You're Not Alone, Time to Reset!
Eleven weeks into isolation and everybody seems to be going a little crazy. We're all getting sick of staying at home; and since it just became legal in Montreal to gather outside in groups of up to 10 from 3 different households, people seem to be risking it a bit more to keep their sanity.
Most of my clients have been complaining to me that they're having a lot of trouble being stuck at home. They find they're eating more, always tired, gaining weight and overall just feel a bit shittier than normal. If you can relate, I want you to know, you are not alone. We are all going through something - this isn't easy for anyone!
Today I'm going to get real with you about my struggles and what I've been trying to do to help myself through it. My intention is twofold. First, I want you to realize that you can talk to others about how you feel, because they likely feel the same. Second, I hope the things that help me will spark some ideas to help you come out on top.
Less than 2 weeks ago was my 32nd birthday, and my breaking point. Despite all of my dietary restrictions, I found a cake mix and icing I can almost eat. So, for the first time in 5 or so years, I decided I was making myself a birthday cake. (For those who don't know, icing is one of my weaknesses. I can easily eat a whole container with a spoon and not notice until I'm nauseous. In fact my mother-in-law knows to never bother making me a cake; if anything, just give me icing with a candle in it… although that hasn't happened yet since, for many digestive reasons, I can't normally eat icing.)
As planned, I made my special birthday cake and it was amazing! So amazing that I ate the whole thing in 2 days (and 2 containers of icing)! I'm not going to lie, I ate a bunch of other junk too and put on about 7lbs in 3 days. Once you start, it's so damn hard to stop. I totally needed it, but felt absolutely disgusting for days afterward.
That night I decided it was time for a reset.
I realized I wanted to feel good about myself again - something that has been quite difficult throughout isolation. I know that when I am at my desired weight, I have more energy, my clothes fit better, and above all, I have more confidence in myself. As a consequence of feeling better about myself, I also feel better about my husband and our relationship, as well as my work and my abilities as a trainer. Therefore, I realized that my main goal was to drop back down to my normal weight range in a week.
I decided to throw ALL my rules out the window and instead pick only 5 that are most important to me. I made sure that these 5 rules were ones that I thought I would be able to follow most easily, and ones that I thought would be most effective in reaching my goal.
Following my 5 new rules, I lost 3.2lbs in 5 days. I also managed to enjoy this weekend by ignoring rules 3 and 5, and did not gain anything, so yay! I am getting there, and already feeling better about myself.
If you're thinking about trying something similar but aren't sure of which rules to pick, check out some of my blog posts for ideas:
1. Only eat carbs 1-2 hours post-exercise
Unless you are on a plant-based diet (where you should be eating unprocessed carbs with every meal), I strongly believe in a carb restricted diet. This means that carbs aren't your enemy as long as you follow a couple of simple guidelines, 1) focus on unprocessed varieties, and 2) save them for after exercise (1-2 hours).
Examples of unprocessed carbs include: sweet potatoes, squash, legumes, brown rice, whole wheat pasta, quinoa, and other whole/unprocessed starchy foods.
Your carbs should mostly come from unprocessed veggies (like the ones listed above), some fruits, a small amount from sugary sources during exercise (like a P+C drink), and a small amount of starchy sources post-exercise.
Our bodies require carbs for fuel to carry out physically demanding tasks. However, if you're consuming too much and not using it, it has nowhere to be released; so it stores up in your body and is converted into fat, causing weight gain. This is why you need to exercise in order to eat carbs - you don't want excess lingering in your body.
By eating unprocessed carbs 1-2 hours after exercise only, it's the best/easiest way to control carb intake. Plain and simple: if you exercise, you get to eat carbs; if you don't exercise, no carbs for you. I guess you better start exercising since I know most of us wants carbs. 😉 This strategy works well in those with stubborn, hard to remove body fat stores (basically if you've lost the weight you were aiming for but can't manage to get those few extra pounds off in a specific spot).
Unfortunately, the way our society is built, we depend highly on carbs. In order to decrease them, if needed, you can do it gradually. For example: first, swap out sodas for water and tea, then switch to unprocessed carb dense food, etc. Should you have any questions on how to do this, feel free to reach out for guidance since this can be a bit tricky.
One last thing to keep in mind is your serving size. Refer to my blog post Calorie Counting vs. Portion Control for more info, but here are the basics:
Women should have 1 portion of carbs = 1 cupped hand
Men can have 2 portions of carbs = 2 cupped hands
For more details about this rule, check out my "5 Habits" to Help You Lose Weight blog post.
2. Eat proteins & veggies with every meal
Protein
Protein dense foods fill you up for longer than other types of foods (e.g. carbs and fats). On top of that, they give you energy to carry out your daily tasks. These two reasons alone should be enough to explain why one should eat protein with every meal. If you are not convinced, here are a few more reasons: protein improves muscle mass and recovery, it helps reduce body fat, and it helps build lean muscle
Examples of protein dense foods include: lean meats (ground beef, chicken, turkey, bison, venison…), fish, eggs, dairy (cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, certain cheeses), beans, peas, legumes, tofu, tempeh, and protein supplements (whey, casein, pea, hemp, rice, soy…)
Again, one last thing to keep in mind is your serving size and portions. Refer to my blog Calorie Counting vs. Portion Control for full details, but here are the basics:
Women should have 1 portion of proteins per meal = size of palm = 20-30g
Men should have 2 portions of proteins per meal = size of 2 palms = 40-60g
Veggies
Let's face it, most of us don't like them, but they are necessary for our health. I've actually found some amazing ways to make veggies that I look forward to eating every day.
