Sauteed Sweet Potatoes with Apples

A couple of weeks ago, I spent a full week in a classroom for a Crises Intervention Team (CIT) training in Appleton.  For that week I followed a typical Monday through Friday, 8-4 schedule.  Every now and again, I get the opportunity to go a full week with this type of schedule, and I take full advantage of it when it comes around.  During this week, I had my alarm set at 4:45am so I could get up and get my workout in before each day of training.  Since finishing my Whole30 last month, I have been more aware of the damaging effects of grains on my digestive system.  In stead of my usual morning ritual of oatmeal, I have grown to love a concoction I came up with during my Whole30.  I ate this for my morning breakfast each day of my CIT training at the beginning of each class.  It was funny, the first day, before anyone really knew anyone, I just got some weird looks.  But on the second and third day, I got questioned as to what the hell I was eating.  My concoction is rather simple and takes about 10 minutes to whip up, plus it tastes as good warm as it does cold, so you can make it the night before and bring it with you when you're on the go.  It's just a single sweet potato with an apple, sautéed in butter topped with coconut flakes and cinnamon.  It is obviously not low carb, but it is sugar free and is relatively low on the glycemic index, meaning it will not rapidly spike your blood sugar.  Plus, cinnamon has a natural anti-inflammatory effect and has a positive effect on insulin and glucose, meaning it will help control your blood sugar levels, lessening the spike when consuming sugary/starchy foods.  One of my friends at work as also at the CIT training and he wanted to try my morning staple and asked me to make him a bowl for work some night, which I did.  After he tried it, he wanted the "recipe."  I laughed and told him, how simple it was, but insisted that I set him up with some directions.  So, I told him I'd put it on my blog....so here it is.

Ingredients:

1 Medium Sweet Potato Diced
1 Apple Diced (Gala, Pink Lady, Honey Crisp, or Similar)
1-2 Tbsp Grass Fed Butter or Ghee
1 Tbsp Cinnamon (or to taste)
2-3 Tbsp Unsweetened Coconut Flakes

Directions:

1. Saute sweet potato with the butter/ghee over medium-high heat.  Add apples and cook the two until soft.
2. During last 1-2 minutes of cooking stir in cinnamon and coconut flakes.

The Whole30: Final Overview

February 18th was my final day on the Whole30.  My 30 day adventure (or how ever you want to phrase it) began on January 20th.  I had no idea what to expect.  Would it be hard?  Would I struggle? Would I really feel any different?  Would I even make it the full 30 days?  When I started, I was at a point in my life where my eating habits were progressively getting worse and worse.  I found myself binge eating foods that I have had no issues saying "no" to.  I was drinking more beer then I have in the past and just found myself in a downward spiral of uncontrollable cravings that I would regularly give in to.  I had lost all my self control and discipline when it came to food and diet.  My weight had exceeded 180 pounds, which for me was well above even my high end of where I wanted to be.  I needed to do something.  I knew that I had to do something or I'd continue going the wrong direction.  I had tried simply cutting the amount of food I would consume during meals, but then would find myself eating between meals or before meals to satisfy my hunger.  I also knew that working third shift had a significant impact on my eating habits and knew going in that I would need some flexibility in what ever diet/program I decide to attempt.  That's is when I pulled up the Whole30 and read up on it.  I remember hearing about the W30 from a gal at work who attempted it last year, but I never really dove into exactly what it was about.  So, I did some reading and figured I would give it a try.  It sounded simple in terms of rules and the format.  While at the same time, sounded pretty challenging, in terms of actually accomplishing the Whole30 for the full 30 day period.  Basically, you eliminate all added sugars, artificial sweeteners, sugars, grains, dairy, legumes, and white potatoes from your diet and rely solely on veggies, fruit, and high quality meats.  Again, simply, yet challenging.  And hell, I like a good challenge.  I was asked quite frequently, why I chose to do this Whole30 when I really don't need to lose any weight.  Well, first my main reasons for doing the W30 were not weight loss, as I just explained, but I knew that would also happen and I would definitely welcome the weight loss.  I weighed myself at the start of my W30 and was 184.4 pounds.  The first thing I did the morning after day 30 was jump on the same scale.  I weighed 172 pounds.  I lost 12 pounds on the Whole30!  I was happy, and definitely can tell I had lost some body fat over the past 30 days.  

The final 9 days (days 22-30) were actually the easiest of the days.  It hit me on day 22 or 23 that I really feel better, or so I thought.  During the final week and 2 days of my W30, my work schedule had changed a bit.  I was scheduled to train our department on our new CAD system for our in squad computers, and was assigned to "normal" work hours of 8-5.  It was great, I was sleeping at night, going to bed early and getting up earlier for morning workouts before leaving for work.  I felt great during my workouts and never really felt sore or tired throughout the day while at work.  I was getting up before 5am and usually working out before 5:45am.  It was during this week that I reintroduced caffeinated coffee to my diet after abstaining from caffeine for 3 full weeks.  I have only been making my own partially caffeinated coffee by using one scoop of decaf with 2 scoops of regular coffee in my morning coffee.  I would drink a small cup of coffee on my way to the gym in the morning and then would not eat until while on my way into work.  I made a simple breakfast of diced sweet potato and diced apple sauteed in a small amount of clarified butter topped with unsweetened coconut flakes and cinnamon.  This has become one of my favorite simple meals for post workout.  I would also have a couple of hard boiled eggs as a source of protein.  I stayed satiated without cravings until lunch which I would eat around 12:30.  I packed my own lunch of a salad, sardines, and some veggies.  I would then have a simple afternoon snack of nuts and a piece of fruit (either grapefruit or a kiwi).  At night we would have dinners as a family and then I would do the same thing the very next day.  We had some of my favorite meals during this past phase of the W30; some of which include, Mocha Rubbed Beef Roast, Chicken Bacon Mushroom Quiche, Zucchini Noodles with Pesto topped with Baked Spiced Chicken, Crab Cakes, and a Slow Cooker Whole Chicken.  I even took the time to make my own mayonnaise, almond butter, and ketchup.  

Delaney helping make the pesto sauce

On Tuesday, we went out to dinner with my in-laws for my Father-in-Law's birthday.  I chose to order their Liver and Onions, something that I had not had in years.  It was surprisingly good and a successful W30 meal....a win-win!  The hardest moment came on Valentine's Day, Day 26 of my W30.  I was damn close to just saying 26 is close enough, I am not going to let my W30 ruin my Valentine's Day.  Sarah and I had made plans to go out for dinner with our good friends, Pat and Melissa for a couple's date.  We went to a high end Latin restaurant- Osorio's Latin Fusion.  I read each individual menu item and chose to order the Baked Sea Bass topped with a lime, cucumber, cilantro sauce, with two sides.  I chose to order their vegetable medley and a salad for my two sides.  My salad came which was fine, I ordered it with out cheese and no croutons.  Then my meal came, it looked soooooooo good, it smelled amazing.  The fish was flaky and done perfectly, but it was topped with a cream sauce, obviously made with dairy.  The veggies, were a Mexican/Latin inspired veggie mix with spinach, beans, corn, and cheese - basically a lot of things I can't eat.  I sat there and just stared at my dinner, trying to decide what to do.  Do I just not eat it and get it to-go and then eat it after my W30 is done?  Do I say screw it, and just eat it.  Luckily, Melissa ordered fajitas, which came in a large lava rock bowl and consisted of just meat, peppers, tomatoes, onions, and seasonings.  She offered her dinner to me, which I gladly accepted.  I gave her my fish and veggies and I just ate the meat and vegetable portion of her fajitas.  Yup, I did that, part of me thought, how pathetic, while the other part of me thought, nice work, you're still going strong and only have a few more days left.

