Eating for Success: Having Clean Habits
Hola!
I met this AMAZING nutritionist who hasn't had a cold in 10 years! How crazy is that? Her name is Emmanuelle Galland. She wrote the book: Feeding Success: A Nutritional Blueprint to fuel Busy Professionals and Business Travelers. The perfect book for getting on the right track with your diet when you have an extremely busy life. Models often travel and we're extremely busy so we may not have the opportunity to always catch a workout, but clean eating is even better. Remember, what you eat on the inside shows on the outside! She is also the Co-Founder of Goji Fitness and Zenberry. She has such an amazing spirit and it was a pleasure to have a pre-session with her. In my pre-session we discussed so many things that I am going to share with you guys.
I was trying to lose weight in ALL of the wrong ways. I did the Lemonade Master Cleanse diet TWICE and both times I got extremely sick. I also have signs of vertigo so I get really dizzy really quickly. The first time I lost 7 lbs in 3 days and that is NOT a healthy way to lose weight at all, especially at that pace. The very next day after I started eating solids again I gained the weight right back. Detox and cleanses are awesome at first but when you start eating solids again it's easy to gain the weight back because you didn't lose it the right way in the first place. The solution to it all is cleaner eating, PERIOD. Just eat clean. Change your eating and lifestyle habits so you can have a great awesome, long lasting, defensive body. A diet shouldn't be something you get on a few days and then just get off when you've reached your goal. I totally understand cheat days, we have them all but it is important to change the way you think about the food that you put in your body. Your body is your temple and food is information. It literally tells your body what to do.
I'm yappin to the captain. But Emma gave me some amazing tips towards my journey of weight loss and living a better life. Weight loss goes beyond dieting but changing the way you perceive things. Everything has an effect on your body. You should never see dieting/healthy foods as a punishment. You shouldn't consider your pizza/cake as a reward, we are not dogs. I am currently training my mind to know that a salad, greens, veggies, fruits and all the good stuff for my body is a REWARD in itself. If you see eating healthy as a punishment, you will not be as successful as you can be.
FOUR things to think about during my journey...
Being Happy in my Career/Work. Stress has a major effect on your digestive system and it is crucial that you are content with your job. I used to work in retail and that put a lot of strain on my happiness. Now I work at a spinning studio and a gym and things are beginning to look up for =)
Spiritual: Making sure you are in tune with your spirit. For some people that may be meditating, yoga, or even going for a walk. Personally, I LOVE bikram yoga. That helps me connect with my spirit and so does taking out 30 minutes everyday to meditate. I go on youtube and put on nature sounding meditating music for 30 minutes and go to work with my spirit.
Healthy Relationships: Having healthy nurturing relationships. Not only with your partner, but with your family and your friends. Making sure you laugh and smile a lot with them. Be giving, be forgiving and be patient. Some of the foods I eat and the times I eat them make me extremely irritable in the morning. I am telling you.. certain foods can you get you out of your morning slump .. and sleep of course.
Dieting/Sleep. It is critical that you eat clean, well-balanced, nutritional meals. I'm learning that I need to eat more nutrient dense foods and that I need to stop counting calories. Calories are not the issue because you burn calories the moment you start talking and breathing. We need good calories. We need to eat foods that are high in nutrition.
And SLEEP. I watched this one Will Smith: Words of Wisdom video on YouTube and made the decision to not sleep as often. I was thinking, Oh! I need to work! While the next man is sleeping I need to be a step ahead and I need to be working. The early bird gets the worm. Yes... the early bird does get the warm. But the early bird went to sleep early too! Our bodies NEED sleep. Sleep is where we recover. Sleep is where we heal. 8 hours every night is the ideal amount of sleep that we should be getting. Sleep has a direct effect on your skin, your eyes, and your digestive system.
