my first month of intuitive eating

so to start 2018 off i decided i was going to stop dieting, stop counting calories, stop counting macros because 1) i was tired and bored with it, 2) i didn't want to be constantly promoting a dieting lifestyle to my sister and her friends, 3) i don't want to be constantly promoting dieting to clients cause who knows what they've been through and 4) i really, genuinely needed a change in my life. 

so here we are at about a month down of intuitive eating feeling pretty good! so i thought i would talk about what i've changed from what i was doing before and how that's effected me and my training and life. 

first off, what the heck is intuitive eating?? 

intuitive eating is basically "normal" eating. no tracking, no guilt, no values attached to foods, no rules. the official definition is: an approach developed to help people heal from the side effects of chronic dieting, an intuitive eater is a person who makes food choices without experiencing guilt or an ethical dilemma, honors hunger, respects fullness, and enjoys the pleasure of eating. (via benourished.org). 

which seems pretty simple at first glance but most people have had various food rules for their entire life. what foods are "good" or "bad" and have never not had some sort of rules attached to eating. for me, i don't remember a time where there wasn't some voice in the back of my head telling me that i should/shouldn't eat something because of whatever rules i had created for myself. and for almost for the last three years I was actively tracking every calorie, then every macro i was eating almost every single day. 

so here are the changes i made when i switched over to intuitive eating: 

1.  stopped tracking my calorie intake. 
   1. Obviously. No logging food. Which was weird cause I typically just did it on habit/routine. So I had to stop myself a few times. 
2. stopped logging my exercise
   1. this was a big one for me. i really like seeing that big calorie burn number so i think this was the biggest adjustment and also the best change i made. i would keep working out just to keep burning calories even when it wasn't productive anymore. so this has been such a positive change in my life. 
3. listened to my body's cues and cravings
   1. though i had been listening to my hunger cues before, it was a little different in this case. like, i almost always listened to my body and only ate when i was hungry throughout the day but i would also stop eating even if i was hungry towards the end of the day. so with intuitive eating, i allowed myself to eat food later in the day if i was hungry 
   2. cravings~ one of the biggest things about dieting is constantly fighting your cravings. and so now i just ate the foods i wanted without stressing about the calorie intake. i ate regular ass pancakes, chili dogs, snow cones, pizza,  regular ice cream, french fries,  and didn't feel bad about it. but also, i ate lots of nutritious regular foods. eggs, avocado toast, chicken, veggies, and rice. it all balanced out real quick. 

and what changes did i feel? 

1. my workouts felt better. i have been eating more carbs than i was previously. like, i wasn't ever restricting carbs, but i found that i have been eating more than i was before and that it felt great. ALSO - i have been eating less cheese and dairy and fats in general. i noticed that it wasn't making me feel as great so i stopped eating them as much. and i have felt the difference. 
2. i have been less stressed about food. (obviously). i used to spend a lot of time thinking about food... and i do still tbh, cause i like food, but i'm not thinking about how many calories are in food... i'm more excited to get to eat tasty foods! 
3. weight. i am pretty sure i have gained weight over the past month... but i have also basically stopped weighing myself as often. so i am not stressed about it, like i have been in the past. mind you, i would like to stay lean... but listening to my body may mean there is some weight gain involved until i get this all figured out and learning to be okay with that is really cool and gonna be better for my health long term way more than pushing my body to a lower weight just cause i see a number i don't like on the scale.

so that's my first month of intuitive eating down, and a lifetime to go. i am very happy i made the switch! i have a lot more to learn, but i feel like this can get me in a better place to help more people with their health and fitness goals in a productive way. it's tough to relearn your eating habits, but these are skills that are needed to last a lifetime and i'm looking forward to how this can help me grow and help me help more people in achieving their goals in a healthy way. 

have questions or comments?? leave them in the comments below or on facebook or isntagram! 

need a little more guidance on your fitness journey? check out my training packages here or email me at tiffnessfitness@gmail.com so we can start working together to start achieving your goals! 

easy ways to add movement into your day

i spent the weekend sitting in a car and/or hunched up freezing to death (side note: congrats to my friend for getting married... bonus side note: no one else is allowed to have an outdoor winter wedding), so movement was tough this weekend. and my body really felt the difference from my typical workouts and general life moving around. but there are still ways to get some sort of movement in, even with the 8 + hours in the car. 

here are some easy ways you can add just a little bit of extra movement into your day without taking too much time or effort!