The last couple days came and went and I had continued to feel pretty damn good.  I am curious however what was causing me to feel noticeably better.  It is either one of three things or a combination of the following.  1. It quite possibly could be my very strict diet I had been following with the W30 guidelines.  2.  I had started supplementing with several of Hammer Nutrition's top daily essential supplements specifically formulated for endurance athletes.  3.  It very well could have been the fact that I was on a normal sleep pattern for the first time in a long while.  My personal feelings are that it was ultimately a combination of all three things.  There is no way I would just look past how clean I had been eating over the past 30 days.  But at the same time, Hammer's essential supplements are highly engineered and formulated to allow athletes to better recover and perform at a higher level more frequently with less built up fatigue.  Even with those two significant facts, having the ability to sleep at night and live a normal life for more then just a day or two, no doubt, had a positive effect on my body, recovery, and mood.

Maya at Gymnastics class.

My training had continued to progress nicely over throughout this past 9-10 days.  The past week, I had a total training volume of over 10 hours.  My running is back to a high level.  During this past week were I had a total volume over 10 hours, I ran a total of over 46 miles.  I ran 8 miles twice during the mid week and then had two key workouts on the weekend.  With my sights firmly set on running 30 miles on my 30th birthday, I had planned a back-to-back long run on Saturday and Sunday.  On my training plan I had a 12-16 mile run on Saturday with a 10-12 mile run on Sunday.  I did my run outside on Saturday and felt so good, I opted to run 17 total miles on Saturday.  After my run, I felt fantastic.  I was not sore (relatively speaking) and was moving great.  Sunday I woke up feeling pretty good.  My quads were a little sore, but more of a fatigue-based soreness as opposed to a painful-soreness.  We got a decent about of snow over night and chose to run indoors at the YMCA on a treadmill.  I again felt pretty darn good and ran a total of 13 miles on Sunday for a total of 30 miles covered in two days.  I was thrilled with how I ran and how I felt during and after both runs.  I left that weekend feeling confident for my 30 mile run which was now just two weeks away.  My plan is now to complete a 20 mile long run this upcoming Sunday to work on my fueling strategy and then cut my mileage and rest the next week before running a 3 mile loop 10 times for 30 miles on my 30th birthday, March 2nd.  After running my 30 mile long run, I will begin focusing my efforts on running the Green Bay Marathon in under 3 hours.  I am extremely excited and confident right now and am feeling motivated again, especially coming off my shin/calf injury last month.  I have been in a great mood lately, similar to how I felt throughout most of last year as I trained for Ironman Wisconsin.  At times, I feel that I am setting myself up for more success then I had last year.  I feel this way mainly because I think my extended rest period I took immediately after finishing the Ironman and even the extra break I took following the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving.  I also can't look past the 3 week hiatus I took from running in January.  I just need to be careful not to get overly ambitious and end up pushing myself too hard/far too fast.  I have taken the mindset to listen to my body better and pay attention to any possible signs of injury or fatigue and have been using that as a way for me to formulate a day-to-day training plan as I build up to my 30 mile run on March 2nd.

Delaney and I at my cousins hockey game.

All that is left at this point is to figure out where do I go from here in regards to my diet and nutritional decisions.  I have just spent the past 30 days eating extremely strict.  I would read nutritional labels closer than I ever had and simply said "no" to so many foods that I regular consume without ever thinking otherwise.  So now what the hell do I do?  Do, I reward myself for doing a good job and eat food that I had wanted to eat the past 30 days but didn't allow myself to?  Do I continue to eat this way with out the same level of paranoia and allow for slips and a few non-Whole30 approved foods?  Or do I slowing reintroduce specific food groups and see how my body reacts to that specific food to see if I have a reaction or intolerance to specific food groups (gluten, oats, dairy, legumes, etc).  I will tell you that on my 1st day off the Whole30, was already a pretty busy day as I had SWAT training from 8a-4p and then I had to work third shift that night from 10p-6a, so I had little room for snacking or treats.  I woke up Wednesday morning at 5am to go to the YMCA and run.  I ran a solid 9 miles and made myself a small bowl of oatmeal (one thing I REALLY wanted throughout my W30).  I made it was whole oats, full fat coconut milk, banana, almond butter, chia seeds, wheat germ, and unsweetened coconut flakes.  I also had two hard boiled eggs.  I then attended our SWAT training which we worked through lunch and did not eat lunch until close to 2:30p.  I never once had any noticeable stomach pains or issues and never felt hungry or low on energy.  For lunch I ordered a Greek Salad which had feta cheese, kalmata olives, artichoke hearts, and a vinaigrette dressing with two pieces of pita bread (2 things I was not allowed to eat while on the W30).  After getting home from training I had a clementine orange at home and a small partial handful of a trail mix (nuts, raisins, and m&ms) and then went to bed and slept from 5-9.  Before leaving for work I ate a slice of my left over Quiche, another small portion of trail mix and then I dipped some banana chips in peanut butter.  Again, more food that are not that inherently unhealthy, but definitely do not live up to W30 standards.  Honestly, up to this point I have not felt any different in the 24+ hours after finishing my W30.  I have had the same energy levels, same cravings, same hunger pangs, and same overall feeling.  Personally I am going to continue to eat with an awareness of what I am putting in my body but will definitely eat some non-Whole30 approved foods (peanut butter, some foods with small amounts of added sugar (pickles), and high quality breads).  I will monitor how my body reacts to these foods and make note of specific food that cause my digestive system issues/discomfort.  I will continue to eat freely for the next week or two, at least through my birthday.  I will not restrict myself the weekend of my birthday and eat freely that weekend and have some beer as well.  After that weekend I think I may try another diet experience to see how my body reacts to a different diet philosophy.  I think I will follow a diet recommended by my sponsor Hammer Nutrition.  Their diet is basically the exact opposite of the Whole30's diet philosophies.  Hammer's diet recommendations are more plant/grain based as opposed to meat/vegetable based.  Hammer recommends that you minimally eat meat, once a week at most.  And focus on fruits, vegetables, and grains as the main staples for your diet.  I would still limit if not continue to avoid any added sugars and artificial sweeteners in foods.  But not nearly as strict as I have been.  I will start using fuels and supplements which I had avoided the past 30 days due to the added sugars in them.  I will continue to avoid junk food and limit between meal snacking.  This will be a dramatic switch in my nutrient breakdown from a higher fat higher protein lower carb diet to a high carb, moderate fat, low protein diet.  I will follow this protocol for 30 days and see how my body reacts.  I will compare my body weight, overall feeling of health, recovery, sleep, and overall mood over those 30 days and compare them to how my 30 days of following the W30 protocol to see which style of diet is better suited for my body.  I have attached the PDF file of a simple breakdown of how I plan on eating while following the recommendations set forth by Hammer Nutrition.  I am really curious to see how my body reacts.  I really think it won't have a large impact on my body as I feel I have a rather strong stomach and have had very little issues with my digestive system when I eat highly nutritious foods including gluten, grains, dairy, and other typically sensitive foods....but there is only one way to really find out and that's to experiment, which is exactly what I intend to do.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE HAMMER NUTRITON PHYTOLEAN NUTRITION PLAN FROM HAMMER NUTRITION'S PUBLICATION "ENDURANCE NEWS ISSUE #88"

