Dessert group think

source

Yesterday, my office had our Thanksgiving celebration; a potluck, of course. I brought the veggie and fruit trays, which, to the surprise of no one, went basically untouched next to homemade biscuits and mac and cheese.

I was able to stick to my 24 Day Challenge plan pretty well, filling my plate with turkey, ham, veggies, and a taste of sweet potato casserole. I even turned down the wine. Needless to say, I was feeling pretty solid about my willpower muscle, when one of my coworkers turns to me and goes “I think I want dessert.”

I actually didn’t want dessert. One, because I’m solidly committed to completing this challenge with as few cheats as possible and two, because I was pretty full and honestly had no room for pie.

So, I respond with “The dessert table looked pretty great!” And she immediately counters, asking if I’m going to have any. When I shared that I was going to pass, she looked disappointed and agreed that she probably wouldn’t have any either.

Obviously, I made that trip to the dessert table with her, and indulged in a half of a pumpkin truffle, while she filled her plate with the goodies she wanted.

Women of America, we need to have a conversation about Dessert Group Think.

Why is it that women are incapable of making their own decisions about dessert? Or fried food, for that matter? Why does it seem to be impossible to form our own dessert opinions?

I think a lot of us attach intense emotions, like guilt, to food. And so, we feel less guilty if other people are eating the “bad” foods because more people choosing to indulge automatically makes it okay.

Let’s think about that for a second: the same emotion that is attached to a car accident or missing a friend’s birthday is associated on a daily basis with eating – something you have to do every day. It’s unhealthy, and it’s got to stop.

If we learned to listen to our bodies – rather than obsessing over calories or what other people might think – we’d probably live healthier lives. We’d order what we actually wanted to order and recognize when our body needs vegetables instead of chocolate. Instead, we’re constantly obsessed over that food we can’t have, and we despise broccoli because it’s not a cupcake. And, news flash: broccoli is never going to be a cupcake.

Ya'll. The only person’s hunger/desire you get access to is your own. If you want the piece of pie (or the entire pie), eat it.

Even if you’re the only person at the table who is getting dessert. 

Making peace with the process

Last week, while on a walk-and-talk with a new friend, we got to talking about our respective websites/blogs and what was stopping us from taking it to the next level. And for me, it was that I was afraid to blog about health and nutrition because I felt like I had failed. And to be honest, blogging about it felt like a joke.

Ya'll, I have fallen off and gotten on to the fitness and nutrition wagon more times than I'd like to admit. And I am beginning to realize that that's okay -- Life happens, and maybe that's part of my story.

Maybe my roller coaster of a fitness journey exists to be able to share -- to let other people know that even people who run marathons or blog about fitness or hashtag all of their nutrition pictures on Instagram struggle to stay on the health bus. 

So, in all honesty and sincerity, here is where I am: 

1. I run slow. Like, real slow. A 9:30 mile is an accomplishment, and my knees bug me when I run more than three miles. So I signed up for a half marathon -- the only way to get better is to practice.
2. I already told you how I'm conquering the sugar monster and the freak Sour Patch Kid-fests. It's getting better every day. 
3. I've got about 15-20 lbs I'd like to lose. And I realized that while I was upset about it, I wasn't actually doing anything about it. So I fixed it, and I jumped into Advocare full on. I'm seeing great results, and am amazed at what can happen when you actually try.
4. Strength-wise, I haven't lost much! I'm loving working with my trainer, Kelly, and improving on my power lifts (bench, squat, deadlift) every week. Kelly thinks I could be a powerlifter if I wanted to.. I'm not sure yet, but it's certainly fun to think about :)

It's a process, and it's one that lasts a lifetime. Hopefully, wherever you are in this process, my posting helps you to find that wherever you are, right now, is okay. It's okay to love the journey and to make peace with the process, no matter what stage you're in.

That's where I'm at, at least.

Why I picked Advocare

If you've been following me on Instagram, you've seen quite a few new hashtags: #24daychallenge and #advocare being chief among them.

So, yes. I am doing the 24 Day Challenge. Yes, I bought the supplements. Yes, I'm now that crazy chick not drinking a beer with my Georgia Football.

