Thoughts On Being an Abstainer
One week down, six more to go! That is- I’ve finished a week of this diet, and have six weeks until my trip. At that point I’ll reassess the situation and decide if I’m going to attempt to stay on it while I travel, or loosen some of the restrictions. I don’t think I’ll be “done” at that point, but six weeks is a good mini-goal. Suzanne made an interesting comment on one of my posts- she said that the diet sounds challenging, but challenging things can be fun. And, she’s right! There is something fun about figuring out what I can eat, what works well and what doesn’t, and as an added bonus, it’s giving me some interesting things to think about. For example… I’ve noticed that when I want something I can’t have- let’s say black tea, or peanut butter, or fruit- it’s temporary. I’ll wish I could have it, have a short moment of sadness that I can’t, and then I pretty much forget all about it. But- this is only true because I’m abstaining completely. Here’s what happens if I’m trying to eat something in moderation: “I really want potato chips. No, I can’t have them- I’m only having them three times a week. I had some yesterday. If I don’t have them now, I can have some tomorrow. But maybe I won’t want them tomorrow! I could have them today, and then not for the next two days. But wait, maybe I’ll want some on Saturday…” Exhausting, isn’t it? I can literally go on and on like that FOREVER, or until I get tired of thinking about it and just eat the damn chips already. After a while I don’t have the energy for the whole rigamarole, and eat chips every day. In this situation, I embrace Oscar Wilde’s observation that the only way to get rid of temptation is to yield to it. Abstaining means deciding once, so I don’t have to decide every single day, over and over again. My mind is actually so much calmer now. It’s a relief not to have that internal debate constantly over what to eat. In that way, this is the easy part of the diet. The hard part will be when I’m thrown back into the world of decisions- that’s the part I messed up last time. I don’t want to spend the rest of my life on such a restricted diet, but I also don’t trust myself to make the right decision every single time. Is there a way to be a moderate abstainer? Weirdly, the only thing I can consume in moderation is alcohol. I LOVE a good IPA. I love going out with friends and having a beer. But then, I don’t want one again for a long time. I know if I had beer every day it wouldn’t be good for me, and I wouldn’t feel good. So why can’t I do that with food??? Sigh. Has anyone successfully changed from being an abstainer to a moderator? Is it possible? How is it done? How am I supposed to abstain for the rest of my life????? Top photo by James Smith on Unsplash
Weekly Rundown- The Long Headache
Oof. This was an interesting week! I started a diet- not for weight loss- but to fix the digestive problems I’ve been having. It’s very restrictive, but I know it works because I’ve done it before (more about it here). So basically what this means is I felt like crap for a few days. But, there were still workouts, at least most of the time. Thanks as always to Kim and Deborah for hosting the Weekly Rundown. Let’s just see how this week played out… Sunday I had a headache all day, sigh. In the afternoon I got out for a 3 mile walk, which didn’t really help. But moving is always better than not moving…right? Monday Ah, top of the morning! I got my aching head out of bed and went for a run! 3 miles of alternating running and walking (the hamstring is still hanging on with a little bit of pain). I also did runner’s touch and side planks with leg lifts- the two exercises I’m hoping are going to help heal up that hamstring. Tuesday In the morning I did the Caroline Girvan deadbug workout. I was planning on the gym in the afternoon but I STILL HAD THAT HEADACHE, so I went home and took a nap instead. Meh. Wednesday FINALLY- I felt better. Since it was my day off, I opted to sleep in a little and run after taking my daughter to school. But I wasn’t in the mood for the heat and humidity, so this 3 mile run was on the treadmill at the gym. It felt pretty good! Afterwards I again did runner’s touch and side planks with leg lifts. It was impossible to get a good photo- Thursday I did an upper body strength workout at home, including work on the pull up bar (I’m up to ten negatives! That means it’ll only be 1000 years till I can actually do a pull up!) And- this was the last day of school! I’m determined that my wakeup time will not start with a “5” for the next ten weeks. Friday I had planned to run, but I woke up thinking “I really feel like leg day at the gym.” THAT was weird- I actually wanted to lift weights instead of run, so I decided to do it while I was in the mood. I’m still not doing deadlifts, but I focused on squats, Bulgarian split squats, side planks with leg lifts (hey- I’m getting stronger with those. I increased it to three sets of ten- when I started I could barely get through one set on the left side!) and core. Saturday I knew my daughter and I were headed to the gym in the afternoon, so once again I decided to sleep in a little and run later on the treadmill. This was the best my hamstring has felt in months!!!! I upped the distance slightly to 3.5 miles. Sunday On tap for today- sleeping in! Some sort of… breakfast… and then upper body at the gym. This was a difficult week in some ways, but I’m ending it feeling pretty good. Let the summer begin! How was your week? Is school out where you are? Photo by Art Institute of Chicago on Unsplash
Gratitude for Tea and Books
