Veggie Tales Update

One whole week went by without a single meat pop or filet oh flesh. Being a meat-atarian I was truly surprised to admit that except for one wildly vivid dream about a giant cheeseburger, I really didn't miss it.

However, I work from home on most days... which means A) I don't have to put on pants and B) I don't have to hunt for a lunch venue. I love to cook and having the option to do so for breakfast, lunch and dinner makes my choices for veggiepalooza kind of easy, or so I assumed at the beginning of the week. I made black bean wraps, sweet potato stir fry, baked goods, veggie pizzas, pumpkin smoothies, the list goes on. The difficult part was not making meals that were starch based. I had to revisit the food pyramid and truly, just because I like to cook doesn't mean I'm some 50's housewife in heals running around with 12 baking sheets of homemade what-the-hells. Some days I'd get lazy and end up eating an entire bowl of corn for lunch or a plate of lettuce with craisins on it.

After the week was up, I made a few observations:

• I felt cleaner
• I felt more energetic
• I felt excessively bloated 
• I felt like my bowel movements were seriously fibrous (aren't you glad I shared that one)

At the end of day #7 our triathlon team had a cuban pig roast party. There was table upon table of food, a 100+ pound slow cooked piggly wiggly, sangria, dips, deserts... it was a smorgasbord and as soon as I laid eyes on it, my will power went on vacation. 

I had shrimp first, it was amazing, light and juicy and went down with such ease. I could've eaten 12 more cups of these little pink sea creatures. As soon as the pork was done I rushed over, "Fork It", this little piggy is going to market and market tastes goooooood. Post meal, I felt a little off though (maybe it was the sangria) and I slowly remembered the things that pissed me off about red meat: fatty bits, skin, random tendony things, bones. Vegetables and fruits have annoying innards but they never gross me out or sneak up in unassuming bites, "aw man, an apple core, foiled again!"

Hey Baby, want some-a my cider *wink* *hides ankle bracelet* 

Now I know the scale is just about as trustworthy as a drunk ex boyfriend but the next day I was 2 pounds lighter. I see how it is, already trying to screw with me Scaley McScalestein. I stepped off in a confused stupor and figured maybe he just needed more time, he'd tell me the truth eventually. 

So where do I go from here? I was supposed to go for a full 3 weeks but perhaps I don't fit the mold of a true vegetarian and trying to continue on as such may just be a wasted effort. After just 1 week I figured out that I did enjoy making vegetables the star of my meals, I didn't like reintroducing red meats and I did adore the fishes... cause they're so delicious. So I'll stick with the things I like for awhile and see if they like me back. But I do give a huge kudos to all the vegemites out there, especially the real job types who have to find lunch food out in the real world...my race hat goes off to you!

Veggiesaurus

The day after my 70.3 I had a food celebration and crammed everything and anything into my gullet. Gas station candy, fast food, ice cream... you name it, I ate it. After which my stomach felt huge and I became uncomfortable in my own body. The bathroom activity alone was a terrible experience, I wasn't sure if it was because of my dietary indiscretions or if I was experiencing my first "Gu only" bowel movement.

Chocolate outrage....they were warning me.

Regardless, after that feeling and not having reached my race weight I decided it was time for a change. Since it's slipping into fall I knew that there'd be a few guarantees for this time of year....

1. Pumpkin injects itself into everything.... and my morning facebook stalking gets exponentially more annoying because everyone thinks pumpkin latte posts are oh.em.gee so intriguing.

2. Girls start FREAKING OUT about halloween costumes.... don't worry, just pick the most whoresome outfit in your closet and slap a name tag on it. Nurse, maid, chupacabra - doesn't matter, after 1 am your ass is freezing because you're only wearing 3 inches of clothing and the guy who was buying you drinks has moved on to the girl in her underwear (noble choice).

If a chick can pull of this name tag I'll buy her dinner.

3. It's the off season for races but the on season for getting fat..... Halloween candy. Holiday parties. Thanksgiving buffets. Christmas cookies. The temptations for terrible food choices get exponentially worse until that ball drops on your scale.

So as number 3 looms, here comes my impulse decision... I'm going vegetarian. I've been a carnivore my whole life, I love anything protein, even down to the crappiest mystery hot dog.  Mmmmm hot dog.

These are organic right?!?

It seems however that when I'm allowed to stick anything in my mouth, I do just that (get your mind out of the gutter). I watched Food, Inc., I talked to fellow healthy eaters, I read food blogs, they all backed my thought that I needed to do something extreme. I needed something that would short out my hardwiring and cause me to pause before I ate half a pizza or a fork full of cheese covered breakfast potatoes.

So, for 3 weeks I will eat a balanced vegetarian diet and find out if:

• It makes me think about my choices. 
• It makes my body feel cleaner, healthier and/or more fulfilled. 
• It allows for enough energy and muscle fuel for workouts. 

The next natural question everyone I've told has had, "what about Mike??" As if he's going to keel over and starve. So I suppose if anyone wants to buy him a cheeseburger for lunch, I'm sure he'd appreciate it. Otherwise, my kitchen, get your bacon ass out of here.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go have an onion or something....

The Sushi Experiment

Have you ever looked down at your muscle covered abdominal section and felt it do the air pocket dance? With clenched cheeks you just keep running wondering where the heck the nearest bathroom is and what it was you ate last night. You chug along at a little slower pace, eye fucking every building for a brightly lit "OPEN" sign, or even dimly lit, who cares, was that a fart?? Uh oh, Come on, come on... Ohhh, a bagel shop with all its lights on, like a giant toilet lighthouse guiding you to your throne. You get in, take a sigh of release and be on your way.

Ok so what did you eat last night?? Pizza, dairy, beer, something that tasted good?? You know better!!! Mexican is obviously the best way to ensure anal distress, so I left that out of this equation. But even some healthy foods can make you lose your relaxed running stride.

So I took it upon myself to test some foods out.

1. Pizza and beer before a 5k - didn't do much damage, I actually PR'ed this race...but any more mileage than this and I would have been making sweet music in the porta potty. Be warned.
2. Chicken and mac n cheese before a long training run - FAIL. I am now banned from the Dunkin Donuts on my running route.
3. Wheat pasta with light tomato sauce before a 10k - pasta. carb loading. you've heard it a million times. Suprisingly this worked pretty good. I had no distress, ran well and felt strong. Be careful though, heavy sauces and cream might swing this meal the other direction.
4. Sushi before a half marathon - GLORIOUS. I had a feeling that some of the lighter sushi choices, no fried or sauce heavy rolls, would be a good pre-race meal. I didn't think about my stomach, outside of nerves the entire time. The mix of carb rice and protein fish that doesn't sit heavy in your belly is really quite magical. 

Ok, so what I've learned is (and as always, everyone's different) for me, carbs are ok. Cheese is the atomic bomb. Longer runs take more consideration. And be nice to any shops open early on the weekends.