Hey yall!
It’s obvious that I love food.
Anyway, when I was growing up, I played club soccer. This just means that we played all year around instead of only one season. Here’s the point: since I played competitive soccer from 5th grade up until freshman year of college, I never really worried about what I ate. (there was a short period of time that I was trying to be super healthy, but overall, I ate what I wanted, when I wanted, and how much I wanted- whether it was healthy or unhealthy. I will say that I tried to be somewhat health conscious)
Fast forward to sophomore year in college. I quit college soccer after my freshman year, but stayed at the school for the first half of my sophomore year. That was pretty much the first time that I had to workout by myself and motivate myself. (minus the summer before freshman year- I worked out with my friend but we both had workout packets to do to train during the summer) I still worked out and enjoyed it. I transferred to A&M mid semester and again I stuck with working out. (ps, I really do enjoy working out) I basically stuck with working out all throughout college and the year after I graduated.
Ps, this whole time I am still continuing to eat what I want, when I want, how much I want. (and again, I was always SOMEWHAT health conscious)
Now (in this story) we are about a year after graduation so… 2014. I got a job as a teacher and I started August 2014. Long story short, I ended up not working out for months and becoming really lazy.
Ok, so, I stopped working out and at this point I was eating pretty bad. My poor eating habits started long ago, but I was working out more and at least TRYING to be healthy at times. Something happened along the road and I just kind of went crazy with food. That sounds dramatic, but what I mean is that I threw health out the window and ate whatever I felt like eating. I wanted pizza? I ate pizza. CHEESEBURGERS?? Yum yum give me some! And let’s not even mention Sonic chili cheese tots with extra onion. Overall, I was eating more unhealthy and “indulgent”.
November 2014 rolled around and I ended up getting back into working out. At this point, all I was doing was lifting. I hadn’t even thought of cardio in months. (ps, this may seem super dramatic to some people, but I grew up playing soccer all the time, so I was used to working out regularly). The thing that my brain thinks is, “hey kimmy, you worked out. You should reward yourself with a feast!!!” I would be lying if I said that my mind has changed and I am so healthy now and blah blah blah.
Sidenote- I am one of those people who never checked grades in college, am scared to answer the phone because I’m paranoid about bad news, don’t check test results, etc. That being said, I never would weigh myself. I always said that I just want to feel good in clothes. Anyway– this story is getting too long– my point is: I have gained a lot of weight. I weighed myself after I got back from the beach almost two weeks ago.
That was when I decided that I had to do something about myself, my body, my mind, my confidence, so on and so forth. I decided to start counting calories (I use MyFitnessPal) which I had never done before. I don’t want to get too far into this, but I want to say that it is a challenge (considering how much food I can and want to consume at all times of the day) but I am enjoying it.
Today, I want to share some of the meals from my week!
Upper Left: Lunch, three mini slices of pumpernickel bread, one slice of muenster cheese divided equally, turkey breast. Avocado with salsa on the side, along with a variety of olives and yep, roasted garlic cloves. (thank you central market!)
Upper Right: #leftovers Baked salmon, baked sweet potatoes, baked brussel sprouts on top of a bed of arugula. The food was seasoned with garlic salt, pepper, and a few other dried herbs and spices that I had on hand.
Bottom Left: Same as upper right, minus the arugula.
Bottom Right: Sauteed veggies mixed with scrambled eggs topped with goat cheese and salsa, all on top of a bed of ‘power’ greens.
I’m not here to list off things that you NEED to do in order to be healthy– that’s not what this is about and I’m definitely not a health expert. (hello, I love pizza and cheeseburgers) To me, I am posting this to a) hold myself accountable and b) help inspire someone who needs it. I do have a few no brainer tips just in case you wanted some:
1. Buy healthy food when grocery shopping. (On the flip side, don’t buy unhealthy food if you know you will cave and eat it. *cough cough* oreos *cough cough*) I love me some unhealthy food, but since I am really trying to be better, I avoid getting tempting food.
2. Cook, prepare most of the food you eat. It makes sense because YOU’RE in control of what you eat! You can determine how much oil and seasoning go into your food. You like an abnormal amount of garlic in your dishes (who doesn’t?), go for it! When you go out to eat, you don’t know how many calories or fat is in your food. You can add it to your tracker, but it isn’t always the correct amount. Ironically, eating at fast food and Chipotle (YESSSSSS) is easier since a lot of places now have their nutrition facts available to the public. For me, I know I need to stick to calorie counting for a while so that I can change my PORTIONS KRISTEN habits. Then when I have lost weight and eating healthy comes easier, I can ween off counting.
3. Be realistic; eat in moderation. I know that I freaking love cheese. I still buy and eat cheese, but I eat in moderation. I know that I can’t deprive myself of everything that I love to eat, so again, moderation and buckling down when you need to. (further explained next)
4. Don’t be too hard on yourself. I like to think of myself as a person who is committed and hard working. (in most aspects) That being said, I don’t want to beat myself up if I go over my calories for the day (which I have done). Don’t hate yourself if you eat a double cheeseburger and fries. This ties in with being realistic. For me, I know I committed to eating healthier so I will do that and get back on track when I fall off the wagon so to speak. (ps, what is that saying? haha)
If I think of anymore tips, I’ll let yall know!
Basically, I am really trying to eat healthier. Again, it’s hard work, but I know it will be worth it. Another thing I have been doing is working out more! I started doing Camp Gladiator again! I did it for a few months in early 2014, but I got back into it. For those wondering, it is a boot camp type workout. The trainers are AMAZING and the workouts have a team vibe. Overall, I really love it.
I hope you enjoyed this post and I really hope that it helped you in some way! Thanks for stopping by!
-Kimi
Kimi Eats the World 