BUSY MOMS and CLEAN EATING!

[Mamas104]

I am a student and busy mother of 3. I I have been trying for years to get that "perfect" physique...I am extremely consistant with my training, but keeping the diet clean is my biggest problem. I'm not trying to make excuses but it is EXTREMELY DIFFICULT for busy parents to keep their diet clean unless they plan out meals to a tee. I eat clean during the week, but when Friday comes...all all inhibitions are GONE! A "cheat meal" turns into a "cheat weekend. Sometimes if I have a few graham crackers I feel like I cheated on my clean eating so I end up eating crap for the remainder of the day. I feed my kids healthy breakfast/dinner daily, so don't think there is anything wrong with some chips or cookies in their lunch...I mean, c'mon they're kids...So people who say "don't keep junk food in the house" is not really fair... Right? I don't know...do any moms out there feel me? I know I would see excellent results if I just applied the proper nutrition principles. I'm sooo motivated one minute, then like, "Who am I kidding? A fitness model?!" the next. I'll never get my model/figure physique if I keep this up. Its a viscous cycle that won't stop!!! How the hell do these fitness moms do it?

[kgitaitis]

i am with you. I eat clean when i prepare my own food and love clean food, but find my self "tasting" my kids lunch or hubbys dessert. Doing these little nibbles have helped me maintain my weight body fat for 8 years, but i want to get my body fat down a little and am trying to break this habit desperatly. It is hard when you cook, prepare food for other members and then try your hardest not to dip into their treats/temptations. I try to buy them items they like but i dont like!
At least you look lean and healthy...

[CPX]

Your problem doesn't seem to be that you're a busy mom, you actually seem to have that balanced with your "cleanliness" & well under control, kudos to you!

Your other problems are common so I hope someone will be able to give you a good answer.

[Own3r]

The problem of the small deviation becoming a whole day cheat experience is way to common. You just have to go over the problem in your mind. Just because you eat a cracker it doesn't mean that everything is lost for the day and that you have to give up. Unfortunately it is a lot easier said then done, since people who are on strict diets are easily tempted and our minds will take any chance to give up and get what they want.

[forklift]

best thing you can do is plan/think ahead. on thursday you can start shaping up what will happen on saturday. good luck.

[v4lu3s]

you already know what you need to do you said it yourself....

plan out meals to a tee

[Mamas104]

Originally Posted by kgitaitis

i am with you. I eat clean when i prepare my own food and love clean food, but find my self "tasting" my kids lunch or hubbys dessert. Doing these little nibbles have helped me maintain my weight body fat for 8 years, but i want to get my body fat down a little and am trying to break this habit desperatly. It is hard when you cook, prepare food for other members and then try your hardest not to dip into their treats/temptations. I try to buy them items they like but i dont like!
At least you look lean and healthy...

Well you look lean and healthy yourself! Yeah, I don't think people realize how hard it is sometimes. Kids are always hungry--men too, so I find that half of my day is in the KITCHEN cooking or cleaning! No matter how much I try to stay away!!! And of course the tempatation is OVERWHELMING at times. I don't usually plan meals for the family either cause then I hear, "I didn't want lasagna, I wanted chicken!"
Thanks for everyone's feedback...maybe I just need encouraging words or just think about how bad I want that goal of mine. One cookie doesn't constitute a cheat DAY! I guess I must figure out a damn good game plan too.

[JSledge]

IMO it sounds like you need to praise yourself more when you make good food choices, which makes making good choices easier in the future. Know that you can eat anything you wish, but you're choosing a healthy menu b/c...you want to live long enough to see your grandchildren grow up, to be active though old age, to spend more quality time w/ your kids, etc. Get leverage over yourself! Are you familiar w/ NLP? (Neurolinguistic programming) Tony Robbins teaches a lot of this, but he didn't invent it. Google it, it could help you.

Eating a "junk" meal won't take you off track just like a pebble hitting a moving car doesn't alter its course. For some the pebble is a boulder.

If there is junk that you feel is a weakness, get creative and figure out how to make a healthy version. Get the family involved, so everyone is trying to make each other healthy.

No excuses!