I've actually been curious about Advocare for a little over a year, and, after not liking how my jeans fit for the last time, I bit the bullet and signed up for the 24 Day Challenge once I noticed a friend selling it.

After a week on the challenge, I'm pretty happy with how I'm feeling, eating, and - yes - shrinking. I'm not weighing myself or measuring myself until the end of my challenge because I think the scale is stupid, but I am definitely already noticing changes.

Here's three reasons why I picked Advocare (and why Advocare may be a great pick for you):

1. I'm competitive. As I explained to my distributor, Cari, I feel like I'm competing with the Challenge every day. I feel accomplished when I exceed my water total or turn down the fries I'm not supposed to have. I feel like I'm winning when I prep my meals or kill a tough workout. The nature of the Challenge, as well as the length, makes it a perfect fit for my competitive nature.

2. I needed a kick in the butt, but not a quick fix. While the 24 Day Challenge requires you to adhere to a supplement program, it doesn't promise a get-fit-quick scheme without also changing your diet and incorporating consistent exercise. This forces me to acknowledge and change my habits in order to be successful on this program.

3. The suggested nutrition is solid, and it doesn't require you to starve yourself. This is big. Advocare advocates (that's fun to read out loud) a whole foods, primarily plant-based, non-processed approach to nutrition. I. Love. This. This means the nutrition plan can be tailored if you are gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan, vegetarian, whatever. It teaches you to eat whole, nutritious foods, a nutrition strategy that is both widely accepted and easy to maintain.

I'm looking forward to posting some of my favorite recipes, observations, and success. Mostly the success part :)

What is normal?

Why can't both of these women be "normal?"

Since the Miss USA pageant this past Sunday, the majority of the commentary surrounding the pageant has involved Miss Indiana, Mekayla Diehl and her “normal” swimsuit body. Feedback has ranged from praise that Diehl’s body is realistic for a “real woman” (at the expense of criticizing the more thin contestants) to outraged pageant girls who feel that it is ridiculous that a woman who “didn’t train like she was competing for Miss USA” beat out other women who "trained harder."

Needless to say, I have several opinions. And criticisms. But they all boil down to one thing:

Why are we so obsessed with criticizing other women’s bodies?

First of all, none of us knows how Mekayla (or any of the other contestants) prepared for Miss USA. We don’t know what she ate, how often she worked out, if she took diet pills, or what her relationship with food/exercise looks like. We don’t know her unique genetic make up, her body fat percentage, or her hormonal composition.

We have no idea what “normal” looks like for Mekayla’s or for any of the other contestants’ unique biological make up and body type.

And while we’re at it, what the heck does normal even mean? Why are we so obsessed with finding the perfect comparison? And why does identifying one woman as “normal” equate to then putting down every other woman in the competition?

I watched the Miss USA pageant on Sunday (duh), and I was impressed at how many of the top 20 looked healthy. They looked toned, they looked happy, and they looked proud of what they had accomplished.

Each of us has a unique body type, unique nutritional needs, and a unique relationship with food and exercise. What is normal for one woman is not normal for another.

Which is why it is so ridiculous, and equally wrong, that other women are criticizing Diehl for being “not fit enough” for the Miss USA competition.

Swimsuit at Miss USA accounts for 33% of the score. Maybe Mekayla could have been leaner, or maybe she was as lean as she could get. Regardless, if a contestant decides that she does not want to (or cannot) follow the sure-fire no-carb, high cardio approach to get that last bit of fat off of her body to score higher in a category that accounts for one-third of her score, it’s her prerogative. It’s not our place to criticize her.

If Miss USA was chosen solely based on her fitness level or body fat percentage, we wouldn’t need a pageant. We’d just need measuring tape, a scale, and a notepad.

Why aren’t we capable of celebrating the unique, powerful, and special individuals that exist regardless of their weight, BMI, or body fat percentage? Our inability to do this reinforces to the younger generation that their worth is based on their outside packaging, rather than what is on the inside.

