You are what you eat

When we were in the US last month we stayed with some family friends for 4 nights – well it was supposed to be 5 but someone decided to cut off all electricity to Atlanta airport so we were stuck in San Fran for 24 hours – but that’s another story.

Anyway – McKenna – the youngest of the 3 girls – aged 18 – is at that stage where the most important person in your life is, well, you, snap chat is life, and OMG did you know that Cindy text Mark that Sophie cheated on Tim and now everybody knows!  But also – where because you’re spending a lot of time at parties you’re at that stage where keeping your body in shape is particularly hard.  She asked if I would kick her ass in to gear at the gym for 3 days while we were there.  For sure – that was the easy part. After the first session I asked how her diet was – and like most people she said – yeh pretty good – I try and stay away from fast food and soda as much as I can.

Fast forward a few hours and at 11.50pm she’s heating up a bowl of mashed potato with sour cream and cheese.  The thing is – a lot of people don’t quite understand what constitutes a good diet.  “I’m hungry though” was her response when I asked her what she was doing – in a joking – sisterly like way of course.  This is what I got her to do.  There’s some great apps out there for calorie counting.  Don’t freak out! this is not where I start telling you to count calories every day!  However – downloading one to get a feel of what you’re actually eating is a good idea.  I use MyFitnessPal
It’s simple and you can link it to your fit bit, exercise watch if you wear one.  Most women need on average 2000 calories a day – this will obviously change depending on how much exercise you’re doing.  During the set up of the app you’ll have to enter things like your height and weight and then it’ll spit out a number that is around 2000.  Now the hardest part of this is that you have to be completely honest with what you’ve eaten.  So yes – if you just grab a handful of chips from your partner or friend – you must put that in.  Use the app for a week or 2 to get an idea of what you’re actually putting in your body – and like McKenna – you might find you’re eating far too much – and too many high calorie foods that don’t contain many other nutrients.  I personally don’t drink coffee and neither does Chris.  Chris doesn’t like it – I don’t mind it but it doesn’t rock my world and I’d rather use those 150+ calories eating something.  We drink Green tea – ok so you’ll need 3 cups of green tea to get the same caffeine hit – but again – not why I drink it.  Caffeine – like other drugs – is addictive and the less you have the less your body gets dependant on it.  My point is – a lot of people have 3-4 coffees a day (plus the sugar and syrups) – that’s almost half your daily calorie intake right there – so this will be a little eye opener for you.

So back to McKenna – I kicked her ass at the gym for 3 sessions whilst we were there – she started using the app – and was horrified to see that half a cup of mashed potatoes, sour cream and cheese was pretty high calorie – especially at midnight.  My point to her was – you can work out all you like – but if your’ diet is poor you won’t see results.  90% of getting in shape is a healthy balanced diet.  Calories in, calories out.

On holiday this can also be difficult – however 2 things.  1: it’s all about the choices you make – there is always something on the menu that will be better than others but more importantly 2:  you’re on holiday – so this is the time to indulge a bit – hence why I’ve ordered waffles for breakfast this morning.   It’s extra hard pregnant of course as it rules out most of the menu by itself – but that’s ok – I really want to only put good food in my body for this baby – lots of nutrients and lots of different foods so it grows big and strong.  Oh and don’t forget – lots of water.  I’ve popped a couple of great places I’ve found in Bali that have good fresh food and great options.  For those who love an Acai bowl – both these places make delicious ones.

Forever grateful – love and life

The Figure x

ps:  Thanks to McKenna for teaching me what a SnapChat streak was – not quite at your hundreds with my girlfriends but 50 odd is a solid effort

Sisterfields Bali – right in Seminyak Square.  You may have to put your name on a list in high season – but you shouldn’t have to wait longer than 10 minutes, and it’s worth it.

Clean Canteen – Just round the corner from Potato Head.  They do sparkling probiotic drinks (Covita) as well as fresh juices.  Their wraps are also to die for