Whole30 Update: Week 3

And I'm on the home stretch!  3 weeks down and just a little over 1 more week to go.  Day's 15-21 were without a doubt, the worst days of this journey to date.  They sucked.  They were hell.  They were miserable.  I want my homemade oatmeal.  I want some yogurt.  I want a cookie.  I want a bar.  I want a beer.  I want something other than eggs, sardines, and salads.  I brought up The Whole30 Timeline in last weeks update and will do the same this week.  Per the timeline the third week falls between Boundless Energy -Now Give Me a Damn Twinkie and Tiger Blood.  First, during days 12-15 they say that typically cravings come back, stronger then ever.  Then, from 16-27 it's said that these are the days that you do this program for.  Typically these are the days were you feel great, you thrive on the program.  To quote the Boundless Energy Phase (days 12-15):

"All joking aside, though, this phase gets really intense and for some people. This is the part of the program where our minds try to drive us back to the comfort of the foods we used to know. Our food relationships are deeply rooted and strongly reinforced throughout the course of our lives and breaking through them is really big deal. Journaling can be especially enlightening and helpful during this phase, and helpful for reflection later. Take some time to jot down what you’re craving, how you’re feeling and what tools you’re using to work through the cravings."

That pretty much sums up my past week.  That with a combination of a typical early phase (days 10-11 - "The Hardest Days").  During this phase typically, this is where you really start to experience the true psychological hold that your food habits have on you.

I don't know what it was about the past 7 days, but I really started to question this whole "Whole30" thing all together.  I mean, do I REALLY feel better?  Did I REALLY eat all that bad before starting this?

Monday was a breeze as I still was in my little mid-week work routine.  It has been that any day/night that I have had to work, I have been able to stay busy enough with my life to not have any meaningless cravings.  But Tuesday was the start of one hellish week.  Tuesday was my first day off and I started the day with a nice long swim (3,500 meters).  I came home and ate a couple of our leftovers from the previous week as my post workout snack.  I caught about an hour or so nap and then was back up into a long rest of the day running on little to no sleep, just trying to make it to 8:30pm to go to bed and crash.  But, as I mentioned in last week's update, my sleep deprived turn-around days are the worst mentally for cravings and just feeling hungry all day.  Again, I went throughout the day with moderate snacking, but mainly all vegetables just to try over my mental hunger until dinner.  On Wednesday, I had one of our regular standby dinners, (even before I started the W30) of spaghetti squash with seasoned chicken breasts, all topped with pasta sauce.  I even went out and bought pasta sauce that was all natural with no added sugars, sweeteners, or artificial sweeteners.  So, as I was putting our dinner together I grabbed the sauce from the fridge and on a random whim, I checked the ingredient list, just to double check.  Sure as shit, I grabbed the wrong pasta sauce.  Ahhhhh!  I was so frustrated!  I had already assembled all the dishes and topped them all with the sauce.  One of the dinners I had been looking forward to has now become uneatable for me.....juuuust grrrrreat.  So instead of a nice salad and dinner, I just topped my salad with some tuna and ate my salad.

This leads me to my first gripe - what the hell is it with all the f-ing added sugars in just about EVERYTHING?!?!  If you haven't ever looked, next time you go grocery shopping just try and buy something with no added sugars.  Yup, that means, you'll have to actually turn your product around and see what exactly you are putting in your bodies.  If you see Sugar, Dextrose, Maltodextrin, Fructose, Glucose, basically anything that ends with "ose" - it's off limits - Good luck!  Sure, I knew that your typical products such as cereals, breads, prepackaged oatmeals, bars, etc all had added sugar, no surprise there.  But, now, I'm looking for atypical stuff, such as seasoning blends (all have sugar), "all natural bacon" (has sugar), many beef and chicken products (have sugar), literally damn near EVERTHING has some form of sugar somewhere in the ingredients.  Why you ask?  Well, to feed our culture's sugar addiction.  If you didn't think sugar was addictive, here is your proof.  Food companies add sugars to their products, no only to make it more palatable, but also to create that endorphin release that causes things to becoming highly addictive.  So, like I said, good luck finding anything that doesn't have any added sugar.  And then, when you do find something with no added sugar, you end up seeing that it is loaded with preservatives or artificial sweeteners.  So FRUSTRATING!

Eventually I got over the fact that I screwed up my dinner that night and just looked forward to Thursday night's dinner.  My brother-in-law recently was hired at a new job and to celebrate we planned on getting together for a celebratory dinner at my favorite restaurant, Stone Cellar Brewpub.  I knew going into this that, one, it would be a test for me mentally to be in that setting with some of the best beer and damn good food and not be able to order any of it.  And, two, that if there was any one place in the Fox Valley, that would have numerous choices that would meet the W30 criteria, it would be Stone Cellar, who is known for locally grown, minimally processed, local grass-fed beef, and mostly organic food choices.  I had scoped out Stone Cellar's menu that morning to get an idea of what I might be able to order and had it narrowed down to a couple choices.  Once at the Brewpub, all I wanted as a beer and to be able to just order something without having to worry what it was made with.  I was officially starting to get extremely frustrated with the W30 style of living.  It was a minor state of paranoia - always reading ingredients, always checking what you order, asking family what they will be having for dinner in advance.  Yea, it was getting old.  On top of that frustration, Thursday was bill paying day for us and as usual, we hadn't done nearly as well as we had hoped, which added an additional stress on myself and Sarah.  So, here I am, going to literally, my favorite bar/restaurant with my family, worried/concerned/stressed about our family finances, and now I'm pissed that I can't just order fish tacos, with their 6 Grain Pale Ale, or their limited edition 666 Grain Pale Ale.  Plus, we all ordered two appetizers of spinach and artichoke dip along with a pub basket.  Now, normally I don't go crazy with all the deep fried goodies that come in the pub basket, but seriously, all I wanted was a cheese curd, or a kettle chip.  It was seriously hell.  I ended up ordering their grilled sirloin with a side of sweet potato fries, which came with a house salad and balsamic vinaigrette.  Don't get me wrong, the food I had ordered was absolutely delicious, once I ate, I was satisfied with my choice, but still wish I had just 1 cold beer to wash it down with.  For the first time since starting, I was seriously contemplating just giving up on the W30 and just getting a beer and ordering what I really wanted, not what I should want.

