Is "Clean Eating" a myth?

I've been pondering this question for awhile now.  In my previous contest preparation ("off-season"), I ate perfectly within my diet plan 6 days of the week and then was allowed one "cheat day" per week.  The problem with this is that there were quite simply too many things I was trying my best to stay away from except for on Saturdays... when I would binge and eat whatever I wanted.

And when I wasn't giving myself "cheat days", I would invariably wind up breaking down one day and going on a lengthy binge.  Either way, not healthy.  And if you are actually one of the people who can ALWAYS stick to perfectly "clean" foods (whatever that means), I'd call that an eating disorder.

So what is the solution?  I've started trying out a new "diet" called the Macro Diet, or IIFYM (if it fits your macros).  I recommend watching this video by Layne Norton, a coach, bodybuilder, powerlifter, and scientist:

Basically, I'm now shooting for 240g of carbs, 150g of protein, 55g of fat, and at least 30g of fibre.  Within those macros, I can eat what I want.  I'm finding the "My Fitness Pal" app is a great one for tracking my macros on a daily basis (I just ignore the calories).

Nothing against clean foods, but moderation is the key.  Instead of eating clean 90% of the time and then sitting down and eating an entire pizza or tub of ice cream, I'm attempting to eat mostly clean, but if I want a small bowl of ice cream or a slice or two of pizza, I can just factor it into my daily macros... guilt free!

Another thing to keep in mind is that when you hire a personal trainer, they are not certified to give you a diet plan!  Only a certified dietician can do that.  There is a reason nutritional science is a lengthy program; it is very easy to mess up a person's entire metabolic system with poor nutritional advice.

Before competing again, I need to get my eating habits into a healthy and sustainable method.  Right now, that is my #1 priority for my health.

Things are looking up

Things are looking up.  I'm down about 3lbs this week and I'm feeling a lot better.

I've found some accountability.  My trainer is going to take a look at my food journal every week and do measurements once in awhile as well.

I have a sitter lined up to take the girls to on weekends so that I can go to the gym (I'm potty training my 2 year old this weekend, so unfortunately I can't leave the house for that reason).  My permanent nanny will be here next Sunday, so I will have some more help with the house and kids at that point.

I'm finally done my flight test ("Pilot Proficiency Check" is a yearly flight test for commercial pilots), so I can stop stressing about that.

There are always things to stress about, but I'm slowly learning to prioritize and not worry so much about the things I can't change.

But you know the biggest reason I'm better managing all the stress in my life?

Because I'm making clean eating and working out a priority.

This single act has turned my life right around.  I am finding that any goal is easier to obtain if you just put your health first.

Time to Hit the Gym

I sometimes wonder how I made time to make it to the gym every day after having my first baby.  Did I just make it more of a priority, or am I truly that much busier now?

I believe it's mostly the latter.  I've taken on a management position at work, which keeps me quite busy.  It was also part of the reason I was back to work after just taking two weeks of vacation time rather than any kind of formal maternity leave.  Two young kids also keeps me a lot busier outside of work than just one baby does.

But if I'm being honest, it was more of a priority as well.  If I worked a long day and couldn't make it to the gym, I would go in the evening.  I simply don't have the energy or drive to do that anymore.

My solution is to go each day on the weekend.  If I can make it both Saturday and Sunday at some point, I only have to try and fit in two gym sessions during the week.  So I now have a sitter lined up for an hour or two each Saturday and Sunday.

No excuses.

Accountability

I'll be the first to admit it; I need some accountability.

I'm busy.  I'm a manager at a successful helicopter company.  I have two children, ages two years old and under.  I manage two properties, including 5 tenants.  I have two cats.  My husband works 12 hour days.  I'm in the process of getting a live-in nanny from Peru.  I'd like to start a business and get my personal training certification.  Any kind of socialization requires I shower every day or two.

These are all excuses.  In this day and age, everyone is busy!  But regardless of what is going on in my personal life, I need to make clean eating and exercise a priority.  It has been almost 4 months since I had my last beautiful daughter, and I'm only down to 165lbs.

Accountability.  That's what this post is about.  I am perfectly capable of getting to the gym, eating clean, and generally living a healthy lifestyle.  This IS NOT dependant on how busy I am.  Those are all excuses and I know better.

The solution I have found is to find accountability anywhere I can (except my husband... I've discovered that I tend to take offence to him telling me what to do).  I've asked anyone and everyone I know to help hold me accountable and just text me whenever they think of it to see how I've been eating and whether I've been exercising.  If anyone else reading this post wants to help out with this, you're welcome to!

I'm hoping this will be the change I need to get a good thing started.  I've admittedly been struggling since the birth of my second darling girl, but I'm working my way up once again.

Goals for this week:

Get to the gym 4 times.
Follow my diet plan at least until Friday night.
Read at least one chapter in my CFES Fitness Knowledge manual.
Recruit one person to keep me accountable on a daily basis.

Tracking Progress

As much as it's nice to see the scale going steadily down on a daily basis, this isn't an accurate representation of a person's progress.  And stepping on a scale on a daily basis can be disheartening, to say the least.

