For the past 2 1/2 weeks I made some adjustments in my diet that were long overdue. Until reading Tim's book, 4HB, I had forgotten some of my own eating and food strategies that gave me the greatest successes. I had forgotten them because my shcedule had changed after quitting my job at a Salon 3 days a week, giving me too many options, and too many choices in my daily life.I'll get right down to the food facts....and the "why's" I'll explain afterwards.
One of the first things I did was to incorporate back into my eating and food strategy was the cheat day....or as I used to refer to it as a "high calorie day". Well, to be able to do that I had to organize my meals for rest of the 5-6 days of the week into specific parameters....both calorically and nutritionally. Good thing for me the two go hand in hand!
The other thing I did was not part of my original diet, but instead a suggestion from the 4HB...I cut out grains. I cut out barley, farro, crackers, oats, and for sure cookies! I rarely eat rice, bread or tortillas, or pasta, so these things were not things I needed to cut out. And because I cut out crackers, then the cheese went also, and my wine consumption decreased slighty...can't have wine without cheese and crackers, lol!
I made these adjustments without formality in the first week. What I mean about "formality" is that I did not journal my menu or calories, and I did not eat the same foods everyday, I simply changed the types of foods I was eating previously, and was more aware of not "treating" myself everyday to too many goodies, waiting instead until the end of the week. This started to give me more structure and focus.
The second week.....
I came up with an exact menu for M-F. My foods were the same, but I allowed the order to change to accomodate my training and work schedule. For instance, if I was not at home for lunch without a blender then I couldn't make a smoothie, so I may have had my smoothie meal for dinner.
I pre-pared, pre-packaged, and pre-portioned! The 3 "P's"! I did not do this the first week, and let me tell you, it's made a big difference in my life in so many ways...one of which was that I found joy again in my food and eating! That's big!
I kept a food journal! Guess what I found out? I found out that I was just like everybody else that thinks they are NOT eating as much as they ARE! Yep, I was probaly eating over 500 calories more that I thought I was before I made these changes, and after I made these changes I was still consuming more that I thought. I counted my daily calories after these changes at 1900-2200.
Now I'm in my third week and I'll elaborate on all of these changes when I have more time....
first picture above is me at the RKC re-Cert in La Jolla this past weekend eating my preportioned snack. second picture is some of my weeks pre packed and pre portioned foods.
What I like about this way of eating is that the pressure of "what will I make for dinner tonight", or "what will I make for lunch", or "what should I buy at the store" is completely out of the picture. Listening to people talk about food is very tiring. They put SO much effort into making something "different" everyday. I think of food as fuel-period. Nothing pretty about what I eat. It looks bland, it sounds bland-but to me it tastes good and it does what it needs. This way I can put all my energy into designing my workouts instead. I have 26.2 miles to think about, I could care less about how "colorful" my food plate looks!
ReplyDeleteDiana,
ReplyDeleteI don't know where this idea of "having" to eat something different everyday came from.
Vegetables are never bland. I don't eat veggies for color or variety, I eat them because I love how they taste and I love how eating them makes me feel. Lucky me they are quick and easy to prepare too!
I swear this concept is genius. Everywhere I look there's an article or something telling me how to "mix up" dinner so you don't have to eat the same thing. I've fallen in that trap many times...stressing about what to make for dinner when the only thing I can muster is something we had last week, as if it were a crime.
ReplyDeleteI still cook for the family and I try to "mix it up", but having my meals ready is a big stress off my back. At some point I'll get creative, but for now, it's working just fine.
Now, if I could just master social eating....ha!
Maribel,
ReplyDeleteStay home! I'm so much better than I used to be, but it just kills me that the only thing people know how to do when they get together is eat!
Hi Tracy,
ReplyDeleteI just discovered your blog after reading 4HB and wondering if you do all the things Tim says in his book when you have a cheat day - like 90seconds of exercise right b4 eating and 90 min after, grapefruit juice b4 cheat meal, and the PAAG stack of supplements, etc. Just curious. Congrats on your transformation :)
Dee,
ReplyDeleteI didn't know about all of the fancy smancy stuff Tim experimented with at the time, in fact i didn't know who Tim Ferriss was!
The cheat meal is a well known diet strategy of bodybuilders who are the experts on getting lean! (My husband coached 2 professional bodybuilders and was competitive in the sport himself)
What I did do, unbeknownest to me at the time to be relevant to Tim's theory, is that I trained kettlebells in the afternoon, after a morning sweets binge!
I totally respect and value Tim's data in his book, and if I were one to want to try and control every angle I would, for sure, incorporate it all! Lucky for me I love where I am and the fact that I'm making a few changes is simply icing on the cake!