It starts with Food

So this lovely book arrived the other day and it’s the exact motivation I needed to start my 30 day challenge. Here is where I need to be honest though. I really want to start this tomorrow. I love starting something on the 1st and since it’s 30 days its perfect to end it the last day of September. BUT it’s labor day weekend and I’m going camping! It just seems more likely that starting it on Monday when I get back will just work better. Starting tomorrow though I have a whole30 state of mind. It will be my focus and I will try and stick to it the best I can meaning not having something I shouldn’t just because it’s there. Stick to snacky on healthy fruits and vegetables VS crackers and chips. I also plan on finishing the book by the time I’m done camping and doing doing my week 1 grocery shopping on Monday so I’ll be ready to start!

I plan on daily meals, moods, moments, feelings along the way. If it works like the book says it should notice a huge exciting change that I will want to share about. I’m doing this for me and way to have a record of how it went. I wish I had more than my memory to rely on when I did the juice cleanse cause I know I had so many ups and downs. And maybe just maybe i’ll be able to inspire a few people along the way. 🙂

By the way.. My birthday was FANTASTIC. Turning 25 has been the best birthday yet. I’ve enjoyed it all week long, but have been a bad girl living like i’m on vacation from working out and eating right. That is why after this weekend it’s bye bye social life and hello running shoes, gym and clean eating. It’s only 30 days.. and even scarier it’s on 72 days until the NYC Marathon! Yikes!!!!

Have a great Labor day weekend all.. I’ll see you guys Monday with day one of WHOLE30!

My birthday weekend!

I’m reporting from this beautiful place! I’m at suncadia resort for my birthday weekend and u couldn’t have chose a better place. It’s absolutely beautiful here and totally perfect for a runners/work out paradise. This morning I’m running to the fitness center where I’m going to do a cardio/kickboxing class and then after its laps in the pool and off to the spa. After the spa we are going to hike around the area before heading back.

The first day I’m here with my best friend and then later she is going home and boyfriend is meeting me for the last night. Feel so blessed and lucky that I have both these amazing people in my life and that I could experience this trip with the both of them.

My birthday is actually on Monday and I have planned the perfect day! I’m spending the whole day getting pampered at red door spa, then I’m seeing my friend at 7 Salon for a wash and style and meeting all my best girlfriends for happy hour at fun tai fung. I couldnt imagine a better more relaxing way to celebrate my 25th birthday.

What a complete 180 from the drunken debauchery that was my birthday weekend last year.

I hope you all get to enjoy your weekend like me.

[tag birthday, suncadia, spa, running, fitness, hiking, sunshine]

Whole30 Challenge

When I started this blog I was right in the middle of my 2nd juice cleanse and I wanted to use this blog to really talk about clean eating along with training for my first marathon and other tips and tricks I’ve found along the way. Eating Clean, Training Mean, & Living Lean. That is why I started this blog and I feel like for the last month, even though I haven’t been completely off track, I’ve had some definite cheat days along with just simply trying to figure out what’s best for my body and training which has lead me to the decision to try the Whole30 Program. I’m gluten intolerant and really shouldn’t have any gluten and yet I find myself sneaking gluten in a lot. I also have a major sweet tooth right now and have been enjoying way too much sugar. When I cleansed my body the first time and lived a plant-based lifestyle for more than 6 months I had never felt healthier, happier and more energy that I knew what to do with. My mind was always clear and I felt great. Lately, with all my cheats and trying to figure out what works for me, i’ve felt rundown, tired, depressed, anxious, heavy, and more. I believe that you can always find balance between the good and the bad, but for me it just works better when i’m focusing on the good and less on the bad. Summer is coming to and end and I thought it would be a perfect time to refresh.

The Whole30 Program is a whole-foods program based on Paleo diet. Here is a list of the don’t’s to give you a better idea of what the program looks like:

here’s what NOT to eat during the duration of your Whole30 program. Omitting all of these foods and beverages will help you regain your healthy metabolism, reduce systemic inflammation, and help you discover how these foods are truly impacting your health, fitness and quality of life.

• Do not consume added sugar of any kind, real or artificial. No maple syrup, honey, agave nectar, Splenda, Equal, Nutrasweet, xylitol, stevia, etc. Read your labels, because companies sneak sugar into products in ways you might not recognize.

• Do not consume alcohol, in any form, not even for cooking. (And it should go without saying, but no tobacco products of any sort, either.)

• Do not eat grains. This includes (but is not limited to) wheat, rye, barley, oats, corn, rice, millet, bulgur, sorghum, amaranth, buckwheat, sprouted grains and all of those gluten-free pseudo-grains like quinoa. Yes, we said corn… for the purposes of this program, corn is a grain! This also includes all the ways we add wheat, corn and rice into our foods in the form of bran, germ, starch and so on. Again, read your labels.

• Do not eat legumes. This includes beans of all kinds (black, red, pinto, navy, white, kidney, lima, fava, etc.), peas, chickpeas, lentils, and peanuts. No peanut butter, either. This also includes all forms of soy – soy sauce, miso, tofu, tempeh, edamame, and all the ways we sneak soy into foods (like lecithin).

• Do not eat dairy. This includes cow, goat or sheep’s milk products such as cream, cheese (hard or soft), kefir, yogurt (even Greek), and sour cream… with the exception of clarified butter or ghee. (See below for details.)

• Do not consume carrageenan, MSG or sulfites. If these ingredients appear in any form on the label of your processed food or beverage, it’s out for the Whole30.

