Category Archives: Whole30

Autoimmunity, Running, Transformation, Uncategorized, Whole30

42 Days Without Sandwiches Or Bad Foods Do Exist

Six weeks. It’s been six weeks since I had a sandwich. You see, I love sandwiches. Soft bread, crusty bread, lots of toppings, a few toppings (I’m looking at you PB & J), I don’t discriminate. They’re all wonderful little creations that I enjoy immensely. Part of joining the Nutritional Freedom program was reconciling that I’d be breaking up with sandwiches for a while, potentially a long while. Sure I enjoy pizza, burritos, toast, and the occasional beer, but I REALLY LOVE sandwiches. This would be hard. But not being able to run and race, and seeing the physical manifestations of inflammation in and on my body, was much, much harder. I could give up sandwiches for a while if it meant I could train again, if I could repair my relationship with food – a relationship that was heavily damaged over the last several years of being sick.

Five years ago, before the autoimmune flare that changed the entire fabric of my life, I was vegetarian and had been for more than ten years. I certainly held no shame for those that chose to eat meat, but animal welfare was important to me and our food system  was/is terribly broken. I ate when I was hungry, enjoyed treats on occasion, and ran A LOT-50-75 miles most weeks. I was thin, fit, healthy. Having been active my entire life, I avoided the complicated relationship with food that is many woman’s experience. I knew I was extremely fortunate.

Then I got sick, and was sick for a good long while. I no longer had energy to cook, and a stressful job changed what foods I craved. Low iron levels were suddenly an issue, and a dietitian I was working with at the time suggested I start eating meat again. I thought about it extensively and decided that I wanted to be healthy more than anything, so I reintroduced meat into my diet. It was super-weird at first, and while it’s been four years since I began eating it again, I still haven’t reconciled how I feel about our food system and how we treat our animals. I am careful about what meat I purchase, and get the best quality I can find. But this was the start of my using food to heal myself, a journey that would come full-circle this fall.

As my health issues progressed, I read extensively about other women who’ve used a paleo diet, or a modified version of it called the Autoimmune Protocol, to recover from autoimmunity. Inspired by their experiences, I dabbled with changing my diet, never fully committing. Beyond being vegetarian, I’ve never excelled at following dietary rules of any kind. I bought into the “all foods in moderation” philosophy, even though this approach was clearly not doing me any favors. I’d experience small improvements in my recovery and see it as proof that I was different, that I didn’t need to take such drastic dietary measures to heal.

But then this spring happened. As I shared on social media and here on my blog earlier this year, I felt good enough through the winter to ramp up training again, to think about racing. I ran the Tenacious Ten in Seattle in April with some of my Wilder sisters and ran a local race, a 12k, a few weeks later. Both were terrible, but most especially the 12k. I walked the last half of that race because of how upset my digestive system was, eventually throwing my bib in a trash can at the last aid station before the finish. This was the start of what would be several months of significant digestive issues, issues that were made especially worse while running. Things escalated even more when on vacation with my family in early August, which effectively ended my outdoor running until joining Nutritional Freedom in mid-September. The five months it took me to seek out help is a good indicator of how stubborn I was about not changing my diet. “There is no such thing as a bad food or food group”, I kept telling myself, “moderation is healthier”!

For some people, perhaps. But not for someone who has an autoimmune condition and the gut issues that typically accompany them. I felt like I was at a real fork-in-the-road. Either I wanted to train and race again, or I didn’t. Either I wanted to continue carrying the extra 20-25 lbs I’ve had the last three years, or I didn’t. Either I wanted to repair my relationship with food, damaged by years of being sick, or I didn’t. Finally in mid-September I was tired of my own bullshit. I reached out to Claire, committed to her program – a significant time and financial commitment, and got down to the hard work of fixing what was broken.

