Ep 150 – Avoiding Temptations featuring Alice Robeson

Dani:

Hello, everybody. Welcome back to another episode of vegan proteins muscles by Brussels Radio. My name is Dani.

Alice:

And I’m Alice.

Dani:

And this is episode 100 5150. That’s so exciting. I’m pumped about that. I don’t want to jinx it because there’s still a couple weeks left of the year, but we have put a podcast out every week for the entire year. I’m, like, kind of happy about it, but, like, also, that’s, like, a lot of pressure now. It’s like, we have to live up to that, at least. But we’re talking about doing video podcasts maybe in the near future, which obviously this is a video podcast.

We have Alice here today, but when it’s me and Giacomo, we’re just sitting in a closet looking like bridge trolls. So that’s why I’m too nervous to do video podcasts of that. But many people this year asked us to do a video podcast. So we’ll see. I’m not quite that tech savvy, but anyway, Alice, what are you up to?

Alice:

Oh, just trying to get all the Christmas shopping done. I really wanted to get everything bought on by cyber Monday, but it didn’t work out. But I got a lot done, so feeling very accomplished. May have to return some things, but we’ll see. We’ll see how that shakes out.

Dani:

Yeah, last year we were super good about getting Christmas shopping done, like, really early, and this year, I don’t even think we’ve, like, even talked about it. Like, nothing. But luckily, my family, this past year, we made, like, new, new kind of rules. Like, we’re all just going to buy presents for the kids and that’s it. Which is pretty awesome, honestly, because that cuts your list of people down to, like, a little tiny bit.

And it’s, like, fun. It’s toys and stuff. It’s not like, oh, what am I going to get my mom, who already has everything, and if she doesn’t have it, she just gets it for herself, so. Hmm. But that’s cool. So you’re in prep. Why don’t you talk about that a little bit?

Alice:

Definitely a big mindset shift. I’ve been bulking for over a year and limiting my food is really, really difficult, mainly in the evenings. But I’m getting really kind of creative with meals already doing a lot of different wraps, doing a lot of different, like, stir fries with little to no oil stir fries.

Dani:

Right.

Alice:

So just trying to get, you know, keep the variety up, try not to get bored. And so far, it’s working out really, really well. I’ve only had a couple of days where I didn’t land well and everything turned upside down, but I was still able to, you know, keep it under control for the most part and feeling good about it.

Dani:

Good, good. Yeah. So you decided to prep to compete in some, like, kind of early spring shows, which usually, you know, I don’t wanna say I advise against, because obviously it can be done. I just think it’s harder than most people think it’s gonna be. But I, like, fully laid it out, and alice was like, nope, I wanna do it.

So you just prepped through thanksgiving, which I’ve probably only had, like, two clients ever actually do that before. So. Yeah. What was that like? I’ve never done it. Forget that.

Alice:

But, I mean, I feel like it was just like, a matter of moving repeat days, you know, making sure you have a good amount of room. We do thanksgiving kind of early. We do it at, like, one or two in the afternoon. So it’s not like, all right, eat breakfast, eat a light, kind of like lunch, and then just be ready. And I made a lot of my stuff, so I know how to enter the macros because I’m the only vegan in my family that was here.

My brother is vegan, but he is in San Francisco and wasn’t able to join us for thanksgiving. But he’s going to be coming out, like, before Christmas, so I’ll have another opportunity at some point.

Dani:

That’s cool. That’s cool that your brother’s coming out for Christmas ish, it sounds like. Yeah, I imagine, like I said, I’ve never prepped through the holidays. I don’t know that I’ve ever actually, like,

dieted through the holidays. I’m trying to remember. I probably have, but, like, very haphazardly when I was younger. But I imagine that it is probably tricky to avoid temptations while you’re trying to diet through the holidays.

And that’s actually what this episode today is going to be about. It’s going to be about avoiding temptations and the challenges and some tips or ideas that we have to help. Because I know personally, for me, it’s really, really hard. I think it’s kind of like a know yourself situation.

I know that I’m going to have pie on the holidays or whatever. Most of my family’s vegan, so I think that makes it a little bit harder. Like, if your family’s nothing fully vegan, there’s probably not a lot of just vegan treats laying around. Is that right?

Alice:

Right. There’s plenty of treats lying around, like, on the counters, but not. Yeah, none of them are vegan. So that’s an interesting, interesting thing going on in the brain, but, yes.

Dani:

So, for me, it, uh, it’s almost like my. I can see it, and I, like, I could recognize that a cake or something that’s not vegan. I can see it and be like, wow, that looks like it’s probably delicious, but it’s almost like my brain doesn’t see it as food anymore when it’s not vegan. Do you experience that?

Alice:

Yeah. I immediately start thinking, all right, what can I do to make a version of that that is macro friendly?

Dani:

Yep.

Alice:

That’s my favorite thing to experiment with. It’s like, how much can I turn food into diet food and make it good? Right.

Dani:

At what point does it stop being good? When I make it macro friendly. That’s a. I feel like I spent all of 2018, which was my last prep, doing exactly that. That’s where most of our most popular recipes

came from, was that year. Like, almost out of necessity. Um, if anything, that’s incentive for me to prep again, just so that my food brain can, like, wake up and make some new super macro friendly recipes. So. But we got you to do it now, so that’s fantastic.

Alice:

Yeah, my turn. You’re going to have plenty of recipes coming out, don’t worry.

Dani:

Awesome. Because when Giacomo was on prep, we got zero recipes out of that because he just, like, chopped up raw blocks of tofu and put sugar free ketchup on it raw, and was like, but that’s good. And I was just like, okay, so we’re probably not going to get some great content out of your prep, are we, babe? Not very relatable.

