Marathon Training Update

It’s great to be back on here after a fun and busy summer! We had a few last minute trips out of town and ended up being gone for most of July so it seemed like the summer flew right by. I just finished the halfway point of my 18-week marathon training plan. Woohoo! In some ways it seems like I’ve been training for way longer but at the same time it seems to have gone by pretty fast. I was a little nervous about training while traveling but I was able to fit in all the runs and it was refreshing to run in new locations.

Our first stop was the Vegetarian Summerfest held at the University of Pittsburgh in Johnstown, PA. We had a fabulous time learning tons of information, meeting great people, and eating amazing food (I need to do another post or even a few more about that experience). If you’re not familiar with Pennsylvania, it’s quite hilly at least in parts and the Johnstown area is one of those hilly parts. I tackled a few smaller hills, which was good for me since I don’t spend a lot of time running hills. I was very tired for each run since I was up much later than normal every night and up earlier than normal in order to finish my runs before breakfast which was only served from 7:30-8:30, but it all worked out and I got them done. My long run that weekend was a 9-miler. It was the day we were leaving so I skipped a session after breakfast and did a little yoga since I didn’t think it would be a good idea to ride in the car for several hours without getting a decent stretch in. At Summerfest, we had the great pleasure to meet Rich Roll, spend some time with him, and attend his running clinic. At the end of the clinic we did a fun run and Scott and I ran with Rich the whole time. It was a pretty cool experience. I think I’ve made it clear in prior posts that I’m a huge fan of him, his wife Julie, and their work. If you’re not already familiar with Rich and Julie, you definitely need to check out his book Finding Ultra, their cookbook Plant Power Way, his podcast, her music and their other work and products. He, Julie, and many of the people he (and sometimes they) has interviewed on the podcast have inspired me in this marathon challenge, my whole-food, plant-based journey, and many other areas of personal growth. I listen to his podcasts on every run (I use his app or the Sound Cloud app on my iPhone). Here are two pics with them.Our next stop was an overnight stay with some friends in Mechanicsburg, PA. In the morning I visited the local Y to get in my cross-training workout (swimming and some weight and core work) before we got on the road. I unfortunately forgot my Speedo at home so I wore my sports bra and the bottoms from my no so sporty two-piece. The drag created by the somewhat loose fitting bottoms was a bit annoying but at least I kept them on! They must have been the reason I was so slow that day. Ha, ha. I’m not the fastest swimmer no matter what suit I wear but I do have pretty good endurance.

Cape Cod was the final destination on this leg of our trip. It was our second year visiting the Cape and hopefully it will be a yearly trip for our family. My best childhood friend and her family have a home in Sagamore Beach and graciously allow us to stay there. The highlight of the week was when our friends visited with their 9-month old baby. She was a delight to be around and the kids loved playing with her. We enjoyed many great conversations and spoiled them with several yummy plant based meals and desserts. This was our first vacation being whole-food, plant-based and while it definitely took a bit more planning, it worked out just fine. We didn’t partake in any of the traditional local fare – namely seafood – but we did thoroughly enjoy the abundance of farm stands. So on to the running part…the topic of this post, right. It’s so easy for me to go off on a tangent! There are many places to run near our friends’ house including the Cape Cod Canal path, which runs along the canal (see below).

I like running on the path for shorter runs but it is totally flat and a down and back so I find it a little monotonous after a while. I ended up running most times starting out from their house and then winding through neighborhoods and along local roads. There were plenty of rolling hills and some short but steep inclines. It was challenging compared to my normal routes but was a really nice change (similar to PA). I also loved the fact that it’s lighter there earlier in the morning so the sun was already shining when I’d leave for my early morning runs. One day I was running through a neighborhood and a few turkeys ran in front of me. That was a first!

My long run that weekend was supposed to be 10 but I ended up doing 11. I started out on the canal path and passed fisherman after fisherman out for their early morning catches. I love to think about what life might be like as a fisherman sitting in the serene stillness of the morning. It certainly requires a lot of patience and persistence – both of which I could use a little more. Then I headed toward a road that was just inland from the houses facing the beach. I was the only one out at that time of day so it was very peaceful. I made my way further inland before ending with the steady climb back to our friends’ house. That last portion was the killer part of the route. Just when I was ready to be done (and feeling like toast), I faced the most challenging part of the run. Because I sometimes like to torture myself, I did hill repeats through their neighborhood a few times. They were slow but fun in a weird sort of way.

From the Cape, we came home for a few busy days of trying to get things back in order and catch up on everything after being gone for almost two weeks. We then headed north to Cheboygan, MI where Scott’s originally from. His grandmother still lives there in a vacation home his aunt and uncle recently rebuilt. The house itself was amazing and just a short walk from Mullett Lake – a large and beautiful lake. We had a fun (albeit interesting) few days in a house jam-packed with family. There were literally people sleeping everywhere! My favorite part was the boat dock where I enjoyed several post-run yoga sessions in the early morning stillness. Below is a pic of that lovely spot.

I have traveled with “my” food and Vitamix (a must bring along travel item for me if at all possible) for several years now showing up with bags of produce in particular. This year we brought even more since I was packing for all four of us and we didn’t want to have to make a huge grocery trip when we got there. Thank goodness their fridge was the Cadillac of fridges and fit all of our stuff and more! We used the Vitamix several times a day so I’m sure everyone else was relieved when they returned home to quietness after hearing the jet-engine like sound of the Vitamix for several days.

