Anyone who has followed me and read most of what I have written in regard to diet, knows that I believe diets do not work. In my humble opinion, you shouldn’t be “on” a diet, what you eat “IS” your diet. What I’m trying to say is, when I restricted the amount of food that I ate so that I could lose weight, I failed to sustain my weight loss every single time. Losing weight is as simple as calories in vs. calories out, but there are many levers that you can pull. My experience has been that by putting my calorie burn on hyper drive via running AND changing my diet, I have been able to lose 130 pounds, and more importantly, sustain it.
So, what do I mean by eating with intention? Great question! When I went on diets and restricted the amount of food that I ate, I was very often hungry and irritable. I didn’t change my diet, I was simply eating the same type of crap that I was eating before I went on my diet, but much less. Did it work? Well; yeah. Temporarily. And, because I was still eating crap, my body was still getting revved up on sugar and then crashing, causing me to have stronger and stronger cravings to eat. Pissed off, hungry, and craving food like an addict is NOT sustainable.
However, once I started to look at food as fuel and my diet comprising everything that I eat and drink, I realized that I could eat a lot of the RIGHT foods and I wouldn’t be hungry and irritable. This is eating with intention. I look at my diet AND what I’m trying to accomplish comprehensively, and then eat accordingly. Let me provide you with some concrete examples of what I am trying to say.
As a runner, I look at my year and build my race plan and training around several goal races. I literally will schedule training blocks and training breaks for the entire year. If I am in a training block and my goal is to feel good for my workouts and runs, and possibly lose some weight (running is easier when you are lighter), I’ll eat “clean”. Clean for me means very little refined sugar, no alcohol, no junk food, plenty of vegetables and fruits, and lots of lean meats and fish. Normally I’m running 50 plus miles a week and I can eat as much of this type of food as I want without gaining weight. It’s easy for me to say no to a beer or a piece of cake, because I know that it will harm my training and take me further away from my goals. Honestly, I am very rarely hungry during these training blocks when I am eating clean. I believe it’s because I can eat large amounts of food and with no refined sugar, my body isn’t having the blood sugar crashes and creating those hunger cravings.
You’re probably thinking “Yeah, that’s great, but you never eat junk food?” Rest assured, I absolutely do! During my break periods, I still run 25 to 35 miles per week, just to maintain my cardiovascular fitness and keep my metabolism primed, but I eat and drink what I want. THAT is still eating with intention. If I know that I am taking a month break and I want to drink some beers, I don’t feel guilty about it at all. In fact, give me that second piece of cake as well! Why? Because I earned it and it’s good for my soul. I also know that at the end of the break there will be another training block and I have the discipline to start eating clean again and I’ll burn my break food off. The great thing with scheduling these things is that I can choose to take my breaks when I know I would be at my weakest! Thanksgiving and Christmas anyone? Fourth of July cookout? Why make life hard on yourself?
There you go, some real-life examples of eating with intention so that you can apply them to your own life. Every piece of food and every beverage that I consume has meaning, and I make sure that I understand what and why I’m consuming something. Even if it’s a simple “Hey, this beer your drinking has no nutritional value, but you are on your break and you love a good beer so, enjoy!” I make sure it fits with my current goals and if it doesn’t, I stop myself.
I hope that this post and this blog helps! To receive new post notifications, newsletters, and post previews, please SUBSCRIBE!
For behind the scenes photos and comments on my training and personal life, follow me on Instagram: joe_the_runner Strava: Joe Randene YouTube: Joe Runner
Questions, comments, feedback? Please leave them in the comments section BELOW and we can have a discussion!
Thanks Joe. Your blogs are always helpful. I look at food as if it were fuel for my body; unfortunately, I do not always eat that way. I am not looking necessarily to be a complete convert at this time; just consistency at least 5 days a week. Any tips for those of us whose families do not want to eat clean on any day. I prefer to avoid temptation and not have much refined sugar or processed meat in the house, but my family likes desserts and unhealthy snacks every day. Only I like whole wheat, brussel sprouts, kale or even salad… They will not be coming along this journey of clean eating. Any tips on how to be successful in my quest for clean eating…better running.
Rose, as you know, I have kids and my wife also doesn’t eat the way that I do. As someone who is doing the crazy stuff that I do, I cannot expect them to come along for the ride regarding no sweets, etc. Basically there are two things that help me control myself despite having temptation all around. The first, is that my goals are far more important to me than sweets or beer. Therefore, WHEN I am in training, I don’t struggle too much with saying no. Plus, I eat a ton of healthy food, so I normally am not very hungry. It takes about 3 to 4 apples to hit the same amount of calories as one donut, AND your body processes the apples very differently. Secondly, as I stated, when I am on a break, I do enjoy the junk food and beer. This way I never feel like I am completely denying myself. I hope this helps… Peace. Joe