There’s No Place Like Home and Starting the Whole30

My little fam has just returned from our week long vacation at Disney World. It was magical!

I think no matter where you go though, there is still nothing like coming back home.

I’m ready to get back down to business and back into my normal eating/exercising routine. I was definitely off all week on the Paleo (or even “healthy” eating) front. I did manage to stick to my training plan for the marathon while I was there though, since thankfully it was a “step-down” week for me. I actually had a couple pretty spectacular runs.

There is a paved Nature Trail from the Wilderness Lodge, where we stayed, to the Fort Wilderness campground. There were deer EVERYWHERE along the trail, and they weren’t scared at all. I was able to get within an arms distance of them without frightening them. They never even startled when I ran by. Here are some of the pictures I snapped…

I felt like a real-life Snow White.

I can’t believe what a thrill seeker my son is, especially since he still begs to sleep in bed with Tim and I because he’s “scared of the dark”. I think that’s just an excuse, because he had absolutely no problem riding Space Mountain multiple times which is a roller coaster in the dark. He also rode Expedition Everest four times in one day and Splash Mountain.

He looks so fierce!

On the 8 hour drive down I finished reading the book that I’ve been working on for a while by Rich Roll called Finding Ultra and on the way home I read the majority of It Starts With Food by Dallas and Melissa Hartwig.

Both really great books!

It Starts With Food outlines a Paleo-based 30 day “reset” program, that the hubby and I are officially starting tomorrow. The basic idea of the book is that all food either makes you more healthy, or less healthy … nothing is neutral. Foods must meet all of the “Good Food Standards” in order to pass as healthy foods. The standards are:

1. Promote a healthy psychological response.
2. Promote a healthy hormonal response.
3. Support a healthy gut.
4. Support immune function and minimize inflammation.

Any foods that have been found to not strictly meet ALL of these standards are out for the 30 days. After the 30 day time period you may stay on the program as written or add back in food items one at a time to find what your body specifically tolerates and runs best on.

The foods that are out are: sugar (natural or artificial in every form including honey, agave, maple syrup, etc.), grains of any kind, legumes and/or beans (including peanuts and peanut butter GAH!), alcohol and dairy. All of these foods violate one or more of the Good Food Standards.

What’s left? Meats, Vegetables, Fruit and Nuts. The former vegetarian in me really likes the fact that this book/program promotes eating sustainable meats … wild caught fish, grass-fed beef, pasture raised animals who eat their normal diets.

Anyway, I won’t outline the entire book … but those are the very basics. The book goes into specific detail of each food and how it meets or does not meet the Good Food Standards and the science-y stuff behind it all.

I spent a little time this afternoon cleaning out my refrigerator and pantry and eliminating all the foods that don’t fit into the Whole30 program. I was left with only 2 things in the fridge: butter and guacamole. Shopping was in order.

I’m so used to cooking vegetarian that I’m having a really hard time transitioning to figure out how to put together Paleo meals. It’s completely different. A couple of weeks ago I discovered that Emeals, which is a program I used to use when I was doing Weight Watchers now has a Paleo plan. Basically it creates 5-7 (whichever  plan you choose) dinner meals for you, gives you the recipes, the ingredient list for each meal, and a shopping list. There is also a 5 day lunch plan that is available to add to the dinner program. I signed up for the Paleo plan to get me started with some basics.

This weeks menu will include:

Lemony Sage Chicken w/ Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Brussel Sprouts
Chicken Curry Soup w/ Cucumber Salad
Sausage Stuffed Peppers w/ Sautéed Asparagus
Walnut Crusted Tilapia w/ Squash Ribbons
Chicken Fajitas w/ Spicy Mango Salsa
Fall Mushroom Strata w/ Roasted Beets

Now this is a beautiful fridge:

If you are interested in learning more about the Whole30 program go here. I’d love to have a couple people to do it with me!

Oktoberfest in the Smokies

Hi! I’m happy to report that day 2 and 3 of our vacation have gone much more smoothly than the first day.

Yesterday we road the Sky Tram to Ober Gatlinburg where they were having the last day of their Oktoberfest celebration. Although I’m terrified of heights (and pretty much everything else) it was a beautiful view.

