Thursday, January 30, 2014

100 miles and paleo/primal diets

I think I might actually do it.  I might actually get 100 miles in January. (And I'm already stressing how I'll do it in February.)  I am 6 miles away from 100 as of last night.  I have run 6 miles in the past on Friday, but I think I'm going to keep it at 5 and run one mile tonight.  I have run 30 miles in 6 days, and over the weekend 19 miles in 3 days.  For me, who has cut back drastically on my running since Sept. that is a lot of miles . . . and my legs are feeling it.  Good news . . . no pain in my foot.  Today I feel a little pressure, but it's the first day in 2 or more weeks since I've felt anything in my foot.  =)  That makes me very happy. 

The thing is, I don't know which is worse, the foot discomfort or the shin splints.  I changed my shoes and my running style to prevent plantar faciitis, but now I have incredibly bad shin splints.  It reminds me of when I first started running almost 2 years ago.  So I don't know if it's the increase in miles or the shoes.  I know when I first started running I didn't have proper shoes but I got some and eventually my shin splints went away.  I don't know if it was because my body got used to the running, or because of the shoes.  I do know that they would come back whenever I needed new shoes, so I am leaning towards blaming my shoes, but I just don't know.  Shoes are expensive, and I can't afford to buy new ones after only having these for a month.  Plus, I don't know what I would get if I did get new ones.  The more supported shoes help with the shin splints, but my physical therapist wants me to do more minimalist shoes to help with the PF. 

Speaking of my PT, I quit going.  At Christmas time I had to cancel a couple times, and she had to cancel once, and I just never rescheduled.  My foot is feeling a million times better and I haven't been doing the exercises she told me to do so I quit going.  I would like to ask her about the shin splints, but now I just worry about going in there and telling seeing her after so long.  It's hard to explain, I tend to want people to think well of me, and I don't want to admit that I've slacked off on the exercises. 

I read a lot of blogs, maybe not as many as some, but enough to keep me busy when I'm bored.  And enough to allow me to get behind quite a bit if I don't keep up.  In total right now I read 24 that are actively posting.  I have more on my list, but several of them quit posting and I either haven't deleted them yet, or I was really invested in them when they did post so I hope they come back. 

Anyway, of those 24, 6 of them are paleo/primal related blogs.  And while that may not be a ton, that type of eating is really influencing me.  I have cut down drastically on my breads/wheats/sugar intake.  And honestly, it's not because I don't want to do it that I've been putting off giving it up completely.  There was a time when I thought I would NEVER be able to give up breads, but I know that I can now.  It has more to do with laziness on my part.  Chris cooks 2-3 times a week, and he always has some sort of carb in his meals.  I can skip some of them, like the potatoes, but when his meal is spaghetti or potato soup (he makes great potato soup) . . . well, that would mean I'd have to make my own meal, and I just don't want to.  So what do I do . . . well, I guess I eat more primally when I have to make my own dinner and I eat Chris's meal when he makes dinner.  However, I have a hard time staying away from wine.  I like my glass or two of wine at night.  And I firmly believe this is the reason I have been stuck at 150 lbs for 7 months. 

So, the question is, is getting down to 140 or below more important to me than what I am eating and drinking?  So far, the eating/drinking has been more important.  Yes, I would like to see lower numbers, but so far, I have been resistant to making even more change in my diet.  I eat a lot better than I did 2 years ago, or even just a year ago, but to go lower, I'll have to change it up even more and I don't know if I want to.  (I know that my body can go lower.  I was 125/130 in high school and around 140 in my early 20's.)  Can I give up nightly wine and all chocolate?  Can I give up all potatoes (I LOVE mashed potatoes and hate sweet potatoes)?  Anyway, I guess this is just one thing I'm thinking a lot about right now. 

I am curious what those of you who may be paleo/primal (I don't think I have many that read this though) think of this article.  (I will say, I thought eliminating all forms of vegetables and fruit because they have carbs is stupid, those are healthy foods.)

I do not live in an area that has been affected by the extreme cold this winter (or any winter, really) but I liked this picture and thought I'd share it with those of you that may be affected.  =)
at

2 comments:

  1. GwenFebruary 2, 2014 at 9:58 AM

    First off, make me No. 7!!! :P

    2nd off....no one says you have to go cold turkey, or be 100%, 100% of the time. (do you read marksdailyapple.com?) (if not, make him No. 8.) He believes that once in a while, a non-primal/paleo indulgence won't kill ya. Chocolate every day, wine every day...might not be ideal, but perhaps you could wean yourself down on those a bit. Leave chocolate to only a couple of times a week. Wine, down to 4 oz. a day (medically acceptable level before it starts to hurt your health) (which is very tiny, I know, but lets keep it real)... have the potato soup. Just have it the day he serves it, not until any / all leftovers are gone.

    But most importantly, I think your attitude needs just a tiny bit of a tweak. Yes, you are doing much better than you have in the past, and that's awesome! But instead of looking at it as depriving yourself...look at it as doing something actively to improve your health. Read up on the WHY's primal and paleo people are eating (and not drinking) the way they are. Read the effects of grains and sugars (i.e., in alcohol, too)....how those affect the body. What diseases they cause. What the inflammation they cause, do to your body. Make active choices to improve your health...and stop feeling like it's deprivation. It's not. It's putting our big girl panties on, and acting mike mature adults to safeguard our health and our longevity.

    phew. Sorry for the diatribe. Kinda. ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. CathyFebruary 2, 2014 at 1:53 PM

      Hi Gwen,

      First, you were actually probably the 3rd or 4th primal blog I started to follow and probably my most favorite. You make it sound easy and I love all the research you do for me. :-) (I think I need to update my blog list on the left.)

      Second, I am taking baby steps to go to go more primal. I don't know if I will ever be as dedicated as you or the other people I read, but I definitely see the benefits, although the biggest benefit for me . . . for now . . . is losing more weight. I have cut out most chocolate, probably eat a small piece once a week to once every other week. I will say that my biggest problem foods are wine and potatoes (which is interesting since I didn't used to eat them at all a few years ago).

      Anyway, keep doing what you do. I may get there eventually. :-)

      Delete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

Still stressed

 With all that's been going on, I decided to do a virtual conference at our Lake house in eastern WA this week.  The conference was abou...

  • The Runner's Commandments
     I found this on My First 5k and More...  one of the new blogs I've been reading.  Darlene posted this in 2011 and I thought it was inte...
  • An old truck, rubbed raw, and just plain lazy.
    After finding a few new blogs to get me motivated to run, I have been running more often, not more miles.  I only ran 22 miles in August, bu...