The Beta Carotene Challenge

Eating too many carrots can make you turn orange. True or false?

True. Fun fact-it is hard to get too much Vitamin A to the point of toxicity, but if this were to happen, it would be because it is all stored in the liver. Beta carotene is actually a precursor to Vitamin A (meaning your body would use it to make Vitamin A if you didn’t get enough Vitamin A), but it’s NOT toxic. Why? It isn’t stored in the liver. It’s stored in the tissues throughout your body, especially the face and hands.

Given my new love of carrots and this little factoid, yesterday I tweeted this:

I’m about 90% sure I’m not kidding. So-what do I do next week when the project is officially over? A new challenge-what do you think? Eat as many carrots and beta carotene containing foods as possible? I’m going to do it! Although according to the internet, it would be incredibly difficult to do, and I’m not about to drink cartons of carrot juice…

But I’m serious for one other reason-I think I have a lack of veggies in my life, especially the roasted variety. I’ve come to the conclusion that I would eat way better, and way less sugar, if I actually had the things on hand that my body craves. Like yesterday when I wanted roasted carrots but all I had were dates. Since it’s a 3 day weekend this weekend, I’m going home on Sunday for brunch with my high school friends and a massive roasting of vegetables. I’m thinking TONS of carrots-maybe literally, cumin roasted cauliflower, and roasted sweet potatoes. It’s going to be great. I better get some dark leafy greens too though because they are actually high in beta carotene as well! I’m thinking eating as many roasted veggies as possible will do me good.

This morning, I went on a hilly 5 mile run. I ate some things I probably shouldn’t have last night, but the run gave me time to do some thinking (and I finally JUST had a revelation on where this last week of the project is going to go!)

I took some measurements this morning-my weight was close to where it was at the start of the project, up from a week ago. But then I took my fasting blood sugar. It was still at the improved level from the last couple of weeks. On my run, sure my foot started hurting, but it’s definitely an improvement. And my running? SO much better. My hamstring soreness is coming in in full force today, and I still climbed this hills without issue on my run. In fact, it felt better than it has since way back when I was rowing. There’s no question I’ve gotten faster as well. I knocked quite a bit of time off my tempo run last week.

The moral of this? 1. Weight isn’t everything. Just because that’s back to near pre-project, it doesn’t mean the other improvements aren’t still there.

2. Weeks of hard work won’t be undone by a few bad days of eating. I felt like everything I had accomplished in the past few weeks were gone. That’s not true at all! The changes are still there!

Hah-but that being said, a few days of bad eating still means a few days of stomachaches…

With that being said, I FINALLY decided how I want to proceed with this last week. I’m not going to EXACTLY stay on the project-but I’m going to use this week to practice what I learned doing the project, which I think is just as, if not more, important as the project. Which means I’m going to stick to the principles of the project, but not totally rigidly.

This afternoon is a great example. I had a piece of marble bread. And my heart was immediately racing. I’ve become more sensitive to sugar-lesson learned. In practice, this week will focus not on the restrictiveness of the project, but making better and higher quality food choices. Like yogurt and berries for breakfast, instead of muffins. Or whole grains and quality proteins for dinner. And avoiding sugar as much as possible, since I think cutting that out made the biggest difference.

To be honest, I feel a little uncomfortable “off” the project and the guidance it gave me, but also relieved at the end of the restrictiveness. Given the goal was lifelong changes, I think putting what I learned into action is incredibly important. With that said, here’s what I ate today! (Minus the marble cake which I don’t have a picture of)

Last night I got an email about the dining hall having a special breakfast item today-congee. It’s an Asian rice based porridge, and is served with different toppings. I wanted some quick coffee, so I stopped in to give it a try.

But I also had some protein and fruit. The rest of my sheep milk yogurt with a drizzle of pure maple syrup, and a kiwi. (Sidenote-until just this second, I definitely thought it was goat milk! No wonder it didn’t taste goat-y!)

Since I’ve had to ice my foot post-run, I’ve been having trouble with the time I have in the morning. I stepped out of the shower with 6 minutes before I had to be out the door. Make-up, clothes, and hair in this time-I arrived to class 5 minutes early. But it meant I was wearing bad shoes for my feet-I didn’t have time to put inserts in or find other shoes that matched.

I love these shoes and wear them so much. I could really use a new pair at some point, but I set a goal for myself that I wanted to meet before getting there (like a year ago…) and that hasn’t happened so…

For lunch, I made a sweet potato and topped it with cottage cheese, spinach, and this spice blend.

My mom sort of forced me to get it when we went grocery shopping, and I’m really glad she did! It gave my meal some much needed flavor!

And that’s all for now! (Since this was written in the afternoon…) Lots of work to do tonight!