A Farewell to Arms.....errr Guinness

I feel like I should write but I'm having a hard time fighting the brain fog and actually put my thoughts into words.  There has been much to process the last couple of weeks and I still don't feel like I have fully gotten a grasp on things.  This week I made an effort to do what I could, no matter how small, and to see those things as accomplishments not that I was failing at everything else.  Yesterday was my first day of putting forth a concerted effort to eat gluten free.  I'm also giving coffee the boot for the time being *GASP!* and in general keeping better track of what I eat and how I feel when I eat it.  After scarfing lots of pizza and beer the night before I woke up feeling totally lousy and decided it was time for change.  In addition no gluten I've been using some nutritional products from Arbonne.  The last couple of days with no coffee have been aided by the Fizzy Tabs and for breakfast I blended up a banana with the Chocolate Protein Mix. Yummy, and no headaches while I'm coming down off my daily 24 oz of coffee!  This afternoon I wanted to venture out and raid the bulk bins at a health food store and I found Native Sun Natural Foods.  It was made more exciting by getting caught in a major downpour that put going to farmer's market on hold.

With everything going on and with the ridiculous heat and humidity I haven't had the will to muster the energy to give my poor garden any attention recently.  Our lawn mower also died recently so the kids and I went on an adventure to Pep Boys.  There we traded in our old gas mower for a battery powered one and with the trade in it was only $150!  We then went to Lowe's to see what plants they had left and even this late in the season I was able to get some nice eggplant, tomatoes, bell peppers, and some jalapenos.  The tomatoes I put in at the beginning of the summer were taking over so I got a cage to try and corral them.

This past week was the first of the 100 Mile Fitness Challenge and I logged 11 miles!  Off to a great start!

I know I'm just getting started down the gluten free path but I already felt a little better today.  A little less tummy trouble at least.  There are certain things I will miss quite a bit, I can't imagine there is a gluten free alternative that comes close to the beauty that is Guinness.  That being said:

There once was a girl who loved Guinness,
She drank it like it was going out of business.
But then she got ill and though she wanted it still,
Guinness her glass would no longer fill.


Cheers!

First 5K EVER!

This week has been very challenging for me.  I'm still trying to process the news that I have an autoimmune disease and that I'm looking at a drastic diet change in the hopes of either maintaining a certain level of thyroid medicine or being able to go off of it entirely.  With the diagnosis of Hashimoto's disease I can look back at my past medical history and or how I've exercised and dieted in the past and so much more of this all makes sense.  I wonder what measure of my past bouts of depression can be attributed to the Hashimoto's.  There is still a lot to read and a plan of action to come up with.  I know that at the very least I'll be kissing gluten goodbye.  I'm enjoying this last weekend with one of the great loves of my life, Guinness, before I say adios forever.

All that being said, I RAN my first 5K ever today.  Once before in my life I did a 5K distance on a treadmill but I couldn't walk later that day and I've never run with much consistency until the last three months.  Yeah, I kicked the 5K's butt!  I averaged a better pace then ever before 13.23 mins/mile and I didn't take ANY walking breaks.  My finishing time was 41.31 minutes.  Having my older brother and best friend there running on either side of me helped me push through the walls, the heart palpitations and tingling hands. (Thanks Hashimoto's.)  The last mile actually really challenged me and I kept thinking, "I'm not going to let Daniel and the kids down.  They are waiting to cheer for me."  Then that last 1/4 mile my thought was, "I'm not going to let MYSELF down, I'm going to run, I'm going to train to run farther distances, and this f*****g Hashimoto's isn't going to get the best of me.  I'm going to get better."  So I finished and I finished speeding up and it was awesome to see my husband and kids there supporting me and hear everyone cheering and clapping.

When we got home it occurred to me that I haven't gone back and looked at the pictures Aiden took of me three months ago when I started this fitness journey and the journey to real health.  Wanna see the before pictures?  This was a good moment for me, I've come a LONG way!