Getting Back

I signed up for Rev3 Williamsburg Half (70.3) last week. What that means... I HAVE to get my self back in gear.

Today, I did my 30 min run and I added on a 20 minute swim. Between my run & swim, I took an Island Boost. I'm pretty sure it's the only reason I got through the swim! I haven't been in the pool pretty much at all this year. So, I did 50s with 15-20 sec rest between. I got in 15 sets for a total of 750m. Nothing HUGE, but the sets were consistent (and slow!) and it was a good feeling to be back in the pool.

Week 2 Down & Next Season

Week 2 was a bit easier for me. I'm glad to be getting the hang of this grain free/gluten free thing. I accidentally had corn (it was on a salad I ordered & didn't realize that it'd be on there and couldn't pick around it). I paid dearly for that corn. Doubled over in pain. Oweeee!

In triathlon related news, I signed up for Rev3 Williamsburg 70.3 this past weekend. I need it. For a couple of reasons:

1. The 2013 season was a disgrace in so many ways. I barely trained, posted some horrendous times, and didn't really "feel" it.
2. I'd like to see if I can work with the hypothyroidism through a solid season of training.

Today's TNT (weight lifting) workout was TOUGH. We've got a different trainer & man does he push. It's not a bad thing at all, but it's different! I came home & wanted to collapse. It's been a long time since the last time that's happened.

Now, to get training started!

Week 1 down!

Last Monday, I went gluten & grain free. I won't lie, it's been hard. BUT, it's getting easier. The hardest part for me has been breakfast. This wouldn't be *that* hard if I wasn't grain free. Add to that our "real food" eating, and it really narrows your choices. Oh and, I don't eat eggs because of some silly textural issues I have. So, breakfast has been things like roasted sweet potatoes & chicken apple sausage.

I'm not sure if you can read that, but changing to a GF/GF diet has kind of been like grieving. I haven't "cheated" (at least knowingly). I feel like I really need to give my body time to heal & figure itself out. 

Last week, we went to Bonefish Grill, Red Robin, Chipotle, and Matchbox (in DC). I have to say that Bonefish Grill & Red Robin were by far the best dining experiences. Matchbox, not so much. Thanks for offering me about 5 salads. As if I haven't been eating them all week. Sigh. Chipotle was good, as usual. Since I never get the tortillas, I didn't have to change anything about my order (though, I did have to get a salad instead of a bowl because of the grain free thing right now). I could've asked them to change their gloves, but I didn't want to be a PITA and since it's not a true allergy, eh. 

In other news, I've been sleeping a little better. That's a VERY good thing. I've also lost 2 lbs & 2 inches in a week. Which is better than gaining 2 lbs in a week (which seemed to be happening with the hypothyroid thing). 

This week, I'm focusing on trying to find breakfast alternatives. Any go-to breakfasts that don't include grains & glutens (and eggs as a main dish)?

(In a triathlon related note: I ran a 5k on Saturday - race report soon)

More dietary changes

Over the past week, I've been feeling like crap. I can tell I'm swinging hypo (my thyroid levels) and it's not fun. All I've wanted to do during the day is sleep and I can't because it'd blow any chance I have of sleeping at night... which I haven't really been doing. (All of this = cranky Heather!) The sleep is only one part of it.

Either way, with all of the reading I've been doing lately, we're going to give grain-free, gluten-free a try. I'm going to try to stick with it for 30 days and see how it goes. Not 100% Paleo because I'm not going dairy & sugar free, so more like the carb-sensitive plan described in the last post. We've cut our sugars down to maple syrup (the real stuff, yum!) and honey and I don't really feel the need to cut it out completely - at least not yet.

I've learned that grains & pastas are doing a number on my body. I'm up usually about 2 lbs after a carb-heavy meal. I can't keep doing that! I fight to maintain and fight even harder to lose weight. So, time to eliminate something I know causes me to have issues with weight. This should be an interesting next 30 days...

On another note: We did our 7 mile training run yesterday! Went ok. We were both a little cranky and didn't really feel like doing the run, so that didn't really help anything at all. Each time we took our Island Boosts, we felt great. I always love it when a nutritional product does what it says it's going to!

Learning Weight Triggers in Reference to My Hypothyroidism

As I do more research about my hypothroidism & diet, I'm more and more convinced that eating clean & real (aka: non-processed) food is the only way to manage my hypothyroid without medication. 

My cousin was telling me that she's managing hers with diet alone. She went on to tell me that she's following a strict Paleo diet and that if she deviates at all from it, she can tell. Comparing notes about her hypothyroid issues (and Hashimotos) and what's been going on with mine, I have a feeling it'll be important to keep testing the Hashimotos indicators. It sounds like our thyroids are doing the same thing (well, hers did and mine is currently doing).

When I got home from our quick trip to MA, I started looking into the books she recommended. Looking forward to getting Practical Paleo in the mail today! I've been reading (off & on) "The Thyroid Diet Revolution"and was reading some interesting stuff. As you can imagine, there are different types nutritional plans that people will respond differently to. Below are the questions they ask to help you figure out which nutritional plan you should give a try to help you better your thyroid (and overall) health, once you know you have a hypothyroid problem.

__You have tried a low-carb diet such as Atkins, or a low-glycemic diet such as South Beach, and gained weight while following it.
__You truly enjoy eating fruits and vegetables.
__You feel your best after a meal that contains protein, starch, fat, and some vegetables or fruit.
__You need some variety in your diet. 

If you have checked two or more of the previous statements, then you should start with the Free-Form Plan.

__You frequently crave things such as pasta, bread, rice, potatoes, sugary drinks, and desserts.
__Once you get started eating things such as pasta, bread, rice, potatoes, sugary drinks, and desserts, you find it hard to stop.
__After you eat things such as pasta, bread, rice, potatoes, sugary drinks, and desserts, you find yourself feeling hungry again fairly quickly.
__You find that after you eat a piece of cake or a bowl of pasta, you temporarily end up a pound or two heavier on the scale the next day. 

If you checked two or more of the above statements, then it's likely that carbohydrates are a problem for you. You should start with a Carb-Sensitive Plan.

__You have tried a calorie-controlled diet such as Weight Watchers and gained weight while following it.
__You have tried a low-glycemic plan such as South Beach and gained weight while following it.
__You suspect that you probably eat too much, but you don't keep track.
__You find that you can gain weight on what others would consider a diet or "cutting back".  

If you have checked two or more of the above statements, then you should start with the Calorie-Sensitive Plan. 

If you found yourself agreeing with many statements in all of the categories, then start out with the Free-Form Plan.

The book goes on to say you should give your new nutritional plan 4 weeks and if you've lost a couple of pounds, stick with it. If not, you may need to tweak or completely change your nutritional plan. (It does go on to describe the plans - but that'll be a different post, I'm sure.)

We've made a lot of changes to our diet since April. It could definitely be better - as we've fallen off the wagon a little. That being said, my numbers were SO much better 2 weeks ago. I may start trying to follow the Free-Form Plan (it's basically what we're doing with the non-processed foods, just limits quantities of certain items). Trying to nail down my thyroid health has really gotten me to think differently about how I approach nutrition in my life & my clients' lives. Overall health - not just weight!