Yes, I am a cheater of fabulous quality splurges and I like to re-define the term as a "treat meal". I do not believe that having a fresh baked brownie now and then is cheating on my fitness program. I eat healthy the majority of the time and follow a 90/10 rule where I consume a wide variety of good carbs, lean proteins and healthy fats 90% of the time and allowing 10% for indulgences like a glass of wine or chocolate.
I will even apply the 80/20 rule where I eat healthy foods 80% of the time and allowing 20% to splurge on foods not on my typical menu. This comes in handy when on vacation or during the holidays. It is realistic to want things that are considered"bad" and I am not immune to those cravings. I will not turn down a piece of my Mom's home baked pie or biscuits with butter and honey ... are you kidding me?
When I do partake in something nutritionally naughty it has to be quality. I will not be diving into Twinkies or Ding-Dongs, or any processed junk food. I will indulge in home baked goods, whole wheat pastas, granola, chocolate and frozen yogurt on hot days. I do eat lean burgers and home made pizza as well. When I do cheat, I still want to be in control of the quality of the food. I also do not believe in gorging or having a free ticket on a cheat day to binge on thousands of calories. That is defeating the purpose of a splurge meal or day.
I do not plan a "treat day" but go by my cravings. If I want something, I enjoy it and move on. I work hard, eat clean 80 to 90 percent of the time and know that eating a slice of berry pie Ala mode is not going to break my fitness bank. I will indeed savor every bite of my indulgence and eat slowly. I do that anyway, but especially with a food I have been craving. This works for me, but may not work for you.
Having treat meals are always a personal choice as there are physiological and psychological issues to consider. Those suffering with emotional disorders that surround food may not be good candidates for treat meals and should be under the guidance of a physician and at the very least a support group. Also, newbie fitness adapters may not be able to manage treat meals just yet and succumb to past triggers and old behaviors. Medical issues like diabetes requires food monitoring and certain treats may not be in their best interest.
I utilize treat meals for a balance in life and to enjoy everything about being a fit person. I do not teach or live eating boiled fish and broccoli all the time and think that is going to sustain me. I am smart in my treats and know when to stop. I enjoy one or two times per week some sort of sweet treat or fun meal and still maintain my physique. What it comes down to is the approach to the treat meal or day and not using it as a reward for being deprived all week. Eating healthy should not feel like a burden or deprivation where looking forward to treat day to derail efforts occurs. If that is the case, a review of your current nutrition plan needs to happen. An eating plan that feels like crap will not last and send anyone running back to unhealthy eating habits. Life is too short not to eat healthy and it is also too short not to enjoy some splurges along the way.
Babies use food for body building fuel and nourishment to develop a healthy growing body. They have a built in alarm clock every two to three hours that cries out to be fed, and they also will pull away from food when they are full, eliminating the need to count calories. As adults, we can learn much from our precious infants. Also, their nutrients are usually always quality coming straight from Mom’s milk, or formulas containing everything a growing body needs to be healthy. If we grab onto this philosophy and implement that strategy into our own daily nutrition, we would be on our way to adopting a healthy lifestyle.
Eating is no longer about growing a strong healthy body with quality nutrients and everything about filling our precious system with crap that does nothing but take us further from being healthy people. We no longer pay attention to our full barometer, intake too large of portions, and fill our stomachs with foods that lack in nutritional value that cause inflammation in our blood streams, the root cause of most disease of the human body. Food is not only our fuel, but our medicine, and can truly keep our body top notch and healthy, with minimal visits to the doctor if we consistently intake quality healthy “real” foods. We have come full circle into a fight against healthy food and are so caught up in being mad about what we eat and why we should not eat it when it comes to healthy food. The reason for this unfortunate issue comes straight from what sits on our grocery shelves and the marketing ploys that we all face each day through sources of media and advertisement. Studies have shown and there are plenty of documentaries to support that the major food producers are making us fat. But it does take team work because we can choose to say no to processed, GMO (genetically modified organisms) products, and non-organic pseudo foods that do nothing but provide a momentary good flavor and add fat stores to our bodies. Consider that anything in a box, bag, or wrapper with ingredients unable to be understood and further stating low fat, low-sugar, and low-calorie are nothing but chemical shit storms in a package. There will be some food items packaged and part of the organic and Non-GMO certified programs and I will applaud those food producers that do understand the importance of supplying that information to consumers. Off that soap box and getting back to eating like a baby.