It is sad. One night we were sitting at this table, actually having dinner, and the kids were here, and Giacomo actually joined us for a rare occasion. And he had some kind of soup or whatever. I don’t know what it was, but Daisy looked over at him and she was like, uncle Jack, mo, how come your food is always disgusting?

Alice:

Poor Jackmo.

Dani:

And she was so right. She was so right. But, you know, it worked. It did what we. What he needed it to do. So. All right, so why don’t. Why don’t you tell me about maybe some instances where you have found yourself struggling to avoid temptation. Let’s talk about food first, because I think.

I think, especially this time of year, that’s what most people are going to struggle with the most, is avoiding food temptations. Can you tell me about a time that you were struggling with that and some of the things that you did to maybe overcome that. Yeah.

Alice:

Honestly, I feel like I face temptation every day. I very much run out of willpower by the end of the day. And in the evenings is when I sort of start roaming around, thinking about grazing, thinking about snacking. And I just kind of try and think about, you know, all right, I have to expect it every day. I have to sort of think ahead, like, what would help me get ahead of this temptation right now, basically?

Like, what am I craving? What would help me feel like I’m not dieting when I actually am? And, yeah,

very much. For me, willpower and temptation is like, it’s like a gas tank, you know, at the end of the. At the end of the day, it’s usually running low, but I can sort of keep it sort of at least, like mid level by having some of my favorite things. Like, I have these, like, diet good pop ice cream sandwiches.

Really nice. Really nice macros, really nice calories. Help me, you know, get ahead of my ice cream cravings. I might do the lazy girl pancakes, those kinds of things. I have a lot. I love the. I love bagels. I love bread. So sometimes I literally just have half a bagel with a no go slim bar. For my post workout meal.

Dani:

I think I used to have stuff like that. Like that, too. As my post workout meals, I would like, do a half a bagel and then other stuff because I just wanted to feel like I was eating a bagel. Exactly.

Alice:

Exactly. I’ve always been obsessed with bread. Like, at the holidays, I’m thinking about it because it’s that time, the holidays, they all. This is the only time my family really had, like, rolls and they’d have like, this big basket of rolls. So I’m like, this little girl. Everyone would be done with dinner, but I just keep coming back to the kitchen and grabbing a roll, going away a few minutes later, grabbing a roll, going away.

Dani:

Yep. That sounds like daisy. That sounds just like Daisy. We joke that she is literally made of bread because of how much bread she will eat if left to her own devices. But, yeah, I’m going to teach daisy a little bit about avoiding some temptations at some point. She hasn’t, you know, we don’t, like, talk about bodies here at all. We don’t talk about food other than, like, food helps make you healthy and strong or calories or anything like that.

But I think she’s struggling to recognize when she has had enough. I can see how much she had, and I’m like, that she’s definitely full. She’s got to be full, but she’ll come back and just eat more because it tastes delicious. And I think I bring the kids up because watching them really has taught me a lot about adults because we are very similar.

Like, we respond very similarly to kids. Kids are just like an exaggerated version of what we’re all doing all the time. I think a lot of people are ignoring when their body is full just because stuff is delicious. And especially this time of year, you don’t, you don’t have to be hungry to eat a piece of pie. Like, there’s always room to have a piece of pie, but how to see that recognize you’re not hungry and kind of like pass on it, even if it’s just temporarily, like a strategy that I use

sometimes I’m just going to keep talking about pie because I just made a whole bunch of them, but I love it and I made it, I want to eat it, but sometimes I want to eat it when I’m not hungry. And one of the strategies I use is I just talk myself into just waiting. Like at any point in time, you’re probably

going to be hungry in the next 3 hours, right? At any point in time. So just wait. Just wait till that point and then you can kind of make it a part of whatever that next meal is.

You know, assuming it can fit into somebody’s macros, which can into mine, but just waiting. And sometimes that waiting period makes it like you just forget about that thing you wanted anyway, and then you don’t even end up having it at all. So I think delaying having the thing, whatever the thing is, can be really helpful. Do you ever do that?

Alice:

Absolutely. You know, I have sort of a little list of things that help me kind of go do something else. And some of them are related to goals and some of them are not. Like sometimes I’ll just distract myself by like cleaning the kitchen because I can just get stuck doing that for a really long time or even go and review things on Amazon. That’s been my new thing. I can do that for a long time and have a good time.

Dani:

That is amazing. It takes a lot for somebody to say something like brand new that I’ve never heard before. But you just did it. I’ve never heard somebody say that before. Amazing. Hats off to finding a new thing to do. I recommend to a lot of people that they kind of keep a list, like you just said, like a list of things to do that aren’t eating. And that sounds so dumb when you say it out loud, like, oh, make a list of things to do that aren’t eating.

But for so many people, the second they’re like bored or tired or feeling any emotion, really, whether it’s happiness, anger, whatever, so many of us just default to food, a snack immediately, and it’s like, let’s see if we can rewire that somehow. So for a while, I was probably still on here, actually. I kept a list of things to do that were not eating.

And it had some really weird stuff on it, but not reviewing things on Amazon, but that’s, that’s a good one, actually, some companies will reward you for that, too. So, yeah, amazing. But that, that leads me to my next big, big tip is to distract yourself anytime there’s like a temptation. And I think it’s worth noting. We’re talking about temptation. A temptation that you want, but you don’t want. You know, it’s one thing if there’s a temptation that you want and you really do want

it, like, make it happen, make it work. But exactly what you’re talking about. Like, you have a deliberate goal. You are in a caloric deficit. You are trying and working very hard to achieve that goal. But there comes a certain time in the day where there’s some temptation in front of you and your willpower is not great. So that’s what I mean when I’m like, you want it, but you don’t want it. Distract yourself.

