Today I ate chips on the harbour with Gabe and then we had an ice cream for pudding !! Not the healthiest meal but one that I enjoyed because this afternoon wasn't about the food. It was about spending time with my youngest boy on a sunny afternoon. These simple pleasures are just that. Simple and pleasurable. Tomorrow I'll start my day with a green smoothie as my body feels already that it has missed its nutrients today. But it's ok. It really is. One day is ok.
It's all about balance. Now and again you should be able to eat things that are seen as less 'healthy'. THAT'S HEALTHY! That's balance. Anything that teaches you to obsess over food is NOT HEALTHY. Be interested. Be curious. Be more aware of what you are putting in your mouth. Read ingredients and cook from scratch more. But do not get stuck on the I MUST EAT 100% HEALTHILY ALL THE TIME TRAIN!!
This is the reason I don't promote anything extreme when it comes to food. Hot Mama has a great nutrition programme because it doesn't encourage obsessive behaviour. One 'off' day should not rule your life. If you are constantly worrying about food you are causing your body stress. This in turn cause you to release stress hormones and it becomes a vicious cycle. Women especially are really vulnerable to this way of thinking. We are always beating ourselves up about something, whether it be not spending enough time with the children or not having a clean house! Diets and the constant plugging of shakes, pills and ultra strict eating just fuels this way of thinking. We're more intelligent than that. Are we really training to just achieve a great body or is there more to it? The Hot Mama programme, I believe, teaches you that you can be healthy AND have a life! Let's face it, there are going to be times when you struggle to get it all right and get everything done. Sometimes you have to smile and just accept the day. Nobody got sick because they ate ice cream once a month. Every day, yes, but not every now and again. Having an enjoyable meal is a pleasure in itself. You should be able to enjoy these times without worrying about whether it's clean, or not clean, or full of sugar (ice cream - loads) or trans fats (chips - most definitely!). The goal is for your body to tell you that it's had enough and for you to actually listen to it. You'll certainly know when you're eating habits are good, you feel it!
It's about changing your behaviour gradually and with the right goals. The goals of fitness and health changes that really make a difference to your daily life. For new mums it might be about eating well to help your body and mind recover from labour and the difficulties that can come with being a new mum. It might be during pregnancy that you start to make small changes (a great time to start by the way). You might not be a mum at all, but a female trying to get fitter and lose some body fat. You may have been through a bad relationship, feel stuck in a rut and really want to make some positive changes. These are much better and more valuable reasons that just losing weight.
My wish for every woman is to feel able to cope with all situations in relation to food. I don't want to teach anyone to have hang ups about food or exercise. Making these changes has to be for the right reasons.
I hope this short blog made sense and hopefully got you thinking!
Sam x
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