Lightweight Eats

On Monday and Friday mornings, I wake up at 4:15AM, and drag my sleepy butt out of bed. It's dark, and usually a bit chilly. My own training doesn't start until 7 or 7:30AM, but by 5:30AM, I'm on the water.

I'm not putting in extra time rowing. (My coach told me to cut volume, where possible.) I'm not coaching. I'm not even doing a different sport.

Twice a week, I head down to the Lake Merritt Rowing Club to act as a coxswain for their masters program.


In 2003, I learned to row there. My high school rowed out of this club, sharing equipment and water space. It was the perfect place to learn how to row: a windy day on the lake rivals a calm day on my current body of water, less than a mile away.

Even after we moved out of the Lake Merritt boathouse, I continued to return every summer as a volunteer for their summer camps--it was a great way to learn to row both sides, and to make sure my hair was fully blonde before school started.

In college, I returned to the club, temporarily housed across the lake as the old boathouse was remodeled. I spent a summer rowing with the women's team, as I tried to complete a million meters of exercise.

In January, Dan and I celebrated our marriage in the room above the boat bay, after getting married overlooking the lake.


Now, my mom rows for Lake Merritt. So twice a week, I head down to that familiar boathouse. It's not really for her, though.

I am inherently a lazy person. Of course, I'm willing to do lots of work. I'm just not willing to do any more work than it takes to get the job done. Applied to rowing, that means I'm a dedicated technician. I hate to think my effort could be propelling me down the course or through the training meters faster if only I applied it more effectively.

Going down in the mornings helps me understand technique even better. The coxswain is the boat's eyes and ears. They provide technical feedback to the rowers, they steer, they motivate and most importantly, they gather the rowers into a unified crew.

Seeing others struggle with and correct mistakes helps me explain the incredibly complicated technique of rowing in new, different ways. And that makes me a better rower.

Sure, I arrive at Monday and Friday morning practices a little bit cold and a little bit tired, but my mind is focused. More than anything, I want to jump into my single and row!

My feet are two different sizes. It makes finding shoes really difficult, so when I find a pair that works, I tend to hold on for a bit too long.

My vibrams broke this weekend when we were in Monterey.


They weren't my favorite shoes for long runs, but they were perfect for travelling. I will miss them on my next road trip, and will consider replacing them (although they smell terrible after like two runs).

For everyday running at home, I had a much cushier pair of shoes: New Balance 730's, but a super old model that certainly is not the 'minimalist' shoe they now sell as a 730. I was pretty unimpressed with the quality of these shoes. They started ripping at the seams after way too few runs.

For various reasons, I eat a relatively high protein diet.  It helps keep me full, which is important given my busy schedule. Also, my coach has asked me to eat plenty of protein.

It's also a diet I'm comfortable maintaining--by focusing on protein, I tend to make smarter choices. For example, I'm more likely to choose yogurt and granola for dessert than ice cream, because the yogurt helps me reach my daily protein requirement.

As I started training, I began to track my food intake as well, to help me transition to the increased activity level. As I tracked, I noticed that I was relying quite heavily on dairy to supply my protein. Of course, I was also getting protein from beans, grains and vegetables, but dairy seemed to play a disproportionally large role.

Reading the Food Revolution, I became increasingly aware of this reliance. I see eating as an entire package; chewing is just one part of the food experience. Eating also encompasses how you feel before and after you've eaten something, and how it affects your body's functioning.

Take an example. I love the experience of chewing chocolate. The flavor, the meltiness, and the way it coats every square inch of my mouth are divine. When I eat a square or two of chocolate, I also enjoy the overall experience of eating: it helps me feel satisfied at the end of a meal. I've also been known to sit and eat an entire bag of chocolate chips, which usually make me very thirsty and often somewhat irritable.

What does this have to do with eggs, you ask? Well, one of the things that makes my whole eating experience better is a variety of foods. And as I shift away from dairy products, I've been maintaining my protein intake by eating foods I didn't eat as much of before--including eggs!

Recently, I've been eating a lot more eggs. Today's lunch was a rice and veggie bowl topped with a fried egg. I've also been throwing them onto sandwiches, layered right above a bed of sprouts to absorb the drippy yolk.

Once we start menu planning again (we've been taking a break because of our vacations), I'm hoping to plan in some quiches and omelettes with dinner. If you have any other great ideas for ways to use eggs, let me know in the comments!

As I was growing up, the Berkeley Bowl (our local grocery store) began labeling country and state of origin for all of its produce. At the time, I didn't think much of it. In my mind, a cucumber was a cucumber, whether it was grown in Mexico or 10 miles outside of town.

The more vegetables I eat, though, and the more I purchase my own vegetables, the more aware I become of what it means to eat locally.

Obviously, we are blessed with California sunshine. Living within 100 miles of California's Central Valley, and more particularly in a region that so values the homegrown, makes the choice a lot easier. Still, it is a choice, and one we've started to make more consciously.

