Fueling Your Body

This is meant for women who are kicking ass and taking names.

I’m assuming you already know that exercising and weightlifting are awesome for your health. An hour of intense working out just feels good in an odd and unexpected way. Plus, you’ll burn more calories the more muscle you have. But there’s something else you should be doing, and it’s vital to being able to beast-mode your workouts, especially during HIIT week.

I’m not going to lie to you, this will require a hell of a lot of effort if you want to truly see lasting results. But if you’re reading this, I know you’re a strong, independent woman who crushes her workouts and slays her day.

The truth remains, though…

You need to change how you eat.

I know, I know. You hear it all the time:

• “Eat less.”
• “Count your calories.”
• “No, wait, count your macros.”
• “Don’t forget breakfast.”
• “Don’t eat after dark.”
• “Avoid sugar.”
• “Avoid gluten.”

Bleh.

Where do you even start? It’s easy to throw your hands up and order Pizza Hut. I mean, pizza’s a vegetable, right?

Let’s start to simplify things.

First, it’s time to change your relationship with food. Imagine shopping with an organized shopping list (without all the impulse Oreo purchases), cooking tasty, nutritional meals, and eating natural foods that make you feel great, without giving up your precious “me” time. This is the key to transforming your body (and mind) from the inside out. Doing this will take your workouts, your body, and your life to a whole new level of ass-kicking awesomeness.

Proper Nutrition Matters

Meanwhile, exercise without proper nutrition leaves you feeling frustrated, groggy, and sick. The key to winning your weight loss battle (or building more strength) comes down to understanding that what you put into your body really, really matters.

You can’t outrun the fork. Well, technically, you could, but who has that kind of time? It’s easier to eat well than it is to eat crappy food and exercise it off. While you could possibly burn off most of the calories, no amount of exercise will negate the effects of terrible food.

Our bodies just don’t do a great job when it comes to processing junk food. Sure, it can suck the bare amount of nutrients out of that carton of chocolate ice cream, but do you really want the bare amount of nutrients just to “survive,” meeting your caloric intake just to keep your body functioning? Diabetes, heart disease, and digestive problems are just a few unwanted side effects that come from eating junk food.

But I totally get it. Crappy food is convenient. Incredibly convenient. And the struggle is real when it comes to those cravings.

In the past, I would eat fast food nearly every night, and devouring a carton of Cookies and Cream after a stressful day was the norm. It even got to the point where I had to ask my husband to hide my milk chocolate almonds from Costco, all because I couldn’t control my portions when my cravings kicked into high gear. Yes, I’m the girl who ended up eating the 3-pound container of chocolates after finding them hidden in a suitcase. (Props to my husband for creativity.)

I did confess…weeks later…not my proudest moment.

I know what it feels like to be at the mercy of junk food. So trust me when I tell you, incorporating healthy food into your life is when you’ll transition from surviving to thriving. It’s time to cut through the confusion and decode healthy eating.

To quote Ann Wigmore:

The food you eat can be either the safest and most powerful form of medicine or the slowest form of poison.

Let’s get started.

What Is “Healthy Food”?

First, let’s define “healthy food.” The nitty gritty is debated in nutrition circles, but it’s really hard to argue with the following: Eat an assortment of vegetables, grass-fed meats, wild-caught fish, and healthy fats like avocados, nuts, and seeds.

When I started down the path of healthy eating, I thought I was doomed to eat bland, boring food, but I soon realized how wrong I was. This is some of the most delicious food you could ever consume.

And the best part? You don’t have to worry about eating too many calories when you’re eating real food. It’s nearly impossible to OD on foods from the earth. So throw that damn scale out the window.

Go ahead. I’ll wait :)

I know that we’re barely scratching the surface here, but time is short. So, here are 3 game-winning tips to jump-start eating right so that you can shed the pounds and go full beast-mode on your workouts, you badass warrior you.

1. Set Up Your Environment To Work For You, Not Against You

Sooner or later, willpower will fail you (I speak from experience). If there’s pizza in my house, you can bet that’s what I’m having when hunger sets in. You can also bet I feel terrible when I do.

We need to make sure we don’t rely on willpower when making dietary choices. We need to make these decisions BEFORE we’re tired and hungry.

Remember earlier when I said you could throw your scale out the window? Yay! Now I’m going to ask you to do something a lot harder… it’s time to throw out all of your junk food.

Once you’re mentally prepared, head to your kitchen and get rid of any junk food. It’s time to wipe the slate clean and fill that pantry with delicious foods that won’t be disastrous to your health.

“Um, no. You’ll have to pry pizza and ice cream from my cold, dead hands, Natalie.”

I know, I know. I’ve said the same things. It’s not that you can’t ever eat these things. I’m just saying those kinds of carbs ultimately turn to fat, and junk food is the culprit behind those stubborn, unwanted pounds.

Instead of thinking, “I want it, but I can’t have it,” building better habits will, over time, switch your mindset to, “I can have it, but I don’t want it.” This shift will put you in control of your destiny, not at the mercy of your craving.

Once your junk food has found a new home, it’s time to start meal prepping.

I’ll be honest, I love eating delicious, nutritious food. Cooking a meal from scratch every night? Not so much. Prepping meals for the week may take some work, but it’s so worth it. Plus, I don’t have to wonder what ingredients are hiding in my food. I know exactly what I’m eating, and I feel amazing afterwards, not sluggish and sick.

Meal prepping ensures you won’t waste your hard-earned money on food that is harmful to you and your family’s health, and your body and mind will thank you for it.

2. Eat Your Calories, Don’t Drink Them

Here in the South, sweet tea is considered its own religion. And while it’s the perfect comfort drink this side of adult beverages, it’s straight up terrible for your health.

Sweet tea alone (or any sugary beverage, really) could be the reason you’re feeling tired and struggling to slay your workouts. Depending on the size of your drink, it can contain more than the recommended daily dose of sugar. That’s guaranteed to hijack your health and waistline. But sugar is a sneaky SOB, and sometimes it hides in drinks you think are healthy. A glass of orange juice has just as much sugar as a can of Coke. And don’t even get me started on Gatorade. Yikes!

When you drink sugary beverages, your brain tells your body to create more insulin in order to handle the onslaught of sugar. Sugar crashes happen when your body has too much insulin, and this causes your cravings to come back in full force.

I recommend going balls to the wall and cutting it out completely. But it can be tough, so start with little wins. Start asking for half sweet, half regular at restaurants, use less sugar at home, cut one soda out… but don’t stop there! Keep stacking your wins!

So make a conscious decision to eat your calories, not drink them. You’ll feel much more satiated when you choose to get your calories from delicious, filling foods.

3. Find What Motivates You

This is the most important. Now it’s time to decide why you want to change your lifestyle. Once you’ve done this, choose a powerful visual as a reminder. It could be a vision board full of goals you want to achieve, or you could post one picture in multiple areas, reminding you why you’re making these sacrifices. Really spend some time on this and dig deeper than “I want to have more energy.” Your answer will be what drives you, your ultimate motivator.

You’ve got to want this more than you want to binge eat while watching “This Is Us.” Or, in my case, the Cowboys in the playoffs.

I want you to succeed! Repeat after me: “Change doesn’t come easy; I have to work for it.”

To your fitness success!

You’ve got this!

Interested in even more nutritional advice, recipes, and encouragement to kickstart your weight loss and slay your workouts? Sign up here! http://eepurl.com/cyyI3j

- Natalie