I find it always so strange to look back at my own food. It is something that has become so strange to me, because it’s just food. It is tasty and I move on. I hope for the peeps who are reading this and do struggle with being to fixated on their food, that this can be you to someday :).
Me taking out food again haha. Guys I hoped you got some inspo from this or it calmed you down. I ate it all and am still the same. So, no worries!
Well, the photo says it all I believe. That 6 six-pack of desperados is killing me XD. Oké, but now the full story. I started with 9 months of strength training before lockdown after a big time of not doing strength training at all. I did it from 2012 until the end of 2015 and in 2016 I was leaning more and more to boxing. I did this very consciously, because unlike most people; you need to get me out of the gym and not force me into it. I really like it! I like to challenge myself in my strength, see what food can do for a session and in the beginning I liked the esthetic part of it.
At the end of 2016 I chose to leave boxing behind and strength training, because my body could not handle that impact. I am very delicate when it comes to training pressure, I always had that. My mom said that to me way back (something in the family), but I brushed that off. Eventually it did had impact on my menstrual cycle and I lost it. To regain it back again, I did not do any form of exercise for 2,5 years straight, except walking (and some other stuff, that will be available in the E-book about periods). In the summer of 2019 I chose to begin with strength training again after studying to be a NSCA personal trainer. I already had my period for 1,5 years back again. This is a big story, but to keep it short. I already lost it for four years before getting it back. And I lost it, because of high training volumes and changing my food up. Not really because of my weight (in the beginning).
Because of muscle memory, I was able to gain strength relatively quick. The same for muscle gain. I could achieve this with two times a week to the gym and doing full body workouts. Aiming for a hypertrophy range. Sometimes it was three times a week, but I saw my menstrual cycle going bad again. It became lighter, was not on time etc. So I stuck to two times a week.
And then came corona. I hate training @home. I tried it for two times, than during lunges my knee started to hurt insane (took 6 months eventually to go away) and I made the decision to walk again right there. Walking has been my exercise for the past 4 years and I love it more than strength training, simply because it is more practical. I can do it pretty much anywhere. But what happened with my body after stopping with strength training?
Well, the following:
But what did I gained?
I value the second list more. I like to be not restricted to one sport. I do what feels good. Maybe it will not only be walking next year, but with swimming, strength training or hockey. I did strength training, because I like the strength. But there was a time I did it for the aesthetics. And for the peeps that are reading this and are doing it for this reason, don’t. You do not want to be dependent from a sport for your looks. Never go and do something, because you are not happy with how you look and you want to change yourself. It’s your mindset, not your body you need to change. Or be afraid to loss your gains, sports should be for fun and for challenging yourself. Not for you getting paranoid, because you skipped the gym for a few days and muscle loss is kicking in…..
Think about that. Especially the ladies, because we cannot build that much muscle in comparison with men.
Much love,
Queeny
Aahh calorie counting. I hate it that consumers have access to this :,). Not because I donât want them to know. Itâs good to gain more knowledge as a person with a goal. Makes the opportunity of succeeding higher. But it comes with a price. Letâs say a mental health price. For my own practice, two months tops of Myfitnesspal is enough!! Not a day more and even less is something I advocate. Get some insight in how much rice weighs per portion, how much oil is a good idea and call it a quits!
I work as a coach at a company and clients that mostly come to me either hate calorie counting, donât do it completely or got a totally fucked up relationship with food eventually. This last thing is something that a lot of people really do not take seriously when they download Myfitnesspal in the beginning. If you feel anxious, because you canât eat a meal you cannot track. You have a problem!
If you feel anxious, because the battery of your foodscale broke down. You have a problem. As a person who has been there, I am not afraid to say this. And the amount of suffering it gave, is something I would never like to have for others. People trust the food scale more than themselves !?âŹ@#%!?? It is such a hard habit to get out of your system! So better do it now. You are not a bikinifitness model, you are not on prep and you wonât gain all the weight back!!!!
Especially this last one. This is the whole reason why people canât stop. âOohh I found a formula to keep myself forever this wayâ! Well, I can tell you this. It will not be forever. Maybe you have been struggling for years and years with your weight, but this is not the awnser. Itâs a tool for insight in calories. Myfitnesspal is just like a diet. It will work for some time, but will lose it charms in the end. Cuz when you stop following it, depending how you react to it, you could gain some weight back. Itâs the lie that everyone tells themselves. That calorie counting is not a diet, well guess what, it is!
So if you stop today, maybe stay the same in weight or gain 2-4 pounds (1-2 kilo). Your real lifestyle change can begin. People who use calorie counting often can calorie count when by themselves. But when getting a partner, being with friends or with your own damn kids later on. The craziness of it, will show. Getting to listen to your body, cravings, making healthy choices and sometimes nibble on something less nutritious and staying in balance. Is the key! You already can do that without that app, millions of people show that everyday. And guess what, your weight will always go up and down (2/4 pounds, 1-2kilo) and that is healthy. People think the scale either needs to go down or stay at the same number for all the weeks of the year……
Start with putting the food scale away. Than only use the app for a while. Challenge yourself to eyeball foods and drinks more. Become more easy with tracking (not specific with macroâs). And let it go. To be honest. This has been a thing for me for so long that I actually really am considering to not even start as a dietitian, because this bugs the shit out of me. It really takes away the joy of my work personally. Because I know that at the end, that people who are using this now are gonna give the biggest tantrums on not letting go. While I never even recommended it, but they start looking for information at the wrong sources or twist your advice…
