posted on October 23, 2019
My diet has been remarkably boring recently, so when I sat down to write this I wasn’t sure what to put on the page. As I get closer to my big meet/marathon weekend, I’m doing everything I can to decrease inflammation, ease my digestion, and keep my weight stable. I’d been struggling to keep weight on earlier in the fall but have finally started maintaining a little closer to my ideal. Now I just need to keep it there.
I made a few changes to what I’m eating to get here. The first is consistency, or eating the same things most of the time. It’s easier for my gut to process familiar foods (but harder on my brain to not eat ice cream and donuts when they’re on offer). I LOVE cooking, but now isn’t really the time to be trying out new recipes. I’m doing a whoooole lot of white rice (thank the Costco gods, it’s so much cheaper than Giant Eagle), some sweet potatoes, and the occasional white potato.
And on the protein side, I’m keeping those pretty similar, but made a point to switch to some fattier cuts of my normal meat options. So it’s been pork shoulder (I have a ton from Butcher Box), steak, and lots and lots of chicken thighs. All of these cuts are tastier than their fat-free counterparts, easier to cook (and not dry out), and are a great way to sneak in some extra calories when you need them!
I’ve also done something very difficult for me – cut DOWN on vegetables, specifically raw veggies. And I LOVE raw veggies – if you’ve seen my other food logs you know I was eating a salad of raw kale with salmon multiple times each week (out of love and laziness). No more. I stick to veggies that are cooked and pretty easy for me to digest. That happens to be mushrooms, carrots, some asparagus, spinach, eggplant, and green beans for the most part. This one’s been tough, I really like to load my diet up with veggies, but they’re super filling and sometimes cause GI problems. I’m excited to bring them back up later in the year.
Finally, I have my super safe fallback meal. It’s what I eat before hard workouts, including long runs, and what I’ll eat the morning of both the meet and the marathon. And it’s literally just white rice, eggs, and a little salt and butter. That’s it, but it’s a ton of carbs, some protein, and just a bit of fat. My body loves it, I don’t feel too full to move after, and those carbs power me through the first hour of my runs (and then I pick up with Honey Stingers).
It’s all for a purpose, and I’m less than 5 weeks out at this point. I am REALLY looking forward to taking a mini-vacation (in my hometown) after the race and then chowing DOWN on Thanksgiving.
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