A few months back, I was talking to my healthcare provider about switching up my exercise routine to develop more muscle/tone and stamina. At her suggestion, I incorporated more strength training into my daily workouts alongside some cardio and took a closer look at my diet (especially when it came to pre- and post-workout eats). It worked for a few weeks but like many people, I fell off the wagon as the holidays approached and the little progress I made slipped away. But not all hope was lost. Enter: MyFitnessPal Right before the holidays, MyFitnessPal came to BuzzFeed and offered the chance for a writer to use the app and log their food intake for a week to see if they could learn anything new about themselves. Needless to say, I instantly volunteered. Finally, I’d have a deeper understanding of my food/macros, workouts, and water in one place, and hopefully be able to incorporate a new tool as I work toward my 2023 milestones. Big win for moi.
Better understand my macros and overall nutrition.Incorporate recovery foods as I ramp up my exercise routines.Stay on top of hydration.
Another side goal was to give myself the grace that all my tracking wouldn’t be 100% accurate. (I didn’t have a food scale and knew I’d have to eyeball some things.) At the end of the day, this process wasn’t about limiting what I eat but rather about learning more about myself. I couldn’t wait to get started! I started my first day of logging on Monday; I was still off work for the holidays and was able to make myself a leisurely breakfast of wheat toast and eggs. Protein + Complex Carb = A win for breakfast! In the evening, I ate a banana and eased back into my workouts with a bit of light cycling. Then, for dinner I had some pork dumplings and rice stir-fry to meet my protein goals for the day. Overall, I felt pretty good about my first tracking attempt and hoped I could keep up the success as the responsibilities of adult life came knocking.
Whoops.
But my grand food logging plans were in for an upset on Wednesday when my friend said she wanted to try out a rotating sushi bar for dinner. Between that and my aching muscles following yesterday’s workout, I heeded the siren call to ditch logging and working out for the day. But I figured I needed to at least keep on the path by adding my food intake to the app. Even if it wasn’t going to be a perfect match to the amounts and types of things I ate, consistency was going to be key to making this experiment work. If only there was a blanket way to log 10+ small plates of yummy Japanese eats sigh. I wanted to balance out my breakfast with a good lunch so I threw together one of my favorite cozy veggie chili recipes I’ve developed over the years. Saving all my ingredients and approximating the number of servings using the MyFitnessPal app’s Recipe feature was really handy since I have a bunch of repeat dishes. It’s exciting to think I could apply this to all my go-to recipes rather than having to break down every meal I make! Our affectionately named “Fridge Clean Out” dish made up of chicken sausage, quinoa, pepper, onion, and sautéed kale quickly became a repeat fave in our house. It also yields enough for lunch the next day and if it can guarantee leftovers, I’m always game. As I rounded out the last day of tracking, I toasted my big cup of water in celebration that a week of successful logging had come to an end.
When it came to drinking water, turning what once felt like a chore into a challenge helped reframe my approach to hitting my daily hydration goals. Now I’m happy to carry my big water cup wherever I go if it means I can gleefully add to my water intake every time I go for a refill. After trying out MyFitnessPal and gaining better insight into my nutrition, I can’t wait to continue using this new tool in my arsenal to keep my personal health goals on track. Bear in mind that health and wellness isn’t a one-size-fits-all type of situation. Everyone defines it differently so what may work for me may not work for others. However, this week solidified for me that wellness isn’t a sprint… It’s a marathon. Whether I’m logging custom recipes, making note of my workout PRs, or simply patting myself on the back that I drank a lot of water, consistency is a great first step in the long road ahead. The path isn’t 100% laid out before me, but I’m confident that I can crush any and all of my 2023 goals!
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