The house sat right next to a really long snowmobile trail that people use recreationally for other activities like biking, walking, and running. I ran a few short runs on the trail but knew I didn’t want to do my long run on it because it was harder to run on with it being gravel and it was monotonous – completely flat and tree lined the whole way. I set out for my long run intending to run 12 according to the plan but ended up doing just over 13.5 (13.2 was the furthest I’d run prior to this!). I had gotten too far out on a long country road before looking at my phone to see how far I needed to go to get back home. I turned around at a farm stand, which was a neat coincidence. I planned to go back later in the day to get produce but as soon as I got back to the house it started raining. Below are a few pics from that morning.

We found out later there was a tornado close by. It was a good thing we didn’t know it at the time as our son is terrified of tornadoes and we were in a giant window filled house. It continued to rain for hours and we lost power at the house (so no water or toilets!!), which just wasn’t going to work for all of us in the house for very long. We made the decision to head out a day early. It was a great decision to avoid the inconvenience of no water but not so great considering how far I had just run. I was a little worried that I would be really sore the next day after riding in the car but I was able to use the stick roller and stretch a little before getting in the car and during our ride so that helped.

I had a step down week the following week and then ramped back up again completing just over 14 on my next run. Below are two pics I took along the way. The sunset was fabulous that morning and I snapped a fun shadow pic closer to the end of the run. I had to stop for that one.

I set out early and got home before everyone else was up and moving. I felt pretty good after about mile 6 when I got into a nice groove. I took two water bottles filled with a water/coconut water combo that I had soaked dates in overnight. It was really refreshing and seemed to do the trick but I ran out by the end of the run. I plan to take more for higher mileages and I’m also planning to take along some nourishment as I go further. I used dates when I trained for the half last year and plan to try them again in addition to sweet potato. I joked that I might put the sweet potato in my sports bra so if you see me at the beginning of my run I will have a large chest and it will slowly dwindle back to normal by the end. In all seriousness I’ve heard sweet potatoes can be great for long runs if you are trying to stick to whole foods.

Pace-wise, I’m hovering around an 8:30 average pace. This is almost a minute slower than my average pace for the half but I seem to be naturally gravitating toward this pace. I haven’t paid any attention to my pace until I finish each run and when I finally look I’m always within 15 seconds of the same average pace. It’s actually pretty remarkable that the body works like that. I may end up even a little slower as I start adding on more miles but we’ll see.

I’m going to need to a new pair of shoes and sadly my favorite Nike Air Pegasus are now made differently and no longer fit well. Unfortunately I can’t find any of the older style online or in stores. I’ve been wearing Air Pegasus since I started running about 6-7 years ago so I’m really bummed. I tried a pair of Brooks at a local running store and thought they felt ok but after running to the end of our street in them I knew they weren’t right for me. I’m going to head to another local store to get a running / fit analysis done so hopefully that will help steer me in the right direction. I am mad at myself for not getting a few extra pair of the Pegasus the last time I ordered some online but what can I do now?

I’ve been focusing on carbs/starches a lot more recently and it seems to have really helped with my energy and the recovery process. I think this combined with a whole-food, plant-based diet has been behind my overall increased energy, reduced soreness, and faster recovery. I’ve heard plant-based athletes talk about this but didn’t believe it until I started experiencing it myself. My diet is the main difference between this year and last when I trained for the half and was eating a mostly whole food diet that was lower in starches and contained animal products. I will continue to boost my whole food starch intake and see what happens. I’m also trying out a few supplements that Rich Roll mentioned in his book Plant Power Way. I’ve been adding fresh ginger and spirulina or chlorella powder to my smoothie every morning and then occasionally adding maca and camu camu powder. I also take turmeric capsules to help with inflammation and have experimented with cordyceps mushroom capsules to try to boost my oxygen levels. I’ve never been one for supplements but I figured it’s worth a try especially since they come tested and recommended by an ultra-athlete.

Whew – that was a long post. Thanks for staying with me. I’ll leave you with a little inspiration that has been on my mind since I first heard Julie (Rich’s wife) say something like it to me at the Summerfest:

Hold the highest vision of yourself and others. When you envision the greatest potential in yourself and others, you (or they) will eventually move toward that vision and you will certainly see yourself and others in a more positive, accepting, and compassionate light.

October 18th, Columbus Marathon – Here I come!

Well, I bit the bullet yesterday and registered for the Columbus Marathon on October 18!! I’ve been thinking about it for a while now and am tired of letting my fears and excuses run the show. I’ve said it out loud to a few people over the last few weeks and decided I just needed to make the commitment. I can’t believe I’m doing it since I clearly remember saying to myself after finishing the 1/2 last fall – “I will NEVER do this again. What was I thinking.” I guess I stuck to my word though since I’m not doing the 1/2 again 🙂 I think I’ve been listening to far too many podcasts with endurance athletes and it’s starting to rub off on me. When you are surrounded by stories of people who overcome incredible odds and push their body to the limit it’s hard not to get caught up in it. To many of them (endurance / ultra athletes), a marathon would be like a walk in the park but hey, it’s a start for me and will be a challenge nonetheless. I figure this is the perfect year to do it. It’s already been a monumental year for me in transitioning to plant-based eating and ditching my serious ice cream habit. Why not add a marathon to the list!

