The Break

Well hello everyone.  Its been a few months since my last post.  Here is an update from March.  The half marathon took quite a bit out of me.  I moved the following weekend (fun) to an awesome place downtown.  The view is amazing.  I started to ease my way back into going to Orangetheory Fitness (OTF) just a couple of times a week.  At one point I may have pushed myself a little bit too far.  I ended up having this pain in my hip.  Being the girl who doesn't like to go to the doctor unless I just can't stand it, I sat out for about a month and a half nursing this hip pain.  I finally went to a chiropractor and got adjusted.  I was still hurting after that.  About a week or two later the pain was gone.  Now I'm feeling so much better and ready to go full fledged back into the gym.

While I was on my break I managed to make a few trips to Tampa and retrieved my kayak and my broken bike.  My kayak is currently stuck on my balcony of my new place.  Its going to be fun trying to get this sucker down to actually use it.  My bike on the other hand had a little bit of damage due to some construction and got a new seat.  I also got to move around my new city via trolly, metro mover, and bus.  Lets face it, when you are home and you don't want to drive in traffic and everything is within walking distance or someone else will drive you, you end up taking it.  I found a world of beer not too far from my house and went up there to watch the Tampa Bay Lightning kick some major ass.  For the most part I stuck to my "diet", real whole foods.  I've even managed to come up with a cool snack that is super yummy.  Everyone at work loved it!  I made 2 batches to last a whole week, it didn't last past Wednesday.

During this timeout from OTF, I have not lost any more weight.  I've more or less maintained where I was.  The lesson I've learned here is your food provides you energy to make it through the day.  If you are eating rich healthy foods, you won't gain weight.  You will maintain where you are if you are not doing anything else to drop the pounds.  So you can't just eat the foods I'm suggesting and expect to drop 50lbs.  You still have to work for it.  Anything worth it isn't always easy.

So this break from the gym has officially come to an end.  My hip is doing great, and I'm eating just as I have for the past 11 months.  This will be my first full week back at OTF.  Lets see how much more I can drop.

Protein

Lets go back to the basics on this topic.  Once upon a time man made fire, killed an animal, cooked it, and ate it.  That animal lived a normal natural life.  Ate what it wanted and lived the way it was supposed to.  A natural healthy animal without antibiotics, hormones, no lifestyle un-natural for each animal.  Supply and demand came along and people started cutting corners, feeding animals things not naturally in their diet just to fatten them up faster.  Fast forward to this day and age, and you have kids that grow up way too fast.  Antibiotics don't work as well as they used to, causing people to get sick and not able to get better.  Let along the other ailments the population has because of the way the animals today are raised.

This all being said, I choose to eat grass fed organic beef.  This means the cow eats a diet they naturally would eat.  They get antibiotics when they are sick, not because they are cows.  They live a peaceful happy life.  This produces a leaner, healthier meat that tastes amazing.

I talk about eggs a lot on my Facebook page.  There could be a whole post about the different eggs found at the local grocery store.  I found so many different pages talking about the mistreatment of chickens that its disgusting.  Here is one link that talks about what the different cartons of eggs really mean.  Personally, when I shop for eggs, I look for a local farm that is willing to let me come see how the chickens live.  They should have a chicken coop that is elevated, and access to walk down and around a yard to peck at the ground.  Chickens love bugs!  A natural healthy chicken produces an egg that when you crack it open the yoke is orange and the whites are crystal clear.  These eggs come in all sorts of different colors.  The only reason you see white eggs at the store is because they wash them and bleach them.  Did you know that you can leave eggs on your counter for up to 4 weeks before having to put them in the fridge?  My eggs don't last that long, but as long as you don't wash them you can leave them on the counter for 4 weeks!  Being the working girl that I am, I eat 2 eggs every morning.  Because of time, I wash my eggs when I bring them home and stick them in the fridge.  Once you wash them you took that 4 week timeframe away and they need to go directly into the fridge.  Like I said, my eggs don't last long in my house.

