Whole 30 and Moving Forward

PREFACE:  I’m writing this on my plane ride back from New York, so I’m sorry if I start ramble, but sitting still drives me nuts, so I just keep thinking of things to talk about!  Give me a break, I had 7 hours to kill!

Alright, so I didn’t make it 30 days of the Whole30 Challenge, but I made it further than 21 days.  Which is apparently the magic number; if you can make it at least 21 days you are usually good to go.  Let me tell you, it is SO true!  I honestly have not felt better since taking out the gluten, grains, and cutting way back on fruit.  I went against everything I thought eating a lot more fats and meat, but man do I feel AMAZING!  I feel like I work harder during my workouts because I’m not worrying about stomach pains or bloating I used to get from eating all those supposed “necessary pre- and post-workout carbs.”  Am I saying that carbs are bad? Am I saying that you shouldn’t eat bread or pasta?  Not necessarily, it all depends on what works for YOU!  Personally, I noticed when I started running long distance my stomach became more sensitive and it seemed like NOTHING I did could fix that.  I tried eating “all natural”, “low fat”, “sugar free.”  It wasn’t until this Whole30 that I truly understood what all those cute little categories meant:

All Natural: “everything we put in our food is natural.”  Does NOT mean it is good for you.  If you check some “all natural” foods it will still have hydrogenated oil or those nasty -lose ending ingredients, which are usually fake sugars that make you bloat.

Low Fat: “low-no fat.”  Did you know skittles are technically “low fat,” but would you eat them? 

Sugar Free: MY FAVORITE haha.  They don’t contain sugar, BUT they contain those pesky fake sugars that can reek more havoc on your body then the real deal.  Sometimes your body has a harder time digesting them and that’s why you end up feeling bloated and gassy. 

So why did I cut the 30 short if I am so pro-Whole30?  Well, in case you don’t follow me on Facebook or Twitter, I went to visit my boyfriend this week in New York for his last home series (yes, he’s a baseball player..love my boy of summer).  Monday-Wednesday  he took me out for really nice dinners after his games.  He wanted me to get some really good hearty meals in since he knows I try really hard to eat “clean.”  Now, before you say anything about “he should be supportive of your healthy eating.” BLAH BLAH BLAH.  He is, but every once in a while he likes me to let loose and just enjoy myself.  I did!  I didn’t go hog wild the whole time I was out there.  I would eat really good during the day, workout (workouts below post), go watch him play, and then indulge at night.  

What I learned the most from indulging?  I no longer have an emotional attachment to food, like I used to.  Don’t get me wrong, the food was DELICIOUS, but I wasn’t all giddy or excited when I ate the food and I didn’t kick myself afterwards.  Instead, I ate until I was no longer hungry and then pushed the rest to the side.  Those 21 days really allowed me to just focus and re-teach myself to use food as my fuel.  I learned how to eat around my workouts, so that I was properly fueled and I wasn’t eating things just because I had a craving for it.  

I know you’re next question: where do you go from here?  What do I do now that I’m finished with my Whole30?  Do I go back to eating like I did before?  NO WAY!!  I plan on staying paleo and just adding some things back in, like the occasional piece of gum, almond milk, and coconut flour to bake with (when I get the initiative haha).  I honestly do not miss bread or pasta anymore.  I don’t crave sugary drinks or my energy drinks.  I actually had one of my favorite energy drinks this week to give me a boost one of my boyfriend’s games and for the first time I realized how AWFUL energy drinks taste.  It tasted like metal against my tongue and I was no longer a fan.  I actually was craving my dark roast, black coffee!  The front desk got so used to me coming down for extra coffee that they had it out before I even asked (gotta love good customer service).  

Moving forward my diet is going to look like this because there are somethings I still want to tweak.  I want to try and keep my fruit intake to once a day, maybe two when I have a heavy cardio AND weight day.  I also want to keep my fruit intake mostly from berries and melons.  I also want to start making my plates half protein, half non-starchy veggies.  Have a cheat meal once a week or every other week.  

I have still a little ways until I reach my physique goal, but for once in my life that is no longer my main goal.  It no longer fills my every waking moment.  It finally hit me, “why am I worrying so much about my physique,” this vacation.  My boyfriend never has anything to say about my physique turning him off or wishing I looked different.  Why shouldn’t I give myself the same respect as he does?  

What I gained from all this?  A challenge for September (and I challenge you all to do the same)!!  

1. Love myself every day!  Whether it is replacing every bad comment to myself with a positive or giving myself a break on a stressful day.

2. Eat paleo 90-95% Why only 90-95%?  Well, we’re not all perfect and damnit I want a cheat meal every once in a while ;)  

1. Plan my meals for the week and cook (as much as I can) on Sundays.

3. Drink more water!  At least half a gallon a day.

Well, I think that’s about enough writing for today and I’m sure you’re trying to figure out when my rambling ends, so here you go....THE END.

PS: here’s my hotel workouts!  Also, you may notice that they’re a little easier than usual and you’re exactly right!  I wanted to back off a little from my intensity, focus on my form, and let my body recover a little so I can (hopefully) ROCK my 5K on Friday night!  Don’t think for a second though that if you do these RIGHT you won’t be sore.  I was definitely still sore, but not the sore that makes it hard to roll out of bed.  Rather the sore that keeps me coming back for more!

