Train like a Beast - EAT like a Beast

We spent our Thanksgiving with just the two of us, plus one fluffy puppy. I had planned out enough food to feed a family of twelve but with our Crossfit appetites, it left us with three days of left overs. Chris is not living a gluten free lifestyle because he doesn't have to but I always adhere to one due to my allergies. I did however, spoil myself with marshmallows on my sweet potato casserole, I know, living large. Thanksgiving also landed as a rest day, THANKSgiving indeed!

This post isn't about my Thanksgiving meal, that was just a friendly update! This post is about how much my eating habits and consumption have changed since I started Crossfit. This can apply to Crossfitters, athletes, runners, lifters, anyone training hard and heavy because I have seen how male and female athletes eat and it’s some serious business.

Before I started on my fitness journey I was always an incredibly picky eater, I ate small portions six or seven times a day and I ate at the speed of a snail, not because “it makes you feel fuller faster” but because I was raised to chew my food before I attempted to swallow it. I have seen my husband eat large bowls of pasta and never chew, it’s freaky and concerning.

When counting calories in the old days, my calories were dictated by MyFitnessPal which placed me around 1300 - 1400 calories a day. I coupled that intake with about an hour of cardio six to seven days a week. Translation: I was starving myself thin. Not intentionally, I didn't know any better but I should have listened to my body which was responding with a growling stomach, headaches, fatigue and pure bitchiness. Ever cried because you portion controlled your almonds and saw how little you were about to eat? Then you aren't eating enough!

I don’t know how many people feel guilty or ashamed of what they eat, but I have in the past and I don't like that mental game. I could shame myself into not eating something but all I was doing was making myself feel worse about my self image and I am sad to say that I thought that was okay. It wasn't that I had a bad relationship with food, it was that I was consumed with counting calories to the point that I would skip eating an apple because I “couldn’t afford to loose the 110 calories”.

Thankfully, I don’t do that anymore, I just eat. It’s really freeing and it takes the guilt out of consumption. These days I should be consuming about 2,000 - 2,300 calories a day with my training schedule and it isn’t easy to reach that number when you are eating clean and mostly paleo. It is almost funny to me how badly I struggled to stay under 1400 calories in the past and now I am struggling to get to 2,000 calories.

I still use MyFitnessPal but I set the macros myself and I don’t ask to “loose a pound a week”. I am currently set at 289 grams of Carbohydrates, 51 grams of fat and 174 grams of protein, which in calories is 2,314 a day. I log my intake one day a week to make sure I am on the right track, and surprisingly, I consistently find that I am not eating enough.

My life now revolves around eating protein dense meals, with healthy carbohydrates (plain sweet potatoes are a regular for me) and lots of fruits and veggies. I have eliminated all processed foods, sugar, dairy and gluten. The best part about all of this is that I am never starving, I no longer have issues with hypoglycemia and I get to eat constantly, which makes me very happy!

I am finally in the food is fuel mentality which makes me a much less picky eater and also makes me eat a lot faster. I don’t know how many times I have sat down to eat and unconsciously consumed everything on my plate, or how often I eat dinner and immediately start looking for more food. I am not only reprograming my body but my mindset as well. In the past, no matter how hard I was training, I would have never allowed myself to eat more and there were plenty of days when I would eat less so Chris could eat more. Now, Chris and I are fighting over how much we get at dinner and there is no shame in that!

#eatinglikeabeast