Neil and I spent the last weekend in July enjoying an outdoor concert, a trip to the pool and working. Yes, working. We have been gone almost every weekend this summer and August looks like it will be that way too so we tried to catch up on a number of different projects. I was going to take the weekend off from blogging but then I remembered that I needed to write my Thrive in 30 post, so that went up yesterday. Although we did work a bunch this weekend, we did find time to relax and enjoy ourselves since it was the weekend.
Friday: Coffee, Coffehouse Games & Live Music
Beautiful Coffee.
Game- Barista. Even though I worked a summer as a Barista, I failed horribly at this game.
Bright Eyes & The Mountain Goats at Shelburne Museum Concert on The Green
Saturday: Pool Party and A New Beverage
Relaxing by the Burlington Tennis Club Pool
New Beverage. It was meh okay, not great.
Sunday: Work Day, Raw Muesli & Iced Tea
Homemade Raw Muesli. It was good until I put a gross almond milk on it (different brand than I usually buy).
Yummy Iced Tea. I made two other flavors too.
How did you spend your last weekend of July 2011?
Now it’s August and I have been thinking about goals.
My August 2011 Goals:
1. Stick to Pre-Training Plan. Two 30-45 minute runs and one mileage run per week PLUS two-three days of strength training and at least one day of yoga.
2. Meal Plan. I have been really thrown off lately with our schedules and our CSA when it comes to meal planning and I want to get back on track. I do so much better when our meals are planned out ahead of time.
3. Organize my kitchen. I love to create recipes but lately it’s been difficult because I feel like our kitchen is so unorganized. It’s time to go through and reorganize and purge. I should rather say just get organized in general because I need to organize all the rooms in our house and my personal, blog and health coaching things.
4. Early to bed, Early to Rise. I would like to be in bed by 9pm to read and lights out by 10pm. I would like to be up and out of bed by 5am. I used to be in bed by 8:30p and up by 4:30/5a most mornings but since we have become more social I’ve been going to bed too late and getting up too late. I am so much more productive in the morning too.
5. Read two books. This one goes with goal number four.
Thirteen days ago I signed up for the Thrive in 30 program, a 30 day program with Brendan Brazier that provides you with the tips and tools to achieve optimum health and vitality. The Thrive in 30 program teaches you:
How to combat stress using whole, plant-based foods and high net-gain nutrition
The whole food truth about protein, fats and carbs— and how balancing your diet will help you build a younger body
How you can alkalize your body’s pH to combat disease, improve sleep and lose weight
What superfoods to use to balance hormones, detoxify body or lower cholesterol
How to identify common foods that cause unexplained, mystery illnesses
How to use nutrition to strategically fuel your body so you’ll have greater endurance, maximize the return from your workouts and recover faster
Why nutrition, exercise and sleep are the secret to empowered mental health
Long-term strategies that will help you transform your health for life
The first task is to Examine your current diet (I did wrote this on July 18, 2011- my start date) and write a list of all the things you eat that you think might be taking away from your energy or aren’t supporting your health and fitness goals. Mine are as follows:
Wheat/Gluten. I am a huge bread lover. I could easily sit and eat a whole loaf by myself (don’t worry I don’t) but I also know I don’t feel great after I do. This is a challenge for me but I know if I was to reduce the amount of bread, crackers, pasta, ect. that I eat I would feel better.
Soy. I actually don’t eat nearly as much soy as I once did but lately I find it sneaking into our grocery cart more often. As much as I love soy products and tofu my stomach doesn’t agree.
Alcohol. I am a huge beer lover. I notice a big difference in my energy and body in the morning even after only having one beer. I have been doing pretty well at staying at a two beer max, usually only having one beer, but still more per week than I’d like. My goal here is to not drink at all on nights before runs because that is when I feel like it effects me the most so that would limit consumption down to 3-5 alcoholic drinks max per week.
In addition to breaking these habits/crowding them out of my diet. Thrive in 30 suggests the following five tools to make the most of this program (I’m not going to reveal everything so you’ll have to sign up yourself to find out more):
Eat throughout the day
Drink a nutritious smoothie each day
Eat a big green salad every day
Eat a raw energy bar every day
Eat a substantial, balanced afternoon snack
As part of the Thrive in 30 you receive an email every few days with a lesson filled with important information, tips and tools on how to make achieve optimal health. I just received lesson 7 of 12 and so far I have found the lessons informative and helpful.
Each lesson has a specific topic that is covers and a short video clip featuring an informative video lesson by Brendan Brazier. Below the video there is information regarding the topic followed by take-away points and finally how you can take action. Since starting this program I have:
Lesson 1: Stress & Diet
I have reduced my intake of processed and convenience foods by eating more fruit and vegetable snacks.
I have reduced stimulants such as coffee by reducing the amount of coffee I drink to 3-5 cups per week.
Lesson 2: High Net-Gain Nutrition
I have added even more high net-gain foods (whole foods, raw foods, superfoods, alkaline forming foods) to my already highly nutritious diet by adding blueberries to my oatmeal, taking a chlorella supplement and adding sea vegetables to my salad.