The issue is not “what is normal?” but rather, “why do we need to define normal at the expense of ‘abnormal?’”

It’s time to change that conversation.

You vs. You

Life is good, ya'll.

So good, that I have neglected this blog for (if we're being honest), about seven months. I've been busy with work, traveling all over the Southeast and Southwest, and I've been doing well! I'm back in the industry I want to be in, and I'm in a role that is both challenging and fulfilling. I've also been lucky to have just a few incredible people fall into my life.

But, if I'm being honest, I've gotten a little out of shape. Not fat, not completely out of shape, just soft. Slower. Not at my peak.

I'm coming back. Back to weightlifting, running, Bikram yoga, intermittent fasting, and blogging. I'd like to be an athlete again. And this time, I want to be better than I was before. 

So, you've heard it here first: I will be competing in Miss Virginia Beach USA on July 19th, and I will be competing in Miss Virginia USA in late November. I am going to beat myself at my peak - Summer 2012; me vs. me.

In the spirit of transparency, I'll be posting about my running, workouts, and nutrition here. And on Instagram, because, let's face it: I love Instagram. I'll also be sharing some of the books I'm reading, the goals I'm setting, and things that I'm learning (that you may also be interested in!).

Thanks for reading and for the continuous support. You all rock.

Real Talk: The top five things to keep in mind during the VS Fashion Show tonight

From a quick glimpse at my social media, it seems that the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show is going to be a pretty popular event, mostly with my girl friends. My Twitter and Facebook feeds are full of girls making jokes about the burgers they're eating now or the cleanses they're going to start tomorrow, which I find to be an interesting commentary on what we view as acceptable and valuable within our culture. I digress.

My newsfeed is also chock-full of inspiration in the form of lists, so I figured I'd publish my top five things for women to keep in mind while watching tonight's Victoria's Secret Fashion Show:

1. You will never look like any of the models on TV tonight. And you know what? They're never going to look like you either. Those thigh gaps, long legs, or the 5'11'' height that you're envying came to them 70% in the form of genetics. But so did your awesome smile, crazy cool eye color, and great arms. Nobody is perfect, but each of us is unique and special and one-in-a-million just the way we are. 
2. Weight is nothing but your relationship with gravity. The scale says nothing about your experiences as a person, the incredible things you do for the people in your life, and, in all actuality, very little about your health as a whole. 
3. Going crazy with cardio and/or starving yourself is not a solution. I can't tell you the number of tweets/statuses (statii)/Instagram pictures I remember seeing last year from women vowing to cut carbs or workout for hours on end after watching the fashion show. In case you missed point #1, no amount of cardio or fasting is going to turn you into into Gisele, but it's probably also going to make you miserable and frustrated. Beauty and health are byproducts of loving yourself and treating yourself well. Find an activity you enjoy and go do it because it makes you feel alive. Eat well because eating well impacts every other area of your health and well-being -- and because it allows you to do that activity that makes you feel alive. When we're pursuing physical activity or healthy eating solely for aesthetic results, we're missing out, because true health and well-being impact every aspect of your life, and make you a better person in the process.
4. Remember your inner eight year old (and every other eight year old you know). One of my favorite internet lists I've ever read talks about how "little eyes are always watching." Think about your standard of beauty now, and really question whether or not the Angel Standard is the one you would want an eight-year-old held to - or if you would even want her to place a significant value on her physical appearance at all. Besides, your inner eight-year-old thinks ogling women in underwear is super gross.
5. If you're genuinely inspired to change your lifestyle, don't talk about it, be about it. If you are truly inspired to go work out or eat healthier, start adding positive changes to your life that are going to stick. Make a commitment to eat more vegetables, drink more water, or go for a run several times a week. But don't just put empty commitments or pity-parties into the social media sphere - go do them. Because watching a bunch of women model lingerie isn't going to do much for your confidence, but starting to make positive changes definitely will. Otherwise, your negative comments about your weight or "never looking like these women" are doing nothing but negatively impacting every other female follower on your newsfeed.

