A blog I read regularly is by my teammate Athena Jess. Recently she challenged herself and others to a Spring Cleaning challenge. The goal is to cut the crap and eat healthy so by the time Wildflower comes we'll be leaner triathletes. I don't have a lot of experience in this but I'm assuming it's easier to go up a hill when you don't have pounds of fat weighing you down. (For those of you who don't know, Wildflower is one of the hardest half Ironmans in the world and MY NEXT RACE on May 5th).
22 days and counting
I accepted the challenge and I'm consciously taking steps to see if I can reach a healthier me. As a wise woman once said "What you put into your body is more important than what you do with it".
While training for my life changing first 10k I (out of fear) was very conscious of what I was eating. It was salads, home cooking, and healthy choices when eating out. Of course everything wasn't health food but if it was cooked by myself or someone I knew I figured it was full of whole healthier ingredients than a chain restaurant or something from the frozen food isle. Also, if I craved something sweet I made it myself. Homemade cookies with wheat flour and reduced sugar and homemade ice creams either with reduced sugar or from frozen banana. The excess was always given to my coworkers so I wouldn't eat the whole thing. I also kept the alcohol to wine. Smaller amounts than beer, higher buzz, and has its own health benefits. By the time the 10k came I was down to 140. I'm currently around 155. I don't currently own a scale so that's the number I saw when I used a friends scale when I was using their bathroom. It's time to bring those good habits back.
I'd like to report that come Monday I was able to say no to all the leftover Easter candy in the office.
But it's been minor victories and minor failures. Like the half a bagel I had this morning (I love bagels!) - fail. The smoothies I've been having every morning filled with veggies and frozen fruits (my Vitamix is my best friend) - win. The beer float (really sad I didn't like it) I had this past weekend - fail. But I'm hoping to get more in the swing of things. I'm very happy to report I've been eating home cooking consistently for the last week and a half, though the first dish I made was a crock pot pork butt. Protein is good but probably not when it has a nice layer of unctuous fatty goodness. *Drool* This week is a veggie chili recipe from a friend where I added some ground beef. That's not too bad right? Except I've been adding generous amounts of cheddar cheese and I eat it over sticky rice. What? I'm Asian, we eat rice with everything! To keep me accountable you'll probably be reading some daily logs of how I'm doing, hope you don't mind.
One of the hardest things about eating healthy is my job. It's 8 hours of nothing but plastic walls, halogen lights, and dual screens. Ergonomic chairs are great but I don't move much during the day. To break up the monotony I tend to eat. Snack. Nom. I keep nuts at my desk, healthy in moderation but fatty in excess. Then there's the treats. I love my coworkers. They are one of the best parts of the job but I wish they brought fruit instead of donuts. Today was bagels, a sweet loaf of bread with chocolate chips, pumpkin pie, and a big bag of chips. This doesn't happen every day (thank God!) but maybe once every couple of weeks. I need to re-learn to "just say no!". Bagels are my drug and I need to go into recovery. Oh and there's the chocolate drawer. My coworker literally has a drawer where people can come and go into his cube and partake in his treasury of mini snickers, twixs, and whatever else. Time to break out the discipline. Maybe I should print out the elevation profile of the Wildflower bike route... Hey, actually that's a good idea.
