I need a real diet plan. I stumbled upon some old blog posts from 2008 when I was scrambling and dealing (a little) with my thyroid issue.
What's so frustrating is reading about the concern I had, the changes I made to the diet, how it helped (based on blood tests), and then what. . . ??
Have another beer, Matt.
I had some blood work done recently and sure enough my thyroid is still borderline, but the doctor said there's another little sign that things have progressed.
More blood was taken to see if I do have the auto-immune condition that's called, I think, Hashimoto's.
The tough part of all of this is I don't seem to have the symptoms of hypothyroidism. I have had enough energy to run and exercise whenever I've wanted.
But I think I have seen the affects in my performance (even in weekly jogs). The literature pretty much surrounds the fact that people with this condition lose the top end stuff. They can't push it like they used to. My first couple of trail races and some half marrys were solid. I almost beat Beth at the Gorge in '08. I finished 5th in a decent 25k in Vegas. I ran a 1:30 in 07. But I have fallen off a lot. Sure, maybe I'm not very disciplined, and love to eat and drink, but I have definitely suffered in races the last couple of years - feel old and slow. Could be the thyroid. Has to be some connection.
I should have stayed with the diet discipline. I can go easy on beer. But I have to get the diet together. I'm a little scared. Want to get out in front of this even though it may be too late.
So, I'm going to Whole Foods tomorrow to get a few simple ingredients. Based on the research I've done, it is suggested (and I'm going to get more research and tests done) that I trend toward gluten-free; there may be a huge link between gluten and hypothyroidism. Going to WF to get some gluten-free bread for breakfasts. Want to eat something good in the morning. Was hitting oatmeal the last week or so, but after getting all dialed-in again with Mark Sisson, I'm going kinda primal. The best I can.
Breakfast:
Gluten free toast with Sesame seed butter (my fave, I hope it's okay) and good jelly/honey/banana/etc. And my espresso.
Snacks/lunch:
Through out the day - Shakes healthy, nuts, fruit, maybe salad.
Dinner: Salad/veggie and lean meat.
That's it. That's what I basically do other than the train wreck on weekends, holidays, etc. I HAVE to be disciplined. Kinda scared.
I feel like Princess Leia asking Obi Wan for help, because the resistance is threatened.
Great to see the blog back up. The main reason I first visited this ghost town blog was because of the talk about and photos of food.
ReplyDeleteI don't know much about thyroid stuff but I do feel that cutting out all white bread (and other color bread) is a good thing. I've migrated over to a higher protein and higher fat diet (think salmon, avocados, udo's oil stuff) and feel a lot better than when I ate pretzels ALL THE TIME and thought nothing of eating a loaf of bread with dinner.
Only advice I feel qualified to give is don't go overboard with any one diet. Cut some things out slowly and see how it works. Incorporate a couple things good and see how it works. Stuff like that.
Stay at a healthy, leaner body composition (notice I didn't say "weight") and that helps too.
Certainly no dietitian, and I agree with what Tim is saying. I'd only add ... you have blog ... use it. Use it as a log of registering everything you put in your pie hole. And how it makes you feel.
ReplyDeleteAnd ... it might mean dropping those liquid cals for a bit. Yup, I said it.
ReplyDeleteThanks guys. Talk about running a loop. This is quite a record of failure. Back in 08 I had this project laid before me. I think the fact that I've felt pretty good, haven't experienced some of the intense symptoms associated with this condition, has kept me in denial. My occasional blood tests have given me some type of comfort.
ReplyDeleteFor so many reasons I have to change my diet. I like your advice, Tim. I just need to be consistent. The running/eating/living analogies are silly spot-on. I have to get serious.
The real bummer is my fear that my running (despite a sincere lack of real focus) has been declining and will continue to do so.
I suppose I have to go long and aerobic now. I have no choice. I like to run hard and live hard and this seems to have negatively affected me.
But now the focus is diet, limiting the liquid cals and developing a leaner body comp.
Again, thanks for reading, my friends.