NUTRITION - For Me

Let me just start off by saying I somehow need to figure out how to write a blog in less than 6-8 hours!! Good golly...I'm notoriously slow at nearly everything I do, you'd think I'd just be used to it, but no, it's still annoying as all get out!!

So anyway...

I just (as in 6 hours ago when I first opened up Blogger) listened to DEFINE YOUR LIFE #25 FOOD -- a podcast by Shaun T.  This was not only exactly what I needed to hear, but they also explain so many of my thoughts on food to an exact "T".

"Accepting where your body is, where you want it to be, and how to maintain that body without stressing yourself out or depriving yourself..."

-Shaun T, intro to podcast

I've been in a "slump" with my weight loss progress, which for several months now I've [tried] accepting it's not about weight loss any more, but rather about toning up, feeling good, and finding balance.  And I'm not here to say it isn't still, but deciphering what is a healthy balance and what is old habits slowly creeping back in is mentally exhausting to say the least.

For me...

...eating healthy is enjoyable. But I still "crave" unhealthy food.  Some of it has been much easier to completely give up than I expected it would be.  Some of it I think I want until given the opportunity, and then realize I don't want it bad enough to either, a) feel like crud, or b) negate my progress, which I'm figuring out can be mental or physical progress at this point. And then there's some of it that will just always find a way into my body, and I'll [learn to] be okay with it!

...telling myself, "If you want it, just have it!" doesn't feel like an option.  I won't definitively say that it is NOT an option, because I do feel like it is something I am trying to work toward, but the fact of the matter is, I believe I have/had an unconcious addiction to food.  "All addictions work in the same part of the brain. Addiction is addiction is addiction. Therefore one drug can lead you back to any other drug." (Reference: www.AddictionsAndRecovery.org)  For me, I still feel like I'm in the process of learning new coping skills and changing my mindset/relationship with food. If I don't learn these new skills, then I will not change, and the addiction will catch up with me all over again.  But at least now I have transitioned from eating too much junk food to just simply eating too much.

...being a Beachbody Coach is the key to maintaining a clean eating lifestyle.  However, I need to understand that being a Beachbody coach doesn't mean I have to expect a perfect body or a perfect diet. The whole reason my friends and family can (or should be able to) relate to my story is because they know me and see that I'm just a normal person making healthy choices to better my quality of life.

...there will always be a scale in my bathroom, and I am likely to step on it every morning. Yes, no matter how often I tell myself or others, I do care what the scale says. Maybe if/once I get a handle on how often and how much I am eating, I'll be able to do away with this check/method of accountability, but for now, I still need/want it. And I will say I'm much more aware and okay with daily fluctuations, and that through my workouts my body composition is changing which also effects the number, but in the end, for me, I need the check.