Mmmmm... Fat and Salt!

I try to eat healthy. Well, in general I do, but I am also trying to lose a little weight, and that requires not eating everything in sight. My most recent creation is a lettuce and spinach sandwich, it's actually better than it sounds, especially on cranberry walnut bread with hummus.

However, regardless of my desires, I have cravings. Last night, after running 20 miles, which is a very long afternoon for me I wanted ice cream. Or rather, I tried to go to bed at 7:30, but woke up at 8:15, 8:45 and 10:30 to eat and drink because my restless legs did not want to sleep. One of the cravings keeping me awake was for ice cream. I have realized over time that when I crave something, there is something in that food my body really wants. Thinking about ice cream more I realized that I wanted fat and salt. The salt aspect has been an issue ever since the Wonderland Trail run in September 2010, and craving fat is probably a sign that I am calorie negative for the day and I am losing weight. I tried to fight the fat craving, but alas I was hungry. So I finished off the milk I had, ate a couple green queen olives, and had a few teaspoons of newly opened almond butter, plus a few glasses of tart lemonade (I seriously ran out of agave nectar or sugar to put in the lemonade). Finally I slept through the night. In total I was in bed for over 10 hours.

The moral of the story is to try and find the reason for a craving and satisfy it with something healthy. I still want some ice cream, but then again I haven't had any in about a month so it wouldn't destroy me.

If any of this sounds crazy and unhealthy, believe me, I am wondering that too. I am 160something days into a running streak and it has taken me to a mental place I have not been. Hopefully it is not over the edge.