My biggest diet update is that I hate green tea. Oh wait- that’s not new. What IS new is that green tea seems to be making me nauseous these days. I googled it, and it’s a thing- other people complain about it as well. WHY? There are several explanations, none of which make a lot of sense to me. Some people blame the tannins (but they’re in black tea as well) or the fact that green tea lowers your blood sugar. Whatever- I think it’s because my body doesn’t want to drink grass anymore. I’m considering an herbal tea option, so you know I’m really desperate. Two more weeks, people… and then I’m bringing back the Earl Grey.
In running news, I’ve noticed that I’m craving long runs again. Actually, I’m just craving something different, and I feel like I’ve had a very (VERY) low level of depression all summer long (other than the week of my trip). Nothing terrible- but life just seems very one-note. I purposely kept the running to a minimum to heal up the ongoing hamstring issue, and that, combined with my diet, has left me feeling flat.
I realized- I don’t LIKE moderation. I don’t want life to go along pleasantly but uneventfully- I want to run 20 miles, and then spend the rest of the day reading on the couch. I want to do back-to-back long runs, and celebrate with a Subway sandwich and Coke Zero. I want to observe the start of football season by drinking beer and eating nachos.
I’m not sure all these ups and downs are good for a person. I knew someone once who told me he didn’t celebrate any holidays, because he didn’t believe in having highs and lows in life. YIKES. I love holidays!!! I do get sad when they’re over, but it seems worth it to me because I enjoy celebrating so much. I like having highs and lows!
However… I’m pretty sure my digestive issues stem from too many highs and lows. When I was younger, I did a lot of binge eating, followed by no eating at all. I’m sure years of that wreaked havoc on my system, and while I don’t go to those extremes anymore, there’s still some of that mentality left.
Moving forward, I have to figure out how to put the things I love back into my life without causing negative issues. I have some ideas- including using UCAN as a running fuel (a low glycemic, slow releasing starch) as opposed to sugary gels, and continuing to eat big salads for dinner most nights- but I’m not sure I can- or want to- change my all-or-nothing mentality.
SIGH. Why does this have to be so hard? Why can’t I just eat and enjoy it and feel good? How did this all get so complicated???
Are you a person who likes moderation, or more of a “highs and lows” person?
Any advice for the green tea issue? (Yes, Jenny- stop drinking it).
Top photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash
24 Responses
Stop drinking green tea- you have the internet’s permission.
I would like to be moderate;if I’m busy enough, I am. It’s when I’m bored or depressed that I start vering into lows and binges. Never had disordered eating, but enough issues with food that it’s never easy.
I wish I had the desire for a long run- I can manage a fast toddle at best!
Hang in there- you are almost there, with your Earl Gray waiting at the finish line!
Ha- I’m actually drinking green tea right now It seems to help if it’s really hot (internet suggestion) so when I’m home I keep putting it in the microwave. When I sit at Starbucks and sip tea slowly I seem to have more of a problem.
I’m pretty sure my long runs resemble a “fast toddle”, ha ha.
I’m glad your beloved Earl Grey can come back in two weeks, Jenny. Sorry the green tea didn’t take. I thought you were getting into it there for a bit… ah well. What will you do for caffeine for the next two weeks though? (I think I shared my lots of freshly-squeezed lemon in green tea tip earlier?)
Life is definitely not a steady road for most people, and having some highs to celebrate makes it possible to weather the lows, I would think.
I’m glad the end is in sight for your AC diet!
Thanks Maya! I’ll try the lemon- I haven’t done that yet. Yes- I would like to have some caffeine in my life these next two weeks!
Sorry to hear that but I can totally relate being in a mini depression due to lack of running. I was there for a month and was not fun.
I had my episode of extremes in youth, now I practice moderation better because extremes don’t sit well with my body anymore. Bringing back running gradually would be key to avoid injury again (I am telling that to myself too! although it’s hard not to go longer when one feels good), and on the tea, what about trying other brands/types like a fun challenge/experiment? maybe you find someone else that you like.
That’s a good point- the older we get, the less extremes agree with our bodies. Maybe I’m just missing my youth!
I am trying to figure out if it’s specifically one type of green tea that’s worse than others. When I’m home I drink gunpowder and that seems to be the best, stomach-wise.
