The Ups and Downs of Week One
July 08, 2011 at 2:22 PM by Laurie HallWeek One
It’s been a week of challenges. But it has been wonderful! I managed to make it onto my mat 3 times (and plan on another this weekend) and got out for a run twice. I’m sure I can drag my fiancé out for one more run this weekend.
Being Vegan
I was struggling with eating vegan for the first few days and decided to pick up The Thrive Diet. I ran the theory past a dietitian and she was in full support of a trying a vegan lifestyle, especially with the pain I have been experiencing. I've had fun exploring my community to find the local organic food stores and have really enjoyed the experience of gathering the ingredients to make some of the Thrive recipes. Having a stressful and time consuming job downtown, I seriously questioned if I would have the time to shop for some of the more uncommon ingredients, but I found several shops right in the downtown core. I've passed them a million times without even noticing their existance!
My Own Personal War
My experience on the mat this week was eye-opening. I used to be bendy and needed to work on strength more than flexibly. WOW has that changed. I’m tight EVERYWHERE and I’m back to using all the modifications. I struggled with strength, flexibly and distractions of the mind. My right side was fighting my left and my front body was fighting my back body. It was a war on the mat. Perhaps it is a reflection of how I feel in my life right now, everyone and everything fighting for my limited time and attention.
Despite the challenges, it was nice to make an effort to set aside some time for myself to move and bring breath and awareness to my body.
Goal for Week Two
I take the subway to and from work every day. Typically I read a novel, case law or the paper. No one has ever commented on any of my reading material. This week I was reading The Thrive Diet. On each subway ride I have taken (7 so far) at least 2 different people have commented on the book. Here are some of the comments.
“You don’t need a diet. Why are you reading that?”
“Young girls these days, so influenced by the pressures of society”
“Excuse me, but are you starting a vegan diet”- and then would continue on to tell me all the reasons I shouldn’t.
To be fair, there was one guy who had tried the diet and was excited to tell me how much it had helped his health and training program, but for the most part the comments were negative critiques.
This has helped me determine my goal for next week. I am going to try and be as non-judgmental as possible both on my mat and off. I’m going to try to observe and be aware of my physical and mental being, without criticizing.
All in all it’s been a great, but challenging week. I haven’t noticed too many changes yet, but am excited to see what is to come!
Community Discussion
Awesome job hitting the mat 3 times and for all your runs =) Really glad to hear that a dietitian supported it.. perhaps you could tell that to all the people who question why you're doing the Thrive Diet? Isn't it funny how you can pass by the same place dozens of times until one day realizing it's exactly what you're looking for? I really wish that the Thrive Diet wasn't called a "Diet"... I think that term has too many negative connotations. Even the somewhat neutral one- of a diet being a plan to lose weight- seems misleading. You should be applauded for taking a step in a healthy direction, rather than being told otherwise because of your fit appearance. Looking forward to how your goal for Week 2 goes =)
Wow, that is crazy that so many people have intense enough opinions on the Thrive Diet to comment to someone they do not know. And I can't believe that they are mainly negative. And I agree with Asia, it is great you can take all of that negativity and spin it into your challenge for next week....you really get a different perspective on things when you can look at each situation clearly without judgement or past influences. I am excited to hear how your week goes.
Oh we ran into the negative reactions to going vegan last year, too. It's amazing how many people have that view. Good on you for having such a positive spin on it, in making it a learning experience for you to modify your own behaviour (becoming non-judgmental). Nice application of yoga off the mat!
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Ha - that sounds a lot like my family... they'll be talkin smack until you happen to complete a half marathon over the weekend and then they'll start to double think their comments.