This led me to my second gripe - Is this Whole30 thing, really making a difference - I mean, now that I have been doing this for 18 or so days, is it REALLY that different from how I was eating?  Sure, I did have an unhealthy relationship with sweets, I will certainly cop to that.  But, to say that I ate unhealthy, would just be foolish.  My downfall came when I would succumb to my cravings.  Not only would I give in and have a treat, but I would not know when to stop.  But, is this Whole30 thing going to fix that?  Or is that something that I will just need to get a grasp on and just stop allowing myself to not be a better athlete?  Then, I began thinking of foods like oatmeal, my whole fat plain unsweetened greek yogurt, and other minimally (if at all) sweetened health foods that were deemed unhealthy by the fricken "Whole30 Food Gods."  And, what I really feeling better?  Can I even tell a difference from a month ago?  To be honest, other than not overeating and that "stuffed" feeling you get from just stuffing your face, no, I felt pretty much the same.  As far as my gut and digestive health - that might be the one difference.  Previous to starting the W30, I usually went to the bathroom once a day or so.  Now, it's more like once every 3-4 days.  Yea, not sure about that, but what ever.

After leaving Stone Cellar, I was feeling better, knowing that I had made the right choice not to scrap all my progress.  I started this thing for a reason.  I started it for me, to learn about my relationship with food and to hopefully develop some new healthier relationships with my food.  I was on day 18 of 30, over half way.  I knew that I would hate myself and truly regret giving up, so I was, in the end, happy with my choice, no matter how frustrated I was at the time.

Friday was another similar day to Thursday evening.  We had SWAT training during the day and then I was off Friday night.  We always go out for lunch on SWAT training days, and on this day, it was decided we would go to Red Robin for lunch.  So, once again, I was left to scour the menu for a W30 approved dish.  There was not one single meal that I could order outside of getting a chicken sandwich with nothing on it wrapped in lettuce as opposed to a bun.  Sounds like an expensive salad right?  I just went with their plain chicken salad with no cheese or croutons.  It wasn't bad actually. It was simple and tasty.

The remainder of the week came and went with much of the same issues as previous weeks, dealing with hunger pangs from higher than "normal" training volumes (in comparison to majority of folks who do the W30) and random snacking throughout the days.  The past week I had a total training volume of over 9 hours (about 1:20 average per day).  I had quite a lot of almond butter this week, more then I probably should have.  It was my "coping" treat.  I was eating it as opposed to my typical chocolate or baked treats.  I was eating it either on celery or on a banana.  But, man, I'm freakin hungry!

My training has finally found a consistent routine.  I ran 10 miles on Wednesday and did 7 of those miles in my Newtons.  I had to stop at home after 7 and swap out shoes because I could feel my calf getting tight.  I realized that I need to ease into my Newtons due their their lower heel drop in comparison to what I have grown accustomed to with my previous shoes.  For example, my New Balance 890 V3's have a 7mm heel drop (28mm heel height and 21mm toe height), while my Newtons have a heel drop of 5mm (28 heel height and 23mm toe height).  Sure, that's only a difference of 3mm, but you couple that with the dynamic shift in a full foot, foot strike to a exaggerated forefoot striking shoe such as the Newton, it will put more stress on your calf muscles.  The final 3 miles of my 10 mile run felt good in my old pair of NB 890's that I wore at Ironman.  I took a couple days off between my 10 mile run and my next run.  I filled those two days with a swim along with a 2:00 ride on my indoor cycle.  Saturday, I was nervous to go back to running.  During those two days away from running, all I could feel was my calf/shin, and I thought for sure I would be stopped almost immediately after starting to run.  I went to the YMCA Saturday morning to do an indoor brick.  I rode on their indoor cycle for an hour and then jumped on a treadmill with hopes of running 6 miles.  I started running at a conservative pace and then just kept going.  My calf was never an issue.  It felt normal the entire time.  In fact, I felt so good, I decided to stay on the tread for a couple additional miles, for a total of 8.  With a good volume of training already in my log book, I opted to cut Sunday's workout a little shorter and just focus on recovery.  I jumped on my indoor bike after getting home from work and just rode super easy for 30 minutes just to move my legs.  It felt good.

Maya got a much needed haircut this week!

The final 9 days of my W30 will be the real test.  I am working day hours Monday through Thursday and will be working out in the morning before work.  I think those 4 days will be relatively easy to get through as I will be so busy to just get home and then cook dinner, prepare for the next day, and then get to bed early enough to get up early enough to get a decent workout in before work.  Friday I am off from work, but we are getting together with Pat and Melissa for a couples Valentine's Day dinner at a new local up scale Latin Restaurant.  So, yet again, I will test myself (on day 26 - so close!) with no beer and having a very limited menu to choose from.

The good news, is that as of today, I have made it a full 3 weeks with absolutely NO CAFFEINE!  I will start back up again with regular coffee and green teas starting Monday.  I will mix my coffee 2:1 with decaf coffee just to keep my caffeine consumption down from what I was at previously.  I am just looking forward do drinking regular coffee again!  :)

Whole30 Update: Week 2

14 of 30 days are done.  And today is in fact the half way point.  When I first started the W30, everything I read talked about how it was only 30 days, or just 30 days.  I thought to myself, sure, it is just 30 days, but that's still 30 days, over 4 weeks, a full month - they only say that it's just 30 days to make it sound easy.  But here I am, nearly half way through my 30 day journey.  According to a post on the Whole30 Blog titled, The Whole30 Timeline, week 2 consists of "Days 8-9: My Pants are TIGHTER?!," "Days 10-11:The Hardest Days," and "Days 12-15: Boundless Energy."  I have pretty much followed this timeline pretty closely.  I wouldn't say I ever felt as though my close were tighter, leading me to believe I gain weight.  Most of the time to this point, I have felt about the same or slightly thinner, never heavier, or thicker.  To be honest though, I hadn't really had a feeling of this process being difficult.  It has been a big change in my eating habits, no doubt.  But for the most part, I have eaten similar to this, just with more snacking.  Basically, The only change I have made during these past 14 days has been eliminating my excessive snacking.  Yes, I have eliminated many of my regular foods, including yogurt, rice, oatmeal, peanut butter, and bread.  But like I said, the biggest change has been my elimination of excessive snacking of junk food.  I hadn't really had any cravings....until day 13 or 14.

During days 10-12 I began to have thoughts about comfort foods or foods like I can't eat...and shouldn't eat, such as cake, cookies, ice cream, and pizza.  It wasn't ever a craving or a thought of, "Oh, I just have to have _________!"  It was more of a generalized thought of, "If I stick with this style diet after the 30 days, I will never have _________ again. <sigh>"  I truly think the whole reason I have been thinking like this is the idea of falling back to my poor relationship with junk food; where I start eating some junk food with an acceptable portion, but then end up going back for seconds....then thirds....then - oh wait, I just ate it all....  Let me tell you, I do NOT want to fall back into that cycle.  I won't fall back into that cycle.  

