Greeting from Bali, !
Just left Sydney, and as I journaled to my #DownUnderUncovered gals, the past week has been rough in terms of hunger and cravings.
It stemmed primarily from a mostly-protein-bar diet as a result of the hectic-ness of the Radiance Retreat, plus the sheer laziness of not seeking out as much “real food” as I needed. Not awesome, but hey, this
journey never ends.
Anyway, my appetite is paying the price.
In the past, I would have handled this two ways:
- Not even notice that I was feeling the sensation of hunger (i.e. never ask the question or even have the awareness to know there was a question to be asked), and I would have just eaten with zero mindfulness about what I was experiencing and then berated myself for it.
- OR, I would have
been really upset about the fact that I was hungry, and I’d have a ton of anxiety around it—making it mean that it was inevitable I would put on 50 lbs and would never feel in control of myself ever again.
Both responses are not helpful.
But I think it’s natural to get anxious when you’re hungry because don’t trust that you might not feel hungry tomorrow or next week. You think you’re in for it. And that’s scary: “What if I stay like
this??”
When I felt that way in the past, I’d exercise like crazy to “burn it off,” which only exacerbates hunger.
And so, I had some navigation work to do after last week’s protein-bar-eating bonanza, and I have committed to eating more real food and staying aware of protein and veggies.
Over the last day or two, things have evened out and my satisfaction is back up to par, and though my eating will never be perfect, I
am getting in more real meals and plenty of preemptive cheats to keep me on track.
What should you do when you notice you are super hungry?
Here’s what I do now, when I notice that my appetite is up: I don’t judge it, and I don’t make it mean I will just keep eating more and more and MORE forever and ever.
I watch, and I ask some questions instead:
- How much protein/veggies have I
been eating? – Not as much as usual
- How have my workouts been? – Intense! Plus, I have been leisure walking a lot more
- Am I going to get my period soon? No (this will increase hunger and cravings, too – just ebb with it!)
- How’s my sleep? Stress? Probably a little less quality than usual
- Any other reasons why I might be hungrier? THIS HEAT! Not joking, my metabolism is slightly elevated as a result of lots of leisure walking in hot, humid temps.
See?
Explainable and explorable ;)
One thing that cannot be underestimated when it comes to hunger is the effect of exercise on it.
If your training volume has increased (i.e. more gym time or logging more miles on the cardio machines, especially of the moderate-intensity variety) or the intensity has increased, then be ready for an increase in appetite.
It’s normal, and it’s also totally fine when that happens to honor it
(without judgment) and just stay aware and navigate it.
But beware of The Cardio Cycle trap.
This happens when you increase your exercise volume or intensity, your appetite skyrockets, you end up binging mindlessly and then end up feeling so guilty and remorseful and disgusted with yourself that the only way to feel better is to “do penance” with your exercise. As a result, you exercise EVEN MORE, which impacts hunger exponentially … aaaaaaand
repeat.
Can you see how this is a trap?
The solution isn't more exercise, it’s balanced and efficient exercise that you’ll actually enjoy and won’t cause your hunger to go through the roof.
Remember, exercise shouldn’t be a weight loss tool. You don’t burn off every calorie you eat in an attempt to lose weight constantly. Exercise is meant to enhance your life, help you feel stronger
mentally and physically and be a maintenance tool.
You’ll know whether or not you are using exercise as a weight loss crutch if you can take a week off and still maintain your dress size.
It’s of course not all about the numbers, but if you are like I used to be and needing to do 2 hours of cardio a day JUST TO MAINTAIN, then baby, we need to work on healing that metabolism.
Over a year, I slowly weaned myself
off excessive cardio, and whaddya know? My hunger and cravings abated (surprise, surprise), even though I didn’t believe it would.
The answer is short, effective workouts. Weight-training based, fast paced, efficient.
What does it look like to do quick, effective workouts that don’t increase hunger?
I know that many of you have completed the Metabolic Aftershock workouts in the past, and have loved
them—I continue to get women reaching out telling me how they’ve lost body fat and completely changed their physiques doing the videos I love that.
Jade created these 15-min at-home workouts for people who want to get results without having to spend all day at the gym NOR do they want to get the compensatory hunger and cravings effects of long workouts.
The workouts are genius, really. I’ve never seen anything like
them.
And that’s why I want to let you know about Jade’s newest at-home workout series—dumbbell-based—Metabolic Prime. Still all 15 minute workouts, still all total-body, but now with added resistance (dumbbell and resistance band options!).
They are some of the most effective workouts I have ever experienced, and not even kidding, I was at the shoot for these videos last Fall, and the entire time all I am thinking is, “These effing workouts are
insane!” The fitness models on shoot were loving, and also hating them. There was no faking their exertion! I loved it, ha!
Anyway, the 12-week video series is available today,
HERE.
It’s the next level Metabolic Aftershock workouts, super effective, super short and all you need. Jade is MY mentor
when it comes to training and I am so glad I get to be a part of sharing his newest series!
You can start the workouts immediately upon purchase, which is awesome (plus get the DVDs in the mail), so I would love for you to try them and then
send me a quick email to let me know how do you!
Xo,
Jill
P.S. Just a heads up – I am not a huge fan of the way these vids are marketed. As in, the info page is a little over the top. But definitely don’t get discouraged, just scroll down, find the BUY button and go for it. I stand behind the program 100% and would never in a million years send you to something that was garbage (that’s my rep on the line!). So just know
that I can guarantee the workout program, hands down ;)
Oh, and don't mind me, just creepin' at the Metabolic Prime video shoot:
