Rapha #womans100

Recently, cracking the ton on the bike has proven to be a massive mental hurdle for me. But then so has been using hashtags, that's a different story.

Signing up for the Rapha Women's 100 proved to be just the antidote. In all honesty I hoped to see large groups of women on the road. But it wasn't to be. I hope they were all over in Collingwood joining the quasi-official ride.

I, on the other had get out earlier than I ever would so I could make it to work on time. I've been avoiding Beach Rd recently, just to mix things up, for the Women's 100 I got back on it.

Halfway was Mornington and a banana with a bay view. Conditions could not have been more perfect for this time of year. No wind!

10kms to go I was done, recovered with scrambled eggs, cottage cheese and hot sauce with a side serving of natural peanut butter and rice cakes. Then I got to go to work and whinge to my offsider about how hungry I was. I'm always hungry. Nothing new, not like that hashtag!

I got to order the commemorative roundel today, that was a definite highlight. That and I'm heading into a three day weekend...

Sun; ride: 102km | 3:51:18 |  26.5km/hr.

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Today is what is called a "recovery" day. I finished work early this morning and don't go back until tomorrow. I nap for 3-4 hours in the morning and wake close to midday. I then do whatever I feel capable of doing. Today outside lured and I tested my legs on the bike for the first time in a couple of weeks. I have a crazy notion that I will do a triathlon or two this season. I wanted to experience a short ride, akin to sprint distance triathlon.

This night shift went well. I had a day where chocolate covered licorice and lollies got the better of me, but my eating was back on track the next day. I managed to move 6 days out of 7. Sure, low intensity, but moving nevertheless. Night shift is hard, it's unnatural, isolating and can be depressing. Kindness to oneself during the week is key!

Breakfast: Green smoothies have worked a treat this week. Rolling with the same banana, peanut butter, milk & baby spinach combo today.
Lunch: 1 scrambled egg with cottage cheese and two pieces of toast
Dinner: Roast beetroot, feta, walnut and spinach salad
Snacks: Blood orange, lollies, stewed apple, yoghurt & cacao nibs, green tea, hot chocolate

Ride: 47:33 | 21.5 km | 27.13 km/hr
The tail wind home helped me no end!

Yoga: 1hr
Simply flow. I am starting to see the slightest improvement in my downward dog. It also makes me think more about my body position in day to day life. This is really important for me as poor posture has led to some ongoing pain in my hips and neck of late.  

1572 and Night shift

At this stage due to staff shortages, I'm pretty much on night shift every three weeks. I don't mind, but if you're not prepared it can be a tough and isolating week. The first night shift I did I put on 2 kgs in a week. A week! I didn't get enough sleep, my hormones were in turmoil and I couldn't eat enough. I had a hard time shifting the weight. But after a discussion with my doc and some time to trial what does and doesn't work I have the week down pat.

Sleep.
After consulting with my doc, I opt to take sleeping tablets for the week. This means I usually get 7-8 hours sleep per day. It makes all the difference, I function at work (less mistakes for my paper work - yay!) and don't fall asleep at the wheel when driving home in the morning.

Eats.
Before I go to bed at 8:00am or thereabouts I have breakfast. I wake up between 4-5:00pm and have a light lunch or second breakfast. I have dinner at 8:30-9:00pm and all my snacks/coffee are consumed at work.  Usually 3:00am onwards I start to get hungry.

Exercise.
I try and do something each day. It doesn't always happen. I tend to take it easy, going for long walks to get some vitamin D, rather than slogging through a run I'm just not up for. Also between the two yoga studios I go to there's usually an evening class I can get to.

Breakfast: The ubiquitous green smoothie, not too many additional items because I don't need the extra calories to sleep. 100g frozen banana, 150mL full fat milk, 1 tbs natural peanut butter, large handful of spinach leaves, small celery stick.
Lunch: Cape seed bread toasted with butter
Dinner: Pesto pasta with roast tomatoes and pumpkin.
Snacks: Orange, celery, strawberries & full fat yoghurt, M&M crispys - to show that sweet things do creep in!