There is Earl Grey flavour roibush tea (is that how you even spell it?) but a) you probably can’t have it and b) it’s not very nice! I’m a moderation type of person though I will go through ice cream or certain types of chocolate if I have it in the house. I expect in my case it’s to do with growing up in a household that was chaotic and I was always having to predict how I should behave so as not to bring stuff down on myself. I wish I could be more highs and lows sometimes, but that’s who I am, and it has, I think, prevented me ever hitting the wall in a marathon, as I never really try hard and just bob along, eating hot cross buns!
There’s a lot to be said for moderation! And… Earl Grey roiboos- even if it exists- sounds kind of gross, ha ha. But maybe I should have a more open mind!
I am a pretty even-keeled person, I think, but that said, I love holidays, I love special treats and visits and vacations, and I am generally pretty delighted by life. So I wouldn’t call myself a highs-and-lows person, but I like to squeeze joy out of life. I’m lucky because I don’t tend to get sad when those exciting things are over, I guess I just go to the next thing. I don’t know if that’s healthy but that’s me. And I think that’s okay, we are who we are – you’re a highs and lows person, and that’s great too!
I’m definitely not an all-or-nothing person, I do tend toward moderation particularly with food. The thought of never having something I love again is just too sad for me! Like I’m never not going to NOT have cake, or wine, or COFFEE (the caffeinated beverage thing would be terrible for me too Jenny, I really empathise with your lack of Earl Grey because coffee is SUCH a happiness in my life). Well, two more weeks and then you can add it back in.
I wonder if it would work for you to have a couple days a week when you COULD have the things you love. Like, if it’s Friday, maybe a Subway sandwich, but not other days. Or Coke Zero but just Saturdays and Tuesdays or something. Then you could have it and not go overboard and hurt your tummy? I don’t know, I AM NOT A DOCTOR, this is just a thought.
I’m sorry you’ve been low-level sad. But guess what, fall is coming and that’s your favourite!! Fall! Soon! And you will be able to go to Chicago where there actually IS fall and see leaves! How fun!
Thank you Nicole! And yes- good times are right around the corner. I’m also trying to figure out if I could make a schedule for myself where I have certain things on certain days. If I just say “every once in a while” that’s too vague (my cunning mind will get around that, somehow- maybe I need more rules!)
I guess I think of moderation as “stop while it still feels good”. For example, I love kicking back a couple of beers. Specifically two beers. Three takes things into “this is going to hurt tomorrow” territory. Kicking back a couple of beers for more than two days in a row kicks things into the “this is not fun” zone. Everything on your list has built in guardrails. You won’t/can’t run 20 miles and then sit on the couch everyday because you have a job and a family, but you still get to savor long run day. Football season only starts once a year so you’re cleared for nacho & beer night.
I used to drink unflavored UCAN before workouts, and it worked well. From what I remember, I couldn’t stomach any of their products that were flavored. I didn’t like the gels, but to be fair no one likes running gels.
I won’t tell you to throw the green tea down the drain and brew up some Earl Gray right now since you said that it’s only for two more weeks, but I will join you in counting it down. 14 DAYS!!!
Huh- you make great points. These things do have built in guardrails- it’s just not possible to do them all the time. And- from the reviews I’ve read of UCAN, people do complain about the taste. Unflavored is probably the way to go. I think they even have unflavored gels, but that sounds really gross.
I want to be a moderator but I do best with abstaining from certain things. I have had to learn to be a moderator, though, because I do not live alone nor do I do the grocery shopping. So things like Doritos and ice cream are in the house. If it was up to me, they wouldn’t be. I think it’s healthier to be a moderator, though.
Interestingly from an emotional perspective I am incredibly even keeled. I do not get super excited for things but then I also do not get super sad. As I have said before on my blog, Phil and I stick to the meaty part of the bell curve of emotions.
Yes, that is interesting. Interesting how we’re all different! I do get super excited and super sad. Since you and Phil are both even keeled, I’m wondering how Paul and Will will be! I wonder if there’s a genetic component.
I embrace moderation because of my history with an eating disorder — otherwise I tend to veer towards restriction and that’s not good for me. So I can buy vegan ice cream and other treats and keep them in the house and know I can have them whenever I want them, and I realize I don’t actually want to eat dessert all the time and I can just have a little bit and be satisfied.
I get the ick about sugary gels! I mostly eat a lot of sour gummies and chews during my long runs to break up the sweetness but I’m also trying to find savory options that will work!
