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Friday, February 10, 2012

Health article for the weekend =)

First off, this will be me.. minutes after my competition, chowing down on "real food" that I've cut out the past couple months!
(Except they are extremely hot bikini competitors)


Lately I've been reading a lot of fitness magazines, gearing up for my show and familiarizing myself with the industry. I've had to learn how to train better, eat better, and keep my focus mentally, none of which comes naturally. It seems I have a lot of friends who are also trying to lead a healthier lifestyle, lose the last ten pounds, or just tone up, so I hope you find this article as helpful as I did! It's written by an IFBB bikini pro Tiffany Boydston, regarding eating habits and feeling fulfilled even though you feel like you miss out on so many good (unhealthy) foods.


Satisfying the unsatisfied…
How many of you have started your new diet regimen?  Having troubles staying satisfied or even living a healthy lifestyle and fighting the urge to not go to the break room and give in to the doughnut?
Recently, I was at the airport and pulled out a meal from my cooler.  A woman next to me said, “ I wish I could eat that, you’re very healthy.”  I looked at her, smiled and said, “you can eat like this, there’s a salad bar right around the corner and a Mexican restaurant that will grill your chicken with corn tortillas for tacos.”  She looked back at me with her pizza in her hand and said, “you know I didn’t even think about that, next time I will.”  She then turned back to me and said, “well to be honest every time I eat that I never feel satisfied.”
This is a common issue most people have.  It’s not about not being satisfied with the foods.  It’s deeper than that.  The vast majority of it is more of an emotional problem. We have it all in different cases: the under-eater, the over-eater, the never satisfied eater.  This all boils down to your emotional well-being.  When you are stressed you may overeat or under eat.  When you're not satisfied this may be with something you’re lacking in your everyday life, which you try to fill with foods yet it’s not the food you want to satisfy you.
For the majority of my healthy way of living I have had to battle this as well.  I had to make my life changes and get creative with foods.
Life changes - 
Take a look around at your surroundings and making them positive is the best advice I can give.  For those who have grueling work schedules, time consuming projects, and school, this can be a lot to handle, let alone with eating healthy and stressors of the never satisfied feeling.  Try to organize your schedules a bit to eliminate the stress in your life.  Get a notebook out and organize your life.  You’d be amazed how all over the place you are.  Focus on one task at a time in an orderly fashion.  This will help you organize your eating as well.
Negative calorie effect -
When the munchies do come around try snacking on raw veggies.  Not only are they great for you but also when consumed raw it takes more calories to digest them, than when consumed cooked, which is the thermic effect.  This actually will help you shed fat in the process.  The crunchy foods are something we all seem to crave.  Raw veggies help with just that.  Little tip I do (when I crave sweet and crunchy food) I add to celery - stevia, cinnamon, and a dash of unsweetened cocoa for a little treat.  I even do this to my almonds.  Just a creative and fun way to switch it up.
Drink up! - 
I have noticed that when I think I’m hungry it’s actually my body telling me I’m thirsty.  I will have a hot tea with every meal along with my stevia lemon water.  The warmth of the tea satisfies my sweet tooth and fills me up.  If you’re not a tea drinker make water fun.  Add berries, lemons, or limes and add stevia.  Voila!  Naturally flavored sugar free water.
Beat the boredom - 
Make meals fun!  I have made my own protein bars just using oats, egg whites, stevia and protein powder.  They taste like cake and curbs any sweet cravings I have.  Make meat fun by making them into loafs or mini sliders with the right spices.  I post a ton of recipes on my facebook fan page (link below) that can help you out as well.
To fight the urge of never feeling satisfied isn’t an easy task.  However, with small changes you can tackle this one step at a time.  Making smarter choices, getting creative, and having your surroundings controlled will have you on the right path.

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