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Yesterday being Grand Final day was a day full of food and drink. I ended up overdoing it and feeling a little queasy. You live and learn. Today back on track.

Breakfast: Apple and ricotta pancakes (base being 1 egg, 1/3 cup oats, 1/2 tsp baking powder - works with mashed banana too)
Lunch: Satisfying salad sandwich, scoffed this after yoga!
Dinner: Wile rice pumpkin and eggplant salad mentioned previously.
Snacks: Dates and walnuts, Celery and an Almond milk hot chocolate (last two not pictured)

Run: 35:34 | 6km | 5.55m/km
It was windy and rather unpleasant for 3 km.

Yoga: 2hr Flow Workshop
I learned so much. I realised how little upper body strength I have. And that's ok. Just got to keep plugging away at it.

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Friday's eats
Breakfast; Cape seed loaf and butter. So delicious. And a large coffee after yoga.
Lunch; Corn tortillas with ricotta & eggs, scrambled plus generous lashings of hot sauce. 
Dinner; very loosely based on this, subs included wild rice, walnuts, addition of feta & avocado.
Snacks; Celery, blood orange, stewed apple, almond milk hot chocolate.

My eating is not usually this virtuous. I had totally planned to have a chocolate bar at work, but we were so busy there was barely enough time to eat dinner! I had the hot chocolate at home instead.

Run: 1:19:52 | 12.2km | 6.32m/km
Windy conditions. Not feeling the love with my running at the moment.

Yoga: 1:00 | Simply flow
I found it a challenging on the mat today, probably due to tiredness after running.

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These are Monday's eats.

Instead of moaning about my weight gain (I'm up a kilo or two) it was time to do something about it. Everyone knows what they need to do, it's just a matter of knuckling down and for me; eating less. 1500 is my target range.

Breakfast: coffee and a huge piece of toast with jam and cottage cheese.

I was on an afternoon shift, so I had my 'cooked' meal at lunch: salmon with dukkah, steamed veggies with a horseradish/mayo dressing and baked sweet potato chips. Protein at lunch works so well for me.
Dinner: I opted for a wrap so I could essentially eat on the run.

Snacks: gluten free bar, popcorn, tea and an almond milk hot chocolate with marshmallows.

Mon; run: 36:59 | 6.02km | 6.08m/km. It was cold and windy, but satisfying nevertheless.

Tuna bowl

Each week my eating improves a little. I have found that while I'm studying at work I do a whole lot better if I have protein for breakfast as well as lunch. This bowl tides me over quite nicely. I steam the veggies the night before, then throw in a small can of 4 bean mix and about 75g of chili tuna. I also like a bit of avocado in there if I've got some.

Swim: 10m | 500m | 2:00m/100m. Relay races in PE. Fun!

Not a bad week

Compared to the few last weeks I've been so much better with my food intake. Being committed to logging my food on Fitday helps. I've managed to cut back on the mindless eating. It's still there to a degree, but I've really been asking myself if I'm hungry. If I am, I give myself permission to eat. If not, and I still want something I go for a cup of green tea.

I've packed satisfying healthy lunches (hello, veggie filled wrap!) and taken enough snacks (almonds, capsicum, banana) to work so that I'm not so ravenous by the end of the day.

Thurs; commute: 1:00 | 16.7km. Took the slow bike into the city and loved every moment on a reasonably warm Autumn day!

Wed; boxing & strength: 30m & 15m. PE boxing class, love it, it was at the end of the day and we went hard. Additional strength because I could.

Tues; spin class & strength: 43m & 20m. HR based training in spin class. Loved it, reminded me of my hardcore triathlon training days! Additional strength because I could and also because during the day we did 5 mins of burpees. Seriously, 5 minutes. Try it one time. Ouch!

Into the weekend

More half day eats! I tried a Carrots 'n' Cake protein pancake recipe. I opted for only half the banana and found them to be a little dry. So on a repeat of the recipe this morning I added a little almond milk and they were spot on. Delicious with natural peanut butter and a sprinkling of cocoa nibs.

