Intuitive Eating: My Thoughts

Now that you have a little backstory about what brought me to this book I want to talk about the book.

Here are the basic principles of the book:

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The most informative section for me was the "reject the diet mentality" section.  It basically says the reason diets do not work is because we tell ourselves foods are good and bad.  We eat the good foods and stay away from the bad.  Then when the temptation gets too great we give into the "bad foods."  This causes us to feel bad about ourselves, like we are failures, which then causes us to binge.  The binge usually leads to more "bad" eating.  Then on Monday we vow to do better.

It also talks about the last supper mentality.  I know I've been guilty of this.  Sundays we stuff our face with everything because we are starting a new diet Monday.

It basically says to put weightloss on the back burner.  Your goal for eating this way should not be to lose weight.  It may happen. But it may not.  You should fall into your natural weight.  Your natural weight is what you maintain without trying.  

Another one of my favorite principles is "Exercise- feel the difference."  I like this because it says to find something you enjoy doing and do it.  Don't use exercise as a form of punishment.  Don't use exercise to burn X amount of calories because you were "bad" during the day.  I am VERY guilty of this.  I have 2 heart rate monitors and a fitbit.  I had been wearing one or the other or both all the time.  I wanted to see how many calories I burned to compare that to my eating in My Fitness Pal.  This is not the right way to look at exercise.

About two weeks ago when I started to try to change my thinking I decided to give those devices a rest.  I decided not to use them for a while.  I also decided instead of following a schedule for my workouts every day I would do what I wanted that day.  If I want to rest I will.  If I want to run instead of lift I will switch my days.  If I want to do yoga I will.  I am trying to change my thoughts about exercise. I used to enjoy running.  I did it almost every day because it was fun for me.  Exercise stopped being fun when it became about burning calories. I want it to be fun again.  For the past 2 weeks I have listened to my body every day to see what I wanted to do for movement that day.  This has felt so much better than telling myself well its back/bicep day so you better suck it up and do it whether you feel like it or not...

There is also a section on raising an intuitive eating child/ teenager.  I skipped that part.

The books has way more to offer.  These are just some of the chapters that stood out to me.

I think this book is great tool to start to see food, nutrition, and health from a different perspective.  Its the opposite of what we read every day in magazine, see on Instagram and social media, etc...  I have been trying to follow these principles daily, and I can say- I feel so much more free.  I haven't beat myself up about my eating habits since starting this.  I have overeaten a couple of times.  That is because at the time I let myself get too hungry before I ate again.  I would highly recommend it to anyone because it is just refreshing to see it all from a different view.

You can buy it here on Amazon.  Let me know if you read this book or have read it before and what you think!!

XO
Heather

I also wanted to include this AWESOME blogpost that I read yesterday about why this blogger stopped counting calories.  I honestly felt like I could've written it myself.  : 

Intuitive Eating: The Backstory

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I figure I should start with the backstory of what brought me to this book.  I picked up this book last week on my way home from work after stalking Paige's blog, facebook, and instagram for suggestions on learning how to eat... I have been in a bit of a funk lately.  I feel like I have been on some type of diet for the past 2 years or so when I know I don't need to be.  At the time I did have some weight to lose and wasn't happy with my body.  I wasn't healthy.  I ate a lot of junk food and randomly did some kind of "work out" every once in a while.  That's when I found Tone It Up and running.  I lost the weight  and I enjoyed it all at the time.  But it sort of started a vicious cycle for me that I haven't quite learned how to recover from.  

But I honestly don't know how to eat.  This is a big thing for me to admit b/c I feel like amongst my friends and co-workers and family I am the go-to person for advice on healthy eating and a healthy lifestyle.  See, on the outside it may look like I have my shit together. I really don't. I mean, who does?!

My weight has fluctuated so much (according to the scale) for the past couple of years.  The crazy thing is that 1 year ago today I actually weighed 10 lbs more than right now but I wear the same size.  Its because I started lifting weights in November. So I know its MOSTLY muscle gain and some fat.  I let that scale # dictate my feelings about myself.  I know better. I don't know why I let it bother me.  Then it causes me to think I need to diet.  When in all reality I don't need to diet. I need to learn how to eat.- how to eat to fuel my body and maintain my weight.  I have no clue how to do that.

