Whole30-First 15 days

I started the Whole30 New Years Day.  For the last few months I've been feeling gross and all around unhealthy.  I'm hoping this "reboot" is what I need.  The plan is pretty restrictive, but I'm focusing on the good.  Trying to keep my eye on the prize.  In 30 days, I should feel better.

My goals:

• Be less bloated.
• Have more energy.
• Reduce inflammation.  I have a lot aches and pains.  I'm hoping this will alleviate some of them.

How have the first 15 days been???  Pretty amazing.  The first week was tough.  I was SOOOO tired and I was stressed about what to eat.  I was so afraid I was going to screw up.  I also REALLY missed (still do) wine and coffee. You can have coffee but not the milk and sugar that makes coffee worth drinking.  I have had a couple cups mixed with coconut milk and cinnamon.  It's not bad, but not great. 

I have definitely had some ups and downs but so far, I'm really happy with the program.  At this point, I really don't see why I'd go back to eating the way I was before.  Except for wine.  Have I mentioned that I miss wine?  I do.  A lot.

As for my Whole 30 goals, I'm definitely way less bloated.  My clothes fit so much better, which is fabulous.  I'm starting  to get more energy and feel more productive.  It's hard to tell about the aches and pains.  I'm 5 days into triathlon training, so everything is kind of achy.

I'll check back in on the 31st and let you know how the rest of the month went.  It's all downhill from here!!

Happy New Year

Since I'm having a "me week" I figured I'd start thinking about 2014 goals.  I'm sure I should talk about last years goals, but I don't feel like rehashing 2013 just yet.  I think I need more time to reflect on the year.  For now, I'm ready to move on to 2014.

2014 goals

Family Goals-(If you read last years goals, these are basically the same.)

• Have at least one family adventure a month. (This was so much fun!)
• Have date night once a month.
• Help kids become more independent.
• Have family dinner every Sunday.
• Create recipe binder.
• Plan and prep meals for the week on Sunday.

Personal Goals

• Find out what foods are not helping my body and eliminate them from my diet. (unless it's wine.  Then I'll suffer.)
• Continue my strength/stretching from PT.
• Go to yoga once a week.
• Finish Boise in 6:30.  Last years finish was 7:16.
• Run and finish my first marathon with a smile.  
• Finish in the top 10 at Iron Girl Seattle. This might be tough, considering it will be in the middle of marathon training.  

What are your goals for 2014????  

False Start

Sunday I announced to the world (my friends on Facebook) that triathlon training started.  I changed my profile picture to my Boise finish.  I was ready to go.

I'm not sure what happened, but I haven't actually started training.  I mean, I got on my bike and rode for 45 min, but it felt horrible.  To be totally honest, I'm tired.  I'm not sure if it's the fact that I'm a week into Whole30 (more about that later), or if it's a post holiday hangover, or what.  Whatever it is, I'm tired and not ready to start.

I'm ok with this.  I'm going to give myself a week to relax and enjoy.  It's my first week alone in what seems like forever.  I'm going to do laundry, go to Costco, take a nap, swim,bike, run, relax, and enjoy my week alone.

Next week....I will be ready!

Compairison

I've been thinking about this a lot recently.  I think back to my first triathlon in 2004.  It was the Reebok Women's Sprint.  I knew nothing about triathlon and I didn't know anyone else who was doing one.

This was the finish.  You can't tell, but I was happy :)

 

My second season I added an Olympic distance.  This was INSANE for me at the time.  By 2005 I knew of a couple people who were doing Danskin. Friend of a friend kind of thing.  I didn't know anyone who had done an Olympic distance.  I was so freaked out about it, I saw a nutritionist.  I also stopped drinking before the race because I was worried about dehydration.  It was in Seattle.  Looking back, not much of a risk of dehydration :)  This was also my first co-ed race.  Super scary.

I went to a party after the race and told everyone about it.  They were shocked that I had done something so amazing (or at least they pretended to care).

Fast forward to 2013.  Thanks to Facebook, Twitter, and blogs, everyone I know does triathlons, runs marathons, does adventure races...You name it, I "know" someone who does it.  

Does this make my accomplishments any less amazing?  Sometimes it does.  I finished a half Ironman.  I should be thrilled.  Instead, I see people who use my BIG RACE as warm up.  I read about people who run 2 marathons in a weekend.  People who run ultra marathons.  

I joined this online world of endurance athletes to be inspired.  And don't get me wrong, I am inspired.  I have learned so much more is possible than I ever could have imagined.  But sometimes it gets to me.  I can't open my Facebook page on a weekend and not see at least 5 pictures of race medals. I can't look Daily Mile and not find someone who has logged insane mileage.  Sometimes it's too much.

