Week 2

I finished up week 2. Well, sorta. My goal was to eat the whole 30 diet. Granted the Whole 30 is very extreme, and I have been following very close, but not exactly what is in the guidelines. For example, I eat canned vegetables with citric acid in them. That is not whole 30. This thinking that I have been doing almost the Whole 30, but not exactly has had it's downfall. I broke down on Saturday and ate at a Whataburger. I ordered a chicken sandwich and fries. Funny thing, I could not eat the bun for the sandwich. I did not like the taste. It was too sweet. Weird! I have eaten so many of those sandwiches, but my taste buds are already changing. The fries however, were delicious. I did feel extremely full afterwards. It was not a good feeling. Back on track in the morning, but again Josh and I ordered out Sunday afternoon. I had chicken and shrimp from Cheddars with mash potatoes and a salad. Def not whole 30. Still getting some good protein, but again I ate potatoes and some non natural sugar and bad fat. The entire week up until Saturday night Josh and I ate just like the week before. It wasn't until the weekend that we stopped.

Last week I also incorporated working out with my new food routine.
Here is what I did last week:

Monday:
4 X 25 Air squats
4X 20 lunges
4X 20 push ups
4 sets of jump rope for 2 minutes each
4 X 10 of V-ups

Tuesday:
p-90 X Yoga ( I made it through about 50 minutes. The whole workout is 1:30 min.)

Wednesday:
NINJA WORKOUT
1. 20 push ups
2. superman for 30 sec
3. v-ups X 20
4. Planks (front, right, and left) 20 seconds each
5. L- overs (back on the ground arms out. Legs straight in the air, push legs down to the right and back to the left) X 20
6. Crunches X 30
7. 1 leg bridge. (sitting down, 1 leg straight, other leg bent, push off that leg to make body into a table, up and down. 20 times then switch legs)
8. 20 Air squats
9. 20 Rocket jumps

Side kick series (pilates). Will go into more detail about this later.

Thursday:
Off

Friday:
3 sets of
20 push ups
20 band rows
20 kettle bell swings
completed as fast as I can.

Exercise ball core work (more detail later)

Saturday:
I played in a volleyball tournament. 4 matches (ouch...and why I wanted Whataburger.)

Sunday: Off
Monday: Short walk and stretches. Still so sore.

Tuesday's Stats:
Weight: 152 (same as last week)
Body Fat Percentage: 16.9! Yeah!

I don't ever really care about my weight but as long as that body fat percentage is going down, I am a happy camper. The challenge for this week will be to eat the same as the past two weeks, now that I have broken the cycle. Must stay motivated! Here we go week 3!

