Exercise:
Monday = Rest (legs STILL hurt)
Tuesday - Ran 3.92 miles
It is so good to be running again after a long break. My legs feel tight and my endurance not what it normally is, but was just wonderful to be out there again. Especially not dealing with any GI stuff or allergies or anything. I did the Sumpter neighborhood but took La Cresta street which I never run on before. Big massive hill, but I felt like I needed the challenge. I do like a little bit of rolling hills to keep things interesting.
Food:
It is funny how when you are not exercising, you crave junk. It is easier to eat it. Using the "I climbed a mountain and burned off all kinds of calories" excuse can only be milked for so long. I am not eating terrible but I am gravitating towards the greasy fattening stuff and unfortunately I drank a Coke today. It is hard when we are near the end of the groceries too. But tomorrow is a new day, of course.
Sleep: Last night I had a horrible, scary dream. I don't remember much of it except someone or something was getting close to my face with every intention of harming me...I think stabbing or suffocation. I think it was similar to the Bones episode Rob and I watched last night. Anyway I cried out enough to make Rob wake up and he was concerned. I had a Diet Mountain Dew at 6 PM, and it probably was enough to disturb my sleep. I also took a half (more like a quarter) of a Unisom so I would get good sleep. I also took another Immodium as my GI stuff was slightly coming back. It was probably like mixing some sort of bad cocktail and let's just say it backfired with bad sleep. I have found that medication that causes drowsiness like Bendaryl, Nyquil, and Unisom can backfire with me and cause excitability instead of sleepiness. The only one that has seems to work is Sudafed PM and the generic versions of it. I only take this when I have a bad cold.
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Sunday, September 28, 2014
September 25-28: Up the Mountain and Down
Exercise: On Thursday and Friday I continued to rest. Whatever GI bug that went through the house that unfortunately is still lingering is taking its time to fully exit the body. I did not want to push it with early mornings and long runs. Plus with climbing South Sister on Saturday, I wanted to be at my best.
Yesterday morning I left for Karen's house around 5:40 AM. We had hoped to get to the trail head by 8 AM. We had to stop in Sisters for gas and some wanted to grab breakfast. It took a bit longer than we had hoped. Then we took a wrong turn in Bend. We did not reach the trail head until about 9:15 AM and started the hike at 9:30 AM. There were about 12 in our whole group and we split up into a couple different groups. People seemed to like my pace so I led our group for most of the uphill and Karen led most of the downhill. The beginning of the hike through the forest was quite steep. Once we got out of that we had a little bit of a break with rolling hills and meadow by Morraine Lake. After we passed through the lake area, it was like we were at the actual rocky part of the mountain. We were doing steep rocky climbs again.
I felt totally fine. It actually was harder to stop and start up again. I grazed throughout the climb rather than stopping for a big lunch. As we passed people coming down, we were told getting to the summit might not be possible. Past the false summit which is about 1 1/2 miles before the actual summit, there was fifty miles/hour wind enough to blow people over, little visibility, and people were having a hard time finding the trail. Bart who was from our church and climbed up earlier is an experienced hiker and warned us about all this, but said conditions can change really quickly on the mountain so it might be clearer by the time we get up there. He said we should have no problem getting to the false summit.
We stopped for another break and it was the temperature dropped. I didn't have any gloves or hat for my head. I felt like I had enough layers, but my hands were freezing. Putting my hands in my sleeves helped, but I knew once we hit snow--there was no way I could hike with my hands exposed to the snow and wind. We reached the false summit and it was amazing. The winds had died down and we could see everything. We took another break there. Then Karen, Rhonda, and I decided to continue to the summit. Rhonda realized she had thick socks I could put on my hands and a head warmer and let me borrow them. It made a significant difference and I was not cold anymore. We reached a point we were hiking in snow and the winds were getting stronger. We wanted to summit and a few other groups were. Once we reached deep snow, we were losing the trail. I just didn't feel confident continuing. The other girls agreed. We were about 200-300 feet below the summit--we were so close! So basically we did summit. That last little bit was not safe for us as amateur hikers.
Coming down seemed to take forever, but it usually is that way. Once we reached the rocky parts, I started getting an upset stomach and cramping. This was really frustrating as I wanted to enjoy the downward climb, but I was feeling sick in and out. Once we reached the forest I felt better. My appetite was coming back and the cramping was getting less. We made it to the car around 6:30. We stopped for supper in Bend and my appetite was fine.
The ride home seemed to also take forever. That is the way it goes with dark two lane highways. Rhonda and I took turns resting and then keeping Karen awake. Karen didn't feel tired until we reached Stayton where she had to drop Rhonda off.
By the time I was home it was 11 PM. I was pretty wired and could not fall asleep right away. Derek got the GI bug last night around 7:30 PM. It's all the same symptoms. I woke up at 2:45 AM to a loud crash in the bathroom. Apparently he went to the bathroom and got disoriented and fell right by the toilet hitting the trash can. He was laying there curled up in a ball. I woke him up and he started crying, but thankfully was not hurt. We don't think he passed out...just was in that sleep stage and disoriented. He seems better this morning, but I think this GI thing lasts a few days.
My GI system is still not back to normal from yesterday on the hike. I also have a sore throat and might be catching a cold too. It was still well worth the hike and everything--I just would like to feel back to normal soon. I guess rest is the best medicine for today. Unfortunately I am missing church for the second week in a row.
Food: I did manage to eat healthy through all this. Friday morning my breakfast was not great--a chocolate chip pancakes and apple bread. We are near the end of our groceries and that make it difficult. But for lunch I made mostly fruits and vegetables.
Sleep: The last two nights I have not slept great and that might be making the GI bug not heal properly. Friday night I was nervous for the hike and awoke several times in the night. Last night it was waking up to Derek and having a slight headache. Nothing GI related kept me up in the night--it has all seem to come this morning. I am hoping to take a nap this afternoon and get to bed by 10 tonight and hopefully have a healthy upcoming week.
Yesterday morning I left for Karen's house around 5:40 AM. We had hoped to get to the trail head by 8 AM. We had to stop in Sisters for gas and some wanted to grab breakfast. It took a bit longer than we had hoped. Then we took a wrong turn in Bend. We did not reach the trail head until about 9:15 AM and started the hike at 9:30 AM. There were about 12 in our whole group and we split up into a couple different groups. People seemed to like my pace so I led our group for most of the uphill and Karen led most of the downhill. The beginning of the hike through the forest was quite steep. Once we got out of that we had a little bit of a break with rolling hills and meadow by Morraine Lake. After we passed through the lake area, it was like we were at the actual rocky part of the mountain. We were doing steep rocky climbs again.
I felt totally fine. It actually was harder to stop and start up again. I grazed throughout the climb rather than stopping for a big lunch. As we passed people coming down, we were told getting to the summit might not be possible. Past the false summit which is about 1 1/2 miles before the actual summit, there was fifty miles/hour wind enough to blow people over, little visibility, and people were having a hard time finding the trail. Bart who was from our church and climbed up earlier is an experienced hiker and warned us about all this, but said conditions can change really quickly on the mountain so it might be clearer by the time we get up there. He said we should have no problem getting to the false summit.
We stopped for another break and it was the temperature dropped. I didn't have any gloves or hat for my head. I felt like I had enough layers, but my hands were freezing. Putting my hands in my sleeves helped, but I knew once we hit snow--there was no way I could hike with my hands exposed to the snow and wind. We reached the false summit and it was amazing. The winds had died down and we could see everything. We took another break there. Then Karen, Rhonda, and I decided to continue to the summit. Rhonda realized she had thick socks I could put on my hands and a head warmer and let me borrow them. It made a significant difference and I was not cold anymore. We reached a point we were hiking in snow and the winds were getting stronger. We wanted to summit and a few other groups were. Once we reached deep snow, we were losing the trail. I just didn't feel confident continuing. The other girls agreed. We were about 200-300 feet below the summit--we were so close! So basically we did summit. That last little bit was not safe for us as amateur hikers.
