To explain a bit about the blog, Jenni and I have decided that we will be starting off with four posts per week.
Monday- Motivation Monday
Wednesday - Thoughts by Shauna
Saturday - Food & Fitness
Sunday - Thoughts by Jenni
I wanted to start my first Thoughts segment with a topic I get asked about daily. "What are you doing to lose weight?" It's really a two part answer. I work out 6 days a week, and most importantly I follow my nutrition plan. In this segment were are going to focus on the Nutrition part.
The reason why I kept going through the vicious weight gain / weight loss cycle is because I had an unhealthy relationship with food. In my experience I would probably call it a Food Addiction. It got to the point that I was hiding food and binging. It would be my day off of work and I would be ready for lunch, so I would just start driving around. What did I taste for today? I would pull into a fast food place drive around the parking lot with guilt because I knew I shouldn't be doing this. It didn't matter though, I needed my "drug". So, I would pull up to the drive thru and I would order what seemed to be everything. Just the small size? NOPE I needed the largest of the largest size. Was one fry enough? NOPE I needed two. Would I like desssert with that? Of course I did, I'll take the order of three cookies (because it really was a deal). Then I would park the car and I would consume all of the food. I felt like I needed to hide what I was doing. I would dispose of all the wrappers, cups, and packaging like it was evidence. After my taste buds were satisfied, and my belly was extremely full (sometimes to the point of puking) I would fall into an euphoric state. This high wouldn't last forever though. After I snapped back to reality, the guilt would set in all over again. Why did I just do that? Why couldn't I just say NO? Why am I hiding what I'm eating? It was seriously like a drug addiction.
I would compare an addiction to food to any other type of drug/alcohol addicition. Except, when you have a drug/alcohol addiction they will put you into re-hab, and completely seperate you from your addiction. You have people there to monitor and watch you, give you medicine to help with withdrawls, give you steps to live by, and offer support. When you leave re-hab, they will even put you into a sober house to help you further transition into "normal" life. Once you are done, you have the power to cut off ties yo your past life and make a new life for yourself. A food addiction however is just plain torture. Food is something we will use 4 - 6 times a day. It is on every street corner, in every home, and every store. We raise it, grow it, sell it, and consume it. Don't you see? We cannot survive without it.
So how can we even begin this journey with all this temptation around us? You have to want it. You have to have the power to say no. You have to open your eyes to the world of healthy, nutritious food. You have to find a balance. Farrell's helped me with this. They provided me with information based off of my body weight and body fat percentage, then gave me carb and protein numbers to plan my meals. They didn't provide me with the meal plan it's self, they just gave me the tools to build one. I had to put the work into it. If I bit it, nibbled it, or drank it, I wrote it down. I portioned, weighed, and prepped my meals for each week. I knew what I was going to be putting into my body, and I prepared myself for the day. Even though I work in a restaurant, I took my snacks and lunch to work. I still had my cheat day...and sometimes it ran into two days, but I was able to get back to the daily grind after the weekend was over. WHY? Because, it was working. I was starting to feel better. I had more energy. I saw changes in my body, my clothes started fitting again. Then people started noticing a difference in my apperance. It wasn't a vicious cycle anymore...I was finally on the right path to a lifestyle change.
I am not a nutritionist, and I can't give you the carb and protien numbers you should eat for the day, again it's all based off your body. I would recomend you see a nutritionist or registered dietitian if you are looking for help. They can provide you with so much information about the why's and how to's of eating healthy and properly for your body. Here are a few changes that worked for me so maybe they can work for you:
1) Make small changes to your diet such as cutting out soda. Try to limit how many cans or bottles you consume in a week. Cut back on the fancy coffee drinks (O.K. this one was the hardest for me. I love Scooter's Coffee so much that I should probably own a building by now because I've spent so much on their delicious coffee concoctions). Cut out fast food, or make healthier options when you go out for example a side salad instead of fries or no bun on the burger. Most restaurants carry a nutrition guide for their menus that way you can plan ahead.
2) Start trying new "healthier" foods such as quinoa, sweet potatoes, or ground turkey meat. I mean seriously you can replace ground turkey for ground beef in any dish.
3) Drink at least 80 ounces of water each day! Stay hydrated and full at the same time :)
4) Plan for your day, and keep a food log! A food log will help you see exactly what you are eating. Write everything down no matter what it is. My fitness pal is a great app. to use and keep track of your food.
5) Try to eat smaller meals thoughout the day to keep your blood sugars from spiking. I usually eat 5 - 6 meals a day. This was the hardest thing for me to start, but now I don't even have to think about it.
6) Read food lables, watch portion sizes, and measure everything you are eating. You will be amazing at what you think a 1/2 cup of something is vs. what it actually is. If something is given in a weight then measure the weight first, 1 measured cup of rice can weight very different depending on how much rice you pack into the cup. I have a food scale, measure cups, and table spoons ready at all times.