Poultry, if you are eating birds, this is for you.  They said you should eat a lot of chicken and you can lose weight.  Well my friends guess what.  I'm not a fan of chicken.  Whats the point?  If everything tastes like it, then why waste your time?  I've also had food poisoning a few time from potluck chicken and I'm just not a huge fan of the stuff.  For Thanksgiving, I'll choose the turkey over the ham.  Ham is just gross.  Here are a few things about chicken that the super markets don't want you to know. 

Like fish?  Yes please!!!  Growing up I had an iron deficiency.  Its still kinda on the low side, however eating more fish has made a big improvement.  But does it really matter where you get fish from?  Of course it does!!!  I don't think I need to discuss the difference between farmed fish and fresh fish do I?  Lets just sum it up with farmed is just as bad as eating any other animal that has had processed food and chemicals dumped into it.  The color is not as bright and the taste is no where near as good as fresh.  But there is also a difference as to where the fish is caught.  Remember that oil spill we had a few years ago in the Gulf?  Well I have reason to believe that the chemicals dumped into the Gulf did more damage than the oil itself did.  So as a personal preference I choose to not eat anything from the Gulf.  Remember Fukushima?  That did a number on the Pacific.  I'm also not interested in any kind of fish from there.  That pretty much covers the globe right?  Not exactly.  I read the package and look for fish that is fresh caught from the northern Atlantic.  Every seafood should be labeled as to where it is from and how it got to the shelf.  Ask questions.  If the package doesn't want to tell you then you probably don't want it.

Vegetarian?  You can still get lots of protein from different beans.  I'm not a huge fan of making beans or anything with beans in it.  But there are many recipes out there to try.  Though I'm sure you already know how to find protein for your specific life choice.

Yes protein is pricy.  Get creative.  Google local farmers markets.  See if there are any natural organic meats.  I have found that mom and pop places tend to have the best options.  My friend Jess got with a neighbor and they split a cow.  Yup thats what I said, split a cow.  The butcher sold her half of a cow and she made that meat last for quite a long time.  Read labels, find out what is in the food you are eating, and where it comes from.  There are so many ways to find a good deal on whatever it is you are looking for, you just have to know where to look.

Goals

The past couple of weeks have been pretty busy for me with the half marathon and moving from one apartment to the next.  So I figured I would talk about the experience of running, and the different goals I've set for myself.  Lets face it if you don't set goals you won't feel like you have achieved anything.

For a couple of years now I've been signing up for different races / runs.  My first run was the Disney Jingle Jungle 5k.  My best friend Jess and I ran that one together.  We started the race to the tune of Under Pressure by Queen and David Bowie.  Since that race I scroll to that song and play it at the start of each race, every time.  A week after my first race my cousin Barb came to town to run the Women's Running St Pete Half.  I had a great time visiting with her and wanted her to continue to come back.  So I told her that if she came back to do this same half the following year that I would do it with her.  That meant I needed to buckle down and start running way more than I was.

In February 2013 Jess and I ran the Gasparilla 8k.  I was miserable during that race.  I had a splitting migraine and wanted to throw up just about the entire race.  During packet pickup they had a pretty good deal for the Clearwater Iron Girl Half.  I figured why not attempt my first half?  I ended up spraining my ankle a couple of weeks before and dropped down to the 5k which I ended up walking it.

Life happened and one thing led to another and all of the sudden its November.  Guess who didn't prepare herself for her first half?  Yup this girl.  I figured what the hell, lets try it.  I was ok for about the first few miles.  My cousin Barb hadn't left my side.  Then I hit mile 6 maybe.  Blisters were all I could feel on my feet, and my ear was just throbbing.  It wasn't pretty.  Around mile 8 the van who was picking up the people who weren't going to finish in time, was on my heels.  I ignored them for a while.  Next thing I know is I'm was dead last and they told me that I needed to get in the van and take the short cut over to the finish line.  Barb took off and completed the race while I ended up only running (mostly walked) about 10 miles.  Trust me when I say, you should seriously prepare yourself for a run like that!