Back to the basics, simplicity, and stress free healthy eating just like when we were babies is the key to mastering our daily nutrition. It is time to stop over-thinking, over-complicating, and to start making the focus about eating healthy. Forget about the chemical shit storms and reach for the real foods: lean organic proteins, fresh vegetables and fruits, raw nuts and nut butters, organic eggs, plain Greek yogurts, healthy fats in olive oil and avocado are just a sampling of the many healthy foods just waiting for our purchase and consumption. Change out the sodas for water and start getting excited about the vast amount of selections of healthy food. Personally, my hunger alarm clock goes off just the same as a baby close to the three hour mark, and I grab something healthy and satisfy that natural feeling. I do not count calories or even worry about that because what is important is the healthy food that I feed my body and eating just until I feel satisfied, never to the point of overfull. My body knows how much it needs because I listen to when I should stop eating. I will say that no one ever got fat eating Kale, so even if I did eat two pounds of greens, I still would not worry about that, but would most likely not enjoy my frequent bathroom visits as a result. Life was simpler when we were babies and the decisions made for us as we naturally cried out when we felt hungry and satisfied within 20 minutes with a boob or bottle full of nutrients, but as adults we can create a similar life by having healthy foods in our homes and eating when we feel hungry, not because we are bored or trying to squash some emotional feelings through unhealthy processed stuff. It is a simple perspective but gives us something to think about in regards to our “mental game” surrounding nutrition.
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The last ten pounds can be a struggle, especially when everything comes to a screeching halt. The scale is no longer budging, frustration is happening and the stress of it all is putting the adrenal glands on overdrive. A cortisol rush is the last thing our bodies need when we are trying to lose that last ten pounds as studies have shown that it hampers our ability to lose weight. The important thing to understand is that plateaus are normal in our journey of health and weight loss. Also, adjustments with our food intake and exercise program will need to be reviewed several times along the way.
Keep up the positive and progressing with your program regardless of what the scale says. Many factors are at play when the body begins to slow down and usually a simple review and change up of the program gets things moving again. Things to consider: are you eating enough? The body is a wonderful machine and knows exactly what to do with the food we consume and knows when it is not getting enough fuel. If we withhold fuel from our body, it will refuse to give up any reserves. Our body sees that as energy and we need energy to burn energy. Are you being true to your program? Sometimes we fall back into old patterns and re-introduce foods that are not on the healthy menu for weight loss and many can even be in denial about that. Our body will remain in a maintenance or weight gain pattern if we are not honest with our healthy food intake. Are you exercising less? With a reduction of exercise there will be a reduction in the amount of weight that is lost per week. Simple math spells out with the expenditure of energy results in the reduction of weight. Take some time to review your priorities and determine if exercise has taken a backseat. Are you burned out? This can happen to all of us and it is important to add plenty of variety to our workout programs and healthy foods to keep the interest high.
The last ten pounds can be a challenge, but they can also be another tool of learning along our weight loss journey.We can choose to become frustrated and throw in the towel, or open up our minds to do what it will take to get back on track with the program.It is also important to take one day and one pound at a time and celebrate everything done to create a healthy body.The last ten pounds will respond to what you are willing to do to be rid of it, or keep it.It still comes down to choices and changes, and it is always a good thing to get a refresh on the mental battery to provide the motivation we need to keep going.
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Stay Healthy!
Darla
user of THE Herbal Face Food and proud to show my images without photo shop or airbrushing. I am 50 years young and celebrate Fit at 50!
Have you found “Motivation Mojo” when it comes to improving your health? It is truly up to us to find out what turns our switch on or off when it comes to fitness so that through this journey, we understand what we want and what we do not want. Let me ask what motivates you in the image below: left image, center image,right image, neither images, and why?
Stats: female, age 49 (almost 50), 2 vaginal births, 2 major surgeries (colon/double level cervical fusion), diagnosed early onset torticollis, wife, mother, grandmother
I am not going to wow you with a huge before and after weight loss story, or a long list of Ms. Bikini titles, but will share that my journey to health involves one of great physical and emotional adversity, and that taking care of my health, fitness, and being a woman of faith has been a huge factor in the woman you see in the above images.
Some may not be motivated by visual images and respond more to the written word of motivation such as “YOU CAN DO IT”, “FIND YOUR STRONG”, or “BE YOUR BEST HEALTHY YOU”. Regardless of what suits your motivational fancy when it comes to getting yourself going, the important thing is to “get yourself going.” I will not tell you it will be easy, because there are days when it will be straight up hard. Do not think that I do no struggle with the tough days of keeping it healthy…I do. I want to relate to you on a very personal level, but at the same time really stress the importance of living the healthiest life that you can because we only have one with no playbacks.
There has been so much controversy over the image of “health” which is why I opened with an interactive exercise of wanting to know your “mental game” when it comes to visual motivation. I did not add the famous “what’s your excuse” tag, although I am a “no excuses” trainer and coach. I do not accept that anyone is too busy to take care of their health, and that includes me. I am one busy gal and if I have 20 minutes to fit something in, then I do that. Exercise does not have to be some long, drawn out program lasting over one hour, and in fact studies have shown that the greatest benefit of exercise is achieved within the first 30 minutes and further, 45 minutes of focused fitness is sufficient to maintain a healthy body. Well, that sounds fabulous to me, and this year my goal is to keep my exercise sessions limited to 45 minutes and no more than 5 times per week.
