I want to have a quick blurb about fitness before I get into discussing the research I did this week. I'm big into fitness. I love it. I'm obsessed with it. It started because I've struggled with being slightly overweight pretty much my whole life so I got into working out trying to lose weight. Over time, it has morphed into a whole different thing. I still have weight to lose. This is surprising for a lot of people that there are overweight people with Celiac Disease because it was taught for so long that only tiny malnourished people have it. We've now learned that you can be malnourished and still overweight. Anyways, back to fitness! Despite still having some jiggle I'd prefer to be rid of, I've come to enjoy working out because I just like. I like working out. I like getting sweaty. I like watching my body progress through my training; getting faster, getting stronger.
That being said, I encountered some big struggles in my training during my gluten-challenge. I'm training for a 5K run at the end of the summer and running has never really been my strong point. I'm more of a short, well-muscled sprinter body-type than the long, lanky long-distance runner type. I'm okay with this. I do high-intensity interval training too which I absolutely adore! However, I think that it's important to work on your weakness as well as your strengths, so I'm trying to improve my endurance running. During my gluten challenge, I was running through stomach pains, cramps, nausea, and so on. While I'm proud of myself for pushing through despite feeling poorly, it's been hard for me to feel like I'm progressing so slowly! Even now, one week gluten-free, I'm still struggling with some of these same issues. The reason I'm bringing this up is because I'm sure I'm not the only one who encounters issues like this and I'm hoping that by talking about how I'm dealing with it, it will encourage the rest of you!
So here's the deal: the only true perfection that can ever be achieved in fitness is consistency.
This is my motto. My mantra, if you will. I'm naturally inclined towards perfectionism. The real truth about any aspect of fitness is that there is always some way to improve. If you run, you can always train to run faster or farther. If you lift, you can always do more reps or higher weights. There is always a place in your regime where you can improve. And really, I think that's awesome! The idea that I can always push to be better, push to be more, is inspiring and motivating! So in this sense, it's impossible to reach perfection. It doesn't exist. However, what I personally think defines the difference between an athlete and your average joe-blow is consistency. Not only working out regularly and never quitting, but continuing to push yourself further and remembering that it is not single actions that make greatness, but rather the cumulative effect of many repeated actions. For myself, it's the difference between quitting my run early because my legs are like jelly and stopping for a quick second to rest before picking up where I left off and keep pushing until the timer goes. If you consistently keep getting back up again despite falling (and we all fall sometimes), you can accomplish anything. Not just in fitness, but in life. So I know that's a little bit off topic, but I just wanted to share because it has been a big part of my life right now.
Ooooookay... so this week I sent a few emails out to big coffee chains in Canada to ask about gluten-free products. The two big ones being Starbucks and Second Cup. While Starbucks is certainly everywhere, I understand that Second Cup might not be so this might not be super relevant to some of you. For me, I'm a University student. I like me some caffeine, so I figured I would get the scoop on gluten.
First, I went on the Starbucks website and searched through their nutrition section. If you want to know basic nutrition info (ie: calories, fat, carbs, etc.) you will find all of that for pretty much all products online. HOWEVER, Starbucks does not list the ingredients of their products online. Nor do baristas in the stores have this info unless they have a spare package of the same product sitting around. Now obviously none of their pastries are gluten-free, and even if there were a gluten-free pastry in the pastry case, I wouldn't eat it since the same tongs are used for all things. That being said, I did send them an email asking about their syrups and sauces that are used to make drinks. Which contain gluten? How are they manufactured? Here is how I rate their response:
Pros - I got a response the same day I sent them an email.
Cons - The response didn't actually answer my question. They referred me back to the website saying that all the nutrition info was available online. Thanks a whole honey-bunches-of-(gluten-free)-oats Starbucks. On a scale of 1 to "Helpful", we're at about a -5.
Second Cup is a slightly different story. Some nutrition information is available online, though if I recall correctly, not as detailed as Starbucks. They also do not offer a list of product ingredients online. So I sent to them a nearly identical email to the one I sent Starbucks. It took them a few days to respond, but this is the response I got back:
"Good afternoon Brooke,
Thank you for taking the time to contact us at Second Cup. All of our teas as well as Torani syrups (except for marshmallow) are gluten free. Our creamy syrup mixes, used in flavoured lattes, are produced in a facility that is not certified gluten-free, however there are no gluten allergens present in the products. If you ask your barista, they can also suggest some substitutions to drinks using our Torani syrups if you are more comfortable with this option. Many of our cafes also offer gluten free macaroons as well.
Thanks again for contacting us and for your support of Second Cup.
Kind regards,
Kelly Vincent
Café Support Associate"
THIS! THIS IS THE KIND OF RESPONSE I WAS ACTUALLY LOOKING FOR! I'm far from done my coffee shop search, especially because there is no Second Cup on campus, but I feel this is a good start to things. What are your favourite celiac-friendly coffee establishments?
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