Even now, with 14 days under my belt, I am still trying to figure out the right strategy to eat right while working 3rd shift.  As if figuring out the right sleeping pattern isn't challenging enough, now I have to find how to eat right without overeating and leaving myself craving junk food?  I heard on The Ben Greenfield Fitness Podcast, that sleep deprivation can produce false signals in your brain telling you to eat more, on top of that, sleep deprivation induces cravings for sweets and sugars.  You want to talk about stacking the deck against you.  Working 3rd shift leaves you tired on most days, especially on my first days on or off (turn-around days).  So now, besides, being tired, cranky, and lethargic, now I have to deal with cravings and hunger-pangs.  I have been handling this by drinking tea and water.  

Kombucha...with chia seeds....Brilliant!!

Last week I discussed needing to decrease the amount of fruit I was eating on a daily basis.  To help with this, I purchased less sugary fruits when I went grocery shopping, picking up kiwis and grapefruits.  I have cut back the amount of fruit I have been eating considerably, down to just 1-2 pieces.  For the most part, my eating has been very good.  I never really over ate during any one meal. My pre and post workout meals have been going good.  I have been eating some nuts with a small fruit about 1-2 hours prior to my morning workouts when I work.  On days when I worked the night before working out, I will just have a can of coconut water to replenish and rehydrate.  During my off days this week, I had some combination of sweet potatoes and eggs.  If there was one thing I need to focus on for the final half of my W30, it would be my between meal snacks.  I have been snacking pretty regularly, but still on healthy vegetables and nuts.  I think to stay in spirit of the W30 program, I need to cut out all between meal snacking and focus solely on the main meals throughout the day.  I still plan on eating a couple of smaller meals during my night shifts at work, just to better handle the unknown factor with my job.  I just never know when or sometimes even if I will be able to eat.  What I do know is just eat a small meal of sardines and veggies earlier during the shift and then some nuts and a small piece of fruit later for my pre workout meal.  Most of those foods are easily eating on the go, which is perfect.  

A new staple in our home, 100% Organic Grassfed Beef

This past week, we have had some more really good Whole30 approved meals.  On Tuesday, I made a crock pot chili which was easy and very good.  Wednesday was my first night back at work, plus I had training for most of the day from 8-4pm.  I did have a decent break between a morning session and my afternoon session and took advantage by going for a quick run during my lunch break.  For food, I packed a salad topped with salmon along with some vegetables.  It really wasn't too difficult and tasted really good.  After training I went home and grabbed a couple hours of sleep before returning to work for my first night back.  Wednesday, I tried something new, with making blueberry turkey breakfast patties.  Surprisingly they were a hit.  We did a breakfast theme dinner and fired up some potatoes for the girls and had pancakes, while I had a small sweet potato.  On Friday, we had one of my favorite simple meals of fried butternut squash with quartered Brussels sprouts.  Saturday I had picked up overtime and went in early to work and just packed a salad and chili left overs for my dinner and then my regular work lunch for the remainder of my shift.  For Super Bowl Sunday, I kind of fell off the wagon, but still stayed true to the Whole30.  I baked a filet of cod topped with salsa for dinner, and steamed green beans for a side.  I also finished the little remains of the chili left overs and then went on to the squash and Brussels sprouts left overs.  I didn't stop there though, I had a banana with almond butter for a dessert, and started getting the same cravings I used to get before starting the Whole30, where I would go dive into the candy jar and finish anything and everything I wanted.  I resisted the temptation to quit the W30, and just had a second banana with almond butter.  This was the first actual thought I had of just scrapping the entire Whole30 thing and just eating some Rolo's my wife has sitting in the pantry, or a granola bar, or some Scooby Snack graham crackers.  I wanted to eat the junk food that previously controlled my eating.  After eating so much food, I still wanted to eat some treats.  I ate a small clementine orange then a kid's sized box of raisins.  Yes, I realize that this was way to much food and was completely NOT what I should have done.  But at least, I am still on track to finish my W30 and didn't jump off.

I have been getting used to not consuming any caffeine, almost to the point were I am considering staying caffeine free for the remaining 16 days.  My plan as of today, is to stay caffeine free until Saturday, day 20, and my first night back to 3rd shift.  My thought is that not only will I limit the amount of coffee I drink at any one time, but also start mixing decaf with caffeinated coffee to blend my own half-caf coffee.

First run in my Newton Gravity's

My training has been going surprisingly well.  The past two weeks my training has been right at 9 hours per week.  I have been in the pool quite a bit and on a bike more then usual.  My running is slowing building back up.  After first returning back to running last week Sunday, I followed it up with a 5 mile run on Wednesday, a 3 mile brick run on Friday, and then another 5 mile run on Sunday.  I am starting to put together a plan to get me back on track to run 30 miles on my 30th birthday March 2nd.  On Monday, I plan on biking for an hour and then running 3 miles immediately after.  My thoughts are, that I have two tests to determine if I am able to dive head first back into running.  1 - running frequency and 2 - running volume.  For frequency, I started first with taking a 2 day break between my first and second run, followed by 2 day break between the next couple runs.  Now, I am running on back to back days, from Sunday to Monday.  With my volume, that will be a little more tricky to figure out.  Because, with volume, you need to consider proper rest between runs following more damage to my legs.  I plan on trying an 8-10 mile run on either Wednesday or Thursday.  Based on both, how my shin feels during that run and how my legs feel the day or two following that run, I will play it by ear when my next run is.  My fear right now is that I either re-aggravate my shin injury, or worse, produce a new running related injury from rushing back too quick.  It's really tricky for me, who just wants to plan everything.  I need to know what I am doing next week.  I need to know where I am going.  But, realistically, I need to really listen to my body until I can run consistently without any issues.  Once I reach that point, I can start putting together a training plan.  I have the knowledge to train on the fly and do it smart, it just makes it that much more challenging.  It's hard enough planning out 3 months worth of training on a blank calendar, not to mention basing the next day's training schedule on the how the previous day went, all while keeping the following day and the next race in mind.  

Running out of room to put the snow!

Maya got to play while Daddy worked

Week 3 of my Whole30 looks like it will resemble more of a "normal" human's schedule.  Tuesday-Thursday are my scheduled off days and then Friday I have SWAT training from 8-4pm which means I am off that night from 3rd shift.  I then work 3rd shift on Saturday, only to have Sunday off for more training.  I am going to focus more on decreasing, if not eliminating, my snacking and focus on eating during main meals only.  I think this week will be the hardest week of the W30.  I have a feeling I will be most tempted to abandon ship during the next 7-10 days, but if I can stay focused, the last 7-10 days will fly by.  

Whole 30 Update: Week 1

My reasons for starting the Whole30 were explained in my last post.  But, I have written countless posts about wanting to either lose weight, cleanse/detox my body, change the way I eat (traditional high carb to high fat), and changing my body composition for the better.  But, as usual, I start and stay on the plan for about a day or two.  I think I even stuck with a previous goal for a couple weeks.  Each and every attempt to change my relationship with food and eating.  I have been eating mostly based on my poor decisions and unwillingness to simply say "no" coupled with the impacts that food has on your hormones and subconscious.  Knowing that I have created so many poor habits over the years while eating a high carb diet on top of splurging in so many sugary sweets, I was aware that this wasn't going to be easy when I started.  But, I must admit throughout the first full week, it really wasn't overly difficult.

