Anemic?! WTF...

I’ve had a really hard time working out this week not because I have not wanted to but because work and finishing up the school year has been so crazy. I have also been really tired. The fatigue should have been the telltale sign, but then the bruises started showing up. (My pedometer broke too and the new one is definitely not accurate…)

I have a history of anemia. This is really common for people with Celiacs Disease and going vegetarian this was something I was concerned about since plant iron is harder to absorb than iron in say steak… I’m just surprised that the anemia did not hit me sooner. I’ve been vegetarian now for about 9 weeks. I’m not sure why it took so long to show up…

I’m going to have to read up on how vegetarians deal with anemia. I’m going to eat a lot of eggs over the next few days. May some good spinach and egg omlets will do the trick. I hope I don’t have to go in for a nice, pleasant iron shot … Ughhhh..

I don't believe in diet plans (ranty - you have been warned)

UGHHHHHH…

I just got off the phone with a family member. Rather than having a nice conversation I had to listen to her talk about her new diet plan for 30 minutes. She often sells things. She was trying to sell me on this plan. Turns out it is not just a diet plan (which I don’t believe in), it is some kind of diet/pyramid scheme all in one. She gets money if I sign up. I drove about a 1000 miles today in 15 hours. I really did not want to hear a sales pitch.  

I should have realized something was up when my direct questions about the plan were not answered. The tone of voice should have been another clue that this was a sales presentation…

Not only was she trying to sell me on the plan, but she wanted me to post links to the sales site on my various blogs and Facebook. I am now trying to figure out how to tell her that I refuse to post things that I don’t back or believe in… I won’t be linking her site anywhere… Now I have gotten really ranty here and should get on track.

I don’t believe in diets. This phone convo with said family member has opened up a chance for me to really put down my views on health and eating.

1. When I say that I eat gluten free it is NOT because it is trendy right now. I am one of the few people eating gluten free that actually HAVE TO. I have Celiacs Disease and wish all of the posers would quit faking it… (Though more demand is driving down the cost of gluten free products. Maybe the fakers have a use...)
2. When I gave up sugar it was only after researching the harmful long term effects of it and to see how I felt after giving it up. I feel better without it.
3. When I gave up meat a month ago it was on the recommendation of my doctor. The Celiac Disease had kind of ravaged my system and digesting meat is difficult. (He did not recommend it as a permanent thing, but again I feel so good that it might become permanent. I have also been watching food documentaries and if I do eat meat again it is going to have to be organic. The animals are treated horribly and that is something I am not sure I can handle anymore.) 

All of the dietary changes I have made are lifestyle changes that require me to evaluate how I physically feel in response to the changes, they are well researched, some are doctor recommended (demanded) changes, and cause me to really think about what I am eating and why. These things have all been about me taking responsibility for what I eat.

The family member’s plan is a prepackaged sort of deal where you have to buy your food from the company and you eat their prepackaged food until you reach your goal weight... When I talked about not liking this aspect of it the family member got really defensive and spouted off that 20,000 doctors back this plan... Well, experts can be paid off or bought off, or made up.

The bottomline is that this plan may work, but it does not teach you how to eat. In fact it takes all responsibility for your food out of your hands. Your food is handed to you. You don’t have to think about it at all…

Ranty again… I hope I don’t have to listen to this sort of stuff for the next three days. I will leave early or completely book my schedule with friends rather than family members… 

Weekly Results - Visualizing the mountain

Results:
I lost 3.6 pounds this week for a grand total of 10.8 in the last two weeks.
I walked 126,660 steps = 59.59 miles.
I am still meat free, sugar free, and gluten free.

Updates:
Front-loading the day worked. Eating more of my calories in the morning and mid-day solved my tiredness in the afternoon. I also realized I was not getting very much fat and started eating a bit of peanut butter each day and switched from skim milk to 2% milk.

This whole vegetarian thing is kind of tricky... Plus I can't eat a lot of the vegetarian meat alternatives because of the gluten in them. Because of the Celiacs Disease I don't think I will ever be able to give up dairy and eggs. It would be super challenging to get what I need.

Thoughts this week:
My mental focus has not been directly on my number of steps and amount of weight lost. I use these things to gage progress, but my mind is in the mountains. As I working out I find myself frequently imagining what it will be like to walk the trails to the top of Timpanogos. I am imagining the wild flowers, the feel of the sun, and the weight of the backpack on my back. I imagine how good it will feel to reach the summit. This is so motivating.

I live in tiny Southern town that lives up to many of the stereotypes of a tiny Southern town. Everyone is up in your business. Everywhere you go you run into people you know. So as I have started working out I have had countless people come up to me and comment that they saw me on the track or climbing the stadium steps. So we chat about the little hike I am going on this summer. Everyone is so enthusiastic about it. In the end this is going to be a great way to hold myself accountable. The town of Mayberry is watching and will want to know how the hike goes when I come back in August.

Making my fitness goal about this hike rather than strictly about numbers is going to be what keeps me going.