A few weeks ago this would be a typical day/ week for me:
Monday-Friday I would meal plan and bring my food to work every day.  Never eating out with co-workers or deviating from the plan.  I would eat at 7, 10, 12, 2, 5, and 7... Every day... Those exact times.  Regardless of whether I was hungry or starving I would eat at those times.  Because someone told me this is the way to eat.  Then if something unusual happened- like someone brought donuts- I would have 1, then another, then another... (True Story- this happened a few weeks ago).  I think its because I would tell myself "You can't have the donut. It is bad for you.  It is processed.  You are going to Mexico in a month."  But then after about 2 hours of telling myself that I would give in.  Then after having one I would get the f*ck it mentality b/c I already screwed up. So I would eat until I felt sick.
The weekends were a different story.  Because I was "good" all week I would splurge on the weekends.  Except I would splurge at every single meal.  We will eat out every meal Friday afternoon- Sunday night.  Add in some drinking with friends and I screwed up everything I did during the week.  So because I felt so bad about myself Sunday night I would vow to do better Monday and the cycle would start again.  I am positive I am not alone in this.

I had a realization a couple of weeks ago.  I honestly don't even remember  how it came about.  Maybe I looked at a picture of myself or something.  But at that moment I said to myself, "You look great. WTF is wrong with you?  You don't need to diet.  You need to learn how to eat."  So that is what I am on a quest to do... Learn how to properly eat and accept/love my body.

I went through and unfollowed a ton of people on Instagram.  I had to stop looking at everyone's pics of their abs in the morning.  I don't want to be a bikini competitor therefore I don't need to look to those people for inspiration or advice.  Its not practical.

Tone It Up was great in helping me initially lose the weight.  But now I need to learn how I can eat for the rest of my life.  Something that is easily sustainable.  Something that will make life easier and bring me joy and not stress.

So that is where I am right now.  Learning to listen to my body.  Stop dieting.  Stop restricting.  Learning to love to exercise again instead of doing it for calories burned.  Learning to love myself.  Learning to love my body.  Its a struggle.  Just yesterday I found myself looking at old pictures of myself thinking I needed to go on a diet before our trip to Mexico in 4 weeks b/c the scale says I'm 10lbs heavier than last year.

Next I'm going to do a book review/ overview of some of my thoughts on the book!

Have you ever tried Intuitive Eating?  Do you diet all the time?  Are you going through something similar?

XO,
Heather

A Journal

This is probably at least the 3rd time I have stopped blogging for a long period of time and restarted. I think it is because I don't know where I want to go with it. I need to stop trying to have a focus or a destination and just let it be.  I think that is something I struggle with in all aspects of my life.

So what inspired me to get started again this time?  Last night I had a realization- I don't feel balanced.     I am very successful at my job.  I have a successful position in my company.  I have amazing friends.  I am healthy and physically fit.  I am happy most of the time.  I have a great family.  Some things I feel like I don't have or can't find is creativity and fulfillment....  

Maybe I am looking at this all wrong.  I guess the term creativity is sort of relative.  I guess creativity can show up in many different forms.  I love the idea of doing creative things and making things. I'm  just not really good at it.  And that is where I struggle.  I'm not a good writer.  I definitely can't sing, or draw, or really make stuff.  I'm not very crafty.  I feel like I am lacking creativity altogether... Not just an outlet but the creative gene or something.

As far as fulfillment goes- I want to help people.  I want to find my purpose.  I have felt like it usually had something to do with helping people lose weight or get fit. {But honestly- I think that has caused more harm than good in my life.  More on that in another post.}  I don't know how to find my purpose.

Last night I googled "How to channel creative energy."  It brought me to a few articles about balancing your chakras.  This is something I never really looked into. But now I'm extremely intrigued. 

