Right. So it’s been a while since I’ve updated. It’s also been a while since I have trained. My two weeks “off” for the holidays turned into four. This was mostly due to my health being very poor. Not my physical health, my mental health. Usually I can work through one of my “downs” quickly and with the help of exercise. However, with the weather being utterly miserable, my schedule being out of wack, and my motivation being at zero, I just couldn’t do it. I could barely get myself out of bed, let alone to the pool for a swim or to the gym for a run on the treadmill. It felt terrible and I am so glad that it has now passed. In fact, right now I am riding high after a great run this morning. It is currently a balmy -2C outside. It’s like springtime! We had brutal temperatures between -20 and -40 for several weeks in a row. So this is the equivalent of being in Cuba!
I have been thinking about my overall health lately. I find it really funny that just as I had given myself permissed, and asked it from my coach, to take a hiatus from training without any pressure, I felt like I missed it and wanted to get back into it. So here I am on a big up-swing and making goals for myself while doing good things for my brain chemistry like eating lots of Udo’s oil and taking Vitamin D supplements. I think that this week will be my first official week back from my hiatus from training and this blog.
I feel like I need a better way to keep track of my training. My coach gives me my workouts, but I feel like I should track how much sleep I’m getting, what I’m eating, and how my workouts felt. I signed up for Beginner Triathlete’s Training Log things, but it’s not very user-friendly. I mean, I’m getting the hang of it, but it’s not great, and I wish that I could put it into this website. Maybe I’ll see if there isn’t something better, even though I paid for this already.
Another facet of my life that I would like to work on is my nutrition. As a vegan, I am generally very careful about what I put in my body. However, for the past few months I have developed some very bad habits, which are very unusual for me. Instead of making a “real” meal, I have been relying on processed foods a lot (ie. veggie dogs are my favorite food right now). I eat potatoes a lot and lunch generally consists of a Clif Bar, some toast, and an apple. This is not good and so unlike me! However, I have been thinking that maybe this is just the kick in the pants that I need to start transitioning to a raw food diet. I have essentially decided that I will not be 100% raw.
There are several reasons for my decision to not be 100%. It is essentially impossible here in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, where our food in the winter comes from very far away. I have been looking at books and recipes and we just don’t have access to a lot of things that other people do. Coconuts are rare here! I have heard that you can find a “young” coconut, but I have yet to find one on my own. Also, there are certain things I’m not willing to do, like not go to restaurants or see friends in that social setting. Food is social, absolutely, and I will not compromise my veganism, but it is just way too hard not to eat out with friends. Also, I love crunchy things like toast. Toast is probably my biggest complaint about raw food. I know that bread is generally not good for one’s body, but I think that my body might be the opposite. My body LOVES carbohydrates! If I don’t have enough carbs in my diet, I start to feel all wonky and devoid of energy.
That being said, I would like to be 50 to 75% raw to start with. I’m hoping this transition will be done by February. I started tonight with having an awesome salad with Red Star nutritional yeast, Udo’s oil, a homemade tahini dressing, some baby bok choy and a mix of greens, tomatoes, and some hemp seeds. It was fantastically delicious and super filling! It was quite large as well. This week I’m going to do some grocery shopping and see if I can stock my fridge with some awesome raw stuff. I’m going to make a really great raw chilli that I learned from one of my former raw food potluck friends. It is really tasty and is super easy to make. I figure if I can incorporate a few new raw recipes into my life a little bit at a time, it will be fairly easy to make this transition. While veggie dogs will likely still have a place in my life (15 grams of protein in ONE!), they will not be such a staple.
Here is my training log for today.
Increasing the raw food in your diet can only lead to good things. As far as carbs, just eat more fruit..esp. bananas are loaded with calories.
Have you read “the thrive diet” by brendan brazier? He also JUST came out with a new book called “thrive fitness”. advocates for a high raw (75%ish) diet and the rest is really clean.
You know, I have just recently decided that I’m going to buy Brendan’s books. I saw that he has that new one out. I’m going to go ahead and get them both! I’ve heard such great things about his book. I’m definitely going to go for 75% raw.