This morning I went for a 50 minute run with my boyfriend in the rain. When the going got tough I wanted to stop.  I was getting bored and mentally I wasn’t in the game anymore.  Then I realized that this time last year I ran a half marathon without training (don’t EVER do that by the way) and I was able to push myself for the last 10 minutes.  Mind games can make us or break us.  Don’t let your mind chatter get the best of you.  Step out of your comfort zone and show that mind chatter who’s boss!

This is why I love yoga so much.  All I do for the entire class is focus on my breath. I breathe as deeply as possible for an hour and all my muscles have to do is follow the voice of my instructor.  Rarely do I ever start to question the work being done and rarely do I think about quitting.  I find if I just breathe the rest takes care of itself. However, if I start thinking too much and lose the breath I get into trouble.  I think about quitting.  I think about how difficult the pose is, and I think about laying on the floor in Savasana – corpse pose.  There is nothing better than Savasana!

So today when I ran and my mind chatter took over, I returned to my breath and kept on running. Deep breath in and slow breath out.  Over and over. It’s amazing what the mind can do when you push it.  If I had been un the middle of another half marathon I would have finished it, no problem.  But when you aren’t running with thousands of other people, it’s hard to stay motivated.  But each one of you has the ability to keep on strong.  Keep with your breath, keep calm, and carry on.

Today was a day filled with pears and barley grass. I ate pears when I was hungry and drank a liter of barley grass in-between.  We buy powdered barley grass juice and mix it with water.  It’s a bit intense if you’ve never drank greens before, but I’ve been drinking it for years now and I actually love the taste.  Yes, it tastes like drinking grass.  Yes, I know I am strange.  Barley grass is highly alkaline and such a good treat for the liver.

I really don’t miss all the highly allergenic foods I used to eat.  My diet has been improving over the last 3 years, but in the last month alone it has improved by leaps and bounds. For instance, I tried some “healthy” soup from can yesterday that my boyfriend bought for a video shoot.  Nothing from a can can really be healthy, but it depends on where you are with your diet.  If you eat tons of processes crap you may like the taste of a healthy can of soup. There was really nothing wrong with this particular soup.  It was full of vegetables and the ingredient list was alright, but the taste was awful.  I haven’t eaten anything processed in over a month now, and my taste buds have changed so much that the soup tasted like nothing.  The vegetables didn’t taste like the organic vegetables I eat every day.  The soup had texture; nothing else.  If I’m going to have soup, I’m going to make it myself.

Now, when I bite into a crisp organic royal gala apple, I am in flavour heaven.  No two apples taste alike. They are all so different, so flavourful and intense.  It’s something I never noticed until I started eating more of a whole foods diet full-time.  Royal gala apples are so sweet.  I love them and I could eat them every day.  I pretty much do eat them every day.

The one treat I like to have is pure, dark maple syrup. I’ll mix it into my almond butter energy bar concoction and I make it a little sweeter than I should.  It’s my treat and I make sure I have a treat every day.  Sometimes I’ll stray, but never too far.

Today we went to Lit Espresso Bar to do some work.  I had a soy latte with some dark chocolate.  Since my entire diet is based on whole foods, I don’t freak out on myself if I have a stray treat here and there. Now, please note that I rarely have soy and I don’t recommend it to anyone due to the heavy phytoestrogens it contains.  It just happens to be my current, personal vice.  I think the only tho things I have left to give up are coffee and chocolate.  If I give up coffee, I pretty much give up soy and chocolate at the same time. They are a package deal.  I know I don’t do well with caffeine.  Caffeine is next to go!  I’ll give myself a month to weed it out.

I do abide from some pretty stiff rules all the time: no wheat, no dairy, and therefore, no diarrhea! A few days ago I found some amazing berry tea that I’d choose over a latte any day.  The trick to quitting a bad habit is to replace it with a healthier habit that makes you happier than the initial one. I don’t think why it makes you happier matters, just so long as it does.  That loose berry tea is the best tea I’ve ever had, and if I meet anyone for “coffee” you can be sure I am going to take them to that place!

If you have food allergies, focus on the foods that you can have. It won’t do you any good to pine over old foods that make you sick.  Focus on fresh fruits and vegetables.  Keep a long list of foods that you can eat handy, and stock your fridge with those foods too.   Hang out with people who support the way you eat.  It’s going to be pretty hard to eat allergen-free if you’re hanging out with your friends in a bar!

Day 1 of my self-imposed challenge did not go so well. I didn’t have time to shop and had to survive on bananas and peanut butter through the day.  Neither of those foods were on my “Perfect” list, but I still consider the day a success since I didn’t eat and dairy, wheat, soy, or corn.  Dinner consisted of a garden salad with a 3 oz rib eye steak and organic acorn squash.

I have included meat in my diet once again to see if I can balance my iron levels and clear up the last of my eczema.  All meat that we consume is organically and locally raised at pasture.  I still have the moral dilemma that comes with eating a living animal, but I am starting to lean toward the hunter gatherer diet as one that suits both my mind and my body best.

I enjoy experimenting with my diet and I’m a firm believer in food as therapy.   Time will tell if meat is in my diet to stay.

Day 2 of my challenge is shaping up nicely. We just received our local organic food delivery and there are plenty of fabulous fruits and vegetables at my disposal.  Breakfast consisted of a smoothie made with bananas and almond butter and lunch consisted of a few pears.  I’m not too hungry today, so dinner will likely be a large salad!