Alice:

Anything really expected. Every day we live in this society that unhealthy food surrounds us and it’s celebrated in our culture. And when you don’t partake, people are kind of judgy and mean and it’s

really hard to diet. It’s really hard to meet your goals that way. So just try and expect it and get ahead of it as much as you can.

Dani:

Yeah, I think that’s a really great tip to get ahead of it. I don’t think I’ve ever, like, worded it quite like that before. But, yeah, having macro friendly versions of the stuff that, you know, that you tend to crave, I think is very, very helpful in the case of talking about the holidays, right. Bringing a dish, like bring some, even if you’re going somewhere else, bring something that you know you can eat and it’s going to work for you.

Hopefully it’s something that other people also like and get to enjoy as well. But, you know, as long as you have something that you can eat there, then you’re still participating without, you know, eating whatever other stuff is there that doesn’t really work for your goals.

Alice:

Yeah. To add on to that, especially since we’re going to be going to, you know, lots of family and social events. You know, I always ask, okay, what is everyone else making? And I’ll try and make something again that is similar, but I can partake in that I won’t feel guilty about again. A lot of times I’m going to these events and there’s not a lot of vegan options. So just having a plate that looks similar to other people with, like, you know, macro friendly versions.

Dani:

Yes.

Alice:

Can be really helpful for me because I’m not sitting there wishing I had someone else’s food.

Dani:

Yeah. And as a side note, you know, if it’s, if it’s good, other people might be like, oh, what is this? Oh, this is pretty good. I didn’t know vegan food could be good. So I also think it’s a pretty great form of activism. That said, when I’m doing it as activism specifically, I’m, I usually don’t make the macro friendly version.

I usually make the most delicious version. But, yeah, they don’t always have to be two different things. Sometimes a macro friendly version is genuinely delicious, even if you’re not dieting.

Alice:

So a great example of that. Last year I made the stuffing on the vegan proteins website, and I used like, the field roast sausage in there, and no one else made stuffing. So guess what? Everyone had my stuffing. Everyone loved it. So it worked out and it was macro friendly. No one knew. No one knew any different.

Dani:

Right? Yeah, that’s, we made that stuffing this year also. And that was the stuffing that everybody had was the same one. Also, I think the spinach and artichoke dip that we have on the website, and it’s also on the YouTube channel. And the stuffing is on the YouTube channel as well. If anybody’s looking for that is also really macro friendly and like, very party friendly as well.

And if you didn’t know, you just wouldn’t know. That’s one that everybody says they make and bring to all different places. But, you know, it feels like you’re indulging when you have something like that, it feels like you’re indulging in that thing that you want, even though it’s well within your goals, which is always the thing that I think is the most magical about flexible dieting, period, is that because we’re not actually cutting anything, any particular food out, in

theory, you can eat whatever you want and still reach your goals. Now it’s just in theory, because eventually, as you know, your macros will get to a place where it is so not worth it to have certain things, but for as long as you can, you know, I think you should try to keep some variety of foods in there. And I just made a video for somebody talking about how I highly encourage trying to keep some treat in your life regularly.

As this woman said, she struggled with sugar binges. That was her terminology. She struggled with bingeing on sugar. And also she tries to avoid all sugar. So, you know, it’s tough because when we talk about avoiding temptations, that doesn’t mean never have this thing ever. Like you said, there are temptations everywhere, but it doesn’t have to be all or nothing all of the time.

Alice:

Have ways to give into it a little bit under control with a good plan.

Dani:

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Another thing that people, I think, struggle with year round, but especially during the holidays, I think people who don’t normally drink do have to face like, alcohol kind of culture during the holidays. And I know quite a few people who are much more tempted than normal to drink this time of year. And I don’t think you drink, right?

Alice:

No, I don’t. But that I wanted to bring up drinks because that’s another really good one to, you know, sort of divert your attention if you’re feeling like, you know, you want to have some kind of snack, you know, they say there’s a good chance that you’re also thirsty. So I use that to my advantage a lot. And I’ve started getting carbonated water. I know I’m like late to this party, but I have these little like, lime, crystallized lime packets and I’ll put them in with some

crystallized water. And it tastes like a soda to me. It tastes like a spoon bright, and that makes me happy. And I could very easily, you know, have that in a party where someone is drinking and I feel like I’m not missing out.

Dani:

Yes, totally. And that’s actually so I love soda water. I actually only don’t drink it while I’m doing the podcast because I don’t want to have like, bubbles coming up while I’m trying to talk. Yeah, no, thank you. But so back when I was a bartender, which I was for a very long time, occasionally you’d get like a whole crew of people that came out and like one person was obviously the designated driver, everybody else ordered a drink, they ordered not a drink.

So I would go out of my way to make them like seltzer water with a splash of crayon and the lime and a sprig of mint, like in one of those fancy hurricane glasses with a big straw and give it to them. And it totally looked like they were having a drink with everybody else. Now, they didn’t ask for this, but I don’t know if you’ve experienced this with your clients, Alice, but I have some clients that really struggle with being in a room full of people who are drinking and not

drinking. Like, they feel really weird and out of place. So that’s the tip that I always use, is make, get some. Make a fake drink that looks like a drink, and nobody’s going to say.

Alice:

Anything because if you don’t have something in your hands, somebody will say something, oh, what are you drinking? Oh, where’s your drink? Oh, you’re not drinking. Oh, right. And probably more than one person will say something again, we just have, like, this food pusher and alcohol pusher culture.