Whole 30 once again

Everyone has their New Year resolution, and I am no different. I have already attempted this once, and stopped due to my marathon training. By the way I ran my marathon! Josh and I finished in 5 hours and 13 minutes. Not the best time, but considering the conditions, I’ll take it. Josh was awesome and ran with me the entire time. He could have finished faster; I am sure. It was raining every single minute of the race except for about 10 minutes in the beginning. It was cold! In fact the next day it snowed in Dallas. So despite the rain and cold, and the fact that I had come down with a cold of my own that Friday before, I am very pleased to have completed the marathon. It wasn’t too bad for the most part. At about mile 19 I wanted to quit, and I continued wanting to quit until mile 24. After that, it wasn’t too bad. I wish I had trained a little harder in the last month. I stopped doing my long runs at mile 16. Looking back I should have continued into at least the 19-20 mile range. I cannot explain the feeling when we finished. I was excited and happy, but I think most of all relieved that we had finished. We could barely move the rest of the day or the next. Muscles were very sore. I ended up with a stress fracture in my left foot and blisters, but no serious injuries. I am super glad we finished.
Also, along with running the marathon, thanks to my friends and family, we raised $580 for the Texas Scottish Rite Children’s Hospital. So awesome! Thanks to everyone for your support!
Now, back to the New Year resolution… Whole 30 time! I have already started. I am in my 5th day. I am keeping a food log so if you would like to follow what I eat and my progress, you can do so. If you read my previous blogs you can find out more about the whole 30. It is a 30 day challenge to change the way your brain and body think about food. It goes into a lot of detail about inflammation and insulin levels, but I will let you read the Whole9 website to catch up on that.
Basic things you get to eat:
Protein- Grass Fed Beef, chicken, eggs, pork, ruminants, etc. (the expensive organic but more importantly GRASS FED animals)
Vegetables: Any and all veggies. (I have to eat a ton of them!) However, corn is not a veggie in this case. Neither are white potatoes. Sweet potatoes are, but not the white potatoes.
Fruit: I get to eat fruit which is awesome because I love it! The servings are much smaller, and I am supposed to eat them much less often because of all the natural sugar.
With the fruits and veggies it is important to make sure that I am eating more nutrient rich foods. So like kale, spinach, and blueberries are better than eating a banana and celery. That does not mean that I am not going to eat celery and bananas, it just means I have to make sure I balance everything out.
And finally fat. Yes, I said FAT! However, it is only certain kinds of fat. For example, olive oil, coconut oil, sunbutter, and avocado are good fats that I can eat. Also certain kinds of nuts like macadamia nuts, pecans, and pistachios are okay to eat. Any form of peanut or peanut butter is not. L Again, some fats are much better to consume and therefore I can eat more of them.
And there you have it. That is what I will be eating for the next 30 days. No grains, no dairy, no processed sugar or foods. You can count them out. I will try to blog every week and show you my progress. So far I haven’t been very consistent with this blog, but I am going to try.

Day 1 Whole 30
2 hardboiled eggs
cutie
spinach, romaine salad w/
chicken, cucumbers, pecans
tomatoes w/ oil & vinegar
grilled chicken breast
grilled sweet potatoes
grilled pineapple

How I feel: Feeling okay about my choice to do the whole 30. Excited, but at the same time I keep thinking about all the foods I am going to miss. Pizza, chick-fil-a, chips and queso are just a few.

Took my weight and measured my body fat with a machine we have at school in the morning of Day 2. Weighed in at 158lbs with a 20.2 % body fat reading.
Day 2
spinach, tomato, onion 2 egg omelet
banana
apple
pistachios
grilled chicken breast
celery and sunbutter
spaghetti squash spaghetti w/
Marinara
(crushed tomatoes, chopped zucchini, onion,
basil, oregano, thyme, pepper, salt, ground beef)

How I feel: I don’t want to do this anymore. I want some cheese in my omelet and some chips with my grilled chicken. Celery stinks. But Josh told me to grow up, and he’s doing this with me, so I may as well give it a week and then see if I want to do it any longer. I did work out today for a little bit. Did some jump rope, triceps extensions, leg kicks, and air squats.

Day 3
2 hardboiled eggs
banana
dried fruit
3 grilled chicken tenders, sliced cucumbers, grape tomatoes,
strawberries, mango pico, 1/2 avocado
1/4 lb. oven roasted turkey slices
pineapple, apple, and strawberry slices, grapes
banana

How I feel: Well, today was the first day of routine with kids at work. It was actually a little easier than I thought it would be. When I don’t have to think about what I don’t get to eat, it is not as bad. I also had club volleyball practice in the afternoon, so I stayed pretty busy. I did not work out today. I have been pretty tired. I got really hungry at about 4:00. I stopped at HEB to pick up some Central Market all natural oven roasted turkey from the Deli and some fresh fruit to cure my appetite. It worked.

Day 4
2 hardboiled eggs
banana
pistachios
dried fruit
spinach leaves/grape tomatoes
turkey
celery and sunbutter
oven roasted turkey
banana
apple
guacamole

How I feel: Another busy day today. It was a regular school day plus basketball game day. I felt a little jealous that the other coaches could eat Chex Mix and tamales and I could not. At the same time, I felt a little accomplished that I had resisted temptation. I also have been drinking much more water! That is awesome, and not consciously. I just get thirsty. I always make sure to filll up my Nalgene. Exhausted when I got home, but that is pretty normal for a game day. I feel less bloated, and am starting to get into the idea of doing this for a month.

