Hi guys, Kris from Custom Fitness here, your personal trainer in Amarillo. I am super excited because we have officially kicked off our final down size program of 2017 as well as a Detox program! I’m thrilled for all these new faces to get to experience what true change can be. When people dive into these types of programs, maybe you’ve experienced this yourself, they go in guns blazing: I am ready for a change. I am ready to get well. I am going to lose weight. I am going to change my life. When you actually walk in and talk with someone about the program, then the brain realizes that what the program actually entails sounds really hard. It’s different than what you are used to. How in the world can you do all of that!? That’s when your brain starts churning. It comes up with a million different reasons why you should abandon this wacky idea of transforming yourself. Well, today we are going to talk about one way to combat this backpedaling. If you have questions about today’s blog or would like more information on how to stifle your inner voice urging you to give up, give us a call: 806-322-3188.
For our programs, if it seems too hard it’s probably because it’s different. We’ve talked about this before, but change is against our human nature. Think about technology. Think how rapidly the world of tech has changed and how much you have had to learn in the past 10 years just so you’re not left behind. It’s a stretch to constantly have to adapt to change and our brains don’t like it. If we’re constantly having to meet the standards of the evolving world PLUS adding in intentional change to the mix, it can feel grueling.
Don’t let that deter you. The first step for this and many other programs is to take action. You’ve joined the program. That’s an action. Check! Step two is to clean out your kitchen to jump on board for nutrition.
I know, it sounds almost wasteful. This time of the year is great to clean out your pantry and donate it. Tons of organizations are looking for food contributions like the Salvation Army ((806) 373-6631), or to help someone in need via the Food Bank ((806) 374-8562) or even someone who needs a little help getting on their feet through programs like Amarillo Housing First ((806) 414-2243).
Go through your kitchen and make 2 piles. One for the foods that will support your goals and be beneficial to your body. The other pile should be those that will deter you from results. This process can end in one of two ways:
Firstly, you either live alone or have an incredibly supportive family who are willing to let you go through the entire kitchen and keep only what is healthy. They don’t mind eating all healthy-all the time because they want to support your endeavors. In my house, we try to do this, but my family has all sorts of food preferences, so I can’t do all healthy-all the time, despite being a personal trainer in Amarillo. Eating isn’t just about me and my goals.
The other result is after you purged your kitchen, a few weeks or months later, your pantry has slowly been restocked with some not-great-for-you ingredients. My house is comprised of mostly of healthy food, but my husband likes to sneak in unhealthy things here and there. If you’re a spouse you know what I’m talking about, “no honey, I don’t know where the Oreo’s came from, but I guess we have to eat them.”
So what do you do if your household has gone the way of result number 2? How do you stay on track if you have other people that are not willing to go hundred percent with you or they just want to keep some snacks around or they are just going to eat their own meals regardless? If that’s the case then look at your kitchen to figure out where you can put your things. Most people only have one refrigerator. Great. Dedicate an entire shelf that is at eye-level to your groceries. If possible, try and put the foods you should avoid in the door, at knee-level or even in a drawer. You’re less likely to consume them if they are out of sight.
Do the same thing in the pantry. Find an eye-level shelf that’s just for you. Things you shouldn’t eat go in the bottom or higher up, so they aren’t the first thing you see when you open the door.
Even better is if you can clear out an entire cabinet that is just for your “goal foods”. The cabinet becomes your personal pantry stocked with supportive foods.
Remember, this isn’t a diet. This isn’t a crash-style approach to a better life. You are building new habits to last a lifetime. You have to be mentally ready for the challenges that new things bring. While you would love for your family to get onboard with you, not everybody is ready to trade the chips and soda to live longer, happier lives (yet). They’ll get there, probably, but not by badgering them. Go ahead and start your journey and incorporate as much of your food into family meal time as possible. That will reduce the amount of unhealthy food they are consuming to just snacks. If you can get them mostly onboard for the big meals, you’ll have a much easier time.
For me and my house the meals they really got a few basic rules they have to have as a few dishes as possible, they have to take as little time as possible, and everybody has to be able to eat the same meal. I don’t enjoy cooking 2 meals. I don’t ever want to live in that house where mom eats one thing, Dad eats one thing and the kids are eating something entirely different. That just leads to chaos, trouble, and a lot more dishes for me to do. Try your best to simplify things. Try to cook as much of that food as you can that the whole family can eat.
If you’re having trouble with coming up with family-friendly, health-focused, recipes that’s something we can help you out with. At Custom Fitness, we create plans for individuals and families to be able to eat together. No matter if you are doing one of our programs or somebody else’s and want some help, that’s need help with we offer help in nutrition on cleaning out kitchens, we do grocery stores tours, and we can write a nutrition game plan for you and yours. The game plan takes a look at your current eating habits to see where changes can support your goals. Nutrition counseling is just one of the many services we provide outside of our private, semi-private, and group training sessions. If you have questions about this or would like more information, get in touch with our team at 806-322-3188 or e-mail us at info@customfitness.biz. At Custom Fitness, we are YOUR personal trainer in Amarillo. Have a great night!