As soon as I found out that there was no way I could compete, I decided to do my own little mission. A test if you will. As a personal trainer, the biggest and most frustrating thing to deal with is my client's diets. I see them work so hard in the gym, they do what I tell them to do, they're focused and driven, yet their biggest complaint is, "why can't I lose weight?" These clients of mine workout 4 to 6 days a week, and their right....they're not losing weight like they should. I have also gone out of my way to show them what they should be eating, how often they should be eating it and how many macro's they should be bringing in each day. Simple right! They have someone telling them how to fix their diet, so why are they still not losing weight?
I'll tell you what it is. It's their diet! They're not listening to me. They think they are listening to me, but they're not. They think they eat healthy, but they don't. They workout every week, but all of that hard work goes out the window the moment they stuff food in their mouths. Diet is crucial! It's 80% of the hard work. Exercise is only 20%.
I am proof of this! Here is proof! Diet is everything! I decided to take an entire week off from eating clean and healthy. I did not worry about my calories, I did not keep track of my food. I ate what I wanted and whenever I wanted. Here are my BEFORE pictures. These pictures were taken 4 to 5 weeks before my 'unhealthy diet test'.
Now, here are my AFTER pictures. This is after eating anything I wanted, not sticking to a schedule, over-eating, and skipping meals. I actually never went out to eat this whole week. The food I ate was strictly from my home, so you can imagine what more of an impact my diet would have been had I been eating out at fast food joints and restaurants all week.
Gross right! I must be pretty brave to post these pictures, but I really want to prove to you HOW IMPORTANT DIET IS. Like I said before, it's crucial.
Here is what I experienced during my "unhealthy diet week":
1. Indigestion
2. Bloating
3. I gained 15 pounds....in 1 week!
4. Heart Burn
5. Difficulty Sleeping
6. No energy or motivation....none at all!
7. Difficulty breathing, I almost felt like my stomach was shoved up into my chest and I kept breathing really heavy. Even my husband kept asking me, "why are you breathing so hard?"
8. Acne
9. My entire mid-section - GONE! I've got love handles!
10.I feel gross....literally plain icky! Even my face gained weight!
Now, here's another shocker: I worked out almost every day that week. I was still doing cardio and strength training galore. So, another thing I would love to point out, is even though you're exercising, if you're not paying attention to calories, carbs, fats, and proteins, you'll never be able to achieve your goals, no matter how hard you work. I had also gone camping the weekend of my test, so many of my foods were camping foods, which I know many of you will be tempted with this summer.
Here is what my diet consisted of for that one week:
Fruits:
-Watermelon
-Oranges
-Grapes
-Apples
-Bananas
-Blueberries
Meat
-Rib-eye Steak
-Lil Smokies w/ BBQ Sauce
-Sausage Links
-Scrambled Eggs w/ cheese
-Chicken Thighs
-1/2 Brat
Junk Food
-Powdered donuts
-Snickers Bar
-Smores
-Cinnamon Yogurt Pretzels
-Oatmeal Cookies
-Trail Mix
-Chips & Salsa
-Popcorn
-Cupcakes
Beverages
-Water
-Sunny D
-Regular Mountain Dew
-Protein Shakes
-Chocolate Milk
-Whiskey
-Coffee w/ Sugar Free Creamer
Veggies
-Broccoli
-Carrots
-Cauliflower
-Tomatoes
-Edamame
-Ceasar Salad w/ Croutons
-Spinach Salad
-Potato Salad
Others
-Honey Bunches of Oats Cereal
-Banana Protein Pancakes
-Grilled Ham and Cheese Sandwich
-Peanut Butter & Honey Sandwich on Whole Wheat Bread
-Light & Fit Yogurts
-Chocolate Chip Protein Cookies
-Hummus
-Peanut Butter
-Quaker Rice Cakes
I didn't measure my food. I just ate it. I didn't count calories. I didn't count carbs or protein. I just ate like most people do for one whole week. I still ate healthy foods too. Lots of it, but of course I through in tons of odd carbs, empty calorie drinks, and yummy junk food into my diet.
I'm guess on average I ate around {each day}:
Calories: 4000-5000
Fat: 200g = 1800 calories
Carbs: 600g = 2400 calories
Protein: 150g = 600 calories
THAT IS WAY TOO MUCH! WAY OVER THE TOP! But do you really know how many calories and macro's you're bringing in a day. Do you keep track of it at all? Here's a question for you, "Is your biggest problem area your belly? Why won't your ab muscles show up?" Here's proof. My belly is a mess, it sticks out and my ab muscles are gone! Just after one week of unhealthy eating. Now do you understand how important CLEAN EATING REALLY IS?
*** Now comes the fun part! How long is it going to take me to fix what I've done to my body? I know it's going to take a lot longer than just a week. Next week, I will do another blog post that's going to focus on my new diet to get me back to the way I was. I will include what my calories are going to be each day, as well as my fats, my carbs, my proteins. I'll even put down my workouts and what my goal is in the end. Wish me luck! I wish you the best of luck too!
