Diet, Lifestyle and Nutrition - what is good for you?

I have done my fair share of “diets.”

Being always short & stocky with “massive” thighs I had always tried to slim down. I’ve always been the frump, the fat friend, the tom boy.

Replacement shake diets, Low Carb diets thenwhen I started CrossFit - Strict Paleo, Zone & Macro counting just to name a few. Now I won’t say that there isn’t one that you don’t lose weight on… but then I eventually realised sure I hit my short term goal – but what is my long term goal here? Am I seriously going to be having a meal replacement shake when I am 75 years old?

So yeah – I lost weight but as my fitness & health journey evolved – I realised I didn’t want to be thin like I previously thought… I wanted to be strong & healthy and I no longer cared what the scales said except for when I’m trying to hit a bodyweight snatch…

So after having experimented with my fair share of quick fixes/gimics & elimination diets I came to one specific conclusion for myself, my body & it’s needs. Eat good food… in good amounts for what I need to sustain my lifestyle. I exercise a lot and keep pretty active outside of that. I love food even the so-called “bad stuff” so I baulk at completely cutting that stuff out…. I mean who wants to be the asshole at your nephews birthday going “I’m sorry – I can’t eat that if it’s not Paleo.” Don’t get me wrong – you can’t just eat that stuff everyday but you can at least have it for your special occasions… I mean we are all human beings here right?

I guess the biggest adjustment came for me in regards to nutrition when I became pregnant. I soon realised that some days you were just happy to get anything into your body when you felt awful – my body craved every processed food on the planet… and if there is one thing you learn about pregnant women you don’t get in the way of them and food. I’m not going to tell you that I put on 5 kilos, still had abs & could pump out muscle ups the day before I delivered… I had my issues for sure! I was diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes despite my fairly controlled nutrition, I put on 15kgs and I had a large baby & ended a long labour with a Caesarian birth. Far from text book perfect. All this aside – I know that my focus on good nutrition and keeping active during pregnancy is helping me right now as I battle new motherhood… I have a beautifully healthy baby boy, my recovery from my C-Section is going well and with the help of breastfeeding I am already trimming up though to be honest… I don’t really give a shit about that right now!!

My long term focus is to continue my health & fitness journey – I would love to get back to training & hitting the numbers that I was at before I became pregnant. I want to lead by example to my family – to show that good whole foods are awesome – especially when you prepare/grow it yourself and share it with friends & family. Creating a positive relationship with food – feed your body well and you get the good stuff back out! It doesn’t have to be complicated or take up your whole life – just use your common sense and the sensible resources & people around you and you can get where you need to go.

Things that are worth doing are worth taking the time to do it! I know for so many the journey seems just too long and out of reach but just take one step and a time and believe in yourself and you will get there! It just takes patience, perseverance & a good sense of humour!

XX Eve.