Shopping at our local farmer's market provides us with an abundance of fresh, seasonal produce. Over the past 7 months, Dan and I have gotten used to eating in season: in May, we celebrated the first of the strawberries by eating an entire flat in three days. We eagerly anticipated corn, and are enjoying bell peppers, figs, stone fruit and cucumbers in abundance. In a month, we'll be noshing on apples and grapes, and starting to eat more broccoli and cauliflower.

While our hand was forced in this direction by our lack of car (our only option many weeks is to shop at the market), we love the result: food has gotten even better!

Where you're from, it may be out of your budget to eat locally. For us, it's the most budget conscious choice. If you have the option, and can afford it, I urge you to start making the change! If you can't afford it, try planting some of your own vegetables: radishes and spring mix are great, quick, easy options, and we've also enjoyed beets, cucumbers and tomatoes. It may be a bit late for those of you in less temperate climates, but at least in California, there's still another growing season left!

This weekend's excursion took us south, towards the picturesque Monterey Bay. We rented a car and headed out Friday morning, after I helped at a morning master's row and had coffee with my mom!

On the road!

Our itinerary was pretty flexible. We started in Santa Cruz, at the northern end of the bay. We really liked the downtown and spent a few solid hours wandering around. We visited shops, walked down to the beach and I even managed to sneak in a few running miles along a river trail!

One of the "rides" at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk

The wharf in Santa Cruz. Dan took photos while I went running.

The trail was marked with mile markers, and I ran a timed mile. I'm not sure how accurate it was, but I clocked in at 6:52--the fastest mile I've ever run!

We ended our evening with a meal at Cafe Gratitude, a vegan, organic cafe that serves incredible food with a side of satisfied soul. It was the perfect start to a great weekend.

The hotel we booked was about 20 minutes down the coast, in a town called Watsonville. We visited Watsonville a month ago with my parents and sister+boyfriend. This time, it was mostly a stopping point before our next adventure.

Saturday morning, we feasted on cinnamon bread we'd picked up in Santa Cruz. We set out on the road relatively early, hoping to make it to Monterey before the crowds got too bad.

Unfortunately, we got distracted.




Still, we saw some pretty cool sights. After a brief nap in the car, we headed out for some driving, and a rest for our tired legs! Just south of Monterey, we drove along 17-mile drive, a beautiful coastal route filled with cypress trees--one of our favorites!

The route took us through Carmel-by-the-Sea, an expensive tourist trap. From there we headed to Salinas, to see what it held. It was completely the opposite of Carmel--total ghost town. We stopped in at a Nob Hill Foods to grab dinner supplies and made the drive back up towards Watsonville.

We hadn't booked another night at our original hotel, but they did have a room left and they agreed to give us late check out as well! Awesome!

We dined in our motel room, but it was quite decadent: individualized, largely organic salads; artisan chocolate; wine; and even a tablecloth to go with our plastic cups!



Sunday morning found us up and at 'em early again. We finished off some fruits from the farm stand and supplemented with cereal from home for breakfast. Well-fueled, we headed down to Moss Landing and rented kayaks! (We tried to rent boogie boards, but there was neither surf nor an open rental location. Bummer.)


We kayaked in a slough that was filled with seals, sea lions, otters, birds and jellyfish!!!! In fact, the exact jellyfish we'd seen at the aquarium! That was pretty awesome.

After kayaking, we headed back to our hotel, grabbed our stuff, and hit the road again. After a re-stocking stop at the farm stand, we headed north. Of all the places we visited, we liked Santa Cruz the best, so we went back. Dan visited the art store. I wandered. And we went back to Cafe Gratitude for (very late) lunch.

Overall, it was an awesome weekend! It was great to have a car to dump our stuff while we went on adventures, and we generally loved the freedom of having no set plans. We also did a really great job of managing our food on the road: we ate a lot of vegetables and whole grains, which helped our bodies feel a little bit more normal after a second weekend away from our own kitchen.

Now, it's back to work! Well, for Dan at least..

I wear a lot of spandex.

No, seriously. I practically live in the stuff. In season, I workout in it twice a day, and often can't be bothered to change out of it for the 2-3 hours of downtime between practices. (This is infinitely less gross when you realize that downtime is often spent on my bike or dancing around the apartment.)

But spandex can get a little slouchy. I've made some improvements recently: upgrading from college sweatpants to yoga pants, and buying some attractive, colorful tank tops. Still, I think it's time to put a little bit more effort in, especially when I'm not at or between practices.

Yesterday, I went "shopping" among the clothes I'd left at my parents house.

After some brief research about what's coming into fashion, I decided to bring back my Henley blazer. Apparently school-boy chic is going to be big this fall, and what's more school-boy than a legit school blazer? I've also retrieved an old dress and a few other sweaters and jackets. I think my biggest challenge will be keeping myself out of sweatshirts, especially in the cool morning weather.

Of course, we are aware of our budget, so I'm making an effort to add to my closet with minimal expense. For example, the dress from our movie date?


One of the things I've found most helpful so far? Know what you own! I really don't own much clothing--especially after donating all of the clothing that doesn't fit. The selection gets even smaller when you take out my spandex and workout shirt collection.