I’m pretty sure I’ll be following Hal Higdon’s Novice 2 Training program which would mean me starting my 18-week training program the week of 6/15. Wow that is soon! I get nervous looking at the mileage but I’m going to keep repeating these mantras to myself – take it one day at a time and one foot in front of the other. Stay in the moment. With proper training I am capable of this. I believe in myself and much more that I believe in God and the strong person He created me to be. When I am weak and feel like I can’t go on (and I know I will feel that way many times throughout the training), He is strong and will give me the strength mentally and physically to push through.

I’d love to have some of you join me in this adventure (if not for a full marathon, some type of challenge for yourself). I will need all the encouragement and support I can get! I plan to write consistently along the way about my journey and include some tips I learn along the way, so stay tuned.

Have a great day and enjoy the sunshine!

A More Mindful Start to My Days

Scott and the kids were gone again a few weekends ago when I was supposed to attend a training for a new fitness class. I decided to forgo the training but they still went out of town since they had already made the plans. I taught a few classes, went to some of our church’s women’s conference, shared a fabulous meal with a great friend (more on that below) and of course spent lots of time in the kitchen cooking and listening to podcasts.

Unfortunately, the rest of the family was in a car accident on the way to Cincinnati. This was the second time in six months that Scott has been sandwiched in between two other cars on the highway traveling to or from Cincinnati. The first accident was in his car and this time the van. Praise God everyone was okay and the van was still drivable. It needed some major repairs and after a few weeks of waiting on the other people involved in the accident, we are finally getting it fixed.

One of my favorite podcasts from the weekend was Rich Roll’s interview with psychologist Michael Gervais titled Mastering Mindfulness in Sports & Life: High Performance Psychologist Michael Gervais. There were tons of great takeaways from the interview. I’ve been listening to many great podcasts and reading more and I want to remember some of the things I hear so I decided to start a Word doc to keep track of everything in one place. Normally I’ll jot stuff down on sticky notes or in my journal but I end up losing the notes or completely forgetting about it. I’m hoping having one central location will help. I found it ironic that I randomly picked this podcast about mindfulness to listen to since we had just had a discussion about mindfulness at a women’s Bible study I’m part of and mindfulness is the main topic of the March 2015 issue of Yoga Journal.

I’ve been including one of Michael’s suggestions at the start of each day and have found it so helpful to start my day off with more intention and focus. Most days I wake up to the alarm, jump out of bed and get straight to my workout. I am a morning person so it has never been hard for me to get up and going in the morning but I realized it would serve me better to begin my day at a slower and more mindful pace so that I can take a moment to just breathe, work through any anxiety I’m feeling and get my mind in the right place before I do anything else. I recently started getting up 10 to 15 minutes earlier than normal so that I could have some dedicated time to take a few deep breaths, read my Bible and devotional, journal and pray. It’s a small amount of time but after many years of unsuccessful attempts to do this for a larger chunk of time, this is a good start. I’m happy to report I’ve stayed committed to the plan for all but two days in the last several weeks. I’m feeling great about this accomplishment. The pic below is of my “morning spot.”

In addition to this, I’ve incorporated a simple 3-step routine before my head even leaves the pillow (Michael suggests this in his podcast):

1. Take one deep breath (and continue breathing of course!)
2. Have one thought of gratitude
3. Set one intention for the day

Lastly, I try to set a positive tone for how I’m going to interact with others that day by making my first interaction with another human a positive one. In the few weeks since I’ve been doing this short and simple routine, I have found that I start my days with more peace, less anxiety and a better state of mind overall. This doesn’t mean the rest of my days have been perfect but at least I’m starting them out better!

Here are a highlights from other things I did during the weekend they were gone.

My friend and fellow yogi / foodie / cookbook addict / etc. had an oh so yummy dinner at Banana Leaf vegan and vegetarian Indian restaurant on Saturday night. Check out this spread! We both got the buffet at the suggestion of the owner and loved everything. The buffet comes with an appetizer plate (the school lunch tray looking thing in the pic below) for each person that contains some common Indian street food. I’m not sure what everything was on there or that I ate from the buffet but I loved it all. It had been a long time since I last had Indian and I’d forgotten how much I like it. If only I could re-create these dishes at home. Of course I spent time that night on Pinterest looking for Indian recipes! Unfortunately my first attempt a few days later totally bombed but at least I tried, right? I knew it was bad before we even sat down for dinner but I kept my mouth shut and so did the rest of the family. I was shocked they ate it without complaining! I have a nice family 🙂 I’m going to invest in a few new spices and hope for success next time around.

After I got home I spent some time in the kitchen making a batch of homemade corn tortillas that I used in a meal later in the week and a batch of homemade whole wheat tortillas to put in the freezer. I tried a corn tortilla recipe a few weeks back and was disappointed in how fragile they were. I couldn’t even get the dough off my tortilla press. I used a similar recipe this time but saw a tip to cover the press with plastic wrap and it worked like a charm! The tortillas peeled right off in one piece.

