WHAT ARE YOU FEEDING? LEARN TO RECOGNIZE THE REASONS BEHIND WHY WE EAT

When we eat we are feeding something. Sometimes it's hunger. Sometimes it's boredom or sadness. Sometimes we feed our goals or our relationships. If we learn to elevate our awareness we can ensure we aren't mindlessly feeding or feeding for the wrong reasons. 

People often say food is like the fuel for your body like gas is fuel for your car. I agree with that analogy for the most part. If you don't put enough fuel in your car, your car won't go far. If you put low quality fuel in your car, your car probably won't run well for a long time. Your body is similar. we need to fuel our body with high quality-nutrient-dense foods in the right quantities to look, feel and perform our best. 

The analogy end there. Your car doesn't have a favorite type of gasoline that is just like his Grandmother used to make. Your car doesn't choose a certain fuel that has cultural significance (Your German car doesn't prefer Bratwurst). Your car doesn't remember his favorite fuel from childhood. Your car doesn't meet to fuel-up (and wind down) with friends. You see what I mean? Sure, food is fuel, but to be truly healthy in mind and body, it's important to recognize and understand that food is so much more than just fuel. 

The first step in raising our awareness level about the foods we eat is to think about what we are feeding when we eat. 

What are you feeding?

FEEDING YOUR RELATIONSHIPS

If you look at food as only fuel, you miss a major piece of the puzzle that can lead to disordered thinking. Sure food is fuel, but as humans, we build relationships and bond over meals. It may be socializing with friends, celebrations with family or negotiating over dinner with business partners. Food is a big part of the equation. To pass up on every social occasion, dinner outside the home or kid's birthday party because we're worried about accidentally consuming an extra gram of sugar, is taking healthy living too far. There has to be a balance between high quality nutrition and living a full and connected life. 

Relationships are an important part of a healthy lifestyle. While yes, we want to be mindful to put healthful foods in our bodies most of the time, there are occasions when our relationships are a higher priority than the macro breakdown of our meal. If you strive to eat well 80% of the time, the other 20% of less-than-optimal nutrition while bonding with friends and family will only leave you a healthier, more well-rounded human being. Healthy living is not all-or-nothing. It's most important to be mindful of your choices. Optimal or not, your choices are thought-out and intentional.

FEEDING YOUR GOALS

Often time we get on a stricter dietary regimen in order to feed our goals. If we want to lose body fat, build muscle or run a marathon, the food choices we make are more important than ever. Nutrition is the foundation of any effective fat loss, performance or health-related goal. If you are not feeding yourself properly for your specific goal it's more challenging to achieve. Maybe you're not training for anything, you just want to eat higher quality foods so that you have a healthier body to enjoy life to the fullest. That's a great goal to feed.

Proper nutrition comes first. It doesn't mean there isn't room for treats and indulgences, it just means that when we are feeding our goals, our focus is on the nutritional choices that are necessary to achieve them. 

FEEDING YOUR EMOTIONS

This is where things get tricky and why a lot of people struggle with food. We aren't eating because we are hungry, we aren't eating because we are training, we aren't eating to have a healthier body, we aren't eating to bond with people, we are eating because we are bored, sad, tired or angry. When we feed our emotions with food we tend to ignore all the signals our body sends to tell us when we're hungry, satisfied or full. When we ignore the signals our body sends, we're more likely to lose control. We are eating to feed emotional needs rather than physical hunger. Learning to tune in our body's signals is a skill that can be developed to help us control our weight. Our body knows what it needs and it tells us, but if we been ignoring or overriding these signals for years, we often have to start again and learn how to listen.

If you are eating to feed your emotions, before you can change your eating habits you often have to discover the root the problem. What drives you to overeat? Where are these feelings coming from? What are feelings are you trying to dull with food? I certainly don't have all the answers. These issues can go a lot deeper than what can be solved by reading a blog post. There is great strength in asking for help when you realize you can't do it alone. 

WHAT ARE YOU FEEDING?

The first step is awareness, take a step back and ask yourself, "What am I feeding?" If you keep a food log, don't just track your calories and macro nutrients, track how you feel before and after you eat each meal and snack. Download my three day food log to give it a try.

You don't have to change all your behaviors in one day or one week. The first step is recognizing your habits, noticing your feelings and how they affect your actions. Before you eat something, ask yourself, What am I feeding? Once you are aware, you can begin to make changes. 

Three day food journal printable PDF download. Save to Pinterest for later

Would you like to learn how to tune in to your body's signals and improve your eating habits from the ground up? My online nutrition program is a sane and sustainable way to weight management. Tired of fad diets and extreme measures? This program may be exactly what you need to make real and lasting change once and for all. Want to try it first? The first month of nutrition habit coaching is 75% off to try. 

