Smash sent me a great quote from Jonathan Goodman: 

“It’s sad that eating junk food is so common that eating healthy is labelled as dieting.”

It’s so true!  Eating well might be the single best thing you can do for your health, performance and physique and yet I hear athletes all the time complaining “I don’t want to deprive myself” as if cake and Doritos and hot dogs are some sort of biological birthright.  What they are really saying is “I am not willing to stop indulging myself.” 

And then there’s the “I deserve a treat” syndrome.  What are you, in kindergarten?  Might as well say “I deserve diabetes.”  It’s not that cookies are evil.  Who doesn’t love a good cookie?   It’s just that all actions have consequences.  And that means your actions too.  That pie you had for dessert is going to raise your blood sugar and insulin levels whether you deserve it or not.  Even if it was baked by your Grandma with love.  That love is killing you a bite at a time.  Pout all you want, stomp and holler like a spoiled child, but facts are facts, those treats are killing you. 

How did you get to the point that you believe eating take out, processed foods and snacks on the regular is “normal”?  From an evolutionary perspective it is in fact aberrant behaviour.  I’ll go even farther and say that from the cellular and metabolic health perspective, it is abhorrent behaviour.  As an organism you have evolved to thrive on real, whole foods that occur in nature without artificial colours, flavouring, sweeteners, stabilizers or preservatives.  Instead we are feeding ourselves on garbage and wondering why we look and feel terribly.

This isn’t a guilt thing.  Guilt doesn’t get you anywhere.  It is completely unproductive.  It’s disempowering.  Make a choice, eat what you want and acknowledge the inevitable consequences of that choice.  If you aren’t happy with the way you look, feel or perform, stop making excuses for your eating habits and change them. 

A quick look at the Empower membership and you will be able to tell on sight who has changed their eating habits or found the optimal eating habits for themselves (anyone else notice Pepper or Molly Gunn’s incredible transformations recently?).  It’s not magic, just actions and consequences.  And yes, you can do it too.  No, it’s not easy.  Since when is anything worth doing ever easy?

If you like the results you are getting, keep doing what you’re doing.  If you don’t like your results, stop making excuses for your ineffective habits, take some responsibility for your actions and make a change.  It sounds harsh but no, you do not deserve that scoop of ice cream and passing on that pizza slice is not self deprivation.  Though unusual in today’s convenient world of ready-to-eat delivery culture, eating real, wholesome food is not extreme behaviour.   It also does not deserve the label “diet”.  Eating real, natural foods, in normal quantities should just be called “eating”.  

Need help?  Ask Shades about her Nutrition & Lifestyle coaching

Friday
Rack it, take it from the floor or substitute dumbbells.  If you plan to Rx the jerk please use a barbell on the platform or from one of the racks.  If you are not doing jerks at ¾ body weight then dumbbells are a great option.

Warm Up
2 Rounds
1 min each:
Dumbbell Pullovers
Dumbbell Goblet squats
Dumbbell Z-Press
Dumbbell Front Rack Reverse Lunges
Dumbbell Push Jerk

Tech
Jerk
Squat

WOD
4 Rounds
15 Jerks 3/4 bodyweight
50 squats