Mind | Body | Food
Food is the foundation to all things that make you function. Refining your athletic performance should be based around a sound eating plan which satisfies caloric needs based on performance goals, overall energy, immune functioning, and hormonal balance.
This challenge is only as hard as your starting point; the endurance side of this challenge was ‘manageable’ for me as at this stage of my journey; having trained and completed 14 x 100km endurance runs over the past 5 years I am more than comfortable with longer distances.
My physical fitness is paramount but equally so is my mental health. Where would I be without the openness and opportunity of running, who knows. What I do know is; running has made me a heathier person inside and out.
Stand firm on the ground in which you walk on, continue to be honest, authentic, mindful and most of all grateful. Appreciate the simplicity that life has to offer, not the glitz and glamour of shopping malls, fast cars, fast money and fast living.
Social distancing may mean we have to stay 1.5m apart physically but mentally we are now closer than ever; this is a new normal I’m happy to adopt.
This #isorunnigfest already had a different feel about it; it was so familiar yet being carried out with a completely different format. We were solo runners yet running with others.
Should we be worried about how our personal data is handled by the government? It’s definitely got Australia talking and like anything, theirs a debate brewing and we think, it’s a debate worth having.
There are some reads that sit with you long after you finish the final page. You feel a sense of loss when you put book on the bookshelf to longingly look at each time you walk past. These reads resonated with you at the time of reading; timing is everything right?
The requirement to self-isolate and social distance stepped up a notch during the month of March; when I think about January and February there was vague talk of the virus but the spread, devastation and true uncertainty wasn’t recognised until mad march.
Eat for energy, for nutrition and for wellness. Adopt plant-based habits because they are life giving not life taking.
‘To the left, to the left, every time you run, keep to the left’ hallelujah I am not the only one who thinks this.
Now more than ever, we need to invest in the things that we can control; our diet & food choice, our minds, our bodies, our emotional and physical state.
The human and economic toll of this GLOBAL pandemic is difficult for us as an individuals to comprehend and what we are seeing & hearing today is only the beginning; everyone is affected in some way or another.
Have you ever felt a sense of anxiety but calm that has you feeling somewhat uneasy but harmonious? This is how I have felt during the month of February. Maybe it had something to do with this month being a leap year with 29 days.
The relationships I have with my fellow female training partners and runners is one of support and admiration. We lift each other up not bring each other down for reasons such as jealously or sheer competitiveness.
We convince ourselves that the start of a new year means we are renewed, we have somehow set a reset button and come the 12:01 on the 1st January everything is somehow better, happier and easier.
I’m making progress within my household and I congratulate myself for that but I do recognise that I have a long way to go to being the poster girl for plastic free living.
In training and races the elements certainly challenge us both mentally and physically however we can always call upon the energy of the ground we walk on to give us strength and power to push on through. Now it’s our turn to hear the calls of nature; to help her ease the rathe she is bestowing on us at this time.
Turns out when you listen to the conversations of others, you realise you are not alone in you thinking or your doings.
The greatest attribute needed for the Alpine Challenge is adaptability and flexibility, without this you will start on the back foot before you have even begun.
The 3 Bays Portland Running Festival is in its 36th year and I did wonder post event, what the hell have I been doing for all those years, why was this the first time I had participated in this event?
The time came for the dance to begin, I had to suddenly show up and feel comfortable after all there were six other women doing the same. I threw caution to the wind and just moved.
Being the inaugural race, I had the numbers for elevation, a profile map and detailed description notes but what I didn’t have was first hand knowledge of just how undulating, brutal and relentless this course was.
Recovery takes times but it can take longer than you ideally like if you don’t follow the advice of those who are providing recommendations backed by years of research & experience.
Once you open your mind to acceptance you are able to listen and digest the information that is thoughtfully, mindfully and professionally being passed onto you, why? Because you have removed all the roadblocks in your mind and created an openness that only acceptance can offer.
I don’t want to be comfortable with pain, I don’t want to accept it – this is not my new normal. I want my old normal back.