The family got home on Sunday and I made this vegan spinach artichoke sauce pizza on quinoa crust. I added chicken and a little shredded cheese for Scott and E. I used elements of several different recipes and can’t remember exactly what I did so I’m not posting links to anything. But it turned out pretty good for my first attempt at a vegan pizza. The sauce was great. Next time I’ll bake the naked crust a little longer to get it nice and crispy before adding toppings.

I have been learning so much from listening to podcasts lately and by incorporating things I’m learning, I am starting to make positive changes in areas that have been challenging me for years. I am a routine person and like to be (or feel like I am) comfortable. Change has never been easy for me to swallow. This quote spoke to me and I wanted to share it with you.

What if I told you that
10 years from now,
Your life would be
Exactly the same?
I doubt you’d be happy.
So, why are you
So afraid of change?

Karen Salmansohn

Have a great weekend!

Happenings Around Here Lately

It’s been more than a week since my last post so I wanted to update you on what’s been going on around here lately. After writing posts every day of my 3 week detox, I felt like I needed a little break. While I’d love to be a blogger that consistently writes every day, I’m just not there quite yet.

I have continued to follow the same eating plan that I followed on the detox and have been feeling great! I’ve had a little sugar in a few pieces of dark chocolate I’ve had over the last few weeks and have had two lattes. I’m trying to stick to one coffee or less per week as a treat. Both times I got a latte I ordered a tall soy latte. The soy milk at Starbucks is sweetened and thus does contain some added sugar. Otherwise my “treat” of choice has been frozen bananas blended with a few splashes of coconut almond milk and a date. I have been eating (very ripe) bananas like crazy. I can’t seem to get enough of them right now. I have changed my breakfast to be just a very large smoothie and it has at least 5 bananas + a few other fruits and veggies. Bananas are a great way to get a lot of calories and carbs (= energy) from fruit and the browner the better for digestion. I was eating a nut meal based “muffin” in addition to my smoothie but have felt great after eliminating that. I think the fats in the muffin were messing a bit with my blood sugar and digestion. Here’s proof that I’ve been eating a LOT of bananas. I finally broke down and just bought a case. Kroger often has bananas that are getting too ripe (for the normal person) on Manager’s Special and I lucked out the other day and found a bunch of bunches 🙂 that were marked down. Between the four of us, we are flying through them. I got my second case today. Pretty soon the whole house is going to be smelling like bananas. I’m definitely going to need to start thinking about a solution for fruit flies once the weather gets hot. We always seem to have a problem with them in the summer and this surely won’t help!

At the end of my detox and into the first week or so after I was feeling a little sluggish at times throughout the day and my friend recommended that I increase my fruit carbs even more so I added more bananas and an additional fruit + greens smoothie in the afternoon. It has made all the difference. My energy level is at an all time high and I seem to just be feeling better. My friend follows most (if not all) of Banana Girl’s Raw Till 4 lifestyle and while I’m far from adhering to all of the principles (like eating raw until 4!), I’ve adopted some of them and am moving toward others. It’s definitely a very different approach to eating than I’m used to and I find it fascinating.

I’ve continued to cook lots of new and interesting recipes and make up all kinds of creative concoctions too. If only I could figure out an easy system to capture the details of my creations! Scott and the kids have been awesome about eating everything I make. I normally just cook up a little chicken or ground turkey to go along with the meal for them and they are happy.

The kids and I made our second batch of sprouts in our sprouting jars. We sprouted alfalfa seeds this time. C enjoyed several handfuls (see pic below) for lunch the day we got them out of the jar and asks for them every time she seems them on my plate.

I am so proud to say that I’ve had ice cream only one time since the detox ended (the day after) and haven’t had strong temptations to eat it. I did stop at UDF to get gas the other day and considered for a moment going in to get some since it was on sale (yes, I can still be tempted by a good sale) but decided I’d feel much better if I just ate my frozen bananas and dates. It was a small victory for me. I took the kids to Graeter’s the other night for a special treat and did find myself salivating a bit as I watched people enjoying the giant chocolate chunks (my favorite part) in their ice cream but felt good that I didn’t end up getting anything. I will have it at some point but I’m trying to save it for when I REALLY want it. Chocolate has been the only thing that I’ve occasionally wanted in terms of sweets. I made a few vegan desserts that contained dark chocolate and the funny thing is that I really just wanted the chocolate and could do without the rest. However, I think the increase in fruit carbs in the earlier in my day has helped minimize these cravings. Here’s a pic of the kids enjoying their ice cream treat.

Scott and I had dinner Friday night at Portia’s Cafe. It’s an adorable all-vegan, gluten-free and mostly raw restaurant. We both had wraps that were made with raw and gluten-free tortillas. The waitress told me they were made of teff flour, tapioca flour or starch (I can’t remember), olive oil, salt, and water. Of course I hopped on Pinterest when we got home to see if I could find out how they were made raw and find a similar recipe. I found all kinds of interesting recipes for raw tortillas/wraps and other raw food items made in a dehydrator so that is next on my list of kitchen appliance “wants”. In the meantime, I will settle for these cooked Quinoa Tortillas that are made very similar to the 5-Ingredient Quinoa Pizza Crust we love. I made a batch of both today and thought the tortillas turned out great. The texture is spongier than a normal flour or corn tortilla but they are good and I’d highly recommend the recipe. We ended our dinner with Portia’s Chocolate Cheezecake. It was delicious! Unfortunately I had a pretty bad stomach ache the rest of the night so something didn’t sit well with me but it sure tasted good while we ate. Here’s a few pics from our dinner out.