SUNDAY: Ran 4.5 miles before getting on my plane

MONDAY: 4 rounds:
20 backward lunges Overhead (2 10# dumbbells)
10 pushups
20 Kettlebell Swings (25#)
15 chair dips
TIME- 9min

Sprints: 30secs on, 30secs off increase incline every minute
TIME- 14min

Tabata: 8 rounds (20 sec on, 10sec off)
Squats

TUESDAY: 4 Rounds:
15 burpees
25 squats
35 situps
TIME- 11:45

Tabata: 8 rounds (20sec on, 10sec off) 3x

Burpees
Situps
Pushups

WEDNESDAY: 5 rounds:
30 Kettle bell swings (25#)
25 squats (2 12.5# dumbbells)
20 overhead lunges (2 7.5#)
15 push presses (2 12.5#)
10 burpees

Arc Trainer: 30min

Tales of a Carb Junkie and Overtrainer

Hey!  This is going to be a little shorter posting, but I think it is very important information I recently came upon.  These past couple of weeks I was feeling lathargic and unmotivated.  I was having trouble even eating the necessary calories each day.  Then last week I got a nasty cold that had taken residence in both my head, nose, throat, and lungs.  I decided this weekend to figure out what was going on, so I asked my trainer to help me out.  When we met last night, after she looked at my nutrition, workouts, and cardio she said I most likely had "overtraining syndrome." 

Overtraining syndrome is a side effect of, well training too much and not resting enough.  Some basic symptoms are: lose in motivation, lose in appetite, and irritability (sound familiar??).  I was overdoing and sending my body into over drive and my body was finally fed up with it.  My body was like a toddler that no longer wants to play along, sitting in the corner, crossing their arms, and saying, "NO."  So after much discussion we changed my training schedule: Mon: Swim, Tues: Spin AM Strength PM, Wed: Run, Thurs: Swim AM Strength PM, Fri: REST, Sat: Spin & Strength, Sun: REST

Okay, that seemed easy enough. It actually took a lot of pressure off me because I no longer felt the need to be lifting and doing cardio everyday, except Sunday.  Then, we moved onto nutrition (a word that sometimes makes me cringe and makes me nervous).  I had started reverting back to eating the same things all the time (meat, veggies, protein shakes), so my trainer said I need to add more "color" back into my nutrition (which I was doing good for a while).  I need to have more veggie diversity in my diet and less protein drinks.  So my goal is to eventually take out all the unprocessed foods, like protein drinks and protein bars (Clif are okay if I'm in a pinch for time) and replace them with more "meals," like chicken, tuna steaks, vegetables, fruit, peanut butter, etc.  Another thing I needed to add back: CARBS!  Not bad carbs, like processed buns or fried food, but good ones, like Ezekiel bread or oatmeal. 

Carbs have always been a "dirty" word in my vocabulary (I'm sure a lot more people think this way too).  They've been given a bad name by the media and fitness industries.  They have become known as the brown item that gives you that spare tire around your waist.  When I started training for marathons, about four years ago, I fell in love with carbs.  They are what fueled me to start my runs and helped me heal after my marathons.  It was a main staple in my marathon life- I had become a carb and cardio junkie.  Then when I decided to take time off of marathons after Chicago this year I didn't need all those carbs.  I started trying to slowly cut down on them (outside of vegetables).  I always found it very difficult and mentally almost harder than completing a marathon!  Then, a few weeks ago I tried to cut out any carb, besides ones that came from veggies and fruit and a few I'd allow myself to have every week (BAD IDEA).  This did NOT help combined with my overtraining.  I started becoming worndown, irritable, and didn't even want to get out of bed because I was so tired.  After, talking with my trainer I realized that I am not one of those girls that is going to be able to have some ripped six-pack AND I'm TOTALLY okay with that.  I cannot physically or emotionally survive on a low carb diet (anything under 100grams per day and I'm shot).  It doesn't mean that I'm not just as healthy or healthier than those people (I wonder if they completed 4 marathons and 2 half marathons while still in college with 2 part-time jobs?), I just don't have the all elusive six-pack (I have more of a four pack- which I love just as much). 

The last thing I learned last night from my trainer that sums up all this is: KNOWLEDGE IS POWER.  The more we know the better off and stronger we become.  Previously, I had thought I only needed extra carbs from bread and oatmeal if I was training for a marathon and I only thought an overtraining injury could be physical, like a twisted ankle..but now I know better.

So what I am getting at is learn from my mistakes (because trust me before all this my trainer told me NOT to do these things, but I had to find them out on my own).

1. Take time OFF- watch the slippery slope
2. ADD color into your diet
3. Take out all the processed foods and protein drinks
4. Eat CARBS (good carbs)
5. Most importantly LOVE yourself- no matter what your body type, your body has done some awesome things

For more info about "overtraining syndrome": http://www.rice.edu/~jenky/sports/overtraining.html
For more info about my trainer: http://kendallpersonalfitness.blogspot.com/