Resist the Binge

Left when I binged frequently, Right when I learned how to say no.

The basics: It's important to lay out exactly what I mean by "binging." This is not splurging on a cheat meal or a few slices of pizza with your friends, this is stuffing your face for all of the wrong reasons. I used to be a victim of the binge, and still slip up from time to time. Binging is usually triggered emotionally. I binged when I was upset, stressed, or feeling discouraged… anything but hungry. Not only are the hundreds, sometimes thousands, of empty calories consumed unhealthy, but the guilt and depression that comes post-binge is what makes this disorder so dangerous. Unlike bulimia, binging does not lead to purging. The binge leaves nothing but negative feelings and low self esteem. Triggers come abruptly. Therefore, I wanted to break down some strategies for resisting the binge.

• Get enough sleep: Sundays were my worst enemy. The "day of rest" in your 20s is sometimes only lazy due to the lack of sleep from the weekend adventures. Your body does not react to this sleeplessness well, in fact you actually crave carbohydrates most when you are overtired. Instead of going to the pantry, I have learned the value of a good power nap.
• Take a walk: Feel like you can't get that fridge out of your mind? Go for a walk. Sometimes all it takes is a redirection or change of focus to stop a binge.
• Chew gum: Chewing gum can satisfy the oral fixation that comes with overeating.
• Keep a food diary: You're less likely to keep eating if you take the time to write down all of the damage done.
• Find support!: You'd be surprised how many others suffer from this disorder. You don't have to seek out a meeting or hotline to find support, social media offers a variety of different sources for bingers, and sometimes all you need to do is a call a friend.

Ok, I get it. All of this can be easier said than done. Can't fight the willpower? The solution could be simple… binge on the good stuff. Pull out all of the vegetables in your fridge and go to town. Am I saying this will curb your desire to binge? Maybe not, but the time spent on the good stuff can balance the bad, and stop some of the extra calories consumed later on. 

My most important rule of thumb --- If you couldn't resist, learn to move on. Be better than you were yesterday. Focus on your progress and move forward.

Motivation Monday!

It's Monday, I am feeling motivated and focused. Anyone who knows me knows I am a firm believer in the "work hard, play hard" lifestyle. I wanted to share a few of my favorite products, meals, and treats for the month of April to keep the happy Spring vibes, without doing too much damage to your waistline. 

• Favorite Supplement:  
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   I have always been a big fan of BPI products. They make some great pre-workouts, and I could drink their Blox (recovery amino acid blend) forever. B4 is a fat burner, and usually I am not one to promote weight loss pills. But, this one I use mostly has a pre-workout. Taken 20-30 minutes before a work out, this supplement is a great source of energy without giving you the jitters and added chemicals that are in some pre-workout powders. As a fat burner on non-training days, I prefer it over others because of it's dopamine effects. It keeps me in a good mood, without the heart palpitations. If you do decide to give this product a try I recommend skipping on the coffee. One pill delivers the same caffeine consumption as three cups.
  
  
• Favorite treat:
  
  Let me start off by saying, this "treat" isn't actually a treat at all. I have been promoting Quest bars frequently both on this blog and to friends. They are a great source of protein with little carbs, no sugars, and clean ingredients. I have been a loyal customer for months now, and then they went and took it to the next level with the new cookie dough flavor. Pop that bar in the microwave, or break into little balls and bake in the oven and it's transformed into a gooey, delicious cookie dough delight that disguises itself as a sweet tooth craving without any of the added guilt.

• Favorite meal: To complement the bright colors of Spring, my favorite meal this month is rich in both color and nutrients. Tilapia is a body builder's best friend. It's a lean fish that's low in calorie. And even better- it's easy. My favorite recipe this month is a foil packed tilapia bake. I take one or two filets, wrap them in foil with lemon juice, herbs (thyme and rosemary work well) garlic, zucchini, tomatoes, olives, capers, and whatever other vegetable I desire and bake at 425 for about 20 minutes. A simple low calorie dish that doesn't skimp on flavor.
• Favorite beverage: It's all about the green tea. Double the bags up, brew, pour over ice, add some lemon wedges and you have a citrus, detoxifying, and metabolism boosting drink packed with antioxidants. It's a refreshing and great alternative to the hot coffee on these warmer mornings. Cancer fighting, weight loss promoting, and easy to drink? I'll take it. 
• Favorite cocktail: This is where the work hard, play hard comes in big time. Alcohol is a no-no in the fitness world for it's empty calories and sugars. Not to mention alcohol itself provides literally no nutritional value. With that said, it's almost summer. I enjoy life, I am a baseball fan, and I am in my mid-20s. I like a drink or two. If i were to suggest a favorite cocktail I'd keep it simple with the vodka and club soda. Add a lemon or lime for the citrus and stick to an unflavored vodka to steer away from the extra sugars. I also love white wine in the summer. Add a few blueberries for extra flavor and superfood benefits.

