Loni Works It Out: Lead Me Not into Temptation...

If I ruled the world, we’d all be living off of peanut butter cups, hot fudge sundaes, and mocha lattes. I find plenty of reasons to indulge (like when I’m stressed, when I’m cranky, when I’ve been working long hours, when its Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday...) and ironically, the reasons to binge on chocolate always outnumbers the reasons not to.

It isn’t only chocolate that I’ve got baggage with. There’s cookies, fast food, Italian food, peanut butter, and big Sunday morning pancake-and-eggs-and-bacon breakfasts. I don’t just irresponsibly go to town, eating whatever I feel like whenever I feel like it. It’s usually associated with some kind of emotional response. Once, after a messy breakup, I ate a whole pint of Ben & Jerry’s New York Super Fudge Chunk every night for two weeks (and was somehow surprised when I gained 25 pounds that month. . . ).

In college, when I pulled all-nighters, I didn’t head to the common areas or library. I went straight to Dunkin’ Donuts, because sipping on flavored coffees and munching on muffins made the process less painful. And don’t even get me started on how quickly I can make a box of anything-Entenmann’s disappear.

Basically, I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I signed up for this. Even though Bill is whipping me into shape three times a week over at DavidBartonGym, no matter how hard the workouts are, its only an hour or so of my morning and then its on with my life. When I only have a few reps left, no matter how tired or shaky my muscles are, I can push myself through because I only have to get through that and then I don’t have to do it again for another 24 hours. But with my diet, there is a constant awareness of what I can’t have, what I want, and what I need to eat next. How I eat and these changes to my diet affect me all the time. For me, it’s a little more intimidating than some heavy dumbbells.

My Life, Packed into Containers:

Luckily, I’ve got some help. My fairy god-trainer, David Barton, set me up with Corey Coopersmith, a Mixed Martial Arts champion, and all around health and nutrition guru. When he’s not traveling the world to kick people’s butts, Corey helps clients — from professional athletes, to regular people looking to drop major weight — to re-invent their attitude towards food. His philosophy is that nutrition is about fueling your body with what it needs. It’s not meant for entertainment, but for survival.

And no, he’s not going to buy it if I insist that I need chocolate to survive. He’s slowly convincing me that feeling empowered and in control of my body will be much sweeter than any cupcake. We’ll see. . .

Here’s an example of a day in my new diet:

Breakfast

Coffee with agave and almond milk

Oatmeal with blueberries and a teaspoon of agave

1 Hardboiled egg

Meal #2

1 Apple with Raw Almond Butter

Protein shake made with Jay Robb’s Whey Protein, almond milk and berries 

Lunch

Grilled salmon over mixed greens with zuccini, spinach, tomato, cucumber and quinoa

Meal #4

Organic bison chili (made with organic tomatoes and bison meat) over brown rice 

Dinner

Modified Chicken Parmesan (made with grilled chicken, low fat organic mozzarella, tomato sauce and brown rice pasta)

According to Corey, eating five times a day keeps your metabolism burning “the way a fire stays lit when you keep feeding it logs”. He helps me plan meals that have 1 source of protein, 1 grain, and 1 fat.

But both Corey and Bill are understanding and explained that this is a process and I’ll get there soon. I’m so thankful to have them, David and my friends and family as a support system because its really key to me getting through this. Speaking of thankfulness, are you wondering how I’ll survive Thanksgiving? Check back in on Friday and see how I did it!