On the way home from Portia’s we stopped at Saraga International Grocery. I’m a sucker for grocery stores – especially ones with tons of produce and things that I’ve never seen before. The produce section had about double or triple the offerings of a normal grocery store. If I ever need an exotic ingredient I will definitely head there.

E’s class took a field trip to the local Senior Center last week. I got to go along to help and really enjoyed seeing the students interact with the seniors. The kids shared about the Leader In Me initiative at Jefferson Elementary and each kid had a chance to talk in the microphone. I was amazed that every one of them spoke with no noticeable fear! They were so brave and articulate. The kids enjoyed a buffet style lunch with the seniors complete with a dessert table. I was laughing at how full the kids filled their plates with dessert. Left to their own devices they went all out. We eventually limited them to two cookies each 🙂 I’m guessing their parents wouldn’t have been too happy had they seen the first few plates that went through the line. I’m so blessed to have a flexible schedule so I can go to these types of things.

Both kids have their Valentine’s Day parties on Thursday this week. I’m in charge of organizing E’s but am not contributing anything other than two games. I made these candy cane hearts pictured below for him to pass out as his Valentine’s. I was worried I might not find candy canes anymore but I happened upon several boxes of candy canes marked down at Kroger last week! I heated the candy canes in the oven for a few minutes and then shaped them into hearts. Then I melted pink candy melts and filled the centers. We printed little tags to attach to the cellophane bags. They are cute and hopefully the kids will enjoy them. I have to make cut-out cookies for C’s class and will finish that tomorrow. The dough is made so we just need to roll it out, cut it into heart shapes, and bake.

A friend gave me this cute idea last year to do a “heart attack” on the kids’ doors. Each day in February leading up to Valentine’s Day I write a message on a heart telling them something we love about them. They love to see the new hearts each day and definitely love the affirmations.

I hope you are having a great week so far!

21 Day Detox – And The Results Are In….

January 30, 2015

I was going to wait to get my cholesterol rechecked post detox until the 6 week mark but since the test only costs $29 through Request a Test and we are paying $80 extra a month because of my high cholesterol we decided it’d be worth testing it now just to see. I went to the lab Wednesday morning and waited 45 minutes after fasting overnight plus working out. I’ve never had to wait at that lab so I did my normal workout which wasn’t such a good idea since I ended up waiting so long. In times like those, when I start to get annoyed because I’m waiting and feeling hungry I remind myself how short of a time I have gone without food compared to many people in this world and of the abundance I have available to me every day. It’s always good to put things in perspective…

I was thrilled to get my results back on Thursday. Here’s where I was on 12/17 and 1/28 – a remarkable difference in my opinion at least.

12/17/14:
Total Cholesterol: 258
HDL: 86
Triglycerides: 46
LDL: 163

1/28/15:
Total Cholesterol: 208
HDL: 87
Triglycerides: 43
LDL: 112

Yes, you read that right…a 50 point drop in LDL and Total Cholesterol from a 3-week detox (whole food, plant based, animal free, no sugar, no processed food).

As a result of my high cholesterol I was assigned a health coach through our new health insurance provider (Medishare). I had my first call with her today and I was able to share with her about my detox and the change in my cholesterol. She graduated me from the program! $80 more per month that we can now spend elsewhere. That’s a nice motivation to keep it going.

It’s a no-brainer for me: a whole food, plant based diet is right for this body. Now to work on making sure I’m eating enough of the right stuff to support my activity level and feel great all the time.

Have a great weekend!

21 Day Detox – Looking Back

January 26, 2015

I wanted to take a moment to share with you some of what I learned from the detox and my plans for moving forward.

In case you missed the beginning, here are my posts leading up to the detox:

21 Day Detox – Starting January 1!
More on My “Why?” and The Mental Side
My Plan + Some Other Options
13 Steps to Success
Beyond Food
Final Preparations

I wrote a personal journal post for each of the 21 days but rather than post the links to each individual day here, you can go to enspirebalance.com and just type the day (i.e., Day 1) in the search box.

I also pinned lots of great recipes and some pertinent other info on my 21 Day Detox Pinterest Board.

I found each of the 13 Steps to Success important but I’d say most of all, it was absolutely necessary to plan ahead – not just for the beginning of the detox but also day to day meal planning. I did quite a bit of research, selected recipes and got ingredients I would need ahead of time. Then I would keep a running list of things to make so that I wouldn’t be scrambling at meal times. I also planned ahead for times when I was going to be away from the house at a meal time since it would have been hard to eat out on the detox.