7) Alcohol = the devil. Don't do it. Not. Even. Once.
8) Switch out white starches with whole grains and wheat. This is a preference of mine but it fits my new lifestyle plus I like the way it tastes.
9) Eat a good healthy breakfast. ( Dough-nuts do not count as healthy) Take the time in the morning to cook some eggs or some oatmeal. You will appreciate having the fuel to start off the morning and so will your body.
10) Get some sleep. You body needs proper time to digest, re-charge, and repair itself. Most of us stay up late and watch our shows, I am guilty myself. Just turn off the TV and go to bed. You have plenty of time to catch up on Greys or Nashville some other time.
So thoes are some of my tips that have helped me along my journey, maybe they can help you to. Like I said before I am not a nutritionist and I haven't researched or read every article, I experiemented and found the right mix to help me fit my new lifestyle. This isn't a fad diet, this is my new diet. I eat, sleep, and live this new healthy life. I made the changes and so can you.
Best in Health,
Shauna
So how can we even begin this journey with all this temptation around us? You have to want it. You have to have the power to say no. You have to open your eyes to the world of healthy, nutritious food. You have to find a balance. Farrell's helped me with this. They provided me with information based off of my body weight and body fat percentage, then gave me carb and protein numbers to plan my meals. They didn't provide me with the meal plan it's self, they just gave me the tools to build one. I had to put the work into it. If I bit it, nibbled it, or drank it, I wrote it down. I portioned, weighed, and prepped my meals for each week. I knew what I was going to be putting into my body, and I prepared myself for the day. Even though I work in a restaurant, I took my snacks and lunch to work. I still had my cheat day...and sometimes it ran into two days, but I was able to get back to the daily grind after the weekend was over. WHY? Because, it was working. I was starting to feel better. I had more energy. I saw changes in my body, my clothes started fitting again. Then people started noticing a difference in my apperance. It wasn't a vicious cycle anymore...I was finally on the right path to a lifestyle change.
I am not a nutritionist, and I can't give you the carb and protien numbers you should eat for the day, again it's all based off your body. I would recomend you see a nutritionist or registered dietitian if you are looking for help. They can provide you with so much information about the why's and how to's of eating healthy and properly for your body. Here are a few changes that worked for me so maybe they can work for you:
1) Make small changes to your diet such as cutting out soda. Try to limit how many cans or bottles you consume in a week. Cut back on the fancy coffee drinks (O.K. this one was the hardest for me. I love Scooter's Coffee so much that I should probably own a building by now because I've spent so much on their delicious coffee concoctions). Cut out fast food, or make healthier options when you go out for example a side salad instead of fries or no bun on the burger. Most restaurants carry a nutrition guide for their menus that way you can plan ahead.
2) Start trying new "healthier" foods such as quinoa, sweet potatoes, or ground turkey meat. I mean seriously you can replace ground turkey for ground beef in any dish.
3) Drink at least 80 ounces of water each day! Stay hydrated and full at the same time :)
4) Plan for your day, and keep a food log! A food log will help you see exactly what you are eating. Write everything down no matter what it is. My fitness pal is a great app. to use and keep track of your food.
5) Try to eat smaller meals thoughout the day to keep your blood sugars from spiking. I usually eat 5 - 6 meals a day. This was the hardest thing for me to start, but now I don't even have to think about it.
6) Read food lables, watch portion sizes, and measure everything you are eating. You will be amazing at what you think a 1/2 cup of something is vs. what it actually is. If something is given in a weight then measure the weight first, 1 measured cup of rice can weight very different depending on how much rice you pack into the cup. I have a food scale, measure cups, and table spoons ready at all times.
7) Alcohol = the devil. Don't do it. Not. Even. Once.
8) Switch out white starches with whole grains and wheat. This is a preference of mine but it fits my new lifestyle plus I like the way it tastes.
9) Eat a good healthy breakfast. ( Dough-nuts do not count as healthy) Take the time in the morning to cook some eggs or some oatmeal. You will appreciate having the fuel to start off the morning and so will your body.
10) Get some sleep. You body needs proper time to digest, re-charge, and repair itself. Most of us stay up late and watch our shows, I am guilty myself. Just turn off the TV and go to bed. You have plenty of time to catch up on Greys or Nashville some other time.
So thoes are some of my tips that have helped me along my journey, maybe they can help you to. Like I said before I am not a nutritionist and I haven't researched or read every article, I experiemented and found the right mix to help me fit my new lifestyle. This isn't a fad diet, this is my new diet. I eat, sleep, and live this new healthy life. I made the changes and so can you.
Best in Health,
Shauna
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