Nutrition For Dummies...

So my race is coming up and to help me prepare I've done a number of things: 1. I hired a swim coach, 2. I spend time in the water daily and 3. I hired a nutritionist.  In this article I want to focus on the 3rd point, nutrition.  Everyone always says, diet and exercise right?  I had the exercise part down, it's just the diet part that always baffled me to be honest.  Even when I had a personal trainer who literally gave me a list of stuff to eat and what percentages of fat/protein/carbs should be consumed per meal, my diet still stunk!  Little did I know but all that work and money spent on the gym was just going down the drain because for every step I took forward physically I was moving backward nutritionally.  Eventually I hit a plateau because I wasn't nourishing and fueling those muscles, eating excessively on the weekends and starving myself out of guilt...it was a vicious cycle and honestly one that I've been trapped in all my life.  You see, I was always a "chubby" kid so as long as I can remember, I've been on a diet.  

This year I decided that enough was enough.  No more fad diets, no more starvation, no, this year I was going to do it right.  I was also never a big cooking person so preparing meals were very foreign to me.  I was also very spoiled in the sense that my mother, brother and boyfriend always preferred to cook so I never really learned how to do it.  What I ate when left to my own devices consisted of what was readily available and will power did not exist in my world.  So when my friend and former Landmark coach decided to become a nutrition coach I immediately reached out.  My goal was to lose weight for the wedding and learn about cleanses.  I heard from the gym instructor on our last cruise vacation that it's necessary besides diet and exercise but definitely wanted to steer clear of drinking just lemonade and chili water.  

It's only been 2 weeks and I'm already seeing results.  One thing she challenged me NOT to do was step on the scale daily...it's hard for someone with weight issues trust me!  Another challenge was to eat more fruits and vegetables.  As I mentioned earlier, typically I would reach for what's available and if given the choice between an apple and ice cream guess which would win?  Well I accepted the challenge and did one better...I decided to be bold and adventurous so whenever I go to the grocery store now I'm spending a little more time in the produce aisle incorporating something new into my diet.  This in turn has caused me to do something that I never really enjoyed before...preparing and cooking my own meals!  So that's what I wanted to focus on for the next few posts - for those who were like me and didn't experiment with any "super foods," discuss what they are and how to make them work for you.  Look for those tips, hints and information in upcoming posts as well as of course, my first triathlon experience...finally! =)