My diet right now will consist of 4 things all divided 25% each:
Protein: I used to be a pescatarian and then I moved to California and lost all of my pescie morals. I may have to get back to that because I absolutely love fish. I am now eating lean proteins which mostly consists of baked chicken breasts, turkey, salmon, and other types of fish. I hear beef liver is really really great for you, but I don't know if I'm ready to take that step. Beef takes entirely way too long to digest in my body so I try to eat that once a month, maybe less. I love me a steak tho.. Jeez!
Veggies: GREEN veggies are crucial!! I LOVE Kale, Broccoli, Green Beans and Spinach. Sometimes my plate is filled with 60% of just vegetables. I love some corn too!
Fruits: Fruits have a lot of natural sugar in it and I feel the need to crave sugar throughout my day so instead of sour powers.. or hamburger candies.. I'll grab an apple. My favorite apples are McIntosh apples and I love me some green apples with peanut butter. Takes me back to my teenage years.
CARBS!!!!!!!!! I used to run AWAY from Carbs. Carbs go straight to my hips.. and the industry hates huge "ghetto" hips. This was a BIG mistake on my part. Carbs is what gives you energy. It is what helps your brain function. It is what gives you the fuel to work out in the first place. I would go to the gym everyday and not eat any carbs and feel extremely exhausted and drained. After a work out you should be energized and excited to tackle the day. Not me, I would feel like I need to rest for a second before I can continue my day. Nonetheless, working out put me in the greatest mood. But yeah, carbs are SOOOOOOOO critical. Now! There are GOOD carbs. Carbs are where you get sugar from as well. Some good carbs are brown rice, whole-grain pasta, whole wheat bread, whole oats, whole rye.. foods like that.
My nutrient dense diet consists of: salmon, potatoes, kale, oysters, clams, and even some seaweed. I like seaweed chips loll. I like to switch it up from time to time but for the most part that's what I will/am eating. Right now, I've still been doggin the leftovers from Thanksgiving. I mostly fill my plate up with tons of green beans with turkey smoked neck bones, Kales, and then some more Kales, Sweet Potatoe, Turkey, Stuffing, and Mac and Cheese. (the mac and cheese is my only downfall)..
Fail to plan and you plan to fail. Meal prepping is what is going to keep my journey going. That has a lot to do with time management. Working two jobs and meal prepping and organizing my meals will get difficult but it's another challenge that I am more than willing to accept. Emma made a point to stress how important it is to have control over 100% of your meals. It is going to be EXTREMELY difficult to eat out wayyy less and to only eat what I make but this is all about breaking habits and building new ones so it should be exciting.
NOW another thing that I have learned within my journey of clean eating and weight loss is that every diet does not work for every body. We were all born with different bodies so granted what works for me, may not work for you. I had to learn that the hard way. I would research Victoria Secret models and research their exact diets and then wonder why it wasn't working for me. I have a different build. Lean protein and fish works perfectly for me. That may not work you. It is important that you find out what works for you.
I've been thinking about investing in a 6 pack fitness bag. They are kinda pricey ($70) but I think ultimately it will be worth it. I'd like to consider it an investment towards my health LOL. I saw a really cute pink one that I want.
Last but not least, I really want to tell you guys how much the universe has been putting in that overtime to work in my favor. I just started two new jobs both fitness related so it goes hand in hand with my goals towards modeling. For everyone pursuing a dream, I think you should find a job that has SOMETHING to do with what you want to do or it will feel like a waste of time. Work should not feel like a waste of time. Your time.. is nothing that should be wasted because its something you cannot get back. I was jobless for a while before I found these gigs so I know what its like to not have it .. and I know what it is like to have to put up with shit at your job to get it. At my jobs, I've been meeting and attracting a lot of personal trainers, fitness instructors, nutritionists, and cooks. Inspiration after inspiration. The universe is truly working for me. I love meeting new people and learning new things. This all has been a wonderful experience and I hope to continue it all with you guys =)
xx
Arielle
P.S. At one of my gym jobs I get to make shakes and smoothies!!!! Super stoked about that! So be on the lookout for some ways to make a nice healthy smoothie =)