  In that regard, keeping in mind no one can give you specifics on exactly what will work best for YOU, here are some tips that might help:

First and foremost-pay attention to your body.  I have a terrible "connect-the-dots" type brain.  I'm one of those people who continue to do the same things expecting different results.  One of the best ways to pay attention is to keep a detailed diary that includes what and when you eat and how you feel.  Food intolerances can last for up to a week after the food is eaten, so although a reaction might be immediate (instant headache every time you eat tomatoes), and it may take a few days to manifest, if you keep a diary you should notice patterns.  This process has always overwhelmed me because it requires diligence I haven't been able to muster.  ((I said it was one of the best ways, not the easiest.))

Be willing to try different things and keep an open mind.  I have found my body seems to be happiest when I eat mostly fruits and veggies.  Pork sits like a brick in my stomach whereas I tolerate fish easier.  I need to eat before I exercise whereas some of my friends must run on an empty stomach to avoid intestinal distress.  There are no cookie-cutter answers.

Lastly...be patient.  Remember, it's a process.  For people who have been life-long students of their own body, training and fueling can seem effortless.  Observant people will recognize what works/doesn't work much faster than someone like me.  Be kind to yourself as you learn to understand the language your body is speaking.

Thanks for stopping in...come again soon.
:D

Discipline

Short and to the point.  I am undisciplined.  Now, I realize there are varying degrees and one person's idea of something vague like "discipline" or "determination" won't match up with everyone else's idea of what that means.  But I'm only speaking for myself here.

I think what I need is a pretty hard and fast PLAN of action, that I will work to maintain, and not let external forces get in my way.  I do have a strong will.  God made me that way for a reason.  It doesn't have to be a bad thing.  It can work to my advantage.

I am going to plan out meals and food to best fuel my workouts.  I've contacted a local place that does metabolic testing so I can find out "exactly" how many calories my body is burning (hopefully at rest as well as during exercise, but we'll see about that).  I want to eat a "balanced" amount of carbs, protein and "good" fats.  (Chips do not fall into this category.)  I don't know exactly what triggers me to eat foods that aren't good for me, I really don't.  But I think I'm done trying to figure it out.  I'm going to say it doesn't matter why I do it....it only matters that I don't do it anymore.  I need to have a plan as to what I'm going to eat so that I'm not staring into a pantry filled with the junk my family eats (something I have given up on changing) when I need food.  Also, I need to come up with something to do when I have the urge to eat out of boredom.  Like a smoker who "needs" to replace the physical action of smoking, I need something to do instead of walking to the kitchen to grab something to put in my mouth.  (That might be a speed bump for me...we'll see.)

Also, I have really rejected the idea of having a "set in stone" training plan because there are so many things that factor into when I run and how much I run and if I can get a work out in first thing in the morning.  Again, I am letting externals control what happens.  It's mainly because I want to run with friends.  I want to keep my schedule flexible so that I won't train myself into injury.  I want to make sure my schedule is flexible enough so that I can still do spontaneous things as the come up.  The problem with that is when out of the ordinary things happen (a blizzard in Alabama!) my training takes a big hit.  I was stuck without a car with snow everywhere most of this past week.  Now, I COULD have wrapped my feet in plastic bags and still gotten some miles in.  I could have done P90X or any of the other workout videos I own.  I could have done any number of the workouts from magazines I have taken the time to rip out and save in a file.  Instead I ate more and more garbage and watched stupid stuff on TV.  Most of the week was not only wasted (meaning no gain), it was spent backsliding (meaning I'm worse off now than I was this time last week)**.

**You know, that's not a good way to look at it.  My darling husband would say this week was a valuable lesson learned.  I'm a very experiential learner.  This week has been an exercise in what life without a solid plan of action looks like---and I can say I have HATED it.  Not to mention my monthly "friend" is about to make her appearance.  This particular week in my cycle is the WORST for everything, and it just so happened to have fallen on a week that I not only didn't have my car (it's in the shop, again), but we also had 8 inches of snow (something I can't stand).  If I had been better prepared for "PMS week", maybe it would have gone better for me?