A New Voice

While I try to redirect my energy and focus back into my own personal fitness goals after a short lived rut of bad diet (see, we all slip up!), I decided to call upon my colleagues for inspiration. I wanted to find someone who could guest post on here about something I am unfamiliar with. Luckily, I immediately knew who to turn to. Becca Regan is friend from college who I have always admired for her rock hard bod and determination to keep it. This is the girl you could count on to dance and party with, but still see up and running and sweating the night off the next morning. She is fierce and I was lucky enough to have her agree to set some time aside of her post-undergrad life to write me up something about her views on the new phenomenon that is Crossfit... and this is what I received.

Crossfit-My gift to ME at age 23

Some accuse it of being a cult. I can certainly understand an outsiders perspective- hearing about ‘WOD’s and ‘PR’s and gym drama and who got their muscle up this week. Maybe its your co worker, sibling, old friend, or that annoying girl on the bus wearing her Reebok bling-ed out lifting shoes, visually assaulting you with her love for Crossfit.  Its obnoxious, yet maybe you noticed for the first time today her chiseled shoulders. Was her stomach always that flat? She’s standing taller, isn’t she? And ill tell you why- she’s working hard. And Crossfit is working for her.

That isn’t me, by the way. I was the secretly (or not so secretly) envious cynical observer. A recent college grad that moved back home, with a tight budget from a job- not the job of my dreams- I decided no harm could come from a free 2 week prep training test trial at Crossfit Wicked (other than a rude slap to my ego, right? …wrong.) It has been six months since I stepped foot into a Crossfit ‘box’ for the first time. Here’s what I’ve learned and love about Crossfit:

• Meeting new people that like to DO things.

I came home from a summer job of hiking, surfing, camping, climbing, every day, to a suburban world that slowly but surely was highlighted the brutal truth- my old friends from home are turning into townies. College was a buffet of new people every day, and coming home, I suddenly realized was an essential high for me. At Crossfit, you’re subconsciously eavesdropping, and oops! Now we’re planning rock climb gym dates, or bowling teams for Friday night, or skiing trips. Sunday-Friday afternoon, I have a lot of people full of contagious good attitudes and positive peer pressure to encourage me to challenge myself to be better, be stronger (Friday night, the peer pressure takes a new direction, but there’s always a small applaud for self discipline if you opt for soda water instead of tequila).

• It’s not for body builders.

I see more body shape and personality variety at Crossfit than any local YMCA or Gold’s gym. Maybe its just me, but it seems there is some rite of passage to take up too much space, take really long rests in between sets, and grunt like horny hogs around lifting equipment at open gyms like that. I wouldn’t have weight training stapled into my fitness routine if I were surrounded by that malarkey.  

At Crossfit, there are moms and dads, newlyweds, students, electricians, chiropractors, awkward new nurses (that’s me), librarians; athletes of all shapes and sizes, modifying weights or repetition schemes to best suit you. There’s a true sense of camaraderie as you feel awkward together, get strong together, pant through insane cardio, and complain about how sore you are from that workout you all did yesterday-together.

• I’m saving money.

I know that sounds impossible, when Crossfit is over a hundred dollars a month at almost any box you check out. But I plan on spending that money. And I whenever I go to a class, I stick around after, socializing or practicing pull ups, or hanging out with someone’s baby while they work out; suddenly its been 2+ hours since I was home. I don’t need as much retail or ETOH therapy to cure my excess free time. And I’m working 500% harder than I would in a room of strangers and elliptical machines. I get free impromptu dietary consults, private sessions, physical therapy, from a truly knowledgeable community.

• I’m trying new moves and new food.  

True story: I never did a handstand in my life before Crossfit.  I’ve done yoga arm balances galore, but the whole ‘put your body in a position so that when you fall you feel like you’ll break your neck’ was never my thing. But I’m learning (Usually still against a wall, but making progress).

Because a lot of people theme most of their diet around Paleo style (no dairy, no grains, whatever nomad caveman could spear down or stumble upon growing in a field), I find recipes and free samples from Crossfit folk, and for the first time, actually regularly eat vegetables- and enjoy it!

Coconut water is the ultimate hangover cure- But maybe you already knew that.

Do you like bacon? Then Crossfit wants you…

There is an obsession with bacon, so extreme that I don’t even quite understand it. But I respect it. I’ve now sampled bacon-wrapped dates, bacon wrapped turkey, bacon donuts, bacon sweet potato fries, bacon chocolate…you name it, its been done, and forced upon me to sample (no, I wouldn’t say they are all great ideas…but I wouldn’t say that to any bacon fanatic’s face either).

• I am achieving the ‘me’ I had once watched float on the indefinite horizon of ‘tomorrows’.

I’m not the bikini-model rock hard body that I’d like to be (yet), but I’ve found myself in a healthy relationship with my mind and body, perhaps for the first time ever.  I wake up and smile at the mirror- at my newfound butt, and even at the flabby parts as a scheme how to improve. When I went rock-climbing for the first time in a year, I was finishing inverted cave climbs that I could hardly start before! Old running injuries are no longer incapacitating my workout routine, but trumped by the strength I’ve developed around my hips and core. This new found mental and physical power is thanks to my team of Crossfitters, a FAMILY that has incredible faith in my abilities. The support is loving, empowering, and addictive. And draws me back for more everyday.