I think by far the hardest thing about becoming a fit chick was fighting my extreme sweet tooth. I actually remember thinking in the very beginning, I can't do this... I NEED sugar! And I actually did believe that. Most people don't realize that sugar is as addicting to the body & mind as most drugs. We grow dependent on it. What I didn't realize is that about 90% of the athletes that I train with, also share my outrageous love of all things sweet.... Which leads me to my theory that all competitors have a strange love of torture, but that's for a different blog. ;)
Not all cravings are created equal. Sometimes your body is actually lacking a nutrient and you're craving something for good reason. *SUGAR IS NOT A NUTRIENT* If you're eating the right diet for you, that shouldn't really be happening much. It's a matter of getting to know your body. I have a tendency towards anemia from iron deficiency when I'm not eating properly. So, I know that if I don't have one serving of red meat once a week, I will start craving it. This craving is a little different from me really wanting that cookie after dinner.
This leads me to the next type of craving... emotional attachments to particular foods. I wasn't joking about craving a cookie every night after dinner. I was blessed enough to grow up with amazing grandparents that ate well at appropriate amounts, so they always stayed at an ideal healthy weight. They ALSO had a little dessert after dinner every night. I love that they had such balance and control. But, out of that I created my own attachment to having something small and sweet after dinner. Those emotional attachments to food are the hardest ones to part with. At one time I even believed that they helped get me through a divorce. But those beliefs can be changed and those attachments or dependencies can be broken!!
The first two weeks are by far the worst! And like any addiction or attachments, you will go through withdrawals. Your body may even react negatively at first, but just drink a lot of water, sweat it out with some cardio, and STICK WITH IT! Trust me, the rewards are worth it. And now when I allow myself to have a little cheat on occasion, I think... How did I eat this on a regular basis? You'll also savor those occasional treats so much more. But, one of the most important things I've learned in my 32 years... Is not to let the yumminess of sweets be a substitute for the sweetness of life.
Monday, December 17, 2012
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
What are you waiting for?
I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve been asked why I became a bikini competitor. Even when I’m not being asked, I can see people thinking it. I’ve always been fascinated by what the body is capable of - it’s incredible! That’s the reason I became a nutritionist. Well, that and my serious love for food. The body is a complicated, beautiful machine that’s capable of virtually anything when given the right tools and proper fuel.
I was always a fit chick, or at least I thought I was. The reality is that I was petite and barely worked out 3 times a week; my only workouts were either yoga or pilates. That said, I've had a passion for health for as long as I can remember. I got in trouble when I was about 10 for reading the labels on food. My parents worried that I was trying to diet… but I was actually just really curious about what I was eating. That curiosity grew and I ended up earning a Master's in Nutrition.
In December of last year, I agreed to do a few personal training sessions with one on my friends, AJ. I had an awful experience with a personal trainer ten years earlier and I swore I would never do it again. But I trusted him and he promised me that my experience would be different and that, with the right person on your side, weight lifting could be fun. I first visited World Gym in January. Everyone there was incredibly fit. It was so intimidating at first. I had no idea how to use half the machines; I would have been lost there without AJ.
I started training twice a week and then three times. I loved it! I had never done cardio before and still wanted nothing to do with it, but the weight training was fun and it didn't take long to see results.
By springtime, I was a hooked and a regular at the gym. It was around that time that I went for a routine physical. Health has always been so important to me and I realized that routine physicals are one facet of keeping my body healthy. At the visit, the doctor found a few new freckles on my belly and was concerned enough to biopsy them. I wasn't worried. I didn't spend a lot of time tanning and almost never used tanning beds. When I did tan, my skin rarely burned. I was more upset about the biopsies causing holes in my stomach than anything. It was almost summer and I now had 3, what I thought were huge, gashes in my skin… I looked like Franken-belly!
A few days later the doctor called me back into her office to tell me that she wanted more biopsies done because they were all severely abnormal. Of course at first I joked that I already knew that I was abnormal, but the reality of what this really meant actually sunk in. She was worried that I had melanoma, the most deadly form of cancer. My first reaction was a little more angry than scared. I'm healthy, I don't live in a bikini, I didn't really get it. I spent a few days feeling sorry for myself before I snapped out of it and decided that I wasn't going to waste any more time with that. What if I did have Melanoma? Would I be able to say that I’d done everything I wanted to do? Was I happy with my life?