Coming down seemed to take forever, but it usually is that way. Once we reached the rocky parts, I started getting an upset stomach and cramping. This was really frustrating as I wanted to enjoy the downward climb, but I was feeling sick in and out. Once we reached the forest I felt better. My appetite was coming back and the cramping was getting less. We made it to the car around 6:30. We stopped for supper in Bend and my appetite was fine.
The ride home seemed to also take forever. That is the way it goes with dark two lane highways. Rhonda and I took turns resting and then keeping Karen awake. Karen didn't feel tired until we reached Stayton where she had to drop Rhonda off.
By the time I was home it was 11 PM. I was pretty wired and could not fall asleep right away. Derek got the GI bug last night around 7:30 PM. It's all the same symptoms. I woke up at 2:45 AM to a loud crash in the bathroom. Apparently he went to the bathroom and got disoriented and fell right by the toilet hitting the trash can. He was laying there curled up in a ball. I woke him up and he started crying, but thankfully was not hurt. We don't think he passed out...just was in that sleep stage and disoriented. He seems better this morning, but I think this GI thing lasts a few days.
My GI system is still not back to normal from yesterday on the hike. I also have a sore throat and might be catching a cold too. It was still well worth the hike and everything--I just would like to feel back to normal soon. I guess rest is the best medicine for today. Unfortunately I am missing church for the second week in a row.
Food: I did manage to eat healthy through all this. Friday morning my breakfast was not great--a chocolate chip pancakes and apple bread. We are near the end of our groceries and that make it difficult. But for lunch I made mostly fruits and vegetables.
Sleep: The last two nights I have not slept great and that might be making the GI bug not heal properly. Friday night I was nervous for the hike and awoke several times in the night. Last night it was waking up to Derek and having a slight headache. Nothing GI related kept me up in the night--it has all seem to come this morning. I am hoping to take a nap this afternoon and get to bed by 10 tonight and hopefully have a healthy upcoming week.
Wednesday, September 24, 2014
September 24: I drank a green smoothie
Exercise = Rest
I am still resting and hopefully will run tomorrow morning. My stomach is back to normal, but whatever we had does not go away right away. Kara threw up in the van yesterday late afternoon and woke up from a nap today with an upset stomach. I don't want to push it and get sick again especially since I am climbing South Sister this weekend with friends from church.
Food
This morning I had cereal and milk again. For lunch Kara and I made a green smoothie. I don't make these very often and I never get the consistency quite right. This time it was way too liquidy. I managed to drink a glass down. I think I am more bothered by the texture and color versus the actual taste. Kara loved it and had two small glassfuls...hmm...I hope that's not why she feels sick again this afternoon. My thoughts are why not eat all the foods in their actual solid form than blend them all together? I would much rather eat a plate full of spinach and fruit versus drink it from a glass. I see why people like these...they are convenient. If I had an office job, it is something I would keep on my desk and drink throughout the afternoon. For dinner we are trying a new beef and vegetable stew that was a freezer meal I made a few weeks ago. We are trying to keep a couple meals in the freezer for busier weeks...might be a good thing especially when basketball starts.
Sleep
I slept amazing last night. I just woke up to the door constantly rattling. It is time to shut the windows, but I think I am still in denial that fall is actually here. I am not turning on the heat until I am actually cold.
I am still resting and hopefully will run tomorrow morning. My stomach is back to normal, but whatever we had does not go away right away. Kara threw up in the van yesterday late afternoon and woke up from a nap today with an upset stomach. I don't want to push it and get sick again especially since I am climbing South Sister this weekend with friends from church.
Food
This morning I had cereal and milk again. For lunch Kara and I made a green smoothie. I don't make these very often and I never get the consistency quite right. This time it was way too liquidy. I managed to drink a glass down. I think I am more bothered by the texture and color versus the actual taste. Kara loved it and had two small glassfuls...hmm...I hope that's not why she feels sick again this afternoon. My thoughts are why not eat all the foods in their actual solid form than blend them all together? I would much rather eat a plate full of spinach and fruit versus drink it from a glass. I see why people like these...they are convenient. If I had an office job, it is something I would keep on my desk and drink throughout the afternoon. For dinner we are trying a new beef and vegetable stew that was a freezer meal I made a few weeks ago. We are trying to keep a couple meals in the freezer for busier weeks...might be a good thing especially when basketball starts.
Sleep
I slept amazing last night. I just woke up to the door constantly rattling. It is time to shut the windows, but I think I am still in denial that fall is actually here. I am not turning on the heat until I am actually cold.
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
September 22 & 23: And I got sick too...
Exercise = REST
My stomach was hurting Sunday night and I thought I would be up during the night throwing up, but I managed to sleep OK. I got up and did not feel great, but did not feel horrible either. So I decided not to cancel child care. I figured I could get through the day. One of my toddlers was sick anyway with the exact same thing Kara had so it was quiet morning here with just one child. By mid morning my appetite was completely gone and I was tired. After the child care kids got picked up at 4:30 I laid down and read, check e-mails etc. Then I slept from 5 PM - 7 PM. I watched TV and read the rest of the night until 11 PM. I think all that rest helped because I woke up today feeling almost back to normal.
Food
What I hate most about being sick is you lose weight, but it's not normal weight loss. You will gain it all back. It's not true losing weight. It is the equivalent of a crash diet. What I also hate is when my appetite comes back, I crave junk. I would rather eat a candy bar or cookie or fast food instead of a piece of fruit. So today was hard. I had cereal for breakfast. I had a few Wheat Thins, a few pieces of deli chicken meat, a piece of cheese, and some of Rob's leftover tuna. I had zero fruits or veggies because I could not stomach them. Dinner was even worse--I took the girls to Wendy's while Derek was at a birthday party. I was craving fast food more than anything else. I am not going to beat myself up because yesterday all I ate all day was a bowl of cereal and milk, a slice of bread with peanut butter on it, Saltines, and a glass of blue Gatorade--that is all. So hopefully my normal appetite will come back soon.
Sleep
Last night I slept great almost all the way to the alarm. I think all the extra rest and sleep helped me fight whatever stomach bug I was dealing with. I am glad it was mild and I didn't miss any days of work.
My stomach was hurting Sunday night and I thought I would be up during the night throwing up, but I managed to sleep OK. I got up and did not feel great, but did not feel horrible either. So I decided not to cancel child care. I figured I could get through the day. One of my toddlers was sick anyway with the exact same thing Kara had so it was quiet morning here with just one child. By mid morning my appetite was completely gone and I was tired. After the child care kids got picked up at 4:30 I laid down and read, check e-mails etc. Then I slept from 5 PM - 7 PM. I watched TV and read the rest of the night until 11 PM. I think all that rest helped because I woke up today feeling almost back to normal.
Food
What I hate most about being sick is you lose weight, but it's not normal weight loss. You will gain it all back. It's not true losing weight. It is the equivalent of a crash diet. What I also hate is when my appetite comes back, I crave junk. I would rather eat a candy bar or cookie or fast food instead of a piece of fruit. So today was hard. I had cereal for breakfast. I had a few Wheat Thins, a few pieces of deli chicken meat, a piece of cheese, and some of Rob's leftover tuna. I had zero fruits or veggies because I could not stomach them. Dinner was even worse--I took the girls to Wendy's while Derek was at a birthday party. I was craving fast food more than anything else. I am not going to beat myself up because yesterday all I ate all day was a bowl of cereal and milk, a slice of bread with peanut butter on it, Saltines, and a glass of blue Gatorade--that is all. So hopefully my normal appetite will come back soon.