Barb and I decided to do the Gasparilla Half but not in 2014.  I needed more time to train.  I also found out a few weeks later that I had no eardrum, which is why my ear hurt during that race.  Eardrum surgery is no joke either.  I wasn't allowed to bend over and pick anything up and I wasn't allowed to hold anything over 10lbs.  I also moved from Tampa to Miami 2 weeks after the surgery.

Once I was fully healed and able to workout and run again I joined Orangetheory Fitness (OTF).  Along with working out at OTF I was running with the running group from OTF on Sundays.  I wasn't 100% prepared for this race either, but I was in a much better condition that I was the last time.  I was a lot stronger this time, and lost 40lbs.  My time wasn't great at 3:26, but that is less than the minimum requirements for a 16min mile for most races.  I now have my first half under my belt and I can only get faster and stronger from that.

The reason I'm telling this story is I've set 3 different goals for myself.  I have the OMG goal.  I want to drop 100lbs and I want to run a Full Marathon (bucket list).  My half way there, drop 50lbs run 2 hours or less for a half marathon.  Then the baby steps, drop 5lbs, complete the race.

As of today I've dropped 46lbs and I've completed my first half.  I found that setting baby step goals makes you constantly feel like you are accomplishing something which is never a bad thing.

Diet Food = Crap Food

Crazy thought right?  Why the hell would diet food possibly be bad?  Well, lets go back to reading the ingredients.  We all look at food and think if there is less fat in our food its gotta be good for us.  WRONG!!!  Our bodies crave natural fatty foods.  When you take that fat out you have to add stuff to it to make it something again.  They bring in a chemist and add other stuff to make it taste almost like what it once was.  Most if not all of the stuff they add is worse for you than the actual fat was to begin with.

If you were to look at Hidden Valley Ranch dressing:

Ingredients :

Vegetable Oil (corn)

Water

Egg Yoke

Sugar

Salt

Cultured nonfat Buttermilk

Natural Flavors

Less than 1% of:

Spices
Dried Garlic
Dried Onion
Vinegar
Phosphoric Acid
Xanthan Gum
Modified Food Starch
Monosodium Glutamate
Artificial Flavors
Disodium Phosphate
Sorbic Acid
Calcium Disodium
Disodium Inosinate
Disodium Guanylate

Ingredients:
Water
Vegetable Oil (corn)
Maltodextrin
Buttermilk
Sugar
Salt
Less than 2% of:
Spices
Dried Garlic
Dried Onion
Natural Flavors
Egg Yoke
Modified Food Starch
Phosphoric Acid
Vinegar
Artificial Flavor
Disodium Phosphate
Xanthan Gum
Monosodium Glutimate
Artificial Color
Disodium Inosinate
Disodium Guanylate
Sorbic Acid
Calcium Disodium

These two Bottles might look like they contain the same ingredients, none of which are good for you.  But click the links to see what exactly they are.  I used Livestrong.com to look up different ingredients.  Look up other ingredients around your house and get a full understanding of what you put into your body every day.

So what do you do?

I do my best to stay away from chemicals added to different foods.  The best way to do that is to make your own meals and plan ahead.  I'll probably never been 100% whole real foods because its so expensive.  But to get as close as you can makes a big difference.  Here is a good rule of thumb for a whole real food diet.

1. 5 ingredients or less

2. You are able to read all of them and associate them to a food item.

These rules are fairly easy to live by, and you can fudge it a little as far as ingredients.  Meaning if you make a smoothie that has more than 5 fruits or ingredients in it then its ok.  Just know what you are adding.  But rule #2 is a must!

If Ranch is a must, you might want to look into buying that organic or possibly making it at home.

