Bring on the Fat!

Hey

I am trying really hard to limit the amounts of carbohydrates I am consuming.  I know this goes against almost everything in the "athletic" world as carbs are what fuels us.  There is no gluten problems (though I did have a score of 9 in the IgA test) but I feel soo much better with limited carbs.  So, no bread, which was no big deal though I do miss a mean pb and j sometimes.  And no pasta or mini wheats and the most difficult is no oatmeal.  But I have come up with some awesome alternative.

I can't lie and tell you it hasn't been difficult.  It's different, it's not the way I have known.  Our traditional eating has revolved around the meat and carbs with a little veggie thrown in.  Cutting back on carbs and sugar started out as a forced issue (thoughts of a bacterial imbalance in the gut) and the truth be told I was a bad a@@ rebel.  Very unhappy, grouchy and bitter.  I missed my carbs!  But as time has gone on, I see so many other people who are EMBRACING this lifestyle.  Hello, Attitude?  We need to make some major changes.  Stop with the mopey, grouchy, life is so tough routine.  Let's get on board this train!

The biggest issue I have struggled with is not feeling full and needing something more.  I am sure that is the soothing nature of carbs- comfort food.  Veggies and lean meats have been my staple and they don't seem to have those special powers of contentment, not like carbs.  I have also removed most fruit consumption right now with plans to bring it all back again.  So the challenge has been to bring the comfort and sweetness of carbs to the veggie/meat diet.  Hello FAT- the good kind.  Experiments with avocado, coconut oil and nuts have proved to be sucessful.  I made a chocolate mousse with avocado and ate almost the whole thing that night.  Serious self control to make it last 2 days!  And chia pudding with almond milk, with the chocolate mousse, now I am talking out of this world.  My granola was replaced with a seed and nut combination that makes me forget what I had before, what did I have before?

The moral of the story?  Embrace the good fats.  They do not disappoint.  I cannot vouch yet as for how this change of diet will impact heavy training or exercise.  I am still in the "off season" of hit and miss/ whenever I feel like something training.  I am anxious to see how regular training and the lack of carbs will roll together but I am confident it will be fine.

I am looking forward to experimenting with new recipes and creating some of my own.  Wishing you a great week of nutritious eats!

 

Motivation

Morning!

It is hump day, yaaa!  Who doesn't get excited about that?  Today's post is all  about motivation. We all struggle at times to keep our head above water and sometimes we just need a pull.  I'm hoping you read and feel refreshed.

I heard something funny the other day.  We just got a light brushing of snow in my part of the country and it came without expectation and my friend said that meteorologists (aka: weather people) are the only job where you can be wrong a lot of the time and still keep your job.  lol.

Well, we all make mistakes, it's true.  I like to remind myself that it's not the mistake that is the issue but whether I pick myself up after it and go on instead of staying in the dreaded, you know it- RUT.  I really dislike the same old thing day after day.  That's what our relationships can become, our work lives our home lives and certainly our athletic pursuits.

In my last post, I gave my thoughts on things needing to be in sync to get the best performance.  SO much of performance is outcome based.  It is very difficult then to go against the norms of today's society and feel GOOD about what you do, even when the results don't show it.  I have listened to Miranda Cafrae's You Tube post IM win in Kona and she said that it was a good day, good swim, good bike and great run and at times it seemed effortless.  Isn't that what we all want?  I think the truth is that those days are probably not the norm.  What then keeps us motivated during the rest of the time?

I recently replied to a blog post(that I follow) concerning the subject of overthinking and having rough days.  I am very much an overthinker; a passionate person who feels so strongly and has deep connections within myself.  I don't hide much; you see what I feel, how I care and what moves me.  This is truly an amazing way to live but does have drawbacks; the most prevalent is being hard on myself.  It can become fear of failure, retreat to my comfort zone (which is exactly not how I like to be) and a joy stealer.   I have certainly improved in the past few years.  For example, when I started seriously training, I did on occasion stop a run and go home because my ponytail was too tight or loose and my hair flopping around bugged me.  I have also packed it in once when my ear buds wouldn't stay in my ears.  (Had to go back the next day and dig the ear buds out of the ditch) Pretty junior high of me I know.  I just can't explain how it happens but a small thing can easily become a mountain with overthinkers.  I am trying to look beyond the mole hills so I can reach the mountains.

I gave my most favourite advice on the blog post (indicated above) because it is ALWAYS what I need.

 “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.” Theodore Roosevelt

This advice reminds me that I need to engage, get myself in the arena and not be timid or fearful and if I am IN the arena to remember that I WILL get my butt kicked sometimes, I WILL sweat and bleed but no MATTER the outcome- I am a competitor who dared greatly!!

