I’m in a funk!  Anyone else finding themselves in a late winter slump?

Um, Yup.

Well, I’ve managed to gain about ten pounds since Christmas.  Yes, ten whole pounds.  At first I surmised that maybe it was muscle from all the lifting I’ve been doing.  But then I realized the girls had grown up, if you know what I mean, and then I saw my tummy jiggling…and…Let’s just say it’s been a long time since anything significantly jiggled on me.  I guess it’s the out of control snacking and the endless spoons of nut butter straight from the jar.  Sigh.

Ok so I’m cool in the thigh department for now (while they don’t really fit in my jeans anymore, they also don’t clap)…but my belly…well it’s become it’s own entity…

I don’t know what it is…I did great through the holidays and then from January on…it’s been straight downhill!

I did have two great races – the Mountain Mist 50k in late January and the Thrill in the Hills Marathon in late February.  But as you can see, since I’ve been residing in Funky Town, I haven’t gotten up the gusto to write and post race reports.  I was certified as a running coach over a year ago; have been training athletes; and am now ready to announce and promote and expand…but I just can’t seem to get around to doing it.  Double Sigh.

Mama Goat, being the devout Catholic she is, gives up something for Lent each year.  Myself, I’m something of a heathen and haven’t given up something for years.  Anyways, I need some sort of catalyst here, so I thought I’d join  her in giving up sweets and junk food until Easter (April 20th).  That’s a loooooong stretch!  Day One was Wednesday.  It went alright. I managed to skip my new afternoon habit of late – a Kind Bar Granola Bar (which isn’t horrible for you – but is still minimally processed and has sugar and grains in it…..I replaced it with a green apple), and after dinner I only had some banana chips and homemade sweet potato chips (I made them myself – with nothing more than a sweet potato and an oven).  I know, I know.  But I needed something.  Yesterday I had a super clean day of eating with only dried apples for dessert.  But then I woke up at about 1:30 a.m. and had a bunch of banana chips.  Well at least they were unsweetened and organic.  Plus I got up at 4:30 a.m. to get my workout in and didn’t eat so I count the middle-of-the-night banana chips as breakfast.  Triple Sigh.

Not ready to give up on cranky just quite yet 🙂

I went for my regular check-up Wednesday with my doctor.  She is an MD but also a Holistic practitioner, so she does super thorough blood panels that test for some unconventional things – including a regular allergen panel.  She told me my allergen panel came back showing me super allergic to Almonds and moderately allergic to peanuts.  WHAT?!?!?  I’ve been all sniffly and bloated and icky, and she said my over the top consumption of almond milk, nuts and nut butter (and reversion to allowing more gluten back into my diet) might be fueling it… She wants me to layoff the almonds and peanuts for a while to see if the results were just due to overconsumption of late or if I’m really developing a new nut allergy.  So looks like almonds and peanuts will be added to the list of things I’m giving up for a while.  This means a re-think of the morning smoothie, so I stocked up on coconut water as my interim base.  Might make some cashew milk too but I tested a little high on that one too but no where near the peanut and almond.

Doc also said there were signs of inflammation in my body likely caused by me falling off the wagon as to my other food issues (i.e., gluten, dairy and rice – revealed in an ALCAT test a couple years ago)…So time to go back on the wagon with that.  Particularly with the history of auto-immune type diseases and issues in my family.

It’s funny – a couple years ago when I first went to see Dr. Bhatia – she did the ALCAT and gave me recommendations as to supplements, diet, etc.  I took those recommendations to heart – and maybe over the top – and I felt really good.  However, everyone harped on me that my diet was too restrictive or I needed to do this or that…and slowly I let in a little here and a little there and slowly I’ve become more and more miserable.  It’s a funny relationship we have with food.  On one hand we think – what’s the point of being so restrictive with what we can eat that it makes us miserable – go ahead! Live a little!  But then on the other hand, if you’re miserable – for whatever reason – overweight, allergies, health problems, not performing up to speed athletically etc – and someone said, all you have to do is alter how you eat and you’ll feel great – then why wouldn’t you?!  It’s a hard balance to find and something I think we all struggle going back and forth with.  I have a hard time with moderation and tend to be an “all or nothing” type person in all aspects of life.  So I think I need to get back to my hard-line stance… At least for a while.

Same goes for diet I suppose 🙂

SO anyways…you all ever feel like you have so many things you want to do, you need to do, you have to do?  Things that are obligations but then things that you really truly want to do for yourself…but can’t find umph you need to start?  Yeah, that’s where I’m at right now in Funk(y) Town.

SO not sure if anyone else needs a pre-Spring re-boot to get their mind and body in check?  If so – join me!  Here’s what I plan to do (as best I can!):

1. No processed junk foods!
2. Gluten free/Dairy free diet (and no processed “gluten free” or “dairy free” replacement faux food – also cool it on the rice, almonds and peanuts (specific to me due to an extreme sensitivity/allergy)
3. More fresh fruit and veggies!
4. No snacking in between meals (and if need be, keep it at fruits and veggies or homemade unprocessed whole food snacks (like “ice cream” made of blended fruit or “chips” made of sliced and baked zucchini or sweet potato or other fruit/veggies) and very limited nighttime snacking…
5. To bed early, to rise early!
6. Lots of yoga – at least 2-3x a week!
7. More blogging!  (For yourself, insert here some hobby, pet project or thing you do for yourself that you’ve been neglecting)
8. More focused work days and less lazy (i.e., less pissing around on Facebook and Amazon and Deadspin and HuffPost and….)
9. More gratitude! (i.e., hello, my life is awesome…move out of Funky Town)
10. More volunteer work! 

This week has gone so far so good. No real junk food since Tuesday…two yoga classes…too blog posts…tons of veggies…a volunteer conference call Saturday afternoon and a charity event Saturday night!

So during this 40 day stretch from me, look for more posts! To include: posts with recipes and health tips; an announcement regarding coaching services; race reports; volunteering opportunities and stories; and updates as to my new racing plans, strategies and a new certification I’ll be getting soon – yoga teacher goat guru : )

Let me know if you plan to join in, what you’ll be doing and how it’s going along the way!  Would love to see updates via Facebook and Twitter too.  I’ll try to update too to keep us all accountable!

Hopefully!