I wrote about my first few weeks in the program and the early wins I had here. Good stuff continues to happen. I’ve been at this long enough now that following a paleo diet is not hard. I can quickly discern what I can eat at a restaurant, avoid cookies in the break room at work, find compliant ways to satisfy food boredom. Being able to run again, especially outdoors, is a tremendous reward. I’ve lost enough weight that I’ve had to take a few pairs of pants to the tailor to be altered. I don’t feel like food has a mental hold on me anymore, and even when I’m busy and distracted, I’m still able to make good decisions for myself.

About two weeks ago, I discovered that coffee was the culprit of the digestive issues that lingered, so I cut that out too. I’ve delayed reintroduction a few weeks to let the inflammation from the coffee resolve itself fully before tossing anything new into the mix. And when I do get to reintroduction, there is a lot I won’t reintroduce. There are things I know I shouldn’t be eating and foods I already know I don’t tolerate well, so those foods automatically go into the “rarely consume” category. Foods such as milk, yogurt, and gluten-containing grains. Foods I’m curious about include cheese, peanut butter (peanuts are legumes so not considered paleo), chocolate and gluten-free alcoholic beverages such as wine and margaritas. My beloved sour beers will likely remain a “rarely” food thanks to the gluten they contain.

During the six weeks in this program, I’ve thought a lot about the “there is no such thing as a bad food” movement. I’ve decided it should read “there’s no such thing as a bad food if you have a normal, well-functioning digestive system”. I believe people who promote these food-inclusive messages mean well, but seriously do not appreciate the problems that arise when you live with an irritable or malfunctioning digestive system. And how sometimes healing requires drastic measures. The more my gut heals, the more foods I will be able to healthfully tolerate. But the healing must come first. A healing diet in my case is a restrictive diet, and I am grateful that it’s a tool available to me. I refuse to feel shame because I am not eating certain foods. While I am jealous of those who can eat grains and dairy without any issues, I finally realize am not one of those people. Many of us who follow a restrictive diet do so for health reasons. Whether it be weight management, insomnia, digestive issues, acne, gallbladder attacks, diabetes, irritable bowel syndrome, Crohn’s, celiac, heart disease – or any other inflammation-related condition, many, many people are able to heal themselves through diet. Recovery for each of us looks different, especially for those of us living with chronic health conditions, but food is one of the tools at our disposal and we shouldn’t be shamed for using it. I’m getting more comfortable pushing back when I see the no-such-thing-as-a-bad-food-group messages, even though I hate to be contrary. I literally would not be running at all right now if it weren’t for switching to a paleo diet. The foods we eat is such an individual act, and there is room for all of us at the table. If women such as Kristen Boehmer and Sarah Ballentyne, Ph.D. hadn’t shared their own journeys and shown the way, I wouldn’t have known how a healing diet could help me. I wouldn’t have known that Claire’s program was the right one for me, as I could see where I needed to go thanks to Kristin and Sarah’s blogs/social media, but had no idea how to make it happen for myself. Claire provided the road map.

Six weeks remain in the Nutritional Freedom program, and once I start reintroduction, I will be getting into the “freedom” part of the show. Patience will be required, as foods that I don’t tolerate now, might be agreeable with another month or two of healing. I’m so encouraged by the progress that I’ve made so far that I can give my body the space to heal on its own timeline. I don’t need to rush it or force anything. I’m signed up for a trail race outside San Francisco in February with some girlfriends, and just want to make it to the start line fit and healthy. Without Nutritional Freedom, I would’ve been spectating. Again. Optimism has been on short supply the last four years, but this really does feel like the last climb out. Life will be different on the other side, and I’m ok with that. I’ve been deeply changed by what’s happened the last few years and my priorities are much different. But my love of running and desire to share races with my friends is one thing that’s remained. I’ve held onto it more tightly than is probably healthy, and I think a lot of people would’ve given up by now. But I’m extremely stubborn. Running that race with my friends in February would be a nice bookend to the last few years, a way of putting it behind me. And it would make 42 days (and counting) without sandwiches totally and completely worth it.