Dani:

Yeah. Sad. It’s, it’s sad and it’s so weird. Like, listen, if somebody’s not drinking, I’m gonna go ahead and assume they have a pretty damn good reason for not drinking. It could just be, I’m trying to get, I’m trying to stay healthy, I’m trying to get fitter or whatever, but it could also be like, hey, I am one drink away from absolutely ruining my entire life, and I’d really rather not because they’re a recovering alcoholic.

Like, I cannot imagine asking more than once if somebody, you know, is polite, would you like a drink? They say no, that’s the end of it. I can’t imagine pushing alcohol on somebody, but it happens all the time, like you said. And people get really weird about it. Just like when you’re out eating, you know, if

you’re at a restaurant, everybody orders dessert, and you don’t order dessert.

People are going to, oh, you’re not going to have any, oh, what a party pooper. Like that sort of thing. Then people do the same thing with drinking. Oh, you’re just not going to. I actually, after I stopped bartending, and it’s funny because I was so over drinking before I stopped bartending, but used to go out with all those people to the bars after work, and I just didn’t want to be in bars that much anymore, and I ended up, like, kind of losing most of that friend group because I

didn’t drink anymore. You know, it’s no real loss in the long run, but at the time, like, that sucked. But that seems to be common. So I guess I understand why people want to feel like they’re drinking. But it’s just a little sad.

Alice:

Yeah. I mostly don’t drink because I don’t like how sick I get the night of and the next day, and it just didn’t feel like it added a lot for me, personally. I know that a lot of people enjoy it, and there’s nothing wrong with that. And I actually enjoy being around people drinking as long as they’re not completely sloshed.

I actually enjoy going to a bar and sitting at the bar and talking to strangers and, you know, everyone’s having a good time and, I mean, it’s a good scene as long as everyone’s not, like, completely gone.

Dani:

Yeah. Yeah, I agree. I mean, I do drink not much, but, you know, occasionally, and I love going out to bars and restaurants and stuff like that as well. But I cannot stand drunk people. I can’t stand it. I hate being around drunk people. It’s almost like a trigger for me.

Like, I’m immediately mad when someone is, like, starting to slur their words. Giacomo’s noticed it, like, instantly. I’m just like, I’m not even going to talk to you. I think it’s just from years of being low key, abused by drunk people behind the bars.

Alice:

As long as I can still get a word in, I’m fine. Yeah, you know, you do what? We are drunk, and you just. You don’t. You’re just listening with your mouth. That’s the point.

Dani:

Along the lines of, like, food and drink. So this is. It’s a tip I hesitate to give to everybody because I think that it could be taken too far to a point where it’s, like, almost disordered. But I guess anything that we talk about on this podcast ever could be taken too far to the point where it becomes disordered. But, you know, when you show up to a party and there’s, like, all these little finger foods

laid out before you actually have a meal, or sometimes that’s just the whole party.

It’s just finger foods. That’s a big struggle for people. Big, big struggle. And I recommend that they chew gum. And I know some people think chewing gum is rude. I didn’t know that until I started making this recommendation. Some people think chewing gum is. Is rude, but, like, minty gum in your mouth. Exactly. It stops you from eating, it stops you from snacking.

And that’s. I think that’s great. Like, you know, it’s five calories. It doesn’t hurt anybody. I don’t think it’s rude. I mean, unless someone’s, like, smacking their gum, I don’t think it’s rude, but I think it helps people to not just do that constant hand to mouth that we all do every time we get around a bowl of chips and salsa, which is a whole separate type.

Alice:

Something minty in general, that it doesn’t have to be gum, but if I can have something minty, then a lot of times, that’s all right. I’m good. I don’t need to be eating anything for some reason. It just suppresses that for me.

Dani:

Giacomo, through his whole prep. So the last time before that Giacomo prepped, he really ate. He chewed a lot of gum. Like, too much gum. Like I said, you could take this too far, and he definitely took it too far. He could, like, eat two packs of gum in a day, and I was like, your stomach? Oh, my God, that’s so much artificial sweetener in one day.

But, yeah, his stomach sounded pretty sick. And honestly, I think that’s, like, 160 calories in gumden. Like, but so this past prep, he didn’t want to do that again. He learned his lesson. He got these. They look like toothpicks. You can buy them at whole foods. They look like toothpicks, and they come in tea tree flavor and cinnamon flavor. And, I mean, he looks like a hillbilly while he’s chewing on this tea tree toothpick, but it works for him.

It helps with, like, the oral fixation, and it’s got that super fresh taste to it, like mint that makes you not want to eat at all. It’s kind of brilliant, actually. Even though he does totally, totally look like a hillbilly while he’s chewing on it.

Alice:

Yeah.

Dani:

Yeah. I don’t know.

Alice:

I like to have, again, I like to be prepared. Usually I’m so. I’m super simple. I can just be happy with sliced cucumbers and hummus. And if I have, like, my finger food there, I’m okay.

Dani:

Yeah, I like finger food, but I also think for a lot of people, it’s almost like a social anxiety thing. Like, they feel awkward or uncomfortable in a social situation, and having food gives them something to do. I think that’s really common. So, yeah, bringing something like cucumbers and hummus is a great idea, but I also recommend people do not eat directly out of a bowl. Put it on a plate. Like, get a little plate or even a cocktail napkin, depending on where you’re at, and put

some of what you want on the plate and then just eat off the plate. Because I think when you’re just eating hand to mouth from these big serving bowls, you don’t realize how much you are eating. Like, there’s no way to quantify it at the end, but at least if you put it on a plate, you visually can see how much it is and either mentally keep track of it or actually try to track it, like log it. So that’s another strategy that I use.

