I hated every bite but the most annoying thing about it is I busted my ass in the gym yesterday and I feel like it's now a waste. OK, in reality it probably won't have much physical affect but psychologically it does. My brain is apologising to my body right now.
Poor Preparation. I worked all morning at my second job and then had an hour to go home and get some food ready to bring to the gym. I knew I had to work until 10pm so I downed a protein shake at 2pm and then came to work. Yeah, that'll be enough, I said. 4pm - starving, no food and full of frustration.
Many fitness people will only post healthy recipes, pictures of themselves training and living the perfect life. To be honest when I see that stuff on my Instagram or Facebook it slightly irks me. The person obviously means well and follows the traditional path of promoting health and fitness. Nothing wrong with that, that's our job, but our job is also to be as real as possible too.
To me that means being honest and open about the struggles of goal achieving and getting to where we want to be in life. Of course, we want to set an example for our clients and show that with dedication and planning real results can be found, but it's easier to connect with someone who has the same temptations and distractions as you. It's a journey that's best taken together.
The easiest part of getting the body you want is the endless, lonely and tiring hours spent in the gym or pounding the tarmac every night. The hardest part will always be what you do OUT of the gym. It doesn't matter how much you sweat or how hard you push yourself, If your diet isn't planned properly around it you may as well just give up. I'm talking about specific fitness goals here, I'm very aware that some just like to go to the gym for social aspects and general physical activity without any eyes on real results and that's absolutely fine. But most of us want something to show for our hard work and nutrition is the main thing that will hold us back from reaching the top of the mountain.
It's actually fairly simple to work out what you're body needs from food to adapt to the changes you want. For example, If you're a male looking to add a bit of muscle to your frame you will need a calorie surplus of 200-500 per day to promote growth. This means that you will be taking in more calories than your body burns during normal every day functions, thus supporting any intended size gains. But they have to be the right amounts of carbs, proteins and fats, the right choices of food.
Working out your daily macros is also worthwhile doing as it will give you a much clearer picture of what you need to focus on. The same logic can be applied to someone looking to lose weight, where they would need a calorie deficit (where the body burns more than it's taking in from food). Macros can be worked out to support this also.
Back to the lion bar, It's a good example of a very bad choice that serves me no benefit at all. (Actually, it's kept me alive on this shift, props where it's due)..
Food Prep.
If you haven't done this before please be aware that preparing food for the week ahead is literally one of the dullest, mind numbing and time consuming acts you can do as a human being. We can only try to find ways to make it more exciting. Personally having my IPad in the kitchen tuned into Sky Sports helps a lot but it still sucks. My advice, try and do the majority of it in one 2-3 hour period, otherwise you will panic and hate the thought of doing it even more.
Here's a link to a decent article about how to prepare food if you're struggling to find the time or can't make it a habit that sticks. http://dailyburn.com/life/health/meal-prep-ideas-healthy-eating
Good Luck!
Carl Ackerley
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