Fitness Journey- Struggles and Nutrition

Okay, I will start off saying that I LOVE FOOD. I love all kinds of food. Healthy food like broiled salmon with a ginger-honey glaze, and asparagus spears cooked with garlic. Yum!! But I also love burgers and DQ Blizzards, too. I love them all. Which is why I found myself in the weight-loss realm to begin with.

And half the time- even today, I find myself convincing my body to do a workout, just so I can justify having a brownie later. And while I love that saying, "Nothing tastes as good as thin feels"... I can also argue that eating a brownie does feel better than the huffing-puffing of a hard workout and you sweat less... and aren't sore the next day. But again... we all know that too many of those brownies while sittin' on the couch- and we're back to the fat issue again. It's not brain science, KWIM?

So anyway- waaaaay back before I even discovered Beachbody, I tried losing weight on my own by tracking calories. Using my old nutrition textbook and reading a million food labels... and measuring EVERYTHING... I calculated out my total calories, and my protein-carb-fat breakdown. The way I used to eat before? Well it's no wonder that I was fat because it was like 50% carb/30-40% fat and maybe the rest was protein. Some days even the fat calories overshot the carbs. It was an eye-opener for sure! And even when I was eating the healthy food choices, I was OVEREATING the PORTION SIZES. That alone can ruin any workout plan because it's a simple math of calories-in and calories-out.

So I started cutting out the fat in what I ate. Switched to fat-free or lowfat products if they tasted comparable. If not- then I stuck to the regular-fat version, but had LESS of it. I learned how to adjust my mental picture to know what the proper portion sizes are. I learned what were "good fats" and what were bad. I learned what were "lean meats" and what were bad. I learned which carbs were good and which were bad. And I worked on whatever exercise I could do- without much structure- but I was at least moving! I did lose about 10 lbs though- but I was still really clueless about it all. Until I discovered Beachbody- and the workouts became VERY organized. And the nutrition part was still a learning process but I was armed with more information.

Every workout program had nutrition info with it. I discovered Michi's Ladder and it was super!! It is basically a chart that helps break down what foods are healthy choices and what are not- according to the tiers- and your goal is to eat off the top two tiers if possible. Not possible for me to eat ONLY from those 2- but I have learned to phase out much of the bottom levels, although I do still dip my toes into the bottom at times. I just never LIVE down there, bottom-feeding off the muck and fat like before.

The link for Michi's Ladder- not sure why it takes a long time to come up - but it's worth the wait: http://teambeachbody.com/eat-smart/michis-ladder;jsessionid=847003F23EBC3A10964A648D4AA76AEA.node3

But still... I struggle all the time with the food. I love food. I try to follow the nutrition plans that come with each workout program... but it fades away because I have 2 young kids and they just don't eat that way. So I'm making 2 separate things each meal. And yes, I eat on the run and don't have access to my kitchen to make the healthy meals sometimes. Blah, blah, blah- and you can call them excuses-- but that's just how my life is. I can't stick to the mapped-out diet plans even though I DO love the foods, and the recipes are yummy!!! But I still give it my best shot- and hope that in the long run, it all balances out anyway.

I know I won't "get ripped" when I still like my occasional brownie or DQ Blizzard. But I also know I won't be happy if I cut out all the treats and the social situations that bring on some of those treats. I'm not eating these things on my own, hiding in a dark corner. I eat these things while hanging out with friends or family... and it's just a part of what happens. So yeah- it's the social eating. Another realm of my food struggle. I still tend to overeat when it's a family gathering or a dinner out.

But again- I hope that I can keep up with my workouts enough that I can at least compensate and maintain, even if having the extras will keep my from losing weight. I know that in order to LOSE WEIGHT, you have to cut back. So many times, at best- I have to be happy with the fact that I'm breaking even and maintaining. Life isn't about being "perfect" anyway- but life isn't good either- if you're overweight and can't enjoy things life has to offer. It's all a balance. I won't cut out McDonald's- but I just refuse to super-size anything. And while eating there, I will choose the healthier picks instead of the heavy fattier ones. You can't live life in a vacuum where there's nothing but healthy clean food around.