Free your mind and your feet will follow.

Road to Raw

09/02/2010 in Mental Health, Motivation, Weight Loss | 1 comment

I’m a little nervous about admitting what the next 14 days have in store for me because, frankly, part of me is still unsure about it. But I have signed up for a 14 day Raw Food Diet. It’s called Road to Raw; they provide you with a detailed 14 day menu (I LOVE that the recipes are for one person, not a family of 4), shopping list, food list, recipes, background info, daily motivational videos, every other day workouts, and a forum you can post questions/connect with other people on the program.

Visit RoadToRaw

Now, I have no problems with cooked foods or anything like that. However, since the b*tch Frac came to town, my eating has been insane. First, I’m still eating like I’m running (hello, weight gain), I’m eating out of sadness, I’m eating out of loneliness, I’m cooking and baking to fill up my time since I’m not allowed to be out and about yet, I’m eating to calm my emotions that normally get calmed during running. This in turn has made my stomach hurt, I’m bloated, I’m craving carbs like it’s my job, I don’t eat meals, I just kind of snack around. Seriously, my eating is a mess. I was looking for something that will kind of “reset” my body and something that I didn’t have to think about-it’s already laid out for me and all I have to do is follow it (I’m very good at following rules). I’m not concerned about calories or proteins or fats because 1-they do a really nice job of explaining it and setting up a good meal plan and 2-I currently have the activity level of an anemic grandma. My body doesn’t really need to be carb-loading.

I know some of you won’t understand and that’s alright. I’m kind of skeptical too. However I shouldn’t judge until I try it. The recipes look amazing and everything seems doable (I say that now…). My first day went off without a hitch and wasn’t hungry or hating life (and walnut pate?! SO DELICIOUS). I guess now is the time to focus on my nutrition and eating since I spent much more time focused on exercise. So this is time to reset my body but also reset my mind. A little New Age-y for me? Yes. But hey, whatever gets me back on my feet.

Have you ever done a cleanse? Or felt like you needed to reset your body??

Tags: cleanse, detox, Motivation, raw food, road to raw, Weight Loss

Owning my lifestyle

08/31/2010 in Mental Health, Motivation, Running | 16 comments

I’ve had kind of the typical reactions to my injury-my friends feel bad for me because they know how much I love running, my athletic friends feel bad for me because they know how much THEY love running, my family feels bad for me because they know how much they love me.

Then there are the others. Those that give me the wonderful comments of:

“Told ya not to run so far” “Guess this is your body’s way of telling you to stop running!” “See this is why we shouldn’t run”

Since I don’t feel like getting into the biomechanics of my body and why running really wasn’t the cause of it, I normally just laugh it off. When in reality I want to tell them to shut the eff up. Which brings me to the question…

Why is it ok for them to tell me to stop running but it’s NOT ok for me to tell them to put down the fries or hop on a bike?

It is as if all the people that I indirectly caused to feel inferior when I was running and they weren’t suddenly feel vindicated by their lazy lifestyle and crawled out of the woodwork to let me know. My body wasn’t telling me to stop running, it was telling me that I was not doing it correctly. What is your diabetes/high blood pressure/high cholestrol/excess weight telling you, then?! It’s not just the injury. It’s all aspects of a healthy lifestyle.

It is totally ok for them to start telling me why eating meat is natural and I should do it is ok yet the minute I mention the health benefits of vegetarianism I am a bleeding heart hippie liberal.

I’m reducing congestion on roads, freeing up parking spaces, getting healthy and cutting my carbon footprint by commuting by bike yet cars honk at me, don’t give me enough space, get angry when I take too much time to cross an intersection, and flick me off when they almost hit ME.

People comment if I get “just” a salad or only one margarita thinking they are funny, yet if I commented on the giant plate of cheese fries covered in bacon and grease I would be a b*tch.

The thing is-I don’t even care what you’re doing! I only care about my lifestyle and how it’s affecting me. I’ve been dealing with most of these things for the past 3 years (since I revamped my lifestyle). However, commenting on my running turned from dealing with it to being pissed off about it. The intangible benefits that running has given me are worth a 3 month hiatus if it means I can run again. Running is not for everyone but being fat is for no one. I love running and love being a vegetarian and love biking and love big salads. So, thanks to Rachel, I’m owning my lifestyle. Eat your damn steak-just don’t comment on what I’m eating. The minute you do, I’m going to let you know either you’re an idiot or you’re not funny. Or Both. (and PS, the next person that tells me to stop running, I’m going to tell them to stop sitting on their butt. Love, Bridget)