A half marathon PR

Well, hello new friends! I was honored to be featured on Runs for Cookies on Monday as part of Katie's Motivational Monday series, and it looks like a lot of you visited! Make sure you check out these posts to get a better sense of who I am and how I lost the weight (to be honest, it was more of a byproduct of using exercise and healthy eating to become the happiest version of myself I could be):

About me
How I lost the weight
My experience with disordered eating
What I eat now

If you follow me on social media at all (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter), you know that Sunday was a big day for me! As part of my Running for Miss Virginia self-challenge, I completed the Alexandria Half Marathon. It was my first half marathon since I ran the Charlottesville Half last April, and my training since has consisted of two marathons and generally averaging about 10-15 miles a week.

Not optimal half training, if we're being fair.

I woke up on Sunday feeling pretty good and setting a goal of finishing in under 2:10. My previous fastest recorded half marathon time was 2:20:10, and that was during the Marine Corps Marathon last year, not even a legitimate half marathon. Anyways, I thought 2:10 was a pretty lofty goal, but fit pretty well with my "not fast, not last" running motto.

Ready to go

 My plan was to bank time early on, and then not feel bad if I needed to slow down a little later on. I wanted to run the whole thing, but given my "training" program, didn't know if that was a realistic expectation. I finished the first mile in 9:17 and patted myself on the back for not going out too fast. But then the most bizarre thing happened: I got faster.

And faster.

And then, my pace evened out at 8:57 minutes per mile, which my Nike+ app cheerfully informed me of each mile from 6-12.

I saw my dad during mile 12 with our dog, Rusty, and he yelled out that I was going to finish sub 2:00. I yelled back not to jinx it, but knew he was right: it was in the middle of mile 12, and I felt great.

Mile 6: Shouting out that I'm averaging 8:57

My official time was 1:58:17, but the course was long (13.27 miles), and Nike+ clocked me in at 1:57:05 -- a 23 minute PR. I placed 144 out of 546 females.



Celebrating with the pup!

I love running because it's full of unexpected accomplishments. Every run is an opportunity to surprise yourself, and it's safe to say that this half was pretty darn surprising. I've got a 15k this weekend, and the Baltimore 10-miler in three weeks, and am honestly looking forward to setting time goals, something I never thought I'd be doing.

I ran my first half marathon in January 2011, and finished in over 2:48. It's pretty incredible how I've changed as a runner and as a person since then, and just goes to show you: you can accomplish anything you want to, given enough time, energy, and effort.

What's your biggest running accomplishment thus far? What's something you'd like to accomplish?

Food is supposed to be fun: the real food experiment

If you've been following me on facebook, instagram, twitter, real life, or this blog, you know that I'll be competing in Miss Virginia in June. You also probably know that my platform, You are HOW you Eat, centers around healthy eating habits, talking about disordered eating, and eschewing dieting.

In an effort to proverbially put my money where my mouth is, I will be following a "real food" eating plan in preparation for Miss Virginia. While striving to eat clean the majority of the time, I'll also be incorporating meals eaten from the restaurant group I work for 3-4 times a week. These meals are prepared from scratch, and include real ingredients like butter, whole milk, cream, and oil in their preparation.

Yes, I'm going to eat all of that and still walk on the stage fitter than I did when I competed for Miss Greater Springfield:


photo credit: julius tolentino

Sounds like disaster for a girl who's gotta be on stage in a swimsuit in six months, huh?

I don't think it has to be. I'm on a mission to prove that ANYONE can navigate a restaurant menu (even one without nutrition facts), make healthy choices, and even eat real dessert (not just frozen yogurt) sometimes, all while moving towards your health and fitness goals.

My platform hinges on the idea that food is supposed to be fun: fun to eat, fun to share with your family, fun to prepare.

I post everything I eat in a daily collage through my instagram account. Hold me accountable, get inspired, and check out some seriously delicious looking food.

PS: I just got a fitocracy account too... You can follow my workouts on there!

Are nutrition facts making us fatter?

Did you know that obesity rate among adults in the US has increased from 15% to 36% since 1990?

In twenty years, the percentage of obese adults has increased by over 20%. Do you know how ridiculous that is!?

