Trying for a Tri

I just woke up from a two hour nap and I still feel tired. It’s been 4 nights since I’ve had more than 5-6 hours sleep. I seriously need to take a sleep challenge or something. It would be so wonderful to get 8 hours a night! Would anyone be interested in doing this with me? I think I just need to commit to being in bed early every night and maybe monitor my caffeine intake more. It’s a bad time to be doing this since exams are just around the corner, but I think this is also a time when I need sleep the most! Gotta keep that brain sharp!

I was excited to try out a new bar for breakfast this morning.

I had no idea what to expect, so I was a little surprised to unwrap it and discover it was made of all sesame seeds!

Nutritionals and ingredients are pretty good…

It reminded me a lot of these Sesame Snaps my mom used to buy, except a lot softer and chewier. I really like that it’s so high in fat. I’ve discovered that fat effects my satiety the most, especially in the morning. I’ll probably be buying this again

I copied yesterday’s breakfast for my second meal of the day.

I toasted two Nature’s Path maple cinnamon waffles and covered them in a mix of 2 tbsp syrup and 1/2 tbsp cashew butter that I made last night. Then I microwaved 1/2 cup egg whites with a little salsa, hence the sketchy colour.

Then came another snack around 10 am…

1 cup black grapes mixed with 1/2 cup cottage cheese. None of my eats have been that photogenic. For the record, sometimes the ugliest eats are the tastiest!!

Yet another snack once I got home…

I mashed up one can of Brunswick lemon and pepper herring with 1 laughing cow cheese wedge and spread it on two pieces of wasa bread. I also had a plum with this, but I gobbled it up before I could take a picture!

I was intending to go to the gym after waking up, so I ate a Larabar for energy.

But while eating this, I was watching these “Thrive in 30” videos. It’s a 30-day program that Brendan Brazier, a professional ironman athlete, put together to teach people/athletes about the positive effects of plant-based and whole food diets. The first lesson was about stress and nutrition. It’s no secret these past few months have been very stressful for me, and have taken a huge toll on my body (besides getting sick and losing sleep, I’m also getting stress-related eczema and stomach pains). It’s weird, because I’m usually such a laid back person, but I just do not react to stress well (especially school stress!).

Anyways, so Brendan was talking about a period of time where he was gaining body fat while training, which didn’t seem to make much sense. Turns out he was suffering from adrenal fatigue. He said he had to take a break, and clean up his eating to fix it.

So here I am, exhausted out of my wits, about to force myself to go do a heavy lifting workout and watching this. Clearly, it struck a chord. I think sometimes there’s fine line between being tired and lazy, and I often get the two confused. There’s those days where I’m just feeling lazy and force myself to work out anyways. And then there’s days like today, where I’m seriously tired, and know that working out will do a lot more harm than good.

There’s actually a lot of good content in the lessons that I’ll be sure to continue to share. I’ve done the whole vegan/vegetarian thing, and find my body functions better with meat. But I think a lot of the core ideas are great ones. Besides, we could all use a little more fruit and veggies in our lives!

I’m hoping that once I start getting 8 hours sleep, concentrating on eating more good-for-me foods, and as Chris puts it, “chill the ‘eff’ out,” I’ll be back to my normal energy and health, and be able to kick butt in my training!!

Hope you are having a wonderful stress-free Saturday!