My Official "before" photo

Here I am at the Shiprock Marathon, on May 5,2012...

I was hoping that my shirt with the black bands would be "slimming". Sadly, this doesn't seem to be the case.

I've got marathons scattered throughout the rest of the year. I'll gauge my progress by my race photos.

My next race is the San Diego marathon on June 3. I'll be about halfway through Whole30. I may do the Seattle marathon on June 23 too. I'll have to see how my finances and my feet are holding up before I make a decision.

Whole30 begins this weekend

Yeah, I know, I said I would just eliminate grains this month.

But then I was thinking, grains will be the toughest food category to eliminate. If I'm not eating grains, I may as well jump in with both feet and complete the Whole30 program.

Tomorrow I'll do my Whole30 grocery shopping and then begin.

The next 30 days will be very busy, I'm traveling every week. I also have a marathon scheduled on June 3.

Whenever I embark on a big project, especially when it involves food, I'm better off being very busy. I once did a juice fast while traveling for work.  The only hard part was packing and unpacking my juicer! Whole30 will be much easier, I only need to bring my cooler and ensure that I have a mini fridge in my hotel rooms.

Another grain free marathon!

I did a marathon in Shiprock, NM last weekend. It's the only US marathon held exclusively was on an Indian reservation. The scenery was beautiful and since it was a small race, I ran much of the race alone. Here's a photo around mile 10..

That blip in the distance is me.

The good thing about completing marathons in over 6 hours is that you have lots of time to think. Whether you want to or not.

Somewhere around mile 15, I decided to re-commit to a primal diet. I didn't take any of the wheat laden foods at the aid stations. I only ate oranges and bananas. No pizza or bagels at the post race food tent.

Another big change is that I've begun eating meat again. I've been either a vegetarian or vegan for about 20 years. For me, the problem was that I would have a bowl of pasta instead of a steak. I was one of those vegetarians who centered their meals around carbs.

It took some mental wrestling but I finally came to the conclusion that if I'm serious about omitting wheat and grains, I had to add back meat on a regular basis. Since I've been dipping my toe into the Primal lifestyle, I've eaten a couple of meat meals but I haven't been consistent. 

I'm being picky, only eating grass fed, locally sourced meat. But still, it's still kind of weird to open my fridge and see roast beef.

I'm concentrating on eliminating wheat and grains. After that, it will be sugar.I find that if I take too much out of my diet, I'll rebel. If I stick to my plan, I'll be grain free by July 1.

Marathon time!

Tomorrow I'm doing the Shiprock marathon in New Mexico...

I think it's the only marathon held exclusively on Indian land.

As soon as I cross the finish line I'm beginning Whole30 until my next marathon in June.

Here's the real Shiprock, it does look like a ship!

Zagnuts

This is my cat Zagnuts. He is 15 years old, which in cat years is "geriatric".

A couple years ago Zagnuts began developing some problems. His liver and kidneys were acting up, he also had some arthritis and cancer.

The vet prescribed daily medication. We also changed his diet. His favorite foods contained lots of fillers (grains) that tasted good but were bad for him. He now eats cans of food by "Taste of the Wild". They don't contain fillers or grains.

Zagnuts is happy with his new grain free diet. He's lost some weight and his health is improving.

Now it's my turn....

Whole30

Today I'm starting the Whole30 Challenge  www.whole9life.com...

Here's a photo of my first meal...

I would have liked triple the amount of fruit. The guidelines say that fruit should only be a side dish. I want to follow the rules so I'll make sure I watch my fruit intake. At least I could have a big cup of coffee!

I'm going to blog on a daily basis during the challenge. I'm also going to try and take at least one food photo a day.

Tonight my husband and I are going out for dinner. I'm ordering a salad with grilled chicken. He's going to fall on the floor when he sees me eating meat!


UPDATE...I have a marathon this coming Saturday. The Whole30 folks recommend not doing excessive exercise in the first 2 weeks of the program. Since I'm still having nightmares of bonking from last weekend's 50, I'm pushing back my start date to next Sunday. The timing is good since I don't have another marathon until June 3.
I'll use this week to transition back to a carnivore.

I made a primal dessert today

and it's freakin' delicious!

Here it is...

-I cut up strawberries and a mango.
-Whipped up the fat in a can of coconut milk.
-Toasted coconut flakes with some cinnamon and sea salt.
-Layered all of it in a pretty parfait glass.

It's crazy good. Some variation of this will be my dessert for the next 30 days.

I've switched things up a bit, I'm starting Whole30 tomorrow instead of the Clean Program. The main reason? I can drink coffee on Whole30!

I've weaned myself down to one cup a day but I just don't want to give up coffee. I've been experimenting with herbal teas but they're just not the same. I admit it..I'm addicted to coffee and don't want to change!

Coffee, I can't quit you

The good news is that I've weaned off of sugar and grains. I've even switched my daily glass of wine ( I drink it for the antioxidants!) for sparkling water.

I think I've taken the steps needed to succeed at Whole30. My official start date is tomorrow.