Sleep
Last night I slept great almost all the way to the alarm. I think all the extra rest and sleep helped me fight whatever stomach bug I was dealing with. I am glad it was mild and I didn't miss any days of work.
Sunday, September 21, 2014
September 19-21: Long run, apples, and sickies
Exercise:
Friday - Ran a little over 3 miles. I ran through the Sumpter neighborhood. I still had a head ache when I woke up, but it was not as strong as the previous day. Running was fine. I might have been a tiny bit slower than normal. I took two Advil when I returned and the head ache was gone soon after.
Saturday - Stationary Bike - 42 minutes
I wanted to bike today outside, but had a lot of cleaning to do in the morning and mid afternoon. By the time 5 PM hit, it was 93 degrees and there was no way I was going to exercise in that. Even hanging up the laundry, I could feel the intense heat. I settled for the air conditioned gym and did intervals on the stationary bike. I don't like these bikes as much as the bikes we use in Group Ride, but I can still get a good workout on them.
Sunday - Ran 9.45 miles
I got out the door at 6:27 AM and it was still dark, but I could see hints of the sun beginning to rise...very pretty out. I started in the Welcome Way neighborhood, took Sunnyside to Rees Hill area, back down Commercial to Winding Way & Browning and Lone Oak to home. I felt like my pace was slower. At times my legs felt like they had weights attached to them and I could not gain any speed. The hills were much harder than last week even though I intentionally planned my route avoiding the large hills. I took a few little walk breaks for like 30 seconds instead of one or two longer breaks. Just enough to catch my breath and sip some Ultima. I am doing Hal Higdon's program that includes three days of running and the rest is cross training. The mileage jumps from seven to nine miles which does not seem like much. My mileage has not been this high in quite awhile. When training for triathlons I stayed in 4-6 mile range since the run was never more than a 5K.
Food:
Friday morning I had an avocado and apple breakfast salad--liked this one too. I had homemade guacamole with a few chips plus some fruit for lunch and carrots and peanut butter for a snack. It was Hailey's birthday party so we did have pizza, but it was homemade. I think Rob's pizza is healthier than Papa Murphy's or Figaro's. I did have cake and ice cream in the evening...which tasted so good. Now unfortunately I am craving sweets again. It always seems to happen on the weekends. Rob made me a ham and veggie omelette this morning. We picked apples in the late morning and I have been snacking on those this afternoon. Sunday morning I did a long run and you think I would be hungry. I think the gu gels suck the hunger right out of you. All I have eaten so far is a small bowl of Rice Krispies and I am not hungry at all. I will probably snack on apples and grapes later. We have a bucket full of apples and Camelia brought us more grapes. The grapes only last a few days and then we start getting those little fruit flies.
Sleep:
Last night was a rough night. I had over active bladder again and I attribute to this to any caffeine I drink after 6 PM. It is comparable to when I was pregnant with Derek and I'm peeing every hour. It is not every single time I have caffeine that late, but I don't sleep as deep. I have bizarre dreams and sometimes nightmares. Thankfully I slept from 11:15 PM until 3 PM. The cat woke up at 3 probably looking for Hailey who was sleeping in the family room with her friend with door closed. I ignored her until 3:45 when she was meowing again. I locked her in the laundry room. Slept until 5:30 AM and went to bathroom yet again. Around 5:50 AM Rob woke me up saying someone was throwing up. My first thought was "I hope it's one of our kids and not Hailey's friend." I asked Rob if he could check it out since I already had been up a few times dealing with the cat. It was Kara and she didn't quite make it to the toilet. We had to do clean-up at 6 AM on a Saturday morning. One of my thoughts was it has been a very long time since we had to do this with any of our kids. Slept about 45 minutes until Rob told me Kara was throwing up again. Checked her and thankfully she made it to the toilet. Derek was waking up and I told him we were not getting up for awhile...he had to play quietly and not wake anyone up if he was going to get out of bed. We didn't get up until 8:45 and still could have slept longer. I hate nights like this but thankfully we don't have much going on today. I guess it could be a lot worse.
Saturday night I woke up at 1:30 AM and went to the bathroom. I think I awoke to the people yelling outside on the street. We are pretty used to this especially on Friday and Saturday nights and when the windows are all open. The bar up the street lets out around this time and people peel out of the driveway (not very safe--we have witnessed one crash in front of our house and a couple fights). I woke up at 5:50 again and had to go to the bathroom. I had no caffeine yesterday aside from my morning cup of coffee, but I had a lot of water and ice tea in the afternoon and evening. Kara is feeling better but still not quite ready to be out so we are staying home from church.
Friday - Ran a little over 3 miles. I ran through the Sumpter neighborhood. I still had a head ache when I woke up, but it was not as strong as the previous day. Running was fine. I might have been a tiny bit slower than normal. I took two Advil when I returned and the head ache was gone soon after.
Saturday - Stationary Bike - 42 minutes
I wanted to bike today outside, but had a lot of cleaning to do in the morning and mid afternoon. By the time 5 PM hit, it was 93 degrees and there was no way I was going to exercise in that. Even hanging up the laundry, I could feel the intense heat. I settled for the air conditioned gym and did intervals on the stationary bike. I don't like these bikes as much as the bikes we use in Group Ride, but I can still get a good workout on them.
Sunday - Ran 9.45 miles
I got out the door at 6:27 AM and it was still dark, but I could see hints of the sun beginning to rise...very pretty out. I started in the Welcome Way neighborhood, took Sunnyside to Rees Hill area, back down Commercial to Winding Way & Browning and Lone Oak to home. I felt like my pace was slower. At times my legs felt like they had weights attached to them and I could not gain any speed. The hills were much harder than last week even though I intentionally planned my route avoiding the large hills. I took a few little walk breaks for like 30 seconds instead of one or two longer breaks. Just enough to catch my breath and sip some Ultima. I am doing Hal Higdon's program that includes three days of running and the rest is cross training. The mileage jumps from seven to nine miles which does not seem like much. My mileage has not been this high in quite awhile. When training for triathlons I stayed in 4-6 mile range since the run was never more than a 5K.
Food:
Friday morning I had an avocado and apple breakfast salad--liked this one too. I had homemade guacamole with a few chips plus some fruit for lunch and carrots and peanut butter for a snack. It was Hailey's birthday party so we did have pizza, but it was homemade. I think Rob's pizza is healthier than Papa Murphy's or Figaro's. I did have cake and ice cream in the evening...which tasted so good. Now unfortunately I am craving sweets again. It always seems to happen on the weekends. Rob made me a ham and veggie omelette this morning. We picked apples in the late morning and I have been snacking on those this afternoon. Sunday morning I did a long run and you think I would be hungry. I think the gu gels suck the hunger right out of you. All I have eaten so far is a small bowl of Rice Krispies and I am not hungry at all. I will probably snack on apples and grapes later. We have a bucket full of apples and Camelia brought us more grapes. The grapes only last a few days and then we start getting those little fruit flies.
Sleep:
Last night was a rough night. I had over active bladder again and I attribute to this to any caffeine I drink after 6 PM. It is comparable to when I was pregnant with Derek and I'm peeing every hour. It is not every single time I have caffeine that late, but I don't sleep as deep. I have bizarre dreams and sometimes nightmares. Thankfully I slept from 11:15 PM until 3 PM. The cat woke up at 3 probably looking for Hailey who was sleeping in the family room with her friend with door closed. I ignored her until 3:45 when she was meowing again. I locked her in the laundry room. Slept until 5:30 AM and went to bathroom yet again. Around 5:50 AM Rob woke me up saying someone was throwing up. My first thought was "I hope it's one of our kids and not Hailey's friend." I asked Rob if he could check it out since I already had been up a few times dealing with the cat. It was Kara and she didn't quite make it to the toilet. We had to do clean-up at 6 AM on a Saturday morning. One of my thoughts was it has been a very long time since we had to do this with any of our kids. Slept about 45 minutes until Rob told me Kara was throwing up again. Checked her and thankfully she made it to the toilet. Derek was waking up and I told him we were not getting up for awhile...he had to play quietly and not wake anyone up if he was going to get out of bed. We didn't get up until 8:45 and still could have slept longer. I hate nights like this but thankfully we don't have much going on today. I guess it could be a lot worse.
