The onion rings got me. I bit, I chewed, I swallowed, and I felt the oil slick at the back of my throat, sliding its way into my stomach, where it decided to make me nauseous the next day. It only took one onion ring to have that grossed out greasy feeling, but just to make sure I should never eat them again, I ate another offender to confirm my suspicions, that it was a sickening culprit. Yes indeed, that second deep fried onion ring coated in batter and fried in canola oil (I just looked up what kind of oil Harvey's uses to fry - no wonder my stomach started a revolt!), was just as naughty as its previously consumed circular friend, and the tandem pair of trouble makers helped me understand, that I am just too healthy to eat fried pretend foods - my tastebuds, the back of my throat, my stomach, my sensibilities for goodness sakes, are refined at this point, and it is sheer stupidity to force the issue with franken-foods, that act like invested promoters for antacids.
Oversized meals make for oversized children and adults, and fast food is oversized everything; too much of this, and all too much of that ... it isn't food you are buying when you saunter into a fast food joint to make a purchase, or hand over cash through your drivers window in exchange for a suspicious looking bag... you are spending on slop no where near good enough for you, and you may resemble what you eat, if you have been eating fast food consistently, for any length of time.
Lean fit bodies are no accident. Form follows function, meaning what you do to and with your body, affects how you look and feel in it. You know you are reading truth right now, and perhaps you have been considering taking your health into your own hands, and reigning in some of your not so helpful activities and indulgences.
When once in a while becomes frequent and then a habit, good, and alternatively bad, things happen:
When once in a while workouts become three days a week scheduled events, you will change your body composition and mind set over time.
When once in a while trips through the drive through become three days a week events, you will change your body composition and mind set over time.
Frequency increases the likelihood of a behaviour becoming habitual, and dear one, the evidence of clean eating and active living, is undeniable; then again, the evidence accumulates rapidly as body fat and sluggishness, with extra calories and inactivity. You may think me cruel speaking this way, judgmental even, as a fit person, but I tell you this, I have had to work really hard to change my eating and exercise habits, and I tell you this too, that it is easier to open a bag of chips and mindlessly munch through the lot, or devour a chocolate bar, then it is to plan, prepare, and cook meals, that my body craves and appreciates. The chips and the chocolate taste great, but make me look bad... and feel worse: options are endless for wholesome foods, and you and I can happily forgo fast food for the rest of our lives, if we so choose.
I have a client that is transforming her body with every work out and with every meal she eats. While tracking calories, this client was astounded when she realized just how many were in a Tim Horton's bagel breakfast sandwich, and ice cappuccino. Shocked, she made a decision to not purchase and eat so many calories in one sitting. If you consume fast food, and have yet to look at how many calories are in some of your favourite and frequently eaten items, perhaps now is the time to start doing some math, and figuring out just how many pounds your calories will add up to by the end of 2026.
Let us do a little math together, shall we?
One pound equals 3500 calories.
A breakfast bagel with bacon, egg, and cheese = 450 calories
A medium ice cappuccino = 330-360 calories
That's 780-810, just for breakfast; and if you are like most people, you have three meals a day. An average female that is moderately active does not need more than 1600 calories daily, and it is really easy to overeat, especially when calories are not counted, and especially when drive throughs are used as a quick way to get a meal prepared for you.
Most people that hire a personal trainer mean business: they want results, with proof that their hard work, their sweaty efforts, are paying off. My client got a scale that measures BMI, and as she continues to train and count her calories while staying within her weight loss range, she is enjoying the progress she is making, and the charts that measure her muscle gain, and fat losses, are very satisfying for both of us to review. O, and she is steadily losing weight, and her clothes aren't hugging her body the way they did not that long ago - how exciting!
You can do this too dear one! You can take your health seriously, and start the process of transforming, one meal, one workout, one app entry at a time. You can choose to change for your own good, and wouldn't it be fun to see the fast food restaurants replaced with health food stores that compete with one another to entice customers to eat their wholesome, earthy, health enriching produce and products?
We have a vast variety of fast food restaurants for a reason: they are making money in exchange for consumers health, wealth, and well-being - the cost is exorbitant for eaters, and big business owners know that if they can get people hooked on their pretender foods, they may have an over-consuming cash cow customer for life.
When once in a while becomes frequent and then a habit, good, and alternatively bad, things happen. Choose the good, dear one. Work out, count calories, choose real food that fuels your body, and in no time, you will feel fantastic, and confident in your abilities to do yourself a good turn, by taking control, and getting healthy.
You can, do this.
Challenge:
1. Weigh yourself. Using a scale increases accountability and is an honesty check - you can accuse your scale of lying to you, but the darned things are only capable of truth telling. Record your weight using a tracking application. I recommend MyNetDiary - the free version is fantastic, and for detail fanatics, I am confident the premium version will satisfy their cravings for trackable stats.
2. For one week, eat food that you have prepared. Buy fresh produce, meat that does not have additives or preservatives, and other items with short ingredient lists, that haven't been tampered with, and look like they did when they were growing into their edible state.
3. Refrain from purchasing packaged "snack" foods, like chips, chocolate, cookies, candy, ice cream etc. We are talking one week - you can live without these items for one week, isn't that right? O... and forgo pop and alcohol - they do nothing for you but rather, impede progress.
4. Do the math. Count calories eaten and calories burned by tracking them. Check in on yourself and see how you are feeling and what changes you are noticing with your tastebuds, your satiate, your energy levels, and moods too. The shifts may be subtle at first, but by the end of the week, it is possible that you will notice great and measurable changes, that let you know that your efforts are worth while.
5. Do the other math: you will spend less money when grocery shopping, and when you are out and about during the day. Put aside the money you normally would spend on fast food, or drinks made at a restaurant, and see the dollars piling up. You can save for a tropical vacation, and some gorgeous swim wear that you feel great in, with all the cash you are saving yourself!
6. Consider hiring a personal trainer that is an expert with weight training, and understands how to navigate your current and perhaps de-conditioned physical state: an expert trainer will establish a progression plan, as you become stronger, and more co-ordinated. Three months worth of training is bench mark, with changes being noticeably obvious - just image the six month, the nine month, the twelve month benchmark moments, dear one!
One meal, one workout at a time.
You can, do this.
Post Script: If you are considering hiring a trainer, look for one that actually looks like they lift weights. The best trainers live a fitness philosophy, and model a lifestyle conducive to good health.