Autoimmunity, Transformation, Uncategorized, Whole30

Nutritional Freedom/Whole30 – The First Quarter

I mentioned briefly in my post about crewing for my girlfriends at Yeti 100 that I had started working with a new dietitian to address what had become chronic digestive issues. I also suggested I might write a bit more about that later, this is that post. I’ll start from the beginning…

Earlier this year, I shared in both blog posts and through social media that I was finally getting back to some decent running mileage after a spectacularly terrible couple of years due to ongoing issues with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, an autoimmune thyroid condition. Any hint of the speed I used to enjoy was nowhere to be found, but quite honestly I was thrilled to just be able to put in some mileage. I started dreaming about racing again, feeling that I was finally on the road back to competing. I raced the Tenacious Ten in Seattle in April with some of my Wilder sisters and ran the Lake Run, a local race, a few weeks later in early May. Both were terrible. I don’t think the issues at the Tenacious Ten were digestive related, but at the Lake Run they most definitely were. I wrote it off to the sudden onset of summer, as my body never manages the heat well, especially when we go from snow to 80* in a matter of two weeks as we did this spring. Feeling really discouraged after the Lake Run, I backed off the mileage hoping I to relocate the good groove I was in. It was nowhere to be found.

May slid into June, which dragged into July. The digestive issues only worsened. By late July I wasn’t running much at all. I’d tinkered with my diet, but without the focus to sustain any of the changes I attempted, I understandably made no progress. In early August, my family made our annual pilgrimage to Cape San Blas, FL (which was heavily impacted by Hurricane Michael last week – {{sobs loudly}}) where I hoped the change in scenery would reinvigorate my training and help me get back on track. Instead, the opposite happened. Despite eating quite well while we were there, my digestive system was a wreck. I only ran twice and regretted it both times. Usually I run big mileage while we’re there, in fact my only 80+-mile week was on the Cape in 2013. To not even be able to manage a few short runs without issue was a huge disappointment. And knowing what I do now about what would happen to the Cape just two short months later, I’m even more disappointed about it. By not buckling down and addressing my digestive health earlier this year, I missed what turned out to be my last opportunity to run through St. Joseph Peninsula State Park, to take photos of Eagle Harbor, before they both would be devastated by the hurricane.

The dunes at St. Joseph State Park Cape San Blas, FL Aug 2017

It took another few weeks before I would reach out for help, but through the Whole30 instagram page, I found Claire Siegel. With all of the research I’ve done the last few years, coupled with information from my physician, I knew that eating a paleo diet would help. Recovering from autoimmune flares requires reducing inflammation and healing the gut, and for many of us, diet is a huge source of inflammation which only exacerbates digestive issues. Foods that many people digest just fine, people with autoimmune conditions often don’t. Foods such as grains, dairy, and legumes all have the potential to create problems. I’ve experimented with the Whole30 in the past, but being rule-phobic have never finished one. I decided to work with Claire to give myself the best chance at completing the program and to execute a thoughtful reintroduction so I can hopefully nail down exactly what foods are giving me problems. Her program being 12-weeks long meant we’d be working on more than just successfully competing the Whole30, which was exactly what I needed.

Week 1 was a “prep week” for the Whole30. Lots of getting reacquainted with the rules, planning for the first week on the program. Week 1 also included some pretty intentional goal setting, which helped quantify exactly what I wanted from these twelve weeks. I knew I wanted to resolve my digestive issues and lose a few pounds, but what else? I included improving my relationship with food so that I can take care of myself like I need to without feeling deprived. I set some fitness goals that included my getting back to “regular” training mileage again, resuming my dormant yoga practice, and maintaining the strength training I’ve managed to stick with this year (historically, as running mileage goes up, my commitment to strength training goes down). Lastly, I included a daily meditation goal, as I’ve neglected to cultivate a regular meditation practice this year despite several cracks at it.