Saturday night I woke up at 1:30 AM and went to the bathroom. I think I awoke to the people yelling outside on the street. We are pretty used to this especially on Friday and Saturday nights and when the windows are all open. The bar up the street lets out around this time and people peel out of the driveway (not very safe--we have witnessed one crash in front of our house and a couple fights). I woke up at 5:50 again and had to go to the bathroom. I had no caffeine yesterday aside from my morning cup of coffee, but I had a lot of water and ice tea in the afternoon and evening. Kara is feeling better but still not quite ready to be out so we are staying home from church.
Thursday, September 18, 2014
September 18: I lost two pounds
Exercise: Group Ride (1 hour)
I have been using my ipad as an alarm clock. The updates last night screwed up the alarm and I did not wake up to go to Group Power. I have missed Power the last two weeks unfortunately. Again like usual this is a weekend I cannot make it Friday afternoon or Saturday morning. Fortunately we had a light Thursday evening so I could go to 5:30 PM Ride again. It was harder today versus last week. I have had a pulsing headache off and on all day which I quite sure is related to hormones. I have been drinking water like crazy so it is unrelated to dehydration. I was glad I did get to exercise today even if it was Ride versus Power.
I also weighed myself at the gym and I am down two pounds. I have not been at this weight since I went on Weight Watchers right before I ran the California International Marathon in 2010. Granted, I've not tracked my weight on a regular basis and was consistently the same weight for years...I did not bother checking it. Now I am curious with the changes in eating. My exercise has not really changed at all.
Food:
Today I had another vegan salad for breakfast. We are going apple picking this weekend so I am looking forward to eating fresh apples in the mid morning. The last two days I have had an early lunch/late second breakfast that is not the greatest healthy wise. Yesterday was the kick-off for our mom's group and I cannot turn down egg casseroles. Today I met a friend at Mc Donalds and had a sausage biscuit with egg. But I gave my hash browns to my child care kids. I snacked on ham slices around 3 PM. We ate super healthy for supper. Rob made homemade tomato soup with carrots. The tomatoes were from our garden or the Quinn's garden. We have so much tomato in the house right now I need to make salsa before it goes bad. I am drinking Ultima instead of Gatorade--I just love the stuff. It tastes so good while running/biking. I wish it was not so expensive. I am looking into some protein shake mix not as a meal replacement but for snacks or busier days. I read some reviews today and found out what is good and what has a lot of processed stuff in it.
Sleep:
I have been falling asleep consistently around 10. I have been sleeping great. I don't drag as much in the morning and I have not dealt with nighttime or morning anxiety in several weeks.
I have been using my ipad as an alarm clock. The updates last night screwed up the alarm and I did not wake up to go to Group Power. I have missed Power the last two weeks unfortunately. Again like usual this is a weekend I cannot make it Friday afternoon or Saturday morning. Fortunately we had a light Thursday evening so I could go to 5:30 PM Ride again. It was harder today versus last week. I have had a pulsing headache off and on all day which I quite sure is related to hormones. I have been drinking water like crazy so it is unrelated to dehydration. I was glad I did get to exercise today even if it was Ride versus Power.
I also weighed myself at the gym and I am down two pounds. I have not been at this weight since I went on Weight Watchers right before I ran the California International Marathon in 2010. Granted, I've not tracked my weight on a regular basis and was consistently the same weight for years...I did not bother checking it. Now I am curious with the changes in eating. My exercise has not really changed at all.
Food:
Today I had another vegan salad for breakfast. We are going apple picking this weekend so I am looking forward to eating fresh apples in the mid morning. The last two days I have had an early lunch/late second breakfast that is not the greatest healthy wise. Yesterday was the kick-off for our mom's group and I cannot turn down egg casseroles. Today I met a friend at Mc Donalds and had a sausage biscuit with egg. But I gave my hash browns to my child care kids. I snacked on ham slices around 3 PM. We ate super healthy for supper. Rob made homemade tomato soup with carrots. The tomatoes were from our garden or the Quinn's garden. We have so much tomato in the house right now I need to make salsa before it goes bad. I am drinking Ultima instead of Gatorade--I just love the stuff. It tastes so good while running/biking. I wish it was not so expensive. I am looking into some protein shake mix not as a meal replacement but for snacks or busier days. I read some reviews today and found out what is good and what has a lot of processed stuff in it.
Sleep:
I have been falling asleep consistently around 10. I have been sleeping great. I don't drag as much in the morning and I have not dealt with nighttime or morning anxiety in several weeks.
Wednesday, September 17, 2014
September 15 - 17: Fruits and vegetables and track running
I am in Day #11 of eating healthy and I think I see results. It might be too early to tell. You often cannot see the changes in physical and mental health after only eleven days. There are always other things you can attribute to how you feel...anything from nice weather to a good night's sleep. I am using an app on my ipad to track my moods related to the monthly cycle. Again I will not see patterns until it has been more than eleven days. I should have done this years ago and at one point I tried with a written calendar. There is something easier about having an ipad...especially with chimes to remind you of things.
I loved this quote about healthy eating from my gym's website:
Clean food is basically food without any added unnatural or processed ingredients. If you can’t find the ingredient or food in nature, then it probably isn’t clean. For example, an orange is a better option than orange juice (processed and added sugar). And orange juice is better than an orange creamsicle (who knows what is actually in one of those). The more steps food has to take from its natural state, the less clean it tends to be.
I loved this quote about healthy eating from my gym's website:
Clean food is basically food without any added unnatural or processed ingredients. If you can’t find the ingredient or food in nature, then it probably isn’t clean. For example, an orange is a better option than orange juice (processed and added sugar). And orange juice is better than an orange creamsicle (who knows what is actually in one of those). The more steps food has to take from its natural state, the less clean it tends to be.
Clean foods are the best because our bodies are designed to thrive off real food.
This is simple yet why do these nutrition gurus make it complicated? This is exactly what I have been doing. Eating lots of fresh fruits and vegetables and "clean" foods as much as possible. Not everything I eat would be considered "clean" but I am incorporating more of it in my diet.
Exercise:
Monday: Rest
Tuesday: Track workout. I ran at South around 5:30. I did one of the workouts from the triathlon Facebook page, but cut it in half so it was five miles total. Hal Higdon's plan had me doing five miles so it worked well. I had not been to the track since the first week of August so it was great to be back there. I liked running with others doing their own workouts versus the elite triathletes I cannot keep up with. I do like the track the more I do it. The speed workouts do make a difference.
Wednesday: Swam 45 minutes. My swim partner slashed her tire on the way into the gym parking lot. She hit something in the road. We waited with her while she called Triple A so we had a bit of a late start. It was still a good workout. We chose a workout with more 400's and 300's versus speed swims.
Eating:
I have been having a bowl of cereal and milk or vegan salads in the mornings. I have not had brown sugar on my oatmeal in almost two weeks. For lunch I have been eating a lot of fruits like banana, grapes, or apple and vegetables like beets, cherry tomatoes, or carrots. I have been eating deli slices. For snacks I have been having rice cakes or a few wheat thins. For supper Monday night we had Rob's potato dish and last night we had pulled pork. Tonight we eat at church so who knows what it is--going to try to avoid the junk. It's hard when the youth group's diet is chips and Mountain Dew, but I can resist more than I could years ago.
