Deprived? No

I get a lot of questions from new people I meet as well as my fitness and nutrition clients about feeling deprived in my nutrition plan:

'Don't you just want to go tear up some Mexican food?'  'How do you handle the Holidays?' 'Doesn't it take away from your quality of life packing and prepping all the time?'

Absolutely not.

My health is my greatest wealth.  My body is my own and it's my responsibility to keep it healthy.  To me, life is better when I feel my best.  And I feel my best when I am eating wholesome, clean, healthy foods and exercising everyday.  It's a way of life - not a diet.

I preach day in and day out to my clients to ALWAYS allow a cheat meal once a week.  But just one meal - not an entire day.  This gives you something to look forward to and helps keep you on track with your nutrition plan.  I have a hard time even eating a cheat meal anymore because my digestive system is so used to eating clean that when I fill it with saturated fats, sodium and sugar - I get physically ill.  Your body should be fed clean most of the time - it is designed that way.  Who wants to fill themselves all the time with chemicals, bad fats and sugars that turn to fat stores and sodium that makes your body retain water?  Not me - I opt for feeling good inside and out. 

So what about the prepping and packing?  Doesn't that take too much time?  Nope.  Does showering or brushing your teeth take too much time to do so you just skip it?  Didn't think so.  Same thing with prepping and packing your food - it is a daily routine and habit that becomes part of your life just like brushing your teeth.  I cook on Sundays for the week while doing other house chores and store my cooked food in the fridge in ready to go containers.  Each night I make whatever I need fresh for the next day and it's done.  10 minutes out of my day.  10 minutes is a pretty small sacrifice for a fitness goal or a lifestyle change - wouldn't you agree? 

Someone said to me last week 'life is about enjoying and living freely and not worrying about all of those things like calories and fats and weight loss or muscle gain' - Sure.  It is about enjoying.  But how long can you enjoy your life if you don't feed your body with good things?  Not too long - heart conditions, diabetes and many other diseases can rear their ugly heads simply from the foods and beverages we consume.  Life is about living - and running outside with a mountain view on a clear sunny day, and being able to play with your kids for hours on end in the park, and being able to climb a 14er, dance with your wife on a night out, play sand volleyball at wash park - it's all about living...but you have to fuel your body with the right things in order to enjoy it. 

'Eat to Live, Not Live to Eat'

As Always - Happy and Healthy Eating!