[Mamas104]

Originally Posted by JSledge

IMO it sounds like you need to praise yourself more when you make good food choices, which makes making good choices easier in the future. Know that you can eat anything you wish, but you're choosing a healthy menu b/c...you want to live long enough to see your grandchildren grow up, to be active though old age, to spend more quality time w/ your kids, etc. Get leverage over yourself! Are you familiar w/ NLP? (Neurolinguistic programming) Tony Robbins teaches a lot of this, but he didn't invent it. Google it, it could help you.

Eating a "junk" meal won't take you off track just like a pebble hitting a moving car doesn't alter its course. For some the pebble is a boulder.

If there is junk that you feel is a weakness, get creative and figure out how to make a healthy version. Get the family involved, so everyone is trying to make each other healthy.


No excuses!

I will have to check this out...thanks!

[kinglac]

Originally Posted by Mamas104

Well you look lean and healthy yourself! Yeah, I don't think people realize how hard it is sometimes. Kids are always hungry--men too, so I find that half of my day is in the KITCHEN cooking or cleaning! No matter how much I try to stay away!!! And of course the tempatation is OVERWHELMING at times. I don't usually plan meals for the family either cause then I hear, "I didn't want lasagna, I wanted chicken!"
Thanks for everyone's feedback...maybe I just need encouraging words or just think about how bad I want that goal of mine. One cookie doesn't constitute a cheat DAY! I guess I must figure out a damn good game plan too.

I dont think you should have cheat "days"...more like cheat meals. A cheat day can be dangerous, lol! You can be up all day eating ****.

But hey...my wife is just like you. Cooking all day and taking care of 3 kids (2 boys and 1 dog

She still manages to prep my meals for the next day. I usually take left over dinner as my lunch the next day and she wakes up early to make me breakfast. Its hard I know but she manages to also workout.

[ChuckRD]

Originally Posted by Mamas104

I am a student and busy mother of 3. I I have been trying for years to get that "perfect" physique...I am extremely consistant with my training, but keeping the diet clean is my biggest problem. I'm not trying to make excuses but it is EXTREMELY DIFFICULT for busy parents to keep their diet clean unless they plan out meals to a tee. I eat clean during the week, but when Friday comes...all all inhibitions are GONE! A "cheat meal" turns into a "cheat weekend. Sometimes if I have a few graham crackers I feel like I cheated on my clean eating so I end up eating crap for the remainder of the day. I feed my kids healthy breakfast/dinner daily, so don't think there is anything wrong with some chips or cookies in their lunch...I mean, c'mon they're kids...So people who say "don't keep junk food in the house" is not really fair... Right? I don't know...do any moms out there feel me? I know I would see excellent results if I just applied the proper nutrition principles. I'm sooo motivated one minute, then like, "Who am I kidding? A fitness model?!" the next. I'll never get my model/figure physique if I keep this up. Its a viscous cycle that won't stop!!! How the hell do these fitness moms do it?

Hello I just read your post and thought I would add a little opinion and philosophy if you do not mind. This is an article I wrote regarding my philosophy about ?Lifestyle Nutrition Education? for CNN?s Accent Health. I was the featured Dietitian for their Mission Motivate program this past March thru May. Many of my clients are just like you. I like to call my philosophy ?Soccer Mom? Nutrition Education. Please note that this is just my opinions and how I like to educate. Maybe there will be some information of value for you. Please excuse the cut and paste.

FOOD is GOOD
Simplifying the Bridge between Healthy Eating and a Realistic Lifestyle
Chuck Rudolph MEd, RD ? Registered Dietitian


One of the several ?4 letter words? that makes the hair stand up on our back is DIET. Diet has received its bad wrap due the constant lecturing of ?you can?t have?, or ?DON?T eat this? or ?reduce that? or ?stay away from?, WELL ALL THAT?S CHANGED.

FOOD is GOOD and many people simply need to be educated that PORTION control is the way to bridge healthy eating and a realistic lifestyle. The main thing to know about fat loss and weight reduction is that you MUST EAT. The body runs on fuel. You can give it high octane (NUTRIENT DENSE) foods or lower octane (less nutrient dense) foods. It will run on both but if it DOES NOT HAVE ANY fuel, (starving or eating 1-2 meals per day ? low calories) then it will not perform well or even at all.

