Entering the 21st Century + A Whole30 Update

So, many of you know that I've recently bought a new car, which I love. However, before I bought my car, I asked A about a very important part of the car - the CD player.

Me: I always listen to audiobooks on my commute, so I need my new car to have one.

A: Is that really the most important thing? I don't even know if they make cars with CD players anymore...

Me: YES THAT IS CRUCIAL I WILL NOT COMPROMISE!

Yeah... cars don't have CD players anymore.

HOWEVER! My awesome new car does have the less-ancient technology of Bluetooth connectivity, meaning a. I can make and receive calls from my car without putting my phone on speaker and shadily holding it where the police wouldn't see me if they were to be looking out for that and b. I can listen to things that are on my phone! I was going to figure out an Audible or other audiobook subscription, but then, I discovered Podcasts!

I know that most people have probably been listening to podcasts for ages, but I, being way behind the times apparently, have not. So it's a whole new world to me!

Here are some of the ones that I've been enjoying:



1. Balanced Bites Podcast

I've loved Diane Sanfilippo since I've known about her! I have two cookbooks that she wrote or co-wrote, one of which is a general guide to Paleo (Practical Paleo). I ALSO went to see her speak with the co-authors of Mediterranean Paleo Cooking, which is a fabulous cookbook!

That is ME with Diane (on the right)... and straight hair!

I love the Balanced Bites podcast, which is Diane and Liz Wolfe, of Real Food Liz. They're both Holistic Nutritionists, but Diane is more of the talker on nutrition-related things and fitness, and Liz knows a lot about self-care stuff (skin care, beauty products, etc.) although she also talks a lot about nutrition. It's a really cool combination of interviews and answering people's questions about paleo stuff and beyond! I've started listening from the beginning (around 2011) so that I get some of the fundamentals answered, and have also been listening to the more recent podcasts, which tend to be more specialized. It's really interesting for me to learn about health, wellness, and nutrition from a holistic perspective!



2. Overeaters Anonymous LA Intergroup Speakers

Although I personally am not interested in joining a 12-step program myself, I know they have helped a lot of people with various addictions to stay away from those addictions. These podcasts are speakers from an LA meeting of Overeaters Anonymous, and it's really interesting to hear people's stories about their struggles with food. There are a lot that I can personally relate to, and I'm sure others can as well. I find it really entertaining to hear some people as speakers as well!



3. Meditation Podcasts

One of my goals is to start going to bed earlier - I've been trying, but it hasn't always happened. However, I am making some attempts. Listening some meditation podcasts before I go to bed has helped me slow my thoughts and relax a bit. One particular podcast that I listened to was the Meditation Oasis Podcasts - they have a lot of different meditation podcasts for various situations (e.g. Meditation for Grief, Meditation for Body Awareness, Chakras, Breath Awareness...) and I really like the "deep relaxation" ones for bedtime - usually I'm asleep before they're done!


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A Whole30 Update as well, in case you want one! I'm on Day 22. 8 more days! I'm not really counting it down this time, or anything... I may go a few days longer than 30 this time.

Some of the benefits I've seen so far are:

- Better energy throughout the day
- One of the dry patches of skin on my hands seems to be going away
- More consistent good mood... most of the time!
- My nails are fabulous!
- I feel generally healthier and happier with what I'm putting in my body
- I also feel more confident!
- Psychologically, I am definitely feeling very stable around the food stuff. It's a good feeling!


This time, there haven't really been many drawbacks for me. Last time, running totally sucked. This time, while I've noticed that I've been slower in pace by a bit, it's been okay because I haven't been putting pressure on myself to try and go fast or complete/train for any races. That will come soon enough! I've also tried to pick places that will work for me better prior to eating out, and planning for when that doesn't happen. Mentally, I think I was more prepared this time having already done the Whole30 once. I think last time, though, I felt like I was losing weight (and did), and this time I'm not so sure, even though I had gained a few in February. Then again, that is not my reason for doing a Whole30, and I think just checking in and seeing the number objectively after I'm done with my Whole30 will be the best way to go. The psychological benefits and little non-scale victories is what is keeping me going.

I'll definitely give an update once I'm finished with the Whole30!

Keeping Track of Change

So with the Whole30, you are not allowed to weigh yourself, or take bodily measurements. For that reason, I've started journaling.

I started my food journal just to track feelings around food. Okay, this happened today, then I ate this, or WANTED to eat this... it was mostly like that. Tracking how I felt about weight. About food.

As I've started with the Whole30 again, I've been trying to use my journal to kind of be in touch with what's going on with my body. As someone who has gone up and down with weight a billion and a half times, I don't think getting in touch with my body is something I've historically been super great at.

When I was really yo-yoing with my weight, I didn't always feel so connected to my body. Is that weird? It's like, even when I was bigger, I didn't FEEL bigger. I would see pictures of myself, but I didn't feel like that person was me. I didn't feel that big. So maybe I was just out of touch with myself. But then even now, at a healthy weight, sometimes I STILL feel like the "big" girl. And now, I think that has a lot to do with the scale and what I'm consuming.

