Green

Just because I am a runner and take my training pretty seriously doesn’t mean I necessarily devote the same amount of effort and dedication to my diet.

It’s not something I’m proud of but unfortunately it’s true.

My past Nutella addiction is well documented throughout my blog and although I am in recovery (I’m about three months clean of its crack-like addictive-ness) I still struggle with my sweet tooth.

I used to be extremely strict with what I ate when I first started exercising. I followed a calorie counting website so I’d just enter everything I ate and when it hit 1200 calories in a day I’d stop eating. I became quite good at knowing the calorie content in things I liked so if I felt like eating chocolate, I would and something else would be forfeited. Like the rice I was going to eat with dinner for example.

So although I lost quite a lot of weight, my eating habits didn’t improve – it was just the quantity that changed.

I did that until I reached my goal weight and then I got lazy. Because I had started running, over time I stopped counting calories and all the sugary treats I love so much started to sneak back in.

I think it’s commonly known as ‘falling off the wagon’.

I exercise more than probably 95% of the population. I burn a lot of calories. Unless you are careful this can lead people (me) to start to think they can eat whatever they want and so they do.

Sometimes this can mean you can actually train for and successfully run a marathon and not lose any weight (me again) .. or in some instances even put on weight (guilty).

So enough is enough..

On monday I injured my foot pretty badly tripping over an invisible mass of nothing at the gym. I know, only the uber talented can injure themselves on an air pocket. So it has meant no running and no Crossfit all week and almost certainly all of next week as well.

My usual response to this would be to book in lunch sessions with my girlfriends and eat dumplings until the cows come home, followed by cupcake chasers.  But after spending the weekend a couple of weeks back with four of my dearest girlfriends who are all runners – where we spent a lot of time comparing notes about how we were all sharing a similar pattern – I decided that this week is a good time to get back on the wagon. I want my eating habits to compliment my running and I’d love to shift the few kilos that have crept back on.

So it is day 5 of my new, for want of a better word, diet.

I’m not counting calories again but I’ve cut out all sugar except that in limited fruits. I’m restricting my portion control. I’m not eating bread or potatoes but I’m eating brown rice. Nothing to drink except water and coffee or tea. Skim milk in the latter and no red meat. Plenty of avocado and fish and in between snacks are nuts and a few dried apricots.

.. And then there is breakfast.

At first glance you might think it familiar .. the contents of your baby’s first nappy perhaps?

So although in the past I have teased the absolute crap out of everyone I know who jumped on the wanky breakfast brigade .. I am now aboard as well with my green/brown/black/unidentified colour smoothie that contains nearly an entire fridge drawer of green leafy matter and a sachet full of goodness knows what but it smells vile.

I’m not sure what I am expecting from the green smoothie but this morning as I sipped away with my super strength coffee just an arm’s length away, a small voice from the sofa said “Mum, your green smoothie smells like a pig who has died”.

Mmmmmm. Bacon.