When we do not eat, the body senses starvation and shifts into preservation mode, therefore, if we eat too less calories and too less nutrient dense foods the body simply SLOWS DOWN its ability to BURN FAT. Eating small frequent meals not only support higher energy levels it supports OPTIMAL INSULIN balance (blood glucose levels). If you can balance Insulin levels with proper nutrients and daily caloric intake you will have energy all day long and you CANT STORE BODY FAT.

Insulin is a hormone released in the body to STORE NUTRIENTS. If we eat foods or calories that cause a drastic increase in insulin response, we increase the risk of storing excess body fat. NOW, if we balance this response, we greatly reduce any chance of storing body fat and better yet we build lean muscle mass that make our metabolism race like a thoroughbred.

We have all heard that ?breakfast is the most important meal of the day?, yeah yeah yeah. Has anyone told us WHY it is? Well, breakfast get our body?s hormones working so that we can function throughout the day. It provides nutrients our brain and muscles need to work and exercise on a daily basis. You may have experienced a scenario like this before; you wake up and do NOT eat breakfast. You realize you can go all the way until 1 or 2 PM then the headache comes on, the eyes blink rapidly and slight nausea sets in?.you have reached HYPOGLYCEMIA (low blood sugar).

The only way to get these feelings to go away is to eat, yet the problem is the brain is telling you to eat SUGAR because it needs it. We now find ourselves eating anything and everything (mainly simple carbohydrates) and portion control goes out the door. This excessive calorie consumption now causes a drastic insulin spike storing all these nutrients and causing another HYPOGLYCEMIC reaction (yes that 3-4:00 PM CRASH). This could and can be avoided COMPLETELY simply by eating a well balanced breakfast (whether quick or made at home) and 3-4 more balanced meals throughout the day.

This idea of ?Must Eat? is what can be tricky for many people looking to lose fat and reduce weight. Many people just follow 1000 calories or 1200 or 1500 but they follow this EVERYDAY. One thing people do not realize is that the body ADAPTS very quickly, therefore it needs to see varying calories daily NOT THE SAME CALORIES DAY IN AND DAY OUT. One way to SHOCK the body and keep it guessing is to provide it calories for WO days and then different calories for NON WO days. This way the body gets the nutrients it needs (even though low cal for weight reduction) on intense workout days and then good nutrients on NON WO days as well.

What about my Hectic Lifestyle? Many times our lifestyles dictate what and when we eat. That does not mean we can?t choose healthy foods or even proper portions to meet out body fat/appearance goals. The problem here is LACK OF EDUCATION. For instance, if we know that our daily intake should be 1350 calories to lose body fat and reduce weight, and then balanced over 4 meals we know we need ~330-340 calories per meal. Therefore, if we are on the run we were educated that even a quick fast food place (YES I said fast food) provided a meal for 300-350 calories; we then would know we could get that meal and be perfectly fine for that day in relation to our goals. Is it the healthiest, of course NOT. However if it helps balance insulin, rather than going 5+ hrs with no food then overeating because we are starving, then it works into our lifestyle and we get results. We could even know that a meal we really liked was 780 calories; all we do then is eat little under half that meal to achieve our cals for that meal, save the rest for another meal and go about our day. There are NO excuses when you are educated.

We all strive to live a healthy and happy life; there is no reason that FOOD cannot be a part of both. Education is the key, with a little determination; we can all be healthy, fit and happy.


Chuck Rudolph MEd, RD
Registered Dietitian ? Member of the American Dietetic Association
Graduate California State University Long Beach
Masters degree in Nutrition Education with concentration in Biochemistry
Graduate of University of Cincinnati
Bachelor?s degree of Science
Xavier University

[mark427]

SUBBED!

Edit - Oh, it says "BUSY" moms.

Nevermind.

[eddiebo]

I know for my girlfriend she has said to stick with it she almost has to be obsessed or addicted to the idea of eating right, if that makes any sense.
Long story short, she falls off the nutrition wagon in short spurts as you do. Her general logic is to make up for it in the gym, though she has extra time not having kids.
Looking at your profile pic, you look quite fit. Can't speak to the overall healthy nature nature of what you put in your body on the weekends. Though maybe your cheatish days or not so bad?