Find different things to substitute something you really want.  When I want spaghetti and meat sauce, I get zucchini and my julienne pealer.  Look up different ways to cook zucchini as spaghetti.  Then add your meat sauce.

I've cut out protein shakes and diet pills.  Lets face the facts, they don't work.  I also don't drink soda, coffee, tea, or other processed juices.  I crave water and drink as much water as I can.  I know not everyone is like me and can do that, but look at whats in your food or drink before you put it into your body.  When you decided to take the processed foods out of your life and eat a real whole foods without corn, you will find that these meals fill you up with less food and it stays on your stomach longer.  Your body takes longer to digest these foods and you aren't starving 2 hours later.  I eat 3 square meals each day and took it back to the basics.

Corn

Corn, where do I begin with corn.  I saw a show on PBS one time about the 7 deadly foods or something like that.  My dog Harlee probably stepped on the remote and thats what I woke up to.  Anyway, this lady was talking about corn and how bad it is for you.  If you think about all of the animals that we feed, the main thing we feed them is corn to fatten them up.  If we fatten pigs, cows, and chickens with corn, what is this doing to us?

You may be thinking that you don't eat a whole lot of corn.  But you are most likely wrong.  Take this moment to look at whatever food product sitting near you or in your kitchen.  Read the ingredients on the back or sides.  Do you see maltodextrin, dextrose or high fructose corn syrup?  These are all derived from corn.  

Corn is the most genetically modified vegetable out there.  I'm not a car person by any means but I hear the stuff isn't even good for your car.  Please someone prove me wrong.  

I'm not saying avoid corn at all costs.  I'm saying if you are going to eat it, don't eat it with everything you consume.  If you do pick up some corn, I would suggest to buy it organic.  

You don't have to take my word on this, please feel free to look this up for yourself.  Here is just one place to check out here.

Once I cut corn out of my life I noticed I don't get sick anymore.  I'm not throwing my food up 4 hours later.  You will notice that most of the food you will start to buy corn free are organic.  Trust me its not as expensive as you may think.  I'm also not saying only shop at Whole Foods.  Look into different places you like to shop and just read the ingredients and check to make sure there is no corn in it.  I eat whatever I want (for the most part) as long as there is no corn or corn byproduct in it.

The History

Since August I joined Orangetheory Fitness.  I changed my dietary choices drastically over the past year, and in making all of these changes I've lost 40lbs.  I'm by no means done, however a lot of people have asked how I've done it.  To start any story the beginning is always a great place to fully understand the decisions I've made.

To say I have medical problems would be an understatement.  Since birth I've had issues with my ears and digestive system.  To date I've had multiple sets of tubes in both ears and 2 complete graphed eardrums. 

I have issues where I'm either constipated or very not constipated.  I'm not diagnosed as having ibs (but this is important to know for this next part).  I also have a form of syncope where I pass out and go into a convulsion.  I fell one time face first and broke my nose.  I get a really good warning and when I feel it coming on I don't drive.  In changing my diet, I haven't had an episode in over 15 months.

Due to the syncope issues, I've hit my head a few times.  They tested me 3 major times in my life.  Once when I was 5 and had my first episode while mom was cleaning my little sister's belly button that still had the cord attached.  I had another series of tests just after high school, and the last set of tests were done in 2012.  The last set of testing were conducted by the top neurologist and cardiologist of USF / Tampa.  My heart is in perfect working order, the EEG showed no signs of epilepsy.  The MRI indicated that I have a low cerebellum tonsil (bottom nugget of my brain hangs low and pushes on my brain stem, this is my migraine problem).  The only thing they could tell me is that 25% of women pass out for no good reason, and I'm one of them.

One of the last issues I have is I have an issue keeping my food down.  If something is too oily, like clockwork, in 4 hours it's coming back up.  I'm clearly not anorexic.  This is the main start of my 2 years of research to different foods I'm able to eat and what I'm not.  This isn't just a diet for me.  This is eating clean and healthy to the point I'm not getting sick.