Last week’s goal was to rebuild some volume back after a week of 4-6 miles easy runs week post the half marathon.
Monday: rest as I slept 3 hrs due to late arrival to Jakarta
Tuesday: 7.5 miles which felt hard, partly due to back to work business and heat and humidity (per usual), 30 min full body. It was nice to get back to the gym.
Wednesday: 7.8 miles, better than the day before, still not as enjoyable as usual. My lower body was so sore from gym session.
Thursday: 7.6 miles, tired again, mainly due to work.
Friday: rest
Saturday: 7 miles on TM due to bad air, finally feeling better thanks to the rest day; 35 min full body.
Sunday: 13.2 miles super easy run and felt great.
Total miles: 43
Strength: 2 sessions.
Lab test results after 3 months of following plant based vegan way of eating.
3 months ago, I decided to try plant-based vegan diet to see if that helps to optimize my lip profile and glucose levels. It’s not the first time I went vegan, I was vegan for 3 years prior to the pandemic. I felt great at the time and didn’t experience any issue this time around. The purpose was to see if my LDL would come back to normal level, and that my Hb1Ac would also come down despite consuming more carbs. Well, the verdict is out
July 2024:
HDL: 82
LDL: 111
Triglycerides: 34
Hb1Ac: 5.6
These would be considered normal per doctors but LDL and Hb1AC are not optimal.
October 2024:
HDL: 89
LDL: 69
Triglycerides: 58
Hb1Ac: 5.4
These are big changes for 3 months change, and the only change was my diet. I don’t have metric to show its impact on my running but definitely it was not detrimental to my performance. If anything I feel more fueled, faster recovery. So all good.
What’s the way forward? For now, I’ll continue unless other evidence shows up to tell me to adjust/change again.
Do I miss protein like eggs, chicken? Not really. If anything, they give me nausea now after being away for 3 months. I still cook for the family and have zero intentions to tell them change their diet. Each person has different needs and preferences. I know I feel better eating mostly plants and carb heavy, so I’ll do that. You do you, and I’ll do what works for me. 🙂
Our New Journey 
I just exercised yesterday for the first time in THREE weeks!!! It’s the longest time in forever that I hadn’t. But I was away for Nashville and had NO time for workouts, and then when I get home, I was exhausted, and then only had one super super busy week in between going to Mexico. I had intended to exercise that week, but it was just so nuts and I ended up telling myself to just focus on what “had” to get done (work was really crazy) and not worry about it. Then in Mexico it’s not possible given that my in-laws don’t live super close to any park where I could even walk/run and can’t do it in the streets there. Oh well! But now I’m committed to getting back to it since no travel on the horizon now. 🙂
And super interesting about your labs! It’s so strange how different it is for each person… I definitely am not vegan and eat quite a lot of animal products overall I’d say as I’ve prioritized protein with my strength training, generally… My last LDL check in 2023 was 68. Anyway, it’s very interesting! Glad whatever you’re doing seems to work for you and make you feel good.
LikeLike
That is great that your lab results improved! I have low cholesterol but I think a large part of that is genetics. My mom also has very low cholesterol and I seem to take after her. I need to have my labs re-ran, though, to make sure they continue to be in a good place.
LikeLike
Super interesting! My cholesterol numbers are like your “after” numbers (LDL 64, HDL 92) despite eating meat so there is definitely a huge genetic component to this (since we both run similarly so that part is pretty similar!). However for you definitely looks like there was benefit!! Great news!
LikeLike
That’s fascinating that your blood sugar came down even with more carbs. Amazing. I don’t think my husband would go vegan, a treat for him is steak night. Thank you for sharing this, I’ve been wondering about it.
LikeLike
So great you’re trying to make changes through diet! I think that should always be the first approach when lab numbers are “off”. Great work, Coco!
LikeLike
Glad you’re feeling good- those are some big changes in your lab results! Diet really does make a difference (although there’s a genetic component as well.) I’m not surprised your numbers are so good- all your food looks super healthy.
LikeLike