Emotional Eating

Emotional Eating: we all do it. In fact, our emotions play a big role in what we eat, why we eat, and how much we eat. Take a few minutes right now to answer this question: What emotions do you associate with eating? Are they positive or negative? Are they both and if they are, are they more positive than negative or vice versa? I associate eating with enjoyment, happiness, comfort, sadness, boredom, guilt, anger, and habit. I am not here to tell you that emotional eating is something that we can solve, because the reality is emotions are what can give food purpose and memory, not just food is fuel. What we can work on is becoming more present to our emotions and our choice of food. Having the donut because you enjoy donuts and having a donut because you are feeling a negative emotion and need some serotonin and will later have feelings of regret against the donut are two different experiences and we want to minimize the latter. Although sometimes we cannot control what we feel (especially the negative emotions), we do have control over our reactions. Remember eating is a part of everyday life and we should enjoy it. When we do this our food becomes so much more satisfying.

Eating Around Workouts

 Pre-workout: easily digestible foods

-4 or more hours before: protein and a carb

Eggs, chicken, veggies, fruit, PB, toast

-2 hours before: quick carb and protein 

Smoothie, protein shake, nuts and seeds, oats

-30-1 hour before: quick carb

Banana, dried fruit

***Remember the closer it is to your workout time the less you want to eat so food is not sitting in your stomach*** You do not need a ton of food to fuel you right before a workout, just something easily digested.

Post-workout: higher protein and carb to refuel

-yogurt and fruit

-PB

-turkey, rice, veggies

-pretzels

***Timing doesn’t actually matter, as long as it is within 2 hours after, does not need to be immediately after but follow your hunger cues***

Also just a general reminder for everyone: post workout bloat is a real thing! It does go away, just the blood flow going back to your organs from your arms and legs that needed them more during your workout.

How to not feel hungry throughout the day:

Ask yourself this question first…...are you hungry or are you dehydrated? Do you follow your hunger cues or do you ignore them? Do you recognize them when they happen? Are you able to eat when they happen (possible work constraints)? How long have you been in a calorie deficit? Might be time to “reverse diet”. This is where we start!! Every single body is different so we all need to be consuming different foods, food timing, and portion sizes. You have to put in the work to figure out what your body likes. It takes time and I know that is not what you all want to hear but it is the cold hard truth. Some people need 3 meals a day and 2 snacks, others only eat snacks every 1-2 hours throughout the entire day. Your body will tell you what it wants, likes, and needs. You just have to pay attention and listen to it!

Struggling When Dining Out?

We’ve all experienced it, you’re on your healthy eating journey and you get invited out to dinner and that dinner causes a week long binge. Eating out can and should be something enjoyable. We don't want to get stuck in the cycle of eating healthy and binging. If you do find yourself in that cycle that could mean one of two things are happening: 1. You are restricting too much or 2. Your total calories are too low and you need to reverse diet. When you are dining out it should not feel like a treat and should feel like nothing more than enjoying delicious food. To accomplish this first we need to take the value we hold on food away. Food is just food. Once we do that you want to eat what you normally do on a daily basis when you are out to eat especially if you are dining out for half your meals. When I look at a menu I pick something based on if I can make it at home or not. Usually if I cannot recreate it then that is the item I will pick as long as it is close to what I normally eat. You can also choose your menu item based on how you are feeling and what you are craving as long as you have gotten to the point of food is food and holds no value. Something else to touch on while dining out is overeating and overindulging. I don’t know about you but I am a big fan of the doggy bag. Huge portions are normally used when dining out so that by the time you finish (if you finish) your whole meal you are ready for the deepest sleep of your life because you are so stuffed. Remember, you want to stop eating once you are not hungry anymore aka content not full. Now overindulging would be when you order the app, the entree, and the dessert and then decide to eat it all even though you were full after the app. Now ordering all that food is more than okay as long as you are listening to your hunger and satiety cues. Take home that doggy bag!