So, for today...after church I'm going to go to the pool and swim 500 yards (that's 20 lengths of the pool, 10 laps-I still have to find a good way to count them).  Then I will put together a plan for the coming week (workouts and food).  It's time to stop blaming externals for something that should be under my control.

Jane was right in her recent comment to me regarding my food/training confessional, I punish myself.  And Katie was right when she said food is not the enemy...I do need it to fuel my workouts....but it needs to be good fuel.  I would never consider putting cough syrup in the gas tank of my car and expect it to work properly.

Discipline doesn't have to look like this:

But maybe it can look like this and still work:

Thanks for stopping in...come again soon!
:D

Knowing When to Say "Enough"

Well....I didn't even finish 3.5 this morning.  Well, I did finish it, but I walked about 1/4 mile in the middle.

My lower legs feel exactly like they did when I was training for Cotton Row.  I want to believe it's food related.  It's the thing that makes the most sense.  If I'm being very honest...it's the thing that gives me the most control.  If it's the food, that shall remain nameless, then not eating it AT ALL will result in less, or no, pain....allowing me to not make the decision that has been hanging over my head like a black cloud.  If it's the nameless food I have eaten as much as five times in the past week, that would explain why some days the pain is worse than others (based on what I have eaten).  If it's this food that I won't condemn because I really do love it that is causing me the pain I'm feeling in my legs, then it's NOT just because I'm a  big whiny butt.

I've been saying for a while, if I could have just one food "back", it would be THIS food.  It's in everything good.  I love it.  It's almost impossible to find food, especially at restaurants, that doesn't have this in it.  And, I know what you're thinking--probably the same thing I have thought many times, food can't cause pain in your body.  Come on.  But, there's a very strong correlation between when I eat it and how my body feels.  Undeniable really.  And yet, I'm not ready to tell it like I think it is.  I'm not ready to point the finger at this food.

Well, anyway...enough about that food I'm not going to name.....  I started out feeling okay.  My legs didn't feel great, and I didn't feel good at all...but I was running pretty strong, and feeling quite good.  At some point (about a mile and a half),  I felt that all too familiar "bee sting" sensation in my right calf.  It wasn't too bad--like a bee that didn't quite get its stinger all the way in, but it did break the skin.  I decided to ignore it, thinking it would go away. 

 It didn't.  It kept getting worse.  I walked a bit and told Daisy I wasn't going to make it.  She thought I meant the eight we had originally planned to go...I meant to the end of the trail.  I tried to run again after a few steps, but it really did hurt.  I had some flashbacks to Cotton Row training and all the pain I had (off and on...probably worse after eating this nameless food that I found out my body can't tolerate according to blood tests).  I tried to stretch, but it didn't feel muscle related.  It feels like it's in the bone...the same way it felt before.

I tried rubbing on the spot that hurt-and that just made it hurt SIGNIFICANTLY more.  I decided that walking hurt at least as much as running, so when we got out to the road,  I decided to go ahead and run the rest of the way.  The pain let up a bit, but when we stopped it was almost excruciating.

There is a very big part of me that doesn't want it to be the food that I think it is...because that would mean I could eat it!  But, at the same time, if it's the food, and giving it up is all I have to do in order to run better.  I think I would be able to give it up.  I think I would be able to say "I've had enough of this food."  I'd much rather say "enough" to the food than to say "enough" to my runs.

Thanks for stopping in, come again soon!
:D

Calorie Connection?

Yes, that's a man, but I liked the idea behind the picture...

Okay...so maybe it's an excuse, but maybe not.

I went back and looked at my food logs (I use "My Plate" on Livestrong.com)...the day before all three really good runs I had last week I ate "considerably" more calories than usual for me.  Last Friday (the day before the race), and last Monday (the day before the last trail run with Daisy when I was so upset because I felt like I "had to" walk but couldn't figure out why)...I ate "considerably" less calories.

Basically I set up a profile that has my height, starting weight (back in January), and a goal of losing 1.5 pounds a week.  (I update my weight at least once a week.)  Because I don't work out every day, I entered that I was "lightly active"...then on days I work out, I enter my activities and the program calculates how many calories that burns.  It then adds that amount of calories to my usual daily total.  I have no idea how accurate the "calories burned" really is, so I have no idea if I'm eating too much or too little.  I know I'm not losing 1.5 pounds a week and I rarely ever go over the calories per day, and when I do, I try to make sure my weekly totals balance out.