Week 2 brought the start of the Whole30. I was nervous thanks to past failures in completing the program, but felt I’d given myself the best chance that I could. I was armed with new information that I thought would help, reading in a recent issue of Yoga Journal of all places about how some people have electrolyte issues when switching to a paleo diet due to the body releasing the water that’s stored with carbohydrates. Considering that electrolyte issues have been an ongoing issue for me running and my doc recently noticed that my blood levels run low on the regular, I thought this might explain some of the past trouble I’ve had with Whole30/paleo eating. So I was prepared to salt the heck out of my food and see what happened (this ended up making a tremendous difference). I knew I’d be crewing for my friends in Virginia at the end of the first week of the Whole30, but I planned as much as I’ve planned for anything and was ready for the challenge. Little did I know that driving for 20+ hours on backcountry mountain roads would make me terribly car sick, bringing an unceremonious end to my Whole30 as I snacked on potato chips at 2am on Saturday morning in an attempt to calm my swirling stomach. It helped, my friends finished their race, and I kept all of the food in my stomach. It was a win for the day, but a setback for my own personal goals. Saturday with my friends was not the time to sort through what it all meant, so I did that on the 10-hour drive home on Sunday, deciding that I’d just start over. Redo Week 2 and just move on. What felt like a really big deal, a Terrible Thing on Saturday, seemed like a bump in the road by Monday.

The redo of Week 2 went fine. What lingering frustration I had about the setback was gone by mid-week. We were to see Death Cab for Cutie, one of my favorite bands, in Chicago on Sunday. I focused on preparing for the train ride and planning what we’d eat in the city. It was marathon Sunday, and I knew just being around all of the runners would be energizing, and not necessarily in a helpful way. It was a super-hard day to be in the city and Whole30ing, but thanks to the hubs, me and my Whole30 survived to see Week 3.

Week 3 brought me to the second week of my Whole30, which was getting pretty easy when I was at home. The food I make for myself is usually Whole30-compliant, so I have a lot of familiar recipes to pull from. I was eating plenty of yummy, healthy food and it wasn’t hard. Until we’d eat out. I found myself avoiding eating out as much as I could, which isn’t a bad thing. However, I did manage to attend an engagement party at my favorite brewery without eating any chips or drinking a beer. Major win. Week 3 is when Hurricane Michael devastated the Forgotten Coast, and it was a tense couple of days searching for information on our beloved Cape. During this stretch, I learned that I am not an emotional eater, which was good because I didn’t think that I was. It’s being distracted that is my biggest challenge. So it’s not that I need a cheeseburger because things are terrible, it’s that I eat a cheeseburger because all of my attention is directed elsewhere. This was a huge aha moment. It explains why I’ve had trouble making these changes in the past, and especially why my diet was so terrible when I felt my worst. I was functioning at a such a low level that undertaking something as significant as a dietary overhaul required mental resources I didn’t have. I can give some grace to that girl who was so sick a year or two ago. She was just in survival mode. Week 3 concluded with another concert, this time in St. Louis. We drove so we took dinner with us from home, making a search for a compliant restaurant unnecessary.

Sitting here at the start of Week 4, beginning the third week of my Whole30, the hardest part has been not chewing gum. It’s a bit of a nervous habit, an outlet for the extra energy that’s always bubbling around, but also helps with the dry mouth that accompanies the allergy meds that make life worth living this time of year. I’ve accepted that this is just something to endure, and I’m counting down the days until the end of the Whole30, not so I can have a beer or a cheeseburger, but so I can chew gum again. I’ve also learned that my head isn’t in a great place for meditation right now, so I’ve set that goal aside for the time being. The Kavanaugh confirmation process brought up a lot of stuff that made meditating a bad idea. I’ll try again in a few weeks and work on redeveloping the habit if it feels safe to do so.

Even though I’m only a few weeks into this process, my digestion has already improved significantly. I’ve been able to run comfortably outside again for the first time in months and have had quite a few workouts without any digestive issues. My mileage is still quite low (~20 mpw), but now that I’m through the worst of the fatigue from the transition of the diet (and two of three concerts this month are over), I should be able to start slowly increasing mileage again. I’m cautiously optimistic.

