Saturday 4 January 2014

I love food...

My birthday presents 2013 :-)
... and I really love chocolate.

So, I work out a lot, and then go home and eat a lot.

This is probably not the best way to achieve my goals. One of my goals is to look like I lift weights - because I do lift weights, honestly!

Over the last six months or so, I've realised that my protein intake, especially, was not as good as it ought to be. I was working hard, and becoming stronger, but when I flexed my muscles in front of my kids, they laughed. Now I know I'm stronger than my kids, because I can deadlift them. In fact, it was when I deadlifted my eldest child that I realised I should be lifting more than that at the gym!

So I finally succumbed to MyFitnessPal to figure out where I was going wrong - in short, carbs too high, protein too low, and far too much fat. Probably, if I cut out the chocolate and ate more chicken, I'd solve all of those problems at once - but I'm a realist, and although I like to work out, and like to be strong, I don't want it enough to cut out chocolate completely.

Instead, I'm making small changes:
  • more tuna
  • nuts instead of crisps
  • boiled egg instead of fruit loaf
Small changes work best in the long term, because as soon as those become the norm, I can make another change.

Have you made changes to your diet?
Are they sustainable? Are they working?




4 comments:

  1. I woke up this morning and thought. 'I need to get fitter' small changes in diet I agree work best. If I tell myself I can't have something it just makes me want it more!

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    1. I definitely know what you mean, Suzanne.

      Remember to have a specific goal too - 'being fitter' is good, but you've got nothing to compare yourself to. If you say 'I want to walk a mile in 10 minutes', then you've got a goal that you can reach... before setting the next one, obviously! :-)

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  2. I need to make those exact changes: lay off the empty calories, up the protein, whittle down the fat intake and eat more 70% dark cocoa Lindt chocolate. ;)

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    Replies
    1. I think it's pretty universal - eating right is simple, but it's easy to get side-tracked by the latest fads. Stay strong, especially on the eating more 70% chocolate goal :-)

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