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Wednesday, May 23, 2012

It's all about the damn diet!



It’s all about the diet- seriously. Think about it. You bust your butt in the gym and you feel like you don’t get anywhere, or maybe you just don’t get the results as you expect.  You figure its your training so you add more cardio in, or maybe change the lifting a bit and add more cardio in yet again Pretty soon you are tired feeling and tired looking, and just as fat. So you meet your friends at the bar after work on Friday night and complain about your lack of progress. 

You order a couple beers, or maybe a few glasses of wine, share an appetizer and you all talk about how hard you work and just aren’t seeing results. It must be due to getting older and your metabolism is slowing down; or work is so stressful and busy that you cannot concentrate on your workout and sometimes cannot make it to the gym.

But it's about what you eat and drink- totally.

When you drink alcohol, your body must start and finish processing that before it can process anything else. People also tend to make poor food choices when they indulge in alcohol (myself included) so it's a double whammy.

Even if you don't drink alcohol, you really need to be conscious of your food and everything you put into your mouth if you are trying to lean out or gain muscle mass. 

I was at a party recently for 4 1/2 hours, I had one glass of white wine and then water the rest of the evening. I ate the food, and there was a catered taco bar and all sorts of side dishes. I ate one corn tortilla, a lot of chicken and beef and vegetables. I ate a quarter of a brownie.

It was the same old story, over and over I heard "Oh it's so nice to finally see you eating!" or "My goodness! I have never seen you eat!" "No diet tonight eh? Mu ha ha ha ha"

Really? I eat constantly, in fact 6 or 7 times a day, twice as often as other people do. But I make good choices most of the time.  That's why I look so fit and healthy, I eat the right foods.

Now, I am up in weight, you can see it in these pictures. I am eating more food and have expanded the choices to include some things I wouldn't typically eat. I prefer my lean body but  it's not practical to maintain year round.

I have people come up to me quite often and tell me they have been struggling to lose, and they want to ask me some questions, usually it is "What do you eat?" and I usually say:

"Chicken or turkey breast, fish, lean beef, egg whites, brown rice , sweet potatoes, yams, oatmeal, vegetables, lots and lots of vegetables."

"No bread? What about dairy? Do you eat fruit? Pasta? Have you heard of the <fill in the blank fad> diet?"

" I do eat fruit, after training. I am lactose intolerant so I don't eat much dairy. I rarely eat bread and then its usually Alvarado Bakery Essential Flax Seed bread, pasta is once in a blue moon and then it's a real serving- which is 2 ounces....not enough to fill you up so you need meat and vegetables too."

And I don't believe in fad diets. I also don't believe in hours of cardio. You should let the diet do the work. Bodies are designed to be lean, efficient machines, primed and ready to move and  function as the amazing works of art they are. Fuel your body so it can be what it was designed to be.

And drink water. Lots and lots of water.

When I diet to lose bodyfat, it is just a stricter version of what I currently eat year round. So I don't go on a fad diet but I do cut way back, it's easy really although not necessarily the most enjoyable thing in the world.

I have lots of people ask me questions and I am happy to answer them- Go ahead and ask away, but please remember, I am basing my answers on what has worked for me, I have years of experience and you gotta stick to the diet to see results, simple as that. You cannot expect to see results in a couple weeks.

9 comments:

  1. I get annoyed when people say things like that to me too. I hear it ALL the time. They think I'm on a perpetual diet. My mother especially loves it if I indulge in something sweet.

    I agree with you that diet is #1. And it's also the hardest part. Anyone can workout hard, it's getting your diet right that can be the biggest challenge. At least it is for me.

    Thanks for all your info!

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    Replies
    1. Charlotte, most of the time it doesn't bother me, I know that they are just ignorant...really not to be rude but sometimes I say "well look at me and look at you!" and then leave it at that! ha ha ha

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  2. "Mu ha ha ha ha"? What an evil laugh those people have!

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  3. This is such a great read! I know that is my problem, so why is it when we KNOW better, we don't always DO BETTER??
    Like people with drinking, cigarettes or drugs??? I feel like when I try my hardest, I fail the biggest..... strange.

    Thanks so much Kristy!!!
    Denise :D

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    Replies
    1. I have no idea why people do these things when they know it is killing them. I think, I really do, that deep down inside none of us feels like any of this will affect us personally. Like that one little bite won't hurt, or that one bag of chips won;t hurt...just one. just one...

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