Some days you just don't want to

Julia Roberts opened her mouth and made a hideous buzzing sound. No matter how much I screamed at her, she wouldn't stop! Oh wait, I must be dreaming.

I cracked open one sandpaper-like eyelid at a time, and waited for my eyes to focus. 5:39AM. The bane of my existence. My arm instinctively swung out to squat at the noise machine until I realized I had no choice today. Vacation is over.

Tragic isn't it?

I stumbled my way into the rest of my apartment to survey the disaster it had become in a matter of days. Boxes, boxes, unplugged appliances, duffle bags, plastic tote bins everywhere! All I wanted was to turn around and climb back into my now-lukewarm bed. But no, I must press on. Movers will be here in a few hours.

I downed a few glasses of water and measured my oats, whey, and blueberries. Nuked the whole thing and sat down to eat breakfast. It's times like these when I want to cheat on myself. It would've been so easy to drive to the nearest Dunkin Donuts or Starbucks and buy a breakfast sandwich and a coffee. It's not even like it's far or even expensive...

But even on days when I don't want to, I know I have to.

So I sat, shoveled my oats into my mouth and forced myself to chew and swallow. Five bites later, I started to feel better. Halfway through my breakfast I started to feel like myself again. Granted, this is more tired and cranky version of myself, but still it's me.

Sometimes we dont want to live the lifestyle. It's so easy to cheat here and there, and tell yourself "it's only once." Really, when you want to cheat is probably the absolute worst time to cheat. You end up on a slippery slope where a cheat meal becomes a cheat day.

I'm a bigger fan of planning my cheat meals. It gives you something to look forward to, and keeps you on track the rest of the week.

Whatever you decide to do, just remember:

This is your now, this is will not be your forever.


Don't let stress (in my case) ruin your plan. Instead, plan ahead and stay on track. Remember that what you want is bigger than what you want right now. Save the cheat for something that's more satisfying than a cup of coffee and a lousy sandwich.

All the things she said

This morning I was hunting for rice cakes at my grocery store when I heard it behind me:

"I bet she's one of those girls that can eat whatever she wants and still stays skinny."


I didn't even bother turning around. But inside the smile I had on my face fell an inch.  Now granted, I don't think the woman thought I was listening, but still.

I wonder if she woman knows I log my food, my training, and my thoughts.  No, I can't just eat "whatever I want." In fact my diet is quite restrictive for the most part. In fact this is a short laundry list of what I eat:

• poultry (chicken, turkey)
• fish (salmon = <3)
• small portions of cheese (mini babybel, string cheese)
• spinach, mixed romaine lettuces, kale, asparagus (leafy greens are yum)
• bell peppers (assorted colors)
• tomatos (sometimes)
• rice cakes
• whey
• oats

So no, I don't "eat whatever I want." If I decided to eat out 3 times a day, 4 days a week, I wouldn't be where I'm at now.

I suppose I shouldn't be mad.  I shouldn't be hurt.  I mean afterall she's a total stranger.  I'll probably never see her again.  Heck, I didn't see her when she said it.

This little experience has taught me something though.  I have a lot to offer.  While my studies for my CPT has slowed, I absolutely need to press forward.  Once I'm done with that I can make a bigger movement into nutrition.

I want to change the world, one person at a time.

Consistency is key

I have advised many over the years that consistency is key. No one can see results without the dedication, patience, and determination to see this lifestyle through on a daily basis. You can train away many things. You can train away years of a sedentary lifestyle, you can train away muscular imbalance and weakness. But you can never train away bad nutrition.

Bad nutrition. This is the part that gets me.

There's tons of books out there about how to eat clean, how to eat like a caveman, etc. While these books do a great job of bringing awareness to poor eating habits, maybe the real focus has been lost. The real focus should be how to fuel your body.

I'm not saying you need to torture yourself by eating "bland" food. But let's be realistic here, everything you put into your body changes your body. If you have spent years eating high sodium food your tongue will be used to saltiness (same goes for sweetness).

Try an experiment, take two weeks and track your food, keep your sodium to the recommended daily value. At the end of those two weeks you'll find that your taste buds have adjusted, and foods you once thought were bland aren't anymore.

There's nothing wrong with enjoying your food. I'm not even trying to imply there is. The point is you should have a healthy relationship with your nourishment sources.

Your food should be the thing that fuels your body to do amazing things. To a certain degree, you have to accept that you may not "like" healthier alternatives at first, but you will probably grow to accept them over time.

It's your life and it's your body. You only get one, so love it every day and be good to yourself.