I’ve been thinking back on the past year or so and how much some parts of my eating and training have changed. After being a “fitness person” for nearly 20 years, I figured I pretty much had it all down. I worked out 6-7 days per week, doing a balance of cardio and weights. My only real workout goal was to look good, then better, then I started picking apart individual body parts to work on. I never really got to where I was going because I wasn’t sure where I wanted to be. I’ve never really gone no-carb, but somewhere inside of me I believed protein was the priority and carbs had to be eaten in small amounts at certain times of the day. I wasn’t concerned with where my food came from as long as it wouldn’t make me fat.
This year I’ve really changed my feelings about what and how I eat. I’ve finally seen for myself that it’s all about quantity and quality. I know I could eliminate carbs from my diet, but still get fat eating lean protein if I eat too much of it. To lose weight, the “magic” formula is eating less than you burn - doesn’t matter if it’s carbs, protein, or fat. Counting calories and measuring portions are absolutely necessary if I want to lose weight. Quality - I’ve learned how differently my body responds to high quality foods (minimally processed, natural, organic-when-possible) types of foods. I’m finally looking beyond the mirror and caring what kind of hormones and drugs they give the animals I eat. I care what kind of pesticides are sprayed on my veggies and fruit. I’d rather buy organic chicken and only be able to eat it once a week than buy the cheap crap in a big ol’ plastic bag and eat it every day. I’d rather eat a plant-based diet (gasp! carbs) because when I do, I not only look better, I feel better too.
This year I started training instead of just working out. My fitness goals are much simpler now - I want to run fast, as long as I desire, and I want to keep my all-important muscle. My workouts are centered around those goals. I now know the purpose and desired outcome of every workout I do. I no longer want huge muscles, I want functional, effective muscles that help me do the things I want to do. I also want to stay lean, because lean runners run better. I do some type of cardio every day, first thing in my workout. Then I do some lifting. Some of my strength workouts are for muscles I never paid any attention to before, but they’re important to successful running and a high functioning body.
Not only do I feel better, but I’m completely satisfied with the way I look for probably the first time in my life. I don’t hate my butt, or my thighs, or anything else. My body evidently loves cardio, and a good amount of it. It’s not eating away at my muscles, cause they’re still there and doing just fine. Maybe getting older does mean getting wiser, or maybe it makes you decide what you want and that you better go out and get it.