You can’t rush recovery especially when it comes to an Achillies. Tendon issues are temperamental and frustrating but they also teach you a lot about your mental strength and determination.
The likes of the kangaroo and emu feature on the Australian coat of arms as well as appearing on our dinner plates by those embracing the so-called true Australian culture. But what happens if you choose not to eat our most recognisable assets?
What you notice about Adelaide and its producers is; its small, its boutique and true craftsmanship has gone into producing the best product for the consumer.
Having followed a plant-based vegan diet for over 25 years and with each new year, I am becoming stronger, healthier and what seems, younger. Want to feel the same way?
The year of the Pig: fortune, luck and personality. Pigs have a beautiful personality and are blessed with good fortune in life. Isn’t it time to live a more Planted Life?
“Don’t forget to get enough food for 30-40 days over Christmas because the shops will be closed for 12 hours.”
Females these days are fiercely independent, confident and more than capable to survive (& thrive) in the wildness alone.
A course as brutal as it was beautiful this race still has me suffering a slight case of PTSD when exposed to the terrain which saw me scramble, hike, run, walk and hallucinate my way through for 47 hours.
When I travel locally, interstate or overseas I do my research when it comes to finding cafes and restaurants that are going to feed me well and most importantly feed me quality plant-based vegan fare.
Trust is your body armour, your new-found persona and something that sets you apart from those around you.
I definitely suffered in this race more than the heat and humid adapted locals but my mindset helped me overcome the difficulty of what I could not control.
“Anyone can train hard. Do you have the discipline to recover?” – Lauren Fleshman
I’m not unique or different to you. In fact, I am just like you. I just decided one day to make a change just like you are going to do one day.
I feel we tend to over complicate the foods we eat; think about your top 20 foods and then figure out ways to incorporate these into quick and easy meals.
I wasn’t sick. I didn’t have a cold nor did I have a hamstring issue that two days before the race made me book a last-minute appointment with a physio who I was hoping was going to tell me everything was OK.
During the course of the race be present in the activity; the more connected you are to your running, the longer you’ll be able to keep running.
My mantra for this race was ‘Run Mindful, Run Free’ I had this on repeat in my head from the start to finish. I wasn’t sure where I was going to place for this run but I had a goal and I was running towards that.
If your current diet is making your feel tired and unwell, then its time to make some changes for the better.
Runners see food a little different. Its not just something we eat to stop the stomach rumbling but something we eat for fuel, performance and most importantly to aid recovery.
When you look back on the foods you grew up with, which foods do you think about the most? And how vastly different are your food choices now to when you were growing up?
We all know that potatoes make you fat, right? Potatoes are just empty carbs, no different to eating pure table sugar, right? Wrong!
Most folk might think we crazy but despite 10 days of non-stop swim, bike and run which included the hinterland and coastal trails and waters; we feel fitter at the end of the break than we did at the start.
I once heard a saying that if you can’t drink tea, life is not worth living. So how do I feel about this 2 weeks on from giving up my daily cup of Earl Grey tea?
The meter matter campaign is simple: when a vehicle is overtaking a cyclist, the driver needs to allow a minimum passing distance of one metre.
Find the power of now and trust. Monitor your progress and believe the sky is not the limit, your mindset and outlook have no boundaries.
Not everyone likes tofu, in fact speak out loud that you are having tofu for dinner and all that is within earshot will shudder with fear.
Belief: an acceptance that something exists or is true, especially one without proof | Trust, faith or confidence in (someone or something)
This is not a race for the faint hearted; you need to befriend hurt. The rules of this race are; “don’t worry about the things you can’t control, focus on the things you can.”
“Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional. Say you’re running and you think, ‘Man, this hurts, I can’t take it anymore. The ‘hurt’ part is an unavoidable reality, but whether or not you can stand anymore is up to the runner himself.”
Can you run an endurance trail run in the mountains with over 5500m+ of ascent, be a female athlete and be low in iron? This plant-based female athlete was just about to find out.