Cape San Blas, FL Aug 2017

 

Running, Whole30, Yeti 100

Crewing for Friends Or I Don’t Know If You Know This But I’m Not Sober

2 Comments

It was the middle of the night Friday. Amy and Lisa were deep into their race, at the point where all of the training and all of the racing had cumulated into a moment of truth. They’d been climbing uphill for miles, with three miles still to go until they reached the top. They were hurting, but resolute in their goal. While we waited for them at the aid station, a woman held court in a camping chair near the quesadilla station. She was laughing and talking with her friends, clearly enjoying the early fall night. It was impossible not to hear the conversation. After some time, we learned she was a runner who dropped from the race. You’d never have known of what must have been deep disappointment from the fun she was having. At one time we heard her shout “I don’t know if you know this, but I’m not sober” to the man making the quesadillas. We all cracked up. The aid station crew had Fireball and she was nursing a beer while she talked. We should all be so lucky to face our great disappointments surrounded by supportive friends and strangers, with a shot of Fireball and a cold beer under the stars. It reminded me of everything I love about ultra running.

Amy planned for this race for months. A hundred-miler has been on her radar for a few years, and I always expected to crew for her when she finally toed the line. It was a tremendous bonus for me that Lisa was running too, and that I’d be crewing with several of our friends. Although it’s been several years since I’ve been able to chase my own running goals, crewing this weekend reminded me how much I love this sport and the people I’ve met because of it. Eight years ago, I joined a Runner’s World forum about the Boston Marathon. I was just looking for information about navigating Athlete’s Village and perhaps a recommendation about hotels. I never expected to find my people. I lurked for a few months before getting the nerve to post myself, but engaging that first time introduced me to a fabulous group of imaginary friends and led me to accomplish more with my own running than I ever thought possible. Seeing “normal” (I use this term loosely – I love you weirdos, but you are not normal) people accomplish extraordinary things was incredibly motivating and redefined what I expected from myself.

So fast-forward eight years and there I was crewing my friends in a hundred-mile race in western Virginia. Even if I can get back to regular training and racing, a hundred-miler has never been a goal of mine, but I LOVE crewing. I love supporting my friends in accomplishing big, hairy goals. We all got into town early evening Thursday and quickly got down to the business of getting everyone ready to run Friday morning. Unrelated to the race, but significantly for me, I started working with a new dietitian a few weeks ago, and was at the beginning of a Whole30. I prepared extensively for traveling and crewing, and felt prepared to take care of myself while we took care of our friends. Resolving my digestive issues is the next step in getting back to my own training and racing, and spending the weekend with my friends only reinforced how much I miss it.

In the dark of early morning on Friday, we drove up to White Top for the start of the race. It was misting, but gone was the heavy rain of the last few days. Amy and Lisa planned to run together for as long as it made sense, which meant we’d be able to see them both at aid stations. They took off down the mountain and we were off. Crewing involves a lot of hurry up and wait. Rushing from aid station to aid station, stopping for food and gas as needed, but always working to stay ahead of your runners. It didn’t take us long to fuck up, as barely a quarter of the way through the race we missed them by minutes at the Alvarado aid station. Fortunately, that was the only blip, but it meant that both Amy and Lisa were out of fluids for a few miles. The lesson for future crews – always switch out the hydration bladder, just in case. The day flew by and I managed to stay on my food program, with eating a tuna packet mixed with guacamole while everyone else ate pizza being a highlight of the day (go me).

Breakfast selfie by Troy Headrick

At about halfway through the race, the rain of the last few days caught up to Lisa, with her asthma and allergies rearing their ugly heads. The clouds burned off, making it quite warm. With a spontaneous onset of IT band syndrome, she wanted to back off the pace, encouraging Amy to go ahead without her. We sent Amy off with Harry to pace her, and helped Joe look after Lisa. As badly as Lisa felt, between her allergies and bum knee, her attitude was remarkable. She appeared to be unaffected by the circumstances, committed to adapting her goal and still finishing the race. Witnessing her calm focus was a highlight of the weekend, and something I hope to emulate. We runners say it a lot, but our sport truly is a perfect metaphor for life.