I find what I've been eating, as well as weight, really affects how I see myself, even now. When I've been indulging, eating a bunch of junk, I look at myself and think - oh, today I'm not looking so great. Same as when I might be fluctuating up a few pounds in the morning. I feel bigger, or I feel icky, I look at myself in the mirror at the gym and I'm like, meh. But then when I've been eating clean, and on a kick of eating good stuff, or fluctuating DOWN a few pounds, it's like "I LOOK HAWT! CHECK ME OUT!" (Okay, maybe not THAT enthusiastic, but I always feel better about myself when I am eating better things, and when the scale reflects it). Is one day of really bad eating, or the body's natural weight fluctuation really going to change how I actually look? Is anyone besides me going to notice? No way. But the brain is a weird little thing, and sometimes perception is what it is!

So I know a lot of my self-perception, and I imagine it's not just me, is through what I eat and through weight. I mean, sometimes certain outfits affect how I feel like I look too. Sometimes it's just one day I feel better than another day. But food and weight can have a lot to do with it!

One of the reasons that I have really loved doing a Whole30 is that it kind of takes food out of the equation, and it fully takes weight out of the equation. I'm eating what I'm eating, and that's that. I can't weigh myself. I mean, it's all food that makes me feel good inside and out, which is great. With that, I feel like it's helping me get in better touch with what my actual body is feeling.

So what have I been keeping track of, if not weight? Or even measurements?

It's been really helpful for me to keep track of how I'm feeling in my body. I know the first couple days of Whole30, I was feeling a bit tired and foggy. One day, I was feeling kind of bloated and weird. I've also been keeping track of allergy symptoms, what my skin is up to, and how I feel after meals. I've also been tracking how my workouts feel - which is still so far, so good (knock on wood...) - and if I'm sore or achy after certain workouts. TMI ALERT: I'm also tracking other female-related issues, and bodily functions. Hey, it's all part of figuring out the body, right?! Finally, I'm tracking sleep. I need more of the sleep. Daylight savings messesd me up! Goal for next week: GET MORE SLEEP! (SMART goal version: By March 20th, 2015, Sarah will be in bed with the lights turned off by 10:30pm on 4 of 5 weeknights, as measured by data collection. BAM.)

I guess the point is to see if and how food is affecting my body, especially as I reintroduce certain groups, like grass-fed dairy and legumes, after the official Whole30 ends. I don't want weight to be the measure of that, because there is so much else going on with bodies than just the weight of it.

I have really enjoyed like, NOT focusing on weight for once, and NOT letting weight and food affect how I'm feeling about myself. I'm definitely planning to weigh myself after I'm done with this Whole30 (or Whole45, or whatever it's going to be) but I'm hoping to see that result as something objective - just a number. Data collection. One part of a much bigger picture.

Running on Paleo

Back in November when I did my first Whole30, I wasn't exactly sure what to expect. More food prep? Sure. Good mood? Definitely! Running totally sucking? Not so much.

That first weekend after starting the last Whole30, I went running with a few friends at a local trail. I was planning on running about 6 miles that day, and started with a guy who was doing a 10:00/mile pace or so, which is typically not hard for me. By Mile 3, my legs felt dead, and I could barely talk with this poor guy who I was running with because I was SO out of breath. The second week of my Whole30, I did a 10k with my sister, again, at a pace that wouldn't normally give me second thought. However, once again - Mile 4.5 this time? Death. Dead legs. Ugh!

That's when I started doing my research. I found the Whole30 forums, and checked out the Whole30 for Athletes section. It turned out there were plenty of others who were like me, struggling. What I found out is that as your body adapts to the dietary differences, especially when it's a relatively big change from the previous diet (like it was for me), so that fat is burned in the body as the primary fuel vs. carbohydrates. (I'm sure this is an incredibly simplistic way to describe what happens, but that's what I understand). So basically, you're messing with the fuel for your workouts - of course things are going to change!

Basically, for that reason, I wasn't going to do another Whole30 or try Paleo at all. Running sucked. Then after the Whole30 was done, and I pretty quickly went back to eating all sorts of non-Paleo foods, it was easier.

The thing is, though, as I've mentioned, I like the idea of sticking with Paleo. The more I learn about it, the more I feel like I want to keep at it. So... what about the running?

First of all, I feel like last time, I didn't give myself nearly enough time for my body to get used to it. 30 days is not a ton of time for the body to get used to something totally new like that! This time, I'm giving it a much longer commitment... I'm not sure completely what yet, and I'll have to go with how I'm feeling, of course. But, longer. It's happening.

Second, I'm making some changes with what foods I'm including in my diet. The biggest change is that I've made an effort to include some more starchy veggies, basically with every meal. I've been eating LOTS of sweet potatoes, squash, carrots, beets, and more.