So what is the best way to track your progress, then?  Here are a couple simple guidelines:

1.  Take "before" pictures.  

Find someone you're comfortable with to take them, and don't look at it again until you've made some solid progress (several months down the road).  As uncomfortable as it is to take those pictures when you're just starting out, it's an amazing feeling to be able to see how far you've come.

2.  Take regular measurements.  

Your measurements will change a lot faster than your weight, usually.  I typically get my trainer to measure me once per month and write down my weight at that point as well.  You can measure yourself as well if that works out better for you.

3.  Don't weigh yourself every day!  

Weight can fluctuate several pounds over the course of a single day.  There are too many variables for this to be an accurate representation of your weight loss.  And if it's near to "that time of the month", women will tend to be a few pounds heavier than usual as well.

Barely Coping

I'll admit going into this new chapter in my life, I had a lot of assumptions.  I assumed I could handle childbirth & recovery, work, caring for a newborn and a toddler, going to the gym 4x per week, roller derby practice twice per week, planning and eating a healthy diet, and everyday household duties.  Turns out I can't.  Or, at least not without a lot of support.  I have overloaded myself with some mighty high expectations and am really struggling because of it.

The hardest part for me is that I haven't lost any weight since little Victoria was 2 weeks old.  She is now 6 weeks.  I really need to make exercise and healthy eating a priority, and soon!  It seems like when I have those two things in line, everything else in my life just falls into place.

Last night I sat down and made a list of the things I need to work on to help me cope.  Many of them are easy enough to do, as long as I make them a priority.  The tough one on my list is finding some kind of support other than my husband.  He has been fantastic, but is also working at least 72 hours per week, so there is only so much he can do.  I really just need someone else I can unburden to.  Really hard for me to do, since I like to pretend my life is perfect.

I suppose this blog is serving as my support network at the moment.  I do feel better getting these admissions out there, even if it is never published.  So, thanks for listening.

Building a Diet that Works

As a general rule, I'm not a big fan of the word "diet".  It seems overused as a temporary solution to a long-term issue.  The best diet plans are not just a quick fix, but an ongoing way of eating.

While I am definitely not a dietician or nutritionist, I have learned a lot of general guidelines that work to reach or maintain a healthy weight.  A healthy, balanced diet is a huge part of the battle.  You can't out-exercise a poor diet.

1.  Eliminate all unnatural sugars 

A limited amount of real fruit is fine, but try to eat it earlier in the day (I usually have one piece of fruit with breakfast and possibly a second piece with my second meal... and that's all for the day unless I have a good workout later on).  Watch labels for anything with "ose" at the end, as well as corn syrup and many other variations.  Almost anything in a package these days has some form of sugar in it.  Juice is also off-limits since a very small amount has more sugar than a piece of fruit, and none of the fibre.

2.  Eliminate processed foods and read labels carefully  

Anything in a package from my experience typically has 20+ ingredients, many of which I'm not entirely sure what they are.  If you do buy packaged goods, make sure to read the labels.  A shorter list of ingredients that you actually recognize is usually a good sign.

3.  Eat lean protein with every meal

Worst case scenario, I usually just throw a scoop of protein powder in a shaker cup with some water.  Whey protein isolate is also great to put in a post-workout smoothie with some fruit to build and repair those tired muscles.  Other great lean proteins are chicken, turkey, fish, shellfish, lean beef, bison, egg whites, non-fat yogurt or greek yogurt, etc.

4.  Eat every 2-3 hours

Once your body gets used to this style of eating, it won't hold onto that weight so stubbornly because it knows when the next meal is coming.  This is why starvation diets don't work. Because eventually you'll have to eat, and when you do, your body will cling to those calories because who knows when you're going to feed it again!  I also find that when I go more than 3 hours between meals I'm a lot more willing to throw the diet plan away and just eat massive quantities of whatever I want.  Eating smaller meals on a regular schedule throughout the day keeps you from ever developing that dangerous ravenous appetite.

5.  Eat the right starchy carbs

Yams, oats, brown rice, quinoa, squash, chickpeas, beans, etc. are all fantastic starchy carbs.  You'll need slightly more starchy carbs any day that you're lifting heavy weights for extra energy.  I usually eat a serving of starchy carbs at the first 5 (out of 6 meals of the day) on training days and the first 4 on cardio or non-training days.

6.  Eat only healthy fats

Fats tend to get a bad reputation, but the right fats can actually help your weight-loss progress.  Avocados, unsalted nuts, omega 3's and flax are all examples of great healthy fats.  Morning and evening are the best times of the day to eat them.

7.  Drink plenty of water

Many people are regularly dehydrated, and regularly mistake thirst for hunger.

8.  Give yourself a cheat day or cheat meal each week

This sounds counter-productive, but it really helps!  If you're craving something you shouldn't have just remember that once you get to your cheat day you can have it.  This helps you stick with the plan mentally, and also keeps your body guessing.

9.  Keep a food journal

It really helps to write down everything you eat and at what time.  It helps you monitor trends and see where there's room for improvement, even if you don't ever show it to anyone else.

10.  Stock your fridge with real food and plan your meals ahead of time

If you find yourself hungry and don't have anything healthy readily available, what do you think you're going to reach for?  Pretty much anything.  You'll need lots of fresh veggies, fruit, lean proteins, starchy carbs, and healthy fats all ready to eat when you need to eat them.

Thanks for reading and good luck!