Sleep:
I've had no sleep or insomnia issues the past two night. I just have had full days of child care--today I have the afternoon off. I am pretty much done at 8 PM. I am trying to not to leave anything for the evening so I can relax and read and get to bed by 10. It helps the kids are not doing fall sports right now. This might be harder once basketball starts, but I am hoping to stick with the established routine.
Sunday, September 14, 2014
September 12 -14 Weekend Recap
Exercise:
Friday = Rest
Saturday = I ran 3.5 miles at the absolute worst time of the day. It was at 5 PM which is our hottest time of the day. It's been in the high 80's/90's here. I took a water bottle along and that helped, but it was still tough. I had to take a few walk breaks. I intentionally did the Cunningham Hills because getting more comfortable with hills is one of my running goals. Other than being overly hot, it was good run. I did a tempo run where I did slow 1 mile, fast 1 mile, and slow 1 mile.
Sunday = 7 miles. I love running Sunday mornings. It makes the day go smoother. Sundays have always been days of high anxiety for me even before I had kids. I often feel uptight at certain times of the day. Sometimes I struggle with the church small talk and the fellowship halls feels overwhelming. I ran through the Welcome Way neighborhood to the Sumpter neighborhood and again intentionally took on some large hills.
Sleep - I have been sleeping amazing the last few nights even when we were camping. I am hardly waking up at all in the middle of the night.
Food - Friday breakfast & lunch, I ate very healthy--fruits and vegetables, some ham slices, oatmeal with honey and banana. Friday night & Saturday were difficult because we were camping. I had some fruit but I also ate junk. I can tell today I am craving junk again. I ate cereal and milk for breakfast and leftover homemade pizza (not great, but could be worse) for lunch. Right now I am craving sweets. I ate an apple for a snack and that helped with the cravings. We still have quite a bit of fresh produce in the house and that is helping with snack alternatives. This week is going to be harder because we have Hailey's birthday and my Bible Study is meeting at a dessert cafe. I am going to really try and eat healthy for the meals as much as I can.
Friday = Rest
Saturday = I ran 3.5 miles at the absolute worst time of the day. It was at 5 PM which is our hottest time of the day. It's been in the high 80's/90's here. I took a water bottle along and that helped, but it was still tough. I had to take a few walk breaks. I intentionally did the Cunningham Hills because getting more comfortable with hills is one of my running goals. Other than being overly hot, it was good run. I did a tempo run where I did slow 1 mile, fast 1 mile, and slow 1 mile.
Sunday = 7 miles. I love running Sunday mornings. It makes the day go smoother. Sundays have always been days of high anxiety for me even before I had kids. I often feel uptight at certain times of the day. Sometimes I struggle with the church small talk and the fellowship halls feels overwhelming. I ran through the Welcome Way neighborhood to the Sumpter neighborhood and again intentionally took on some large hills.
Sleep - I have been sleeping amazing the last few nights even when we were camping. I am hardly waking up at all in the middle of the night.
Food - Friday breakfast & lunch, I ate very healthy--fruits and vegetables, some ham slices, oatmeal with honey and banana. Friday night & Saturday were difficult because we were camping. I had some fruit but I also ate junk. I can tell today I am craving junk again. I ate cereal and milk for breakfast and leftover homemade pizza (not great, but could be worse) for lunch. Right now I am craving sweets. I ate an apple for a snack and that helped with the cravings. We still have quite a bit of fresh produce in the house and that is helping with snack alternatives. This week is going to be harder because we have Hailey's birthday and my Bible Study is meeting at a dessert cafe. I am going to really try and eat healthy for the meals as much as I can.
Thursday, September 11, 2014
September 11: Indoor cycling and food successes
Exercise: Group Ride - 1 hour
I went to the 5:30 PM Ride class as I had a harder time getting up this morning. It worked with our schedule this evening. I really enjoy Ride more than I used to. Of the the bike, swim, run, component--biking is by far my weakest. I have anxiety about crashing, scared of getting flats, terrified of hills and ride the brake, and still scared of biking in clips (though made some progress). I had anxiety of open water swimming too. But getting lots of pool time helped in the outdoors. So I am hoping indoor cycling will impact my outdoor cycling.
Sleep: I slept amazing until about 4:30 AM. I sometimes go to 5:15 AM Group Power Thursday mornings (it's often a goal the night before at least). But female problems like bad cramping and head aches kept me in bed. I slept restlessly until Rob's alarm went off at 6:30 AM. The good thing is I often only have one day of this. I am hoping the change in eating can help more with the mood swings, but the physical issues are much less of a problem.
Food:
Some successes...
1) I declined ice cream last night. I even looked at the rich chocolately scoops and almost went for it. I ate a rice cake with peanut butter instead which was actually very good. Rob buys them as a snack since his gluten intolerance does not allow him to eat cookies, Oreos, graham crackers, etc. I think he is going to have to buy more.
2) I had another vegan breakfast salad and found leftover berries in the freezer from picking this summer. I read berries are rich in carbohydrates and good for runners. I am kicking myself I did not pick more blackberries in August.
3) I had a beet for lunch. I grew them this summer with hopes to make red velvet brownies with them. I tried to make them in July and it was an epic failure. They tasted terrible and I did not like the texture either. I do not think I ever eaten beets at any point in my life except they may have been in a salad. I grated them, tossed them with them with some olive oil and lemon juice. It actually tasted really good--kind of carrot-like.
I went to the 5:30 PM Ride class as I had a harder time getting up this morning. It worked with our schedule this evening. I really enjoy Ride more than I used to. Of the the bike, swim, run, component--biking is by far my weakest. I have anxiety about crashing, scared of getting flats, terrified of hills and ride the brake, and still scared of biking in clips (though made some progress). I had anxiety of open water swimming too. But getting lots of pool time helped in the outdoors. So I am hoping indoor cycling will impact my outdoor cycling.
Sleep: I slept amazing until about 4:30 AM. I sometimes go to 5:15 AM Group Power Thursday mornings (it's often a goal the night before at least). But female problems like bad cramping and head aches kept me in bed. I slept restlessly until Rob's alarm went off at 6:30 AM. The good thing is I often only have one day of this. I am hoping the change in eating can help more with the mood swings, but the physical issues are much less of a problem.
Food:
Some successes...
1) I declined ice cream last night. I even looked at the rich chocolately scoops and almost went for it. I ate a rice cake with peanut butter instead which was actually very good. Rob buys them as a snack since his gluten intolerance does not allow him to eat cookies, Oreos, graham crackers, etc. I think he is going to have to buy more.
2) I had another vegan breakfast salad and found leftover berries in the freezer from picking this summer. I read berries are rich in carbohydrates and good for runners. I am kicking myself I did not pick more blackberries in August.
3) I had a beet for lunch. I grew them this summer with hopes to make red velvet brownies with them. I tried to make them in July and it was an epic failure. They tasted terrible and I did not like the texture either. I do not think I ever eaten beets at any point in my life except they may have been in a salad. I grated them, tossed them with them with some olive oil and lemon juice. It actually tasted really good--kind of carrot-like.
Wednesday, September 10, 2014
September 10: swimming & breakfast salads
Exercise: swim for 1 hour
I swim with triathletes almost every Wednesday morning. The alarm goes off at 4:45 AM. I sleep in clothes that I can wear into the gym without looking like I showed up in pajamas...when in reality I do just that. I grab my gym bag, water bottle, and eat some sort of snack in the van. It really depends what we have in the cupboard...something that does not take too much effort to open or prepare. I usually default to graham crackers, but may try protein bars.
There is often a few groups of two or three swimmers who swim together. Some are elite triathletes and some are simply exercising for the benefits of staying in shape. There have been times there is no one there and I have to figure out my own workout last minute. Before I started swimming in March of 2012, I had no idea swimmers did actual workout plans like 100 yards with the kickboard, 200 yards freestyle easy, 100 yards fast, breathing techniques, drills, "pull," etc. I used to simply swim back and forth laps...which gets super boring.
