Cleaning Up a Diet Without Restrictions

I catch myself saying the words: “new year, new me” every single January for years, and I get a little annoyed halfway through the month. It’s not that I feel there is anything wrong with the saying—I just think I don’t give myself credit for how good I actually am with most aspects of my life, particularly my health. I run six days a week, lift weights, eat pretty healthy, drink lots of water, stay away from smoking and heavy alcohol, and I wear sunscreen everyday. Besides working on time management this year, which has been a true failure for me since I became self-employed (this will be a separate blog post very soon!), I’ve been wanting to focus on specific aspects of my diet that I have been ignoring for years. I say out loud it is mostly about my acne-prone skin issues, but there are so many other symptoms that I feel are linked to annoying food sensitivities that I have been refusing to address.

As For These “Symptoms”…

I don’t feel I have experienced many symptoms that affect my function on a daily basis, which is the reason why I’ve just ignored them for so long. The only thing that’s really bothered me during my adult life is my acne and melasma, which I feel and have been told is primarily hormone-related. I also regularly get bloating and less than regular digestive issues. Increasing fatigue over the last couple of years has more recently been my main concern, since that specifically has been affecting my strength, running, and daily concentration on my work. Just a few months ago I was diagnosed with borderline hypothyroidism, which is definitely related to these symptoms, but diet can play a large role in managing the condition and keeping my symptoms at bay. My goal is to try and delay the need for long term hormone replacement for this health problem.

Restrictive is NOT the Way to Go…

At least not for me. Last year I went ahead and took advantage of a big discount that was going on for Everlywell—the at-home lab test. I was interested in seeing what food sensitivities I actually have based off of their kit. I know I shouldn’t take this as 100% accurate, especially after doing my own research and reading reviews about the discrepancies between these" “at-home” tests and real allergy testing. I kept in mind that this option was not testing allergies at all—just sensitivities I may have when consuming certain foods. I honestly thought my results would come out to maybe a couple at the most and it was a list of 22 foods! Now, one of the reviews I received from a handful of Instagram followers is that the case for some of these is that the test picks up foods I regularly eat, rather than something in my blood telling me I’m actually sensitive. Therefore I took the results with a grain of salt.

This long list of foods includes almond, wheat, chicken, eggs, garlic, potato, and oats, among others. Surprisingly the only dairy foods that were on the list were mozzarella and yogurt. For a few years now I have tried to stay away from dairy products after the recommendation from a dermatologist, and it made a big difference in my skin and digestive issues. I totally thought this would be number 1 on the list of food sensitivities! Regardless, the list was overwhelming for me so I did not do what was suggested which is an elimination diet. With that many foods on the list, it felt restrictive to me, and when I’ve restricted food groups in the past, it only caused me to have intense cravings and then binge eat. I feel I never minded restricting dairy all this time because I really didn’t care for it to begin with. I don’t like cheese at all, can live without yogurt, have never really been an ice cream fan, and with any recipe that called for milk I was perfectly fine using the alternatives.

Ticking Off New Year’s Resolutions

Okay, so one priority for me as far as goals go for this year is to learn something new every day. So far, I’ve been successful, and one thing I’ve learned this year is about what in milk is really the culprit of digestive issues. It’s the protein! I thought it was the added hormones some farmers use on cows or the lactose, but it’s actually specifically the A1 protein. My parents are very obsessed with A2 milk, which is made from cows that only produce the A2 protein. Once I learned all about this I decided to give this brand a try. As many of you saw on my Instagram feed, I jumped on board and took a challenge this month to switch out my milk, and I’ve been so happy about the results. No bloating, no stomach aches, and NO ACNE! I highly recommend this switch if you are sensitive to regular milk! Oh yea—and right now you can enter to win free a2 Milk for a year and a Peloton Bike + 1 year membership. Click here!

What About the Rest of My Diet?

Well, this post is the start of my goal—attempting to dial in to my current way of eating and pinpoint what is playing a role in my fatigue. I know I can be better about limiting my frozen food lunches and packaged snacks I have been eating regularly for the sake of saving time, so this will be the first thing I tackle (as I write this, I am eating plant-based air-fried chicken tenders). I also need to get back to a regular eating schedule—this will help with energy levels. I tend to get bogged down by projects and forget to eat. This will require me to make time for meal planning and being more creative with quick snack options for my work day.

