What is a lifestyle change?
When I arrived to Extreme I already had already engrained some pretty good healthy habits into my behaviour. I exercised regularly, I ate generally well and had a pretty good idea of what was good and bad for my health. The problem was that I had no self-discipline; I would overindulge in cheese, breads, cereal, chocolate, cookies, alcohol and probably any sweet that you put in front of me. I figured that the best way to improve my physic without giving up my lovely eating habits was to work harder, run faster, or do more reps… in other words, put more intensity into my training. The problem was that I knew that my strategy was flawed. I had come across some valuable information some time ago, something that should have revolutionized my lifestyle, but I decided to ignore it. I hated how I started to see it everywhere! And more I questioned it, the more it proved to be right. Curious what it is? It’s the 20/80 rule. To maximize and optimize your health and wellness, and to get the results you desire, 20% of the results will come from exercise and the other 80% will come from your diet. You can see now how my strategy was flawed eh? (yes I am Canadian).
Ok so basically I was killing myself and getting nothing really out of it. Well it wasn’t all bad, but I did realize that I had to shift my lifestyle. So with the help of Zach and Matt, our coaches at Extreme I started changing my diet. Living in the Dominican Republic, the majority of my diet consisted of fruit and meat. Dominicans also eat a lot of rice, fried food and beans. Although I could limit my rice and fried food consumption, what I really needed was more vegetables. I decided to take advantage of the fruit and veggie stand that is across the street. Now I buy a big bag of fruits and veggies, leave it in a bowl in my room and munch on it whenever I’m hungry. The shelve life of a bowl of produce sitting in a room in the tropics is about 2 days. I also cut out wheat completely. This was super tough, but I noticed a difference in my body and energy level almost immediately. Within 2 weeks, I saw more definition in my stomach, I no longer felt bloated and I didn’t crash after eating.
Don’t get me wrong, I still have a long way to go, but the point is that I’ve started to listen to my body and understand how my energy levels fluctuate during my workouts depending on what I’ve been eating. The 20/80 rule is legit!