From beer to organic Kombucha

Monday, January 20th was the official kick off day of my Whole30 (W30).  I started by first creating a daily check-off/daily log form to help track how I feel each day and what happened as I work toward completing 30 straight days of strict clean eating.  My W30 began the day after coming home from our family weekend getaway to Chicago.  Just like many folks do the day before a new diet, I pigged out, not only Sunday, but the entire weekend in Chicago.  So on Monday morning I opted to skip breakfast all together, since I was still pretty full from a weekend full of indulgences.  I did my workout that morning consisting of a 2 mile swim that morning then heading up to the cardio floor and sitting on an elliptical for another hour.  That has seemed to become my new normal - ellipticals instead of good old fashioned running.  The one nice thing about it has been my ability to get out and do my "running" workouts longer and on back-to-back days without the stress that comes with pounding the pavement.  Ever since I stopped running, I canned my training plan in favor for a "plan on the go" style of training.  Now, I know that this is not the right type of mindset for someone who wants to qualify for Boston while running a sub 3 hour marathon in May, but there was no way I was going to be able to sit on an elliptical  for multiple hours and expect similar gains from long runs.  So, I have simply taken the mindset of this being an extended off season.  Honestly, it's been working out pretty well.  My training volume is up higher then it was this time last year, and the highest its been since my taper for Ironman Wisconsin.  Anyway, back to my W30 experience.  After my workouts, I had a Lara Bar and then went grocery shopping to stock up my cupboards with W30 approved foods.  I picked up a bunch of tins of sardines, tons of fruits and vegetables, along with some organic kombucha, decaf teas, nuts, and some quality meats.  After grocery shopping it was off to bed for a short nap before going back to work that night.

After my lunch and before getting to bed for work Monday night I weighed myself for a "starting weight."  The creators of the W30 encourage a start and end weight and then avoid the scales for the entire duration of your W30. Why?  Easy, health is so much more then a number on a scale. It can be as simple as how you feel, how your clothes fit, how you sleep, your energy levels throughout the day, your day to day stress levels, how your joints feel, and I could go one and on, but I think you get the point. Yes weight lose normally comes while doing the W30 and it is honestly not the reason I am doing the W30. Granted, I do want to loose some of my off season winter coat, but I know with my training coupled with new, healthy eating habits that will come with time.  I mean, I didn't add this extra twenty pounds in 30 days, so how can I expect to lose it in 30? 

Caffeine free coconut chai latte

No doubt, the biggest impact which I felt immediately was my decision to quit caffeine throughout the 30 days.  This was a decision I had made that was different from the standards set forth by the Whole30 creators.  They allow caffeine during the W30, but urge to consume in moderation.  But, I have gotten to a point in my life where I truly love the taste of quality coffee, but also drink it to help get through nights on 3rd shift.  I drink roughly 4-6 cups of coffee (32-48oz) a day/night, which in my opinion is a bit excessive.  Caffeine has a similar response in our brains as stress, and in simple terms, the more caffeine you consume, the more sleeping chemicals your body needs to produce to induce sleep.  In other words the more caffeine you consume, the harder it is to fall asleep, even after the energizing effects of caffeine wear off.  The good news?  This can be "reset" by abstaining from caffeine for 14-20 days.  This will reset some of the receptors in your brain that help you fall asleep.  This is in part as to why I am opting to give up caffeine.  However, when I first started this endeavor, I was planning on going caffeine free for the entire 30 days, which I still may.  But, during days 1-7, I must admit, I have never been more tired while at work.  I think this just goes to show, how much I have relied on artificial energy in the past (caffeine, sugar, carbohydrates).  If this trend continues into and beyond my next rotation, I will go back to drinking coffee but in smaller quantities and just be more cognizant of how much coffee I am consuming.  Regardless, I will at least continue to go caffeine free for a minimum of 2 weeks during my W30, for the "system reset" of my receptors in my brain.  I have also stopped drinking my teas which contain caffeine and avoided any other products that commonly contain caffeine.  I have still been drinking warm beverages such as decaf coffee and decaf teas, as I enjoy warm drinks, especially this time of year.  As I have done some research on coffee, specifically decaf coffee, I have found that majority of decaf coffees remove the caffeine through processes that involve several chemicals and therefore should be avoided.  You should opt for organic decaf coffee whenever possible.  

As far as how I have felt throughout my first 7 days, I would say, that my sleep has been sub par, I have been lethargic, and just generally tired.  I should say that this isn't necessarily a surprise, however.  I am drastically changing my primary source of energy from carbohydrates to fats.  So, this does take some time to effectively make the switch, roughly 2-3 weeks, depending on the person.  I haven't had any cravings or temptations throughout my first 7 days.  But, I would say my 2 challenges thus far have been the quantity of fruit I consume and the frequency of between meal snacking.  As far as fruit, I was relying on fruit as my source of sweets for the first 4-5 days, until Sarah read some of my W30 info forms laying around the house.  She pointed out that I have been eating a ton of fruit, when, according to W30, I should only be consuming minimal fruit as opposed to my 5+ pieces of fruit a day.  After she mentioned this, I cut back to about 2 pieces a day, with an occasional third.  As with my snacking, I have come to accept it as that is how I am going to have to complete my W30.  The true sense of the W30 is to have your day revolve around 3 meals, breakfast, lunch, and dinner, with a potential pre and post workout meal.  But, when you are working 3rd shift with a varying schedule and then while at work, I never know when I will be able to eat, I just have to eat food when I am hungry and get food when I can.  I just make sure that the food I eat is W30 approved and in sensible portions.  However, on the couple nights that I had off this week, I did attempt to cut out my snacking and focus on my main meals.  

In the past, typically my first days off were always hell for me when it came to constantly grazing on poor quality foods.  I would usually come home from working all night and then grab only 1-2 hours of sleep before being up for the remainder of the day, meaning I would be extremely sleep deprived.  Sleep deprivation has a ton of negative effects on the body and its systems, one of which, is it tells your body that you are hungry, even though that may not be the case.  I'm not making excuses, just telling you the facts.  It was still my choice to choose the shitty foods.  So, in the first 7 days, I had two days like this, which went great, with minimal hunger and/or cravings.  When they would come, I would have some nuts, or a piece of fruit or vegetables.  On day 4 I had a SWAT training and as we always do, we go out for lunch.  This week, it was to a local Chinese buffet - which believe it or not, I was happy about.  They have a stir-fry grill in the back corner with a whole buffet of raw veggies and meats.  I avoided the processed, low quality meats and opted for just veggies with some vegetable oil.  The vegetable oil is the lowest accepted item on the W30 list and is only accepted due to the overabundance of it in the culinary world.  It would be damn near impossible to go out to eat and avoid vegetable oil these days....kind of sad really.