I blame this guy:

 

My issue with the nutrition label is simple: by breaking a food into micronutrients, you are reducing something that is cultural, enjoyable, and part of life to a series of numbers. What’s more, you’re trying to summarize the pros and cons of a food in black and white. This isn’t normal.

It causes the human mind to equate a large banana to a a bowl of fruit loops. A piece of chicken to a York peppermint patty. Rice to French fries.

These things are not equal, and yet the nutrition label – particularly the calorie count – makes us think they are.

But there’s more: Since the nutrition label was mandated by the FDA in 1990, we have seen obesity increase exponentially. Which begs the question: is this correlation, causation, or chance?

Could it be that our growing obsession with “being healthy” has caused us to forget how to eat? That we have lost our instincts for choosing foods that are good for us because we rely so much on the package? Perhaps it means that we are choosing more processed foods instead of real foods solely because we are able to easily count the calories or points when it’s printed on a package.

I am not a nutritionist. I am a 23 year old who spent nearly seven years of my life trying different diets, depriving myself of the foods I love, and spending countless hours on the elliptical trying to get to be the size I wanted to be. I finally got on track to being healthy and loving my body this past year, when I lost nearly 35 pounds without counting calories, cutting carbs, or doing activities I hated all in the name of losing weight.

I am happier, healthier, and fitter than ever. And maybe I’m just one person, but I think it’s a discussion worth having: causation, correlation, or chance? What are your thoughts?

Weekly Workouts

I've alluded to this before but: over the last two months, I've worked out A LOT. I've been lucky in that my part time job affords me the time to be able to be active as much as possible. It's the reason I've shaped up so quickly.

The bottom line is, if you want results quickly, you have to work hard. A lot. And you have to eat enough to fuel all of the exercise you're doing -- this part is the most important.

Anyways, the real point of this post is this: I really need to start planning out my workouts in order to balance all of the activities I like to do. Earlier today, I went to my gym to do an upper body workout and realized I hadn't been there in two weeks! Plus, with marathon training starting, I have to plan all that in as well. I currently have three different memberships (whoops): One to my regular gym where I run and lift weights, one to my Bikram yoga studio, and one to my boxing gym. Sidenote: I joined a boxing gym. Yes, I love it, and yes, it kicks my butt every time I go. I justify all three because they're all for different activities, so dropping one would mean I lost one area of my training.

So Wednesdays are now for planning. And I'm sharing it here so that I can hold myself to following through on each part, and so that you can get an idea of what I'm doing to kick myself into shape. So here's this week:

Thursday:

Morning: Bikram yoga

Afternoon: Kickboxing, Lower body, 3 mile run

Friday:

Morning: Boxing

Saturday:

Morning: Boxing

Afternoon: Bikram Yoga, Upper body, 3 mile run

Sunday:

Morning: Boxing

Afternoon: Bikram Yoga, Lower body, 5 mile run

Monday:

Morning: Bikram yoga

Afternoon: Kickboxing

Tuesday:

Morning: Bikram yoga

Afternoon: Kickboxing, Upper body, 3 mile run

Wednesday:

Morning: Bikram yoga, Boxing

Afternoon: I fly to San Antonio for ANTSO National Miss Nationals!!

Special K? More like Stupid K.

I'm going to be honest, I've been looking forward to writing this post for a while, but I wanted to wait until I had the results of my body composition test. I got my second body comp test done today, and the results were really exciting: In a month, I've lowered my body fat by 2.3%, and am currently 17% body fat. This is the result of hard work in the form of working out 2-3 hours a day, six days a week, but relatively little change in my nutrition.

Here's the part I was waiting on: I actually have only lost three (total) pounds in the last month.

Now, I feel like I can write the post I've been planning on writing. And the premise is this: Special K is the embodiment of everything that's wrong with America.

Honestly, I could talk about Atkins or Nutrisystem or whatever. My point is, these diets focus on the wrong thing and are completely unsustainable, and that's a problem.