I learned early on that I’d be more successful if I considered the food as fuel for my body and I had to think carefully about giving my body enough fuel and the right fuel. I tried not to focus so much on what I was cutting out but instead focus on all the good stuff I could eat. If I satisfied my hunger and cravings for sweets with great food there wouldn’t be room for the crap. Don’t get me wrong….I still wanted the crap, but I was satisfied by eating things like bananas, dates, and other fruits. I also had to make sure I ate enough. I tried to eat when I was hungry and eat a lot. I never counted calories and my plate was always full of great plant based options. I’m a very active person so without an ample amount of food I would have had zero energy. I mentioned this early on but I didn’t do this detox to lose weight. The scale was hidden for the entire detox. I did weigh myself after it was over and did end up losing 2 pounds but I think that’s pretty good considering I cut out a lot of calories by taking ice cream out of my diet. I’m going to wait three more weeks and will then get my cholesterol levels checked again. I wanted to give my body a little more time to adjust to the new way of eating. I’ve read a lot of literature lately saying that cholesterol levels aren’t the best determinant of risk for heart disease but I do have to pay extra for health insurance with my high numbers so for me it’s worth getting them down even if just for that reason.

I’d say the most positive change I’ve noticed was from cutting out caffeine. Before the detox I would drink a small cup of coffee in the morning and then about a cup of a mixture of coffee and a non-dairy based latte or iced coffee after lunch. I have dealt with anxiety and/or depression on and off for about 20 years and have always thought the anxious, jittery, spacey, and irritable feelings I’d have during the day were from that. I would also notice drops in my energy level in the late morning and late afternoon. I realized quickly after cutting out coffee that it was at the root of these feelings. I haven’t felt them since cutting it out! I don’t plan on going back to drinking coffee on a regular basis but will enjoy it every now and then.

I also noticed a decrease in muscle aches, fatigue and soreness while on the detox. I’m guessing inflammation was at the root of these feelings. I may have sub consciously ramped down my workouts since I wasn’t eating as much “bad” food but I think it was what I was eating before (sugar?, dairy?, etc.) that was causing the problems.

I found meal prep a little overwhelming at times because I made nearly everything from scratch. I’m already used to making a lot of things from scratch but this was even more. I could have simplified what I ate but I like variety and also like flavorful sauces and things like that so I tried lots of new recipes. A lot of people have told me they could never do this type of detox because of all the prep and while yes, it does require more prep than eating convenience foods, it is well worth the effort and can be simplified to fit any lifestyle.

This detox was so much more than a food thing for me. If you followed along with my personal journal posts, you know that this was very much a spiritual journey that challenged me to examine my dependencies on food and caffeine, my reliance on food as a source of comfort, and my tendency to turn to food when I’m stressed or anxious. I had to rely on God to help me along the way because there were several moments of frustration and irritability when I would have turned to my normal food outlets but couldn’t. I had many ups and downs spiritually throughout these three weeks and I have no doubt that the Lord used this time to grow me and bring to light several areas of weakness and several areas I needed to surrender to Him. This experience was very humbling and made me feel extremely vulnerable at times. I loved following along with the You Version Bible App’s 21 Day Reading Plan Streams in The Dessert and the daily readings from Sarah Young’s Jesus Calling: Enjoying Peace in His Presence.  It was amazing how each day I felt like God was speaking to me directly through these readings.

I’m so proud of Scott for completing the detox with me. He followed my plan except that he kept in chicken, turkey, and eggs. He loves to eat out and is gone a fair amount at lunch and sometimes dinner so he had to plan ahead for those times. He is hoping the detox will help him get back on track with his eating and he’s definitely off to a great start! He also lost 8 pounds along the way and did that by just eating real food – no calorie counting and no supplements. He’s been very busy with a few work projects so he hasn’t been working out but plans to get back on track with that soon too.

Here’s a pic of Scott and I on our date night to celebrate the end of the detox. This was the first time we ate out on the detox (other than the night at the very beginning when we went out with our small group but I didn’t order anything). My mom was here to watch the kids and it was so nice to get out! We ate at Northstar and then got a piece of cheesecake to bring home from the Cheesecake Factory. We both did ok with the dinner but the dessert was a little too much sugar, especially for Scott. I don’t think we went overboard but it was very sweet. It was the second time I had sugar so I seemed to handle it a little better. His tummy was not too happy :(. He says he’d rather have the little shake concoction we had during the detox – frozen bananas, almond milk or coconut almond milk, medjool dates, and a scoop or two of nut butter blended up to a smooth consistency.

I realized quickly after the detox that I haven’t lost my sweet tooth. It is definitely less intense and I realize I can satisfy it many times with fruit or other healthy options. Scott reminded me that I’ve had a sweet tooth for my entire life and my ice cream habit has been going strong for 20+ years so I couldn’t possibly expect to kick that kind of habit in 3 weeks. I at least feel good about the fact that I curbed the need to have ice cream in abundance every night.

I’ve had a hard time mentally letting myself feel like I’m done with the detox. I do need to let go of it in a sense because I need to give myself a little more freedom and flexibility (without feeling guilty that I’m “giving in”) but in general I’d like to stick to the same type of eating as I followed for the detox. I felt great while on it and it was in many ways just an extension of how I was already eating so I don’t want to just go back to my old habits.