Anyway...I'll just come out and tell you....my daily calorie "goal", if you will, is currently 1201 a day.  As an example of the fitness calculator...today I mowed the lawn with a "power mower", it took about an hour and fifteen minutes.  According to the program, I burned 470 calories.  I think that's probably too much really.  It says that my spin class Monday and the 2 mile "race walking" I did Monday night burned a total of 658 calories.  Again, that sounds a bit high.  It says that running at an 11:30 pace for 90 minutes burns 1132 calories.  I thought the rule of thumb was 100 calories per mile, so that would be off by 332 if that's correct.

But, even if I "only" burned 800 calories during Sunday's run, I still ate a net total of less than 1000 calories that day.  Even if I didn't burn any calories in Monday's spin class or on the 2 mile "run" that night...I ate less than 1100 that day as well.   The day before the fantastic eight mile run I ate about 1700 total (then burned some off in the five and a half miles I ran that day).

I've said all that to say....just maybe there's a correlation between how many calories I'm eating and my performance on my runs.  Yes, I know fueling is important.  Yes, I know what I eat is as important as how much.  I'm just trying to really get a handle on "exactly" how much to eat and still be able to lose a little bit of weight with all this running and working out I'm doing...but still eat enough to fuel my efforts.

Opinions are like brains...everyone has one, but some are just more useful than others.  I read Runner's World forums every day on the topic of diet.  I have done countless hours of research on the subject.  Everyone has a different opinion on what and how much you should eat.  I believe completely you (I) have to figure out what works best for you (me).

The problem is, I'm a terribly UN-observant person.  Most of the time, it takes being hit over the head with a ton of bricks for me to see a pattern.  But, I do think it's pretty amazing that the day before all three really good runs I've eaten more than usual, and the days I've had "bad" runs--they felt bad (especially Tuesday on the trail)--I've eaten less.

I'm going to have to experiment some with this and let you know what I figure out.  That is IF I can figure it out.

Thanks for stopping in, come again soon!
:D

Overdoing It??

I'm supposed to be coming back to running "slowly", without "overdoing it". 

Well, what exactly does that mean??  "Overdoing".  In true NORK* fashion, I looked it up.  (*Yes, I made that word up--part nerd, part dork..."derd" just isn't right!)  Mirriam-Webster says it's doing something in excess or to exhaust.

Well, I think I got very close to "overdoing" it today...if I didn't in fact cross over that imaginary line.  The thing is...for all you runners reading this...don't we all overdo it?  Isn't that kind of the point of training?  You find that line where you think you've given all you have and then go just a bit more.  You run as fast as you can, and then just a bit faster.  Or you run as long/far as you think you can and then just a little longer/farther.

Today I started my run with my Newton's...only about a half mile (I'll write more about them later).  Then I changed shoes and joined up with Turtle.  The run I planned for us was three minutes running a bit faster than "comfortable"/two minutes walking for a couple of miles....and that's almost exactly what we did.  (We did 3/2, 3/2, 2/2, 2/2, 2/cool down.  Man!  What a great run.  I can tell I've improved a great deal because I seriously didn't feel like I needed to stop after the first three minute interval.  Running with her is SERIOUSLY helping me.  She doesn't realize what good shape she's in.  She struggles, but not like I did when I started out.  She reminds me of Speedy-she wants to say she's "slow" or "can't" go further...but she certainly can.

Anyway, I digress....our average pace over all was somewhere around 12 (I forgot to stop the Garmin when we finished).  The best I can tell, our average running pace was about 10.  Our average "best" pace was about 9!!

But, really, that was a digression as well....because what I was really talking about was "overdoing" it.  After my great run, I went to a spinning class.  Today was the first time I stood up on the bike.  Talk about HARD.  I could sit in the saddle "all day", but standing up?  Jesh!  That really took it out of me.  Another neighbor went with me and she said her experience is just the opposite-she could stand "all day" but sitting is harder for her.

