Day 17...

This would've been a bit better to post on Day 15, right??   Anyway, I'm halfway through the 30-Day Reset Diet portion of Chris Kresser's Your Personal Paleo Code  (sometimes easier to describe as a Whole 30).  I didn't want to be one of those people who posts everything I do and everything I eat, but I figured an update couldn't hurt..

It has been....   interesting.

I will say that Google and various Whole 30 forums have been my best friend. The initial transition wasn't bad. We don't eat gluten at all in our house (I already know I'm intolerant), and we're about 80% Paleo anyway. My co-worker decided to join me, and he had a miserable first three days because he was breaking the gluten/sugar addiction. I wish more people were properly prepared for this. There is of course a school of thought (I'm not going to tell you how to eat) that believe gluten is poison whether you're intolerant or not. It is proven fact that wheat/gluten spike your blood sugar worse than, well, actual sugar, and gluten and gliadin get into your blood and get into your brain. If you choose to give up wheat, understand your reasons, and be prepared for the process. You will go through actual withdrawals.

Anyway, back to Dear Husband and I... things started out fine. We have several Paleo recipes already, and many weren't hard to turn Whole 30. For example, my stuffed peppers..  just omit the butter and cheese!  I even managed to tweak my beef stroganoff recipe to make it Whole 30, served atop squash 'noodles'.  But, while my co-worker was admitting within a week that he felt better and had more energy, I was feeling, well, nothing. No reduction in bloat (in fact, a few painful bloat/gas issues), no extra energy, and I was crabby and blue.    I had one run where I felt like I had a much better energy reserve than normal, especially considering I've had to abandon pre-run fuel, but otherwise, nothing.

I was ranting to Dear Husband, as I am prone to do, and he mentioned that he too was feeling bummed out. Ok, off to Google I went!   After a few searches, I realized that we probably weren't eating enough carbs. We're obviously both active, and by eliminating white and red potatoes, we weren't getting in as many carbs as normal, partially because I really don't like sweet potatoes, and partially because, well, it's harder to get carbs in on strict Paleo!  Since then, I've made a point of including carbs at every meal, and I think we've both noticed an almost immediate difference.   I don't like sweet potatoes, but if you fry them in coconut oil for morning hash browns and actually get them crisp, they aren't bad. Our Costco has organic bananas, and they're almost always green, so I've made sure to have at least one per day, and we recently grabbed some plantains! I fried them the other night, then topped them with cinnamon and sugar. Tonight, we're going to try mashing them as part of this recipe from PaleOMG.  I do not believe Paleo automatically means low-carb, despite the odd association we've all made. But, on Whole 30, you definitely have to put a bit of thought into getting them. Here's a good carb source chart from Balanced Bites. We're active. We definitely need more than 100g of carbs each day, or our bodies don't have the fuel they need to support us, and we will suffer!

It took a while to figure out why I was still getting painful bloat, and I figured it out almost by chance. I thought maybe it was from eating raw broccoli, but then bloated painfully (and oh, the gas!  Yikes!!) on a day when I had no green veggies.   Well,  it's cherry season. I love cherries, especially Ranier. Costco had those too.  It took me exactly 3 days to down a 2 pound package. On a bit of a whim, I googled if cherries can cause gas. Lo and behold! A blog post with pages of comments about an obsessive love of cherries followed by an equal portion of GI distress. Two days of no cherries, two days of no issues. Bummer. Guess I just have to figure out the safe limit!

On the Whole (30, lol), I am glad I'm doing this. I imagine I never would've figured out the cherry thing if I wasn't, and I'm excited for Step 2, when you reintroduce foods and determine what works for you. I AM looking forward to having white potatoes again, which I don't think will be a problem for me.

In the last few days, I've noticed that I'm sleeping deeper, even if I still need to change some of my habits around sleep. I have energy on my runs despite no pre-run fuel, and the insane humidity. I'm making gains in the gym, and with the combined effort, I have noticed a few things fitting better, even if I can't see a change yet. I'm much less obsessed with food, which seems funny given how limited it is. I know that everything I'm putting in my body is good, and I no longer crave the bad things. I don't give a second thought to the office candy bowl.

Surprisingly, I haven't had a single craving or longing for dairy.  I looooooove cheese, so I honestly thought that would be my worst craving, but it's been pretty easy to walk past the dairy section when I'm out shopping. I am ready to have alcohol again, but also realizing the alcohol-socializing connection might be a bit strong. I don't see a problem in relaxing with a drink, or having wine with dinner, but I am seeing some interesting things in the frequency and reasons for my drinking. And hey, my skin is clearer, so I guess not drinking for a bit isn't a bad thing!   My strongest craving so far is for corn tortilla chips (hey, I said we were only 80% Paleo!) I'm not sure if this is a salt craving, or where it's rooted, but it is almost my only craving at this point. I know some people who think organic, non-GMO blue corn is fine. It'll be interesting to test corn in Step 2 and see if I can have it every now and then, or if I'm craving it because I'm breaking some unhealthy connection in my body...

