You Are What You Eat: My constant struggle with nutrition...

Today's post is a little bit raw and something that I've been wanting to discuss..

Why? Because I'm human.

Have you ever heard this saying?

As long as you’re not living under a rock I’m sure that you are familiar with this saying. If you aren’t then I’m a bit concerned for you ;).

I know we all giggle and laugh when we hear someone say this but, have you ever really thought about it?

If you really are what you eat then, what would you be?

Just recently, I really took a few minutes to myself to analyze what my diet is really made up of.  I batch cook all really healthy meals almost every Sunday to prep for the week and I always try to make a conscious effort to eat relatively clean when I am not so prepared.

So, when I took a step back and looked at my diet and then looked in the mirror… obviously something is disconnecting. 

The keyword that came to mind was, “relatively.”  

Sure, I eat pretty healthy, workout like an animal and yes, I do make a lot of smart meal decisions when I’m out.  So what about when we have those days or moments when we feel like:

cheating today…

deserving of a treat…

or

taking a day off…

The majority of us have used these sayings in our vocabulary, I’m sure on numerous of occasions.

So what’s the big deal if I treat myself to frozen yogurt, have too many carbs or just go balls to the wall and not care about a single thing that is entering my body?

Consequences…

Sure, we all have those moments when we just don’t feel like caring but, do we ever think about the aftermath? 

Personally, I always feel like complete sh*t after I make poor food decisions.  I work out A LOT but you'll never be able to work out all of the bad decisions and make progress at the same time; you'll be stuck at a complete standstill.
 

So, why do I feel so sh*ty after a poor food choice? Because I KNOW how to eat right and I do KNOW the consequences of my actions onto my body.  I KNOW what I need to do in order to get to where I want to be.  So, why do I continue down this path? I honestly refer to it as self-sabotaging.  I work so hard yet I continue to hold myself back.  This may sound harsh but it’s honestly what goes through my mind. 

If all I wanted to do was to maintain my current weight then sure, as long as I’m balanced then my weight shouldn’t budge.  But, for the changes that I would like to see... there needs to be changes in my lifestyle.

How am I ever going to reach my goals if I continue the same cycle of eating habits?

“If it’s not working, change something.”

Goals:

My goal is and has always been to see my abs.. to see definition... to be one of those really fit girls that we are all inspired by on instagram.  I have the basic knowledge on how to get to that place so why am I not 100% committed?  It’s like I enjoy holding onto those last 10-20lbs… hence the name of my blog, “Burning Babi Fat.” I’m still trying to burn that fat haha

Lord knows that my muscle definition is there somewhere but, hiding under all of those cheats and treats…

Now, do not get me wrong I do not consider myself to be overweight since some of you reading this may be thinking, what the heck is she talking about?  This is about my constant struggle to lean out, see definition and balance my diet.

What do you think Jillian's nutrition is like?

My lifestyle yesterday:

So what am I?

If I am what I eat then, what am I?

I’ll tell you…

I definitely have fins (because all I eat is fish, #pescetarianproblems), part PB, a lot of fruit and a little bit of sweets(whether it be ice cream/cookies/chocolate). I’m human and I have a HUGE sweet tooth so yes, on occasion I'll “treat” myself.  The more that I think about it the more that I realize… I’m treating myself WAY too often.  If I continue these habbits then I will NEVER reach my goals.

80% Nutrition, 20% Exercise

I’m a firm believer that the statement above is 100% TRUE!

So, if that statement is true then these sweet treats are hindering my progress so much more than I thought… I guess you can say that I was in a bit of denial about this.  Hey, I work SO hard in the gym and I eat SO healthy so WHY can’t I have something that’s not so healthy every once in a while?? Well, because it’s only hurting yourself and your progress…

My lifestyle today:

I say 'today', lightly.  This is always a constant struggle but after sitting down with myself this past weekend I’ve made a commitment with myself. 

A commitment to eat clean, eat smart and eat for the goal that I want to achieve. 

So sure, I may not be able to have a few drinks on the weekends or sweets every so often but this is what I need to do to reach the goals that I’ve always had.  I’m not saying that this is an overnight switch, far from it.  I’m just focusing on introducing much more discipline into my life. 

I want to change my body so in order to do so I need to make changes to my lifestyle.

Inspiration:

Those of you who are on instagram; don’t you just love to see everyone’s meal prep and the colorful meals that are prepared every day? I always look at these extremely fit and committed people and wonder wow, do they ALWAYS eat like that? Then, I take a step back and look at how extremely fit they are and think… obviously they do! They are disciplined in a way that I am SO envious of.  If you want something you’ll have to make sacrifices along the way, it’s the truth. 

If it was easy, everyone would do it.   

There is this one amazing woman that I follow on instagram that I have to mention since we are under the topic of inspiration.  Her posts are also one of the many reasons why I decided to make these changes in my own lifestyle.  KarliTonesItUp (Follow her on Instagram).  This girl is so dedicated, committed and yet so human.  She has her struggles just like all of us; I guess this is what made me relate to her more.  I envy her and hope that I can be as committed and disciplined as she is.  I mean look at her physique, she is absolutely gorgeous and radiates such a strong aura about her.  Keep kicking ass Karli <3


KarliTonesItUp

Changes:

So I’ve been mentioning how changes need to be made… what are these changes?

Well, I’m still trying to figure them out but I’ll mention a few that I’ve accepted so far:

Discipline

Limit my carbs after 3pm

No processed foods

Eat Clean

No cheese

Decrease my sugar intake

Increase my protein intake

No night time snacking

Limit alcohol intake

Order smart when eating out 100% of the time

Add more strength training to my routine

Remind myself daily of what I want to accomplish and what I need to do to accomplish those goals

This is an open list and it will continue to grow.  Both progress and mistakes will be made.  This is not an overnight switch; this will continue to be a constant battle but it’s one battle that I’m willing to take on…

It’s time to see those muscles ;)

If you have any advice and tips that you would like to share concerning leaning out and toning up I would absolutely love to hear it!