Photo by Troy Headrick

Our runners persisted on through the night, with the crew napping as we could. Harry paced Amy, and I walked six miles with Lisa, wanting to spend some time with her before the gap between her and Amy grew big enough where we wouldn’t see her as much. After Harry, Troy took over pacing duties, and then Audra for the homestretch. The hours and hours in the car on mountain back roads took their toll on my stomach, handing me the worst case of motion sickness I’ve had in years. My Whole30 came to an abrupt end overnight, when I ate some potato chips in hopes of calming my churning stomach. They helped, as they always do. I felt badly about letting go of my own priorities at first, even with as sick as I felt, but quickly let that go as I was there to support my friends, and my being incapacitated helps no one. I knew I’d need to look after Amy once the race was over, and needed to not be bed-bound myself. Restarting a Whole30 on Monday was a good compromise, I just needed to get through the day.

Just before 6:30a, Amy and Audra came into the finish area, still in the dark of early morning. Knowing how long she’s chased this goal, how hard she trained, how well she took care of herself all summer, I teared up watching her finish. Standing there with my friends who’d come from all over to support Amy and Lisa, I marveled at how we were all here because of one little now-defunct forum on the Runner’s World website. I was reminded of what we can accomplish when we surround ourselves with people who believe in us, who can push us forward when we doubt ourself. And what a wonderful thing it is to contribute to the success of someone else.

Photo by Troy Headrick

On the tail end of a two-week period that seriously felt like a decade, I savored those four days with my friends. After fourteen days where many women were retraumatized thanks to the news coming out of Washington, my batteries were recharged experiencing the best of humanity at Yeti. Women supported women, men supported women, men supported men, women supported men. Running ultras really is a metaphor for life…train and prepare as best you can, don’t go it alone, chose your crew wisely – pick people who will hold you up when you can barely hold yourself up, ask for help and tell people what you need, modify goals as needed, celebrate success, rest when you need it. And in my case, sometimes you just have to start over. I started another Whole30 today, and feel very confident that I’ll finish this one. Repeating Week Two of Claire’s 12-week program isn’t the end of the world, it’s not even a setback.  It’s an adjustment to changing circumstances, adapting to the environment. I’m excited to see where the next ten weeks will take me, and what I’ll be able to accomplish when I’m healthy. I’m going to box up the inspiration from the weekend and hold onto it tightly. Grateful for the reminder of what we can do when we chase big, scary goals and surround ourselves with people who believe in us even when we are filled with doubt.

Whole30

A Misstep and a Restart – Whole30 Week 2 Recap

In so many ways, this was a really good week. And what went wrong has a lot to do with it.

The week started out as most do…a fridge full of food and plans for what I’d eat when (I’m a dedicated batch-cook). I knew I’d be cutting it close by Friday, as is usually the case, but considering that I can get a good salad from a restaurant down the street from my work in a pinch, I wasn’t too worried. Monday and Tuesday passed uneventfully. The cravings finally dropped off and in general, I was thinking about food much less frequently than the week before. My new routine of eating lunch at my desk at work, followed by brushing my teeth and then going for a walk, is a treat. We’ve had spectacular weather this week and getting outside for 20-30 minutes midday is such a pick-me-up. And brushing my teeth at work feels downright luxurious. I don’t miss gum anymore.

On Wednesday, I had a late afternoon doctor’s appt, that extended my day a bit and upset my new routine. She’s based in Chicago and I drive 75 minutes to see her in a small town halfway to the city. We went over my recent blood work and talked about how many illnesses I’ve had in the last two months, including all of the allergy trouble. She has a few theories about what might be up, but is starting with some more blood work to look for mold exposure and a few other things. I don’t expect she’ll find much, but am happy that she’s poking around. My thyroid antibodies are up a bit, the first time they’ve climbed since Jan. 2016. Progress in the wrong direction. It could be related to the other issues, it might not. I go back on March 8 for follow-up. After leaving her office, I really wanted to eat something I shouldn’t. It was the first time this week that the cravings hit hard, and it was so clear that it had everything to do with the appointment. So. Fascinating. The long drive home gave me time to talk myself out of making a bad decision and I survived the day unscathed. Huge win.

