One Huge Mistake
100 pounds overweight, coming in first at CycleBar. I was strong, and a badass, but not eating in a way that said I love my body. Listen to me or don’t, but I am going to tell you a little story about what doesn’t work.
I did not feed my body and life with what I needed, and because I didn’t work out all the things that troubled my soul, I ate, gained weight, and tried every diet you can ever imagine, and worked out like I was training for the Olympics.
While I was still overweight there was a time I would workout three hours a day. I did initially lose 50 lbs, but past that I could not figure out why the scale was not moving. I had calculated calories burned vs calories I was taking in, and I was still at a deficit. Sadly, it just doesn’t work that way. You cannot out-train a bad diet.
It is not all about losing the weight. Listen, you may be totally healthy, but never be at your “ideal weight” based on the bull-shit charts you see online. Are you feeding your body with foods that fuel you? Or, are you going for a run, and saying I deserve the chips and salsa? Hey, I love chips and salsa. It is probably one of my most favorite things, but you cannot eat chips and salsa on a regular basis, and wonder why you aren’t feeling good, and aren’t losing weight. I strongly believe you should enjoy all the food, but with balance.
It is so important to consider the quality of foods you are putting in your body. You have to find a way that being healthy works for you. Do you like tracking your food so you know what you are eating, or does it stress you out to write down everything you’re eating? You have to do what will bring you success. For me? I commit to what I am eating the day before. If I don’t have it written down, I don’t eat it. If I am going to eat all the guac, I write it down, and don’t feel guilty about it. This is what works for me. I encourage you to live life, find balance, and move your body in a way that feels good.
Things I have learned, and advice I can share:
Your body will adjust to the calories you are burning, and spend less energy overall. So this makes sense why we initially lose weight then come to a stand still. For all the people who look at someone overweight, and say oh they should exercise, you are wrong, and they may.
Top five tips:
1. Get a minimum of seven hours of sleep every night.
2. Manage your stress, and deal with your shit. Go to therapy, apologize, forgive
3. Know what you are putting in your body, and educate yourself on foods that are healthy for you. If you feel great, write down what you just ate, if you don’t write this down, too (try to stay away from processed foods).
4. 45 minutes of exercise six days a week - walking ten minutes after each meal to speed up metabolism.
5. Stick to it. If you are serious about being healthy, stay committed, and find an accountability partner.
I can tell you all the stuff, but until you decide to look in the mirror, and decide you are going to change you won’t. You have to have the desire to want to do the work. The work that quite frankly made me not be able to get out of bed some days. The work that caused me to say fuck my diet, I want Chinese. The work that made me have conversations I felt physically sick to have. The work that meant trading what I wanted right the fuck now for what I wanted for my future.
I am so passionate about everything I just talked about, and that passion I feel every day made me become a Nutrition Coach to help those who need the same help I did.
We can do hard things, and you have made it through 100 percent of your bad days. Find the strength to make the changes you want to see in your life. Tick-tock, your time is expired for the life you don’t crave.