That was when I decided that I was going to compete in my first NPC show. I had never even watched one before, but I was determined to get a coach and do it anyway! I only had seven weeks to get ready. My coach thought I was nuts. We got to work right away. I started eating six clean meals a day, training at least five days a week, and doing cardio before breakfast in the morning. No sugar AND cardio?? Even I wasn’t sure what I had signed up for some days! I had never done anything so structured and disciplined in my life. The first 2 weeks felt like torture, but eventually the cravings went away and the cardio became a normal part of my routine. In the meantime, I found out that I didn't have melanoma, but I waited a few more years, I would have likely developed it. (In other words… don’t neglect routine physicals!)
I pushed myself beyond what I thought I could do during those seven weeks and in return, I was ready for my first show a week early. I placed in the top five. And just two short months after that, I placed in the top five again on a national stage. As I said, it’s amazing what the body is capable of doing when given the right tools.
Unfortunately, sometimes it takes some kind of scary or sad event to push us past our comfort zone to see what we are really capable of. My journey so far has taught me to challenge myself to be my healthiest, strongest self possible and to move outside my comfort zone without waiting for any other life events to occur to inspire that change.
That’s a little of my story. Now it’s your turn. What’s your story? What are you waiting for?
I was always a fit chick, or at least I thought I was. The reality is that I was petite and barely worked out 3 times a week; my only workouts were either yoga or pilates. That said, I've had a passion for health for as long as I can remember. I got in trouble when I was about 10 for reading the labels on food. My parents worried that I was trying to diet… but I was actually just really curious about what I was eating. That curiosity grew and I ended up earning a Master's in Nutrition.
In December of last year, I agreed to do a few personal training sessions with one on my friends, AJ. I had an awful experience with a personal trainer ten years earlier and I swore I would never do it again. But I trusted him and he promised me that my experience would be different and that, with the right person on your side, weight lifting could be fun. I first visited World Gym in January. Everyone there was incredibly fit. It was so intimidating at first. I had no idea how to use half the machines; I would have been lost there without AJ.
I started training twice a week and then three times. I loved it! I had never done cardio before and still wanted nothing to do with it, but the weight training was fun and it didn't take long to see results.
By springtime, I was a hooked and a regular at the gym. It was around that time that I went for a routine physical. Health has always been so important to me and I realized that routine physicals are one facet of keeping my body healthy. At the visit, the doctor found a few new freckles on my belly and was concerned enough to biopsy them. I wasn't worried. I didn't spend a lot of time tanning and almost never used tanning beds. When I did tan, my skin rarely burned. I was more upset about the biopsies causing holes in my stomach than anything. It was almost summer and I now had 3, what I thought were huge, gashes in my skin… I looked like Franken-belly!
A few days later the doctor called me back into her office to tell me that she wanted more biopsies done because they were all severely abnormal. Of course at first I joked that I already knew that I was abnormal, but the reality of what this really meant actually sunk in. She was worried that I had melanoma, the most deadly form of cancer. My first reaction was a little more angry than scared. I'm healthy, I don't live in a bikini, I didn't really get it. I spent a few days feeling sorry for myself before I snapped out of it and decided that I wasn't going to waste any more time with that. What if I did have Melanoma? Would I be able to say that I’d done everything I wanted to do? Was I happy with my life?
That was when I decided that I was going to compete in my first NPC show. I had never even watched one before, but I was determined to get a coach and do it anyway! I only had seven weeks to get ready. My coach thought I was nuts. We got to work right away. I started eating six clean meals a day, training at least five days a week, and doing cardio before breakfast in the morning. No sugar AND cardio?? Even I wasn’t sure what I had signed up for some days! I had never done anything so structured and disciplined in my life. The first 2 weeks felt like torture, but eventually the cravings went away and the cardio became a normal part of my routine. In the meantime, I found out that I didn't have melanoma, but I waited a few more years, I would have likely developed it. (In other words… don’t neglect routine physicals!)
I pushed myself beyond what I thought I could do during those seven weeks and in return, I was ready for my first show a week early. I placed in the top five. And just two short months after that, I placed in the top five again on a national stage. As I said, it’s amazing what the body is capable of doing when given the right tools.
Unfortunately, sometimes it takes some kind of scary or sad event to push us past our comfort zone to see what we are really capable of. My journey so far has taught me to challenge myself to be my healthiest, strongest self possible and to move outside my comfort zone without waiting for any other life events to occur to inspire that change.
That’s a little of my story. Now it’s your turn. What’s your story? What are you waiting for?
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