Monday I took a good long hard look at myself in the mirror and decided I don't want to go back to the place where I felt uncomfortable in my own skin. Eating or drinking when I feel uncomfortable or sad. While I started lifting again at the gym, you can't out-exercise a bad diet. With the year-end in sight and the Holiday goodies filling office breakrooms, and the delicious smells floating through the air, I'm gonna need to have a strong mind if I want to feel good inside and out. To reign it back in I have started using my fitness pal to watch my macros. It's already helping. Combining the macros with lifting, I can only level up from here.
I've also shifted my eating times after doing a little research on exercise, eating times, and fat loss. According to a recent study waiting to eat breakfast after a 20-30min workout, you boost fat loss. According to the University of Bath," exercising before eating breakfast improves how the body responds to insulin and lowers people's risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease." A 6-week study that included 30 overweight men found that people who performed an exercise before breakfast burned double the amount of fat than the group who exercised after eating. Interestingly enough though the overall study did not lead to any differences in weight loss. Rather it had a profound effect on their blood sugar levels! That's definitely good news.
Equally as important though you have to have the proper breakfast. Having a protein bar or shake is acceptable if you are on the run but if you have time to sit down and eat at your desk or eat a full nutritious breakfast, have a combination of protein to rebuild muscle and carbohydrates for energy.
I've been having Pumpkin Super Hero Muffins from Eat Fast Run Slow, 3-4 hard-boiled egg whites, and a piece of fruit + Purely Elizabeth with probiotics. I am using the probiotics to help get my system back on track, plus purely Elizabeth granola is VERY delicious. Not too sweet but not too salty either, plus it's that perfect little crunch with every bite.
I signed up for a 30 day PCOS diet challenge, while it started on 15th of November, I have actually yet to do anything beyond day one of the challenge. (Whoops!!) However, it's nice to feel part of a community of women heading towards the same goal. I like it because it's designed to help you change your relationship with food. For instance, the day 4 challenge was "to use your self-awareness to better understand the thoughts, feelings, and habits behind your food choices – particularly with regards to sugar and carbs." {aying attention to how I feel after eating certain carbs such as do I feel bloated, tired, energized? Day 5 is about planning for failure. In those moments when I'm out on the road in between the day job and the part-time gig & I'm absolutely starving, do I reach for pumpkin seeds or m&ms? My goal is to have more healthy snacks available. Nuts, seeds, maybe mixed with some dry food.
For instance tonight before dinner I had lightly salted and roasted cashews with a handful of grapes. Much better than losing myself in an entire pint of ice cream isn't bad, I've opted for sugary treats WAY MORE than healthy snacks recently.
What's my motivation for eating healthy? Feeling better for starters. More confident, less digestive issues, less acne. MORE ENERGY for running further, father, faster baby!
Blessings,
A
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