A sure-fire way to stick to your diet

get a kitten.

This is Rocky.

He's only asleep about 6 minutes a day. The rest of the time is spent jumping, running and pouncing. And chewing, lots of chewing. I don't have the energy to be tempted by a plate of brownies.

On October 12 I have my follow up visit with Dr Gerber. I'm going to have a glucose test, then meet with him to discuss the results. I'm looking forward to getting his recommendations. I'm still sticking with the Wheat Belly diet, eating lots of fat with protein. For breakfast I had a couple eggs with strawberries and heavy cream. I love eating this way, I hope my test results support it.

The day after I meet with Dr Gerber, I'm doing a 24 hour race in Denver. I'll be walking all of it, I'm not sure what my goal will be. I do know I'll be doing it without carb loading!

I haven't been a couch potato

Knee problems won't stop me!

Actually my knee is feeling fine. I'll never take my knees for granted again. It feels terrific to get up and down and run and jump without fear that it would give out. 

In August Bob and I hiked down the Bright Angel trail at the Grand Canyon. 

Before we began the hike I ate bacon and eggs. During the 6 hours it took to get to the bottom, I had nuts and some pureed baby food (sweet potato and bananas rock!).

We stayed overnight at the bottom of the Canyon Phantom Ranch. Dinner was family style. I avoided the cornbread and cake and ate steak and salad.

The next morning, after another breakfast of bacon and eggs, we began the hike back up.

Getting back up took about 7 hours, overall I felt good.

When we reached the top, I took a bird bath in the ladies restroom sink. Then we jumped in the car and drove to Las Vegas.

Why Las Vegas? First because Las Vegas is fun! Second, because I had to complete a 12 hour race THE NEXT DAY! That's right, hiking for 2 days wasn't enough, I had to also walk for 12 hours. 

Sometimes I don't make the best choices.

I had already signed up so there was no backing out. The race was from 7pm to 7am. Here I am conserving my energy before the race..

I got lots of miles to go..

Fast forward to 10.5 hours later. I completed about 29 miles and threw in the towel. My legs felt ok, the problem was my big toenails. I had bruised them in the Canyon, it was becoming very painful to continue. 

I was happy with my effort. I was especially happy to have stuck to my wheat-free diet.

Next month...a 24 hr race! 

I had my bloodwork done

and just got back the results. Here are some of the numbers...

TRIGLYCERIDES         38mg  (I'm eating lots of fat but it's not staying in my blood)
HDL CHOLESTEROL  113mg (this high number should prevent me from having a stroke)
LDL CHOLESTEROL   71mg
CHOL TO HDLC RATIO  1.7
GLUCOSE  85mg (low risk of diabetes)
HEMOGLOBIN A1c   4.9% of total Hgb
ESTIMATED AVERAGE GLUCOSE  94
LIVER GGT     7 U/L
BMI  23.5  (normal!)

The Wheat Belly way of eating is working! I'm tickled pink!

I gave up grains on Memorial Day and sugar on the 4th of July. For 30 days in August, I was strict Paleo. I'm glad I completed a Paleo challenge but it's nice to be eating cheese again. And the occasional glass of wine!

Since my last blog post I've hiked the Grand Canyon and completed a 12 hour race. I know my body is fat adapted because I didn't need to consume carbs for energy. I'll write about it in detail in my next post.

Here I am during the 12 hour race, jumping for joy for my wheat-free life!

My knee is almost 100%

and just in the nick of time.

In less than 2 weeks I'm hiking the Grand Canyon followed by a 12 hour race in Las Vegas. My knee was bothering me so much after the marathon that I thought I'd be sitting on the couch for the rest of the year.

Although it's much better, I'm still not going to try and run. I don't want to end up hurting it again. I'll be happy just to hike and walk the rest of the year.

On the food front, I'm on Day 7 of Whole30, so far so good. Since I gave up grains and sugar before the program, all I had to do is focus on dairy and alcohol. It's been pretty easy not having cream and cheese. The wine is a bit tougher but I'm not going to cave in.

Speaking of big plans..

Today is Day 1 of Whole30 www.whole9life.com

Back with more details.

Big Plans, I've got some...

Despite my cranky knee, I've got some races scheduled for the next couple months.

Running is out until my knee heals. That means I'm going to have to do the timed races, I don't think I do any marathons within 7 hours, which is when most courses close.

My plan is..

Aug 31    12 hr event in Las Vegas
Oct 13    24 hr event in Boulder
Nov16    48 hr event in Dallas
Dec 31    72 hr event in Phoenix

I'm also squeezing in a hike in the Grand Canyon at the end of the month.

Here's a couple more photos from last weekend's ET marathon in Rachel, NV..

just before the start at midnight

I love the cool t-shirt and medal

Another (wheat-free) marathon!

This one was a doozy...the E.T. marathon in Rachel, Nevada. Did I mention it started at midnight?

Rachel is in the middle of nowhere, about 2 1/2 hours from Las Vegas. Seems like a good place to probe aliens.

I was kind of cranky from lack of sleep. Plus my knee is still acting up, Bob and I had to walk the last 6 miles which sucked. The good news is that we finished in 7.5 hours, 30 minutes before the cutoff.

It was tough figuring out how to eat for a midnight marathon. We ate dinner at 5pm at Munch Bar in Caesars Palace. I had a steak salad.

Just before the race began, I had a Julie Bar. They're made from nuts and dried fruit.

Around mile 20 I had a bite of banana and an orange slice.

I resisted the finish line buffet, it was a carb minefield.

When we were back in Las Vegas, I went to my new favorite place "Greens & Proteins.

I had a Green Shake, made with Banana, Almonds, Mango, Orange, Apple, Avocado, Spinach, Collard Greens, Kale and Vanilla. It was fantastic!

I'm definitely fat adapted, except for being sleepy, I felt fine during the race. The green shake held me until dinner around 7pm.

My next big adventure is hiking in the Grand Canyon at the end of August. Hurry up and heal knee!