My crew is two to three ladies who have competed at the Ironman level, but currently exercise for the sake of staying healthy. One of them brings a workout we all follow. They keep track of how many yards they want to go. I believe their yardage goal is around 2200-2600 yards which is about 1.25-1.5 miles. I swim slower than they do and I do about 3/4 of their workout. I modify it as I go.
Our warm up is almost always 300 free, back, or breast (you can do whatever you want), 200 pull (swimming with the pull buoy between your legs thus you can work on your arms), and 100 kick (using the kick board). Today we did a ladder workout. Start at low yardage such as 3 x 50's and work up to one 200 yard and then back down to 50's. It was a good workout. Some mornings I feel like my form is off and my arms are not following through. I felt that way a bit this morning. There are good running days and bad running days and swimming is the same way.
Sleep: I also am blogging about sleep because the eat/sleep/exercise is a cycle. All three components affect one another. I slept better, however I woke up at 1:30 AM to a scary dream of a man coming at me with a knife. I hate these kind of dreams! Then I woke up again at 2:30 AM. I finally slept until right before the alarm goes off.
Eating: My cousin mentioned the idea of eating breakfast salads. I had never heard of a salad for breakfast. I did a little research via "Google" and discovered there are a ton of good recipes. We had baby spinach in the fridge leftover from dinner. I made a vegan salad with fresh fruits, peanut butter for dipping, baby spinach and sprinkled with lemon juice. I could eat this every morning. It was delicious. My husband would tease me about eating this way for breakfast, but I would rather eat this than a bunch of processed stuff. I have leftover salad to eat for lunch plus fresh carrot and cucumber from the garden. We are not eating as healthy for dinner with homemade macaroni and cheese, but I feel like I can afford to slide a little bit on dinners if I eat healthy the rest of the day and continue my exercise.
I swim with triathletes almost every Wednesday morning. The alarm goes off at 4:45 AM. I sleep in clothes that I can wear into the gym without looking like I showed up in pajamas...when in reality I do just that. I grab my gym bag, water bottle, and eat some sort of snack in the van. It really depends what we have in the cupboard...something that does not take too much effort to open or prepare. I usually default to graham crackers, but may try protein bars.
There is often a few groups of two or three swimmers who swim together. Some are elite triathletes and some are simply exercising for the benefits of staying in shape. There have been times there is no one there and I have to figure out my own workout last minute. Before I started swimming in March of 2012, I had no idea swimmers did actual workout plans like 100 yards with the kickboard, 200 yards freestyle easy, 100 yards fast, breathing techniques, drills, "pull," etc. I used to simply swim back and forth laps...which gets super boring.
My crew is two to three ladies who have competed at the Ironman level, but currently exercise for the sake of staying healthy. One of them brings a workout we all follow. They keep track of how many yards they want to go. I believe their yardage goal is around 2200-2600 yards which is about 1.25-1.5 miles. I swim slower than they do and I do about 3/4 of their workout. I modify it as I go.
Our warm up is almost always 300 free, back, or breast (you can do whatever you want), 200 pull (swimming with the pull buoy between your legs thus you can work on your arms), and 100 kick (using the kick board). Today we did a ladder workout. Start at low yardage such as 3 x 50's and work up to one 200 yard and then back down to 50's. It was a good workout. Some mornings I feel like my form is off and my arms are not following through. I felt that way a bit this morning. There are good running days and bad running days and swimming is the same way.
Sleep: I also am blogging about sleep because the eat/sleep/exercise is a cycle. All three components affect one another. I slept better, however I woke up at 1:30 AM to a scary dream of a man coming at me with a knife. I hate these kind of dreams! Then I woke up again at 2:30 AM. I finally slept until right before the alarm goes off.
Eating: My cousin mentioned the idea of eating breakfast salads. I had never heard of a salad for breakfast. I did a little research via "Google" and discovered there are a ton of good recipes. We had baby spinach in the fridge leftover from dinner. I made a vegan salad with fresh fruits, peanut butter for dipping, baby spinach and sprinkled with lemon juice. I could eat this every morning. It was delicious. My husband would tease me about eating this way for breakfast, but I would rather eat this than a bunch of processed stuff. I have leftover salad to eat for lunch plus fresh carrot and cucumber from the garden. We are not eating as healthy for dinner with homemade macaroni and cheese, but I feel like I can afford to slide a little bit on dinners if I eat healthy the rest of the day and continue my exercise.
Tuesday, September 9, 2014
September 9: Honey is OK...Starbucks is my downfall
Exercise: Rest (Tuesdays was my rest day a good part of last year and that is working pretty well this time around as well)
Food:
I slept terrible last night. I did not have insomnia but my body kept waking up every hour. I was in a restless state of sleep most of the night. When I woke at 5 AM, I felt like "Can we just end this night--I'm sick of waking up!" I slept until 6:50. I went out to Applebees last night with friends and I drank a Sam Adams at 9 PM. When I got home, I felt thirsty. I did not want to drink water and be up every hour peeing. Sometimes I have over active bladder at night. I also felt way too warm. I would rather sleep with the windows open and sleep under a pile of blankets whereas Rob said he's been freezing the past couple nights.
I had steel cut oats for breakfast with banana and honey and loved it! So good. Rob brought home lunch from the funeral...salad and ham on buns. We had a very healthy dinner--homemade broccoli soup and salad. It was a little bit of a crazy mid morning as I will have two infants on Tuesdays for about one hour--that's all. It was an adjustment for me as I have not taken care of an infant since last fall and she was a bit older than the two I had this morning. I've never done two at once. It went fine and Kara went above and beyond helpful the entire morning. I have been trying to do special one on one things with her when there are not child care kids here. So we went out to Starbucks and I got a frappucino. To my credit I did not have ice cream at night which was becoming a regular occurrence up until this change in eating.
I also went to the natural grocery store because they sell the sports drink I used when I trained for the California International Marathon back in 2010. I loved the stuff. It is a natural electrolyte and not as sugary as Gatorade. When I did Portland in 2006 and CIM in 2010, it was the official sports drink at all the aid stations. I ordered it on line because the nearest store that sold it was all the way out in Lebanon. I never go out that way. Then I discovered it was in a store in Palos Heights close to where my parents live. So my mom would send me packets until that store closed. Being in Natural Grocers was overwhelming. I have never seen so many vitamins, protein shake mixes, supplements in my whole life. I felt dizzy walking through the aisles.
Food:
I slept terrible last night. I did not have insomnia but my body kept waking up every hour. I was in a restless state of sleep most of the night. When I woke at 5 AM, I felt like "Can we just end this night--I'm sick of waking up!" I slept until 6:50. I went out to Applebees last night with friends and I drank a Sam Adams at 9 PM. When I got home, I felt thirsty. I did not want to drink water and be up every hour peeing. Sometimes I have over active bladder at night. I also felt way too warm. I would rather sleep with the windows open and sleep under a pile of blankets whereas Rob said he's been freezing the past couple nights.
I had steel cut oats for breakfast with banana and honey and loved it! So good. Rob brought home lunch from the funeral...salad and ham on buns. We had a very healthy dinner--homemade broccoli soup and salad. It was a little bit of a crazy mid morning as I will have two infants on Tuesdays for about one hour--that's all. It was an adjustment for me as I have not taken care of an infant since last fall and she was a bit older than the two I had this morning. I've never done two at once. It went fine and Kara went above and beyond helpful the entire morning. I have been trying to do special one on one things with her when there are not child care kids here. So we went out to Starbucks and I got a frappucino. To my credit I did not have ice cream at night which was becoming a regular occurrence up until this change in eating.