Thursday was uneventful and Friday is when things went sideways. I assisted a colleague at an event over the lunch hour as planned, but what I didn’t know is that she needed my help from morning through mid-afternoon. I snacked when I could through mid-morning and then due to the event, went without food until 2:30, when I finally left for lunch. It was the only day of the week that I didn’t have lunch with me. And it was the only day of the week when I couldn’t eat at a “normal” time or snack as needed. By the time I left to get food, I was crazy with hunger. I ended up at Chipotle with my face buried in a burrito bowl. I also had a Diet Coke. Neither were as good as I remembered, and it’d only been twelve days.  My stomach was upset the rest of the evening and the caffeine kept me up late. I’ve often wondered if I’m one of those people whose extra-sensitive to caffeine, and it seems I have my answer.

Because the rules of the Whole30 are crystal-clear about these things, I’m starting over. If I’m going to say I’m doing a Whole30, then it’s on me to follow the rules. The minute I start making up my own guidelines, it’s a different program. I want to complete this program. It’s clear that I need it and all of its ridiculous rules.

Friday’s episode was loaded with good information that will inform how I move forward:

  • Planning is critical. Looking back, I would have gone out for lunch on Thursday when my schedule was more flexible and brought my lunch on Friday when it wasn’t. Even without the extra hours assisting my colleague, I knew I was boxed in over the lunch hour. Having lunch with me would likely have been a game-changer.
  • All water, all of the time is boring me to tears. Even with essential oils. Having the soda was more out of boredom than anything else. I wasn’t craving it. During the time I couldn’t get to sleep on Friday evening, I researched Whole30 compliant beverages (thank you Pinterest!) and found some spritzers to make with meals. I made a pomegranate-lime spritzer with dinner last night and it was such a treat. That it was in a favorite wine glass didn’t hurt either. Problem solved.
  • Grains are not my friend. I was clearly affected by the burrito bowl, and not in a good way. There might come a time in the future when I can enjoy them without upset, but now is not that time. Getting that information a few weeks earlier than expected will only help me stay the course. And I can stop fantasizing about what I’m going to eat when this is done.
  • I can do this. I made it twelve days before things got weird, and I can point to exactly what went wrong. Being able to pick apart the situation and understand exactly how I ended up with a burrito bowl at 2:45 on a Friday afternoon is invaluable.

Other wins from the week:

  • I’m finally, FINALLY, getting back into a groove with running. I haven’t been sick since Feb. 1, and getting my diet dialed in gives me much more freedom on when I can run. I’ve enjoyed a few post-work runs this week, and the timing couldn’t have been better with our spring-like temps. I managed 12 miles for the week, the most since late Oct when I broke my foot. Granted, I used to run 12 miles on a given Wednesday, but this feels like significant progress.
  • The pomegranate-lime spritzer. It’s worth mentioning again.
  • Restarting means I was able to take some measurements and weigh myself. I traveled the weekend right before starting this two weeks ago and didn’t get a chance to do that previously. I took measurements in early January and already have made some progress since then, which is motivating and encouraging.
  • Between the lunch time strolls and walking Abby, I’ve been walking quite a bit. My days feel much more active.
  • This roasted beet, avocado and orange salad. Because I need to eat more greens, I’ve served it over mixed greens, but it’d be fine on its own. I can’t stop eating it. The three other recipes in the link are really good too.

Despite what happened on Friday, I’m really happy with the week. In many ways it took my focus off of just completing the program, and really owning that this needs to be a long-term lifestyle change. Intellectually, I’ve known that to be true, but after Friday I have definitive proof. So here’s to taking these 30 days to define a new normal. If these first two weeks are any indication, it will be yummy and satisfying.

PS THANK YOU to everyone who’s taken the time to follow along and offer words of support and encouragement. I’m so grateful for your kindness!

“The only real battle in life is between hanging on and letting go.”  ―Shannon L. Alder