Flab to Fab Vol 2 - NUTRITION 101

I

Love

Food

I really, really do. I have had a lifelong love affair with food. I love it's feel, touch, texture, smell, and taste. Food has made me happy when I'm sad, celebrated happy occasions with me, been there for me through my successes and failures. It shows up to every birthday party, funeral, family gathering, and even jumps into my car at 2 a.m. when I've been out with the girls.

Food is ALWAYS there for me and never EVER lets me down.

Except when it somehow creeps onto my butt and thighs.


Sigh.


Growing up, I could eat like a horse and never gain an ounce of weight. I was a dancer, gymnast, athlete, never stopped moving or eating. But in my twenties it began to catch up with me. Late night eating, not enough discipline to exercise regularly, fast food binges on Sunday afternoon. I was young, wild, busy, enjoying life, and my speedy lil metabolism finally decided to teach me a lesson.


It took several years, two children, 100 lbs of fat, lots of Long John Silver's, and a few fad diets for me to FINALLY teach myself about proper nutrition.


And I'll admit, I didn't give an eff about being healthy, I just wanted to look good and fit comfortably in my jeans again.


I read the book, Body For Life, by Bill Phillips. To date, one of the best books I have ever read and one I routinely recommend to anyone interested in changing unhealthy habits and beginning a new lifestyle.


You can see Bill's beautiful body, order the book, and find TONS of truly useful information here...

http://www.bodyforlife.com/

After I lost 100 lbs and started training clients at the gym, I realized where so many personal trainers go wrong, hence giving the profession somewhat of a bad name and also failing to get their clients significant results.

They focus too much on teaching someone how to move weights and not enough time counseling, educating, and asking questions about their diet.

During my first consultation with a new client, the first thing we address is nutrition. The first thing I tell someone, and the first thing I'm telling everyone reading is that what you put into your body is the biggest part of what comes off it in the end.

Repeating.


On a 100% scale of getting a fab body and feeling better internally...


10% is genes

10% is exercise

80% is YOUR DIET


I have consistently been working out hardcore five days a week for four solid years, but if I eat like crap for days on end, my butt will get bigger no matter how hard I am working out.


Now there are exceptions to the rule. Mary Eatsalot who eats anything she wants, doesn't exercise, and never gains a pound. Mitch Musclehead who consumes 5,000 calories per day, doesn't have to do cardio and still stays in fantastic shape. Susie Shapely who has a perfect ten body with great biceps who brags about eating french fries daily.


They are EXCEPTIONS, not the rule. Do not ever let these exceptions fool you into thinking it'll happen to you. Cause unfortunately, most of us have to work at it.

{ Did I mention that if I could pick one superhuman power, it might be to eat anything and everything I wanted without ever gaining a pound? }

One weekend of pigging out on fast food will blow an entire week's worth of exercise.

I fell off the wagon over the holidays. I don't have an excuse, I'm not exactly sure how it happened, but for a two-week span I ate any and everything I wanted. And if you know me at all, you know that a head of lettuce or grilled chicken isn't my definition of "what I wanted."

Maybe it was four years of being really strict with food. Maybe it was the cold weather. Maybe I was tired of watching how much I ate, even at Thanksgiving when everyone else was pigging out. Maybe I didn't want to be able to brag anymore that I had never gained a pound back that I lost.

At any rate, I ate like a ravenous pig and packed five solid pounds onto my already ghetto-fied booty. What I did in the aftermath is what seperates the masses.

I dusted myself off, said, dang that was good...and got right back on it. There is no way that five pounds is staying with me.

But after all those days of eating crap, my body was now craving sugar. Craving bad carbs and gooey fat. My insulin levels were out of whack from not following a proper eating schedule. My stomach was used to eating tons of food in one sitting so I still felt hungry after eating my mini-meals.

Trust me poodles, eating bad food consistently WRECKS your body, but the only way to truly realize that is to change your eating habits.

I started from scratch. Kinda. I borrowed yet another fabulous book from a friend, packed with info I already have in my head, but reading it got me re-focused. I have a new favorite book for anyone who wants to learn about eating great and losing weight...go get it right now.

http://www.eatcleandiet.com/

And goodness, Tosca Reno is just hot and makes me look FORWARD to my forties!

EDUCATE yourself about nutrition. Cause when someone comes in and tells me they eat healthy..."oatmeal cookies and whole milk for breakfast, then I skip lunch, and eat a plateful for dinner"

No excuses. There is one person standing in the way of a better, healthier, more fit version of yourself...

It's YOU!