Going forward, I plan to follow a mostly whole food plant based diet with as little processed food and sugar as I can. I am not banning sugar even though I know it’s not good for me. I like treats and I’ll try to make treats that use little or no refined sugar (using things like pure maple syrup, medjool dates, and bananas as sweeteners instead), but the fact is I’m still going to eat sugar and enjoy it (at least until I get even more convicted!). I’m going to try very hard, however, to avoid sugar in places it shouldn’t be – anything other than treats. Sugar is hidden everywhere and one needs a careful eye to spot it. So I’ll continue to avoid packaged items as much as possible and make what I can from scratch. I’d like to save my refined sugar intake for sweet treats. I’m also going to enjoy desserts that are in no way healthy (i.e. ice cream and cookies) but in smaller quantities. I think this is doable for me and will allow me to enjoy what I like with more awareness and control than I had before. The detox was a great way for me to get started off on the right foot toward these goals!

It will hurt.
It will take time.
It will require dedication.
It will require willpower.
You will need to make healthy decisions.
It requires sacrifice.
You will need to push your body to its max.
There will be temptation.
But, I promise you, when
you reach your goal, it’s
WORTH IT!
(Author Unknown)

Thank you so much for following along with me on this incredible journey!

21 Day Detox – First Sugar Post Detox

January 23, 2015

I woke up yesterday feeling a little strange. It felt good to be officially done with the detox but also a little sad because it was fun to have the challenge. I didn’t want to jump right back into eating sugar like I was eating before but I was feeling like I wanted to have something small. C and I put the Paleo Chunky Monkey “Ice Cream” that we mixed up the day before into the ice cream maker first thing. We enjoyed a small taste once it was the consistency of soft serve ice cream. The base of the mix was allowed on my detox but not the chocolate, so I had a few bits of the dark chocolate and it tasted great. Once we put the container in the freezer it got pretty hard and is a bit difficult to scoop out unless you let it sit out for a while first.

I have to make a snack / treat for E’s basketball game tomorrow and a snack for our small group meeting on Sunday so I went ahead and made these The Infamous Neiman Marcus Cookies. The recipe is in no way detox friendly. LOL! I doubled the batch because I needed to make a lot. I put raisins and chocolate chips in half the dough for the basketball team and chocolate chips and chopped pieces of a giant Krackel bar we had in the cupboard in the other half for our small group. Since I doubled the recipe it was a ton of dough and my stand mixer was barely able to handle it! I didn’t eat any of the dough until I started baking and then I picked out a few of the chocolate chips. They tasted really good but my tummy wasn’t too happy :(.

I got an email from Graeter’s yesterday advertising a special on a small selection of pints that they had overstocked. I really like Graeter’s ice cream even though it is very rich and expensive compared to store or national brands. I decided to stop in to get two pints on my way home from teaching last night because I figured it’d be a good ice cream to have has my first post detox. And my mom is visiting and she loves Graeter’s too :). I got Peppermint Stick and Vanilla Gelato with Chocolate Truffles. After dinner I ended up eating one the cookies I made earlier (and thoroughly enjoyed it!) and then had the dish of ice cream pictured below a little later. It was a very modest sized portion compared to my normal (which would have been filled to the brim and maybe even a little more). I enjoyed it but definitely had a hard time imagining eating a whole bowl full. I had a little stomach ache shortly after but I’m not sure if that was the ice cream or the beans that we had with dinner. I also slept very restlessly. I had lots of dreams and was tossing and turning all night.

I’m definitely planning to have ice cream on occasion but I don’t plan to have it nearly as often as I used to. I know for sure I didn’t lose my taste for sweet treats though! I really just want to keep my consumption of sugar under control and not get back to habitually eating it like I did before. Not only do I feel better physically but I also feel better mentally not eating it so often.

I’ll be back with a more in-depth recap of the detox soon 🙂 Happy weekend!!

21 Day Detox – Day 21

January 21,  2015

Woo-hoo!! Only a few more hours and I will have made it 21 days on this detox and 21 days without ice cream. If you would ask anyone who is close to me I’d venture to say they would say they’re surprised I did it. Within the next few days, I’ll be posting a celebratory recap of the 21 days and some of the things I’ve learned on the journey.

The Vitamix was going strong this morning! I used it to make two smoothies, nut butter (I used raw almonds, cashews, and brazil nuts that I soaked, dehydrated and then roasted with a little coconut oil and Real Salt), and the mix for this Paleo Chunky Monkey “Ice Cream” (I used three medjool dates instead of the honey and vanilla extract instead of the almond extract). Tomorrow, I’m going to put the mixture in my ice cream maker with some pieces of the dark chocolate I got at Meijer yesterday. It will be my celebratory treat :). Don’t worry….I’ll be getting the real thing very soon.

I also made another batch of these Paleo Banana Muffins. Each time I make these I change up the recipe. This time I added a can of pumpkin, a large handful of shredded zucchini, raisins, and a mixture of grains I had frozen into muffin size portions that included quinoa, farro, and steel cut oats.

My lunch was a bed of chopped spinach and arugula topped with roasted parsnips, sweet potatoes, brussels sprouts, and eggplant. I then added a handful of sunflower sprouts (that I made this weekend), and a saute of garlic, onion, broccoli, cauliflower, yellow bell peppers, zucchini and mushrooms. I sprinkled a little nutritional yeast all over the salad and ate it with some yellow squash hummus, avocado, and salsa on the side. It was fabulous and beautiful to look at I might say! C kept asking me for bites and of course I happily obliged considering I’d love her to eat this type of thing on a regular basis. Normally if it’s on my plate she wants it but if I were to fill her plate with the exact same thing she’d balk at it. Scott was out of town for the day so I had leftover soup with the addition of quinoa for dinner and I made the kids chicken pizzas on homemade whole wheat flatbreads we had from the freezer. It’s a great recipe even though it doesn’t fit into the detox. I make adjustments to the recipe each time and they always seem to turn out just fine.