Hello! Guess what- my headache is gone and I feel much better! Overall I’m adjusting to this diet, but I do have some THOUGHTS on green tea. Let’s count the things I dislike about it: 1) the taste, 2) the aroma, 3) the color (it looks like a urine sample) and 4) the fact that you’re only supposed to heat the water to 175 degrees- I like my tea really hot. But here’s a great reframe- my sister pointed out that I’m lucky I can have any caffeinated tea at all. What if I couldn’t??? That would be so, so sad. So I now refer to my green tea as a “hot cup of caffeine” and when you look at it that way, it’s pretty good. I even brought along my gunpowder tea bags when I went to Barnes and Noble yesterday. I went to the cafe and said “I’ll pay for a grande tea, but I just want the hot water- no tea bags.” The guy gave it to me for free! I thought maybe they would charge for the cup. So I was able to sit in the Barnes and Noble cafe, sipping my hot cup of caffeine. Hey- what’s that notebook?? Oh, that’s Kendra Adachi’s Summer Playbook! After I posted about making my own “poor man’s summer planner” Sarah texted me. She said she has all of the Achachi playbooks that she’s not going to use, and do I want them? YES I DO! She was actually heading my way to shop at REI, so we met up! And I got to see her family! Soooo fun. Which reminds me… as you probably know, Sarah has written a book, Best Laid Plans: A Simple System for Living a Life That You Love, and it’s available for pre-order (details in this post). I don’t really understand how it all works, but I know pre-orders REALLY help an author. So if you think you want to read the book, go ahead and order it asap! It’ll be out in December. Anyway, here’s me filling out my summer playbook: Recurring goals, hopes and dreams for the summer seem to be: sticking to this diet and feeling better, lifting weights consistently, working on my running speed, and doing LOTS OF READING. Coming up next: Birchie and I are doing an “unofficial book club” with this book in June. I’m not going to be posting insightful questions or observations, or leading any discussions (I mean- I’m not Engie!) but we’re both going to read it and discuss as we go along. Let’s call it a “buddy read.” Anyone want to join us? Lastly, I iced some of my gunpowder green tea and put it in a Starbucks cup, just to feel kind of festive: SEE WHAT I MEAN ABOUT THE COLOR??? Okay, I’ll shut up now. My sincere apologies to those who like green tea. Who has read Gone With The Wind? Green tea- yay, or nay? Top photo by freestocks on Unsplash
Reading and… er… Eating
Let’s start with the fun stuff! I finished this book: I know I said I don’t love Louise Penny, but I did enjoy this book. I think I’ll like the series better now that Gamache is living in Three Pines. BUT, there’s one thing about her writing that bugs me- her excessive use of fragmented sentences. I wouldn’t mind it every once in a while, but the entire book is written that way. It irks me so much, it distracts me from the story. Is it just me? Does this bother anyone else? Does anyone else even NOTICE this? Next up- I’ve started this book, which I heard about on the Currently Reading Podcast. I’m going to count it as my “long” book for May, even though it’s only 600 pages (well- I guess that is long). On the podcast, Meredith warned that it takes a long time to read this book because of the mixed media aspect. There are a lot of pages like this: This book is a mystery, and Meredith warned that you DO have to read all the inserts, because there are clues to the puzzle and important plot points in there. She said reading this book is an immersive experience, and I was immediately intrigued. So far, I’m loving it. I’ll write more about it when I’ve finished, because everyone knows you can’t really judge a mystery until you know how it ends. Okay, let’s talk about food! In yesterday’s post I announced that I’ve started an anti-candida diet, which is unfortunately very restrictive. I’m following the plan in Rikki Heller’s Living Candida Free, which has a lot of recipes. She really does a good job of making the most of the ingredients you ARE allowed to have. On Sunday I did some meal prep. As a snack, I made these “Cookie Dough Truffle Balls.” You blend up nuts, seeds, coconut flour, carob powder and stevia powder in a food processor, and add water to reach the right consistency. The recipe just said “salt” (which is one of my pet peeves- this is a RECIPE! Tell me how much!) so I added what I thought would be a good amount, not realizing how little the recipe actually made: So… they came out a little salty, and it reminded me of “Chef’s Salty Balls” from South Park, hee hee. Luckily I don’t mind salt, so I’m eating them (and I’m calling them Chef’s Salty Balls from now on). Here’s an amazingly appetizing photo of the “Grain Free Breakfast Porridge”:” You grind up coconut flakes, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, flax seeds and cinnamon in a spice grinder, then add water and stevia. Now, at this point you’re probably asking, “Do these things actually taste good?” Well… “good” is a strong word. My experience is, when I first taste them something seems a little off, but it’s just because I’m expecting it to taste different. Once I get used to it, I like it just fine. For dinner the last two nights, I’ve had a salad: You are allowed to eat only fermented soy products on this diet- so no tofu, but LUCKILY tempeh is allowed. I made a large batch of “Glazed Tempeh” (recipe from the book) and will use it throughout the week. Another dinner was this Smoky Rutabaga Hash. This was actually NOT a Rikki Heller recipe- it’s from this website. Starchy vegetables are limited on this diet, but rutabaga is an exception because it has anti-fungal properties. I served it with millet, which is one of the few grains allowed (actually, millet is a very starchy seed, but acts like a grain when cooked). I liked the rutabaga, but boy- is there any way to make millet taste good? I want to know! For lunch, I’m luckily still able to drink my usual protein shake, because my protein powder has all approved ingredients (I just mix it with water and chug it at work). That, along with snacks of chickpeas and sunflower seeds has kept me going- I’m not starving. So that’s enough to start with. More updates as time goes on! What are you reading now? Send me a great millet recipe if you have one!