Well I did it… I went into my pantry, my refrigerator, and my freezer and got rid of it… I got rid of it all. I broke up with all the grains, pasta, and overall carbohydrates in my house. It was tough…I had cleaned out my pantry a few days before but I wasn’t completely ready to get rid of all of my whole grain paraphernalia.
Well, I am sure you are wondering how it all came about and how it all played out…
It went something like this…
ME: Hey, Carbsy
Carb: What’s UP bestie!
ME: we need to talk.
Carb: Oh, that’s never good – when someone says that…
ME: Look, we’ve had a good run…but it just isn’t working out anymore.
Carb: But Sarah, I can change…have you seen the new selection of Naan bread, pita’s and Quinoa at the Commissary?
ME: It’s too late. I’ve given this a lot of thought and well; it’s ME – not YOU.
Carb: Oh boy – heard that one before. Well, I was the best thing that ever happened to you – you’ll see.
ME: Yea, well…I guess some things just aren’t meant to be – physiologically.
Carbs: you’ll be back. You people always come crawling back. You’ll get an emotionally charged craving and go running for a KitKat or a French loaf freshly baked at the Commissary or think just a few croutons won’t hurt.
ME: You clearly don’t know me Carbsy – I thought you did – but you’ve been the problem all along and now that I see you in this light (bloating my intestines and inflaming my bowels) I can never look at you the same way again. Besides, I’m a Generation X’r… I was raised on Grunge Music and smoking to be cool. If I can quit those things and never look back…well, you’re already toast (pun intended)!
Ignore the Oats & Peanut Butter - I am making some no bake cookies for the Single Marines
I took some creative liberties here but you get the picture! It’s not easy to reverse you’re entire life’s worth of thinking about food and nutrition. I am not going FULL Paleo just because I cannot give up Dairy. My little girly still needs lots of calcium and I do to! I am just going to be cutting WAY back on our cheese and flavored yogurt intake. Baby steps!
Over the passed week I have been doing my best to stick closely to the Paleo theme of eating and finally when most of the food was depleted from the house I knew it was time to “go big or go home!” So I printed out the Week 1 Shopping List from Robb Wolf’s website for the 30 day challenge of eating Paleo and hit the Commissary. Mind you – I couldn’t find everything there but I found most – maybe 3-4 items I couldn’t get my hands on.
Got my spices all organized and out of the cupboard - found some yummy Macadamia Oil too
This has been tough – I think I had been a little moody from the lack of carbs, my body does not like this adjustment but my guts sure do! I haven’t been bloated at all. BUT…I think about chocolate a lot! LOL!
So far I have cooked and enjoyed everything that has been recommended on the 30 day challenge or from another Paleo Cookbook I bought.
Here are some examples of the foods I have cooked:
Dinners:
-Grilled Salmon, Roasted Green Beans, side salad
-Rotisserie Chicken, Steamed Broccoli, side salad
Lunch:
– Chicken Salad w/ Acocado’s, Tomatoes and Balsamic Vinegar (and Feta)
-1 lb. Chili Lime Shrimp, Side Salad
-5-6oz. deli turkey (rolled), ½ lb steamed broccoli, handful of nuts
Breakfast:
-3 poached eggs, bacon, and fruit
I used a microwave poacher
-Scrambled eggs w/ a little milk and shredded cheese, bacon or avocado
Snacks:
-Jerky and unsalted Nuts
-Greek Yogurt w/ berries and drizzled w. honey
Training Updates:
Thursday: Met up with Jeanne at the gym for purely strength training. We went out back and she totally broke me off! We did a full body workout.
Jeanne’s Recap of today’s WOD and explanation of what a Tabata is: Today you did a Tabata working with kettlebells – core workout, upper body and legs – overall strength conditioning. Inner thighs may feel sore/tight – be sure to give them extra time to stretch and warm-up.
A tabata is 20 seconds on (of work) 10 seconds off (rest) – you repeat for x amount of time 4 min, 8 min, etc. – 10 sec is enough time to let your body rest, but not enough time for your muscles to recover – also adds a cardio element to a strength exercise.
BIG NEWS THIS WEEK! I completed my 2nd 10K and a 5K – both with Nola in the new Baby Jogger.
FRIDAY: The 10K was held on the local Air Force Base and was a fundraiser for the American Red Cross’s effort to raise money for the Mainland Japan Relief Fund. The course was extremely hilly and some of the hills were very long. I ran alone (except for having the stroller) but there were several ladies there that I knew. I asked them to please not run w/ me as I wasn’t sure what sort of pace I would be able to maintain.
