Aka, The blog post where I learned how to feed my Mojo

I have an update from the land of the "Athlete who went to see the dietitian". 

(that's me, if you're wondering)

It’s been over a week since I saw her. So far I’ve talked to 3 other women who’ve been. All 4 of us have been given different plans. This makes me feel good about my decision to go.

Holy guacamole <~ (an allowed food, in case you wondered).

Apparently my body was so protein starved that I was digesting my own muscle tissue for basic metabolic functioning.

(that's catabolism in case you're curious)

A few weeks ago I realized that I actually have a real milk allergy now, not an intolerance anymore. I replaced my cheese & yogurt protein sources with SOY. Oh, wait, remember that Soy can lead to a sudden increase in estrogen?  Estrogen makes muscle building more difficult. Which combined with the above note about catabolism... well... no wonder I was gaining weight like mad crazy.

And my Food Diary wasn't as embarrassing as I feared. In fact, she said, "You know, I don't know why you're upset. It's not that bad. I see some things that would make your hair curl."

OK.

Curly hair aside, she was pretty shocked and appalled that my ankles were swollen and that I wasn't worried about it.

Oh, yeah. Well, it was a hard workout on Sunday.

...uh, it's Wednesday.

Oh, right. Well. I rode my bike this morning.

...Right. You're dehydrated and your cells are leaky.

(that's caused by a lack of albumin... it's a fancy word for protein, incase...)

So she said that I'm a hot mess. Our conversation was epic... My personal favorite was when she asked... "But what do you EAT? There's no FOOD on this FOOD diary. There's only carbohydrates. Even though they're fruits and vegetables, you have no substantial amount of food".

That awkward moment when you show up at the Dietitian 15 lbs over weight only to discover that you're grossly malnourished. 

(I'm also lacking in Potassium. shocker.)

She forced this crazy new lifestyle on me. It includes.... wait for it... Food. I will tell you, a diet loaded in lean protein is an amazing diet for a female wanna-be athlete.

Holy Muscle Recovery Batman. 

On Tuesday morning I swam with T. She kicked my lush booty in the pool. Severely. I could not swim a fraction of the distance she was swimming. Then in the evening I rode a 33 mile loop with some friends. Because I had gone a long time (for me) in the pool, I wasn’t sure I was expecting much out of my ride. My ride ROCKED (mojo.. I could hear the whisper of it on the roads...) It was hard, but doable, and I finished spent but knowing that 33 miles is something I can do at a hard effort, so that must mean 50 miles is doable at an easier effort.

Amino acids & muscle recovery go hand in hand... like cheese and chocolate, or chocolate & wine, or beer & cupcakes, or mojo & triathletes...

In the mean time, on the normal “mom” front: I woke up this morning at 5 am and as I stretched out in a giant yawn I suddenly realized that, “Hey, I didn’t take a nap yesterday... I didn’t even want a nap yesterday.”

(I wonder if that's related to the food. It's the only thing I've changed this week).

And, I’ve lost 5 pounds in a week.

I’m not stupid. I know it’s not fat loss, it’s water loss. Water loss I would guess that is being caused by two things:

1 – the inflammation in my joints is SO much better. I almost feel human again.

2 – a reduction in carbohydrates leads to less molecules that LOVE to bond to H₂O. (C₅H₁₀O₄? Anyone? Bueller?)

Well, regardless of whether or not I remember the chemistry accurately, there’s less water hanging out in my tissues where it doesn’t belong.

I can’t eat like this forever. This is just a short term plan to correct an imbalance. She’ll give me my new ‘normal’ the next time I see her. Or the time after that. Depending on how far I've come in the 2 weeks since I last saw her.

Oh and the best news as far as I'm concerned?

Coffee & Beer got to stay on my "plan".