Our dinners have been fantastic and believe it or not, Sarah and the girls have really liked most of them.  I have been finding recipes on Chow Stalker, Nom Nom Paleo, and The Foodee, and I have yet to be disappointed.  In my first 7 days, some of the dinners we have had include; Crock Pot Coconut Curried Chicken, Shrimp Fried "Rice," Baked Chicken Drumsticks with Mashed Cauliflower, and Apple & Bacon Stuffed Pork Chops.  I must say, that the Apple & Bacon Stuffed Pork Chops were absolutely delicious, even Sarah said, "I could eat like this every day if this is what we had for dinner!"  As for my lunches at work are rather simple with a bag of mixed vegetables (celery, carrots, broccoli, and cauliflower), a tin of sardines, nuts, and a piece of fruit.  My pre and post workout meals need some work. I have been having a small piece of fruit with some nuts or a tablespoon of nut butter for a pre workout snack, but would like to cut out the fruit all together from my pre workout meal. As for post work, this cries defendant on if I am going to bed after working out or just starting my day. If I am going to bed I will just have a can of coconut water, but if I am working out to start my morning I have been going with some combination of sweet potato, egg, avocado, and/or salsa. I have also had a sweet potato fried up with an apple and coconut flakes, with a dash of cinnamon, which was surprisingly tasty. That's about all I have been eating and I feel good. I haven't noticed any physical changes that you can see, but Sarah seems to think I have lost some weight. I know that I don't feel so bloated - imagine that - you stop pigging out everyday and you don't feel bloated and full all the time! I have also found it extremely frustrating when looking for common products that do not contain any added sugar or artificial sweeteners. Even simple products like seasonings....have sugar. But I eneded up finding a seafood seasoning with just herbs and spices and no sugar or preservatives. As for other stuff, I just opt to buy food that doesn't come in a package and avoid pretty much everything else. The biggest thing I can say, is that I honestly haven't had a single urge to go off the beaten path, but I know that will come. I am still in the "newness" stage of this and still have another 23 days to go. But, I am motivated and committed to seeing this through.

Oh!  And how can I forget that on day 7 was not only the last day of my first week of W30, but also the last day of my 3 week lay off from running.  That Sunday, I came home from work and ran a short 4 miles before getting on my indoor trainer and riding for an hour.  The run was awesome!  I felt great, almost as though I never missed a step.  From there, I planned on taking 2 full days with no running before trying again.  My plan is to err on the side of caution and make sure I allow ample time to recover from each individual run and take baby steps progressing my mileage back to where I'd like it.  As of today, I am still planning on running my 30 miles on my 30th birthday, which is only 32 days away!

Back to running in my new
Hoka One One Bondi Speed 2's!

Making Ghee

Ghee?  What the hell is ghee?  Well, I'm glad you asked.  Because to be honest, I had no clue what it was until I was doing my initial research on the Whole30 a few weeks ago.  I have heard of ghee before on some of my health and fitness podcasts, and just assumed it was a different form of butter, but not butter.  Well, I was close.  Ghee is also known as Clarified Butter and can easily be made on your own at home.  But why?  Well, again, I'm glad you asked.  Butter is dairy (duh), and for the most part most people know that dairy doesn't necessarily agree with everybody.  In fact most dairy has some negative effect on just about everyone, its just a matter to what extent.  This is especially true if you choose to buy the cheapest cheeses, milks, yogurts, etc.  Don't believe me?  Check out Whole30's, "The Dairy Manifesto," for more information about the effects of dairy on your body.  Long story short, dairy fats = good and dairy proteins = not so good.  So what does this all have to do with this ghee stuff?  Simple, Ghee, or clarified butter, is a simple process that can be done in your own home with stuff you have sitting around your home in less than an hour.  The process removes majority, if not all, of the milk solids (proteins and salts) from the butter, leaving you with a clean, richer flavored butter to use and not feel guilty about.  Below are two different ways to make ghee at home.  I used the first process, but will try the second process next as it seems to be a little easier and potentially quicker.

Option #1

Ingredients

• About 1 pound of butter, preferably organic grass fed, but at least organic

Equipment needed

• Loaf pan
• Funnel
• Cheesecloth
• 12-16 oz mason jar (easier if you have two)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 225 degrees
2. Place all of the butter into the loaf pan and bake in the oven for about 30 minutes
3. When the butter is close to being fully melted turn up the heat to 275 degrees for about 10 minutes
4. When the butter is completely melted and the milk solids on the bottom have turned brown, remove the butter from the oven (by looking at my pictures, I should have cooked it a little longer (not brown))
   
   
5. Strain the melted butter through 4-6 layers of cheese cloth into the mason jar, if milk solids are still present strain a second time
   
6. Ghee should be stored in an airtight container and does not need to be refrigerated but can be and will keep for several months if refrigerated, and 1 month if left out

Option #2

Ingredients

• About 1 pound of butter, preferably organic grass fed, but at least organic

Equipment needed

• Large Saucepan
• Funnel
• Cheesecloth
• 12-16 oz mason jar (easier if you have two)

Instructions

1. Place all of the butter into the saucepan and cook on stove top over medium-high heat until the butter is boiling (2-3 minutes)
2. Reduce the heat to medium, the butter should form a foam on top which will disappear
3. The ghee is done when a second foam appears on the top of the liquid butter and the butter is brown along with the milk solids found on the bottom (7-8 minutes)
4. Strain the butter through 4-6 layers of cheesecloth into mason jar, if milk solids are still present, strain a second time
5. Ghee should be stored in an airtight container and does not need to be refrigerated but can be and will keep for several months if refrigerated, and 1 month if left out

The Whole30 & Training Update

It's been a long time since I have written a post specifically about my training and me personally.  Majority of my posts have revolved around my daughters and my family.  Granted, those posts are probably more interesting then listening to me talk about my training, racing, nutrition, etc.  But truthfully, now that I have been blogging for over a year, I have grown to use this platform to get stuff off my chest, express myself, share my struggles and successes, and a place for me to just "figure stuff out."  I have used this website to share my dreams, no matter how far fetched, my struggles balancing my racing career with raising 2 daughters, and even many recipes that we have made at our home.  My blog is not a typical blog, focused on one aspect of life.  But rather a full encompassing site where I share my life.  As much as my life revolves around my kids and my racing, there is much more to me and who I am.  As I continue to grow as a father, husband, friend, triathlete, police officer, this blog will be here for me to share my life. This blog is me...

Anyway...As many of you probably have read, I started the Whole30 program/detox/cleanse this past Monday (January 20th).  The program itself is rather simple, but can become as specific/difficult as you want to make it.  The rules to the Whole30 are rather simple... (Or check out The Whole30 Programs Rules)

1. Eat REAL food - Eat meat, eggs, seafood, tons of vegetables, some fruit, and plenty of good fats from fruits, oils, nuts, and seeds.
2. Avoid added sugar of any kind, real or artificial, alcohol in any form, grains, legumes, dairy, white potatoes, carrageenan, MSG, or sulfites, and no "Paleo-ifying" baked goods, treats, or junk food.
3. The last rule is you are not allowed to step on a scale throughout the duration of the 30 days.  

