Hi Everyone,
I, like many of you can go back to being a kid and being consoled, bribed, threatened, rewarded and loved with treats, sweets and yummy goodies! All of these sugar/carb years under my belt have brought me to turn over a new leaf and be truly HONEST with my relationship surrounding food.
For many years I trained 6 days a week. Running marathons, yoga, bootcamp I have even hired a handful of personal trainers. But this past year I have ignored my body. I have overtrained and now am paying the price. Now due to injury I am unable to train and therefore not hitting my fitness goals. I am bummed, but I have been given an opportunity to educate myself on nutrition and how food can help me heal inside and out. To be pro-active, 2 months ago I hired a nutritionist. I needed guidance on shifting my strategies in order to best target 3 main objectives: health, workout performance (supporting my training), and body composition (keeping lean and optimizing fat loss). One element that has always been a key to my success but that historically I never pay attention to, is my happiness as it relates to food. It seems kind of obvious, but somewhere in the conversation with my nutritionist about diet and the strategizing about food, I forgot to check in on my feelings surrounding food and what at the end of the day actually makes me happy. Is it my relationship, my friends, my work or the possibility that I will be eating a piece of cheesecake for dessert? So to be successful, we designed an overall plan that stresses it’s not just about carbs and proteins and calories – it also has to be about whether or not, on a whole host of levels I am happy and having a healthy relationship with food. Call me crazy but I want to enjoy eating my food, not spending time over thinking and stressing over every choice!
I now follow a handful of simple steps to help me attain my 4 goals:
Health, Workout Performance, Body Composition and Happiness.
1. NEVER say DIET!
2. Eat EVERY 2-3 hours.
- 3. Eat 6 SMALL MEALS PER DAY. The challenge is portion control. Each meal must consist of: palm size portion of protein, 2 hand fulls of veggies...I add a carb source after workouts.
- 4. TAKE YOUR TIME eating and ENJOYING YOUR FOOD.
- 5. KEEP IT SIMPLE.
- 6. SMILE.
- In my opinion, and many of you may feel the same, the most important and the most difficult habit to break...negative self-talk. I stress the importance of treating yourself well and affirm something positive each and everyday. If your best friend came to you upset that they were having a tough time dealing with emotional eating you would not beat them up even more with harsh words and a judgmental attitude. You would be supportive and kind, yet how many times have we stood in front of the mirror berating ourselves angrily for slipping with our diets? We have to learn to treat ourselves as if we were our own best friends – with loving kindness. Nothing is gained when we add our own self criticisms – often playing like a broken record over and over in our heads. If you slip, it is not the end of the world. Resolve to get back on track. Refocus on your goals and move forward. You may repeat this process a hundred times, but each time that you get back up on your feet you will be a little bit stronger. Eventually new healthier habits will form and you will reach a breakthrough – bottom line, don’t quit!
To date, I currently train 3 days a week and opt for moderation and balance as a priority. Cheat "days" are out – moderation applies to desserts and sweets. I am not in the habit of eating desserts on a regular basis anyway, but I may choose to enjoy a small piece of dark chocolate with my coffee every now and then, and that is OK.
Over the next little while I will be adding healthy, yummy recipes that have helped me succeed. Workout videos to spice up your exercise routine and kick plateaus in the a##! As well, I will share inspirational stories from followers, and personal trials and tribulations from my journey to becoming a healthier, happier ME.
Cheers :)