Tackling this goal in 3, 2, 1… I’ll keep you all posted! Make sure to follow along on Instagram for the latest updates.

How "Running with Purpose" Helps You Stay on Track

Most avid runners have probably been asked the question “why do you run?” and have most likely answered something along the lines of “because it makes me feel good” or “I’m training for a race”. These are both very good reasons to run in general as part of your exercise routine, but having a purpose for each and every run you do is one of the most influencing ways to reap the rewards from the sport. The phrase “running with a purpose” means much more than most people think. It does not just mean to run for the purpose to reach a goal finish time or run for a charitable cause. Running with purpose simply means to work towards a specific outcome at each and every run.

Whether it be an easy run, speed session, or long run workout, everyone should stay focused on their purpose for each. While warming up before every workout, you should ask yourself what the purpose of the run is. If you have one, it should be something that is included in your run log as well. This is a topic that should also be spoken about with your coach so you can get the most out of your planned training sessions. Once you make it a habit to have a purpose for each run, you will find running much more fulfilling and goals more attainable than ever before.

Easy Days

Many refer to easy runs as “junk miles”. This term sounds a bit negative, which is not what your easy runs are about. Although you are not trying to hit specific paces on the easy days, it does not mean they are meaningless or have less value than your other scheduled workouts. Easy runs are an important part of training because they help flush out toxins in the body from the hard sessions and keep your blood circulating, which is incredibly useful for limiting soreness and stiffness. Since easy runs should be performed at a comfortable recovery pace, it should be the least stressful run where you do not have to be constantly checking your watch for your split times. This means you can focus on other factors that require attention and will make you a more efficient runner.

Easy runs are a good time to focus on form including posture and cadence, among other mechanics. This is probably the most useful purpose to have during these recovery runs. You can dedicate each mile to a different focus, alternating between working on taking quick steps while keeping your feet under you, keeping an upright posture while incorporating a forward lean, relaxing the shoulders and keeping the arms close to the body, and driving the toes up and concentrating on foot strike. These are just some examples of purposes you can have for easy runs. Another great purpose for one of your recovery runs is controlling heart rate, which can be done by working on a more relaxed running form and proper breathing.

Speed and Tempo Sessions

Heading out for a speed workout means you are about to enter into an intimidation zone. Speed workouts call for hitting intervals at specific paces, which can get a bit scary for some. The paces that should be prescribed are ones that are actually challenging for you. After all, if your goal is to beat your current PR at a race, it requires you to train to reach faster paces. Your purpose for these sessions is not only to hit your paces as prescribed but to work on your mental game as well. Distance running, such as racing half and full marathons require a strong mind as running on tired legs late in the race can seem physically impossible. During speed workouts, it is helpful to practice envisioning the faster paces as “easy” paces. Work on proper form, relaxed shoulders, and controlled breathing during these paces, and you will find that they will not seem so hard after all come race day.

Tempo runs are a great time to focus on pacing, meaning running as close to your prescribed paces as possible. At the beginning stages of training, you can set the purpose of these tempo runs as trying to stay plus or minus three to five seconds from goal pace for a segment of the workout, versus the entire time, and then work up from there.

Non-Running Purpose Runs

Some runners may think it’s a waste of precious running time to focus on something other than the run itself when you’re out there. Well, it happens to be almost the perfect time to get “out of your mind” and into the environment around you. I find it useful to use some portion of my easy and long runs to plan the day ahead—my work schedule, chores, and get my mind prepped for the rest of the day. Since I am already starting my days productively with a run, I definitely want to keep it going! I also plan out routes that I can enjoy the scenery, whether it be other people being active, or just nature! You can also make it a purpose to think about what you’re grateful for. 

You will find that running with a purpose tends to be easier to do on the hard workout days since there are already specific goals for those runs, to begin with. Practicing finding purpose on every run, though, will truly excite your passion for running. This is important because many runners get burned out during long training cycles and have a hard time staying on track towards reaching their ultimate goals for races and health in general. Even if you are not a marathoner, and are just running for fun and to get in shape, finding a purpose for every workout you do is just as important and will help you stick to your exercise routine as well.