The Number One Nutrition Question

The number one question I always get asked when it comes to food is “how do I get to the point where I’m not constantly thinking about food and getting rid of the good/bad title that comes with diet culture?”. The answer is that it can take awhile to get to this point and can be a complicated process. We need to ask ourselves why we make food choices. When it comes to giving food a “good” or “bad” title we want instead to switch the language to eat more of and eat less of. Never ever restrict! Don’t think of subtracting things from your diet, but instead think of adding in more healthy options. We’re talking about loading up those plates with fruits and veggies. That way when you get to the eat less category you are less likely to binge on those items since you will be more full from the eat more category.

We are conditioned by friends, family, and society as a whole to constantly think we need to restrict ourselves to be able to achieve our health goals. Restriction will always lead to binging. I’m going to tell you now that it is not easy to get to the point of trusting yourself that it is okay to eat the donut and not feel bad that you did. This feeling can also come from our past and how we were raised. As women we have always had to fight for ourselves because we are used to fuel patriarchal capitalism and that’s all we are seen as from a society view point. In short, make babies for the workforce.

Almost everything we do is based on what society tells us to do and not how we actually feel. Most of the time our emotions are invalidated by something or someone when they should not be. We are told often to lose weight, have a big butt and a small waist, don’t weigh over this specific amount or you are deemed worth less than others.

Even the medical system is against anyone who is deemed overweight/obese by BMI and those people have to fight a lot harder for proper healthcare. So then we get into the conversation of why? What is the reason you want to fix your nutrition? What is the reason why you want to lose weight? Because I promise you it is not all that it’s cracked up to be. I have seen so many people lose weight and they are miserable, they have body dysmorphia, losing weight didn't fix any of their problems like they thought it would, and they were unhappy.

We have to find the happy medium. Your body will find its homeostasis, the weight it likes to be at where you can run all your systems properly and you can do all the things you want to do in life with no issues. We have to remember that bodies are just skin suits for our brains and we are much more than our skin suits.

The entire fitness and nutrition industry that is presented to the public is filled with toxic manipulation and based solely on people's insecurities instead of being based on longevity and living a lifestyle, where your only goal is to do all the things you want to accomplish in your life.

Back when I was living in NY and I was trying to lose weight I could never do it because I was hyper focused on it and eating the “right” things and working out 3-5 days a week and it didn't work because I was so obsessive about it. As soon as I stopped trying and focused on what foods I enjoy eating and what are the foods and activities that make me happy that's when I saw the weight come off, only after I reset my mentality toward food and the industry did I make long term progress.

We also have to remember, circling back up to our skin suits, that we will never be the same or have the same body that we had when we were younger. Our bodies and our minds are meant to grow and change based on our lives and that's okay. But trying to get back to what we looked like in college or even 10 years ago is an unrealistic expectation that will set you up for failure.

Enjoy life, enjoy the things that your body is able to do for you right now and the things your body has done for example created human life. We don’t thank our bodies enough for that. 

New Year, New You?

Coming to the end of the year we give ourselves time to reflect on the goals we wanted to achieve. Did we achieve what we set out to? Did we have obstacles to overcome? Were there any unforeseen circumstances or things out of our control?

Sometimes we set the same goals for ourselves at the beginning of every year to hold ourselves accountable for the consistency in our lives. Once you have done your end of the year reflection, it is time to set new goals for the new year and take what we have learned this past year with us to make sure the goals we set are attainable. Remember that your goals can be anything: fitness, nutrition, self, finance, relationship, emotion, etc.

Before you set your new goals, write down everything good that happened this past year on one sheet of paper and everything you want to let go of on another. Keep the good in a place you’ll remember for next year, burn/rip/destroy the paper you need to let go of. Now get a new sheet of paper and write down your goals for 2022.

Start off with five small goals (something you can achieve within a few weeks to months) and two big goals (something that may take the entire year). Remember your small goals could be stepping stones to achieving your big goals. Some of your goals can be the same as 2021 but try to add in a few new ones.

I know it can also be hard to set goals for fear of disappointing yourself or others but they are important even if they are small. As we reflect on this year, try not to be so hard on yourself. We are living through uncertain times and it is important to give yourself some grace and peace of mind knowing that you did the best you could with the situations you were given and the information you had at the time.

Happy New Year from Girl Fight :)

Altitude/Elevation Training Using Masks

Altitude masks are a special type of mask that can help to increase your cardiovascular endurance. Many athletes and frequent gym folk turn to these types of masks to one up their competition.