Day 5
1 hard boiled egg
banana
cucumber slices
pistachios
oven roasted turkey slices
salad/spinach/Romain/grape tomatoes
cucumber slices
carrots
guacamole
apple sauce
apple
baked chicken
guacamole

How I feel: Today was a pretty easy day. I was pretty tired after work this afternoon. Josh and I were not in the mood to make a whole lot of food. We ended up going to the store and bought a baked chicken. It is not quite Whole 30 appropriate due to some whey, but it was real close. Josh also made mayonnaise from the Whole 30 book we have as well as BBQ sauce. The BBQ sauce is mostly tomato, but the mayo tasted alright. The sauces will come in handy the next couple of days. This whole thing is getting easier, but it does take a lot of preparation. I feel like I cook and wash dishes a million times a day. Okay, maybe that is an exaggeration, but you get the point.

Day 6
2 egg omelet w/ spinach, tomatoes, and onion
3 turkey sausage links
3 strawberries
carnitas w/whole 30 bbq sauce in lettuce wraps
deviled eggs (whole 30 style)
carrots
banana
Turkey slices
Pistachios

How I feel: Well, I was coaching my club volleyball kids most of the day, so there was not really the opportunity to even think about food. Josh and I packed a cooler of goodies to eat (and by goodies I mean some Whole 30 deviled eggs, celery and Sunbutter, and some turkey slices and carrots.) I was so proud of myself because I was given a cup of hot chocolate and did not drink it. I think it is a good thing to be proud of little accomplishments. I don’t think I ate enough today, and I am getting less and less hungry.

Day 7
scrambled eggs
turkey sausage
deviled eggs
cutie
lettuce turkey wrap w/ whole 3o mayo
chicken salad w/ whole 30 mayo
sweet potato fries

How I feel: I had another volleyball tournament today. I had even less time to eat, but dinner was awesome. Josh and I were so tempted to just say forget it and order a pizza, but then reevaluated the situation and realized neither one of us really wanted to do that. It is getting easier. I craved bread today. Like really wanted a soft pretzel, but I can have one after this is over. I am really going to do this.

After the end of week one:
Weight is 152, I lost 6 pounds.
Body fat % is 18.1 = 2.1 % loss.
Next week I am starting to add working out to the list. It’s go time.

Well, good news and bad news. Good news is that I think the Whole 30 is awesome. Bad news is that I now know I will not be able to continue on the Whole 30 while training for my marathon.
Let’s start off with the good part. I know you are not supposed to weigh yourself at all during your time on the whole 30, but I was just curious to see how it was affecting my body. Remember, I started on last Monday, October 17th. On Saturday morning I weighed myself. I had lost 7 pounds. Josh weighed himself on that Friday and he had lost 8 pounds. As for my body fat percentage, I measured it again today. (I have an awesome electronic machine to do this at school.) It read 16.9 percent. Talk about some quick results. Let me remind you that we were eating as much as we wanted. We were just eating food that was nutrient rich and not the processed food and sugar our taste buds love. We used the recipes we bought from the Whole9 website. Paleo Pad Thai was a favorite. I will eat that now it was so good. I also found out that I love spaghetti squash! It is an awesome alternative to noodles. The thing is you have to get creative with your meals. I can tell you for someone who loves eggs that I could go a few days without them.
My weight dropped, body fat percentage dropped, and I felt pretty good. Now, here is the reason why I am not going to continue Whole 30 as of this moment. Josh and I ran in the Houston Half Marathon this Sunday. I was really looking forward to it because I have trained the most for this race, more so than my other halves because of my marathon training. I mean I have been running 14 and 16 miles for my long runs. So 13.1 should have been a piece of cake. Well, it wasn’t. It was probably one of the most miserable runs that I have run in a very long time. I usually enjoy the race, but not Sunday. I felt so bad for Josh because this was his first race and he had to stop a lot for me. He was very sweet. I simply did not have enough energy, not enough fuel to keep me going for that distance. Maybe I wasn’t eating enough or drinking enough. I am not sure, all I know is that I know my body and it was not happy with me one bit. My past two halves have been a little under 2 hours and one just over it. My time this race was about 40 minutes slower than before.
So with that being said, I have decided to postpone my Whole30 until January. I am kind of bummed, but I know it is okay. In fact in the FAQ section for the Whole30 it does caution you that if you are training for your first marathon you might struggle a bit. I struggled tons. So marathon training trumps Whole 30 for now. I’ll keep you updated on how training is going!