I need to step back and be proud of what I've accomplished compared to when I started.  Not worry about what other people have accomplished.

Control

I recently discovered that I have control issues.  If you met me, I'm guessing you wouldn't think I was a control freak.  But  I kind of am.  I have a really hard time when things are beyond my control.  I feel all knotted up inside, like I can't breathe.  I've always been like this, but it's just recently been pointed out that it's a control thing.

With that said, I need to focus on what I can control;  how I handle situations. (Was that the appropriate use of a ; ? Should how be capitalized?  I need an editor. Or a 3rd grade teacher.)  I have decided I will survive these out of my control situations with courage, humor and grace.

• I will survive Pnut's crazy school/activity schedule, as well as her homework tantrums.  
• I will survive Little Dude's non-existent attention span.
• I will survive Brian's 100 hour work weeks. I hope he can also survive.
• I will survive physical therapy and get myself ready for Boise. Did I mention I registered?  I did.
• I will survive the lovely Seattle winter, although I'm not entirely sure how.

I am well aware that survive is a pretty strong word in relation to the things I mentioned, but when you're in the middle of it, it feels like survival.  When Pnut is on the floor crying because math is so boring. When Reilly needs to be told 100 times to put his shoes on. When I have to deal with all of this alone because Brian is always at work.  When all these things pile up, it feels like I'm trying to survive.

I have no control over other people's actions (although I REALLY wish I did), but I do have control over mine.  That's what I need to focus on.

Torn

If this is true, I am certainly a good mom.  I woke up this morning and couldn't believe the state of my house. That is saying something.  I am certainly no June Clever.  Things are always a little chaotic here.  But this summer has taken it to a new level. 

In Seattle, it's important to make the most of the summer.  Gray, raining days are just around the corner.  So, the kids and I have been making the most of our last days.  I have no time, or energy for cleaning.  

For all the "I must enjoy every minute of summer" talk, I'm starting to crave the routine of school. I'm looking forward to schedules, sweaters, and soup. And the new season of NCIS :)

We have 2 weeks until school starts. Two weeks of swimming pools, parks, staying up late(ish). Two weeks of nothing we HAVE to do.  Two weeks of lazy mornings.  I'm going to enjoy them, but I do need to do something about the laundry....or buy everyone more clothes.

Diet Mysteries

Recently, I haven't been thrilled with how I've been feeling, or looking.  It's not just about weight, although that certainly is part of it.  I am tired of being bloated and feeling tired.  I'm tired of having dark circles under my eyes.  Tired of feeling gross.  I have been eating gluten free for 6 months or so, but I still felt gross.  Clearly gluten isn't my issues, or isn't my only issue.

So a couple weeks ago I decided to give up grains, dairy and sugar.  Basically following a "Paleo" diet.  They first 3 days I wanted to punch someone in the face.  Really, I wanted to punch everyone who spoke to me or looked at me.  On day 4 I started to feel a lot better.  By the end of the week, I felt amazing.  The next week I decided I need my coffee (with a little milk and sugar).  But that was the only sugar or dairy I ate.  I still felt great.  The circles under my eyes were going away.  My stomach was flat.  My energy was back.  And I wasn't missing anything I wasn't eating. I was only missing the convenience of those foods.  I was eating way more veggies than I normally do, but my diet was basically the same every day.

Then came Little Dude's birthday celebration.  We had gluten free pizza and gluten free cake.  About 15 minutes after we ate, I felt horrible.  I had stomach cramps and wanted to curl up and climb in bed.  I was miserable.  The rest of that weekend wasn't great either.  I felt horrible the whole weekend.  Way worse than I felt before I stopped eating those foods.  Does your body get used to them?  Then when you take them away and add them back, it's that much worse?  I don't know.  All I know was the pizza, cake, beer and crackers weren't good enough to deal with the aftermath.  I would like to figure out what it is that makes me feel disgusting.

So here we are Monday morning. I go on vacation in 5 days.  Vacation has always been a time to be a little glutenous, but I don't want to feel like a bloated piece of poo on my vacation.  But how do you eat right on vacation?  This is a foreign concept to me.  I need to figure something out.

I also need a plan to discover the mystery of which food doesn't agree with me.  I'm hopeful that if I eliminate the common food allergies, then add them back one at a time, I should be able to find the culprit.  We shall see.

In other news...Irongirl is 13 days away.  My training is still non-existent.  I need to wrap my mind around the fact that this isn't going to be a "race".  It's going to be a swim/bike/run with 1000 other people.  And I need to be ok with that.  My physical therapy is going well.  Trying to get my butt, hips and legs stronger.  This is going to be my focus for the next 5 months.  I will try to get in some swim/bike/runs, but more than anything, I need to get stronger (and stretchier).