Strength, Courage and Wisdom

Over the past month or so, I have been reading books, articles and blogs, in addition to listening to podcasts, regarding becoming a better endurance athlete and the benefits of following a "clean" diet.  It occurred to me that I find this very interesting - not so much the exact science or the anal counting of calories, carbs, protein, etc that I consume each day, but the overall benefits of the wise words spoken by Hippocrates - "let thy food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food."

When I read this quote in my copy of "Eat and Run," by Scott Jurek, I began to give it thought.  It makes sense.  When I was diagnosed with NHL in 1998, my oncologist said that they didn't know where it came from, or what caused it, but that anything from alcohol consumption to antiperspirant could be the culprit.  I try not to dwell on my retroactive decisions, because what good is that going to do, really?  I could write a book called "What Not To Do," covering a wide array of topics, but I digress.  Also, I am not about to cease using deoderant.  It was invented for a reason.  A very good reason.  To further reaffirm my decision to tweak my diet and lifestyle, I thought "how wrong could the Father of Modern Medicine be?  Or a vegan ultrarunner who runs 50 miles faster than I run a mere 26.2?"  I figured that it's something to consider.

I decided to start a No Sugar, No Grain lifestyle this week.  So far, I like it; I haven't been hungry throughout the day, and I haven't noticed a decreased energy level, although that could be due to the enormous mount of caffeine I consume via coffee.  I am very new to this lifestyle, and I do not claim to know everything there is to know about NSNG - shoot, I don't even know a lot about it!  I am learning everyday, making changes as I go.  I am basically following a Paleo model, but with dairy.  No, you do not need to lecture me on how this is completely incorrect, thank you very much.  I am, however, open to suggestions on how to add a variety of foods to keep my days interesting.

This week, I have eaten the same exact thing for breakfast and lunch each day, changing it up for dinner.  At breakfast, I have taken to eating 1/4c fresh berries, 1 medium banana, 1/2c full fat greek yogurt and 1/8c roasted pumpkin seeds, all mixed together in a bowl of deliciousness.  I drink 1c of black coffee and 1c of coffee with heavy cream.  I prefer the black coffee, but I wanted to curb my mid-morning sugar cravings, hence the heavy cream.  So far it seems to be working!  I have not felt the need to open the packages of cookies or a diet soda at 10am!

For lunch, I eat A big salad, filled with fresh spinach, hard boiled eggs, baby portabellas, carrots, green peppers, cherry tomatoes, grilled turkey and whatever other fresh veggies I have in the fridge.  I drizzle it with 2T of olive oil/blue cheese dressing.  Calm down - it contains ZERO sugar and is all natural.  I read the label.  Next week I will add the real cheese and switch to olive oil and balsamic vinegar to dress my lunch.

I did have afternoon snacks - Sunday I chose oven roasted chickpeas and Monday I chose coffee with heavy cream, accompanied by 1/4c macadamia nuts.  I also had some cubed sharp chedder and a handful of baby carrots.  Oink oink, lol.  For dinner, I have had oven baked boneless, skinless chicken breasts with sweet potatoes - and I was 100% satisfied for the entire evening.

I stepped on the scale this morning, and I was shocked to see it down 4lbs from yesterday.  I believe this reflects the loss of muscle mass due to my lack of exercising over the past week, but we all know it's water weight.  Regardless, it is always nice to see the number go down.  No, I do not, by any means, have a serious weight problem.  If you ask my aunts, though, they will tell you I am too skinny.  I assure you, I am not.  I have a good 10 pounds that can go away, and I fully believe that it will, given my newly adopted NSNG lifestyle and my triathlon/marathon training.  

My ultimate goal, though, is not to lose weight - that's really just the icing on the cake, so to speak.  My intentions are far more important than 10 pounds.  My goal is to make my body strong by fueling it with the foods it needs, not the sugar I enjoy.  I aim to evade serious health issues in the future, so that I am able to be here, in person, for my family, my friends, and all those I have yet to meet.  It is also my intention, should I ever produce daughters, that they are born with all "good eggs," and by choosing this clean way of life, I am providing a bright, healthy future for my grandchildren.

And so I run.