I won’t be so ego-centric to actually think that you know about my “eating disorder” as my dad teasingly calls it.  The bottom line scoop is that for as long as I can remember, eating+exercise has always been a tough combination for me.  My dad thinks I’m nuts.  When we were riding in Italy, he’d put sandwiches and pizza in his bike jersey pocket.  I’d have potions and shakes and my latest experiment.  Last year, it got more challenging. 

Let’s suffice it to say that on a daily basis, my body began rejecting food it didn’t like at the time.  I tracked, counted, researched; I received advice from dieticians, nutritionists, doctors, coaches.  Blah Blah Blah.

On January 20, Autumn and I watched SuperSize Me.  Autumn is my 8-year-old daughter.  Fascinated, she proceeded to watch it over and over (not exaggerating — like 10 times over the next several weeks).  As a side note, I had to ask her to watch it with headphones on in the car because I get so agitated over our decisions (as an economist, it is fascinating and unnerving) on eating and ‘voting with our dollars’ on items we eat.  And what the heck is up on our acceptance of advertising to kids — I envision that some day we will revolt (like we did with cigarettes) against advertising that pushes unhealthy food-substitute (I can’t even call it food) items on our children.  Maybe some day I’ll get on my soap box on that topic, but not right now.  I’m going to attempt to stay on topic.

On January 21, inspired by the concept to do an eating experiment, I began “Purify Me”.  I decided to put only natural, unprocessed food in my body.  Previously, I thought I didn’t eat many processed foods — but I found that when I was tired (frequently!), I grabbed pretzels or ate rice cakes instead of making rice.  

Wow.  I feel better.  I wish I had done some measurements to share with you — but I can tell you that I have thrown up only twice.  And both times I was experimenting - once with meat and once with number of calories per hour on the bike.  I was able to move beyond my ‘Monster’ addiction.  I stopped opening the car door at the stop lights to puke on the street (not in line with being a good role model for Autumn).

Autumn supports me, but hasn’t totally joined up.  It does make my heart smile, though, that she understands the concept that she is choosing what to use to fuel her wonderful and perfect body.  The night before I left for California, we went to the local weekly bike race (she races, I spectate).  She chose water to drink when she was thirsty instead of the other options and said, “Mom, I feel good choosing water.  I know it is the healthiest choice.”

FYI - my staples:  Egg whites, fish, veggies (including my infamous “Skinny Soup”), fruit, rice, beans, oats, and yerba matte tea.  When I work out, I eat homemade ricebars - eggwhite, white rice, and salt; and Clif products (my exception to non-processed).

So, I share this not because I think it is “The Answer” for you.  I share this as an idea, a seed that you may plant. 

:) J

Or Red Lentil & Vegetable Soup recipe.. whatever you want to call it.

The clearance holiday chocolate carried me through to the Valentines Day candy, when I discovered 2 lb. bags of all green peanut M&Ms (practically a vegetable) and by the time those were gone the Cadbury Mini Eggs came out. If only they’d throw a little protein in, I could write them off as recovery food..

But as the season gets rolling, we all know it’s time to start eating better. To fuel our training, not eat for entertainment. Or in my case, as 4pm rolls around and I realize I’ve eaten nothing but crap all day, it’s time to try to make up for it with a healthy dinner.

This Lentil Soup is quick and easy, loaded with veggies, fiber and vegetarian protein, and mild enough that it doesn’t hamper the evening masters swim workout an hour later (yes, I swim. It doesn’t show, but I do it anyway.) Your kids probably won’t eat it, mine didn’t. I found it in Good Housekeeping, as seen at your local dentist’s office.

Red Lentil & Vegetable Soup

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 medium carrots, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 can (14 1/2-ounce) diced tomatoes
1 can (14- to 14 1/2-ounce) vegetable broth
1 cup dried red lentils
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 bag (5-ounce) baby spinach

In 4-quart saucepan, heat oil on medium until hot. Add carrots and onion, and cook 6 to 8 minutes or until lightly browned and tender. Stir in cumin; cook 1 minute.
Add tomatoes, broth, lentils, 2 cups water, salt, and pepper; cover and heat to boiling on high. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, 8 to 10 minutes or until lentils are tender. Stir in spinach.

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION (per 2c serving)

Calories 265 Total Fat 5g Saturated Fat 1g Cholesterol – Sodium 645mg Total Carbohydrate 41g Dietary Fiber 13g Sugars – Protein 16g
Source

Ironman Wisconsin tip #1: eat at Mickies. As in Mickies Diary Bar, located right across from Camp Randall Stadium at 1511 Monroe St. Check out the run course after eating, it’s right there.The outside is plain, it’s not the sort of place that needs flash to pack them in.

The inside is classic dinner, red vinyl swivel stools bolted to the floor and booths, straight out of the early 1950’s. They even have the original 50’s menu and prices posted on the wall. The four of us had the breakfast special, cheese omelet, potatoes, toast, bottomless coffee. You could have a pork chop with it; but since I was racing, I had bacon. Only at Mickey’s could bacon seem to be the healthier option. There’s more than breakfast, the food is real and the people are mid-west nice. It’s a must do.