So let's talk about Special K. The cereal promises that by following their "diet plan," you can lose six pounds (!!!!) in two weeks! You do this by eating a bowl of cereal with skim milk and a piece of fruit for two of your three main meals a day, then eating a healthy meal for your third meal. You also get two snacks, like a Special K bar(!!!!!).

How is this healthy? How is it healthy to encourage women to substitute a cereal whose ingredient list includes "defatted wheat germ" and high fructose corn syrup and a myriad of other unpronounceable additives for real food?

The answer is, it's not. The Special K challenge is a diet. It's not a lifestyle change, and you're most likely losing water and muscle mass, not a significant amount of fat. I'd be interested to see how many women quickly gain back the 4.8 pounds (the average weight loss specified in the fine print) they lost when they go back to eating real food.

Diets are stupid. And you know what? Any diet that encourages you to substitute chemicals for real food is beyond stupid. If a diet tells you that you're not allowed to eat a potato, you should probably rethink the diet. Last time I checked, potatoes have one(!!!) ingredient, come from the ground, and supply you with lots of nutrients, even helping to prevent colon cancer. There is absolutely nothing wrong with eating a potato.

I digress.

My point is, if you're stressing over the number on the scale fluctuating by a few pounds, don't. If you've been eating fairly well and staying active, it's probably the result of water retention, or could be the result of fat loss but muscle gain. Instead of focusing on making yourself weigh less, focus on making yourself stronger or making it easier for your body to do the things you love.

And any way you slice it, eating cereal for two meals a day and supplementing it with low calorie protein bars isn't normal or sustainable. I lost 2.3% body fat while still eating cake AND ice cream AND peanut butter AND potatoes, among other things. And eating zero Special K. You can do it too.

How to lose weight the healthy way

The first picture is from May of 2011, two days after I graduated college, and following my dad and I running the Historic Half. The other picture is prior to my most recent 5k, this past Saturday. The pink shirt is the same!

In a year, I’ve lost 25 pounds, two sizes, and have cut my body fat significantly. It’s been slow and steady, but I figured it might be time to blog about it and share some of what’s worked for me, in case someone out there has a few pounds to lose, and wants to do it without compromising their health or sanity.

Here's what’s worked for me:

1. Don’t expect it to be quick, and don’t get frustrated if you’re only losing 1-2 pounds a week. I think TV shows like the Biggest Loser make us feel like if we’re not losing pounds by the double digits, we’re failing. In all actuality, that show creates an unrealistic environment – unless you’re working out hours upon hours a day, being fed a regulated diet, and have lots of fat to lose, it’s just not going to happen that quickly. Patience is a virtue, and studies have shown that when you lose weight slowly, you’re more likely to keep it off.
2. No food is off limits. In the past, I had found that when I looked at certain foods as “bad,” I wanted to eat them All. The. Time. Instead, I eat what I want, when I want it, in moderation. If you’re eating well 80% of the time, the other 20% of the time isn’t going to derail your progress. At the same time, your health/fitness is 70% nutrition – what you eat has a huge impact on how you feel when you work out, how well you sleep, and, obviously, your overall health.
3. Figure out what works for you and what doesn’t. I like carbs and I like sweets – I could never give up either, so I don’t, because if I did, I’d fail. The same goes for fitness – find activities you enjoy doing, and you’ll be more apt to do them. I love running, I love lifting weights, and I love yoga, but if you love Zumba or swimming, you should be doing that.
4. Don’t just rely on the scale as a progress monitor. If you’re lifting weights, you’re probably gaining muscle, which weighs more than fat. Plus, some people just aren’t capable of weighing a certain amount (like I’m just never going to weigh 115 pounds, it’s not going to happen). I had my body fat measured to compare overall fitness levels and also just use clothes as a way to measure progress.
5. On that note, be realistic, and know why you want to lose weight. Like I said, I’m never going to weigh 115 pounds – it’s just not going to happen. I’m also never going to look like Natalie Portman, because we’re just not built the same. Realistically, I want to be fit enough to do the things I love. I want to be toned and healthy, because being fit helps me enjoy life more.

Anyways, after I saw the picture from Saturday, I figured it was time to share. Leave a comment if you have other tips!