Plus, I hang most of my clothing, so I see exactly what I have, every day.

About half of this is workout clothing. That is all the shirts and all the dresses I own.

When I go shopping, I'm very selective: I don't pick things because they look good on me. I only purchase items that both look good on me and fit into the overall scheme of my wardrobe. (Oh, yea, and it can't be uncomfortable!)

I'm no fashionista, but I think a little bit of effort can go a long way!

I've been trying to get in a super long workout twice a week so I don't lose too much endurance, and to help burn some extra calories. (Just because I don't have to weigh in for a while doesn't mean I can gain  weight!)

You need a wrench and plenty of patience to get that wheel off. Not to mention changing the tube.

Have you ever had to duck into a Starbucks in the middle of your run just to go pee? Yea, me too. It's one of the nice things about running. When you're on the water rowing, it's tough luck.

I've had a few uncomfortable morning rows before I learned to not drink anything with breakfast. Caffeinated beverages are by far the worst, although the occasional mug of hot cocoa was acceptable for short rows. The mornings of 20 km workouts, though, even cereal milk was too much.

So, while I have some freedom in my workout schedule, I'm enjoying some of the simple pleasures in life. This morning, I enjoyed a nice hot cup of tea with breakfast.

Who knew something so simple could be so wonderful?

Dan and I eat a really healthy diet: we eat almost entirely whole foods, and the few packaged foods we do buy are very carefully selected. While are there some changes I'm looking to make, like switching to all organic dairy and reducing dairy consumption in general, I'm really pretty happy with our diet.

Because we don't have a car, we are forced to do most of our shopping at the local farmer's market. (I know, rough life.) This means the bulk of our food purchases are locally grown, pesticide free, in-season, incredibly fresh fruits and vegetables. We also eat a lot of whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds.

On a weekly basis, we usually eat:
- 1 gallon of organic milk
- 16oz. plain, organic yogurt
- 1/3 pound of cheese (transitioning to organic)
- 4-6 organic, cage-free eggs
- 2-3 cans worth of beans
- 3-4 blocks of tofu
- a million vegetables (10-15 servings/day?)
- half a million pieces of fruit (5-7 servings/day?)
- 2 boxes of cereal/granola
- 1 box crackers or other snack food
- some type of dessert (bar of chocolate, pint of ice cream, cookies, etc)
- loaf of bread
- 2-3 servings/day of additional grains (quinoa, rice, pasta, etc.)
- 8-12 ounces of nuts and nut butters
- lots of condiments (salad dressing, teriyaki sauce, hot sauce, olive oil etc.)
- 3-4 protein bars (e.g. ClifBars)

A lot of our diet is motivated by health concerns. Having read Food Revolution by John Robbins and On Food and Cooking by Harold McGee, I'm thoroughly convinced that food plays a huge role in health and well-being, especially cancer. (Cancer is an incredibly scary disease.)

Performance is another huge motivating factor for me. When I eat well, I feel leaner, stronger and more energized. I love feeling powerful and physically capable. So when I read Racing Weight by Matt Fitzgerald and he suggested some dietary supplements, I decided to give it a go.



I was already taking a women's multivitamin on a somewhat regular basis. My multivitamin has vitamins A, B1, B2, B6, B12, C, D, E, and K, plus niacin, folic acid, biotin, pantothenic acid, calcium, iron, magnesium, zinc, selenium, copper, manganese and chromium. I'm trying to get in the habit of taking this daily.

Fitzgerald also suggested a few new ones, and I've decided to try two of them: green tea extract and fish oil. Our host mom at the Canadian Henley was a doctor of natural medicine, and she supported the use of both of those supplements, particularly the fish oil. Both are supposed to help reduce body fat, plus they have anti-inflammatory properties, and anti-oxidants in the green tea extract. (Apparently green tea extracts are particularly effective at preventing breast cancer!)

While I don't expect any of these to miraculously make me leaner and faster, I'm hoping they make it a little bit easier for my body to handle low body fat levels and intense training over the next four years. At this point, a pound makes a huge difference!

Do you take any supplements? Let me know in the comments!

When I started on my journey to lose weight, I never envisioned how far I would come, and how successful I would be. Similarly, when I started writing Piquant Prose, I had no idea how big a role exercise would play in my life.

In the past months, I have found my writing, and my life, dealing more and more with fueling for exercise and the exercise itself. Many times, I felt as if my posts betrayed the original intent of the blog--writing about food for food's sake.

And so, Lightweight Eats was born. As the name suggests, food will still be a theme. This time though, the focus will be on fueling myself for a grueling athletic schedule while also maintaining my status as a lightweight, under 130 pounds. I will chronicle my weekly training schedule, my progress towards my ultimate goal of representing the U.S. in the 2016 Olympic games, and how food is helping me reach that journey.

My team uniform.

Expect to read about exercise, eating, sleeping and the general trials and tribulations of being a full time unpaid athlete with a big dream.