Ironman Wisconsin tip #2: drink local beer. Pre -race , I had a couple of Leinenkugel’s Oktoberfests

each night (1 1/2 beers night before the race, trying to be healthy). It’s available Aug. - Oct., and in a 12-pack - good for sharing- so look for it race week. I laid in a supply of Capital Brewery’s Fest , another seasonal beer, for post race at the recommendation of team manager Ben Harper. After 140.6 miles and 3 Fests, I was moving slower than Frank Ferrar at midnight, and my day was done. Ben, I need some 3.2% beer suggestions if you want me to throw out hats at the finish. Day after the race and awards, I re-hydrated with more than one New Glarus Brewery’s Fat Squiral and a white brat at a bar on State St. I saw during the run the day before.

Where else but Wisconsin? No place I know.

Ironman Revisited is happening this weekend on Oahu, combining the Waikiki Roughwater Swim, the 112-mile circle island road race, and the Honolulu Marathon as originally done in 1978. The event raises funds for the Challenged Athletes Foundation. On Sunday thirty athletes, each with their own support crew, will set out on the original journey. In conjunction with the event, six-time Ironman Hawaii Champ Dave Scott put on a two-day clinic in Waikiki. He won on Oahu in back in 1980 prior to the race’s relocation to the Big Island. Twenty athletes, including participants of Ironman Revisited, showed up to suck all the knowledge possible from the legend. Dave left no question unanswered, covering topics ranging from whey vs. soy protein to how to get abs of steel like those on Bob Babbitt. (Whey wins and Bob wasn’t giving up his secrets, or posing for pics) In 6h of clinic time my IQ quadrupled. While doing drills in the ocean, I learned that I swim all wrong. And how to fix it - here’s Dave showing us how not to swim:

Dave shared the formula he uses to calculate calories required for recovery. Using Friday’s 18 mile run and my ~700 cal/hr burned at a 7:15/mi pace, he helped me calculate that I had spent nearly 1500 calories on the run. I had taken in 500 calories while running, leaving me with a 1000 calorie deficit upon completion. Dave recommends consuming 60% of that deficit within 45 minutes to an hour of finishing - and finishing means the minute I stop running, not after I stretch, shower, make the kids waffles.. Ideally, recovery calories should come in a 3:1 or 4:1 carb:protein ratio. Which left me with a goal of consuming 600 calories in the 45-60 minute recovery window, with 125-150 of those calories coming from protein. Now, I may swim all wrong, and apparently my run form is appalling as well, as I found out during the run drills, but if there’s one thing I’ve got down, it’s the recovery drink. Dave asked what I had after my run - and I told him the same thing I always do - a little gatorade endurance on my way down to Jamba Juice, where I order the Protein Berry Pizazz with blueberries instead of strawberries. What does Dave have to recover from a two hour workout? A Jamba Juice Protein Berry Pizazz with blueberries instead of strawberries. And he has them add a scoop of peanut butter & a carrot. I’m doing one thing right! Dave also emphasized that while 30 min is often recommended for optimal refueling for recovery, the range varies greatly from person to person, and many will gain benefits from eating up to 2-6 hours after very long or intense training.

Another scoop straight from Dave: He’s not quite ready this year, but look for him on the starting line in Kona next October. When speculating on his time, the numbers that came up would put him in the top 10-20, easy. 50-54 is in for a shock.

If you get the opportunity to attend a clinic with Dave, take it! But know that if he tells you to go underwater and hold your breath before he has you demonstrate something for the group - look out - he’s not saying nice things about you while you’re under.

Clinic attendees Stephan Reinke, me, Dave Scott, Raul Boca & Amy Bennett shortly before making the man ride around the park on Amy’s 15 year old Dave Scott bike, which she paid thousands for on ebay (or might have found at Goodwill). Stephan is coming off a 51 minute swim at Ironman Austria and Dave didn’t like his form either - somehow that comforted me a little.

I really like pancakes, especially on Saturdays after long rides.  Here is the recipe I’ve been making recently which is delicious.  I usually eat the entire batch, but it would also probably be enough for two ”normal” sized servings…

1 1/2 cups flour

3 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 tbls sugar

3 tbls butter, melted

1 egg

1 1/4 cups milk

1/2 tsp vanilla

Walnuts (optional)

Blueberries (optional)

Pour dry ingredients into a bowl and mix.  Then do the same with the wet ingredients in a separate bowl, making sure to warm the milk up a bit so the butter stays melted.  Pour the wet into the bowl with the dry and stir until all the lumps are removed.  Let the batter sit for a couple of minutes while heating a large pan or skillet to medium-high heat before adding a bit of butter to grease the pan.  Pour batter onto skillet and add walnuts or blueberries to the cakes on the skillet if desired.  Let the pancakes cook until the bubbles on the top are no longer disappearing and then flip and cook for another minute or so on the other side.  Remove from skillet and serve with syrup on top and a glass of milk on the side.