There's that damn 4 letter word again...

Diet

One of my least favorite words. Tell me I’m not allowed to eat something, and it suddenly becomes what I want most. Don’t mention it and I probably won’t have much interest in it. I remember being told not to drink while pregnant. I’ve never been a big drinker, and much of the time I didn’t feel like having it, but damn, it pissed me off to be told ‘no’! It still does. Maybe I should start a blog about that – I’ll call it “You’re Not the Boss of Me” – ramblings of a woman who is, apparently, 12. (go for it girl!)

I’ve always eaten in a pretty healthful way. My mother understood the concept of moderate fat and sugar content, the need to avoid over processed, chemical-laden foods, and the benefits of a varied diet way before it gained national attention. Luckily for me, I actually took those habits with me into adulthood. Sure, I love onion rings, garlic bread and sweet stuff as much as anyone. But I have them on occasion, not habitually. One habit I’ve been working on for a little over a year is eating a decent breakfast. I don’t feel like eating when I get up, so I usually keep something in my desk at work. Kashi has a great hot cereal that’s whole grain, very low sugar, and I usually have that with a banana or berries sliced into it. That’s also what I eat for breakfast before any major training walk.

Weekend before last though, I really didn’t feel like having oatmeal. So I went for a couple of pieces of sourdough toast. I met up with Nathalie in Los Gatos, and we did just over 11 miles. Because I tend to feel the effects of low blood sugar, I keep an energy bar (whole grain, high fiber & carbs) with me, as well as a couple of packets of Gu. And I bring a bottle of half-strength sports drink. That morning, I drank all of that, went through 2 packets of Gu and still got weak and shaky before we were half-done with our walk. Luckily I had that bar on me, I felt better shortly after eating it, and was able to make it back to the car.

This past Saturday, I went back to the whole grain oatmeal, and we got an early start on our walk. The plan was to do 15 miles, trying to mimic what we’d be doing on the big walk; we’d stop to rest (not just for the bathrooms), eat a little, stretch periodically, etc. It went really well! I had no need at all for the Gu or snack bar, and had a lot of energy the entire time. We noticed that after 12 miles – the length of our longest walk to date – we were moving faster and better than we had when we did that distance the first time. The best part was that even though we were hot and tired after 15, we could have kept going! I’m attributing at least part of that to breakfast. The day I had more processed foods (even though they were all natural with no preservatives), I burned through them more quickly and my body needed more fuel earlier. Saturday I ate whole grain and whole fruit (ok, I did chew), and was able to maintain energy. Lesson learned. I think I’m going to do some research on how to eat the week prior to expending major energy.

So my plan was to walk again on Sunday. I was wiped out after the Saturday walk, but after a hot bath and then soaking my feet in ice water that night, I felt pretty good, and thought I’d go anywhere from 5-7 miles on the flats near my house the next day. But as Sunday progressed I ended up with a fever, so I didn’t walk at all. Bummer. Maybe if someone had told me I wasn’t allowed to walk I’d have found the energy to do it anyway. Because obviously, I am 12.

Hey – less than $850 to raise before I hit my personal fundraising goal! How do you like them apples?!


Rachel

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It's tough eating the right things for your body. But you are doing the right thing in listening to it. It knows what it needs.

Many needs have been filled here at Casa de Chaos, and alas, many needs have been ignored. There has been knitting, there has been b-day party taxi service, there has been getting down and dirty with Rhett (and yes Stephieface our love toy is very dirrrrrty), and there has been quiet reading time.

I'll leave all the needs that have been ignored to your imaginations dear readers...

This Friday, I have the day off. I'm looking forward to it - sick as that will sound. I'm looking forward to sleeping in, having my yearly Mammo (3 months late), and then just chilling back at the Casa until I have to pick up Spencer. Then the madness starts all over again. I hope during my afternoon chill time I'll be able to get some beading done. I have some very special projects to work on for some very special contest winners...

I have lots of posts rambling about in my head that need to be written up and posted. Someday I'll get to that too...