I also went to the natural grocery store because they sell the sports drink I used when I trained for the California International Marathon back in 2010. I loved the stuff. It is a natural electrolyte and not as sugary as Gatorade. When I did Portland in 2006 and CIM in 2010, it was the official sports drink at all the aid stations. I ordered it on line because the nearest store that sold it was all the way out in Lebanon. I never go out that way. Then I discovered it was in a store in Palos Heights close to where my parents live. So my mom would send me packets until that store closed. Being in Natural Grocers was overwhelming. I have never seen so many vitamins, protein shake mixes, supplements in my whole life. I felt dizzy walking through the aisles.
Monday, September 8, 2014
September 8: A Rainbow of Veggies
Exercise: Ran 4 miles
I did the Skyline/Davis route. The gradual hill on Skyline always kills me. I end up walking at some point. Today I did not have to. I made it the whole way. I also did not have much trouble getting up. I am enjoying running with the sunrise and seeing the mountains in the horizon. Fall here is an amazing season.
Food: A friend of mine mentioned putting honey in oatmeal instead of brown sugar. Add some banana or berries. I was going to do it this morning, but I love my brown sugar too much. I never cared for the taste of honey, but maybe I have not given it a fair shot. So I had a bowl of Cherrios instead.
I was reading about eating a rainbow of fruits and vegetables. The house is currently stocked with fresh cucumber, tomatoes, zucchini, carrots, apples, bananas, blackberries, and broccoli. I had some yogurt and berries and tomatoes and cucumber for lunch. I could eat lunch like this every day. I just wish my garden produced food year round. We do have a year round farmer's market that I might be checking out come winter.
I did the Skyline/Davis route. The gradual hill on Skyline always kills me. I end up walking at some point. Today I did not have to. I made it the whole way. I also did not have much trouble getting up. I am enjoying running with the sunrise and seeing the mountains in the horizon. Fall here is an amazing season.
Food: A friend of mine mentioned putting honey in oatmeal instead of brown sugar. Add some banana or berries. I was going to do it this morning, but I love my brown sugar too much. I never cared for the taste of honey, but maybe I have not given it a fair shot. So I had a bowl of Cherrios instead.
I was reading about eating a rainbow of fruits and vegetables. The house is currently stocked with fresh cucumber, tomatoes, zucchini, carrots, apples, bananas, blackberries, and broccoli. I had some yogurt and berries and tomatoes and cucumber for lunch. I could eat lunch like this every day. I just wish my garden produced food year round. We do have a year round farmer's market that I might be checking out come winter.
Sunday, September 7, 2014
September 7: I miss the cinnamon buns
Exercise: Ran 6 miles
Food: I am not going to write out everything I ate. It gets way too tedious and I won't stick with it if that's my expectation. I think I don't give myself enough credit because I really do know how to eat healthy. I get flustered sometimes by the trend diets and the good carbs versus bad carbs. Every Sunday morning we make cinnamon rolls out of the Pillsbury tube. They are so incredibly delicious. I often have two. Today I had none. I had a small bowl of Cherrios. Maybe Cherrios are not as good for you either, but they sure are better than gooey cinnamon buns. This is why nutrition is so incredibly frustrating for me. One time in a group discussion at my mom's group someone at the table asked: "Well which cereals are healthy?" to which one of the nutrition gurus replied: "None of them." I really wanted to roll my eyes, but I contained myself. We obviously have different standards when it comes to "healthy."
The husband who was blessed with wonderful metabolism that I will never have makes desserts on the weekend. It's a hobby of his and he's really good at it. Amazing in the kitchen, I might add. I am forever blessed. So Sunday will be a dessert day and I am not going to feel guilty about the Boston cream pie sitting in the refrigerator right now.
My other goal was to have my favorite drink of Diet Mountain Dew once every day instead of every day. One every day, I know. Judge me if you want to. I know people who consume much more than that in a day. We all have our weaknesses. I am going to see what cutting down caffeine does. Not quite ready to throw out the morning coffee yet. One thing at a time.
Food: I am not going to write out everything I ate. It gets way too tedious and I won't stick with it if that's my expectation. I think I don't give myself enough credit because I really do know how to eat healthy. I get flustered sometimes by the trend diets and the good carbs versus bad carbs. Every Sunday morning we make cinnamon rolls out of the Pillsbury tube. They are so incredibly delicious. I often have two. Today I had none. I had a small bowl of Cherrios. Maybe Cherrios are not as good for you either, but they sure are better than gooey cinnamon buns. This is why nutrition is so incredibly frustrating for me. One time in a group discussion at my mom's group someone at the table asked: "Well which cereals are healthy?" to which one of the nutrition gurus replied: "None of them." I really wanted to roll my eyes, but I contained myself. We obviously have different standards when it comes to "healthy."
The husband who was blessed with wonderful metabolism that I will never have makes desserts on the weekend. It's a hobby of his and he's really good at it. Amazing in the kitchen, I might add. I am forever blessed. So Sunday will be a dessert day and I am not going to feel guilty about the Boston cream pie sitting in the refrigerator right now.
My other goal was to have my favorite drink of Diet Mountain Dew once every day instead of every day. One every day, I know. Judge me if you want to. I know people who consume much more than that in a day. We all have our weaknesses. I am going to see what cutting down caffeine does. Not quite ready to throw out the morning coffee yet. One thing at a time.
I Am A Nutrition Rebel
I am a nutrition rebel. I am not one to sit with a bag of Cheetos watching a TV program and polish off the whole bag in one sitting. I can eat 2 or 3 call it good. Aside from drinking too much Mountain Dew at different points in my life, I don't deal with many food addictions.
But I'm a nutrition rebel because I have heard several "healthy eating" talks in the last few years and I often leave frustrated and confused. Here's my reasons why...
1) The speakers do not emphasize exercise enough. Healthy eating and exercise are partners. Our bodies were made to move and be worked...not to be stagnant. Many of my "non-running" and "little to no exercise" friends don't really get it. Their thoughts are: "Ugh I have to exercise...it's something I HAVE to do but I don't want to" whereas my thoughts over the years became: "I can't afford NOT to exercise and I can't imagine not doing it."
2) I get flustered by all the proteins, good carbs, bad carbs, vitamins, good fat, bad fat, and keeping it all straight. Not to mention fad diets (it seems like everyone is gluten free these days). It seems like if one thing is bad for you then in a few years it's all the sudden good for you again.
3) I don't want to spend more money than what I am already spending. I don't want to buy expensive vitamins or shakes. I don't want to buy pricey foods at specialty stores.
But this is the problem: I exercise six days a week and compete in running races, but I still was asked last spring if I am pregnant. I have to accept my body the way it is, but yet is it OK to want my abs less flabby? Is this even possible? Am I chasing the wrong goal?
I have done My Fitness Pal in the past. I don't gain a lot of weight nor do I lose much. So it's a little bit up and a little bit down. My profile looks like I lost 15 pounds, but it is not true. I also don't think they give me enough calories. Sometimes I have felt dizzy and faint and extremely hungry by 5 PM. There is no way I could have three meals and two snacks and stay within the calories unless I was eating massive amounts of kale and lettuce.
I struggle with anxiety. Depression and anxiety run rampant in my family. I also get bad PMS and would probably be diagnosed with PMDD. I don't want to keep taking more medication. I have heard that cutting out caffeine, white sugars, sweets, bad carbs, etc. helps with the symptoms. So maybe this is an experiment. Maybe it's a lifestyle change. Maybe I'll stop putting my nose in the air when someone else gives me a nutrition talk.
But I'm a nutrition rebel because I have heard several "healthy eating" talks in the last few years and I often leave frustrated and confused. Here's my reasons why...
