Playing around with what I eat – 12 months in review.
I’ve been getting a lot of questions recently as to what exactly I’m eating at the moment, it’s been exactly 1 year since I started changing things up so I thought this would be an ideal time to come on and have a little chat about what has been going on with my plate!! Especially the new additions – mainly my new found love for oats!!
For two years I followed all of the paleo principles strictly, more recently, however, I have been experimenting with different foods like oats & chickpeas etc, essentially playing around with my diet and seeing how my body reacts. Over the last year I have found that some things don’t necessarily agree with me; peanut butter is an absolute no, whey protein is not my friend and as much as it pains me to say it, eggs and I, have also had a bit of a falling out. (Egg lovers don’t worry – they still feature some weekends!)
Melissa Hartwig describes the feeling of food freedom as “You feel like you could do this for the rest of your life.” this is exactly where I’m at at the moment, I have found the perfect balance. I’m currently just listening to my body, fueling it with what it needs and eating food I enjoy. Nothing has changed too dramatically, I still hold the same principles when it comes to eating – fresh, unprocessed, seasonal food.
In January 2014, I woke up one morning and decided to 1 go paleo and 2 join Crossfit353 – talk about a New Years resolution! I was very strict to begin with, then I slowly introduced things like dark chocolate and bacon, while at the same time becoming more adventurous in the kitchen.
A few months later I decided to change things up again by doing my first Whole30 which in turn became the driving force in creating this blog, each day throughout the 30 days not only did I stick to the plan and follow each of the rules but I also added 1 recipe every evening!
I’ve loved eating paleo and intermittently doing rounds of Whole30 for the last 2-3 years, however, I equally love challenging myself and changing things up. When my Instagram feed started to fill up with oats, zoats and proats I was dying to try out porridge for myself.
So what’s changed?
At this moment in time I’m eating predominantly paleo but there are additions to my plate. It’s working really well and I’m enjoying the process, some of these new additions to my diet have made it here for you guys to enjoy too! You may have seen that I started 2017 with Bake-Well Oats which so many of you have enjoyed over the last few months!
Other things I’ve been eating more of are chickpeas, quinoa & baby potatoes. In essence, I now eat a lot more carbs than before which has given me tonnes more energy, made me stronger, leaner and happier.
Until very recently I was under the impression that carbs were bad. Of course, having taken a keen interest in health and fitness I was aware there are three main macronutrients which are the key to a healthy lifestyle – carbohydrates, protein and fats, and of course everyone needs to eat carbs. Like most females though, I associated eating carbs with being bulky. Tracking your intake of protein, carbs & fats can be an eye-opening experience, allowing you to realise whether there are any areas of deficit or excess in your diet. It helps you to learn exactly what a portion really is and become aware of how much you are eating.
Personally, I realised that I was not eating anywhere near enough carbs to sustain my body mid-week and that I was definitely overeating certain foods (namely dark chocolate!) at the weekends which was undoing all of the hard work I was doing in the gym. Balancing out my intake throughout the week meant that I could create a certain amount of flexibility within my diet, giving me room to try out new things, like adding oats/eating out more regularly.
Ultimately we need to be able to eat intuitively and understand our body and its needs, keeping myself in check has certainly helped me on my way to finding food freedom and allowed me to gain a greater understanding when it comes to food and nutrition.
This may leave you questioning what way I’m eating at the moment, so hears a rundown of a day in the life of Wonky!
Breakfast:
Oats with honey, raspberries & either dark chocolate or nut butter – sometimes both!
11s:
Sweet potato, bacon & spinach.
Lunch:
Chicken, zoodles, kale/spinach, turnip & hot sauce.
PWO/Dinner:
Chicken or fish, sweet or baby potatoes, greens & assorted veggies.
(Keep an eye on my Instagram Stories – I usually chat about this meal there!)
Snacks:
Bananas/nuts/nakd bar/popcorn/energy ball.
