What motivates you to do something? Is it internal or external? Jealousy or personal achievement? For me it HAS to be internal but I will admit that it usually begins with external motivation. I usually see something that I want or want to do and then almost do a "gut check" to see if I have the time, talent, patience, resources or true endurance to accomplish it or attain it!
This time, for me it's working out and getting back to the physical shape that I am meant to be in. Over the last couple of years I have put my physical self on hold by not getting to the gym, not eating smart and just putting me on the back burner while I was working...well, overworking! I am one to be busy but not be able to put my all into more than one, maybe two, things. For me this was kids and work.....kids and work. Everything else was just shoved aside like my old college going out clothes.
Well, I have been working it all out and now that I have taken out the variable of work, I am able to change those priorities and taking care of me is one of them! I am training for a sprint triathlon on Thanksgiving (that's only about 4 weeks away!) and I am very excited and motivated to complete my second one. I have been swimming (the easiest part of the triathlon for me), cycling (at the gym) and running.....and let me pause for a minute on running...
Running was my nemesis. Worse than that. I vowed to train and improve on my run. So I decided to load up my ipod with MP3s that I actually enjoy. This has been my life saver! I mean I am looking forward to running, run when I need a time out and just can't wait to pop on my headphones and go! So far I don't have anything to brag about...AT ALL. But, I am motivated and working to build up distance each time. My run is only 2 miles and it's the first thing I do in the tri so things are looking up! Believe it or not I have started throwing around the "H" word.....Half Marathon! Then I pinch myself and realize that I need to improve my run time on the triathlon before I do that! However, I see it in my future!!!
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Thursday, October 13, 2011
THD
Today is the first day I am trying out a new way of eating called The Harcombe Diet. Now before you jump to thinking, "Another fad diet", I thought the same thing, too. But, after researching it more, I found out that it could be quite a perfect way of eating for me. Let me explain in a basic way, no claims to be a medical professional here....
First, I stumbled across The Harcombe Diet through a search for free recipe books on my Kindle and Zoe Harcombe's recipe book came up. Well, when I read "Harcombe Diet" in the title, I became curious (kinda like Alice) and I checked out her site and then went back and found her book available immediately on my Kindle for $9.95....why not!
Now I wasn't really looking for a weight loss fix.....but when I read that this was not just a weight loss way of eating but also helps with some health issues that I may be experiencing, I have decided to give it a shot! These issues are candida (a harmless bacteria in our bodies that feed off various foods that we often crave like sugars and carbs), food intolerance (those foods that you aren't allergic to but your body doesn't handle very well) and hypoglycemia (how your body deals with blood sugar/insulin)....I am pretty sure that after reading her book I have all 3! Grrreeeeaaat!
So, here's what I will be doing over the next few weeks....
Phase 1- This is only 5 days but I think for me, it's going to be a bit of a shocker because I am going cold turkey on caffeine! WAAAHHHHH! Basically you can only eat unprocessed meats, veggies (no mushrooms/potatoes), eggs, natural living yogurt (NLY) and about a 1/2 c brown rice. You can drink water, sparkling water, decaf teas, decaf coffee and NO SUGAR! Some have had great success with this detox process and have lost a chunk of weight in just these 5 days!
It starts off seeming a lot like The Atkins Diet (which I lost weight on but was GROUCHY) with veggies thrown in. I love that this phase is only 5 days but I HATE the no-caffeine since I haven't gone without caffeine for 5 days since having kids....coincidence, I think not!
PHASE 2- This phase gets a bit more interesting where you can have A LOT more foods that were not allowed in Phase 1 (fruit, oats, dairy, baked potatoes, small amounts of caffeine if needed) but this part seems a lot like Food Combining which I have heard of but never followed. Basically you have 3 categories or meals you can eat:
Fat Meals...where you only eat products from things with "faces" like unprocessed meats, unprocessed fish, dairy and eggs.
Carb Meals...where you eat only fruit, grains, oats, beans, potatoes.
Then there are the things you can eat with a fat OR a carb meal...vegetables, salads, tofu, very low fat dairy products, olives, tomatoes, berries, olive oil and herbs/spices/seasonings.
In Phase 2 you must still eat no processed foods and you can't combine things from fat or carb meals. This is a bit more flexible and still eating healthy foods! There are additional guidelines, too, but these are the basics....
PHASE 3, well I am not there yet but I do know that it starts when you are at your ideal weight and health!
So, here's to Day 1's menu of eggs with bacon and tomatoes, salad with lots of veggies and hard boiled eggs, yogurt for a snack, salmon with roasted veggies and brown rice and decaf coffee and tea!
I am sure the migraine will hit by 2pm.....anyone wanna place a bet on it??
First, I stumbled across The Harcombe Diet through a search for free recipe books on my Kindle and Zoe Harcombe's recipe book came up. Well, when I read "Harcombe Diet" in the title, I became curious (kinda like Alice) and I checked out her site and then went back and found her book available immediately on my Kindle for $9.95....why not!
Now I wasn't really looking for a weight loss fix.....but when I read that this was not just a weight loss way of eating but also helps with some health issues that I may be experiencing, I have decided to give it a shot! These issues are candida (a harmless bacteria in our bodies that feed off various foods that we often crave like sugars and carbs), food intolerance (those foods that you aren't allergic to but your body doesn't handle very well) and hypoglycemia (how your body deals with blood sugar/insulin)....I am pretty sure that after reading her book I have all 3! Grrreeeeaaat!
So, here's what I will be doing over the next few weeks....
Phase 1- This is only 5 days but I think for me, it's going to be a bit of a shocker because I am going cold turkey on caffeine! WAAAHHHHH! Basically you can only eat unprocessed meats, veggies (no mushrooms/potatoes), eggs, natural living yogurt (NLY) and about a 1/2 c brown rice. You can drink water, sparkling water, decaf teas, decaf coffee and NO SUGAR! Some have had great success with this detox process and have lost a chunk of weight in just these 5 days!
It starts off seeming a lot like The Atkins Diet (which I lost weight on but was GROUCHY) with veggies thrown in. I love that this phase is only 5 days but I HATE the no-caffeine since I haven't gone without caffeine for 5 days since having kids....coincidence, I think not!
PHASE 2- This phase gets a bit more interesting where you can have A LOT more foods that were not allowed in Phase 1 (fruit, oats, dairy, baked potatoes, small amounts of caffeine if needed) but this part seems a lot like Food Combining which I have heard of but never followed. Basically you have 3 categories or meals you can eat:
Fat Meals...where you only eat products from things with "faces" like unprocessed meats, unprocessed fish, dairy and eggs.
Carb Meals...where you eat only fruit, grains, oats, beans, potatoes.
Then there are the things you can eat with a fat OR a carb meal...vegetables, salads, tofu, very low fat dairy products, olives, tomatoes, berries, olive oil and herbs/spices/seasonings.
In Phase 2 you must still eat no processed foods and you can't combine things from fat or carb meals. This is a bit more flexible and still eating healthy foods! There are additional guidelines, too, but these are the basics....
PHASE 3, well I am not there yet but I do know that it starts when you are at your ideal weight and health!
So, here's to Day 1's menu of eggs with bacon and tomatoes, salad with lots of veggies and hard boiled eggs, yogurt for a snack, salmon with roasted veggies and brown rice and decaf coffee and tea!
I am sure the migraine will hit by 2pm.....anyone wanna place a bet on it??
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)