I don’t know about you, but food is one of my all time favourite things. I love it. Breakfast is one of my favourite meals to have! The options are endless and Breakfast foods quite often become dinner foods in my world. I am that person who just does not stop eating. I am forever hungry and my hungry can turn to hangry in .2 seconds flat. I eat at least 6 times a day and at pretty much the exact same time every single day. I have essentially trained my body to know that its time for food and that I have roughly 10 minutes to eat before my whole day is thrown into complete disarray!
I have always had a relatively healthy relationship with food. Food for me is comfort, its incredibly social and in my eyes, it is something that is meant to be enjoyed. I haven’t ever really been a comfort eater, but if I feel like something disgusting and fatty, I’m going to eat it. Sure, I will regret it but not in the sense of beating myself up over it. I will regret it because I don’t have a gallbladder and my body cannot process excessive amounts of fats. I don’t have a negative association with food. I do, however know what my body can and can’t tolerate and unfortunately, my list of tolerable foods dwindled significantly after my gallbladder gave up the ghost (but thats a story for another day).
When I started my fitness journey, I had no idea on what types of food I should be eating. I blindly followed peoples advice when they said you should eat 1200 calories a day to lose weight. I downloaded the My Fitness Pal app and I tracked my 1200 calories. I don’t think i have ever felt so restricted (and fucking HANGRY) in my life. 1200 calories covered breakfast, lunch and one snack…….. Needless to say, the 1200 calorie fad died in the ass after about a week. My body and my mind could not take such abuse!!
I increased my calories to what I thought was a more workable amount. I was having roughly 1600 calories a day. This gave me a hell of a lot more freedom when it came to food, but still, it wasn’t enough. Even though I felt like all i was doing was eating, I was still not eating enough to function. I was always tired, I had little to no energy and for the amount that I was training, this was not working for me. When I first started eating 1600 calories, I lost roughly 8 kgs in a month.. Amazing right?! Wrong. So very, very wrong. I lost not only fat, but I lost muscle. I was starving myself essentially. I was only eating enough to keep me awake during the day, not enough to keep my body firing under the pressure I was putting it under.
I was feeling at a loss when it came to food simply because i couldn’t get it right. I thought eating nothing but lean protein and salads was the key to weight loss, I ignored carbs as much as humanly possible and I was under eating. No wonder I was always bloody hungry! My Coach stepped in and set me up a nutritional plan to help me along with eating enough to fuel my body. When we did the calculations for how much I should be eating, I nearly fell off my chair when she said I need to start eating almost 2600 calories…….. I thought to myself, look out Migaloo, you’re going to have a rival soon! Now, I know full well that my Coach would never lead me down the garden path and set me up to fail so I trusted her and remained cautiously optimistic. In my first few weeks of my new eating plan, I had my measurements done and I had dropped 6cms off my waist! In that moment, a few things happened. I thought, shit, we’ve measured in the wrong spot. Then i realised, no actually, I have been feeling a little slender, so maybe we’re on to a good thing here. Then, the realisation really set in. I have been eating a ridiculous amount of food and my body is THANKING ME!!!!!!!! Instead of starving my body, I was providing it everything it needed to function. With my new revised plan, I am currently sitting at 2200 calories a day and I still sometimes struggle to fit in all the food!
Its funny how much misleading information there is out there regarding eating for a healthy weight loss goal. I always thought carbs were the devil, but turns out, carbs are in fact your friend! I will never in my life turn my nose up at a white potato ever again! Those delicious little guys have had such a bad wrap over the years!
Eating for Weight Loss for me is not about salads, boiled chicken and brown rice. Its about maintaining a nice balance that allows me to eat the foods that I like. I still have things like Nachos, peanut butter cups and granola. The only difference is, that all of these things are homemade from quality ingredients and are a much healthier alternative to the store bought versions.
I am by no means a nutritionist, this is my journey. My story. This works brilliantly for me, and whilst it does work so well for me, there is no guarantee that it will work well for you. Speaking to someone who knows a little something about what a body needs to survive is a sure fire way to achieve results. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, book a consult with a Nutritionist or a food coach. Be educated in your decisions, don’t just sign up for a 8 week challenge because you see how much weight people lose and expect long lasting results. Most of these ‘Challenges’ see you consuming significantly less calories that what your body actually needs, hence the extreme weight loss. If you’re going to sign up for a challenge, make it one where food isn’t the enemy, its fuel.
I have felt judged when I go out for dinner with people because I am not eating a dainty little salad with a side of protein. I choose to eat the meal that is balanced as it can be. I choose to eat the meal that is not snack sized because I know what my body needs. I also know that there are people judging whats on my plate, but to them I say, you don’t know my journey so kindly, get the fuck back in your box. You may be happy with your bowl of leaves, just like I am happy with my steak, veggies and glorious white potato!!!! It is not up to others to determine what you have on your plate, nor is it their right to judge you for it. Eat what makes you happy, of course in moderation, but don’t ever feel like you can’t enjoy that plate of ribs because the person next to you is eating chicken and salad. If it fits your macros or your food goals for the day, go for it! Even if it doesn’t fit your goals, tomorrow is a new day. One day of overindulging will not make you fat, just like one day of healthy eating will not make you skinny.
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