Third, I'm eating a little more as I run. That was a suggestion given to me last time when I was having a super struggle with workouts, and it's been pretty helpful. I've been doing half a Larabar (sometimes just a few bites suffices) on normal runs, and I've seen suggestions to do those puree packs that contain sweet potato and fruit on a helpful Whole30 Forum Thread. So I'll definitely be considering those as I train for my next half!

The thing is, a lot of people do say that they've had great results while doing a Paleo or mostly Paleo diet and running - feeling generally fitter and faster. I guess time will tell if it's the right thing for me!

And as for now? Heading into Week 2 of this Whole30, I think the addition of more starchy veggies has helped my runs. I did 3 miles yesterday and 6 today, both somewhat slower than my typical pace but like, okay. Not a total slog. Not completely out of breath by mile 4. Okay.

This time too, I'm not setting any lofty goals. I'm still doing a lot of cross-training (body pump, Insanity, other cardio, yoga) and not doing any races this month or next. I'm also not concerning myself with pace at all this month, just keeping it up and getting some miles on my legs. I think that will make it easier than last time, when I was like, okay, Whole30, I'm eating great, so my running will also be awesomelysuperfast, right? (Not how it works.)

So we'll see! You never know until you try!

Hi! I'm back.

Hello friends! After a short hiatus, not really for any particular reason, just that I stopped writing and didn't really get back into it, and then got overwhelmed when I attempted to get back into it, I'm BACK! At least right now I'm back. We'll see how long this lasts. I'm trying, I'm trying...


Updates:

1. I'm working on my second Whole30!

I wasn't sure if I was going to do another one this soon, but after a February of indulging (birthday, Las Vegas, the list goes on!) I was really feeling in need of a mental and physical reset! Today is Day 5, and I'm feeling good!

Doing lots of food posting on Instagram (specific public food Instagram - sarah.cooks.and.eats... check it out!)

This time, I took before pictures, and weighed myself before I started (and I mean, the scale isn't everything... but it wasn't so super great after a month of being like, off the chain. Oh well!). I'm curious to see the comparison this time, since I didn't really do any of that the first time!



2. I'm thinking about sticking with Paleo after I'm done with this Whole30.

After my last Whole30, I felt awesome, a lot of cravings were gone, etc. Then, I got back to my typical habits, and went sugar-crazy once again. I don't think it's fair to say I'll never have "cheats" or any sort of treats, but I think it's important to make dietary choices that facilitate general awesome-feeling. I guess I'm trying to find something that sticks, where I don't drive myself crazy but where I do have some sort of template for making good choices.

I guess it's like, this whole time, I've been looking for an answer, like I'm going to do this one thing, and it's going to solve my issues with food. And in all of this time, I'm realizing, there's NOT an answer. It's not quick and easy, and it's a combination of a lot of different factors. Do I think Whole30 or Paleo is the answer, that one thing that will solve my food problems for me? NO. But I think it, or whatever modified version that ends up working for me (possibly including some types of grains, or good-quality dairy) can make it easier to make better choices.

And now that I've learned more about food, and what kinds of changes that are totally unrelated to weight and appearance a diet high in real foods can make? That in and of itself is a good reason to stick with it.

I'm what is going to solve this for myself, I have to (and have been!) doing the work. Everything else is just a tool I can use.

In any case... we'll see how that goes!



3. I've gotten two age-group awards in races!


I was third in my age group in this Halloween 5-miler that I did with my roommate and friend...

And second in my age group in this New Year's Day 5k!

It's awesome, because I know in bigger races, I'm definitely not the fastest, but it's great to see how my pace has improved as I've kept going. Sometimes in smaller races, you just might be one of the fastest!



4. I've been taking a break from half training, which is important... but I miss it a little.

I think at the end of last year, I was starting to get burned out with all the half marathons, and constantly training. It's important to me that running remain an enjoyable part of my life, rather than a chore or something I have to make myself do. So, a break was in order.



I've really liked doing some shorter races in the meantime. I've done a few 5ks and 10ks recently, which have been a lot of fun. Doing races with family and friends is the best!

That being said, I do miss having a goal in mind, something to train for. I miss the long runs (sometimes), and the refueling meals afterwards! And, I definitely miss the point of a run being to go as long as I can, and push myself for distance (whereas lately I've been trying to push for time a little more). Some of those long, 2-hour stretches of just running by myself, clearing my mind, well, it's definitely something I'm looking forward to getting back to.


In a month or two, I'll be back to training, since I'll be partaking in the SECOND half of the SF Half Marathon this year!



5. You MUST read Andie Mitchell's book!


I love Andie and her blog, Can You Stay for Dinner, which I discovered when starting my weight loss process. She has some amazing insights on weight loss, binge eating, food in general. And I love her novel, It Was Me All Along. If you are someone who has ever struggled with binge eating, or food issues, or even if you haven't, read her blog and her book!




In any case, I'm happy to be back. Look for some major changes in the blog's look and hopefully lots and lots of updates. I'm looking forward to starting again!

xoxo
S