It Starts with Food

Hey!  It's a post about food, NOT about a race or workout.  Let me start with a brief timeline of how I got to this current challenge:

March 2013: I was in great shape!  I was the lightest I'd been since Gage was born, getting super strong, running long and racing at least once a month.

June 2013: Missing a lot of workouts, barely running, went on vacation and stuffed my face like you wouldn't believe.

September 2013: Our whole family dynamic and schedule changed when Jason went back to work and Gage went back to school.  Stopped working out, stopped running, still had a few races scheduled.

December 2013: Did Spartan and barely survived, now about 25 lbs heavier, eating total junk every chance I got.

January 2014: Decided I couldn't keep going on like that, started working out and running again regularly - did not change my food habits.

March 2014: Realized that while the running and working out were keeping me in check, my food habits were keeping me from seeing real progress.

INSERT: Whole30 Challenge  http://whole30.com/

  For a few months (December - March), I had been on a roller coaster of trying to turn my eating habits around all at one time, FOREVER, and then falling off of the wagon 1-2 weeks in.  I truly believe for me that eating is an inside job and that until I was ready to really change, it just wasn't going to happen.  This really helped me when I wanted to beat myself up about failing AGAIN.  I've always had to approach these things from a place of acceptance and not from a place of TRYING TO MAKE THINGS HAPPEN THE WAY THAT THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO.  So 26 days ago, I decided I was ready to start feeling better - not necessarily lose weight, look better, etc - I just wanted to feel better.  I was doing a lot of unconscious eating, which for me just leads to more shame.
  What really appealed to me about this challenge is that I only have to commit to 30 days.  It wasn't forever, it wasn't that I would NEVER get to have a cupcake for the rest of my life, I just had to do it for 30 days.  The basic plan is no added sugar, no dairy, no grains, no white potatoes, no alcohol (easy), no legumes, no carrageenan, no sulfites, no MSG and no paleofied desserts.  Now, to make this REALLY fun, I decided to quit caffeine as well.  The goal of this plan was to kick my physical cravings and mental obsession to the curb by eliminating those things from my diet.  After the 30 days, they encourage that you add back one thing at a time so that you can really see how different food items affect you physically.
  I will tell you that week 1 sucked.  Big time.  Week 2, better physically, but bananas mentally.  By the 3rd week, I could really tell a difference in my energy level and mood and now, on day 26, I can tell you that I feel great!  I've been able to make this work pretty easily and have found so many amazing recipes (even Jason will tell you how great the cooking has been) that it feels like this is way more sustainable than I once thought.  I've noticed a difference in my running (my speed is picking up) and my workouts (my recovery time is insanely fast).  I feel more productive in my day, I'm more engaged in my life and what's going on around me, I even keep up with chores more.
  With 4 days left, I will tell you that I am looking forward to a sweet treat next weekend - I already know what I want - but I'm definitely going to continue to eat like this 85-90% of the time.  My goal will be to add some grains back on heavier run weeks, but keep it to things like quinoa or brown rice.  I am going to allow myself a fun meal or treat once a week or so and for special occasions.  I have made a list of a few things that I have really missed and it will be fun to portion those things out over the weeks.  I am really looking forward to my favorite saag paneer at India Garden in a couple of weeks.
  I think the most surprising thing has been how just this small amount of time has changed my palate and my cravings.  I am trying new vegetables and WANTING them on a regular basis.  I have hated avocado my entire life, but I have to tell you that I have discovered in this little adventure that it's really good!  I am having fun making new things and finding fun new snack ideas.  There are things that I was eating or drinking every day that I thought would totally ruin my life if I had to quit them for any length of time, but it turns out, they weren't that big of a deal.  It's been pretty awesome to enjoy food again and not just unconsciously shove it in my mouth without even tasting it.
  So that's the current health adventure I've been on and I can report that the results have been outstanding.  I know some of you will ask, so I will also say that I've lost about 16 pounds.  I lost the first 10 really fast and it's been a pretty steady 1-2 lbs/week since then.  Of course, I've been running and working out the entire time, so a lot of that contributes.   I've tried to track my calories, not for weight loss, but just because I was afraid that with changing my eating habits, I wouldn't get ENOUGH.  I use a website that's pretty simple and free - www.myfitnesspal.com.

Here are some of our favorite recipes so far:

http://cookeatpaleo.com/paleo-avocado-tuna-salad/ - I don’t like raw onions, so I subbed in diced green apple and added a little cayenne pepper.  This is currently my favorite lunch/snack.

http://paleomg.com/clean-it-up-mondays-turkey-and-spinach-stuffed-sweet-potatoes/ - This is delicious and it could definitely be made the night before and the assembled/heated up the next day.

http://www.tgipaleo.com/2014/01/04/no-mayo-avocado-slaw-paleo-raw-vegan/ - The dressing for this is so unbelievable.  I only used half on the actual slaw and then used the extra for veggie dipping the rest of the week.

http://nomnompaleo.com/post/19886925277/sweet-potato-hash-with-fried-eggs - This is my very favorite “easy” dinner or breakfast.  I add in turkey breakfast sausage – I cook the sausage, take it out and then fry up the hash in the sausage grease. 

http://comfybelly.com/2014/01/mexican-chicken-soup-quick-easy/#more-16401 – This chicken soup is AMAZING and EASY.  If you are into avocado or sour cream (if you are eating dairy), you can toss a little of either in your bowl and Jason loves it that way.  This is also a great leftover for a couple of days. 

http://everydaypaleo.com/one-pot-chicken-drumsticks-and-a-release-week-recap/ - This is another super simple, easy chicken recipe.  I usually buy the BIG thing of chicken legs then I cook half with this recipe and roast half at the same time in the oven for lunches.

http://www.multiplydelicious.com/thefood/2012/12/paleo-veggie-beef-chili/ - This chili is really easy and really filling. 

http://www.steamykitchen.com/31325-paleo-cauliflower-bacon-fried-rice-video-recipe.html - Ok, this one is a little weird, but I promise you, it’s oh so good.  It’s a fried rice recipe, but you use grated cauliflower instead of rice.  She gives a basic rundown and then gives options for different stages of cooking.  I add in shrimp, 1 scrambled egg and frozen peas and carrots to my version.  I use the coconut aminos instead of soy sauce as well.  This also heats up great for leftovers.  Maybe it’s the bacon, but it’s just ridiculous how good it tastes. 

So there you go - feeling good on the inside, which has helped me catch up with how I was doing on the outside.  

Next up will be a race review/recap of the Hit N Run 5K next Saturday!