Whipped Cream Dream

Yesterday I accidentally ran 10 miles. Yup, accidentally. Once a week I do one long run, typically it’s about 6-8 miles. That was my plan this week too. Even as my friends and I discussed the route we planned to take, six miles was the goal. The route we were taking was between 10 and 14 miles, all dependent on how many loops or hill-repeats you decide to do. But as we began running, I realized that 10 miles was doable and if I didn’t want to keep going, I didn’t have to add the hill at the end (it’s an especially steep hill and I had already done it once at the beginning of the run). I always give myself that kind of option and it usually works for me. I tell myself what I plan to do, but I also give myself permission to stop at the end without adding extra work if I don’t want to. If I feel like it, I can do more, but I’m not forced to. No pressure. I trick myself into doing it just about every time, but I also listen to my body. If I want to stop and not do more, I can stop. But, like I said, I usually trick myself with the lack of pressure and I rarely end up stopping without doing extra. I think that feeling of no pressure gives me the freedom to challenge myself without feeling like I failed. I know that it was never the plan anyway, technically I already reached my goal. 

The other reason I ended up running 10 miles instead of 6 was because of my friends. I mentioned in last week’s blog post that if you don’t like running, you’re probably doing wrong. Most likely, that means you’re trying to run alone. Running is like a moving version of therapy. My friends are great conversationalists and running with them while talking about our lives always pushes me to go farther. I never want the conversation to end, I’m having too much fun. So, I ended up accidentally running 10 miles instead of 6.

My body definitely wasn’t used to running 10 miles though. I came home and ate, then I napped for almost two hours. Honestly, it was awesome, napping is the best! When I woke up, I cleaned the house and headed to the gym to lift. Even though I was tired, I was still motivated to go to the gym. Luckily, I just started using a new pre-workout that has caffeine in it since I’ve started working out at night. My night workouts usually end at 7:30pm, but then less than twelve hours later I have to work out again in the morning at 4:30am. It’s killing me slowly. Caffeine is a definite must. 

I’m also on my second week of white fish. Mostly I’ve been eating mahi mahi or cod. Neither of those taste too fishy which is good. Something else that I’ve found helpful is adding lemon-flavored hummus on top, I highly recommend it! My most exciting news this week was when my trainer told me to add a “reset day.” Some people call it a “cheat day,” but basically it’s like a rest day from my typical foods. I can eat whatever I want and as much as I want. 

Let’s pause here, so I can clarify a few things:

• Keto is not restrictive. I never feel like I’m missing out on something. If you read my other blog posts, you’ll learn how sick I was getting when I ate sugar and carbohydrates, especially bread. I chose to eat Keto, not because I’m forced to, but because I like it and, honestly, I feel great!
• The other thing is about the phrase “cheat day.” That wording implies that I’m doing something wrong or something I need to feel guilty about. But this isn’t either! Even on Keto, you can eat carbs or sugar sometimes. I just choose not to.
• “Cheat day” or as I prefer to call them, reset days, do exactly that: Reset your system. This is a longer topic than I plan to really get into here. What I do want you to know is the importance and necessity of variety. We need various nutrients and if I’m only eating five things (cod, mahi mahi, broccoli, spinach…wow, okay actually just four things) I’m not meeting all my nutritional needs. Hence, the necessity of reset days, days to get all the nutrients I’m not getting with my bodybuilding diet. That’s an important part of the last few months of bodybuilding, but obviously wouldn’t be a sustainable lifestyle long-term.

Now that we’ve clarified those points, let’s talk about what I ate on my reset day. Tri-tip! Lots of tri-tip. I really wanted meat. Usually meat is a huge part of my diet because I really love it, particularly burgers. Maybe next week I’ll have a burger with sweet potato fries…or an egg and cheese sandwich on rye toast with cheese…

But I digress and have made this blog post become food-porn for a moment, sorry about that. Anyway, I did eat grilled tri-tip (about 8oz) and then I picked up frozen yogurt from Menchies. Fun fact about me, I love whipped cream. Like, I really love whipped cream. Probably just as much as I love burgers, if not more, so I was mostly excited about the whipped cream I would get to eat on reset day. Needless to say, I put a ton of whipped cream on my fro-yo. Actually, full disclosure moment, I only stopped with the amount of whipped cream I had because the entire tin was empty and it seemed embarrassing to ask the Menchies’ employees to refill it so I could add to the mound already in my cup…regardless, it was delicious and I was very pleased.

Overall I don’t binge eat, not for years. I don’t even struggle with it at holidays or any other times. I don’t like how I feel when my stomach is that full. I hold no judgment for people that have or do binge eat because I’ve definitely been there. But Keto has really helped me conquer that. Even now on my reset day, I didn’t want to binge and my body didn’t want to either. 

Check out my Instagram to read a bit about getting over those complicated cravings and the shoulder angel-and-devil situation.

I have some other exciting news to share! A friend of mine, Noe Vier, is an amazing photographer. He’s going to take some pictures of me this week so I can track my progress as I approach being competition ready. I have been taking some pictures along the way, but just in my backyard. Honestly, I know nothing about lighting so my pictures aren’t great, they don’t show me in the best light (literally!). I’m really looking forward to working with Noe.

If you have any questions, struggle with binging, want help on your keto journey or don’t know how to begin, message me, let’s talk!