But the hard part, at least for me, is eating right. I love food. And I mean I have an inner chubster. Cake, chocolate, nacho cheese, alfredo sauce--Oh dear I'm making myself hungry. Point is, the more unhealthy it is the more likely I was to like it. I've gotten better.
The simple fact is, you can out-eat any good exercise routine. You'll still be building muscle, of course, but you won't lose the fat. And that was something I had to learn the hard way. I was doing P90x religiously, at least 5 times a week, but I was not eating right. I would still sneak out and get something or make any of the numerous unhealthy meals that you can think of. Cooking cream? Oh yes, very tasty, makes cooking easy, but trust me when I say it does not make a healthy meal (110 calories a serving for just the cream is a lot)! Food was my enemy.
When I had almost finished P90X and yet quit losing weight (hello plateau) I realized that my eating habits needed a change if I was going to succeed. I became a coach in January, along with starting Insanity, and noticed something I had never really paid attention to before--the meal plan. Whoa, every Beachbody program comes with a meal plan! Okay so I had seen the books before, but I never really tried to follow it before. Now was the time to start, though!
The Insanity book had a great selection of recipes for the five meals a day. And yes, I said five. Instead of eating three larger meals a day, something that I noticed consistently with the P90x and Insanity meal plans was five meals of about 300 calories each: Breakfast, Snack, Lunch, Snack and Dinner. So I decided to follow the suggested meal plans as closely as possible this time. I also had the meal planner on the Team Beachbody site to follow.
I could say making the change was difficult and make a bunch of excuses for why I had failed in the past, but honestly it was so easy to start making the right choices. There are plenty of foods out there that are healthy and yet delicious and filling. My breakfast mostly consists of Shakeology (most of the time with milk and crushed ice, sometimes I throw a banana or strawberries in there). I had totally avoided breakfast in the past--definitely a no-no when you are trying to eat right. I always said that breakfast was too heavy or that I hated breakfast foods like eggs. And honestly how many easy and fast breakfast foods are healthy? The Shakeology was easy and light, so I never felt full after I had finished it.
My first snack was often times yogurt or cottage cheese (if I woke up in time to eat a snack between breakfast and lunch!) Something still small and not filling, but in my handy little book.
Lunch had a variety of choices for me! A turkey BLT?? Yes, you can have a Turkey BLT. To me it tastes just as wonderful as a regular BLT. Two slices of whole wheat bread, 3 slices of turkey bacon, tomato, and lettuce. Or maybe I had a deli sandwich on half of a whole wheat bagel with sliced turkey breast, swiss cheese and dijon mustard.
My second snack would be something else simple like a hard boiled egg. Or whole grain crackers with a slice of tomato.
Dinner is admittedly a little more difficult. I live in a house with other people who are picky and might not be as willing to commit to a healthier lifestyle. I've made Chicken Stir-fry with vegetables, Steak with a side of broccoli, and Dilled Salmon among other delicious meals. None of these meals took very long to prepare, and they were filling and tasty.
I can still love food, I have just learned to be smarter about how much I love it. Of course, I still have cheat days. After all, who can go to Easter dinner at their grandmother's house and resist the dessert table?
Part of my being a Beachbody coach is that I can help other people discover what I found out--that eating healthy is essential to good, steady weight loss. No crash diets, no giving things up completely, just balancing out what you eat and how much you eat.
I could say making the change was difficult and make a bunch of excuses for why I had failed in the past, but honestly it was so easy to start making the right choices. There are plenty of foods out there that are healthy and yet delicious and filling. My breakfast mostly consists of Shakeology (most of the time with milk and crushed ice, sometimes I throw a banana or strawberries in there). I had totally avoided breakfast in the past--definitely a no-no when you are trying to eat right. I always said that breakfast was too heavy or that I hated breakfast foods like eggs. And honestly how many easy and fast breakfast foods are healthy? The Shakeology was easy and light, so I never felt full after I had finished it.
My first snack was often times yogurt or cottage cheese (if I woke up in time to eat a snack between breakfast and lunch!) Something still small and not filling, but in my handy little book.
Lunch had a variety of choices for me! A turkey BLT?? Yes, you can have a Turkey BLT. To me it tastes just as wonderful as a regular BLT. Two slices of whole wheat bread, 3 slices of turkey bacon, tomato, and lettuce. Or maybe I had a deli sandwich on half of a whole wheat bagel with sliced turkey breast, swiss cheese and dijon mustard.
Dinner is admittedly a little more difficult. I live in a house with other people who are picky and might not be as willing to commit to a healthier lifestyle. I've made Chicken Stir-fry with vegetables, Steak with a side of broccoli, and Dilled Salmon among other delicious meals. None of these meals took very long to prepare, and they were filling and tasty.
I can still love food, I have just learned to be smarter about how much I love it. Of course, I still have cheat days. After all, who can go to Easter dinner at their grandmother's house and resist the dessert table?
Part of my being a Beachbody coach is that I can help other people discover what I found out--that eating healthy is essential to good, steady weight loss. No crash diets, no giving things up completely, just balancing out what you eat and how much you eat.
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