My right arm slowly moved its way out from under the toasty blankets as I fumbled to mute the “Ripples” melody chiming from my alarm.
I take a long exhilarating inhale and stretch out my body like a supple cat.
My iPhone tells me it’s time to start the day…
… a strength training session with AMC mamas. (My favorite part of the day!)
Today is day 10 of my 30-day personal experiment.
(If you missed it, I committed to eating a specific number of daily calories, and adding strategic weight training to my routine for 30 days with the goal of creating new consistent habits for body recomposition. Read more here.)
What I’ve quickly uncovered about this experiment…
#1) CONSISTENCY IS A CHALLENGE
Eating 125 grams of protein a day takes forethought to prepare and plan each meal.
Initially there were some road bumps, now I have a better strategy and a couple more simple, go-to meals.
One cup of spaghetti squash, 4 ounces of roasted chicken and a sprinkle of cheese with Trader Joe’s Tomato & Basil Marinara sauce is very delicious AND very filling.
👉🏻The greatest a-ha moment…
#2) I EAT MORE FOOD!
Let me explain…
Around the holidays I found myself in the (not-so-good) habit of “grabbing” food…
- couple of pieces of beef jerky and a few nuts,
- container of Skyr yogurt and fruit,
- sliced grilled chicken and veggies dipped into salsa or Tzatziki dip
And then there were the empty calories snacks: pretzels, crackers, popcorn, rice cakes…and not so empty calories (I’m looking at you holiday cookies)!
Collectively, all of these provided calories to hold me over for the next ‘grab’ but sometimes they were not satisfying.
These ‘grabs’ happened frequently throughout the morning and afternoon, and often there were not enough calories (leading me to overeat at dinner time)…
…OR, mindlessly eating too many empty calories that didn’t serve me well either.
Dinner is always the more thoughtful sit down dinner with family.
… as a busy mom can you relate?
Yes, I am a nutrition coach…
…all the things I teach clients; eat slowly, eat without distractions, eat mindfully was not CONSISTENTLY happening in my world.
Hence, the inception of my personal experiment to change my BEHAVIORS.
NOW I EAT BIG, THOUGHTFUL PLATES OF FOOD FILLED WITH SATIATING AND SATISFYING PROTEIN.
Eggs have become my go-to breakfast, lunch or dinner.
My fave combo; 4 egg white scramble (1 yolk) with sautéed onions and spinach, a few slices of avocado and half slice of toasted sourdough.
Oh, the half slice of toast… it’s so I can enjoy a delicious piece of dark chocolate later! #tradeoffs
One of my clients asked…
How many calories do you eat a day?
My goal is to land between 1,500 – 1,600 calories. (10 days down, 20 to go!)
This is the amount I believe to be the calories needed to MAINTAIN my weight, not to create a caloric deficit for weight loss.
This is where the experiment comes in…
… I may have overestimated or under-estimated my daily caloric goal.
👉🏻 I will check back in with my weight and other measurements at the end of the challenge to see where I land.
(Yes, part of me wants to weigh in weekly, but the information the scale provides has potential to derail my experiment– the scale can play mind games with me. I have to trust the process, be patient, and most importantly, be consistently consistent.)
THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF MY CALORIC GOAL…
500 of the 1,500 calories must come from protein for body recomposition goals.
This equates to 125 grams of protein per day.
To hit my daily protein, I’m choose to:
- Plan and prepare my meals each day, it’s not possible to land on this protein goal haphazardly
- Eat 4 ounces of protein at breakfast, lunch and dinner + a protein mini meal in late afternoon – a stretch from my “grab and go” habit and empty calorie snacks
I’ll share with you a statement that resonated with me from my nutrition coach…
#3) FOCUS ON THE PROCESS WITHOUT BEING TIED TO THE OUTCOME
This is a daily chant for me, “Focus on the process, Cassandra.”
The process is engaging.
Each day is a new day to do my best. It doesn’t matter what the end goal is.
When you have the process down— when the habits and behaviors are routinely consistent — the goal becomes mute.
It’s the daily, consistent habits and behaviors that will get you to where you want to go. 🤯
xoxo, Coach C~
P.S. Drop me an email, cassandra@activemomsclub.com and tell me where you want to go, I’ll personally reply and share a simple strategy that you can implement immediately.❤️
P.P.S. Want to learn about what happened next. Hint, the weekend involved AMC’s winter retreat weekend!… read part 3 here.