This past weekend I had an amazing opportunity to do my first ever photo shoot along with an amazing group of women who are health and fitness professionals. When I first learned about the opportunity to do the shoot, I was really excited and couldn’t wait to have “real” pictures taken but as the time drew nearer, I was getting a bit nervous…. my eating was not as clean as it should be, I had changed my exercise routine…. bottom line is, that I wasn’t happy with how I was looking and I was starting to get stressed out.
Luckily (or maybe unluckily as you’ll find out in a minute), I received a nutrition and exercise plan for what to do a month before the scheduled shoot. It was written by my mentor & coach, Jill Coleman, who is a former fitness model and IFBB pro. In other words, she knew her stuff and I trusted the information that she provided me. The plan wasn’t anything drastic or complicated; it was simple: increase your cardio, eliminate starch and a few days prior to the shoot, start limiting your water intake. Not bad, right?
Except that I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t eliminate all the starchy carbs, I couldn’t increase my cardio, but I did try to limit my water intake. Why can’t I do it, I kept asking myself. I was getting mad for not being able to do a few simple things for the last week. I was embarrassed and frustrated that I just didn’t have the willpower to say no to the starchy carbs and I didn’t have the time or interest to increase my cardio… What was wrong with me?
Has that ever happened to you- that you feel guilty, embarrassed or ashamed that you couldn’t or wouldn’t do something really simple, even for a little while?
So the day of the shoot came and I finally had the willpower to eliminate my starchy carbs and limit my water intake, but unfortunately that resolve came a little too late for me. I had my pictures taken and from what I’ve seen so far, I’m happy with my appearance. All that wasted energy on worry, stress and negative self talk.
During my travel home on Sunday, I compensated for all those negative feels about not being able to “follow the rules” by eating horribly! And I do mean horribly! I ate a sausage, egg and cheese on a bagel for breakfast, pizza for lunch and rice with a vegetarian dinner, plus a huge piece of pie and ice cream. Holy cow! That’s a lot of garbage I put into my body, but I felt like I ‘deserved’ it because the week prior I was suppose to be denying myself food.
That night I had a heart to heart talk with myself about what had transpired that day (and the few days prior). I decided that I just needed to let go of what I did and start fresh with my next meal by following the dietary formula that I know works for me. And as easy as that, I was back to my regular eating and exercise routine.
Now none of this would have been possible if I didn’t know what my diet formula was or if I tried to stick to someone else’s diet plan.
It’s all about what works for you and only you. We are all different.
The hairstylist at the shoot had been following a chips and salsa diet for several months where he ate nothing all day long (he just drank a case of Coke zero) then ate a huge tub of salsa and chips when he got home at night. He said he felt great, was never hungry or grump and he lost a bunch of weight! I would never recommend this diet to anyone for a bunch of reasons, but he did what worked for him. He was happy with how he felt and looked. Would this diet ever work for me? Probably not but what I do probably wouldn’t work for him either.
I think diet plans are a great place to start; to give a framework, but it’s up to you as an individual to take a step back and not get caught up in following the plan exactly as written. As I discovered this weekend, an all or nothing diet plan ended up being nothing for me. I needed to stick to what I know works for me not what works for someone else.
And you need to do the same.