It has started! Whole 30 time! I would have put a few more exclamation points after that on Monday when I started. It is now day 4 and I am missing my comfort food. You know I never realized how many commercials on TV were for food. Did you know KFC came out with a new mashed potato bowl? And they added bacon?!! Come on now. You are killing me.
In all reality it has not been that hard. I've been preparing and planning my meals. The hardest part is not thinking about all the food I do not get to eat. Also, not loving vegetables already has been quite a challenge, since most of my meal is supposed to be vegetables. I am learning interesting ways to incorporate them into my meals. I eat a lot of spinach. It is pretty easy to eat that with almost everything. It is a lot of mental games. For now I am winning, but I hope it gets easier. I took my stats body weight, height, body fat percentage. I've never really cared about my weight, but I am interested in my body fat %. I started off at 18.8 % which is about average.I am interested in seeing the difference in results after the whole 30 is over.
As far as my running I ran the longest run ever , 16 miles, on Sunday. Yuck... let's just say that it was not the most fun run ever. But I did it, which is the important part. I may have walked more than I wanted, but I can improve. Josh, Ashley, and I are running the Houston 1/2 this weekend. I am really looking forward to that. It feels weird to say that my long run this week will only be 13.1 miles. Totally different outlook after running 14 and 16 miles. Plus, race days are fun!
I am still raising money for The Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children. I am getting closer to my goal of $500 dollars. Please scroll down to my other posts to find the link to donate and read a little bit more about it.

Cramming? I think so.

I officially ran for the longest amount of time ever in my life on this past Saturday. I did okay for the most part. My knees bothered me most during my run, but today they feel fine. It was also a very muggy day, so that did not make for the best running weather, but the important thing is that I got out there and did it. Just under 14 miles, completed. It is pretty hard to imagine right now, that I have another one of those runs to complete on top of what I just finished. People said that training was the hardest part, and I believe them. Right now, I am praying for some cooler weather. It makes running so much easier.

As far as preparing for the Whole 3o, this weekend was not good. Breads, fried foods, fries, ice cream, you name it, I ate it. And this morning breakfast was served at work so I ate hash brown casseroles, kolaches, egg casseroles, biscuits. Am I cramming before next week? It would appear so. However, I really do feel a difference when I eat better. I have a lot more energy, and I don't feel like well, "Blah." I felt pretty "Blah" all weekend. Here is what I have found to be one of the key factors to eating well. If I don't prepare for my meals, I will eat whatever I can. And that most likely will not be Whole 30 approved. When I plan out what I will eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and actually prepare most of it in advance, it is easy to stay on track. This is going to take a lot of effort, but I really do think I can do it. Josh and I bought The WHOLE30 Made Simple 2011 Edition manual from the Whole9 website. It is basically an 85 page book that has information about what we learned in the conference and awesome tips on how to do the Whole30 and awesome recipes! If you are seriously going to take on the Whole30 with us or on your own, I would recommend getting yourself a copy.

I finished the book Heaven is for Real. I love it. Seriously, if you have some time, pick up a copy. It is a quick read, but very good.
Short post for today. Busy week ahead, I will try to keep you updated.
Great news! I am over halfway of reaching my goal of raising $500! Still collecting donations if it is something you would like to support!
Donate
Check out my previous posts for details. Have a great day!