We spent the day playing miniature golf, running through a huge maze, riding rides and eating funnel cakes and fudge.

The fudge, o.m.g, the fudge.

How do you make a decision like that?

The food was also amazing! I’m a sucker for German food, but I decided to stay strong on my veggie kick and order a roasted veggie sandwich instead of some of the more traditional German fare.

As you can see I temporarily forgot that German potato salad has bacon in it. Duh.

I traded it to Tim for his German Red Cabbage.
His plate incase you are interested …

A good time was had by all.

Tonight we are taking Ironman Trick or Treating downtown.

I’m actually hoping I can convince him to trade his candy in at either Earth Fare where they are giving out healthy options for trading in candy or at the dentist’s office where they are giving cash for each pound traded. We’ll see how that goes over.

Happy Halloween!

Fall Vacation 2011 – Day 1

I woke up in Fort Oglethorp, Georgia this morning. Our vacation wasn’t technically suppose to start until today, but because I had a 14 mile long run on the training schedule for this weekend we left a day early. The plan was to run at Chickamauga Battlefield and then to head to Gatlinburg for the real vacation. I was actually super stoked about running in the battlefield, everyone raves about it!

Things didn’t turn out as planned. As I reported on DailyMile …

Started off at the beginning of the Chickamauga Half Marathon course, but I could never get my Garmin to follow the route so I realized very quickly that I didn’t even know which direction to go. Called Tim to bring me the map, thought I figured it out and started again. It started raining on me hard almost immediately. There was lots of traffic on the windy road and I was afraid I was going to get hit by a car so I ended up running in the grass and getting my feet soaking wet. Then I was afraid I was going to trip and fall into traffic … a few minutes later after getting chased by a dog and caught in a rainstorm I also ended up on the interstate somehow. Finally decided to give up and call it quits. Called Tim to come pick me up, in the meantime a creepy looking guy stopped on the interstate and told me that the “lord instructed him to bring me an umbrella”. I tried to explain to him that I was already soaking wet and the rain was the least of my worries, but he insisted. All of this happened within 1.75 miles. It ended in lots of tears.

Got back to the hotel and something in me just wouldn’t let me quit. I ended up running the last 12.25 miles on the treadmill in the hotel gym. It was an absolute struggle. I had to think every positive and reassuring thought about myself that I could muster. At one point I even repeated “hardwork – dedication – hardwork – dedication” outloud for atleast 10 minutes. This was probably my toughest day so far as a runner, but it showed me what I’m made of and I’m grateful for that.

I tried my best to put the run behind me and enjoy the start of the real vacation. Before heading out of town we stopped at a great little Greek/Italian restaurant for lunch. They had an awesome salad and pizza bar.

I also discovered pickled okra. O … M .. G

I spent most of my day staring out the window of the car. Dreary, rainy and miserable … all day.

Once we finally made it to Gatlinburg we decided to pick up some things to make dinner at our cabin since we had already eaten lunch out. The cabin has a big nice gas grill on the porch by the hot tub. I envisioned an evening of grilling, hot tubbin’ and beer drinking. So far I’m 2 for 3. Still gotta make it to the hot tub.

We made grilled portobello burgers, grilled asparagus and homemade guacamole. Soooo good!

Atleast as good as any real burger I’ve ever eaten and probably better.

Before we made it to the cabin I had something happen that hasn’t happened to me in several years. I had a STRAIGHT UP panic attack. I had a flashback of driving here 2 years ago and sliding all over the road when it was raining and we were trying to go up the mountain. Of course it was raining again today. I started crying as soon as I thought about it. I honestly felt like I was going to vomit I was so scared. I considered getting out of the car and walking up the moutain carrying my 3.5 year old son, in the rain. Tim can figure out his way up himself. Ha!

Anyway … obviously I lived. And I didn’t have to walk. I just closed my eyes and held on for dear life. Good job husband for not getting me kilt today.

Now I think I hear that hot tub calling my name. Here’s hoping day 2 goes more smoothly.

So Much To Do!

Aaaah! We are going to Disney World in less than one week. I’m finally starting to get excited. I’ve been too busy lately to even really put any thought into it until now.

