So lately with so much going on, being busy at work, answering emails, working on stuff and trying to spend time with family, friends and my husband I have found that my eating has gone all out of whack! Is it the time of year that things just start getting super busy. We no longer are wearing tanks and shorts everywhere but sweatshirts, long pants and a Gap vest….(that’s what my daily attire is at least) OR am I just losing my focus???
I have found that the last few days I haven’t been able to eat until almost 11am... sometimes even later and I am up at 5am! This is everything that I tell my clients NOT to do! I end up going straight from client to client because I don’t want anyone to sit and wait, therefore I end up not eating! My clients might get an extra 5 minutes of a workout but it is not good for me. I am not setting a good example when this happens!
I have noticed that I am not getting hungry, I feel tired, my workouts feel sluggish. I get home after a morning of not eating and am so hungry I eat one of everything or more! One bowl of spaghetti squash. One mini turkey sandwich. One cheese stick. On and on because I am so hungry I want it all!
Sometimes I don’t even think I am soooo hungry! It becomes the mentality that since I haven’t eaten all day I deserve to eat more and everything now! This is where a vicious cycle can appear and has for many people. It happens for many reasons. One being like this where jobs, kids, errands, life in general take over and we go hours without eating and then end up binging on everything we see. Other times this is a result of a diet that we may have put ourselves on. Being very strict with ourselves and then turning around and feeling so deprived we eat everything!
And the snowball effect begins!
SO. How do we stop this? How do we say to ourselves and the people around us that we need a bit of time to sit down and eat? To feed ourselves and not feel bad about it? To put ourselves first?
I think that everyone's situation is different and needs to be addressed differently but some of the things that I try and would suggest would be 1. Planning ahead 2. Meal and food prepping 3. Blocking off a period of time for yourself even if it is ten minutes 4. Tracking your diet 5. Setting an alarm so you are eating every few hours and 6. Drinking enough water!
Why are these important?
Planning ahead- By planning ahead you can choose foods that will be quick and easy! So if you are in a rush you are not trying to sit down to eat a salad for instance. You’re able to keep with your busy schedule and still able to get your proper nutrition.
Meal and food prepping- This goes hand in hand with above. If you take some time out of your week to prepare what you're going to take for meals so that they are ready to go you won't have to worry about it when you're rushing around in the morning! You won't have to worry about scavenging to find something (which usually turns out bad) because you will have planned ahead. There won’t even be the need to think about what you're going to eat!
Blocking out time- Many times we go from client to client, meeting to meeting, or whatever your day holds without setting aside time to eat, relax or just take ten minutes to do nothing and recharge! By setting aside just a little bit of time we can do all of these things without letting the day get away from us! Preventing us from going home deprived, tired and starving!
Food Tracking- Whether you use a food tracking app or good old pen and paper you hold yourself accountable for anything that you put in your mouth. That is if you are honest with yourself! You can see what you eat good and bad, what time of day you tend to forget to eat or are most likely overeat. You can make sure your eating frequently enough and not eating too much or too little. You can see overall trends in your energy, weight, strength, calories and how they all affect one another so you can make changes based on that information. By not tracking you are leaving yourself in the dark and every change you make is going to be a guess!
Eating every few hours- What diets and programs are good for one person may not be what works for another. Studies show that eating every 3-4 hours keeps your metabolism revved, keeps you energized and alert and in turn more productive. It also keeps you feeling satisfied and less likely to overeat or to turn to junk! Not eating can be just as damaging to your metabolism as overeating. It messes with your metabolism making it more difficult to lose weight or build muscle. Eventually your body begins to think that it is starving and needs to hold onto everything that it has to protect itself. It thinks we are naked in the snow shivering….saving all of our body fat to keep us warm!
Drink your water- Water is the most essential thing that our body needs! You can go weeks without food but only days without water! Our bodies are made of between 50-60% water! It is essential for muscle building, transportation of not only nutrients and minerals but toxins and waste! It keeps our organs functioning properly! It helps speed up our metabolism and gives you energy when tired! Drinking enough water is THE most important thing that we can do for ourselves! FYI: you need an estimated ½ your body weight in oz. of water everyday!!!!
So let’s stop the snowball effect and start trying to take some time to think about your diet. Take the time to plan your food and set aside times for yourself! You spend so much time worrying about when you're going to workout but by ignoring your nutrition your not getting the proper nutrients and your workout will suffer too!
I am going to try to take some of my own advice especially during these upcoming busy holiday times and make sure that I take care of myself first! Give it a try yourself and let me know what changes you see or feel!!!