I am slowly trying to work my way to be Whole 30 ready. I have been consciously cutting out grains and eating more vegetables. I still am drinking my coffee with half and half and Stevia, but you know it's not whole 30 time yet. I can already tell though that the diet change is having an effect. I am not as tired, with less caffeine. I used to drink Coke Zero at lunch almost every day because I get that half day tiredness. Now, I don't drink it at all. Here is an example of my diet for one day this week.

Breakfast is an egg and banana with coffee. I am not all that hungry in the mornings due to my coffee. Lunch is 2 or 3 hard boil eggs, some celery and carrots, and some pistachios. Sometimes I will eat a salad. For dinner, which is my favorite is usually some sort of protein, veggies, fruit and avocado. For example: chicken, orange slices, broccoli and onions, and avocado. And for someone who doesn't particularly like veggies, I have found out how to season the heck out of 'em and the chicken for it to taste awesome. Now, I wish I could say this was all I was eating, but I can't. I made cookies last weekend to try and get rid of them before the whole 3o. :) I eat at least two everyday. Annnnd yesterday I had a cupcake. That will be my main struggle I think is cutting out the sweet stuff because I still crave it. But I still have a couple more weeks to prepare myself.

Running wise, it's still going pretty well. Ran 4.5 miles on Monday. It was a pretty tough run, I think because I was still a little sore from Saturday's run. The weather is awesome!!!!! Finally, get to run in 80 degree weather instead of 90. I usually find it easier to run in the mornings, but on days when it feels this good outside it is just too good to pass up running in the afternoon. I'm going for a nice afternoon run today. My running plan calls for 6 miles. I find that the hardest part of running, going to work out at the gym, or attending a workout class is just getting there. How many times do I plan to work out that day, but then I am too tired or too busy? Josh gave me some good advice last summer. He said if you don't feel like running that day, just commit to taking a walk at the park. Chances are that you will end up ready to run once you get out there. It's so true, just getting out there is half the battle. I'm learning to stop making excuses for myself. If I want to get better, I have to just do it. Sometimes it takes a lot of self motivation, and other times I am motivated by someone else or something I watch. Just do what you have to in order to get yourself out there.

In other news, I am reading a wonderful book called Heaven is for Real by Todd Burpo with Lynn Vincent. My dear friend Jena gave it to me for my birthday. (By the way you should check out her blog, she sells some really amazing things. It's called Sweet Tea.) I am about half way through and have already teared up several times. Sometimes I read, hear, or watch things that just make an immediate impact. This is one of those books. If you are looking for something to read I suggest it. The book is about a little boy and his family and a near death experience for the little boy. The last part of the book I read, before I made myself go to sleep really hit me.

" 'I tell you the truth,' Jesus said, 'unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.' Whoever humbles himself like this child... What is childlike humility? It's not the lack of intelligence, but the lack of guile. The lack of agenda. It's that precious fleeting of time before we have accumulated enough pride or position to care what other people might think. The same un-self-conscious honesty that enables a three-year-old to splash joyfully in a rain puddle, or point out loudly that you have a booger hanging out of your nose, is what is required to enter heaven. It is the opposite of ignorance-- it is intellectual honesty: to be willing to accept reality and to call things what they are even when it is hard. "---Heaven is For Real

I am looking forward to continuing reading this. It's one of those where I get goosebumps all the time. :)

Still collecting donations for Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children. Check out the link, and donate if you can spare it. Trying to reach a goal of $500 dollars. At $100 right now, and I could use your help.

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Help me raise money for The Scottish Rite Hospital for Children.

You can be a part of something great! Please take a look at my last post and watch the Dateline report on Cody. The Scottish Rite Hospital does some amazing things for children as amazing as this young man. I showed this clip to my PE classes this year, and I gaurantee it had an impact on them. I hope it has the same impact on you. If you can spare even $5, it would be ever so appreciated. Let's raise some money!



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