Alice:

Coming back to just knowing yourself. Like, for me, that doesn’t work because I’m just gonna. As soon as I start having some food that’s on the table that I know there’s more of, I’m just. It’s all I’m going to be thinking about. I almost, like, obsess over it. And so if I’m going to have, either avoid it or if I’m going to have some, I wait until the very end to actually eat it so that there’s either left over or we’re leaving very soon. Something along those lines.

Dani:

Yeah, this, uh, so I used to use this. I mean, I still use it, but it was talking about binge eating specifically before. It was a strategy that I would talk to people that struggled with binge eating. And it was the four ds. I don’t know if you remember hearing me talk about this, um, but we’ve kind of talked about a lot of those tactics here, even though we’re not talking about binge eating, we’re talking about avoiding temptations.

But I think a lot of those strategies still stand. So it was delay, which we talked about. Distract, which we talked about. I feel like what you were just mentioning, like, I don’t start eating till later, is kind of like disarm. Disarming would be that, for example, or just getting the food out of your house. Like, if it’s in your house, sending it home with people, the leftovers, then it’s not there. You can’t be tempted by something that isn’t even there anymore. So disarming it,

and the last one, I think, is more extreme. Back to the binge eating case, but destroy. Yeah, but I mean, you can do that if you have enough leftovers to feed an army. And you know that the only place that’s going to go is you eventually. You don’t have to keep it. Like, I know there’s a lot of shame in throwing

away food, but I feel like you’re going to throw it away in the trash or you’re going to throw it away in your body, and neither of those is good, but one causes less harm to you.

Alice:

So, like, for thanksgiving, you know, I’ll try and push the food leftovers on anyone else. You know, please take whatever you want. Once it’s done, I’ll make myself, you know, a plate or two again. Put that away. Anything that’s left over, I don’t keep it.

Dani:

hmm. Yeah. It’s a smart move because I think people overcook for the holidays, especially my mom, God bless her. I love her so much. It was supposed to be this tiny little Thanksgiving with just her, me, and giacomo. It ended up being a couple more people, but she made so much food. So much food. Like, ten pounds of potatoes. In no world would you make ten pounds of potatoes for three people.

But it’s just like that holiday mindset of extravagance and indulgence. So I gave, like, all of it away to the people that were here. Like, here, take this home with you. Um, and she’s like, why are you doing that? I was like, because I don’t want to eat mashed potatoes for every day for the next two weeks, and I will feel bad just watching it rot in the fridge. So I’m going to send it to people that I know are going to eat it.

But then I also made three pies, and it was supposed to be three of us. I nixed a few of the ones I was going to make because I was like, we cannot, in good conscience, have more pies than people. So cut it down to three. But still ended up giving a lot of those away to people to take home as well. So, yeah, I think it’s also worth.

Alice:

Talking about just sort of setting up your kitchen for success as well. This is hard when you live with people. You know, sometimes you have to have a conversation, hey, can you hide your snacks, but just, you know, know your. Again, know yourself, know your trigger foods. I can’t have crackers in the pantry because if I have a moment of weakness, that whole sleeve is gone.

Dani:

hmm.

Alice:

Yeah. Things. And some people that might be chips, for some people that might be cookies. You know, just sort of. You still need some treats, but ones that you have willpower around.

Dani:

Yeah. And that might change, like what that is. For example, if you. The crackers might not be a problem if you were in a caloric surplus because you’re not that hungry, that you feel like you have to reach for something all the time. But as you get further and further into this prep, foods that maybe six months ago you were totally fine around might suddenly be like, okay, I need to not have this one around right now.

Um, the key is, this is my opinion. The key is to not look at that food as bad. Right? That food is not bad. This is just not the time for that food. And then when the prep is over or the diet is over, you got to bring it back. You have to reintroduce that food back. Otherwise your brain is going to start to think that it’s that food that is bad. Not that you just weren’t in a good place to have that food around at the moment.

Alice:

That makes sense for sure. And just having something, again, this is planning ahead, having something that you can grab in a moment of weakness. You know, maybe that’s your meal prep. Maybe that’s a piece of fruit on the counter that you actually do enjoy. Not that, you know, we don’t want to be looking at the fruit and being like, ugh, I don’t want that. Right. Something that is, you know, counter stable or, you know, already pre made that you can just grab in the refrigerator.

Dani:

Yeah, I don’t really have anything like that right this second. I normally. Well, I guess I kind of do. I have the kashi go cinnamon cereal and that if I’m ever like, oh, my God, I’m so hungry and I need to eat something right now. I just make a little bowl of that with some berries, and it’s like, it’s got protein, it’s got fiber. I pour some soy milk on it so it’s like, got some volume to it as well.

And it’s like the perfect little snack. But I also would keep the nougo slim mint chocolate bars in my freezer. And then I would eat those like a. Like a frozen girl scout cookie. What are they? Grasshoppers? Thin mints. Thin mints? Yeah. Yeah. So those were some of the ones I used to keep around, but I don’t have any right now. But I did have to tell my mom to stop buying these particular cookies. She was buying these cookies for the kids. For those just listening, I’m using quotation

marks here. She bought them for the kids, but the kids didn’t like them, but I do. So the kids wouldn’t eat them. And then I was like, having to every day and I was like, I don’t need to be eating these. This is not. It’s not necessary. Basically, I like them.

