Well as of last Sunday, Lent is officially over. Here are the things I've learned:
1. Eating Healthy is not as boring as you may think it is.
Sure there are only so many times you can eat plain fruit/veg before you get sick of it, but by reinventing healthy snacks with some 'treats', makes it seem less like a chore
For example, I ate Celery almost every day as a snack, but i paired it with a natural Peanut Butter dip that added some flavor to the otherwise dirt-dwelling vegetable.
When I had my salad boxes for lunch, it consisted of Romaine or Baby Gem Lettuce and Tomatoes as a base (very healthy), but then I would add a few (and I mean only a few) croutons, or artichoke hearts & sun-dried tomatoes to make it more interesting. Yes, the Artichokes and Sun dried tomatoes were kept in oil, but I reduced the oil intake by padding them out on a paper towel, before putting them into the salad so I only got the flavor bursts I needed.
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| Breakfast.... Instead of having Pancakes, with Maple Syrup, and Sugar on Top (an overly indulgent breakfast), I had Tesco Protein Bread with a thin spread of coconut peanut butter, topped with bananas-- Healthier and soooooooo yummy! |
2. Balance is key.
It's all good if you get cravings. But over-craving is a different story. I used to overload my diet with things my body 'craved', and with this Lent experiment, I learned to train my body out of unhealthy habits.
Every Day.....crisps, chocolate, biscuits, coffee, hot chocolates.....any chance I would get I would go to the cafeteria at work to get a full English for £3, or have a Costa or Starbucks at my fingertips whenever possible.
They say it takes at least 21 days to make or break a habit.
With 40 days of starting to live Caffeine-Free, Alcohol-Free, and cutting out the little temptations at work, I started to form GOOD habits, but every so often my body still got cravings.
At work one day I was talking to a colleague about different types of Cider and I got a craving to have one of the best Cider's I've taster--Mortimers. So I went home, and instead of having a pint and starting to over indulge again, I literally only had about 30ml. That's it. That's all I wanted to satisfy my craving.
Moral is....don't suppress cravings. Everything in moderation is fine. Just don't let cravings get the best of you.
3. There is something to be said about portion control.
Even though I was eating healthy snacks, natural fruit and veg, I fear that the first 3 weeks I was making a lot more food than what was necessary.
I have a desk job, so my constantly eating snacks--no matter how healthy--wasn't necessary. I found later on, that if I made smaller portions, and only ate when I was truly hungry, I was able to up my intake of Water.
If I started to feel 'snacky', I would drink more water and if after a few times of 'ignoring' my 'hunger' and water just didn't cut it....I knew my body was actually in need of nourishment instead of being dehydrated.
4. The Balance Between Healthy Eating & Exercise.
If you are reading this and your goal is to lose weight, Dieting alone won't cut it, just like Exercising alone won't cut it. There needs to be a balance between healthy food intake and a proportional amount of exercising. And everyone is different so, this formula will change from person to person.
For me, having a sedimentary job, I need to find ways to exercise on a daily basis. I do anywhere from 2-9 classes a week of Pole Dancing, Aerial Hoop, Aerial Silks, Burlesque, Chair Dancing, Contortion, and Yoga.
The classes I take are fun, they keep me interested and all of them focus more on strength than Cardio, but I know that if I want to lose weight, I have to commit to more than just a 3 minute song moving around a pole or a hoop to get enough cardio.
Personally, I HATE Cardio...with a passion. So, although I have fun, I don't lose weight in the way I'd like. But that's my burden. I'm not willing to do massive amounts of Cardio to look like a supermodel, but if nothing else, getting even those short bursts of cardio prevent me from GAINING more weight by doing nothing....so I'll take that as a win.
None of this happened overnight and I'm still working towards my goals of being a healthier person. But there is no better choice than to start NOW.
This 'Lent Challenge' has helped boost me in so many ways, but i didn't decide to give up everything at once....it happened in stages, when I felt I could take the next step.
Even before Lent started, I had already decided to curb my diet by cutting back on Soda.
Then when I started this challenge, I was cutting out Coffee, and tea (to keep me caffeinated), and trying to drink less alcohol.
After a week or so of that, I decided to replace my lunches and snacks with more fruit and veg.
Next step was more exercise = more classes per week.
The step after that was trying to cut down portions.
So, you see it's a process and one I'm going to keep continuing.
I'm not perfect.... I snack on unhealthy things occasionally. I decide I'm too exhausted to go exercise, I forget to drink enough water, but I've been making conscious efforts to be healthier and I do feel MUCH better for it.