1) The speakers do not emphasize exercise enough. Healthy eating and exercise are partners. Our bodies were made to move and be worked...not to be stagnant. Many of my "non-running" and "little to no exercise" friends don't really get it. Their thoughts are: "Ugh I have to exercise...it's something I HAVE to do but I don't want to" whereas my thoughts over the years became: "I can't afford NOT to exercise and I can't imagine not doing it."
2) I get flustered by all the proteins, good carbs, bad carbs, vitamins, good fat, bad fat, and keeping it all straight. Not to mention fad diets (it seems like everyone is gluten free these days). It seems like if one thing is bad for you then in a few years it's all the sudden good for you again.
3) I don't want to spend more money than what I am already spending. I don't want to buy expensive vitamins or shakes. I don't want to buy pricey foods at specialty stores.
But this is the problem: I exercise six days a week and compete in running races, but I still was asked last spring if I am pregnant. I have to accept my body the way it is, but yet is it OK to want my abs less flabby? Is this even possible? Am I chasing the wrong goal?
I have done My Fitness Pal in the past. I don't gain a lot of weight nor do I lose much. So it's a little bit up and a little bit down. My profile looks like I lost 15 pounds, but it is not true. I also don't think they give me enough calories. Sometimes I have felt dizzy and faint and extremely hungry by 5 PM. There is no way I could have three meals and two snacks and stay within the calories unless I was eating massive amounts of kale and lettuce.
I struggle with anxiety. Depression and anxiety run rampant in my family. I also get bad PMS and would probably be diagnosed with PMDD. I don't want to keep taking more medication. I have heard that cutting out caffeine, white sugars, sweets, bad carbs, etc. helps with the symptoms. So maybe this is an experiment. Maybe it's a lifestyle change. Maybe I'll stop putting my nose in the air when someone else gives me a nutrition talk.
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
September 1 - 9
Monday - Rest
Tuesday - Ran 3 miles
Rob & I had insomnia issues. His was most likely due to eating gluten on Monday. Mine was just plain waking up every hour for no apparent reason. I have things on my mind, but honestly don't feel overly anxious. The summer to fall transition used to be the worst time of year for me starting in high school...I would hate it. I often didn't feel better until late October and sometimes later. I stopped feeling this way after moving here (it helps it stays warm here as late as November), but this year I probably lean more towards not ready for the transition. Since this year also means going back to work. Looking back on last year we just had way too much going. I wouldn't say it was more than we could handle, and it was a good year. I have some awesome memories of it and I enjoyed my job too. I just don't feel like we need such a "run everywhere--on the edge of stress life." The kids aren't doing any fall sports until November when Kara or Derek will do swim lessons. Hailey has decided not to do swim team...at first I was a little sad, but now I totally understand and it's the best decision. She can always pick it up again later and she wants to swim lessons in the spring. She's already doing piano and will do basketball in the winter. We're continuing to do running together. All three kids raced last week and Kara won in her age category. Hailey got her mile time down to 9:38 which is amazing--she was at 13 minutes at the beginning of the summer.
The cat has been meowing in the halls again--I don't know why. Ugh it drives me nuts. I don't want to lock her up again at night, but I think I'm going to the next three nights. I had to laugh last night I came out at 4 in the morning after she was doing that shrill meow and she took of running for the laundry room knowing I was going to lock her in there--kind of a "I surrender."
So bad insomnia. Didn't get up and run. I was able to do a quick 3 miler over Rob's lunch. I will have some Tuesday & Wednesday afternoons completely off this year. I would much rather have afternoons off versus morning. I am already liking this schedule. I'm also liking having more toddlers around. They're busy of course. But the preschoolers could be more demanding at times (especially the last half of the year) with finding things to do to keep them busy and getting along. Ironically it was the preschoolers who followed me everywhere not the toddlers. :) Looking back I would maybe do things differently and try to set some boundaries, but last year was my first year and I had a huge learning curve.
Wednesday - Swam 1 hour
I slept hard from 10:30 until around 4. Then the cat was meowing. I was completely wide awake and couldn't sleep. I just laid in bed until 4:45 and then went to the pool. I was not as into the workout. It wasa lot of the same thing today--lots of 100's. I was getting a little bored with it. I also felt tired and cranky mostly because I miss the summer already. It turned out to be an OK morning and I need the morning exercise to get me through the day...even if I'm not as into it.
Thursday - Power 1 hour
Power was really good. I think it's harder doing it first thing in the morning versus the afternoon, but kept my weight about the same as last week.
Friday - Ran 3 miles
Really hard to get up! I ran the 3 mile route through the Welcome Way neighborhood. Nice hills and quiet neighborhood. Really good run.
Saturday - Group Ride
Ok so 7 AM doesn't feel early anymore to get up now that school is back in session. Went to Ride and probably one of the best times I've had at Ride in awhile. Way more into the workout and less looking at the clock waiting for it to end. I'm getting more into it.
Tuesday - Ran 3 miles
Rob & I had insomnia issues. His was most likely due to eating gluten on Monday. Mine was just plain waking up every hour for no apparent reason. I have things on my mind, but honestly don't feel overly anxious. The summer to fall transition used to be the worst time of year for me starting in high school...I would hate it. I often didn't feel better until late October and sometimes later. I stopped feeling this way after moving here (it helps it stays warm here as late as November), but this year I probably lean more towards not ready for the transition. Since this year also means going back to work. Looking back on last year we just had way too much going. I wouldn't say it was more than we could handle, and it was a good year. I have some awesome memories of it and I enjoyed my job too. I just don't feel like we need such a "run everywhere--on the edge of stress life." The kids aren't doing any fall sports until November when Kara or Derek will do swim lessons. Hailey has decided not to do swim team...at first I was a little sad, but now I totally understand and it's the best decision. She can always pick it up again later and she wants to swim lessons in the spring. She's already doing piano and will do basketball in the winter. We're continuing to do running together. All three kids raced last week and Kara won in her age category. Hailey got her mile time down to 9:38 which is amazing--she was at 13 minutes at the beginning of the summer.
The cat has been meowing in the halls again--I don't know why. Ugh it drives me nuts. I don't want to lock her up again at night, but I think I'm going to the next three nights. I had to laugh last night I came out at 4 in the morning after she was doing that shrill meow and she took of running for the laundry room knowing I was going to lock her in there--kind of a "I surrender."
So bad insomnia. Didn't get up and run. I was able to do a quick 3 miler over Rob's lunch. I will have some Tuesday & Wednesday afternoons completely off this year. I would much rather have afternoons off versus morning. I am already liking this schedule. I'm also liking having more toddlers around. They're busy of course. But the preschoolers could be more demanding at times (especially the last half of the year) with finding things to do to keep them busy and getting along. Ironically it was the preschoolers who followed me everywhere not the toddlers. :) Looking back I would maybe do things differently and try to set some boundaries, but last year was my first year and I had a huge learning curve.
Wednesday - Swam 1 hour
I slept hard from 10:30 until around 4. Then the cat was meowing. I was completely wide awake and couldn't sleep. I just laid in bed until 4:45 and then went to the pool. I was not as into the workout. It wasa lot of the same thing today--lots of 100's. I was getting a little bored with it. I also felt tired and cranky mostly because I miss the summer already. It turned out to be an OK morning and I need the morning exercise to get me through the day...even if I'm not as into it.
Thursday - Power 1 hour
Power was really good. I think it's harder doing it first thing in the morning versus the afternoon, but kept my weight about the same as last week.
Friday - Ran 3 miles
Really hard to get up! I ran the 3 mile route through the Welcome Way neighborhood. Nice hills and quiet neighborhood. Really good run.
Saturday - Group Ride
Ok so 7 AM doesn't feel early anymore to get up now that school is back in session. Went to Ride and probably one of the best times I've had at Ride in awhile. Way more into the workout and less looking at the clock waiting for it to end. I'm getting more into it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)