I stocked up at the market yesterday and found kale, it was a little pricey, but I treated myself and was finally able make my own kale chips. Tasty indeed. I've still got half a bunch, I'd love to try it another way. Ideas welcomed!

My stomach seems to have tolerated banana, which is good news seeing as I'll be all about the portable snacks when I return to work next week. In preparation I cooked up a huge batch of brown rice that I've frozen in half cup portions to mix with tuna and spinach or broccoli for an easy lunch.

I'm pretty happy to take my experiment of no/low fructose eating into a second week. At home is easy, out is tricky. I'm not going to be super extremist, but I'll attempt to make good choices. I tell you giving up the pistachio macaron that came with my coffee at Bisto Guillaume the other night hurt a little, that said tomorrow as part of the food and wine festival we're set-menu-lunching at the hands of a three Michelin star chef, the kitchen is already taking into account the fact that I'm pescetarian, I decided not to push my luck with sugar.

Tennis: 40m. The Man and I headed into the glorious afternoon to make the most of the free courts around the corner. We're hack players, just a bit of fun to run around and have a hit.

Half the day

I'm just going to post half my eats for the day. I'm heading out for dinner tonight with friends. There won't be photos, just good food choices. Trust me!

Breakfast: Full fat milk latte (did not upset my stomach - apparently the fats slow the journey of the milk through the intestines and allow the lactase enzymes more time to break down the sugars, whereas low fat/no fat milk speeds through the intestines and skips the usual digestive process and is partially broken down by the bacteria in the intestines. This fermentation process causes excessive wind, bloating and associated pain - which is what I have a tendency to suffer from) and natural peanut butter on rye. Seriously natural peanut butter, I wish I'd discovered you earlier.

Snacks: Soy latte between jog & run (I wasn't prepared to overload on milk just yet) and an almond milk/cranberry protein shake after running. Choc nib chia cookies after lunch.

Lunch: Sardines with Dijon mustard and diced tomato, capsicum, cucumber & basil. Sardines have not won me over. I'll be sticking with tuna from here on in.

Jog: 36:07| 4.3km | 8:23/km. I met G at the Tan and slow jogged a lap. She's lost 22kgs and still has 20kg to go. For a long time she didn't have the right mindset/attitude with regards to her health and weight loss. She sure does now, it's so good to see the shift.

Run: 44:27 | 7km | 6:21/km. After a soy latte with G I embarked on my own run. I struggled - under fueled. Still it was a beautiful morning for it and I felt lucky to have the time to get out and run by the river.

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Plenty of errand running today, of the beauty variety. Mani/pedi, waxing & hair appointment all in one day! Productive.

Breakfast: 2 crumpets, vegemite, almond milk latte
Post run: Cranberry/almond milk/Aussie bodies protein shake
Snacks: Popcorn, almonds, Fruit free Gluten Free Bar (last two not photographed, and pretty stoked to find the Fruit free bar fructose free!)
Lunch: Zucchini salad based on this recipe. I omitted chickpeas & added baked ricotta and I'm partial to a light mayo/horseradish dressing.
Dinner: Zucchini cheesecake based on this recipe. I omitted the Parmesan & added spinach.
Dessert: Choc nib chia cookies. They didn't hold together as well as I'd hoped, but I still ate far too many of these for my liking.

Run: 36:13 | 6km | 6:02/km. Vibram run. I procrastinated on this run big time. I thought it was going to be harder than it was. I keep putting pressure on myself to maintain a 5:41/km pace. I need to get over that train of thought and just get out there. I probably should have run in shoes to give my feet more of a rest after Sunday's Vibram run.

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Definitely closer to where I want to be on days of little exercise. Day two of low/no fructose and my tummy is still happy. Had a chat with the doc today who suggested I stick with what's working rather than go for testing. At this stage there's been no major cravings for sugar, I'm waiting for it to hit. Not included in the photos is the glass of red the Man and I went out for. Everything in moderation right??