• Do not eat white potatoes. This is somewhat arbitrary, but if we are trying to change your habits and improve the hormonal impact of your food choices, it’s best to leave white, red, purple, Yukon gold and fingerling potatoes off your plate.

In addition, no Paleo-ifying dessert or junk food choices. Trying to shove your old, unhealthy diet into a shiny new Whole30 mold will ruin your program faster than you can say, “Paleo pizza.”  This means no desserts or junk food made with “approved” ingredients—no coconut-flour pancakes, almond-flour muffins, flourless brownies, or coconut milk ice cream. Don’t try to replicate junk food during your 30 days! That misses the point of the Whole30 entirely.

I have not decided how much meat protein i’ll bring back in my diet, but what I’ve learned over the last few months of eating a vegetarian based diet is that I don’t want that foundation to change at all. I will still stick to eating mainly fish for more protien, so more of a pescetarian than a vegetarian, but with allowing the occasional egg whites before long runs and staying away from other dairy and soy products. I think this challenge is actually going to work for me and be the best for my body and mind and something I can easily make into a lifestyle change, not just 30 days.

I’ll be beginning the program on Sept. 3rd. (I would like to start on the 1st and probably still will, but for some reason i really like monday’s as my start date to anything). I’ll be recording my journey along the way. Letting you know things that work and my struggles. If there is anyone who wants to join me please leave me a comment below. Like I’ve mentioned before.. I want to use this blog to help motivate others to live a clean healthy lifestyly. And even though we all have days we get off track, it’s my goal to you to lead my example. 

Made it through the weekend… Barely!

It’s monday already.. what a weekend!

Friday night I baby’d my foot, lots of ice, foam rolling and massage. I wanted to get to bed early for the run on saturday, but I couldnt sleep. I tossed and turned for most of the night and ended up only getting a couple of hours sleep.

Saturday..race day! I was sleepy, but had an hour drive to Woodinville so plenty of time to wake up and get ready for the race. I showed up about 45mins early, was able to stretch and get ready for the race. Well I beat my goal for the race, but I’m not totally happy about it because I could have done so much better. I started WAY TO FAST.. was keeping up with the top 3 females until about mile 3 at a 6 min mile! I realized I was going to fast and slowed way down. I was mad at myself at that point because people were starting to pass me and I knew I might be screwed for starting so fast. I was praying I wouldn’t hit a wall. I’ve read so many articles about “bonking” and not being able to finish because they start out too fast. I experienced that at mile 4. I’m not sure what happened and I still am doing research to figure it out. I got the worst side ache on my right side. Right under my rib.. it still hurts too touch and after I eat I can notice it. I tried so hard to push through it, but a little into the 4 miles it became unbearable. I stopped and bent over for about 10-15 seconds, just long enough to catch my breath and tell myself you can do it. I didn’t want any of my co workers to catch up with me so it was just the motivation I needed to finish. I got through the rest of the race at about 7:30 pace and finished in 48:52! beat my last time by a whole 5 mins.. if only I wouldnt have “bonked” i probably could have finished in 47. By the way those girls I was trying to keep up with finished in 39 and 40 mins.. SO FAST! Such an inspiration! For the rest of the day I enjoyed a nice wedding and reception. Accidentally caught the bouquet.. not sure what that’s telling me 😉

Here’s a couple cute pics from the wedding.

Sunday.. Was the day of the SUPER CHALLENGE.. 9 miles total with 5 challenges along the way. These were hard challenges including: push ups, burpees, mountain climbers, abs, kick boxing, etc. By the time I crossed the finish line I was starving and exhausted. I spent the rest of the afternoon floating down the snoqualmie river.

It was a great, but totally exhausting weekend.

working hard and playing hard.

So I skipped my thursday run because my foot was still not ready and opted for just doing bodypump. I pushed myself and did more weight than I normally do though and it felt great. I can tell that I’m getting stronger. My legs didnt get as tired in squats and I almost made it through the entire bicep track without stopping! By the way not going to go into details, but I did “legs & calves” on wednesday night and I have never ever done used any of the machines at my gym and lets just say it was comical to say the least. Couldn’t figure out the right weights to use and didn’t feel like I was doing anything. Finally gave up, talked to one of the trainers so i’ll know what to do next time and opted for abs instead.

Last night after bodypump I spent the majority of my evening rolling out my foot with a tennis ball, cold beer can, icing it and then finished with my man giving me a deep tissue massage which hurt like hell, but really broke through some of the scar tissue. It felt pretty good when I woke up this morning so I decided to go for a “practice” run of 3 miles since I have to races this weekend. I kept a pretty fast pace for all 3 miles.. averages about 8mins, last mile doing in 6. My foot felt good for the first 2 miles and then really started to hurt during the last mile. So again tonight I’ll be repeating last nights activities and then praying and hoping I can get through the Covey 10k race tomorrow.

I signed up for 2 races this weekend. The Covey 10k and The Rac to Redhook Super Challenge. I’m super excited for both, but also super nervous my foot won’t corporate. The 10k tomorrow is a super flat course and I really wanted to push myself and see if I couldnt get my best time yet. My last 10k I ran in 53 mins and puked at the finish line so even if I could finish in 53mins and not puke at the finish line that would be doing better than the last time. The rac to redhook super challenge should be a run way to challenge myself. it’s 4.5miles one way and then you meet up with the rest of the group and run the same route back only with challenges at every mile. So I won’t be timing myself for this run, more just challenging my body and strength.

On top of both the races I have a wedding to go to and a river floating trip for a friends birthday. It’s going to be a fun/hot/busy weekend! Hopefully I remember to hydrate!

Wish me luck, i’m going to need it! 🙂