Primal Becks

As I was sifting through some old pictures recently, I found a few from my freshman year of college. During that time, I was weighing 130 lbs. and had a hard time squeezing into my jeans. My exercise routine consisted of only weight training at the UT Rec Center (which I don’t consider such a bad thing), but my food intake was an issue. I was extremely careful with what I ate, yet I was still so unhappy with my body.

For breakfast, I tried not to eat something too “greasy” or “fattening,” so I’d go for a bowl of Honey Bunches of Oats in fat free milk, or a fruit smoothie with a side of a Nature’s Valley granola bar. It seemed so light on my stomach, so I thought I was doing a good thing.

Then came lunch. The easiest for me was a sandwich, but with baked chips (of course!). Since I lived in the dorms, I’d go downstairs to the sandwich shop and made what I thought was the best choice: whole wheat/whole grain bread, some slices of turkey, 1 slice of cheese, and a bag of baked chips on the side. I used to stock up on the boxes of baked chips that were sold in bulk at Sam’s Warehouse.

Dinner: a bowl of some “healthy” cereal, another sandwich (toasted, possibly) to change it up a bit.

Sometimes, on the weekends, I would treat myself to a Chick-Fil-A sandwich, but I still thought I was making a pretty healthy choice! Little did I know that the breaded chicken, fried in peanut oil, served in between 2 slices of bread was actually bad for me and making me look bloated. I’d go for the wheat bread (Chick-Fil-A’s most recent healthy choice at the time), and having made a pact with my dad to stop eating french fries a year before…I skipped the fries.  Instead, I would eat some baked potato chips on the side, yet I would dip them into a mountain of ketchup (sugar!!). Not to mention the half and half (half unsweetened tea, half diet lemonade) I was drinking. It was diet lemonade, but it was still so sweet!! Splenda is still a form of sugar!! As my brother, Mike, would say, “If it tastes sweet, it has sugar…or pseudo-sugar!”

I wasn’t eating red meat at all because I had heard that was very fattening and bad for me. I thought I was doing the right thing. Whole grains, low-fat, substituted Splenda for sugar, ate no meat (just chicken), egg whites only, used Pam instead of butter…but I was physically the biggest I have ever been. I remember going shopping with my mom and crying in the dressing room because everything felt so tight. I could feel every inch of my clothes plastered against my body, and I didn’t like it.

It wasn’t until I met the treadmill that I really started to lose weight/inches, but I soon realized that the only way to maintain my weight was to spend 2-3 hours at the gym. For 3 years, 5 times a week, I would run 6-10 miles on a treadmill. It was not fun spending hours on the treadmill, but it was the only way. The running caused many knee and foot injuries, but when I tried to stop running so much, I would quickly start regaining weight (especially in my stomach). I lost a lot of weight/inches during this time, but I was too skinny, had no muscle, constant injuries, and I spent way too much time on the treadmill.

When Mike and Rob (my brothers) first introduced me to the G7 Strength and Conditioning program, I was a bit skeptical. I thought (through experience) that the only way to maintain weight was to run…and run…and run some more.

I had no idea at the time that my “need” to run and my body weight fluctuation was due to the food I was eating. Food was the culprit. Food was making me unhealthy. I quickly learned I would get the most benefit from the The G7 program if I changed the way I ate. I had to completely put aside everything that I learned in school. Having a Masters Degree in Health Education from UT Austin might make someone think that I was an expert in nutrition…and I was…according to what I was taught. But none of that was working for me, so I decided to take my brothers’ recommendations and try something new.

That’s the lesson here…try it. I tried it, and I’ve never looked back. I weigh 118 lbs. now. Every meal is a great tasting one (with meat!), and I no longer spend my days running. My body feels good, I’m stronger, and I look great.

So what do I eat? That’s the next post…

Over the holidays, I spent some time tweaking a cinnamon cookie recipe I found. I’ve recently eliminated dairy and have significantly reduced my fructose intake, so I made changes to this recipe accordingly.

I substituted a little less than 1/4 cup of maple syrup for the honey (if you like things sweeter, go for the full 1/4 cup) and 4 T melted coconut oil for the butter.

What I ended up with, surprisingly, was an hojarasca type cookie. Hojarascas are sooo delicious, and these grain-free cookies come pretty darn close to that. Everyone has loved them so far. Test it out for yourself!

Hojarascas

For those of you who know me or have read previous blog postings, you probably already know how I feel about strong women. Being strong is something that every woman has the potential for…and at G7 Athletics, we embrace women’s strength!! Countless times, I hear from my boyfriend how much he loves that I’m strong!

Ladies…let’s get this straight…being strong is attractive! If someone tells you otherwise, he/she is lying…or jealous…or just has issues.

As a coach for the Strong Women’s program at G7, I see ladies getting stronger every day. We all get excited when someone achieves a new power clean max, can now swing a heavier kettlebell, or is one step closer to completing a deadhang pull-up.

For every woman who is reading this…believe me…being strong is AWESOME! When you can pull the “heavy” boxes down from the closet with ease, open the jar of almond butter that no one else can, or carry in the 40 lb. bags of ice without breaking a sweat, it feels great!!