My precious kitchen helper wasn’t feeling well this morning. She woke up with what seemed to be a stomach bug and slept for about 2 hours out in the kitchen while I worked. I couldn’t believe she didn’t flinch when I blended the nut butter. It sounds a bit like a jet engine. She was all back to normal by 11. In fact she was in the best mood she’s been in for a long, long time. Craziest thing! Notice the baby in the picture. She bought it last night with money she’s saved in her money jar. She is so happy with her purchase. If only it were the real thing…

“Maybe the journey
isn’t so much about
becoming anything.
Maybe it’s about
un-becoming everything
that isn’t really you
so you can be who you
were meant to be
in the first place.”
Author Unknown

Thank you Lord for this journey. Thank you for walking ahead of me, by my side, behind me and carrying me when I needed it. Thank you for these encouraging words from today’s devotional in Sarah Young’s Jesus Calling: Finding Peace in His Presence:

“I want you to be all mine. I am weaning you from other dependencies. Your security rests in Me alone – not in other people, not in circumstances. Depending only on Me may feel like walking on a tightrope, but there is a safety net underneath: the everlasting arms. So don’t be afraid of falling. Instead, look ahead to Me. I am always before you, beckoning you on – one step at a time. Neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, can separate you from My loving Presence.” (Based on Deuteronomy 33:27 and Romans 8:39)

Signing off for now. I’ll be back soon!

21 Day Detox – Day 20

January 20,  2015

Today has felt like a long day. I’ve been mentally and physically exhausted. I think I’m just ready for this detox to be done. It’s been such a great experience for me but I’m ready for the end. I’m not sure my diet will change all that much other than having a little more flexibility but I think it will feel different because I won’t be on an official plan. I took the kids to Meijer tonight so they could spend some of the money they’ve been saving and I went ahead and got two dark chocolate bars. I read the ingredients carefully to get the cleanest ones I could find. Of course they both have sugar but they are 85% dark and have under five ingredients. I’ll be breaking into those in the next few days :).

One of my students this morning was telling me about a 3 day juice cleanse she completed earlier this month. She said it was the hardest thing she’s ever done. I’ve never really considered a juice cleanse but it sounds interesting and very challenging. Maybe next time. If there is a next time….

I made this 10-Spice Vegetable Soup for dinner. I followed the recipe other than I used a combo of cashews and peanuts for the cream and used coconut oil instead of olive oil for sauteing the vegetables. I took a portion out for myself and then added ground turkey to the rest. We ate some of the soup for dinner tonight and the rest I’ll be giving to some family friends for their dinner tomorrow. The mom is pregnant and having some health issues so it will be a nice treat for her.

I’m looking forward to tomorrow. My last official day. Dear Lord, give me strength for the day ahead. You have been with me all along this journey and I’m confident I couldn’t have done it without you. Your grace has been sufficient and you have given me strength when I’ve felt weak and tempted. I give you all praise and thanks!

21 Day Detox – Day 19

January 19,  2015

We thoroughly enjoyed our time with our friends this weekend. My friend and I are like two peas in a pod in so many ways. We each have our own quirky habits and routines but we are so comfortable with one another that we don’t even care.  Most guests would have had a hard time being here while we were doing this detox but it was no big deal for her. It was great to spend quality time together in person.

We ate leftovers and quick meals all weekend so I didn’t end up cooking a real meal at all. It was nice to have a little break from more time intensive cooking but of course I still spent a lot of time in the kitchen preparing meals and snacks. It seems the kids are always hungry! I used my Vitamix a lot to make smoothies because they are such a great way to get nutrients in easily and quickly (for myself and the kids).

Only a few days to go and I’ve definitely had treats on the brain. We had an employee party at the Y last night and they had cookies that looked so good. I almost saved one for Thursday but decided against it. I’m definitely not going to go crazy when this is done but I am going to have something small for sure. I’ve also been pinning lots of yummy sounding desserts that are made with healthier ingredients. I’m sure it doesn’t help me to be looking at all that!

Tonight for dinner I made these Crash Potatoes with some of both red and sweet potatoes. If you’ve never made this recipe, try it out! I love the way the skin gets all crispy. I seasoned them with garlic powder, sea salt, and pepper. I had the potatoes with half a black bean sweet potato burger, roasted zucchini, and sauteed onion and garlic on a bed of greens. I made this recipe for Almond Parmesan Crusted Chicken Tenders for the rest of the family. I used half almond meal and half cashew meal and replaced the parmesan with nutritional yeast since Scott isn’t eating cheese. They liked it other than the fact that I overcooked the chicken.

I did a lot of yelling again this weekend and this afternoon. We have a pretty small house so all the energy with the kids running around (especially the boys!) put me a bit on edge. I am still feeling very emotional and I get so mad at myself when I yell. I need to work on not letting my emotions get the best of me. I recognize my need for control so much in how I respond to the kids and it’s frustrating to me. Tomorrow is a new day…praise God!

“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”
Jeremiah 29:13