I don't think I used to eat badly. I have always disliked snacking on things like chips and biscuits, and if I have too much junk food I tend to do everything I can to avoid it rather than become addicted. The downfall with that though, is that I then suggest eating out in a restaurant, where you can have garlic bread, your main and a cheeky dessert. Although the food tastes a million times better, I was still eating way too much on a regular basis.
It started to show. Not immediately, but gradually as I left my teenage years and entered working life. Working meant money, and money meant take out and going out for dinner to avoid cooking after work.
I actually joined a gym last January again after cancelling my prior membership at another gym as it wasn't a 24 hr gym to meet my crazy schedule. I approached gym differently last year, and did zero cardio, opting for strength training instead. I loved it. It changed my body for the better and I know that I am much stronger now.
Come this January in 2015, although I was stronger and my legs and arms looked fantastic, the devil for me was a bit of excess weight and bloating, which made me feel bigger than I am.
I did some research and came to the conclusion that gym isn't the only solution. The fuel must be decent.
I had this mindset for most of December, and I found that for Christmas dinner I didn't overeat and only had one type of dessert rather than gorge on the buffet.
I felt better.
Right after Christmas, I went with a group of friends to a beachside holiday for a week. A massive stack of alcohol was bought, and easy food like instant noodles and frozen foods were on the menus for the entire week so that we don't have to cook too much.
By day 5, my body was crying out. Heat, excess alcohol, no nutritional food. It made me tired and sick. I was craving vegetables.
I am glad I went through that experience. We are now in February and I've been doing quite well. I've cut down sugar to a bare minimum. I haven't touched McDonald's or KFC. We are cooking more and I have been exercising more than ever - and I don't think it's going to slow down.
I feel better. It's incredible how great I feel now. This feeling just reinforces the fact that I'm on the right track and keeps me going. This is not a diet or a weight loss challenge, but a lifestyle change.
I intend to post some of my tips of how to eat and live healthily. I think the trick is to do it gradually. Cutting everything out and going cold turkey may be a little unrealistic for something so life consuming as one's diet. In my opinion, you need to feel it first. Feel what it is like for your body to be getting the nutrients its craving, then one day when you eat a large cupcake after a few weeks of clean eating, you will notice the high sugar's effect on you.
Please let me know if you have made a lifestyle change this year and your tips to stick to it.
No comments:
Post a Comment