Altitude masks work by providing the same conditions as a place that is high altitude on sea level. Altitude training and respiratory muscle training has been reported to improve performance in those that use them. Regardless of what type of workout you are doing wearing a mask or not you will see improvement in aerobic capacity (VO2max), endurance performance, and lung function. However, those who use an altitude mask have shown improvement in ventilatory threshold (the amount of work the muscles can maintain without fatigue), power output from ventilatory threshold, respiratory compensation threshold, and power output at respiratory compensation threshold.

When the ventilatory threshold is surpassed, the muscles don’t receive the necessary amount of oxygen and that is when we start to become fatigued. When the body is exposed to hypoxic conditions (lower oxygen) it stimulates the kidneys to create erythropoietin (EPO), which increases red blood cell production. In turn this gives your hard working muscles a better chance to receive the oxygen they need to reduce fatigue.

On top of the endurance metrics, altitude training has been shown to improve deep breathing and increase ventilatory efficiency throughout exercise when not wearing the mask. The mask works by covering your nose and mouth. You then adjust the valves to increase the resistance, making it more difficult to breathe.

A few side effects of altitude training include: lightheadedness, dizziness, fatigue, discomfort, anxiety, lower alertness and focus, hyperventilating, and fainting. REMEMBER that you are reducing the amount of oxygen you can breathe and these are normal side effects for a reduction in oxygen. Take it slow and listen to your body. If you have high blood pressure or cardiovascular disease it is NOT recommended that you use this type of mask.

Sources:

Porcari JP, Probst L, Forrester K, et al. Effect of Wearing the Elevation Training Mask on Aerobic Capacity, Lung Function, and Hematological Variables. J Sports Sci Med. 2016;15(2):379-386. Published 2016 May 23.

https://sites.udel.edu/coe-engex/2020/02/25/elevation-masks-for-endurance-training-stamina-or-scam/

What are Girl Fight Community Events?

They are fun events, whether virtual or in-person, that bring us together. They will allow you to create something you never thought to do, go on an adventure that you haven’t wanted to do alone, or simply, to get you out of the house!

We at Girl Fight Fitness care about you as a whole! We understand life gets busy between work, school, kids, hobbies, and other various activities. As a result, we want to offer enjoyable, relevant events that you can sign up for and fit into your schedule.

Creating time for fun outlets within your schedule can help reduce your stress level and boost your mind set in a positive manner (especially with a great group of ladies who support one another!).

Signing up for an event will ensure you don’t push off necessary me-time, which is easy to do! It also means you don’t have to plan the event…we do it for you! It takes the guess work out of what you’ll need, how long it will take, and figuring out the steps to complete/accomplish something.   

Have questions? We have answers:

1.    What does this cost?

It’s free with an active Girl Fight membership! There may be a supply list or some recommended items (but we will let you know of these beforehand so you may prepare accordingly).

2.    How do I sign up for them?

You sign up just like you normally would for a Girl Fight class on our website under the “Schedule” tab. You normally see classes in a Purple (Glenville) or Yellow (Latham) marker. However, these will be listed with a red marker.

3.    How often will these occur?

These will be occasional and not on a set schedule, but we will strive to offer at least one community event per month.

4.    What do the events entail? What will we be doing?

They will be different each month! They can be anything from a group hike to a cooking class/competition. Therefore, what you will be doing will vary.

Be sure to look at our Facebook, Instagram, and scheduling page for community event postings. We will alert you when there is a new event and what it will involve. If you like what you see and think it would be fun, come join us!

As an example, March’s community event will be teaching you how to complete two different egg decorating techniques. Both techniques require the eggs to be hard-boiled, but do not require the use of boiling water for the actual decorating process that many egg dipping techniques require. This is especially good if you have kids that you don’t near those hot surfaces/liquids while trying to decorate them. The first will be a marbled design using shaving cream and the second will be putting ANY image onto the egg’s surface. This allows you to customize the eggs exactly how you want to!

Girl Fighters - if you have any other questions about community events, please let us know! We are here to answer them.

We hope to see you at one very soon!

-Your Girl Fight Family