Run, Cheese Boy, Run!

By Steve Millard

As the Store Director of our Greenwich Village shop, I get asked lots of questions every day. Questions like ‘Do you have any raw milk cheeses?’ or ‘I am having five people over and need to get 5 cheeses – can you help me?’ The other question I get, not as frequently, is ‘Why are you so thin?’ Fact: I do eat a lot of cheese. But I also work a lot of hours on my feet and if you’re here on a busy Saturday, you’ll see that I’m burning a lot of calories along with my staff.

The truth is that I run. I run a lot. About two years ago, I decided I needed to lose weight and wanted to run a marathon before I turned 41. So I started running, and watching what I ate. I enjoy it so much that I have considered getting a treadmill for the home and often read up on the best models like https://trustedtreadmill.com/proform-carbon-t10-review/. The end result two-plus years later is that I lost 60 pounds, went from a 2XL to a large and saw my waist shrink from a tight 38 to a comfy 34.

I know what you’re thinking – another born-again thin dude who runs all the time. But I promise to stick to what I know: dairy!

While training for what was to be my first marathon (in Honolulu!) three years ago, I suffered a stress fracture when I ran my first 20-miler. Any chance of running in Hawaii vanished. I was in a lot of pain, but I did find that some natural products made a difference and provided a little relief. For example, a friend of mine recommended Elixinol to me. In case you were not aware, Elixinol is a leading producer of high-quality CBD oil products including capsules, liposomes, balms, and CBD drops. There is a lot of research out there that suggests that cannabinoid cannabidiol (CBD), the chemical in marijuana, can strengthen bones and help heal fractures, and in my experience, it did make a big difference to my pain and had me looking for other alternative remedies, such as private label softgels and similar natural-based remedies to aid with my pain relief.

That being said, my fracture also taught me something very important. While recovering I had plenty of time to figure out why it had happened. A quick look at my diet revealed a key piece missing. Any guesses? It was dairy! The only dairy I consumed was half-and-half in my coffee. I had cut out cheese, ice cream and yogurt under the guise of my diet and cutting out fat. (The lack of dairy was not the only culprit – I was also over-training and not following the key running mantra of no more than 10% further or faster than what I did in the previous week).

Fast forward two years – I’ve done lots of research on nutrition, using sites like https://thenutritioninsider.com/, and have added lots and lots of dairy to my diet. As a result, I’ve maintained my weight and have become a fairly good ultra marathon distance runner (with a half-marathon, marathon, 50-miler and a 50K under my belt). Not a single day goes by where I don’t eat dairy of some sort. By eliminating dairy I was eliminating calcium and short changing my body of protein and fat.

Here are a couple of things that get me through the day (not including bites of cheese). I’ll be contributing more blog posts in the future, so check back for other tips, whether you’re interested in increasing your exercise regimen or you’re just curious about the diet of a cheesemonger/runner.

Strained Yogurt: My day begins with a strained yogurt every morning. I vary it up: either Fage Total 2%, a Greek style low fat yogurt that packs a whopping 20 grams of protein and 6% GV of fat, topped with Bee Raw Star Thistle honey. I also like Siggi’s Skyr, an Icelandic style yogurt – it’s incredibly tasty and full of protein. These strained yogurts have a lot of the whey removed — leaving a deliciously thick, protein- packed punch that gets me going in the morning.

Mid-Day Snack: We all have that mid-day snack attack when you need to get some life back into your limbs and your brain. In the past, I would turn to something sugary or a cup of coffee, but my new pick lately is a White Cow Dairy Tonic. What the heck is a whey tonic and why is it so good? Part yogurt whey, part yogurt solids, part delicious flavors like star anise or turmeric, these tonics contain lots of protein and are really refreshing. We already love fourth generation dairy farmer Patrick Lango’s amazing yogurts and custards that come in flavors as diverse as Chocolate Malt and Apple Pie, when Patrick mentioned the tonics back in January, little did we know how hooked our staff would get.

The whole Murray’s crew swears that there is restorative goodness in every bottle of Dairy Tonic. They keep us on our feet whether we’re running around the store or running 50 miles in the park.

Murray’s staff aren’t the only ones who think White Cow Tonics are incredible – check out write-ups from The New York Times, Tasting Table and Serious Eats on these amazingly refreshing drinks. Yogurts and dairy tonics are currently available at our 2 retail locations only.