8 days later 4 days from

8 days later – I have eaten brown rice for the last eight days and yesterday marked what was actually the last day of what I intended to do for 7 days, but I am going to keep going (with some modifications)! Here it is: no alcohol (this one sucked a little over the weekend), wheat, dairy, yeast, corn, sweets and/or sweeteners, coffee and as you probably know this is in addition to being vegetarian.  There was a lot of brown rice consumed this week! 

What I found is that I thought about food alot this week (not in the daydream sense but in the practical what-to-eat next manner), but I never really wanted or craved anything at all – which for me is interesting because I usually always want sometype of treat (love me some cheese | dark chocolate).  I ate tempeh, so that broke one rule (even though I didn’t want to admit to it) and on Sunday I ate eggs and while I felt a little guilty I think that I really just needed the protein.

I found myself thinking through my food choices and eating more consciously, as well as trying to figure out what is important to me to take from this past week.  Overall temperament-wise this week I felt pretty even keel, which in itself is huge for me.  I tried brown rice pasta for the first time (not bad at all –though a little smoochy), drank probably my body weight in tea and fell in love with honey – all-in-all not a bad week.  This started as a way for me to eat cleaner, but in the process I started to see what I was eating more clearly.  I decided over 10 years ago to become a vegetarian for a number of different reasons and one of those overarching reasons for me has always been that I don't feel like I need to eat any meat to be healthy and active.   

I would say that sometimes I felt a little limited in what I could eat, but I am sure that that was partly due to being new to this type of diet so I was just a little unsure sometimes  – then add on the sheer fact that buying something like rice pasta isn’t as available as wheat pasta in grocery stores – so at times I felt like I was on a scavenger hunt for a meal.  There was a lot of label reading going on – and in some cases I was surprised to see how much wheat and corn are in so many different foods that I never really even thought about before. 

Some highlights of my eating week were: homemade hummus, spicy tofu with honey broccoli and kale, arugula and broccoli soup and very tasty sushi (that I did not prepare). I also discovered that brown rice is amazing for breakfast – add some dried apple, coconut, cinnamon, almond milk, and raisins.  This breakfast was the best (and also the only breakfast that I had with one morning of oatmeal instead)!

I am four days away from running a half marathon and while I am a little nervous, I am excited and feel ready to earn a new t-shirt and put another medal on my bookshelf – more importantly I feel that from the inside out I can face the distance.


“Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” ― Michael Pollan

it gets better

I made it through the first full day of my brown rice detox and am into the second day.  All-in-all other then a moment in the afternoon where I daydreamed eating a cupcake it was a pretty good day.  We have a workshop running at work so the smell of yummy coffee was lingering for part of the morning, but I think that because I was so excited to be making a change that it didn't phase me.  I actually liked the snacks that I had yesterday (which included sugar peas and hummus and black pepper rice crackers).  Went to the gym afterwork for a spin class and it kicked my butt.  Was totally drenched in sweat and loving life at the end of the class.  Dinner was pretty tasty - Spicy tofu with broccoli, red pepper, garlic and a little honey (also my lunch today). 

The "problem" I am having is that at night I still have a lot of energy so it is taking me longer to wind down and go to bed.  I haven't been hungry or craving anything at all, but I have been finding that I am thinking about food alot.  It seems like sometimes we just unconsciously eat so the choices we make are dictated more by what we want to taste and there isn't so much thought involved to what our bodies actually need.  Making an active change seems to be just the kick I need.

I am enjoying that everything I am eating now I consider (probably overconsidering at this point).  I think that this is actually a sustainable way to eat.  I just want to see a few days down the road how I am feeling.  I have read that it takes almost a month to actually break a habit so really this is the kickoff to me trying to break some bad habits.  It helps that there is a goal that this is tied to.  In the front of my mind I am focusing on how I want to run this race and how I want to feel going into it.  Because I have run this specific race before I know where I struggle which is why this is so meaningful to me. 

This will be my third consecutive Dutchess County Classic half (and my fifth classic event).  The first year I ran it I sort of just wanted it to be over at mile 10.  I finished in 2:15:28 but those last 3 miles were killer.  Last year I enjoyed it much more and ran a 2:11:16.  Now I don't remember where I struggled so that is a good thing.  It helps that my family positions themselves along the course because you run long stretches where you may only have a few people in sight.  I think that that is the hardest part of running a course like this one.  You have to be in your head and out of it at the same time.  This blog is my proof that I am ready to run in 10 days. 


"The journey is part of the experience - an expression of the seriousness of one's intent."— Anthony Bourdain

rice and other such interests

I have been wanting to blog for a bit, but didn’t really have a topic to write about.  Somehow my misadventures with having maybe too many beers and a laaisez-faire attitude regarding what I may or may not want to do next didn't quite seem blogworthy.  Now that I think about it – this actually makes the most sense to share because it is honest.  I will preface this by saying that two nights ago I added up my miles for the month and was at 88+ miles (had my highest mileage week of the month last week), which to all stretches of the imagination isn’t bad or even close to being lazy) and made me think about why I am so hard on myself.  In the last three months I have logged close to 250 miles so really have I been slacking? Or am I just torturing myself?

Here’s my update: I am running a half marathon in 11 days and yes I have been training for it though I can't say that I have really been thinking about it.  I have been feeling a little tired lately and am at the higher end of my weight.  When I start to feel uncomfortable I know that it is time to switch it up and take care of what is bothering me right away, rather than letting it get away from me.  I decided on doing a brown rice detox – it may not sound awesome, but I like to eat and really I just want to eat cleaner and be ready to run my best. Of course, I didn't really think about this I just did some research and decided that waiting to start wasn't going to do anything so might as well just start. 

This detox promotes eating macrobiotic – so lots of brown rice (quinoa, oats, buckwheat and wildrice are ok), along with fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds. This detox removes caffeine, sweets and sweeteners, dairy, wheat, yeast, alcohol and pretty much everything processed.  My goal is stick to it for at least 7 days. 

I started it yesterday afternoon – so I am being honest that I had a bagel and a coffee for breakfast.  The rest of the day was really clean from that on.  What I forgot about eating cleanly is that is takes alot of prep.  During my lunch break I went to the health food store to purchase unspeakable amounts of rice along with veggies in preparation for my dinner and the next few days.  Since it was a rainy day yesterday I went to the gym with Kelly and we ran 6.25 miles in an hour on the crapmill (awesome)! By the time I got home it was 7:30pm and I had to start making my rice for the rest of the week.  I made a really tasty dinner of basmati brown rice with kale, spinach, carrots, ginger, almonds, onions and tempeh – so yummy!! Being that I am training while doing this detox I am keeping tofu and tempeh in my diet – I need the protein and as far as being a processed food I can deal with this one. 

Today is my first full day so I guess we will see how it goes.  I started it with a brown rice breakfast – tastier then I initially thought it would be. You guessed it – brown rice with almonds, dried apple slices, unsweetened coconut, cinnamon and almond milk.  Had a snack of half a red pepper and don’t feel I am gonna freak out so that’s a good sign right?!  The only way I can describe right now is that I feel oddly alert and just happy to make a change.  I will keep you posted on how this goes!!! Wish me luck!


"...nothing is too much trouble if it turns out the way it should." — Julia Child