But then she’d see the empty container eventually and be like, oh, I’m going to get more for the kids. And finally I had to be like, stop buying them. The only one eating them is me, and I don’t want to be eating them, so please stop buying.

Alice:

Cereal. Is another hard one for me as well. But I gotta have it in my life. I have to make room for it almost every day because otherwise I will feel deprived.

Dani:

Yep. And there’s certain stuff that’s just like that. I have to make sure even at the end of my prep, even when my calories are, like, abysmal, at the end, peanut butter stays, like, I gotta keep. And most people, peanut butter is one of the first things to go, uh, because it becomes one of those trigger foods we were just talking about.

But I need to keep peanut butter in the. Every day. It’s better in the off season when I can have lots of it, but even when I’m in prep, it stays in. Might be my only fat source at a certain point, but I’m keeping it.

Alice:

Exactly. You’re taking the words out of my mouth. I was thinking, like, at the end of the day, I will often have, like, a little bit of fat left. And, I mean, I just need a couple of. A little bit, a few grams, and I just go for the peanut butter every time. And that’s the only time I use it. I don’t. Peanut butter isn’t a weakness for me, but if I do, I have the speculous spread from Trader Joe’s. That’s a problem.

Dani:

Yes. That is actually my backstage food at competitions. Like, I have rice cakes and I’m putting speculus and sea salt on my rice cakes. And it’s just. It’s ridiculous. It’s like pure bliss right before you go on stage. And then I have to give the jar away, like, immediate, because I’ll probably will have another show in two weeks or something.

And I’m like, I give it to Jack and I’m just like, please put this in a place that I will never find it until two weeks from now when I was back. Yeah, he would. He would. He totally would. But, you know, I know a lot of the stuff we’re talking about sounds crazy, right? Like hiding food. And. And it is. I mean, it’s not something that you should do all of the time, but sometimes you’re in a position where that’s what you have to do to reach a particular goal that you’re trying really hard to

reach. When a goal is super important to you, sometimes you have to go to a place that other people might say is kind of nuts in order to accomplish it. Again, we toe this line of, like, is this sane? Is this disordered? Like, what are we doing here again? I don’t think anybody should live like that forever. But trying to reach a goal is much harder. Like, the things you have to do are much more challenging than maintaining that goal. Um, with the exception of prep, because we’re not

maintaining that goal. You get there, you do your thing, you get out. Um, but like, for people that have a lot of weight to lose the journey to lose that weight is going to be harder in terms of the things you

have to do. The amount, the amount you have to eat, the amount you have to move, it’s going to be harder than once you get there. Maintaining it, mentally maintaining it is way harder, in my opinion, but that’s a different story. Talk about that another day.

Alice:

What about healthy eating habits? You think that that’s appropriate for here?

Dani:

Healthy eating habits as far as what?

Alice:

As far as, like, avoiding temptation and getting ahead of temptation. Like, you know, making sure that you’re actually sitting at a table and not in front of a screen and always eating in the same place, not eating at your desk.

Dani:

Yeah. And I think probably the most important is just making sure that you’re, like you said, getting ahead of it. For a lot of people, getting ahead of it is just making sure you’re eating enough earlier in the day. Because like you said, at the end of the day, that’s when it’s the hardest. I would agree. Same for me, and I think it’s the same for most people.

The end of the, no one’s like, oh, my God, at breakfast, I just lose it. Like, nobody says that it’s always at the end of the day, but a lot of people, I think, are just setting themselves up to be very easily tempted by under eating the entire first half of the day. And they think they’re doing themselves a favor by eating like this light breakfast and like a salad for lunch.

And then if they even have lunch and then they come home and they’re like, well, I have to eat light at breakfast and lunch because I eat like an animal at dinner instead of thinking I eat like an animal at dinner because I’m always eating this super light breakfast and lunche. They’ve got that backwards. So making sure you’re getting enough protein, fiber, healthy fats, vegetables earlier in the day.

And just like you said, the more regular those meals can be in terms of where they’re at, when they’re at how they’re enjoyed, the easier your evening is going to be. Not saying you’re never going to have a problem, but it will be much easier.

Alice:

Yeah, I definitely take sort of a middle path with that because again, in the evening, I’m not going to

want to have my vegetables. I’m really not even going to want to have my fruits. So although I am having a very, you know, like, healthy breakfast and the next two meals, that’s just my routine. I’m also including, like, you know, I’m having oats, I’m having yogurt with my breakfast.

You know, some things that are more filling. They’re still healthy. For my lunches, I’m going to have, you know, I’m gonna always include sweet potatoes because I’m obsessed with sweet potatoes. They make me happy and they make me so full. They’re so satiating. The third meal usually has some kind of beans in it. Again, super satiating foods, you know, then by the end of the day, I’m having these cravings, but I’m not usually hungry.

I’m not actually hungry. So that’s the game changer for me. Is that okay? I’ve had. I’ve been filled up with all the good things, and still it’s things that I enjoy. It’s healthy foods that I enjoy. I love my protein. I’m obsessed with protein. I know you hate them.

Dani:

But as long as other people like them and they help them reach their goals, that I’m a fan, just not personally.

Alice:

Right, right.

Dani:

But, yeah, no, that’s a really great point, is making sure, you know, some people say, and I actually don’t know if there’s any studies to support this, but, um, people say that certain cravings are coming from certain deficiencies. Like, oh, if you’re deficient in this, you’ll crave this thing. I don’t know. I don’t know if any of that is true.

Um, but I think it’s best regardless to just make sure you’re getting a wide variety of vitamins and minerals, fruits and vegetables, fiber and healthy fats. Like, all that good stuff in general. And I think most cravings will decrease after that. Yeah, but I think, yeah, going to.