1. S T R E T C H 
   1. seriously. sit up in bed before you get up and touch your toes and reach up and get some twists in. take some deep breaths and honestly it'll start your day so much better. and the same thing goes for the evening. before you get in bed, or before you get too comfy, take just a couple of minutes to recover from the day and stretch out. 
2. drink hella water & get up regularly to refill your bottle.
   1. easy peasy and doing more than one good thing for yourself all at the same time! the more you drink, the more you pee, and the more you gotta stand up and go take a walk to the restroom and/or to refill your water bottle! 
3. stand up every hour or so 
   1. sitting at a desk has been proven to be detrimental to your health. hopefully you're taking care of the long term sitting with the water tip above, but if not, just make sure you recognize how long you've been sitting and just stand up every so often, reach up, take a big breath, walk if you can for a moment, and get back into it.
4. split your lunch break 
   1. enjoy your food, and then take 10 or so minutes to take a walk. i almost always had 10-15 mins of my lunch break left over after eating when i worked in an office. instead of sitting and staring at your phone for that time... take a lap around the building a time or two!
5. park a little farther away
   1. i know, i know this is an old one. but it is a really effective way to get some extra steps in with minimal effort. and those steps add up and will make you feel better in the long run! 
6. add in some calf raises
   1. probably the easiest exercise to add into your day. whenever your standing up, just add in a few calf raises and build some calf muscles any gym bro would be jealous of.
7. get yourself a lacrosse or tennis ball and roll with them!
   1.  roll out the bottom of your feet, your back and shoulders, and calves (they'll be sore from all those calf raises!). it releases tension and your muscles will thank you. you can do this sitting at your desk, watching TV, or whenever you have a minute! 

there ya have it. all of these combined will take up less than a half hour. it doesn't take a lot to get moving just a little more and these are all ways to start making fitness an easy part of your life! 

want a little more guidance on starting your fitness journey... check out the training packages you can get from me here and check out my instagram and facebook pages for free workout and recipe ideas every day of the week! 

Tiff's Tips: on mindful eating

eating properly throughout the holidays is not easy. there are so many extra stressors going on over the next couple of weeks, it's really easy to overeat and feel like crap. 

and this isn't a post telling you to diet throughout your holidays, but there are lots of great strategies to keep yourself from overeating without stressing yourself out with diets when you should be focused on enjoying the holiday season with your friends and family.

these tips are not just for the holiday season, but things you can apply to your life everyday.

1.  Fill your plate with less than you think you will want.  
   1. Odds are you aren't going to miss it
2. Use smaller plates and cutlery 
   1. makes your meal seem bigger than it is, so you'll think that you're eating more than you are! 
3. Seat yourself away from the food
   1. this may be more difficult in a family dinner buffet style setting, but even in that, don't sit with your favorite foods right under your nose. make it a pain in the ass to get your second servings. 
4. eat slowly
   1. take your time and don't power down your plate of food. enjoy the food you put on your plate!
5. wait to go back for seconds
   1. if you are continually eating, it's really hard to have a chance to listen to your body to tell you if you're hungry or not. so take a moment before you decide to get second helpings. 
6. drink lots of water
   1. sometimes you can confuse dehydration and hunger - so make sure you are drinking water throughout the day so you can know that you're hungry and not thirsty!  (also, water is great for you in a million different ways- so drink some!) 
7. don't deprive yourself
   1. for the holidays and all days ~ enjoy the foods you like to eat! if you restrict yourself from it, you're more likely to binge on it later!

 there ya have it. easy ways to eat well and feel good throughout the crazy next few weeks and throughout your day to day life! 

a lot of the research from this blog post comes from Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think by Brian Wansink,PH.D which is a really interesting read and had a lot of great insights on mindful/mindless eating which is something i've been working on, personally. 

any questions? drop me a line on my facebook or instagram page or leave a comment below!!