What I learned from Chalene Johnson’s podcast.

So while I’m working my day job, we can listen to music and stuff, but sometimes (more often than not)  I just don’t  feel like listening to music all day. I know. I’m crazy-weird. I just can’t listen to it all day long and then listen to the same stuff while I’m working out. OR. I can’t concentrate at the same time i’m trying to work. I’m blonde, remember?

Anyhow, I saw a link on Facebook the other day for Chalene Johnson’s podcast, so I spent the day listening to some of her podcasts. One that I listened to today, ‘11 healthy eating habits of the super fit‘, was really interesting. Some of the tips reminded me of what I did before to lose fat and weight, and some of the tips validated some of the stuff i’m already doing.

Here are some of my take-aways:

1.  They eat a lot of the same foods everyday. They are very habitual in their eating, and this allows them to not have to count calories or think about what they will eat.

~ I can totally vouch for this method! When I started attempting to lead a healthier lifestyle – NOT “diet” – this method is pretty much what I did to have success. Since I wasn’t used to eating healthy foods AT ALL, I just found a few healthy things that I loved, and I stuck with those. And after a while, I no longer needed my fitness pal app to track everything because I knew what I was eating and knew if I was consuming too many calories. I really didn’t get bored with this method, but if I did want a change, I found it easier to find something else healthy to add into the mix. It worked for me. I liked it. I loved what I was eating. And I just got into the routine of knowing my body and what it needed and when. And I lost weight doing this. Plus I was able to maintain the weight loss after that. Now I just need to get back to this method because I “lost it” when I had my surgery and my taste buds got all messed up. But that was a little over a year ago, so time to stop making excuses and get rid of the few pounds I gained from “emotional eating”. 😉

Salads for lunch EVERYday.

2. They don’t start the day with a big breakfast.

~ I LOVE THIS TIP! I am NOT a breakfast eater, so I was cheering for this one. 🙂 She did have a lot to say about this though if you are a morning workout person. She talked about how it can be a good thing to workout first thing on an empty stomach, and then eat your breakfast a couple hours later. I found that for me, I’m just not hungry first thing in the morning, so I just eat breakfast when I’m hungry. And that is usually around 9ish. And my breakfast is fruit. I personally found, that since I workout in the evenings after work, I don’t like to eat anything heavy during the day. Otherwise, I get tired, I feel heavy, and my workout sucks. So it works for me to just eat breakfast when I feel hungry, and not have it be super heavy. And I think it’s better to eat fruit in the morning since it has so much sugar. My rule of thumb has typically been no fruit after 2:00, but usually I’m done with my “fruit breakfast” by 11:00.

3. They hydrate

~ I think we all know this. It not only fills you up and makes you feel full, but it’s needed for your workouts. I personally drink a gallon of water a day. I will drink 8-12 glasses before my lunch at noon, and then the other 4-8 glasses after that, or during/after my workout that evening. And I don’t drink with meals because I believe it messes with your digestive process.

Oh wait. Not THAT kind of hydrating….

 

 

 

THIS kind of hydrating!

 

4. They eat smaller, more frequent meals, at approximately the same time every day, and make your biggest meal of the day around a brunch/lunch time.

~ I personally don’t eat a bunch of “meals”, but I do eat a snack or something every few hours. It definitely keeps your metabolism going, keeps you from getting to that starving point where you will eat anything and everything in sight, and helps you to feel like you are getting to eat “more”. Just choose the healthy snacks. 😉

Maybe this isn’t quite a “healthy snack choice”….

This is probably more like it…

5. They become experts in nutrition.

~ I’m NO expert on nutrition, but I do love to research everything. Nutrition included. It’s just really helpful to know little tips and things/ingredients to look out for. It’s worth knowing that buying something ‘fat free’ or ‘lite’ is NOT healthier.

These are a few of the “reads” on my bookshelves.

 

6. They are not picky eaters, they don’t diet, they are not obsessive; but they are balanced and careful eaters. They read labels and choose the best options and fuel for your workouts!

~ Um, can’t say i’m picky. But sometimes I am…I’m an in-betweener. And I definitely don’t obsess! Or diet! And i’m a HUGE advocate of reading labels! Goes right along with #5 – become an “expert” and know ingredients, chemicals, bad stuff, etc…Be deliberate in what you are putting into your body because it WILL affect how you feel and perform later on!

7. They eat whole foods.

~ I’m not 100% a whole foodie, but I believe in more is better on this one! It just reminds me of the saying: “If it comes from a plant, eat it. If it was made in a plant, DON’T!” 🙂

8. They shop healthy. If it’s in your house, your going to eat it. Just keep it out of the house to begin with. And as soon as you get home from the store, clean it, cut it, prep it, and keep it at eye level.

~ We all pretty much know this. If it’s in the house, in your sight, you will eat it. Or at least I will. 😉 If you insist on bringing ice cream in the house, choose a healthier one – dairy free, etc…or choose little snack sized “treats”. I think the biggest thing I learned on this tip is to clean and prep everything as soon as I bring it home. I just need to start doing my grocery shopping earlier in the day on Sundays so that I actually do this! When I wait until the evening to do the grocery shopping, it gets to be too late and I never feel like meal prepping and making our salads for the week. Then the week is just downhill from there. Plan, plan, and plan some more! Be ready and prepared for those moments of complete starvation, b/c they will happen! 🙂

9. They stop eating at night at a particular time.

~ I can’t be the picture of this one. I typically eat a later dinner since I workout after work and I don’t eat dinner until after my workout. But i’m sure this is a good tip. 😉

10. They are politely picky eaters at restaurants.

~ There is typically always a way to create a healthier option at a restaurant. Drink water before you go. Eat an apple or something small and healthy before you go so that you aren’t super hungry and in turn, over-indulge because “everything looks good”. Share an appetizer and order a salad as your meal. Or fill up on salad first. But you don’t have to ban going out to eat for the rest of your life! Eating out is a fun, social thing to do and enjoy. Just find ways to enjoy it without sabotaging yourself. But also remember, if your already following a healthy lifestyle, eating a not-so-healthy meal one time, will not kill you. Just don’t make it a habit.

11. They find something other than food to cope with their feelings and emotions. They take notice of how they are feeling when they are mindlessly eating/nibbling/snacking. Are you bored? Tired? Stressed? Depressed? What void are you trying to fill?

~ Let’s be real. Most of our bad eating, binge eating, stuffing ourselves passed the point of feeling full, is all due to feelings. There really is some underlying issue for turning to food as a comfort thing and coping mechanism. It’s imperative that if you want to lose any weight or fat and maintain a healthy LIFE, you HAVE to figure out what the root causes are that are driving you to turn to food. A magic pill is NOT the answer. It is not something you can maintain for life and all you would be doing is covering up the issue. You would be dealing with the symptoms instead of the issue and that is NOT in any way, a means to a healthy life. You CAN overcome the root issues! Just face them head-on and deal! You’ve got this! 🙂

So there.  Any of these tips you love and want to incorporate? Do you already do some of these things??

 

And again, the link to her podcast is here. 🙂