If you need new ideas, you can find a few examples in my blog Try These Yummy Recipes. Otherwise, my top 3 are kale chips, crispy baked broccoli with garlic infused oil (similar setup as the kale chips, but with thin slices of broccoli), and baked curry riced cauliflower (also same idea but I buy a bag of riced cauliflower and use whatever spices I have).
If these recipes don't work for you, go to Google with whatever veggie you want to try, and type in "quick [insert veggie here] recipes". I guarantee you'll find at least one simple and yummy looking recipe you can try. This is what I do every time I’m looking for something new, and I always find a bunch.
Examples of non-starchy veggies include: asparagus, leafy greens, artichoke, zucchini, cucumber, carrots, mushrooms, green onions, cruciferous veggies (cauliflower, cabbage, kale, garden cress, bok choy, broccoli, Brussels sprouts…), and some nightshades (peppers, eggplant, tomatoes…).
Again, keep in mind your serving size and portions (for full details see my blog Calorie Counting vs. Portion Control):
Women should have minimum 1 portion of veggies per meal = size of 1 fist
Men should have minimum 2 portions of veggies per meal = size of 2 fists
For more details about proteins and veggies, check out my blog: "5 Habits" to Help You Lose Weight
For an infographic with examples of good carbs, proteins (and fats), check out my blog: What Should I Eat?
3. Don’t eat after 7pm (Sunday-Thursday)
As you can see by the first two rules, both WHAT and WHEN you eat is important. So, following along the same lines comes my third rule.
The time on this will vary by individual as it depends on a couple things:
What time you go to bed: Your body digests slower when you sleep, so it's a good rule of thumb to not eat close to bedtime. Two hours before bed is the minimum. Also, eating before bed makes you prone to heartburn, so why not avoid that as well?
When the sun sets: The natural rhythm of our bodies are aligned with the sun (or at least they used to be before the hustle and bustle of the modern world we live in). When the sun is out, your body functions better (it is no surprise that it’s happier, just like you are?), as does your digestive system. You should aim to eat while the sun is up, and stop when it's down; a task that's much harder to do in the winter when the sun sets so early.
During the week, I'm usually in bed by 9:30pm, so I try to stop eating at least 2.5 hours before bed (hence my 7pm rule). On Friday and Saturday nights though, especially lately, I enjoy myself much more and don't follow this rule. I firmly believe you have to give in to your cravings sometimes, otherwise you're going to go crazy just like I did for my birthday.
4. If hungry after dinner, eat fruits, veggies, and nuts only
A couple of years ago, I read the book A Microbiome Solution by Robynne Chutkan and it changed my life. (The same author also has another great book called Gutbliss.) I've been suffering from IBS-C for many years and these books offer an insightful way of taking care of your gut through food and other natural solutions (and no, not hippy dippy stuff for all you skeptics out there).
One of the many things I took away from A Microbiome Solution was that in the evenings when I have munchies (because who doesn't?), if I'm going to eat, I limit myself to fruits, veggies and natural nuts (no sugar, not candy-coated, etc.).
Be aware, though, that nuts are extremely fatty, so don't go overboard. Grab a handful and that's it. They are filling, so wait 20-30mins and you'll feel fuller. If you're still not satisfied after waiting, then have a bit of veggies and/or fruit to satisfy you.
5. No sugar during the week
As I mentioned, I like to enjoy myself on the weekends. As a consequence, I try to be pretty strict during the week. Not only is sugar an unnecessary processed carb that will turn to fat in your body, but it really doesn't help when you have digestive issues.
I learned a lot about sugar from Robynne Chutkan’s 2 books: A Microbiome Solution and Gutbliss. The biggest shocker was learning about all the different forms of sugar that I didn't realize were actually considered sugar! Here are a bunch of examples I've encountered: white/brown sugar, maple syrup, (natural) honey, artificial sweeteners, stevia, date sugar/syrup, coconut sugar, cane sugar, jam/jelly/gelatin, and many more!
Since sugar messes with my tummy and causes weight gain, I figured, "Meh, who needs it!?!"… during the week anyways. Like I said before, I treat myself on the weekend. During the week, I’ll have fruits to satisfy my sweet cravings. If that doesn't work, I discovered monk fruit. It's 0 calories, 0 carbs, 0 fat, etc. and it's a fruit extract. I like to bake with it and it satisfies my sweet tooth. I also add it to unsweetened chocolate and voila! I have some weird tasting sweet chocolate that has no added sugar, fat or carbs! I even add a drop to natural almond butter and eat it with a spoon! It's a big win-win for me!
So there you have it. My new 5 rules that are now getting me through isolation and my binge eating cravings. So far, they're really helping compared to before. I suggest you give it at try. I have these rules written on a sticky on my laptop so that I see them constantly and therefore cannot avoid them. Please feel free to share your rules (both new and old). Sharing is caring, and you have no idea what the impact of what you say or do might have on someone else.
I hope this was helpful in some way. Stay safe everyone and have a very happy week! 💕