I'll try to post a few recipes soon, and yes, I took before pictures, so I might share those eventually...

Cross Training The Husband's Way...

Day Two of Whole 30!!    (Remember, I'm actually doing Chris Kresser's Your Personal Paleo Code 30-Day Reset Diet... but it's easier to call it Whole 30 since that's more well known).

Day 1 was fairly easy, except the husband and I were both very hungry in the evening. I think we may have not planned in enough carbs and need to do a better job of incorporating them throughout the day. I'm not planning to share everything I eat, but if I come up with a great recipe, I will definitely share those!  For example... no idea how I originally found this, but here's the recipe I'll be using for dinner tonight... Mexican Shredded Beef ..  Real spices, no junk, and so good!

Today also officially kicked off training for marathon #2. Training techincally started yesterday with a rest day... today was Cross Training. I've given Dear Husband control over my cross training for at least the first half. This gives him Mondays and Wednesdays, and I said I'd lift Thursdays since Friday is CT/Rest and I plan to just do Yoga/Stretching.  I'll backtrack just a bit to let you know how terrifying today was...

I finished my first Wendler Cycle over the weekend by testing my one-rep max.. Bench didn't improve much, probably because I only really worked chest one day a week. Shoulder press I couldn't work because the weights we have are too heavy..  So here they are (May 6 / June 14):

Shoulder Press: 55 / 55

Bench Press: 70 / 80

Deadlift: 125 / 150

Squat: 80 / 115

Yup... 35 pound PR in squat!  I was not anticipating that... I hate squats and love Deadlifts.

So..  DH decided to roll right into another Wendler.  Today's workout:

Wendler Squats: 3x5+ at 65, 80, 90

3 Rounds, no rest: 15 second hollow hold, 15 second glute bridge

3 Rounds: 20 air squats, 15 lunges, 10 box jumps, 1 minute rest

Yes, you're reading that correctly...  my 'light' first week of Wendler exceeds my previous PR.  Ooof!  By the time I got to the first air squats, my legs didn't want to function!  Got it done, but tomorrow's 3 mile run should be an adventure!

The post-workout view... from flat on my back!

Ass-kicker!   But I not-so-secretly love box jumps..

The best thing about this morning though?  I planned ahead and made a frittata last night!  DH was headed to to the gym before work as well ( I always use our garage gym / the sidewalks for running), so I had to plan ahead a bit..   Super easy!  7 eggs mixed with 1/3 cup full fat coconut milk..   Browned and crumbled the sausage in a cast-iron pan, added red onion and 1 Tbsp coconut oil, let the onions cook a bit, then added the kale.  Once kale and onion were cooked, added the eggs, and popped it in the oven at 375 for about 10 minutes.   Boom!  Protein ready and waiting when the workout finished. 

Yummmmm....  See? Whole 30 is tasty!

Do you have any Whole 30 recipes, or great ways to stay fueled and hydrated while doing Whole 30??

Paleo Running...

As I write this, I am having a lovely breakfast of sausage, an egg friend in coconut oil, and sautéed kale. Yup, kale.   It's the current "it" food, and I have plenty at dinner, but breakfast?  And coconut oil? Never been a big fan..     So what's going on?

Well, I've obviously been discouraged. I've been dealing with adrenal fatigue. I've been trying to manage stress, but there are so many things that just plain bring me down lately.   I'm trying not to dwell on the negatives though, and in my efforts to take charge, I picked up a copy of Chris Kresser's "Your Personal Paleo Code".  The general idea behind this book is that one-size-fits-all-Paleo doesn't exist. It should be personalized to each person, and by paying attention, you can cure what ails ya through your diet.   (Ok, that was a gross oversimplification).

The plan begins with a 30-day Reset Diet. During this phase, you remove all the bad junk from your diet. Then in Phase 2, you add things back in and determine what is right for your body. So, for the next 30 days, no grains, no dairy, no legumes, no sugar, no processed foods, no alcohol.  It's very similar to doing a Whole 30.  I'm really hopeful that this will reset my body, help me heal my gut, and move forward feeling healthier.  Oh, and if it finally helps me drop a few pounds, that won't hurt either!

The interesting part will be that I start this on June 15. The same day I kick off training for marathon #2.

Some parts of this aren't a big deal. I don't think I have any runs so long in the first 30 days that I'll need fuel, and pre-run bananas are plenty compliant. I'm honestly most concerned about hydration.  I am a salty, salty sweater. Honestly, you can rub salt off my forehead after a warm weather run.  Right now I use Nuun, especially after a run.  (Protein powders are also not allowed during this 30 days for various reasons).  And I really hate the taste of coconut water. So I'm a bit stumped there.  While I think Nuun, Island Boost, and the protein powders we have  (my go-to fuel, hydration, recovery) are very 'clean', I don't think any are allowed for the next 30 days.   (Island Boost for example is a coconut water base, but has fructose and glucose...  no sugar allowed). I suppose I could try eating an orange mid-run if I really need fuel...

Any other Whole 30/strict Paleo runners out there?  What do you use to fuel, hydrate, and recover?