Now, like I said you can make this program as specific and as difficult as you choose.  You can consume products that are sold in cans, jars, bottles, packages, etc.  But you really need to look closely at the ingredients list.  If the product has any of the forbidden ingredients the food should be avoided.  Why such the strict diet?  Certain food groups (sugar, dairy, grains, and legumes) can significantly have a negative impact on your health without even knowing it.  An example of this can be best shown with the growth of "gluten free products."  Gluten is the protein found in wheat and has a highly inflammatory response in many people.  This response causes several different symptoms in people, including bloating, gas, indigestion, migraine headaches, and allergies, just to name a few.  The other food groups listed above can have similar responses.  So how do you know if a certain food group negatively effecting you?  You simply cut out all the psychologically unhealthy, hormone-unbalancing, gut-disrupting, inflammatory food groups for a full 30 days. Let your body heal and recover from whatever effects those foods may be causing. Push the “reset” button with your metabolism, systemic inflammation, and the downstream effects of the food choices you've been making. Learn once and for all how the foods you've been eating are actually affecting your day to day life, and your long term health.

Why for 30 days?  It generally takes 20-30 days for our bodies to truly reset themselves and clear out and heal from previous damaged caused by foods.  It also is enough time to mentally change the way you think about food.  Many foods can have a significant psychological effect on you and your brain.  Specifically, sugar.  Sugar can act like a drug, causing a dangerous addiction that leaves you wanting and needing more sugar to fulfill your "need" for sugar.  Just watch the video below.

In order to break the vicious cycle of sugar cravings, you need to take time to reset your subconscious to learn a new, healthier way to eat.  

So why have I decided to do the Whole30?  Simple...I need to change my eating habits.  I do not eat as healthy as one may think.  Yes, I do eat pretty damn healthy, especially compared to the majority of middle aged Americans.  But, I do not want to be average.  I want to excel, I want to be the best I can be.  I want to be fast, fit, and healthy.  Over the past few years, I have found myself eating healthy most of the time, but then usually once a day, I break down and go on a binge.  Typically, my binges consist of some form of sweet, whether chocolate, ice cream, baked goods, granola bars, sugar filled cereals...you name it, I've pigged out on it.  I have taken down an entire box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch in one sitting after work one morning, I polished off a bag of Hershey Kisses, I usually eat most of my kids granola bars before they get their second one.  Yea....I have a problem.  I struggle to eat to comfortably full, usually, I eat until I am stuffed.  Evidently I hide this pretty well, because most of my co-workers think I am the healthiest eater they know of.  Maybe it's because I am relatively fit and look like I am in shape, but I guess when you train as much as I do, it makes it that much easier to hide the excess calorie intake.  I have developed many of the above listed symptoms.  I may not have a severe reaction to many of the aggravating food groups, but I can tell you with a large degree of certainty, wheat does not fully agree with my stomach.  My sleep lately has slowly gotten worse, my attitude has been less then desirable, and I am up over 20 pounds from when I was in my athletic peak.  I really just need to hit the "reset" button and relearn healthy eating habits.  

During my Whole30, I have personally decided to add caffeine to the list of foods to avoid.  Similar to sugar and other foods, caffeine has a significant effect on your hormonal response and your brain.  You also develop an addiction to caffeine which can greatly effect sleeping patterns.  Typically it takes about 10-14 days to reset your bodies response to caffeine, but I figured if 14 is good 30 is better!  

Like I said, I started the program on Monday the 20th which means I will complete the program on February 18th.  On the front it sounds easy...it's "just 30 days."  But when you look at it, that's a fricken month.  But, I am committed to this, I am committed to become a better person, a healthier person.  I am committed to developing healthier eating habits.  I am fully committed to the Whole30.  Here are some examples of the foods/meals I have been eating thus far during my Whole30.  I fried up a small sweet potato with an apple and unsweetened coconut flakes with some Ghee (see "Making Ghee")) for a post workout meal.  The flavors actually blended together nicely.  I made a coconut curried chicken in the crock pot on Tuesday for dinner for the family, which went over well with everyone.  For my lunch at work, I have been packing vegetables along with a small tin of sardines.  I can honestly say, that in just the couple days I have been eating super clean, I have been sleeping better, have not had any digestion issues, and have been in a better mood all around.  I must admit, I have been generally more tired then usual, but I am writing that off due to my cutting off caffeine with no real weening off.  I am anticipating my energy levels to come back up to normal and even exceed where I was prior as I progress along the next 30 days.

As far as my training, it has been a very prolonged off season for me.  Much longer than I am used to.  Unfortunately, it's not by choice.  I am still not running due to a diagnosed stress reaction (fracture) in my lower right tibia (shin bone).  This has been a very difficult time for me.  I have really been struggling mentally this winter.  I don't know if it is just a mid winter funk or something more.  I know that life has been a little more stressful then usual with the anticipation of our third kid, who is due to arrive in mid-March.  I have also still been trying to solidify some new goals for my future.  In the past I have always been training for one specific goal in mind, now that is gone.  I have since come up with a few goals, such as running a sub 3 hour marathon, qualifying for Team USA, and running a 50 mile ultra marathon.  Unfortunately all those goals revolve around me running, which is just not happening and hasn't happened for over 2 weeks now.  I know it has just been 2 weeks, but it's killing me mentally.  I bagged my previous training plan in favor of a more general base building plan where I honestly kind of fly by the seat of my pants each and every day and do at least an hour of training and day in either the pool, on the bike, or on an elliptical, or some combination of 2 of the 3.  I can't even begin to describe how bad a just want to go out and run and be "normal" again.  I feel like a waste, I feel like I am working out, as opposed to training.  I have basically given up on my goal of running a sub 3 hour marathon at the Green Bay Marathon on May 18th, as time is just running out.  I am having an extremely difficult time wrapping my mind around the idea that I will not be able to run 30 miles on my 30th birthday - as I have been planning this event for over the past 2-3 years now.  It's depressing.  It puts me a dark, gloomy mood just writing about it.  

I am also having a difficult time comprehending the fact that I will be turning 30 years old in a month and a half.  I am refusing to accept the idea that it is all downhill from here and that my best racing years of my life are behind me.  I am just refusing that let that happen.  I still have so much I want to accomplish and I fear that as I get older and my kids get older, it will become that much more difficult to achieve them.  I am also realizing that I can not eat like I did when I was younger (see the entire post above...) and I do not recover like I used to.  Life is getting rough, I don't like it one bit, and frankly, I am dreading it greatly.  Things are just not going how I saw them going for me in 2014.  It's been a rough first couple weeks of 2014 and quite honestly, it's got me in a funk.  Hopefully, by this weekend I am easing my way back into running and slowly building my mileage back up where I'd like it to be.  With only 27 days left of the Whole30, hopefully I am on my way to becoming a healthier athlete, which should have me in a better mood with higher spirits with my expectations and goals back in sight for the upcoming race season!