A.M. Runs, Sleep Overs and Baking on Whole30

 

The birds were singing this morning and the sun was up long before I wanted to be.  Even though we have mere days to pack we found ourselves in the pool again until late last night.  The water temperature hovering just under 90 degrees the family was just enjoying the warm swim in the moon light and so was I until the effects of several late night swims began to add up.  But I was up and hit my a.m. miles again now I wait patiently for the rest of my family to begin to stir.  They won't linger in their beds too long because today...and tomorrow will be another sleep over. 

 

Sleeps overs mean baking and last night after the late night swim I was in front of the oven make chocolate chip cookies.  Not a healthy almond flour variation but real bad for you, full of sugar chocolate chip cookies.  As the end of my first round of the Whole30 draws near, I am thinking about how much differently I will handle my food choices when I am not on a Whole30 cycle.  At about day 5 I dreamed of day 31 when I could stuff my gob with well...gobs!  Then about day 17 I felt like I would never eat sugar again and who needs bread or dairy.  But today I know that I will eat some of the things I did before but I won't choose to eat them for the same reasons.  I made many food choices out of sheer convenience.  Simply because I was too lazy to cook or come up with something better to eat.  After these 30 days I seem to know myself a little bit better .  If resisting some gooey, chocolaty, warm, golden brown cookies after almost 30 days without sugar doesn't make this sugar addicted girl crack I doubt there is much two hormone filled tween aged girls - and one little energizer bunny of a 4 year old - can request I cook that will faze me. 

I Only Drank Coffee for the Sugar....

In three short days I've discovered that black coffee sucks.  Okay, I actually figured that out on Day One but I now accept the fact that it won't get any better.  Black coffee just sucks and I was clearly only drinking it for the milk and sugar I put in it.

 

Not any more.  Thanks to the

 

I've survived to see Day 3. 

Survived is not to strong of a word. 

My kids did not like the threats that the only food allowed in the house would have to follow these rules:

 

Do not consume added sugar of any kind, real or artificial. No maple syrup, honey, agave nectar, Splenda, Equal, Nutrasweet, xylitol, stevia, etc. Read your labels, because companies sneak sugar into products in ways you might not recognize.  Clearly I underestimated my addiction to sugar because this one has proven super hard.  Plus sugar is in every thing!

• Do not consume alcohol, in any form, not even for cooking. (And it should go without saying, but no tobacco products of any sort, either.) Not an issue because I gave up alcohol a life time again but did you know it's in all the extracts you use for baking?!
• Do not eat grains. This includes (but is not limited to) wheat, rye, barley, oats, corn, rice, millet, bulgur, sorghum, amaranth, buckwheat, sprouted grains and all of those gluten-free pseudo-grains like quinoa. Yes, we said corn… for the purposes of this program, corn is a grain! This also includes all the ways we add wheat, corn and rice into our foods in the form of bran, germ, starch and so on. Again, read your labels.  This is another temptation simply because bread makes meals especially for kids much easier.  So it's a lazy factor.
• Do not eat legumes. This includes beans of all kinds (black, red, pinto, navy, white, kidney, lima, fava, etc.), peas, chickpeas, lentils, and peanuts. No peanut butter, either. This also includes all forms of soy – soy sauce, miso, tofu, tempeh, edamame, and all the ways we sneak soy into foods (like lecithin).  This delayed my start day by a day because I bought hummus not thinking about chickpeas being a legume and ate some.  Duh!   And come on!  No PB.
• Do not eat dairy. This includes cow, goat or sheep’s milk products such as cream, cheese (hard or soft), kefir, yogurt (even Greek), and sour cream… with the exception of clarified butter or ghee. (See below for details.)  Butter isn't a big deal but cheese.  Cheese makes everything better, right? 
• Do not consume carrageenan, MSG or sulfites. If these ingredients appear in any form on the label of your processed food or beverage, it’s out for the Whole30.  Not a big deal here since I avoided this stuff before and already know which brands/items we buy that have or don't have it.  Read labels!
• Do not eat white potatoes. This is somewhat arbitrary, but if we are trying to change your habits and improve the hormonal impact of your food choices, it’s best to leave white, red, purple, Yukon gold and fingerling potatoes off your plate.  Skipping the potatoes isn't an issue either.  Not a big challenge. 

Luckily for my children I didn't throw out all the non-compliant food.  Their eating habits will have to be changed in a much more gradual way or they will revolt and you will find my floating face down in our swimming pool. 

 

 

We celebrated S'ghetti girls 12th birthday this week and I did buy a cake.  I didn't risk baking one that early in the plan The kids enjoyed the sugary treat.  I couldn't have gotten my nose closer to that icing if I had tried...and I did.  It was really hard to not indulge but the kids have all been very supportive of mommy's new "eating plan."  S'ghetti girl reminded me that it's only 30 days and I will be so happy after I complete my 30 days that a simple piece of cake won't be such a temptation any more.

 

 

 

These days I'm drinking my coffee iced with coconut milk and bonking on my most of my runs.  But hopefully that feeling will pass as my body gets used to the new fueling program.  With the super secret spy out on a mission, the kids filling the role of cheerleader and a healthy supply of healthy foods around I'm excited to see how I'm feeling in 27 more days.

 



 

And in case you were wondering, while you will be seeing pictures of my yummy meals, you probably won't be seeing those "before" photos any time soon. 

Monday Mumblings

 

Yes.  I am still talking about the weather.  Stalking weather websites.  Blogging about the weather.  Photographing the weather.

 

All in an attempt to avoid thinking about the actual race.

 

 

 

In other news look what arrived today!  Some yummy goodies from the amazing multi-tasking Amanda at RunToTheFinish who recently moved and still made time to get her goodies from the Spring Booty Buster Challenge in the mail. 

Thanks Amanda!  I will be thinking of you during my 103.7 miles.

great!  now I'm thinking about the actual race.  I feel sick to my stomach.

 

 

Since I'm talking about every thing I might as well admit that I ran a bit more than "the plan" said I was supposed to.  But I also stuck with my squats, wall sits, planks and hand stands that I have been working on.  My wall sit and plank are both over 3 minutes now!  I'm completely excited about that.  It may seem like baby steps in cross training but for me it's like conquering a mountain. 

 

 

Have you heard about the Whole30?  Part of my distraction techniques has been to fully engross myself in this eating plan.  Which I will be starting the day after the race.  By that I mean Monday since I will not stop running until Sunday and then I might proceed to eat a small country's food supply and I will not care if dairy, grains, sugar or even alcohol is involved.  That is saying A LOT because I don't drink alcohol!

 

What do you say?  Anyone want to join me?