GSER; despite the delusional ramblings her exhausted mind was conjuring, despite the exertion that gripped every inch of her body, Amanda had never felt so electrifyingly alive.
“You suck it up, remember why you are doing this, and keep going.” Oscars Hut2Hut is a Alpine Adventure for Autism and will have you muttering the event mantra more than once over the 100km distance ‘Just Another Fucking Climb’.
‘Endurance running is a eating contest with a bit of running thrown in for good measure.’ You are basically eating all the time in order to ingest adequate calories to see your body endure the trials and tribulations of an ultra endurance event.
The GSER 100 – as it is known – is the hardest 100 mile trail race in the Southern Hemisphere and the 5th hardest in the world based on elevation gains. 3 women sat down with Jen Brown to discuss this brutal but beautiful race. The conversation is captivating.
The new year is the same but different. The world keeps turning, the bills keep coming and we continue on our path of the pursuit of happiness and peace. Here’s to living a more Planted Life.
I had prepared myself for the physical challenge of this race and to a certain degree the mental challenge but what I didn’t prepare myself for was the strange altered states of consciousness that brought with it some very disconcerting hallucinations. Thankfully I felt comfortable with 98% of what I saw, the other 2% still leaves me a little frightened.
Welcome to our list of Christmas ideas to see you well fed, well fuelled and gifts that will have your keen to explore the world around you by foot as there is nothing like being amongst nature to remind us of the beauty we have surrounding us.
My FaceBook interview with Abi aka Iron Mumma as she prepares for her first half Ironman distance, Port Macquarie, early May 2018. As well as documenting her training and journey, Abi is posting weekly interviews with people who inspire her.
When you can identify your strengths and weaknesses you can run a hard race with purpose all the while learning lessons along the way. The race that was Wonderland.
The Surf Coast Trail marathon is a wild race and with the tag line ‘where the wild things are’ you couldn’t find a more eclectic race. There maybe blue skies and sunshine but you might, just might find king tides as well.
When imperfect is perfect. After adopting an organic lifestyle over 15 years ago it soon became apparent that the produce I was purchasing did not look like that found in conventional supermarkets, featured on TV or pictured in magazines.
As well as drinking eight to ten glasses of water each day eating your daily intake of fruit and vegetables will provide adequate water to stay hydrated.
The Plant Fit summit takes you on a journey to health and peak performance regardless of your age or fitness level – all under the guidance of leading doctors and other experts including Planted Life.
Food is one of the key pieces of the puzzle when it comes to optimal recovery. A smart recovery nutrition plan will help improve your energy levels and decrease inflammation.
You want to make a difference; you want to see your food choices make change in how you feel maybe even how you look and you might also like to see a change in the production of our food, less factory farms, more kindness.
For a whole month we are encouraging you to take a break from animal products and follow a plant-based diet for 30 days.
By definition superfoods are “a nutrient-rich food considered to be especially beneficial for health and wellbeing.” Superfoods are nutrient powerhouses that pack large doses of antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals.
I always regarded myself as a tea drinker however it wasn’t until being drawn into the Storm in a Teacup world did I truly understand the spiritual ritual of tea. I still have a lot to learn but the journey so far is making me richer.
You are a (plant-based) Ironman. What does a plant-based vegan Ironman eat outside of chocolate milk, scrambled eggs, bacon and hamburgers?
From dispelling the myths that all vegans are tree hugging hippies, weak and nutritionally challenged to defining why I use the term “plant-based” more than I do “vegan” to define my lifestyle food choice.
Running 100km isn’t easy but I find comfort in this distance, I believe this distance suits me. Physically and mentally I am strong enough to handle the pace and time on course… where else would I rather be?
Tarian Pantry has grown into Planted Life, a business further focusing on the wellness and performance benefits when following a plant-based diet now with a few differences; a greater focus on the mind and body.
