Whoa....I Get It Now!!

Have you ever eaten something you really wanted and it was delicious, but a few minutes later, you were asking yourself why did I eat that? why did I eat so much of that? or even why am I still eating this even though I'm full? Here's what I've discovered...

They say you are what you eat, and I'll be honest, it's absolutely true!! I eat some protein packed chicken and some veggies and I feel like I can take on a marathon. On the other hand, when I eat a slice of pizza, I feel like I can't even walk to the fridge for a glass of water. The food that you put into your body has more of an impact on your mood, behavior, weight, and basically your overall health, than I could have ever imagined. I had never looked at food as 'fuel' in my life before talking to my dietitian. I used to eat what I thought tasted good which was mostly sweets or pizza and never once thought about the effect it would have on my body in so many ways!

Now, I think about meals in a whole new light. I try to figure out what will give me the most energy for breakfast on a workday. I try to make something protein packed but somewhat light for dinner because I know I'm least active after dinner. For lunch, I try to pick something that will refuel me from my workout but also give me some more energy to go the rest of the day until dinner.

Now, my dietitian says I should eat 6 small meals per day 🤣 but that never happens and here's why. I wake up at 530 and go for a walk. I get back around 700 and drink some water. At 715 I'm staying to prepare breakfast and we're usually eating around 800. I have to wait 30 minutes after eating before I can drink anything. So that's about 930 as it takes me 45 minutes to eat. I do my daily routine of chores, errands, etc. Drinking about 20 oz of water by 1130 which is when I start to prepare lunch for myself and whomever else is home with me. We usually get done with lunch around 1300 which means I can start drinking around 1330. I start drinking another 20 oz of water and continue on my routine and around 1530, I start preparing dinner. Sometimes I get those 20 oz in but sometimes I don't finish the second bottle before dinner. Dinner is usually over around 1830 which puts me able to drink again around 1900. My dietitian also says not to eat 4 hours before bed which means 1900 is past my cutoff for eating anyway so my day of eating is over. Between 1900 and bedtime (we shoot for 2200) I can usually get 1 mor 20 oz bottle mostly drank which puts me around approximately 60 ounces of water for the day which is actually 4 ounces short of the recommended amount of daily intake! You tell me where I can fit in any more food and still get my water in?

I'm not by any means trying to make excuses for myself, but I am trying to point out that if you haven't had bariatric surgery, it's much easier for you to eat and drink healthier if you choose to do so. I can only sip water, therefore, it takes me a couple of hours to get 20 oz in. My husband can down 20 oz in less than a minute (it's an Army thing lol). My kids can drink water all day long and get twice as much in as me!

So maybe, next time you want to try to lose a few pounds or a lot of pounds, try eating much smaller meals 6 times a day (or how ever many your schedule will allow but no more than 6), don't drink with your meals and wait 20 minutes after, and try to drink at least 64 ounces of water daily! You're actually supposed to drink half your body weight in ounces of water daily!

I hope this information is helpful to someone! I know it was super helpful to me when I started learning it all, but it stuck in my head a lot more when I saw it in action!!

Much love y'all. Until next time!!

Kay