Bodyrock: 12 mins. Glad you Came workout. Mountain Climbers set 1:53 set 2:51 Squat Lunge Back & Side Lunge set 1:12 set 2:12 Ugi Jump (using scooter helmet!) set 1:25 set 2:40 Push Ups set 1:18 set 2:22 Straight Arm Plyo-metric Jump set 1:27 set 2:30 Tricep dips (was meant to be Reverse Pull Ups) set 1:25 set 2:30

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Calorie consumption is probably a little higher than I'd like considering I didn't actually exercise today and while I ran errands this morning, there wasn't a whole lot of moving this afternoon. That said, I just wanted to see where I was at while attempting my first day fructose free.

There's definitely reduced bloating and gas. Yay for me! Yay for you! At about 3pm I kind of felt the need for "something" as I was feeling a little light headed. I fed that need with green tea instead. Hence it's pictured twice.

And seriously the "peanut mousse" is awesome. I used granulated stevia as a sweetener and now I'm thinking cocoa powder could be a good addition too.

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I didn't feel so ravenously hungry today. I'm not sure if it was the additional protein in my breakfast (protein powder + overnight oats is a winner, providing you don't mind the taste of your powder!), the tuna at lunch, the appetite suppressant that can be running or the fact that we ate and drank very well over the weekend in celebration of a wedding.

I was however craving chocolate, obviously! As if the above wasn't enough my artificially sweetened/lo-cal hot choc wasn't photographed. Honestly I try to avoid that stuff, the asapartame usually upsets my stomach, but I couldn't help myself.

Oh, and this recipe is a keeper. I subbed green beans instead of asparagus.

Kickboxing: 45m. Played with the kettlebells. How's the fatigue!

Run: 49:16 | 8km | 6:10/km. Speed session. Warm up: 15 min. Main set: 3x 800m effort (4:15, 4:10, 4:24 - they were meant to be at 4:06) 400m rest mostly jogging, some walking. Cool down: 12 min. I always wonder why I don't do more speed work, until I get out there and do it. It's hard. I find it incredibly uncomfortable and really tough. But if you don't train to run fast, I guess you can't expect to run fast.

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I think nerves accounted for my lack of appetite today. I had my panel interview. I'm not sure how well I actually interviewed, the feedback being that I need to believe in my own skills a little more. However I also had some really positive feedback, so let's just wait for the official letter first before celebrations occur!

How I felt? I was a little hungry after my interview, I try to carry a bar around so I have a healthy option. It did the trick. Not pictured were the couple of rice cakes, few jellybeans and satay sauce that went with the rolls. They were accounted for though. Since I've been back on Fitday I've lost somewhere between 0.5-1kg. This is the desired effect!

What I'd do differently? Not much today. Lunch was seriously awesome as was dinner. I think the double dose of protein (smoked salmon & a boiled egg) at lunch helped. And all the veggies in the rice paper rolls were really filling.

Run: 36:25 | 6km | 6:04/km. Slower than anticipated, but again a "long run". No ITB issues, just an incredibly strong headwind for 3km.

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Today was far better than yesterday. A stint of casework in the morning saw me not eat or drink for five hours and left me with a debilitating headache and a feeling of faintness that I couldn't shake all day. Plus I was hungry. HUNGRY! Nothing seemed to satiate me. And thus I exceeded my calories burned.

I just had to jump back on the deficit bandwagon today. Coffee to start, followed by an egg scrambled with cottage cheese on a bed of spinach, with a toasted english muffin.
Homemade almond milk hot chocolate and cranberries. Moroccan Soup (whereby I omitted the raisins, but used a whole can of chickpeas = 215 cals per serve) with additional spinach. Sour cream & chive rice crackers - 2 serves, these could well be my downfall. Miso soup (it was cold here today!) and Vanilla tofu pudding (170 cals). Oh and tea, a few cups of tea.

How I felt? So much better than yesterday in terms of being satisfied. I am absolutely loving the lack of bloating. I even bought a new bikini today!

What I'd do differently? I could have had less for lunch and saved one of the pita pieces until later. I was pretty full after the bowl of soup.

Run: 21:21 | 3.8km | 5:36/km. There was a whole lot of procrastinating going on prior to this run. It was cold and a little bleak out. But I knew I'd feel better afterward. And yes, another run I live not to regret!