Choose Your “Hard”…
Being a mom is hard…
Being a woman is hard…
Being African American is hard…
Being a working IT professional is hard…
Making balanced nutrition choices daily is hard…
Anything CAN and WILL be as hard as you make it until we stop hiding behind excuses. Changing my view on what I thought were hard tasks or choices brought me closer to nailing my weight loss goals, advancing my IT career, being my son’s favorite human being (well for a few years of his life), and finding success in many areas of my life.
Today my approach to food is to enjoy and incorporate a variety of flavors and to include carbs into each meal. I do this whether I am preparing meals at home or traveling. My approach is to not restrict any food group. I also regularly include snacks into my day and avoid skipping meals. These lifestyle adjustments have contributed to me being more consistent with my nutrition.
So let’s talk about variety. In my past, there were things that I did not try simply because I never had them or because the versions of those foods were presented in a bland or boring fashion. In the spirit of full transparency, I would remedy the bland by adding sauce or gravy onto everything. Those toppers add up over the course of a day. What I’ve come to learn is that if I need to add in a non-preferred carb or a bland piece of chicken to hit my planned intake for a meal, I find more enjoyment knowing I satisfied the goal for that meal over how it tasted.
Don’t tell my mom…
Growing up, if you put green peas on my plate, I either gagged while being forced to eat them or you could find them hidden later in various parts of the house. I even hid them in my cheeks and spit them out when going to the bathroom. Today, I will eat them so that I get a balanced meal. Don’t be fooled. I still despise the sight of them. However, my nutrition is more important at times over taste. And skipping a meal is no longer an option for me.
who has time to cook ?
ME!
Cooking a delicious balanced meal at home doesn’t take me hours in the kitchen. I keep items fresh, flavorful, and colorful. Believe it or not I’m not a fan of leftovers. But to avoid being in a pinch by not having food prepared, I keep a few staples prepared to grab if I need to leave to run errands or if an emergency comes up. These staples also make for great meal options to use on my travel days.
Packaged foods aren’t really my thing, any longer. I cook 90% of my meals during the week at home. The benefits of cooking at home have been that I know the ingredients. I’ve also been able to pinpoint areas of concern with my gut health. I have also gotten to the point where I can eye the measurements in most items without weighing them on a scale. The benefits are endless!
Approximately 9 times out of 10 I have a snack in my purse to prevent myself from grabbing something unhealthy while out running errands.
Shocked to find out I eat snacks daily? Let me give a few examples of what a snack looks like for me:
2 cookies or a 100 Cal snack pack
Caramel rice cakes with peanut butter
Peanut butter and strawberry jelly sandwich on thin bread
Tortilla chips topped with vegan cheese and ground lean beef
Vegan doughnuts (these make me weak and are not included daily, only once in a while)
How can I snack, drink occasionally, eat carbs regularly and still hit goals you ask?
Hint: Portion control. Portion control is a critical component to enjoying my meals. You may be thinking that this idea of portion control and tracking every meal doesn’t sound ideal for you. Well, it’s actually easier than you think, and I will have more details to come in other blog posts on my tracking methods. Just know that tracking my nutrition is a huge part of my success. It’s how I can decide what my meal selections will be when I travel or dine out. Again, things can be as hard as we make them.
My new outlook on the fitness/food/balance is now through a Lens that constantly needs to be brought into focus
Above I mentioned skipping meals as something I personally avoid. The reason I avoid this is to prevent myself from binging. Briefly I will add that for years while overworking 70+ hour weeks, I would skip breakfast often and by lunch time, binge on unhealthy lunch choices or hit the snack machine for multiple items at once. Knowing these are now triggers for me personally if meals are skipped. There are some that prefer these methods, and they work or can even be preferred. Again, I state this is something I have decided to avoid.
Any of this sound familiar?
Binge Eating
Stomach Cramping
Bloating
Headaches
Nausea
Lower Energy
(Drum Roll) Weight or Fat Gain
These have been the side effects that I have experienced when skipping meals,not eating breakfast, or when I don’t incorporate snacks into my day. Read enough sections on my blog and the above side effects are very similar to the effects when I’ve eliminated carbs from my daily intake. Are you following what I have found to be an unhealthy pattern?
My now balanced lifestyle incorporates my enjoyment of trying new foods cooked at home, mastering dining out while traveling, and eating carbs to support my fitness goals. Otherwise, I’ve learned that if I restrict carbs, it’s a recipe for disaster.