Lesson 3: Myth-Busting
I didn’t get as much out of this lesson because I am vegan, I add flax to my oatmeal, I bake with natural sweeteners and whole wheat flours and I love to top by salad with hemp seeds and flax (all suggestions in lesson 3).
Lesson 4: Alkaline v. Acid
In this lesson you are to rate the amount of alkaline versus acidic foods that you are eating. I found that I regularly eat 25 out of the 32 alkaline-forming foods listed and 3 (coffee, peanuts, chocolate) out of the 21 acid-forming foods. The other suggestion is to be more active which I feel that I can always be a little more but I am fairly active running on average 8-12 miles per week as well as doing cross training 2-3 times per week.
Lesson 5: Digestion
In this lesson it is suggested that you regularly eat high fiber foods, which as a vegan I eat tons high fiber foods such as leafy greens, vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds and legumes. The other action that is suggested is to take a probiotic. This I actually do not take a vegan-friendly probiotic supplement but I do often use brown rice miso (a whole food source probiotic) and Vega Whole Food Health Optimizer in my smoothies.
Lesson 6: Superfoods
I include a number of superfoods in my diet including maca, chlorella, hemp, flax, dark leafy greens, quinoa, sprouts and coconut.
Lesson 7: Food Sensitivities
I have reduced my soy, gluten and wheat intake after noticing the negative affects on my digestion. As a vegan I already don’t eat dairy so I can cross that allergen off my list. I have not yet removed corn or yeast but besides nutritional yeast I do not eat much else.
Overall I think that this program is great for those who are looking to jump start a healthy lifestyle. The tips and lessons are laid out in a way that is easy to follow. The program is great for different learners as well because it has a visual element, written and then action to help implement the tips and tools suggested. As a vegan who tries to live a healthy lifestyle already I found that many of the actions where things that I already do, however there is always room for improvement. As a health coach I found that most of the information is similar to what I discuss with my own clients and has provided me with some new ways of approaching various topics. So far I am finding Thrive in 30 to be a great resource filled with great tips and tools to jump start a healthy lifestyle.
I have just signed up for the Thrive in 30 and I am really excited to participate in the program. I am hoping to learn new tips and techniques that I can then go back and use to help my health coaching clients as well as bring back to you through healthy living posts. Based on the introduction this program contains similar information that I already teach in 6 month program which is great and will really help me to expand more and learn new ways to support my clients.
The first task is to Examine your current diet and write a list of all the things you eat that you think might be taking away from your energy or aren’t supporting your health and fitness goals. Mine are as follows:
Wheat/Gluten. I am a huge bread lover. I could easily sit and eat a whole loaf by myself (don’t worry I don’t) but I also know I don’t feel great after I do. This is a challenge for me but I know if I was to reduce the amount of bread, crackers, pasta, ect. that I eat I would feel better.
Soy. I actually don’t eat nearly as much soy as I once did but lately I find it sneaking into our grocery cart more often. As much as I love soy products and tofu my stomach doesn’t agree.
Alcohol. I am a huge beer lover. I notice a big difference in my energy and body in the morning even after only having one beer. I have been doing pretty well at staying at a two beer max, usually only having one beer, but still more per week than I’d like. My goal here is to not drink at all on nights before runs because that is when I feel like it effects me the most so that would limit consumption down to 3-5 alcoholic drinks max per week.
In addition to breaking these habits/crowding them out of my diet. Thrive in 30 suggests the following five tools to make the most of this program (I’m not going to reveal everything so you’ll have to sign up yourself to find out more):
Eat throughout the day
Drink a nutritious smoothie each day
Eat a big green salad every day
Eat a raw energy bar every day
Eat a substantial, balanced afternoon snack
To learn more about this program and/or participate yourself visit the Thrive in 30 site.
It’s not just a 13.1 mile race, it is an adventure!
This is a free event!! Join us and other athletes from all over the world to embrace our crazy, wild side to run a virtual half marathon during the hottest part of the summer?!?
Event Dates
July 15th thru August 15th (you have the whole month to complete 13.1 miles, there is no need to complete it all in 1 run)
Event Distance
Half-Marathon (13.1 miles)
This is the first virtual race I have ever participated in and the Hubz is going to participate as well. I actually had never even heard of a virtual race before a few weeks ago during a #fitblog twitter chat. I am really excited to participate and I think it is a perfect fit with my Thrive in 30 plan.
I was recently contacted by Vega regarding their new wellness program. Starting Monday, July 18th I will embark on a 30-day wellness journey, called Thrive in 30, to begin reaching new levels of health, strength and vitality. I will be blogging about my experience along the way, providing you with updates throughout the week.
What is Thrive in 30? Thrive in 30 is a series of 12 video lessons over the course of 30 days, with vegan Ironman triathlete, Vega formulator and best-selling author, Brendan Brazier. Brendan reveals the commonly held myths about plant-based nutrition, and offers tools to harness plant-based whole foods toward total body health.