(source)

But first an update on the knee …

Its been 4 days now since I’ve run which is pretty  much unheard of for me. I don’t think I’ve gone 4 days without running in about a year and a half now.

I have been doing the elliptical in place of running. I have virtually no pain while I’m doing the elliptical. I have still been experiencing some dull pain and aching in general though. It isn’t the same sharp, “I can barely walk because my knee keeps locking up” pain that I felt before, so I guess that’s good. I was really hoping by now the pain would have gone away completely though.

I want to run again. Nothing is the same. But I will give it atleast a full week (which will be Tuesday) and more time if needed. It might be time to see a doctor soon.

Back to the fun stuff …

In preparation for our Disney trip I bought this:

I’ve been wanting one anyway, so this seemed like the perfect time. I can make healthy snacks to have on our long car trip. It should be delivered today.

I’m hoping to make:

• banana chips
• dried strawberries
• sweet potato chips
• apple chips

I have so much to do before this trip. I really need to start a list so I don’t forget something important.

Question:

What is your take on these type of devices …

Tim and I have both always agreed that we would never use a “leash” on our child. Tim is adamantly opposed to it, but I am now considering it for Disney World. I want my child to be able to walk around without me being scared that I’m going to lose him in a crowd.

Thoughts?

Mini Vacay

Food Finds – Kentucky Style

Miss me much? Sorry to bail this weekend, but the little man and I went on a whirlwind trip to visit a friend of mine in Kentucky. My friend Nicole and I (and Lincoln) flew up to Kentucky on Friday to visit our friend Kelli.

I was nervous about flying with Lincoln without the Hubby, but he did great! He was so excited to see the airplanes.

We did a lot of eating out while we were in Kentucky. My most favorite place that we went was Wallace Station. It was a neat little sandwich shop in the middle of nowhere.

I was surprised to see signs in the window saying that the restaurant would be featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives on the Food Network on June 28th.

I was impressed with the vegetarian options they had, especially at such a little hole-in-the-wall place. I ordered the Mediterranean Wrap.

Deeeeee – lish!

Another food I tried while I was in Kentucky was a Hot Brown. According to Wikipedia a hot brown is:

A Hot Brown is a hot sandwich originally created at the Brown Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky, by Fred K. Schmidt in 1926. It was one of two signature sandwiches created by chefs at the Brown Hotel shortly after its founding in 1923. It was created to serve as an alternative to ham and egg late-night suppers.

The Hot Brown is an open-faced sandwich of turkey and bacon, covered in Mornay sauce and baked or broiled until the bread is crisp and the sauce begins to brown. Many Hot Browns also include ham with the turkey, and either pimentos or tomatoes over the sauce, and imitation Hot Browns sometimes substitute a commercial cheese sauce instead of the Mornay sauce, but fans of the dish usually decry this substitution. Some restaurants even offer a ‘veggie brown’ nowadays to attract vegetarians, as the recipe is easy to modify with avocado, or, less commonly, soy burger.

I had my Hot Brown at a restaurant called Ramsey’s. It included: bread, mushrooms, tomato, asparagus, zucchini and ALOT of mozzarella cheese.

Honestly, It didn’t do alot for me. I wish I would have gotten their zucchini burger or a veggie plate instead. Who can eat that much cheese anyway? It was interesting to try though.

Ramsey’s did have an awesome Key Lime Pie though, that may be the best I’ve ever had.

I also had the most amazing Chocolate and Peanut Butter Pretzels that we randomly found at a grocery store, that I must find again.

All in all I had a great trip, but its always nice to come back home. One plus was that because we were flying into Birmingham instead of Montgomery, I was able to eat at my favorite restaurant, Surin West, today for lunch. I had my usual – Tofu Massaman.

And Veggie Tempura sushi …

Yummy!

Its time for me to get back into my normal routine. Waaay too much eating out, and waaay too little exercise has occured lately. I did run twice (3.1 miles, and 3 miles) while I was out of town though.

Now I’m off to fight the ant infestation that I was welcomed home by.

Family Vacation!

We just booked our fall vacation to DISNEY WORLD!!!