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I'm thinking I need to focus on balancing the 2nd Chakra.  Hell I probably need to balance all of them.  For now this is what I am focusing on.    I found this info:

2nd chakra:

Balanced: Vibrant physical and emotional health, feeling of well being, laugh easily and often, healthy sexual and creative outlets

Unbalanced: Emotionally instable or numb, fear of change, sexual dysfunction, depression, anorexia, alcohol or drug abuse

Stepping up to the 2nd Chakra, it’s time to move out of the survival mode of the 1st Chakra’s focus on your basic physical needs and start having fun feeling sensual and sexy, and engaging your creative self. The 2nd Chakra attends to your desire for interpersonal relationships and invites others into your life to share your passions, sexuality, and creativity.

The 2nd Chakra level primarily focuses on emotional and sexual energies. Balanced emotions promote a sense of self-worth that allows one to accept all the good, including abundance and prosperity, into his or her life. And balanced sexual energy generates romance and healthy sexual relationships. The craving to create something physical, outside of oneself, develops at this level, and drawing, painting, writing, and music are excellent outlets for this desire.

A balanced 2nd Chakra leads to feelings of wellness, plenty, pleasure, and joy. You can see this exemplified by those who are fully connected and attuned to their physical and emotional centers. They are comfortable with their bodies and their emotions. Sexual and non-sexual relationships are healthy, and they are based on trust and mutual respect. There is a passion for life that is expressed in everything they do.

Imbalances in the 2nd Chakra are characterized by “living in your head,” being out of touch with what your body is telling you, and denying yourself pleasure. Anorexia, bulimia, drug and alcohol abuse, and other addictions are attempts to nurture oneself in this kind of emotionally disconnected or detached state. Sexual dysfunctions are also directly related to imbalances in the 2nd Chakra.

An overactive 2nd Chakra can result in lustful, arrogant, or conceited behavior, and an aggressive desire to control others; whereas an underdeveloped 2nd Chakra can manifest as distrust, resentment, fear, apathy, pessimism, and anti-social conduct. It can also show up as continually worrying about what others think and always following the crowd.

The 2nd Chakra is a very important building block in the Chakramid structure. As such, it is perfectly positioned and proportioned right above the root Chakra, which is the foundation or base of the Chakramid. Emotional awareness and connectedness will become more and more important as you ascend up the Chakramid, because emotions are the magnifying glass through which you will examine, study, evaluate (and ultimately communicate with) all of your Chakras.

So I am hoping this blog will help me let out some of that energy I feel like is built up.  I have no focus for the blog. Maybe people will read it. Maybe not.  I just need a place to be me.  I need a bigger sense of fulfillment.  Maybe this will give it to me.  Maybe not.  Maybe it will be a place that inspires me to do something else that will give me a sense of fulfillment in my life.  The title is "Diary of a Simple Life."  So that's what this will be- a diary... a journal of some sort... 

XO

Heather

21 Day Fix Results and Final Review

Well I did it!!  I finished the 21 Day Fix & was very pleased with my results.  Here were my final stats:

Starting 2/17:

Weight 134

Body fat: 20.7%

waist 25"

Hips 36"

Left thigh 21"

Right thigh 22"

3/10

Weight: 125.2

Body fat: 19.5%

Wait 24.5"

Hips 35.5"

Left Thigh 21"

Right 21.3"

I'm really not good with measuring.  I feel like I didn't measure in the same spots for my legs... 

I am extremely happy with my after pics.  I didn't have a lot to lose and my biggest goal was to get my body fat under 20% and I did that. I accomplished my goal!  I am blown away.  Everyone in my test group had crazy results.  Some lost as much as 15 pounds.  Some lost no pounds but a ton of inches and gained so much energy.  There are so  many different ways to measure your success.  I look at pictures and my body fat to measure my success.  

Final thoughts on the program:

-I didn't love the workouts enough to continue them after the program.  They were good- don't get me wrong.  Simple classic workout moves that are effective.  I just like going to the gym, running or doing T25 more.   

- The best part of this program is the meal system.  It opened my eyes to my eating habits and how my body responds to different foods.  I honestly felt so disappointed for so long b/c I felt like I was doing all that I could with my eating to see results.  I was lying to myself. I definitely wasn't. I was eating the right foods MOST of the time.  But the wrong portions and too much of one thing and not enough of the other.

- I ended with the 3 Day Quick Fix.  It is a SIMPLE BASIC 3 day program Autumn uses to get ready for a bikini competition.  No fruit, no dairy, VERY few carbs, lots of protein and veggies.  I learned my body responds really well to that. 

