I'm Back & Better Than Ever

So where have I been? What have I been doing? WHY was I MIA(missing in action) the past 4 months?

There is no simple answer to those questions but I will explain my story in the best way I can.

First, let's start this off by saying I MISSED YOU! These past four months have been life-changing and I have grown more than I ever thought I would have but they have also been some of the hardest in terms of my relationship with food.

Why?

Before taking my 4-month hiatus, food and I had an extremely toxic relationship. The first thing I would think about when I woke up was food and how to NOT eat it. I wanted to lose 20 lbs fast and it didn't happen so I did a complete 180 and ate everything I wanted for 4 months. I was either really restrictive with my food choices or eating whatever. I had a hard time finding balance and after a year of tracking my calories and not seeing the results I wanted, I quit. I quit being healthy because whatever I was doing wasn't "working".

What Was I Doing?

You're probably saying like ya that happens to everyone that "diets" but this was extremely out of character for me. I was going out every weekend and drinking more than I have in my entire life. I have no regrets because I have made some wonderful memories and got to see my friends a lot. Some pictures below highlight some of my favourite nights this summer

Aside from being away every weekend, I was working two jobs that took up a majority of my time. I worked my day job till 2:00 then I would rush to the restaurant to serve for 4:00. I barely had enough time to get ready, never mind workout or pack a healthy meal. I didn't have time for myself and I didn't have time to love myself.

During these first 3 months, I become extremely unhappy with myself and my body. My clothes weren't fitting the same and I hated it. I wanted to go back in time to when I was "healthy. My mentality during this was I can be healthy for the rest of my life, so I should just enjoy my twenties and party. NO, after all my hard work and dedication for a healthy lifestyle, I threw it down the drain in a month.

So, why wasn't I active on foodiewithabooty? The simple answer is I couldn't. I couldn't promote something I wasn't doing or something I hated. I decided my best course of action was to forget about my food blog until I was "Skinny" again.

After 3 more months of eating whatever I wanted and hating how I felt, things started to turn around for me. I started listening to my body and how it felt when I ate food that wasn't good for me. I started exercising again, but not the way I used to. I started eating without thinking about food, but about nutritional benefits.

Where I am Now?

This past month I have started eating in the way I always dreamed I would. I wake up excited to eat

& nourish my body. All I want is to eat enough protein, fibre, fats & carbs. If you read my post about my journey and my diet a couple of months ago, you'll see that I no longer do HIIT training and I do not follow a low-carb diet. All I do now is eat balanced meals consisting of 80% whole foods.

I have been figuring out this balanced way of eating for the past month and I am now at the point where I want to be healthy not just skinny. Of course, I want to shed some body fat and grow the booty ;) but I don't want to drop 20 pounds fast because I am going on vacation. If weight loss happens, cool but if not that's okay.

So what does a healthy lifestyle look like for me now:

• 3-5 Workouts a week (20 min cardio, 40 min weight training session)

• 4 meals (20-30g protein each meal, 10-30g of healthy fats, 30g+ of carbs, 10g of fibre)

• Enjoying fun foods (Starbucks holiday drinks c'mon)

• 8-9 hrs of sleep per night

• EATING WHEN I'M HUNGRY

So, foodiewithabooty is back and I can't wait to share my highs and lows with you on this journey. My recipes will still be mostly GF, DF & Paleo based on the foods I like, but stay tuned because there definitely will be some fun holiday treats! Feel free to message or email me if you have any questions!

Meg xoxo