Alice:

Wegmans and getting Wegmans has gigantic bags of frozen veggies, and they’re mixed veggies. They’re way, like, I’ve been going to whole foods because I love 365 brand. I’m getting the same kind. I’m getting, like, the broccoli, cauliflower, carrot thing. Now at Wegmans, they have so much more variety than that, and that’s really helping me,

like, up my nutrition game. And I love their, their combinations. They’re really great price. So if you can find stuff like that super convenient, you know, lasts forever.

Dani:

I’m a huge fan of frozen vegetables. Like, huge. In fact, I have to, like, force myself to buy fresh vegetables because eating frozen vegetables is just so much easier. And it’s like they’re picked right when it’s ripe. Like, they, when they test them, frozen vegetables tend to have the highest amount of nutrients in them. Like, I’m all, I’m all for them, but, yeah, I haven’t seen any big.

I’ll have to keep my eye open for big bags like that. But we don’t have Wegmans, but we do have another. I started going to a different grocery store recently just because it’s always empty. I don’t know why, but it’s always empty. Probably because the other grocery store is cheaper, but they have a much bigger variety. So I’ll look and see if they have something like that.

Let’s see. So another thing that I think people struggle with when it comes to avoiding temptation, especially in the winter months, is avoiding the temptation to not exercise or not move their body. This one, I think, is super tough. I mean, they’re both tough, but, man, being in New England and being this cold and, I mean, it’s 350 and I’m like, oh, boy, I hope we don’t lose the light by the time we’re done talking in 20 minutes.

Like, it’s so hard after that time to get off your butt. It’s of course, the best thing that you could possibly do when that’s happening, but it is so hard, and that couch is the most tempting thing. So what would you say to somebody who struggles with that temptation?

Alice:

This is a harder one for me because my OCD really, really encourages me to continue going to the gym. But for me, I’m constantly, I’m very goal oriented. So I’m just going over the big goals of my life. I’m going over to the big priorities, whether they be fitness related or not. And I just remind myself, like, this is what I really want, this is what. And it’s what makes me happy.

Like, lifting genuinely makes me happy. I know that’s kind of weird to some people, but I know that I’m going to feel so much better when I get there. I know that I’m going to feel so much better when I’m done. I’m going to have a good time when I’m there. I can just usually remind myself of all those things and really, really just get there, no matter what.

Dani:

That’s awesome. I can’t do that. Everything you just said is true. I love lifting. Lifting genuinely makes me happy. I’ll feel better. I know I’ll feel better when it’s done, but still, like that, you know, it’s like an object in motion stays in motion and an object at rest stays at rest. Well, at that point, I’m very much an object at rest, and I’m trying to find the momentum to get up and do it.

Now I do it. I do do it. And the way that I do it, I just trick my, I try to trick my brain. Basically the whole time. I tell myself I’m just doing this thing. Like, we’re just going to put on our workout clothes. Um, pro tip. If that’s all you wear, then you don’t have to change your clothes to go to the gym. But I’ll be

like, yeah, I’m just putting my shoes on.

I’m just going to put my coat on, and I’m just going to walk to the cardinal, and I will trick myself to get to the gym by saying, we’re just doing this thing. Even if I don’t go to the gym, if I’m just exercising in the gym downstairs, I will say I’m just going to walk on the treadmill for five minutes. And five minutes comes and I’m like, I can do ten or 15.

This is no big deal. So once you reach a certain point in the, uh, pattern in the routine, I guess, then it’s so much easier. But you got to find where that sticking point is for yourself. For me, it’s literally just getting outside because it’s so cold and so dark and miserable. But if I can get my butt in the car and get the car out of the driveway, then I’m. I’ve done it. I have already won at that point. So I think whatever mind game you have to play with yourself to do that, I’m all for it.

I would also encourage people, I haven’t done this yet, but I’m realizing I’m going to this year, get a remote. If you live in a cold place, get a remote, car starter, game changer, because then you get in the car and it’s already warm because that’s the worst part, is getting in the car and then realizing you’re going to. I’m still going to be freezing my ass off by the time I get to the gym, even with my heat on full blast. So I don’t know.

Alice:

That’s just gratitude. I try and I try and think, you know, how thankful I am to just have the luxury of going to the gym and taking care of my body. And I don’t know, that’s very motivating to me as well.

Dani:

Yeah, that is a good one. I mean, I like to practice gratitude, period. And it’s such a cheesy thing to say. Like, I always feel cheesy when I’m talking about it. But studies have shown it is, like, one of the best things that you can do for your mental health, period, is to practice gratitude. Any kind of gratitude. But, yeah, Athena talks about this a lot, too.

Like, being. She’s like, if you can’t think of anything else, like, be grateful for the fact that you have legs that carry you around all day or, you know, that’s not even true for everybody. But, you know, everybody can find something, I think, to be grateful for, and it’s very, very helpful. I also think finding other ways to move is important because, like I said, that couch gets real inviting.

It becomes very tempting. And you mentioned, like, cleaning your kitchen. For me, same thing. Like, cleaning is. I don’t even like to clean, but once I start, I’m just going to keep going. But it’s movement. Like, a lot of it is moving. Sometimes when I’m, like, cleaning the house or doing the floors in this house, I’ll have, like, 7000 steps by 10:00 a.m. just from sweeping and mopping and doing all of that stuff.

And it’s not like exercise, exercise, but it is movement. And I would be willing to bet that if we just had a step count on everybody in general. Like, everybody’s step count goes down in the winter. So anything you can do to keep your body moving more during these cold months, I think is really helpful,

for sure.

