Today, Chocolate Is the Answer

Today I went for a run, my first since Saturday's half marathon. I had been feeling some achiness in my left butt cheek since the race. Why always the left? Is it kind of like how a guy always hangs to the left that I always have issues on my left side? I’m sure it’s related to some imbalance or leg discrepancy. Maybe my left breast is bigger (it’s a full 34-A instead of a 34-barely-A like my right one). That big boob probably pulls me down and makes me lopsided. All .5 ounces of it.

Anyway, the plan was seven miles. I only did six. My ass hurt the whole stinking time. I was bummed. I will take a week off of running and see where that gets me. I will not spend another October/November/December injured like I have for the past two years. I am reminded that our bodies have feelings too and need to be stroked every once in awhile (TWSS).

Plain and simple, an achy ass and the thought of not running for a week depressed me enough to do what any ass-hurting runner would do: Head to the kitchen to make something with chocolate.

Mississippi Mud Pie. That’s right. Chocolaty cake/brownie goodness with marshmallows then more chocolate and fat drizzled on the top for good measure.

I know you’re not supposed to use food as comfort (Oprah taught me that), but I think that’s stupid and should be re-evaluated. Sometimes food is meant to be used to make you feel better. It is better than crack or meth. The thing is, I don’t do it all the time. 98% of the time I am all about whole grains and broccoli and tofu. But, a girl has to do what a girl has to do.

Hi, my name is Beth and I use cake, wine, cheese popcorn and Cinnamon Toast Crunch right out of the box to make me feel better. I am human and I burn about 90,000 calories a week. I am not apologizing. I am coping.

Just in case you are coping with something, here is the recipe. I did not take the short cut, just for the record. And, I used margarine (gasp!) because I love trans fats:

Do you ever use food to cope? What are your comfort foods?

SUAR

About “Eating”

At any given time, most people would say they want to lose a few pounds, right? The reasons vary: wanting to look better, wanting to feel better, wanting to live longer. 

But, what about the quality of food that we eat, not just the amount?

I was recently sent an 88 minute DVD called, “Eating” produced by the Rave Diet.  Here are some highlights (Keep in mind, I am not saying I agree with or condone what was said, I am only reporting it back. Don’t de-pants the messenger!):

• In the 20th century most Americans moved away from a plant based diet to an animal based diet. This switch has vastly and dangerously increased the prevalence of heart disease, cancer, obesity and diabetes.
• Clogged arteries from animal fats (meat, dairy) restrict the flow oxygen through our blood. That means increased risk of stroke and heart disease.
• The only dietary source of cholesterol, which clogs our arteries, is animal foods
• 1/3 of heart attacks occur in people whose cholesterol is between 150-200 (the AMA’s current recommended level)
• Only having a cholesterol level of 150 or lower will guarantee a healthy heart and body
• The cure for cancer is a heightened immune system. This can only be obtained by eating a plant based diet. Animal based diets lower our immunities.
• We all have cancer in our bodies. It becomes widespread and problematic when our immune systems can’t fight it.
• By age 50 almost 50% of women have breast cancer in their bodies (detected and undetected). 40% of men have prostrate cancer.
• Cancer can be reversed by moving to a plant based diet. This means no meat, fish, dairy products or eggs.You will get plenty of protein and calcium on a plant based diet.
• Countries around the world who eat plant based vs. animal based diets have extremely low incidences of heart disease, diabetes and cancer.
• Eating a plant based diet is better for the environment. The manner in which the animals are treated who become our food source is inhumane.
• Switching to a plant based diet will make you a stronger endurance athlete.

I am not a vegetarian, yet we don’t eat a ton of meat around here. I cook all of our meals from scratch and we have at least two meat-free dinners per week. When I cook with meat, it is usually organic. I do have high cholesterol. It runs in my family. I always saw this as my destiny, but now I wonder with some dietary changes if I could lower my numbers. While I take issue with some of the information given and wonder what the research states, there is sense to be found in some of the statistics.

You can find lots of interesting articles and research on the above HERE.

One of the things I enjoyed most about the DVD was learning about Ruth Heidrich. At age 75, she is a six-time Ironman Triathlon finisher who has completed more than 60 marathons all over the world. And she’s still running 26.2 all over the globe!

As a runner and self-described “healthy eater,” Ruth was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 47. She was able to heal, she believes, in large part due to converting to a plant-based diet. You can read about her amazing comeback HERE. Her ten rules to save your life are:

1. Eat a diet of fruits and vegetables, preferably organic.
2. Eat them raw as much as possible.
3. Eat them whole, never processed or refined.
4. Emphasize high-antioxidant foods: berries, leafy greens, and add nuts/seeds if losing too much weight.
5. Make your beverage water and/or green tea.
6. No drugs including caffeine.
7. No alcohol or cigarettes..
8. Exercise daily, time and intensity depending on your level of fitness.
9. Sleep should follow natural rhythm with no alarm clocks or other disturbances.
10. Breathe air as clean and pure as possible.

What do you think? Are you a vegan or vegetarian? Do you follow a plant based diet? If so, do you do it for ethical or health reasons or both?

I would love to send this DVD on to someone to watch and review. If you are interested, leave a comment telling me why you want to know more and I’ll pick someone in the next week. If you get it, then you can send it on when you’re done…

Going to eat a 16 oz. Porterhouse wrapped in bacon with a side of meatballs,

SUAR

Our Relationship with Food

This is no food blog. I love to cook and eating can be fun, but no one needs to see every morsel I put in my mouth. It’s just not that exciting.

