01/15/2025
I can't believe it's week 3! If you're following along, give yourself a pat on the back! If you haven't quite found your groove yet, see this as an opportunity to reset. It's not how many times you fail, it's how many times you get back to it from failure.
So let's see, what have we covered so far?
-Mental health
-Cardio
So what are we adding this week?
The dreaded diet.
So many people struggle with the diet component of fitness, so if you're cringing and clicking away, bear with me!
It doesn't have to be complicated, time consuming, or have you meal prepping twenty boxes of chicken breast, white rice, and broccoli. If counting every calorie, minutely planning every meal, or controlling every bite you eat sounds crazy right now, that's because IT IS!
Instead, for the diet component, I want you to look at your diet with a careful eye. You can keep a food journal, which I always recommend for a couple of weeks to see what you're actually eating, but if that sounds like too much, just think about what you can add.
Based on my experience, here are a few ideas of what you can implement for common dietary problems:
-Work on getting your 5 a day of fruits and vegetables. This can have a huge impact. If 5 sounds crazy, start with 3, one per meal, and have 5 as a stretch goal. This will massively increase important nutrients, from micronutrients to fiber, without increasing your caloric intake. It will improve gut health. It will make you feel fuller. You do not have to change anything else! Just fix your regular dinner plate, but throw a few baby carrots, cucumber slices, or mixed greens on the side. See what happens!
-Track your diet. If you just cannot make any dietary changes this week, try just writing down, tracking in an app, or even taking a quick photo of everything you eat. Sometimes that awareness leads to changes you wouldn't have made if you weren't being mindful.
-Time your meals. Really, set a timer on your phone, or put an egg timer on your dinner table. Give yourself a full 20 minutes to eat meal, really focusing on what you eat. Like tracking, it can increase your awareness, but it also increases your satiety with food. When you take time, chew slowly, take in your food with all 5 senses, you will not only make better choices, stop mindless munching, but also feel more satisfied, even if your choices are not the best. Who hasn't mindlessly eaten a huge portion of potato chips or popcorn, when you really would have been satisfied with a small bowl if you paid attention?
If none of these work for you, feel free to message me. We can talk about other goals that will help support you as you reach for a healthier diet.
I am personally going to time my meals! I am a fast eater (a problem many of us younger siblings and public school kids experience), and this helps me enjoy it more. It also supports my goal of spending 10 high quality minutes with my family. The dinner table is a great place to do it!
Let me know how it's going for you! Are you able to juggle all three, mental health, cardio, and diet changes? Does it feel good, or overwhelming? Have you felt any changes yet?