Alice:

I think my hardest. The biggest challenge for me right now because of the cold is I’m not getting outside to do my regular walks. Cause it’s so cold, and I am obsessed with being outside. It’s very important for my mental health. I still have to make a point to do it when it’s cold, but I’m not gonna be as inclined to do it.

So I do have. Thankfully, I have an elliptical in the house. And if I have to get on that thing, which I don’t look forward to, then, and I think you’ve mentioned this before, I’ll watch, like, the trashiest tv.

Dani:

Yep.

Alice:

And I’ll have them in. I’ll have it, like, in headphones so no one else can hear this nonsense.

Dani:

Yep, absolutely.

Alice:

That’s the only time I watch the trashy tv.

Dani:

I’ll pick a show or a movie or something that I really want to see. And I will be like, you are only allowed to watch this when you are on the treadmill because. Same thing. Like, I. I have goaled myself to get outside every day this winter, but, I mean, that. That could be five minutes, because today it just. Walking from my car to an appointment, I felt like my hands go numb because then I was like, oh, no, it’s already started.

So, yeah, for me, that activity is generally going to be on the treadmill. Although another thing I’m considering this winter is possibly taking up, like, hot yoga. Hear me out. Bikram is garbage. I will die on that hill. I don’t know. Have you ever taken bikram yoga?

Alice:

I haven’t.

Dani:

It’s disgusting. I hate it so much. It’s. First of all, it’s always the same class. You’re always doing the same postures in the same order. The teachers have a script, and it’s like a bizarro script. They say weird stuff like, oh, and then fold yourself in half like a ham sandwich. Like, it’s so weird. But the reason it’s disgusting, aside from, I guess, there’s a lot of terrible allegations against this beak room guy. The floor is carpeted.

Alice:

Ew.

Dani:

It is a hot yoga room, and it’s carpeted. I’m out. I’m not. Not doing it. But if it’s not beacon, there are other yoga studios that have hot yoga that are different classes. They just happen to be in a heated room. They can be really good classes and not carpeted floor. And I think that’s probably a great. That’s got to feel so good in the winter when you’re just, like, cold to your bones. So I’m considering trying to find a place around here that does that but not begram.

Alice:

That’s a good thought. I like that because normally I’m like, ew, hot yoga. No, thank you. Because for some reason, like, I recently. I pretty recently moved over the summer, as you know. And for some reason, all the gyms over here seem to be keeping the temperature higher. It’s like, mid. It’s like 72, 73 degrees in the gym. And I’m like, what is wrong with you guys? I need, like, 67 degrees in my gym because I am just covered in sweat. I am dripping, and it’s just so disgusting.

Dani:

You gotta come to my gyms. My house is 67 degrees. My gym is probably, like, 63 degrees. So I don’t even. This last time we went to the gym, I didn’t even take my hoodie off. I literally do my entire workout like this because I’m just so cold, but I’m nothing. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I get sweaty if I’m, like, running, but if I’m just lifting, I don’t sweat at all unless I’m mixed. I wish. I wish that I could generate that kind of body heat, but I can’t.

Alice:

But, yeah, I never used to. It just sort of happened, like mid bulk. It’s like a light switch went off.

Dani:

Yeah, that happens to Giacomo so bad. So, so bad. He turns into a furnace in the off season. Like, I can’t even sleep near him because he just actually, we’re going to his mom’s house tomorrow and we have to share, like, a full size bed, and it’s just gonna be the worst. He’s just radiating heat off of him. Yeah, hopefully. Hopefully not. When was that?

That he slapped me. He, like, smacked me right in the face. That had to be in Florida. I remember. Yeah. Is when we were in Florida, he rolled over and just flat out hit me in the face. And that’s not even close to the first time, but, um, where was I going with that? Oh, when he’s really lean, he’s like, doesn’t sweat at all. Same thing with snoring.

He snores like crazy when he’s, like, in his off season, at the end of his build, but then he doesn’t snore at all when he’s super lean. Bodies are weird. Bodies are super weird. Well, I think we did a really good job covering this topic. I’m really glad that you came on for it. I don’t think that I have anything else to add to this topic today. But if any of our listeners have any cool tips or tricks that you guys use to help you avoid temptations, either during the holidays or any other

time of year, shoot us an email. Coacheganproteins.com dot. We love to hear your feedback on the podcast. And you guys have probably heard me say a few times, like, podcasts are weird because you never know how many people are listening, but they’ve just recently, like, changed a bunch of metrics, and now we kind of can see how many people are listening.

And it’s like twice as many people this year as it was last year. So we were trying to figure out, like, does it even make a difference if we post every week? Like, is anybody even listening to this? But I was able to find some metrics and I was like, oh, yeah, people are liking that. We’re posting once a week so guess we’ll keep doing that same thing with the YouTube channel.

So exciting stuff. All right, I guess I’m going to wrap us up right here. Okay. All right, everybody, thank you so much for tuning into another episode of vegan proteins muscles by Brussels radio. If you are interested in any kind of coaching, whether that’s a group coaching with our muscles by Brussels membership, or one on one coaching with coaches like coach Alice here, feel free to reach out to us veganproteins.com. you just click on the one on one coaching, and you can fill

out an application right there, and you will get a video message back from myself or Giacomo within the day. So definitely go check that out. You can also find us on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, pretty much everywhere. And if you’re not following Alice, you should follow her. It’s vegan proteins Alice, right? Yeah. Okay, awesome. That’s it. All right, well, thanks so much for tuning in. My name is Dani.

Alice:

I’m Alice, and we will talk to you soon.