I ate whatever I wanted growing up, no real concept of healthy or good and bad foods. I played sports and fortunately never had to worry about weight or got too wrapped into how I looked. Until I got to college, I kept my same eating habits - eating what I wanted in large quantities (Ive always been a big eater), easily putting away an entire large pizza in one sitting... because I could, but I wasnt nearly as active as I had been in grade school and I put on 20 lb. in my first semester. When I realized the scale was reading almost 150 it was the red light I needed to make a change. I got myself into the gym, working out daily and changed my eating habits. College was probably my first exposure to clean eating. I dont think my mindset about food really changed though until I started competing. Even though I have been fortunate to have been mentored and coached by some amazing individuals, none of whom took me through any extreme or unhealthy methods of prep, I was still restricted from many foods that I loved, which in turn caused me to 1, binge - post contest and months following and 2 - create a very unhealthy relationship with food. Last year after competing I made myself physically ill stuffing my face with as much food as I could stand. For not other reason then I could. I wasnt hungry. I just wanted to eat. Because I could. And it wasnt just once. I competed in 3 shows over 3 months and repeated the same behavior each time. Youd THINK I would have learned my lesson the first time. Within a month of my last show for the year, I had put on 15 lb. I was eating healthy as I enjoy healthy food. I even competed a Whole 30 (A Paleo 30 day challenge) with my Mom. But my portions were out of control. I was unhappy with the way I looked, and the way I felt but couldnt seem to get control of my eating (finishing off jars of nut butter weekly) and drop any of the excess weight (no surprise there). It was a year ago this month that I decided I needed to make a permanent change. That this yo-yo, back and forth, contest vs not contest, black and white thinking was not going to work. I was an athlete. And I wanted to look and perform like one. And not just for the stage. Thats when made the switch to IIFYM/Flexible Dieting. Over the past year Ive been able to enjoy all the foods that I love, even during contest prep. Ive embraced my sweet tooth - allowing for some kind of treat most days. Its allowed me to be creative in the kitchen and with my meals. Every day is different since Im not following a meal plan, which I love. Variety is the spice of life! Its taught me proper proportions and helped to rectify the unhealthy relationship I had grown with food. Have I fallen off the wagon a time or two? Absolutely. Do I still struggle sometimes? You bet. But I am proud to say that I did not binge or eat to the point of making myself sick after my shows this year. Ive stayed within 8 pounds of my stage weight. Ive gone weeks without tracking my food and have not fallen back into my same bad habits. That all being said.. this article really hit home for me. Its very well written and sums up some of what Ive brought up in my own journey above. Worth a read.
Posted on: Thu, 07 Aug 2014 01:11:10 +0000
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