While I continue to maintain the positive outlook I described in my last post, I do at the same time feel very yucky in my body. I seem to have developed a severe carbohydrate and refined sugar ADDICTION. This has the result of giving me the constant blahs... falling asleep in afternoon meetings, yucky tummy translating into yucky (or missed) runs. But it hit me today (pardon the obviousness of it all) I actually have a CHOICE about what I put into my mouth. I don't have to eat the cookies just because they are there (though I think this is a distinctly female trait, guys seem to be able to eat one cookie and forget about the rest of the package).
I feel so much more cognitively functional and athletic when I drop the processed food, fill up on fruits & veggies, protein and properly hydrate with liquids other than diet soda and coffee. Again, pardon the obviousness of it all. But it really hit me today as I walked passed a plate of chocolate, chocolate chip cookies left over from a potluck at work yesterday and automatically grabbed one that, yes, I ultimately have control over what I put in my mouth. Hardly revolutionary I know, but I so often eat on auto-pilot and therefore when I am not hungry. I guess many people do. There is this primordial brain reflex that kicks in: COOKIE, EAT!
So, here is my goal... for one week I will:
~think before eating ANYTHING and evaluate whether I am really hungry
~eat 5 servings of vegetables per day
~drink large quantities of good old fashioned plain water, I am after all living in one of the most water-rich countries in the world!
~not eat junk food. I know that is a very lose definition, I won't bore you all anymore than I already am, with my definition.
~NOT exceed the Canadian Food Guide's recommended 6-7 servings of grains (and I will respect the serving size)
That's probably enough. Need to keep it simple for my little brain.
The goal is not to lose weight but rather to feel more energetic and more fluid on my runs.
One week.
Go.
I know - so obviously simple - but unless we can slow down our thought processes - also very hard!! Good luck being "aware" of your food thoughts. I have tended to be exactly as you are - food there...should be eaten. Enjoy reducing the carb/sugar cravings!
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting. We have a choice to choose what we put in our months of course but what if I choose to eat cookies? Then I should not probably complain about it I guess. And I am not (yet? Maybe it will come with age (no offense intended) but I did not see any negative effects on my body after I ate a whole box of cookies (how many were there? Maybe 14...) and a bag of jelly beans last week while I was walking home from work. It was over 5mile work though).
ReplyDeleteI do not eat much junk food, but I eat a lot of sweets. And that's my choice!
Although I have had so many debates with myself whether stopping eating sweets might help my running (I cannot find any other aspect of my life on which eating sweets can have an impact)
(However, now that I am back to having to carry groceries in my backpack, I will think twice about what I buy so I am sure I will cut on sweets. I do not have any now and I do not plan on going grocery shopping for another two weeks or so, so I will be a good little eater/runner:))
I have NEVER had just one cookie! I can still recall my mother asking how many I'd had from the one's she'd made and I'd say "Just 12."
ReplyDeleteAs a runner and not exactly heavy, don't exclude refined sugars and flours without replacing them with something else - you'll need the energy.
mmmonyka - if you CHOSE to put cookies into your mouth then all the more power to you! i think it's great, truly. what i am battling against is eating when i am not hungry, filling up on cookies and perhaps missing out on nutrients and generally eating stuff i fundamentally don't really want to be eating just out of habit.
ReplyDeleteI do think you hit the nail on the head when you mention age. I remember being in my mid-twenties and being able to literally eat ANYTHING and not seeing any effect on my body or my training. I started noticing in the past year that when I over indulge, it doesn't just disappear anymore. I guess this is a normal part of aging - metabolism drops (though WHY? presumably due to decreased muscle mass but if one continues training & working out does muscle mass really decrease JUST by virtue of getting older? really? i should read more on that). Anyway for you I say if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Enjoy those jelly beans. And eat a green one for me.
In that case I am going to keep enjoying unlimited quantities of sweets for next couple years while I can:)
ReplyDeleteTwo things: I have never known men to eat just one cookie!!! But I think Steve Q touched on that.
ReplyDeleteTwo: I think athletes eat more carbs for a reason and that is well, they give you engergy to exercise, but on the other hand when we runners take a break from running carbs very quickly become the enemy!
Good luck! I am excited to hear how it goes!
I only identify you with berries. You always had fresh ones at your house. Mmmm. I wish you were here!!!
ReplyDelete