What is up, ya'll?! Yes, I'm from Texas, I say y'all...a lot. #noshame
Today, I wanted to take a little detour from the cleaning, organizing, life stuff to chat a little more about fitness and nutrition. As some of you may, or may not, know I am an amateur body builder. I have competed in the bikini division for the past 3 years.
I would not consider myself an athlete, well, I never did any way until recently! They label you "athlete" at the competitions and I'm not going to lie, I loved it! Though, on several occasions I would forget they were referring to me, too!😝
I have typically been active from high school on through college and as an adult, but obviously, this competing took my fitness and nutrition to a whole new level. I am not a certified trainer or nutritionist, but I have learned a lot through this journey!
Today, I wanted to take a little detour from the cleaning, organizing, life stuff to chat a little more about fitness and nutrition. As some of you may, or may not, know I am an amateur body builder. I have competed in the bikini division for the past 3 years.
I would not consider myself an athlete, well, I never did any way until recently! They label you "athlete" at the competitions and I'm not going to lie, I loved it! Though, on several occasions I would forget they were referring to me, too!😝
I have typically been active from high school on through college and as an adult, but obviously, this competing took my fitness and nutrition to a whole new level. I am not a certified trainer or nutritionist, but I have learned a lot through this journey!
Meal/Snack Prepping
Tired of hearing about meal prepping yet? It's gonna be a frequent response, from me, on how to succeed with your healthy lifestyle. Planning your food/snacks is really an important part of staying on track and eating healthy. Meal prepping will mean something different for everyone. The trick is to figure out what works for you! This has to be a practical process that will be functional in your life or, guess what, you'll give it a go and then give up!
!
For some people, making a weeks worth of food at a time then organizing it into containers portioned for each meal is ideal. For others, the thought of this feels like a prison sentence. You need to be realistic with who you are and what you WILL DO/EAT! Everyones' goals are different, so base your meal planning/prepping on your lifestyle and goals.
Having a meal PLAN is so beneficial in a couple of ways:
-You are more efficient in grocery shopping and will save some money by only buying the items you need!
-You have a plan! Knowing what you are making/eating will help you stay on track! When you're short on time and have to wing it, you're much more likely to go for an easy solution...and that often means an unhealthy option.
Prepping snacks and certain meals (or parts of meals) in advance, at a time that is convenient for you will actually save you time in the long run!
Snacking
Something I learned when prepping for a competition was that snacking didn't exist. I was on a food schedule to eat every 3-4 hours and NOTHING in between other than water. At first, this was challenging because I didn't realize how often I ate in between meals.
I would eat a meal every 3-4 hours. A meal would consist of a form of protein, carbs and fats. So I would have breakfast, then Meal #2, lunch, Meal #3 etc. Each meal was small in size so I could ration my food throughout the day. This method helped to train my metabolism to trust me! To trust that it was going to be fed on a regular, consistent basis so my body didn't need to store the energy (food), but rather burn it!! Aka your metabolism!
Snacking is often where a lot of hidden calories come from. Snack foods are often processed, high in sugar and low in nutrients. They are, however, usually something easily accessible and easy to transport.
If snacking is a problem for you, refer to the topic above! Start planning (and prepping!) your "snacks" or mini meals. The idea is to continually fuel your body so you're not hungry and miserable! Mini meals can feel more like a snack, but the idea is to be aware of what and how much you're eating. "Grazing" over a period of time can become dangerous.
Protein
If you find yourself hungry a lot and rarely feeling satisfied, maybe you need to incorporate more protein into your diet. Protein takes longer to digest and, thus, will sustain you longer.
Protein will also help you reach your fitness goals if you're looking to lose weight and/or build muscle. If either of those are on your to-do list, you NEED protein!
Grab a shake to fill in your "mini meals" if you find yourself falling short in the protein department. They're easy to transport and great for a meal on the go.
ProTip: Be sure you READ the nutritional info on the protein shakes. You do not want to get a shake that is high in fat (think 10g or less) or excessively high in carbohydrates. Aim for a drink with 3-5 carbs and 20-30g of protein.
Also, if you're increasing your protein intake, make sure you are staying very hydrated.
Hydrate
Drink more water. Chances are you're not drinking enough. Don't believe me, log it throughout a day and then report back. If you passed-yay!
Adding more water to your diet is an easy way to manage weight and hunger.
Portion Control/Emotional Eating
Something I discovered when I started prepping for competitions and really monitoring/tracking my food is that I am an emotional eater.
I realized this one day when I got upset with one (or a couple) of my kids and found myself in the pantry. It was like I blacked out! I didn't even remember the walk to the pantry, yet there I was, handful of Peanut M&Ms...oops.
Food intake needs to become a healthy balance, because life is meant to be lived. I think that your personal relationship with food is so important! Pay attention to when you eat and why. Are you bored? Are you feeding your emotion? Are you hungry?
Food Diary
When in doubt, map it out! You really can't make any adjustments to your diet if you don't know what you're eating. I know I am guilty of thinking "I did pretty good today!" Only to enter my food log and see how I was definitely not good...*palm-to-face. If you're not reading the nutritional labels, and/or tracking what you're eating you could be way off from where you think you are!
Tracking goes both ways: eating more and eating less!! A lot of times, we actually under eat! How exciting to realize you need to eat more?!
I realize food tracking 24/7 is not ideal. It's not even really practical to do forever...though some people do! Tracking will help you find a good starting place. Once you realize what you consume on a typical day, you can make adjustments based on what your goals are. As you track your food over the period of a few weeks, you will learn what you need each day and eventually not require tracking everything to stay on course!
Some people like to track the majority of the time because it does provide accountability. That's another reason it may benefit you.
ProTip: MyFitnessPal is a free app. where you can log your foods and even search a food by the barcode or upload a recipe from the website!
PHEWWW!! Did you get all that?! If you're new to this "lifestyle," don't let it overwhelm you! Don't feel like you need to do ALL THE THINGS right away. Again, set realistic goals...start with one or two things, stay consistent, then add more.
The way to be healthy and happy is to learn to balance. To incorporate more of the healthy, nutrient dense foods to fuel your body so that you feel good!! This doesn't mean a life of restriction! It is much more difficult to succeed at something when it's awful and you're miserable. Find a lifestyle that enables you to be healthy but also allows you to enjoy life.
*Unless you're a competitor, then you just eat what you have to to hit your goals!😂
💗
Tamara
PHEWWW!! Did you get all that?! If you're new to this "lifestyle," don't let it overwhelm you! Don't feel like you need to do ALL THE THINGS right away. Again, set realistic goals...start with one or two things, stay consistent, then add more.
The way to be healthy and happy is to learn to balance. To incorporate more of the healthy, nutrient dense foods to fuel your body so that you feel good!! This doesn't mean a life of restriction! It is much more difficult to succeed at something when it's awful and you're miserable. Find a lifestyle that enables you to be healthy but also allows you to enjoy life.
*Unless you're a competitor, then you just eat what you have to to hit your goals!😂
💗
Tamara
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