I remember years ago when I spoke to my now good friend Nadine Moxon, telling her that my then “Military” physique was as good as I thought I could get. And I distinctly remember her laughing at me and saying, “No way Mate, You could get WAY leaner!” Haha. Love you Nadine! But I share this story to tell you that we all get into the “Basic Sally” Mentality and get stuck. We get in our own way and forget the basics as to what it takes to succeed.
I remember Nadine’s words really stuck with me. I thought to myself, “Could I really get leaner than this?”. I did a lot of self reflection and thought that if this truly was possible, what have I been doing to get in my own way? As far as I was concerned I was eating right, I was training daily for military, I was getting enough sleep. I was so lost.
I felt like I never felt better. I trained daily, but my diet wasn’t 100% clean, but I truly didn’t realize how much that one portion of this whole concept and vision would affect me. I mean, I didn’t think I ate too “Bad”, but maybe she was right, maybe, just maybe if I corrected my “diet” I’d have so much more potential. Lots of food for though.
It was then that I hired her as my trainer (She was a certified trainer), I hired a coach to do my meal prep and began my journey to the “New Me”
We all know that in order to loose weight we must burn more calories than we consume. How many of us even know how many calories we actually consume in any given day? Do you count the calories a single piece of fruit has? Did you know a single banana has 200 calories? I know, right? If you consume fruit all day because its “Healthy”, are you realizing that this can put your caloric intake to a high, high, very fast.
Now think about this for a minute. If you eat three banana’s a day. That’s an extra 600 calories from a piece of fruit. That’s a ton.
Now lots of us are better at being honest with our eating habits during the week. But then on the weekends we binge and “treat” ourselves to whatever we want. Indulging in alcohol is another thing we can do that has huge negative set backs for us and throws all our progress down the drain.
Now look at this chart for a minute. See what one alcoholic drink can add to your daily caloric intake? Imagine drinking a 6 pack? That could add 1500 calories in one sitting. Just be aware of your liquid calories. Plus, alcohol is broken down into sugar. Another negative.
This chart depicts ounces into calories. 4 oz = 168 calories? Holy Cow. I’d rather eat those calories. Just something to think about.
We need to commit not just to eating better but living a healthier lifestyle so that when the weekends come, or holiday seasons come. We are setting ourselves up for success and not failure.
I see this a lot from people. They complain that their bodies never loose weight, that they’ve claim they’ve tried everything but have no progress. Been to doctors even and everything is within the normal rage and nothing. But then I see all over social media the binge snacking and partying they do.
I am not judging them but its pretty evident why they are “Stuck” and not seeing progress. We need to get back to the basics. Hire help if we need to, to help re train us on the importance of eating healthy. And if we don’t remember what that is. We need to find out.
When I moved from Canada to the USA I had to hire help. The food regulations are much more strict in Canada than the USA so my meal plans I had back home didn’t work here in the USA. Same foods had different calories in them. I knew I needed help until I understood how the food was here.
I was sitting with a friend back home this one time and was talking about how I love cooking with 90:10 beef. She looked confused. Turned out she had no clue what I was talking about. This was an eye opener to me. How many of us are just ignorant to this information because we simply never learned or have been so buys just surviving this thing called life that we need a reminder?
This is a picture of 90:10 beef. This means its a much leaner cut of beef and way less fat. Just being aware of this information will allow you to make healthier choices when cooking. Simple changes in reading labels and being aware of how lean meat is can be a rhuge help in reducing calories and keeping us on a more healthy lifestyle.
Just like in different cuts of steak. Did you know a sirloin is one of the leanest cuts of steak? So when you have a BBQ you can pick a leaner cut of steak and cook some veggies and a sweet potato and you have a great healthy, balanced meal.
Or when you’re out at a restaurant, this information can help you stay clean and on track when out eating.
Education is key when getting out of the “Basic Sally” mindset. I didn’t always know all of this. I thought if I ate fruit that I was healthy and figured it was a calorie free option. I had a steep learning curve when I changed my life into a more fitness and wellness mindset.
One of the biggest educational information I learned while living in the States is that not all places or butchers have grass fed beef. I’m an Alberta raised girl and anyone who knows Alberta knows, we are known for out grass fed Alberta beef. Its AMAZING. You feel so light after eating it. Its not heavy like most grain fed beef found locally.
Not saying grain fed beef is bad, I’m just picky. Costco is one of the few places that has 100% grass fed beef. So I shop there for my beef.
Now here is a chart for the different calorie choices in meat. Bison is my FAVOURITE. But it’s so expensive. There is virtually no fat in a cut of Bison. If you cook a Bison steak, you need to make sure you don’t over cook it. I cook it like I would a Beef steak Rare-Blue. Seriously.
Knowledge is power and being educated in all of this will help you be more aware of better eating options.
These past few years I sure have changed my understanding on basic things. Educated myself on things that will not only be of my benefit but also to help me succeed in my goals. Taking the time to not only learn, but understand is so beyond powerful. Do what it takes to figure it out so you too will be unstoppable.