Fit Hot Mama

See that? It’s bacon. I was a vegetarian for most of my teen years and my adult life, up until I got preggers with my second kid and I craved meat….and NOT chicken breasts or ground turkey. I am talking about bacon and ribs. After having my son and choosing to become a healthier, fit person again, I had to seriously cut back on my new favorite things…like bacon. :(

Fast foward 4 years and a lot of trial and error (turkey bacon….big error, that crap is NOT bacon) and I realize what works for ME. I thrive on routine. I eat the same breakfast everyday. I eat the same handful of snacks everyday. I make the same 15 healthy dinners over and over again (and these meals I cook for my husband and two kids and they love them too), I know the nutritional info for the menu items that suit my goals at my family’s favorite resturants, AND I know I couldn’t live a happy life without bacon. Every weekend I have a cheat meal breakfast where I make my family french toast or waffles and bacon. I look up special recipes and wait all week to make it.

The whole point is BALANCE! I know what I need to successful for a LIFETIME. I am realistic and I don’t set impossibly high standards for myself. That is a recipe for disappointment and lays the groundwork for a vicious disordered eating cycle. Figure out what works for you. What can’t you live without? Pepperoni pizza with your family? Maragritas with the girls? Cupcakes from that awesome bakery? Bacon on the weekends? And then work hard, day in day out, getting the right amount of calories for your activity level, the right amounts of your macro nutrients for your goals, the right amount of water….all this for longterm physical health. And eat your favorite foods (in moderation) for your mental health…because life without your favorite foods isn’t living, in my opinion.