[Mamas104]

Thanks again for everyone's feedback! I feel pretty confident that I know how to transform my body, yet I have SUCH a hard time following it for an extended period of time....which basically ****s on my idea of ever competing due to the strict diet. I love working out...and I know increasing exercise can compensate for that cookie, but more exercise only makes me hungrier! I know I shouldn't stress over the slip ups...but like I said before, I know if I could only keep up the nutrition aspect, I would be maximizing my efforts. I've definitely made good progress this past year, but not what I had hoped for...given that my cheat meals almost ALWAYS turns into cheat WEEKENDS! So I guess its really about me getting my act together and following a balanced diet daily. I just hate how some people act like its so damn easy!

[ChuckRD]

Originally Posted by Mamas104

Thanks again for everyone's feedback! I feel pretty confident that I know how to transform my body, yet I have SUCH a hard time following it for an extended period of time....which basically ****s on my idea of ever competing due to the strict diet. I love working out...and I know increasing exercise can compensate for that cookie, but more exercise only makes me hungrier! I know I shouldn't stress over the slip ups...but like I said before, I know if I could only keep up the nutrition aspect, I would be maximizing my efforts. I've definitely made good progress this past year, but not what I had hoped for...given that my cheat meals almost ALWAYS turns into cheat WEEKENDS! So I guess its really about me getting my act together and following a balanced diet daily. I just hate how some people act like its so damn easy!

I gotta tell you it’s FAR from easy. My wife used to compete until we had kids. No more competing due to that VERY strict diet needed to get on stage. However, we do have fun meals and we make it up with that extra cardio. Its just life, at least you understand that maybe you just need to be a bit stricter on your behavioral change that’s all. At least you LOVE working out, good for you.

[kgitaitis]

After reading some of the replies (and personal experience) i can definitly say some of the problems do lie in the fact that "once i have a little" of something i shouldn't have, i do get that mind set, of "what the heck... ive ruined it already, might as well continue!"
Along with, like you, being exposed to food continuously (preparing and fixing food) for family non stop all day giving more temptations. Plus if your trying to look like a fitness model or just want to be cut (like me) your family is not going to eat like us, so it can be a challenge.

Also running around, being a mom, you forget about your self eating. For me, i'll fix my daughters food, or hubbys stuff before my own and being hungry, may taste there stuff, before getting to my food.

Being a mom and eating clean 100% of the time is very tough.

[caleb56]

Originally Posted by kgitaitis

After reading some of the replies (and personal experience) i can definitly say some of the problems do lie in the fact that "once i have a little" of something i shouldn't have, i do get that mind set, of "what the heck... ive ruined it already, might as well continue!"
Along with, like you, being exposed to food continuously (preparing and fixing food) for family non stop all day giving more temptations. Plus if your trying to look like a fitness model or just want to be cut (like me) your family is not going to eat like us, so it can be a challenge.

Also running around, being a mom, you forget about your self eating. For me, i'll fix my daughters food, or hubbys stuff before my own and being hungry, may taste there stuff, before getting to my food.

Being a mom and eating clean 100% of the time is very tough.

Your body looks great looks like your doing a good job keep it up.

[Mamas104]

Originally Posted by kgitaitis

After reading some of the replies (and personal experience) i can definitly say some of the problems do lie in the fact that "once i have a little" of something i shouldn't have, i do get that mind set, of "what the heck... ive ruined it already, might as well continue!"
Along with, like you, being exposed to food continuously (preparing and fixing food) for family non stop all day giving more temptations. Plus if your trying to look like a fitness model or just want to be cut (like me) your family is not going to eat like us, so it can be a challenge.

Also running around, being a mom, you forget about your self eating. For me, i'll fix my daughters food, or hubbys stuff before my own and being hungry, may taste there stuff, before getting to my food.

Being a mom and eating clean 100% of the time is very tough.

You hit the nail on the head! I guess all we can do is try and not stress so much...unless of course we decide to compete one day...that will be another story!

[sikwitittt]

hire me as a personal chef =/

[sikwitittt]

hire me as a personal chef =/ i also cook naked