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COACH LEA

THE DOS AND DON'TS OF STRENGTH TRAINING FOR RUNNERS

You're a runner and you heard that strength training is important for runners. You know you should be including strength training, but you've not quite figured out how to make it all work in your training schedule. It's easier to just lace up your shoes and go out for a run than it is to figure out how to add in strength training. You don't exactly have spare time laying around like your husband's socks. If you're going to do this it has to be quick and effective. 

Strength training for runners is important, not only for injury prevention, but for your running performance. Strength training will help you become a strong and faster runner. It can be the difference between a potential injury and new PR.

But strength training for runners is not the same as strength training for muscle growth or strength training for other sports. Runners need running-specific strength. What does that mean? Let's explore the Dos and Don'ts of strength training for runners. 

the Dos and Don'ts of strength training for runners

THE DOs of STRENGTH TRAINING FOR RUNNERS

Do include exercises in all planes of motion 

When we run, we are moving in one plane of motion (the sagittal plane, forward and backward). When we pound out the miles week after week we can develop muscle imbalances because we don't develop strength in the other planes of motion, which can lead to injuries. The best way to injury-proof your running is to include strength exercises that include lateral and rotational exercises to cover the frontal and transverse planes respectively. Try incorporating side lunges, curtsy squats, one leg lift and chop and plank to side plank.

Do full body exercises at least twice a week

For best results, do full body exercises at least twice a week. This can be two 30 minute sessions or four 15 minute sessions. Any less than twice a week, you won't get the full benefit of the strength work (although I will argue that something is always better than nothing). 

Do single leg and balance exercises

Runners benefit greatly from unilateral (single leg) exercises like single leg deadlifts, lunges and single leg lift & chop. When we run we are repeatedly balancing on one leg at a time over the miles. When we build single leg strength and develop strong balance our running performance will improve.

Do multi joint exercises

We want to get the most bang for our strength training buck so we can get it done and get back on the road, right? Multi-joint exercises are more effective and efficient because they work multiple muscles in one exercise. Squats, deadlifts and lunges are all great examples. Skip the bicep curls and the leg extension machine and choose multi joint exercises instead.

Do be consistent

Strength training only works if you do. If you do your exercises one week, but then skip two weeks, you won't see the full benefit of your work. It's more important to be consistent than anything. Even if you can just do 10-15 minutes at a time, work to maintain consistency in your strength training. 

THE DON'TS OF STRENGTH TRAINING FOR RUNNERS

Don't neglect your upper body

It may seem like that as runners we only need to build a strong lower body, but strong arms, back and shoulders power our stride and provide stability for our running form. Push ups, rows and shoulders presses should be included in your strength training for runners plan.

Don't spend hours in the gym

Don't waste any time in the gym. Runners do best to work in a circuit fashion, which means to move from one exercise to the next with little to no rest between exercises. Complete a set of exercises moving between lower body and upper body movements. For example, perform a set of single leg deadlifts, followed by a set of push ups, followed by a set of rows and finish up with lateral lunges. Once you complete all the exercises, take a brief break and repeat the circuit one or two more times. Bodybuilders need long rest periods between sets, runners do not. More quickly, but slow enough to keep proper form. 

Don't do hard running workouts and strength workouts in the same day

If you run hills, intervals or a long run and then attempt a strength workout, your strength workout will suffer and you could end up injured, overtrained or burned out over time. It's better to schedule strength training on days that you are not running, or on easy effort running days. I will do a strength training session in the morning of a day that I have an easy three mile run on the schedule. Never do strength training and running on the same day if the total workout is more than an hour and a half. At that point, the risk for injury starts to become greater than the benefit of the workouts.

Don't ignore pain

No pain no gain is bull crap. Push through discomfort, push through breathing heavily, push through muscle burning, never ever ever push through physical pain during running or strength training. Pain is your body signaling you that something is wrong. Always listen to pain. Learn to tell the difference between feeling pain and feeling discomfort.

Don't neglect rest days

I know it can be challenging to fit everything in: the miles, the strength training and the rest. Always take at least one full rest day a week (sometimes you may need two or even three). If you have to cut something out of the schedule to make it work, never cut out the rest day. We adapt to exercise (get stronger and faster) during the rest periods after the workout, not during the workout itself. If you don't allow your body the proper time to recover you won't see the full benefits of your hard work. I know that sometimes for runners, the rest is the hardest part, but it may just be the most important day of your training schedule. 

Got it? Good. Need more help or individual attention? If you live in Fort Worth, at the time of this post, I have openings for strength training sessions to improve running performance and fat loss. Live outside of Fort Worth? Contact me to learn about how we can work together online. 

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Questions? I'd love to help. 

COACH LEA