About half or two thirds through it, I felt what I can only describe as a bee sting in my right calf.  Ouch.  It didn't last long, but, at that point I had a decision to make, a decision I didn't even realize I was making.  I had to decide what "overdoing" means to me.  I quickly sat down and slowed down, but I kept going.  The sting pretty much went away....so after spinning I went to the Extreme Abs class!

My abs IMMEDIATELY started screaming at me, "YOU'RE OVERDOING IT!!!!"  I seriously couldn't do half of what I did Monday.  I tried, but I just simply couldn't.  Thankfully, my neighbor (who I conveniently rode with) had to leave before we started glutes.

When I came home I took an ice bath and then (after my real shower) I iced the "sting" (10 on, 10 off) for about an hour.  It isn't hurting so I think it's okay...  I think I found that fine line that runs between quitting too early and overdoing it...and I might have crossed just a few toes over it.  I think in order to be classified as "overdoing" the whole foot has to be over the line, so I'm good!

I think I'll wait until tomorrow to decide if I'll do Body Power or take a rest day.  After all, I don't want to ...well, you get it.


FOOD UPDATE

I don't think I've done a food update in a while.  I have given up the food on my list of allergies for about a month, with only a few little snafus here and there.  I feel much better when I'm not eating the stuff on the list.  My appetite is great-I don't feel hungry or have food cravings like I usually do.  Eating out is the hardest thing.  It used to be one of my favorite things....but now, it just completely stresses me out.  I hate it.  Just thinking about it makes me feel anxious.  We're going to Olive Garden tonight for my daughter's birthday dinner (her choice)...I'm NOT looking forward to it at all.  (At least not the eating part.)  It's hard to figure out what I can and can't eat, and garlic is in just about everything! 

But the good news is that I feel great.  I've maintained the weight loss, although I'm not losing any more.  And...amazingly enough, my thyroid (that's been swollen for about 5 years) feels completely back to normal!!  I've been on Synthroid for almost 8 months...I don't think that's what has caused the shrinkage that's happened just this month!

I am fast on my way to becoming a zealot about the dangers of food allergies!!

Thanks for stopping in; come again soon!
:D

Slipping Off the Wagon...Spending Time in the Mud

Didn't I just say YESTERDAY, "I'm not going to eat the food that's on my list"??  You know, the food I've found out I'm ALLERGIC to??  The food I have found out makes me feel like crap??

Well, the best laid plans....  I made a huge banana pudding to take to a 4th of July cookout-and didn't even so much as lick the beater blades, not even so much as a taste of the Cool Whip or Nilla wafers.   After I made it, I had a spinach/blueberry/rice protein/almond milk smoothie for breakfast.  Then I came home from church and made a salad for lunch.  I used more spinach, peeled and cut up some cucumbers and carrots, threw in come Canadian bacon and topped it off with Basalmic vinegar and a touch of olive oil.  I was sitting there all proud of myself because what I really wanted was egg salad on wheat bread (all bad for me).

My husband was cooking up some french fries and asked me if I wanted some.  I decided it was fine to have a couple of them...and did even though I had written in my food diary twice last week that I was sick of eating "garbage" food like french fries and potato chips.  (They don't contain anything that's on my allergy list, and feel like a "treat" but I don't really like them...do you know what I mean?)  Anyway...as I was eating my third fry, I told my husband they didn't taste as good as they have in the past.  He said, "well, it must be from using PEANUT oil instead of Crisco".....PEANUTS are on "the list".  Darn it.

Well...I was thinking it shouldn't really matter, after all, it's not like I ate peanuts.  Am I stupid?  It was almost an instantaneous thing-my nose ran, my throat hurt and I got really sleepy.  What did I do...ate more of the yucky fries...because if I'm already feeling bad, I KNOW I'm going to eat some of that banana pudding I made this morning!!

I was really trying to make good choices....but here I am planning my food binge.  I'm like a recovering alcoholic who's planning what drinks to have at the bar tonight.  How can I seriously be planning out something I know will make me feel like I've been run over by a truck??  Well...to answer my own question...because I feel like I slipped off the wagon so I might as well "enjoy" rolling around in the muddy muck while I'm down here.

I'll jump back on first thing in the morning.....

Thanks for stopping in, come again soon!
:D