Yes- it gets hard to keep eating sweet things. I try to alternate them with salty things like pretzels or potato chips, and that works pretty well for me.
i’m impressed that you can keep ice cream in the house. And, I agree that restriction is dangerous- I’ve had some unhealthy thoughts lately and I have to reign myself in. Two more weeks.
Eating is so complicated and it’s a shame because food is delicious and fun.
On one hand, what we eat obviously DOES impact us physically. So it’s hard to tease apart decisions we’re making for health and decisions we’re making for “vanity.” It’s okay to want to eat a certain way to maintain a level of fitness/weight that feels good and right, but it’s such a blurry line and sometimes, in the middle of disordered eating, it is truly impossible to see the line.
I feel this post hard. I’ve struggled with disordered eating and now weigh more than I’ve weighed in over a decade. I do not “like” it, but I also try to eat healthfully, when I’m hungry. I don’t count calories. There is nothing that is fully off limits. The ONLY way I see myself being the weight I was at my “lowest” is if I do heavy food restriction. At that point in my life, food was truly almost all I thought about. When I could eat, what I could eat. I would binge and then restrict. My mood would plummet based on my weight. I don’t want to go back to that state.
But it does mean that my weight is fairly stable at a higher level than before. To me, it seems like the lesser of two evils. But it’s hard to look in the mirror sometimes! And that is a social construct that is so, so sad. Because weight does NOT equal health, but the majority of the messaging preaches that.
That said, there is a big difference between food sensitivities and allergies and things that mess with our digestion and that gets soooo tricky. We generally feel better if we eat healthfully!
Sending hugs, my friend. So hard to juggle it all.
Thank you Elisabeth! You know- I would much rather see a person who has a healthy relationship with food and is confident in their own body. THAT is what looks attractive, to me. i keep trying to tell my daughter that, but you know teenagers. How they look is so important to them. And then, your’e right- throw in food sensitivities and digestive issues and the lines get very blurry.
Thanks for your thoughtful comment!
I do like having a big race on my schedule. Short runs get boring although if you are injured, they are fine..
Though I would not want to run 20. LOL.
at least 10 so I can splurge on my brunch.
You are inspiring. I can’t not eat something if I like it. Life is too short to drink green tea. LOL
Eating a celebratory meal on occasion or a nice sub post-long run sounds very . . . reasonable to me (rather than some kind of crazy “high”) — I hope you can find some way of bringing back these things into life with sustainable rhythm.
I almost wonder if macro tracking might help (and then picking a day for a slightly higher macro goal to allow for more treats)? It also might be the worst idea ever (and i SUCK at tracking anything because I just find the process of measuring so annoying and disruptive, so maybe ignore me!).
Starting some kind of workout “plan” always makes me happy, too so maybe that will help you as you start race training again.
Uff, I’m wired exactly the same way. Give me the long run high and the glorious sofa crash after – that’s living. Moderation just feels… beige. Sensible, maybe, but soul-sapping. I can’t eat one cookie – it’s the whole packet or nothing. And I don’t “run a bit” – it’s marathons, ultras, or why bother?
What is wrong with us?? 😂
I am excited that you can have Earl Gray in 2 weeks! I hope everything is healed and you don’t have to moderate, but if you do, there are some good ideas here. At one point I was hooked on Cheetos, and the idea of never having them again made me too sad. So I decided I could get them from the vending machine at work on the 1st of every month. So I had that to look forward to, and 1x a month is better than 5x a week, right???
I relate to this! I also struggled with binge eating when I was younger and eating disorders. I also ended up with a yeast issue but mine was not candida, it was something else (I could never pronounce or spell it!), it was found through stool testing. I had to take some supplements for about 3 months. I now just stay away from gluten and alcohol and I am doing well! I will say it isn’t always easy, but I have so much less digestive distress this way. I also have to be careful with sugar.
I also get the highs and lows. I had to give up running, but still love to hike and crave 15-20 mile hikes! My heart and soul just are not as happy and fulfilled when I cannot incorporate these into my schedule.
I feel pretty lucky that I can do things in moderation. I am just not someone who will sit down and eat an entire bag of chips in one sitting or binge on certain foods. There are definitely certain foods that I cannot keep in my apartment because I do not have any sort of control over them, but it’s a small list.
I’m sorry green tea is making you nauseous! That sounds terrible. 🙁