I can’t wait!

Anyone have any suggestions about vegetarian friendly places to eat or things that we should definitely include in our trip?

Plans and Confession

When I left work this morning I headed straight to Publix and bought a 12 pack of Michelob Ultra to help me unwind after the stressful week I’ve had so far. I had two before I went to bed this morning! Only a true night-shifter can stomach beer at 8:00 in the morning.

I was scheduled to do a 4 mile easy run today, but I thought I might trade it in for elliptical time instead to give my shins a good rest before my 10 miler this weekend. I set my alarm clock for 1:00 so I would have plenty of time to head to the gym this afternoon. When I woke up though I decided I really needed an off day. I’ve been very stressed and burnt out this week and my shin is still bothering me a little bit (not nearly as bad as before). So I spent the afternoon with my little man instead! A great trade 🙂

My mood was lifted when I received my Disney Cruise DVD in the mail.

You might remember that one of my New Years Resolutions was to plan a big Disney vacation for my family this year. The problem is that I can’t decide if I want to do a Disney Cruise or go to Disney World. Lincoln will be 2 1/2 around the time we go, so I’m trying to decide which option would be best for vacationing with a toddler. I was initially leaning towards the cruise since I’m planning on going to Disney World in January for the 2011 Marathon, but now I’m getting alot of feedback that a cruise might be more appropriate for when he’s older. To help me make my decision I bought The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World 2010.

Ok, confession time. I “accidently” broke my Veg Pledge tonight. I cooked a huge pan of Tofu Stirfry for dinner tonight and just as I was pouring in the Stir-fry sauce I saw that one of the ingredients was oyster sauce. I didn’t have any other sauce options and I had already cooked all the veggies, tofu and rice so I decided to use it anyway.

I immediately felt bad, not because I’m so opposed to eating oyster sauce (I actually think oysters aren’t that big of a deal since they don’t even have brains!) but because I broke the pledge, but I just couldn’t justify throwing away an entire pan of food because of one little uh-oh. I wouldn’t have used the sauce if I had realized ahead of time that it was made from oysters, but I found out too late.

So … dinner was a big bowl of Tofu Stir-fry with brown rice. I added some black beans to the veggie mix.

Time to start paying more attention to ingredients before preparing meals. I imagine these are things that all vegetarians have had to learn at one time or another.

What’s your vote for traveling with a 2 year old? Disney World or a Disney Cruise? Any experiences?

A Look Ahead

A few days ago, I took a look back at 2009 and the changes that took place in my life in the past year. Now its time to look forward to the future and make a plan for 2010. I want 2010 to be the best year ever for myself and my family. I want to focus on my health and being the best wife and mother I can be. I also want to focus on personal growth in several areas.

I was thinking today about my hobbies. If you would have asked me a year ago what my hobbies were I probably would have had a hard time answering. I used to knit pretty regularly, but I haven’t done that in a couple years now. Up until this year my main hobby would have been watching TV. Isn’t that ridiculous?! Now I can honestly say I have several hobbies: running, reading, couponing, and cooking. I don’t always have time to devote myself entirely to all of these but I make it a priority to take a few minutes everyday to dedicate to my hobbies, with running being at the top of the list.

In 2010 I want to add to that list of hobbies. I want to learn to sew. Tim bought me a sewing machine several months ago, and yesterday I pulled it out of the box and started learning how to use it.

My friend Brittany who owns a sewing shop in PA came over and taught me the basics. By the end of the lesson I was able to repair a seam in my favorite running shirt that had a hole in it. I’m not exactly sure how deep I want to get into sewing at this point, but I definitely want to know enough to be able to repair clothing and hem pants, maybe more.

Other things I want to accomplish in 2010 are:

1. Complete atleast 2 Half Marathons – I haven’t completely decided if I’m still going to participate in the Half Marathon on Jan. 16th that Tim and I planned to do together since he has now decided he’s not ready yet. I’m scared to do it alone and I really want to do my first Half with him, but I might bite the bullet and do it anyway. Either way I want to complete atleast two in the upcoming year.