Food is a complicated thing. A substance that is meant to fuel us and to be enjoyable has become an enemy to many, especially women.

“Losing weight has become our national obsession, our holy grail. The cultural assumption seems to be that there’s something wrong with wanting to eat. Appetite is something to be fended off, with willpower or chemically. We're locked in a war with our own hunger, which is the primal force that sustains us. We’re socialized to fear our appetites, whether they’re for food or sex or power. We’re taught from birth to make ourselves small and dainty, to not take up room.” (Harriett Brown, Brave Girl Eating).

It is fascinating to consider how far away we’ve gotten from the true meaning of food. Everything is labeled good or bad, this will make me fat or it won’t.

I’ll admit it, I’ve gotten lucky in the genes department. The women in my family are all pretty small, naturally. That said, at 5 ‘ 5” I once weighed 30 pounds more than I do now, so there was a time when I struggled with my body image. Throughout that process I shifted my thinking about food. I began to see it as a positive thing to be enjoyed within reason. A fuel source that allowed me to feel good and to be fit. I don’t diet. Never have. Hopefully never will. Weight fluctuates with the seasons, with activity levels, with life’s ups and downs. This fluctuation is natural.

As you know, I’ve got a nine year old daughter. I worry about her vulnerability to an eating disorder as she gets older. At home we never speak of weight, calories, getting on a scale. We talk instead of balance and feeling good in your own skin. No food is off limits, in moderation. I have tried to protect her from the world of negative body images and constant comparison between herself at some ridiculous “ideal.” She sees me enjoy food. She sees me eat reasonably. She sees me take care of my body by fueling it and letting it move and be strong.

But, we can only do so much. She is growing up in a world where the majority girls think they are fat and restrict their eating from an early age. Her friends and the media will likely do a number on her at some point.

I had a gymnastics' coach in 7th grade who made us get on a scale. She stated our weights out loud and let us know if we needed to lose a few. At age 13, I was 112 pounds. She said I needed to lose 2 pounds to be a better gymnast. Until then it had never occurred to me to criticize my weight. The seed had been planted. Like I said, the messages of “you are not good enough because you weigh too much” are widespread. The sad thing is, the scale gets to determine how we feel about ourselves, if we let it.

Even now, there was a comment left on this very post stating, “I know a few people who think your broken bone was due to malnutrition from an eating disorder.”

First of all, it wasn’t a broken bone, it was a stress fracture/reaction. Two different things. Secondly, those “few” people need to find another hobby instead of speculating about my weight and lifestyle. If you spend anytime here at all you know how much I espouse a life of balance and healthy mind, body and spirit. I live it and breathe it. I live honestly and out loud. So, don’t throw that eating disorder crap my way.

I recently read Brave Girl Eating. It’s about a family’s struggle with anorexia as their 14 year daughter becomes more and more sick. Fascinating with much insight into our culture’s obsession with being thin. Too thin.

I don’t know what the answer is. I am going to start coaching for a Girl’s on the Run Program which helps elementary and middle school girls build self esteem through running and feeling confident in their bodies. It is a small thing, but can have a big impact.

Do you struggle with your own eating/weight gain/relationship with food? How does running play a part for you? Does it make you feel better about yourself, or is it merely a means of burning more calories? If you feel comfortable sharing, have you struggled with an eating disorder? How do you hope to help your own sons and daughters develop a healthy body image and relationship with food?*

I’m enough – we all are,

SUAR

*And thanks in advance for being so open about a private and tough subject.

Wine and Jelly Beans

So you know how I'm running the Horsetooth Half Marathon in the foothills west of Ft. Collins, CO on Sunday? Well in true Colorado fashion, we are supposed to get a major winter storm today and tomorrow. My question is, even if it's not snowing on Sunday - what if there is a foot of snow on the ground? Surely the race will be cancelled. This race is already a monster that adding a foot of snow on the ground would make it that much more insane. Have you ever had a race cancelled for weather? Should I just pull out the Yak Trax?

In an effort to keep refueling and to stay fit, I've been changing my eating habits a bit. Now everything that I eat, I view as fuel and energy. I am not abstaining for anything in particular, but am asking the question "how will this make me feel after I eat it" first. My body is very sensitive to food - too much dairy or fat will send me racing for the bathroom or just make me feel like crap for awhile. So yesterday, here's what things looked like for me - some of you might cringe with how not healthful this is, but so be it (oh and I can't/won't take pictures of everything I eat like some of you. First of all, my food never looks as good as yours, second I am just happy to get this blog out in it's most primal form; can't imagine taking and loading all those pics, but I'm impressed!)

Breakfast: 2 Kashi strawberry flax waffles with almond butter

Mid-morning snack: Tall latte

Lunch: Tortilla with hummus, spinach, carrots, applewood smoked cheddar; cantaloupe

Snack: Skinny Cow ice cream sandwich

Dinner: Another tortilla - same as lunch but with turkey; apple (small dinner cause I had a meeting)

Snack while watching the Office: popcorn, jelly bellies, wine

Don't you love how I end my day?? Jelly beans and wine. So much for fuel. I laugh at myself. Things went downhill from the flax waffles. Everything in moderation, right? I moderately at handfuls of jelly beans and moderately drank some wine.

What fuels you the most? I just eat what sounds good for the moment. Not the most precise plan.