This year, I would like all of you to find your own “Motivation Mojo”. Get out a piece of paper, and write down your active passions…fun things you like to do. It is time to get off the couch, dance your pants off inside, hike outside, play games with the kiddos and dogs…what is it that makes YOU happy and will ensure that you keep coming back for more. No more “exercise is a burden” stuff. Let’s turn that around and create a plan that gets you on the road to healthy and maintains that journey for a lifetime. Share your “Mojo” in the comment section and I look forward to reading and responding to all of your shares.
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Well…not as big as they used to be physically but my mental and emotional shoulders are definitely making up for that loss…lol.What the heck does this have to do with fitness, my life, my health…I say everything!
When you are in a position of internet personality, helping people from around the world, bravely putting yourself out there for all to see through images, videos, and opinions…well…the mental shoulders get well developed.As you know, I am a say it like it is person, trainer, consultant, coach, expert and any other name that gets tagged onto “Darla” the fitness gal.In this position, I MUST remain POSITIVE and let things roll off my back like a duck sometimes.The majority of the time, I am taken with appreciation, and thankfulness from so many for providing the hope they thought was never possible…touching to me as my purpose to help has been accomplished.
The other side of the coin can be exactly the opposite and filled with statements from people who do not take the time to know ME and jump into an attitude of sharing only judgments and negative comments.I can read through that into an unhappy soul who really wants to be healthy and the BEST, but not at a place in their life and unwilling to make that happen, and it is always easiest to lash out at someone than take responsibility for self.Really…I would like to reach out and give all those people a hug…NO…I really do…because they just need to have the encouragement and love to realize their fabulous potential.
I do not need to go into statement details but anyone who sits in my position as a fitness expert who has put themselves out there understands the lashings that can come in reference to a fit body, workouts, personal life, sharing success stories, making opinions and comments, and even recipes for crying out loud.I was taught never to judge a book by its cover and this is so important in life, but especially in what I do for a living as I see people of all shapes and sizes…and they are ALL FABULOUS!!!Could you imagine if I was a judgmental person…well…NO WAY…I could not do my job if I was running people into the ground for being too heavy, too skinny, low self esteem, body image issues, hairstyle, clothes, and the list can go on and on…how in the world would I MOTIVATE or help anyone with that mindset…I mean what in the heck is up with a judgmental mentality anyway.Who am I to judge…am I God…NO…I am Darla, the person who just so happens to come to YOU daily through different internet mediums to In Your Face MOTIVATE YOU.
I LOVE my Big Shoulders because they provide me with emotional strength and the ability to “not sweat the small stuff” in this life.They give me a very caring spirit and the understanding that negative statements usually come from people who are truly hurting, bitter from personal issues or life events not dealt with yet, and who really want and need help, but just do not know how to be vulnerable enough to let those feelings out in a healthy way to start the healing process.In my position of trainer, consultant and coach, I wear many hats, and during the times of hearing or receiving negative comments, I throw on the “coaching/therapist hat” and become the BEST listener in this moment, keying in on any details that I may be able to offer help, dig deep into who that person is, provide insight and validation, but at the same time, provide the guidance that says…HEY…TODAY is a new day and time to toss the old crap to the curb and begin a new healthy lifestyle…you get the picture.
The beautiful part about my life is that I choose to be POSITIVE in ALL circumstances,personally surround myself with people who will nourish my soul in a positive way, and lean on one of my favorite quotes that states “Life is 10% What Happens to You and 90% How You Respond to It.” Does that mean that I avoid all negative people, situations, and comments in my work…of course not…this is not realistic in my position...I am surrounded by people on a daily basis physically and online who are going through things that they are healing from or do not even realize they need help with, and all that is needed are some Big Shoulders to take on the task of helping and healing.Am I ever offended by such comments and sucked down to a point of OH MY…WHY DO I CONTINUE TO PUT MYSELF OUT THERE….well…the answer is a Big Hell No.If anything, I feel challenged to help even more…I always have HOPE, always PERSEVERE, and do not believe in failure…in fact, in my opinion, failure is GOOD and a stepping stone to dusting off and becoming a better person.In this journey called life, I will continue to develop my Big Shoulders, continue to MOTIVATE…some may like me and some may not…that is OK and out of my control…but I will push forward with the cause of helping people adapt healthy lives…and for my Big Shoulders…ABSOLUTELY LOVE THEM!Stay Healthy~
IN YOUR FACE MOTIVATIONS
For a Limited Time Only, enjoy my Stay Healthy Nutrition Guide as a Free Gift to YOU with a $10 donation to support Stay Healthy Fitness, YOU, your health and happiness. Thank you all for the many MOTIVATIONAL comments, notes of appreciation, and emails sent to me through all my online mediums. I read and respond to each and every one and hearing that I have helped YOU is YOUR gift to me. Many Blessings to YOU and Stay Healthy!
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