#flexible dieting

One of my favourite healthy breakfasts. Call me basic, but anything pumpkin is always good. It doesn’t even have to be fall for me to like something pumpkin flavoured… 

Anyway. 

I love carbs for breakfast, but straight carbs for breakfast doesn’t like me. So I threw in some liquid protein—egg whites—to balance things out. Flexible dieting is fairly easy to maintain and it ensures you’re getting the right balance of macronutrients, or carbs, protein, and fat (as well as getting enough of the other micros). 

Adjust serving sizes of ingredients as you need but this ratio of ingredients works pretty well. And always weigh things when you can! It is much more accurate and actually a lot easier than measuring. Measuring cups are a pain in the butt. Simply put your bowl or plate on the scale, add things, and then zero the scale before adding each thing.

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55g Steel cut oats
88g Liquid egg white
1 t. Stevia *
¼ t. Cinnamon *
½ t. Pumpkin pie spice *
1 t. Chia seeds *
* all of these are to taste/personal preference

1. Add all ingredients to a bowl, stir, and microwave in 30 second increments three to four times (depends on your microwave).

2. Add ¼ c. of pure pumpkin once the oats and egg whites have cooked a little.

3. Stir and microwave in 20-30 second increments another three times and stir really well after each. This is where the egg white might turn solid if you’re not careful. Stirring is crucial.

4. When your oats seem cooked enough to your liking and your egg white isn’t too solid, take it out. 

5. Add whatever you want on top and devour! (and try not to lick the bowl)

(I usually add about 1.5 oz of Silk Unsweetened Creamy Cashew milk, 5g of mini semi-sweet chocolate chips, 5-10g of natural peanut butter, and about 1 tsp of Walden Farms pancake syrup)

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.

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The best go-to gym inspiration. Gotta put in the work.

This one time, a little less than two years ago, I made a comment about my quads getting bigger and a certain pair of (very non-stretchy) jeans not fitting. They fit in the waist how they usually did but I could barely fit them over my legs, let alone move.

Being the typical weightlifting crossfitters that I was surrounded by, one person proceeded to say this was a good thing, and who would want “skinny, good-for-nothing, bitch legs” anyway? Big, strong legs were in—among this crew. Strong is the new skinny. Focus on what you can do, not what you look like. Blah blah blah.

At the time I fell for it, agreed that I wanted the gains and told myself I didn’t care that my skinny jeans didn’t fit as long as I was getting stronger.

The conversation continued and I jokingly mentioned that when I add 50 lbs to my deadlift (175 to 225#), and 40# to my back squat (150 to 190#) this person would have to buy me a new pair of jeans because I will surely no longer fit into the ones I have now.

Well.

I reached that deadlift goal in September and I reached that back squat goal this week.

But. I’m smaller than I’ve ever been. I can still wear skinny jeans. I weigh about 10 lbs less. I’m inches smaller than I was then. I think I look much better overall and my gymnastics skills are better. I have stronger legs than I’ve ever had but they are still “skinny” as some people would say. 

Through the art of strict flexible dieting and counting macros—giving my body the nutrients it needs to perform its best and nothing more—I’ve found something good. Oh and I eat frozen yogurt, [high protein] waffles, and more carbs than I have in years regularly and never feel deprived of any food. I actually have a better relationship with food than I’ve had in years.

So. 

Mass doesn’t move mass; muscle moves mass. You don’t need to be bigger to be stronger.