So I'm almost to the end of week 4 of my nutrition plan that I'm on and I've started thinking about what previous diets were like for me and how different the plan I'm on now is. So I thought I'd make a list of things that are different or new to me so far!
- Fruit is not the Enemy! I used to ban fruit from my life and never eat it. The sugars in the fruit were what was keeping me away from enjoying any of it. What I've realized now is that fruit is not a bad thing in moderation. I eat fruit now twice throughout my day but I keep it to a certain measured amount.
- Healthy Carbs are A-OK! I used to miss oatmeal from my diet but now I have it every morning after my morning cardio. I don't really have any other carb in my diet except any I get from vegetables throughout the day or from greek yogurt which has little carbs.
- Mind muscle connection: I enjoy working out and used to mainly focus on the amount of reps I was getting through. My muscles of course would hurt but I realize now that I'm working out to build a symmetrical body. For a competition the criteria is different because the judging is based on a body that has muscular balance and symmetry. So I'm trying to connect my mind to engage certain muscles in order to build them and form them a certain way. Not just mindless reps. Each squat, lunge, hamstring curl needs to engage my glute in a way that I am aware of it throughout each rep. If I use my quads too much just to get through reps then my body isn't getting balanced because my quads will be defined by I'll be lacking in the glute area. (my glutes are the main muscle group I'm trying to connect with so that's why I talked about it more than others right now)
- I don't know what the scale says: This last year my husband and I did 6 days eating healthy and 1 day eating whatever we wanted (yeah I know, a whole day!). I weighed myself every day. I was ruled by the numbers on the scale. And today it's the opposite, I am more pleased with the body I'm creating now but I have no idea what I weigh and I'm not really interested in stepping on a scale any time soon.
- Pictures help: I used to think that the girls that worked out and posted pictures of themselves were conceded but I understand why they do it. Taking pictures of your progress is a good way to compare and see where your muscle development is and where there is any difference. Especially with a muscle group you've really been focusing on.
- Getting my sleep: I believe that each person is either a morning person or night owl by nature. And we work either with or against it depending on our schedules. I am a natural night owl but I've noticed more and more that I want sleep. My body doesn't want to stay up very late and it's ready for rest. This is a good thing, muscles need to get their rest.
- You don't have to do cardio forever: People want "quick" fixes and results and you can work yourself into the ground with cardio and achieve them but they won't be very long standing results. There are times where I think about doing extra workouts or doing extra time for my cardio but my diet is based on doing 45 min of cardio 5X's a week and 5 training sessions and if I start doing extra right now and continue to do so then my diet won't really be balancing with my training. I still have 28 weeks to go and if I start sprinting to the finish then I won't be able to keep up the routine until the end.
- Nutrition is the money maker: While exercise builds a fabulous body if you combine that with a balanced nutrition the amount of changes are unstoppable. Include things in your daily meals that you like and when things get boring try something new!!! Try to find healthy recipes you enjoy or ways to make your favorite meals healthier! Plan out your fun meals or moments and enjoy life in a balanced way! But the key to not running yourself ragged is keeping nutrition steady and balanced.
Maybe you find yourself learning new things from your fitness routine like I am now. And I hope this process continues for me! Hope you guys are having a fabulous day and are a little more focused than I am right now (I feel like I'm all over the place! But alas I know why, I'm avoiding laundry :)
Cheers,
Ash
No comments:
Post a Comment