Jeanne had told me to just think of this as a training run and to take it easy…. Well, that is hard for me to do – my competitive juices get flowing and off I go! Also, there were lots of strollers – so there was a fair amount of equal competition! There were two people w/ strollers a head of me until about 3.5 miles into the race. They were running fast and when I finally reached them it was because the chick had to walk. I caught up with them just as they were running again and I made small talk about how hard they had been to catch! They were both pushing two kids. Within the next 3/10ths the chick bonked. I think the guy was pushing her to run faster than she was comfortable with and she couldn’t maintain that pace. I heard her start to cry and I looked back and told her to just breath through it, look at her front tire and just push! I kept running and didn’t see them again until after the finish.
I finished the race in 1:00.06 my friend Kelly, who had finished ahead of me, came back looking for me. She grabbed the stroller and was like, “See you at the finish – GO!” But she runs so fast that even though I was running solo now (3/10ths of a miles left) she was still right with me! Lol! So I finished with Kelly cheering me on and Nola getting to see me cross the finish line!
Here are my numbers Mile 1 = 9:54 Mile 2 = 9:13 Mile 3 = 9:46 Mile 4 = 10:56 Mile 5 = 10:23 Mile 6 = 9:52SATURDAY: Earth Day 5K – Woke up feeling really sore and stiff from all the previous hard work of the week. If I wouldn’t have told a new friend (Tricia!) I would be there I probably would have crawled back in bed that morning! Damn accountability!
Im in the white cap w. sunglasses on top - getting registered to run!
I decided TODAY will be a for real easy run. I left the Garmin at home and wasn’t worrying about pace or time. The morning was perfect for running! Cool and overcast! I prefer overcast mainly for Nola – I had to think she’s just sitting there baking in the sun while I run. I got there in JUST enough time to sign up and do a little bit of stretching but not my normal routine of stretching. When the race started I could feel how stiff I was. Tricia immediately pulled ahead and left me in her dust! I put my iPod on and just shuffled til my legs felt better and then I used that LONG down hill (the 5K is always the same route) as my recovery/warm up. Right after we finish the downhill we run through a residential area or about half a mile. When we hit the main road again it is a 90 turn up a VERY steep and very long hill (Marek Park). I wish I could get the elevation charts on the running route because this hill is unbelievable.
I just skipped my iPod to a super motivating song, leaned forward to be more on my toes and looked down at the front tire – dug in and PUSHED! The last time I ran this 5K was the weekend before I started working with Jeanne. I remember thinking that my effort to get Nola – my little shuffle/jog – was actually just as fast as a walkers pace – so I walked part of it and I was right…I was only jogging about as fast as I could have walked it! In other words – I was barely moving up that hill the last time.
THIS TIME – I was moving! I made that hill my bitch! After I got to the top I was in such a good groove I just kept up the good pace. At this point in the race there is only MAYBE a mile left. I just plugged away and started passing people. I finished in 29:40 and set a PR for my 5K w/ the stroller time!
After the race I felt great, I was trotting around cheering for other people and especially the little red-faced kids coming in for their finish! I drove home with the goofiest ear-to-ear grin! I was just so proud of myself. I just couldn’t believe that I had just ran a race, that kicked my butt just 4 months ago, and ended it feeling like I could go longer! I am really seeing what Jeanne has been talking about – building a strong base!
New Recipe:
I was totally amazed at this!
Tonight I made Spaghetti Squash Spaghetti – OMG! How crazy is it that a squash can be so amazingly similar to spaghetti! I have never really cooked w/ squash before so this is all new to me. Just another bonus of trying something new with the way I am fuel myself.
I couldnt hardly stop eating this!
Spaghetti Recipe:
1lb ground beef or turkey 1 tbsp Olive Oil 1 (12oz) package of kelp noodles or one spaghetti squash 1-2 C. Marinara sauce 1-2 cloves crushed garlicBrown the meat in the Olive Oil using a large skillet. Once the meat is browned, add the noodles (or cooked spaghetti squash, see below) and the marinara sauce. Stir and bring to a simmer. Add the crushed garlic just before serving to maximize the health benefits.
If using the spaghetti squash: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Carefully split the squash lengthwise, then dig out the seeds. Place both halves face down on a baking pan, add 1/4 C. water. Bake for 30 minutes. Dig out the squash with a fork and add to your skillet with the meat.
Miles ran this week = 14.3
Miles ran YTD = 138.55
There She Goes...Running in Okinawa 