When you fall off the wagon are you really as screwed as you think you are?
No way, man!
All last week at my gym, the trainers were giving us classes and eating techniques to help us enjoy thanksgiving but not blow our hard work. I was like, uhm, thanksgiving is once a year, just because I eat a lot in one day doesn’t mean I’m done for.
When we have a goal, and have the tools to achieve the goal, the only thing keeping us from our desired results are choices. Every-waking-moment-of-the-day. This may seem daunting, but it helps when you have a plan in place. Meal prepping is a big deal in the fitness community, because it allows you to make what you want for the week and keep your options specific and on track. When I first started, I was SO ANGRY. I was so mad that what I was doing up until that point was wrong and that I could only have carbs twice a day- I am a chip addict.
But it turned out to be a great system for me. I would grab and go from my fridge, healthy meals that I prepared in my kitchen, where I knew exactly what was going in. I am very sensitive to a lot of foods, so this was a great way to challenge my inner chef and outer battle droid beast in training. This resolved my “I don’t know what to eat so I won’t until someone feeds me or I decide to eat a whole box of cereal in one sitting” behavior, and the hangry things that occurred when I didn’t eat enough or the right things.
Lately, people ask what I feed my boyfriend if I’m eating all this boring/plain (uh…real) food. He is awesome and will eat whatever I make. I think maybe he has different tastebuds. But honestly, some sauces and recipes using fresh veggies don’t need so much help. My boyfriend has even joined in on this adventure by cooking chicken for me because I hate preparing raw chicken. But, the real reason is because this kind of cooking is easy–we both like easy, and that’s probably why we’re together. LOL.
So, when you’re prepared, you have no reason to flub up! This is where the weekenders come in and say, “But…fun?” And I say, eat all your planned meals, and work a fun meal/day of fun meals in, and see what you feel like after that. I had a weekend where I ate mexican food once every day. I didn’t feel awesome, I realized I need all those veggies to make the plumbing work-HEYOOOO!
But again, that’s up to you. If you’re consistent all the time, a weekend or a day of bad eating doesn’t mean you’ve fallen off the wagon. (If you’re coupling this meal plan with daily exercise, you’ve probably burned it off already, rest easy!) There’s no reason to not get back on when you really didn’t fall off in the first place. Many experts talk about using cheat meals to your advantage to reset your system. We can’t deprive our bodies of sugar and fats forever, believe it or not, we need those….
BUT– if you want to make changes in your life, what you do on a daily basis is what’s going to make it happen, not what you do once in a while and vice versa!
If you want to be a fabulous dancer, you’ll get there by dancing daily! If you want to grow a garden, you have to tend to it daily! Isn’t it interesting that we get these days to break up our weeks, months, and years of life? Every day the sun rises, telling us to jump head first into what we’ve bee dreaming about, and if we don’t reach that goal, we can come a little closer after a little shut eye. And it’s not about big sweeping changes, although some people do really well going cold turkey, and good for them! It’s about seeing all of your options as they add up, because every day is a new opportunity to give your energy to where YOU want it to go.
As I said on my episode of IMC Academy live, keep going. (you don’t have to watch it… lol!) If you think you’ve messed up, just get in there and prove yourself wrong. If you’re sore, go back to the gym and let your blood pump up those sore spots, breathe into the soreness.
And as so many band directors told me back in the day, “Set yourself up for success”, make it easy for yourself to succeed by having a plan in place. And this, my friends, means asking for help sometimes. It is those who ask questions and never assume they are the expert that grow the most.
IT’S RECIPE TIME!
For my first trick, I will share the 2 ingredient pancake! FAVE pre-workout/breakfast ever. I literally eat this everyday. (And can be made ahead and snacked on!)
1/4 cup quick cook oats
1/2 cup eggology egg whites (it works better than three separated whites!)
and for flavor, well that’s up to you! but I use:
4-5 drops trader joe’s liquid stevia
1 tsp cinnamon (i’m an addict!)
1 tsp coconut oil for the pan!
1. mix all ingredients but coconut oil in a bowl and whisk it up really well with a fork.
2. put coconut oil in the pan on medium heat and let it melt and cover the whole pan. (during this time the oats a soaking up the moisture, yes!)
3. pour the mixture in the pan evenly, and you might want to smooth out the oats, they get clumpy sometimes.
4. let this cook on one side until it looks solid, no more runny bits–trust me on this one. yuck.
5. once solid, turn burner off, carefully flip pancake and let it cook on the other side in the still-hot-but-cooling pan.
6. Enjoy plain or with almond butter, maple syrup, butter butter, or whatever else!
Have you ever dieted? Did you feel like you were being deprived, and did you feel guilty for eating something that fed your soul deep down? Let me know in the comments below and don’t forget to sign up for my mailing list to get some rainbows!
