 |
| Image via Pinterest |
A couple of weeks ago I wrote a pretty personal post about my lack of focus on health & fitness for the 2012 year. Since that public admission (gulp) I realized I needed to follow up and get back on the giddy up. So, that's exactly what I've been doing over the past couple of weeks.
I'm not going to lie, it hasn't been easy. We're in the midst of the holiday season, so prioritizing working out and eating healthy as I bounce from work happy hours to holiday parties, and turn down cake (I know, turning down cake is like torture) and beer in favor of the veggie tray and water/tonic and lime (I admit it, totally lame).
 |
| Image via Pinterest |
However, and anti-festive as this sounds, I feel SO.MUCH.BETTER! I've reworked my diet plan too, eating mostly veggies, very, very little meat, and only having healthy snacks when I'm hungry. I've let myself cheat here and there, I indulge in ONE cookie, not 5, or I have a glass of wine instead of a sugary cocktail. (no grinches here) I also am learning not to berate myself when I miss a workout or eat one too many M&Ms. I scold myself once, vow to be extra good for the next day or two, and move on. No self hate or beating myself up for 3 days because I missed ONE run or ate an extra 300 calories.
I've also been back to a regular running program because I signed up for a half marathon in March. This was REALLY hard the first and second week. It was awful dragging my butt out of bed before work to get a pitiful 3 miler in, then come home and feel like I was going to pass out in the shower because I was out of shape. It was equally awful when I'd get home at 6:30pm, look at how appealing the couch and my new Homeland Netflix looked, but still gear up and head out to get in a run before dinner.
But now, almost 3 full weeks back in, I'm starting to look forward to runs again. I'm not feeling as winded when I get to the top of a big hill, or at the end of a run like I did a couple of weeks ago. My clothes fit much better and I'm not constantly tugging at things. Its also getting easier to order healthy food because I'm listening to my body...it craves healthy food, and works better when I eat it rather than when I get a plate of french fries.
It's still a struggle, I've been out of shape for awhile, so I know that this is going to be an uphill battle (literally) while I fight bad habits and covet motivation. But with the little improvements I'm seeing as a result of my discipline, I've got to say, staying on this track is a LOT more satisfying than not.
For example, last night I did a 4 mile run. My first mile I did VERY slowly, but then, the next 3 miles I got progressively faster as my body settled into the activity. I cut 30 seconds off my first mile on the second mile, then did the same on the third and forth miles. I ended the run a few minutes faster than I'd expected and felt GREAT afterwards.
Did any of you take the re-dedication plunge like I did? How are you doing with getting back on track? Any tips/discussion topics?
To those of you who recently vowed to get back in shape, remember:
 |
| Image via Pinterest |
Sigh, I do love myself some cheese. A nice creamy brie, particularly if it's been baked en croute; a good sharp Cheddar; and oh goat cheese, how do I love you. But alas, our affair can be no more. After dealing with digestive issues off and on for about a year, I finally made an appointment with my doctor this last summer. I had a strong suspicion that I knew what the problem was, I just didn't want to admit it, and then she confirmed my fear "you're probably lactose intolerant". In order to be sure though, she advised me to cut out all dairy for a week or so to see if I felt better. If that didn't work I could come back and talk about other potential causes.
So I did as told and completely cut out all dairy successfully for about two weeks. The difference was dramatic, I felt so much better and no longer experienced digestive discomfort. I was shocked at how quickly I was able to feel the difference. Unfortunately, though, this meant that the diagnosis I had dreaded was accurate, I had developed lactose intolerance. (After reading some articles I have discovered this may not be that uncommon in adult women.)
So now, faced with this new truth about my body, I have been trying to figure out the best ways to adapt my diet. Why oh why does something I love so much have to cause so much pain and discomfort? Luckily, after doing some online research I've discovered that there are still some dairy items I can, or might be able to, eat without issue. First, I learned that Greek yogurt is A.OK because of the cultures, but unfortunately frozen yogurt not so much. Additionally, harder, aged cheeses tend to have lower levels of lactose and therefore are less likely to cause an issue than say a fresh whole milk mozzarella (bye bye my beloved caprese salads). Through trial and error I have so far determined that I can handle small amounts of parmesan, however provolone is definitely not in the cards for me. I have also made the decision to switch to almond milk for my cereal, a change I surprisingly liked.
Figuring out what dairy items I can and cannot enjoy has been quite an experience, and has not been easy. In fact, I have to admit that after about 2 months of really trying to be careful about what went into my mouth at each meal, I started getting lazy and sloppy. I reasoned that, well, it's not like the lactose is going to kill me. I just have to be willing to accept the uncomfortable consequences that go along with it, and sometimes the cheese is worth the discomfort. This is not a healthy frame of mind, though; sure, the lactose isn't going to kill me, but I should value my body enough to respect when it's telling me that something isn't working.
I need recognize that I am lucky, there are people suffering from conditions such as Crohn's that wish it was just lactose intolerance. I have a simple solution to my problem, so I need to take charge and actually do the work to weed the negative products out of my diet. And that right there folks seems to be the issue for me, cutting out dairy (or specifically dairy containing lactose) is work, or at least for me it's work.
I am so used to being able to generally eat whatever I want, I had no food allergies or anything growing up. If I didn't want to eat meat or dairy at a particular meal, fine, but I could limit that decision to when I felt like it and I only needed a small number of recipes to accommodate those days. If I found a recipe I really wanted to try I didn't have to think twice about whether it called for cheese or milk or not. I do really prefer to eat limited amounts of meat, so over several years I have cultivated a wide range of tried and true vegetarian recipes, however virtually all of them rely on some form of dairy for flavor. So now, I feel like I am starting from scratch. Cooking without meat has become easy (I am not a full vegetarian however, I simply eat limited amounts of meat), but I now need to learn to make dairy-free cooking just as easy. Unfortunately, now many of my go-to recipes can no longer be in rotation, at least not without modifications. This means I have to put a lot more thought into meal planning. Until living without dairy becomes second nature I can't just go to the grocery store and figure things out there, everything related to my meals will have to be thought and planned out ahead of time, which will require significant effort on my part.
I know what I need to do, I just need to actually do it. I need to take the time to plan out all meals a week at a time. I need to reevaluate my pantry to ensure that I have it stocked to be friendly for a no-dairy household. I need to make the effort to find and try out new recipes, and I need to experiment to determine which current recipes can be modified. I need to do a lot, and it will be work, and it does feel daunting but it is necessary to ensure my body is healthy. So as I make progress with this process I promise to share any great recipes I come across, or maybe even create on my own, as well as any tips I learn to make such a complete dietary overhaul easier. Oh, and if anyone has a good vegan pizza recipe (not using soy cheese) please, please, pass it along! Pizza is something I don't want to have to give up on completely.
Are any of you struggling with late in life dietary changes? Was it as hard to modify your diet as it seems to be for me?
Posts