- The program is not gimmicky.  It is basic workout moves and basic fundamental nutrition.  I am actually following the program still to maintain my weight.  It takes the guesswork out of everything for me. Its just easier.  It can also work with any dietary needs.  I am using this with my knowledge from the Tone It Up Plan together.

-The knowledge I gained from this program was worth so much more than what I spent on it.

Here are some before and after pics.  

The program has actually sold out twice now because it's just such a great program for the price. Beach body really never disappoints. But this program is extra special because it focuses so much on nutrition.

I would love to help you reach your goals and get bikini ready! 

Xo, 

Heather

21 Day Fix Week 2 Review

Sorry for the lack of posts!  Things have been crazy busy at work lately.  Then when I get home I've been doing double workouts and I haven't had a ton of free time to blog!

I wanted to give a review of my week 2 on the 21 Day Fix.

Week 2 was definitely easier that week 1.  I feel like my body is adjusting a little more to the smaller portions.  I didn't have to go out to eat any. So that helped.  Even though you totally can eat out (there is a restaurant guide).  I just prefer not to.  I really like to know what is in my food.  Its hard to tell that when you go out.

All week I pretty much ate the same things.  Shakeology for breakfast, greek yogurt and fruit for snack, salad with some kind of protein and quinoa or a turkey sandwich on Ezekial pita, hummus with a pita (if not for lunch) and then a lean protein and veggie for dinner.

This weekend posed a whole new threat for me- Mardi Gras...  My husband actually loves it way more than I do. I tend to get stressed out with all the crowds around.  But he invited his sister, brother in law, and 2 kids down to go to the Endymion parade on Saturday.  So I knew I had to go.  My biggest problem was going to be what the hell to bring to eat?! And of course... not drinking... lol...

We actually went out to the parade route Friday night and set out our stuff to secure a good spot.

Then Saturday morning my husband went back to check on everything.  I had breakfast of eggs, oatmeal, and fruit for breakfast first.  
While he did that I got in a Dirty 30 Workout from the 21 day fix.  I was so proud of myself.  I reasoned with myself for a good hour about why I didn't have to do it. I was going to be walking a lot, I had not missed a work out yet, I deserved it, etc... Finally I sucked it up and just did it! I was so happy I did.

Then I had a snack of apple & almond butter.  Then started to get ready.  Around 12:30 I ate my lunch. I had baked chicken, brown rice, and green peas.  I was upset with myself because I didn't notice until afterwards that I measured the peas in the wrong container... OOPS!  Oh well, could've been worse.

I knew that I would need 2 meals while we were out.  We were leaving around 1, but the parade didn't start until 4:00, and lasted about 3 hours.  I decided to pack a ton of water, a packet of shakeology, and a meal of a pita; turkey; hummus; bell peppers.  I figured all of those things were easy to eat.  My husband brought beer, Reese's eggs, and beef jerky... ha!

The day went fine.  I was a little hungry. But around 3:00 I ate my turkey and bell peppers and dipped my pita in the hummus.  It was easy to eat and delish!  I ended up having 1 Reese's egg (I couldn't help myself) and a few pieces of beef jerky.  I did open a beer then after a few sips realized it was stupid so I gave it away... I had to keep my focus on my goals!!!!  I ended up not even having the shakeology until when got home around 8.  The parade was over around 7:15 and we had to pack up and walk back to the car.  Plus, I wasn't super hungry.

The parade was fun! I was proud of myself.  Our niece and nephew had a great time at their first Mardi Gras, and I was so glad we went!

I weighed in Monday morning.  I was only down 1 pound from the last week- which I think makes 4lbs total. I was down to 127.8.  But the big exciting news is that my body fat % is at 19.8!!!!!  I'm so excited.  I reached my goal already!  I also took some 2 week progress pictures, and I was very pleased with them!!!  I'm down a few inches too in different places but I don't have the numbers in front of me.

So far I am extremely impressed with this program.  Its simple, easy to follow, and teaches the average person (that may know nothing about clean eating & fitness) what to eat.  If you are interested in the 21 Day Fix let me know.  I have accountability groups starting all month long.  

-Heather