I encourage you all to continue to dare greatly, knowing it won't always be easy but persevering and remembering that you are a gladiator, a challenger and it is a worthy cause.

Wishing you a great week!

Finding My "Sync"

Anyone musical?  Can you play

or

or

I am not the most talented musically, but when my kids are playing their instruments, I can usually tell when they hit the wrong note.  Now take the orchestra director- being able to distinguish a single note played incorrectly from 1 instrument out of the many in the orchestra or band is an amazing feat.

My run yesterday had me thinking of such things in terms of my fitness.  There are so many variables that need to work together.  It's not just one single instrument but an orchestra of many.  And to create harmony- they all need to play together.  There are so many factors that can be in surplus or deficit.  As athletes, we are more affected and challenged by imbalances because we are so much more connected with them.  The leisure Sunday driver doesn't care if he is driving 50 miles an hour or 60 miles an hour but ask Danica Patrick (the race car driver) and she will know her speed to the hundredth of a mile.

It is clear to me that for those endeavoring in athletic pursuits, there are so many imbalances that can affect our performance.  Nutritional, muscular, body composition, skill not to mention other factors such as training, weather and equipment.  And clearly, to get the best results, we need to have a lot of these factors in balance.  So how is one to get the perfect harmony or in this case a perfect race?  It's more than training and eating good. It's doing your best everyday to listen to your body, to learn more about creating and finding YOUR sync. I realized with clarity that the point of my dreams and goals is more than just crossing that line, more than challenging myself to the limits, more than keeping myself busy and trying new things.  I am on a journey of discovery, of actively finding the perfect balance, finding harmony, creating equilibrium.  And the thing about it is, it doesn't happen fast.  It requires tons of trial and error, bad rides, even worse runs, kicks in the face, water in the goggles, left in the dust days. It requires patience and reading and more patience and researching and did I mention patience?

There is no Staples Easy Button- oh how I wish somedays for one of those.  These less than desirable events teaches me more about the right combinations, muscles I need to beef up, foods I shouldn't eat.  The kicker for me has always been that for some people, it seems so easy.  So easy to spit out fast runs, to train without injury, to get good race results.  I know that it takes hard work and effort for everyone, some can make it looks so easy though.  And this would cause me to get impatient with myself and expect my results to be like that of others.  So, I would work hard and get things on track (or so I thought) and then just when it seems I have got it it together, something else happens to rock the results boat.

And so, I will endevour to always remember my journey is MINE.  An opportunity to chase harmony and find my sync.



A few great resources that have inspired me lately.  Everyone has a story to tell, and its these stories that motivate and inspire.  Thanks so much for sharing.

1. Ben Greenfield - so many ways to listen

www.bengreenfieldfitness.com

2. Tune in radio: Endurance Planet

3. Angela Naeth -

http://angelanaeth.com/live-and-unleash/

4. Team Wurtle-

http://www.teamwurtele.com/blog/item/155-failing-is-okay-thoughts-on-kona-2013

5. Tawnee Prazak

http://tritawn.blogspot.ca/

 

Tell me what motivates YOU?

September in Pictures

My 2x a week posting has officially gone out the window, however, harvest is OVER!!!! and things should get back to normal.  I will once again have time for family, running, biking, training, and blogging. Here is a brief overview of my September.  Hope yours was great!

[caption id="attachment_375" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Most of September, I was either in here or"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_376" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="in the big green machine."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_393" align="aligncenter" width="224" caption="This was my office view for awhile."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_377" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Having fun by the river after supper in the field"][/caption]



[caption id="attachment_379" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Picked bushels of apples- made TONS of apple crisp for the freezer- YUM!"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_380" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="So happy to see my Kona box come in the mail. Took it in the grain truck with me and it was empty by the end of the day! (I did share a bit)"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_382" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="The twins turned 16!!"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_381" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Birthday celebration at supper in the field for Denae and Brett."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_383" align="aligncenter" width="224" caption="Birthday cake in the field for Mackenzie. 3 birthdays in September- whew!"][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_384" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Lots of pumpkins!"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_385" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Snuck in a football game on a rainy weekend. Saskatchewan vs British Columbia"][/caption]



[caption id="attachment_388" align="aligncenter" width="224" caption="So sad to have to clean off my sunflowers from the garden. They were massively tall! The birds are happy though."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_389" align="aligncenter" width="224" caption="Hubby and I mountain biking on my favourite trail."][/caption]



[caption id="attachment_392" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Did manage to sneak in a couple short runs."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_396" align="aligncenter" width="224" caption="A great Sunday afternoon 30 mile ride on the skinny tires."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_397" align="aligncenter" width="224" caption=" "][/caption]

 

Hope you made many September memories:)