“The best moments in our lives are not the passive, receptive, relaxing times… The best moments usually occur if a person’s body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile.” – Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
April 2017 saw the release of a report, which dove deep into the fruit, vegetable and juice consumption of 145,000 Australian adults and showed 4 out of 5 Australians are not eating enough.
Dairy free Easter treats DO exist and if you look hard enough you will find them just about everywhere. From the humble raw carrot to chocolate bunnies no vegan needs to be left out of the Easter hunt.
Meatless March; we anticipated there were going to be some challenging times but you have surprised yourself about how easy it was to go meat free haven’t you?
I achieved what I set out to do, to place but by no means was this race easy, actually it was one of the toughest races I have done but something was different this race.
What is the secret to better health and wellness? I have reaped the health benefits of eating in-season, eating local produce and eating foods with little to no processing. My plate is filled with the good stuff; life giving foods not life taking.
There is much misinformation, no information, conflicting information or Pete Evans and his talk of a paleo diet when it comes to talking about a vegan diet. Confused? You shouldn’t be.
It all started with Meat Free Mondays and now we have upsized and entered into Meatless March, its important to realise here that change eventually creates new and improved habits.
Australians are amongst the biggest meat eaters in the world per capita. This month is all about going meat free and when we say meat free we mean 100% plant-based!!! The challenge has been set to replace the pork on your fork.
Supplement or real food? When it comes to good bacteria there is a time and place for both but with our list of favourite fermented foods; the choice is easy – real foods.
The practice of yoga is defined as a group of physical, mental and spiritual practices or disciplines with intention – it is an art based on harmonising systems of development for the body, mind and spirit.
How are the New Year resolutions going? Are you following any foodie trends into the New Year: high protein, paleo, plant-based?
Supermarkets can be confusing not to mention overwhelming when trying to change eating habits. We look to change our habits come the 1st January but why wait? Adopt new habits today kick starting sooner rather than later.
There are now only 16 days to go until we wake up knowing that an intruder named Santa snuck into our houses overnight and delivered an array of presents – well that’s what we will tell the kids, just maybe not using those exact words!
“Three phrases that sum up Christmas are: Peace on Earth, Goodwill to Men, and Batteries not Included”. – English Proverb
“I am training at such a high level that I actually could eat anything and get by. But as my coach always says, your body is like a car, and food is like your fuel. I am a race car, so you can’t just put unleaded fuel in my car. I need that good premium fuel.” Lolo Jones
“Reaching the finish line, never walking, and enjoying the race. These three, in this order, are my goals.” ‘What I talk about what I talk about running’, Haruki Murakami
He was a man nutritionally ahead of his time. He knew how to skull a can….a can of spinach and immediately felt the benefits of being fuelled and powered by green. Popeye was my childhood hero both in stature and diet. We are influenced by those we see on TV and for me, Popeye had more of an influence than I ever knew at the time.
At Tarian Pantry, we understand the cycle and power of food. There is a strong connection between what you eat and how you feel. We use our knowledge of plant energy to achieve all our personal and fitness goals.
“Our bodies want to be healthy, if we would just let them. That’s what these new research articles are showing: Even after years of beating yourself up with a horrible diet, your body can reverse the damage, open back up the arteries—even reverse the progression of some cancers. Amazing! So it’s never too late to start exercising, never too late to stop smoking and never too late to start eating healthier.” -Michael Greger
“Your body will argue that there is no justifiable reason to continue. Your only recourse is to call on your spirt, which fortunately functions in dependently of logic.” – Tim Noakes, Professor and runner
Making my way along the surf coast walk to the finish line was a feeling I wish I could bottle. I smiled, I congratulated myself and I told other runners to hang in there, we were doing this. I think my enthusiasm and pace at this stage of the race was of an annoyance to some runners but I didn’t want to slow down.
In the spirit of reconciliation Planted Life acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay respect to the Peramangk people of the Adelaide Hills, the traditional custodians of the land where we live, work and tread lightly. We continue to pay our respects to Elders, past and present and extend that respect to all Aborginal and Torres Strait Islander people today.
PLANTED LIFE
Adelaide SA
