Sure, P90X and Insanity were important to my transformation, but I SWEAR it's the change in my eating habits that started in January that changed my body. I had been working out for YEARS, but until I understood CLEAN EATING, my body didn't change.
Don’t just track you’re the food you eat, track the INGREDIENTS of the foods you eat.
For example, my old diet included:
Instant oatmeal: whole grain rolled oats (with oat bran), sugar, artificial flavors, salt, calcium carbonate (a source of calcium), soy lecithin, guar gum, caramel color, niacinamide, vitamin a palmitate, reduced iron, pyridoxine hydrochloride, riboflavin, thiamin mononitrate, folic acid.
Lean Cuisine: tortilla crusted alaska pollock (alaska pollock, enriched bleached flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), water, modified cornstarch, tortilla chips (yellow whole corn, vegetable oil {corn, soybean, and/or sunflower oil}), sugar, yellow corn flour, potassium chloride, white corn flour, salt, spices, dextrose, egg white, tomato powder, natural flavor, whey, maltodextrin, yeast, onion powder, leavening (sodium aluminum phosphate, sodium bicarbonate), soy flour, garlic powder, torula yeast, citric acid, corn oil. prefried in cottonseed and/or canola oil), blanched enriched long grain parboiled rice (water, rice, iron, niacin, thiamin mononitrate, folic acid), skim milk, corn, tomatillos, red peppers, water, chile peppers, onions, 2% or less of reduced fat cheddar cheese (cultured part-skim milk, salt, enzymes, annatto color), buttermilk powder, dehydrated sour cream (sour cream (cultured cream, nonfat milk)), modified cornstarch, salt, soybean oil, garlic puree, cultured whey, cilantro, jalapeno puree (jalapeno peppers, salt, acetic acid and calcium chloride), bleached wheat flour, sugar, potassium chloride, lactic acid, spices, calcium lactate
Quaker granola bar: whole grain rolled oats, brown rice syrup, crisp rice (rice, sugar, salt, malted barley flour), sugar, dried sweetened cranberry pieces (sugar, cranberries), semisweet chocolate chunks (sugar, chocolate liquor, cocoa butter, soy lecithin, salt, vanilla), almonds, peanuts, honey, sunflower oil, inulin, whole grain rolled barley, whole grain rolled wheat, molasses, soybean oil, water, glycerin, salt, vanilla, soy lecithin.
TOTAL ingredients: more than 100!
And that is just breakfast, lunch and a snack. Sure, my calorie intake was FINE, but my NUTRITIONAL intake was CRAP.
An example of clean eating and what my normal day looks like now:
Breakfast: Organic steel cut oatmeal, Honey, Almond milk
Snack: Almonds and raisins
Lunch: chicken, spinach, tomatoes, oil and vingar
TOTAL ingredients: 10 - See the difference???
Our bodies aren't meant to eat processed, chemicalized (is that a word?) "food". Diet sodas, fast food, convenience foods, and all that CRAP is horrible for our bodies. Eat clean and you WILL see changes!
Saturday
Doing the Little Things, Every Day
I'm reading a book called The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson. It's an amazing book about life and I highly recommend EVERYONE read it. It's really about how the little decision we make every day shape our lives and can either lead you in a positive direction or a negative direction.
For example, when I committed to my health and fitness back in January, I made small, daily decisions that were easy to do, but just as east NOT to do. I stopped drinking a glass of wine every night. I changed my eating habits. And I exercised 6 days a week. But it would have been JUST as easy for me NOT to do any of those things.
If I had chosen NOT to do those things, would my life be dramatically different today? Not necessarily. I would still be out of shape and unhealthy, but it's not like I would have gained 200 pounds or had a heart attack (probably). Although that certainly does happen to people who maintain an unhealthy lifestyle for long periods of time, making little decisions every day to eat that fattening, processed, salty food and not take care of their bodies.
But when I DID make those decisions to change my lifestyle, did I see an IMMEDIATE change in my body or health? No. I just had to keep doing those small things every day with FAITH that what I was doing was going to transform my health and my body. I think that's why so many people give up so easily when they start a fitness program. They want OVERNIGHT results, and that's just NOT how it works.
So because I made those little decisions every day that were easy to do - I am now in the best shape of my life at 40 years old. What decisions do you want to make today to shape YOUR future?
For example, when I committed to my health and fitness back in January, I made small, daily decisions that were easy to do, but just as east NOT to do. I stopped drinking a glass of wine every night. I changed my eating habits. And I exercised 6 days a week. But it would have been JUST as easy for me NOT to do any of those things.
If I had chosen NOT to do those things, would my life be dramatically different today? Not necessarily. I would still be out of shape and unhealthy, but it's not like I would have gained 200 pounds or had a heart attack (probably). Although that certainly does happen to people who maintain an unhealthy lifestyle for long periods of time, making little decisions every day to eat that fattening, processed, salty food and not take care of their bodies.
But when I DID make those decisions to change my lifestyle, did I see an IMMEDIATE change in my body or health? No. I just had to keep doing those small things every day with FAITH that what I was doing was going to transform my health and my body. I think that's why so many people give up so easily when they start a fitness program. They want OVERNIGHT results, and that's just NOT how it works.
So because I made those little decisions every day that were easy to do - I am now in the best shape of my life at 40 years old. What decisions do you want to make today to shape YOUR future?
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