Well I am doing it! Travelling, taking a break from my routine, and tracking. Practicing my flexibility, exercising my judgment, making choices and finding my balance on the road. Being in Japan for the past 9 days is teaching me a lot.
First, I tolerate carbs quite well! Which is good news because I am eating all the noodles and all the rice!
Second, turns out I can live without peanut butter! There is none around here, and I have been digging salads, rice and grilled salmon breakfast. But you bet I will run to my peanut butter jar when I get home!
Third, the Japanese pay such attention to detail; everything is beautiful and perfect looking, making you want all the food! You can’t even find a single bruised apple on the grocery store shelves!
Lastly, you can indulge and treat yo self without completely derailing yourself!
I am definitively indulging and experiencing Japan. I don’t have to restrict myself and I am happy to live somewhere in the middle. I’m trying to indulge when it matters to me and I really want it and pass when I don’t need to have it or when it’s not worth it to me. I am making sure to be active daily (which isn’t hard to do while sight seeing anyways), and filling my plate with veggies and fruits first because keeping up with my fibre needs keeps my tummy happy! We packed protein powder with us knowing it would be a hard macro to get enough of while keeping fat intake on track. I am balancing calories in vs calories out, maintaining my weight well enough judging by how I look and feel.
But yet, I know my macros are off. I have played with them enough to know I am not where I do best. Obviously I care about how I look and it affects how I feel. But clearly it’s more than that. I want to feel like my best self. There is a strong connection between my macros and my energy and performance that cannot be denied.
Now, this is reassuring that I can be totally away from my routine and maintain my physique and I can trust my judgment. Let’s face it, we all have emotional baggage around food, so this is very liberating to me. It also reinforces that macros work very well for me; I have grown accustomed to feeling dialled in with my body and feeling like my best self. Yes, calories matter and you can’t ignore that (especially for weight management) but there is more to it and you may not find what works for you right away. It takes some experimenting and being open and willing to give it time. But it does work and everyone deserves to feel their best. I feel privileged to be working with amazing people and to be helping them find their best selves.
I have another week here to soak in the culture, continue to walk the streets of Japan, visit temples, eat the best foods and make memories. I will be home soon enough, back with my food scale, measuring my table spoon of peanut butter and making egg white omelettes. But I am in no rush for it.
Sayonara!
Feel free to follow my adventures on Instagram @power_upnutrition .
#morethanjustmacros #findyourbestself #powerupnutrition