2. Become almost debt-free – Of course I’m not going to be able to pay off my entire mortgage in one year, but by the end of 2010 I plan on having all of my current debt minus my mortgage paid off. This will include: our Wells Fargo line of credit (hardwood floors), HH Gregg (washer and dryer), both of our car payments, and my student loan. I also plan on making an extra payment towards the principal of my mortgage every month which will allow us to pay off our house 10 years earlier atleast.

3. Family Vacation to Disney World – We have decided to take a family vacation to Disney World in 2010. We are looking at going the first week in December. In order to accomplish this goal I have created a savings account dedicated to vacation funds only and have set up an automatic scheduled transfer to send money to this account each pay-period. We should have our trip paid for by October.

4. Organize Garage – Our garage is the catch-all place for all the things we don’t know what to do with. This year I want to get the garage cleaned out and organized so that we can use it for other purposes and maybe even park our cars in it. Gasp!

5. Donate to Charity – This year we ran in several races for charity and I donated a large amount of clothing to a local charity, but in 2010 I’d really like to choose a charity that is close to my heart to contribute to.

What are your plans for the upcoming year?

A Look Back

Well, its that time of year again when you can reflect on the year you’ve had, the things you’ve accomplished, the things that have changed, or stayed the same, and when you can look forward to the year ahead. I spent some time today thinking about what 2009 brought me. I believe that I’ve accomplished more and made more positive changes in my life during 2009 than any other year ever.

These are some of my accomplishments in 2009:

Quit smoking – Believe it or not I used to smoke a pack a day, for 9 years actually. I quit when I was pregnant with my son but I started back a few months after he was born. I finally kicked the habit for good in March 2009.

Lost 88 pounds – I restarted my Weight Loss Journey in February with Weight Watchers and to date have lost 88 pounds in 2009. I also met my goal weight and am working to maintain it.

Completed Couch to 5K – I started the Couch to 5K program this summer with several of my friends from work and I completed the program and am now working on the Half Marathon Training Program. I’m so happy that I have re-discovered running, and this time I actually enjoy it! It brings so much to my life. The Couch to 5K program really sparked my love for running and I’m very grateful that I was introduced to it.

On that note: I completed six races this year, including four 5Ks, an 8K and a 12K.

I started my blog. It was originally called Inside Every Thin Girl … and it was primarily about my weight-loss journey. Once I started getting closer to my goal weight and my focus shifted from losing weight to a more holistic approach of healthy living I decided to rename it Eat to Live, Live to Run. Two of my passions in life are running and cooking/eating so this fit perfectly. I love being able to document where I am and where I’ve been, even if no one ever read it I get so much out of this blog it’s completely worth it. Just tonight I was reading some of my old blog entries when I was struggling to run 5 miles. I’ve come so far!

I took 2 family vacations – This probably doesn’t sound like a big deal, but to me it really is. When I was obese I never wanted to go on vacation because I didn’t want to  be seen in a swimsuit. I also wasn’t happy enough to actually do something for myself. This year my family and I went to Destin, FL in May (I wore a swimsuit!) and we went to Gatlinburg, TN in October.

Home Improvements – We re-did all of the flooring in our house. We put down hardwood floors, new carpet in the bedrooms and new vinyl in the kitchen and laundry room.

Created a Budget – This year I created a budget and financial plan for myself and my family. I assessed all of the areas in which we spend money and found numerous ways to save a large percent and put it towards paying down our debts. I also learned how to shop with coupons to save a ridiculous amount of money on our grocery bill.

Learned to Ride a Bike – I should say I re-learned how to ride a bike. I hadn’t ridden a bicycle since I was a small child until this year. I bought a bike and started mountain biking with Tim and my friend Nicole. I was very scared at first, but I really learned to enjoy it. Hopefully Tim will get his bike fixed soon so we can get back out there together.

Last but not least, I made charitable contributions in 2009. I did several races that benefitted various charities. I also donated my clothes that I shrunk out of to Faith Rescue Mission. On World Run Day, I ran 7 miles for charity and donated to the National Children’s Advocacy Center.

I don’t know if any year to come will see the profound changes that 2009 has brought, but I hope to better myself and my life each and every year. Some amazing things have happened this year and I’ve never been happier or healthier in my life.