Member Podcast: Tiff the Pilot
Hi, my name is Tiffany and for those of you that have no idea who I am here is a little bit of background. I am a long haul pilot for British Airways flying the Boeing seven seventy seven for the last seventeen years. I have been flying for a grand total of twenty two years having been trained by Aer Lingus. I was made redundant after nineeleven and then flew for easyJet for three years before joining BA. In trying to decide on what focus on for this podcast, I put a post on Instagram to see what people might be interested in.
Speaker 1:So before I dive into the main questions I received, here are a few answers to some of the more random questions. Before flying, I did a law degree at Newcastle University. With holidays and work trips, I have visited around 65 countries and have also lived outside of England. I've lived in Canada twice, Vancouver and Edmonton, and also Indiana in The US and Guernsey in the Channel Islands. I appeared in a Green Cross Code video when I was eight, and yes, I did have a LEGO Star Wars theme woven into my wedding in the form of the invitations, table names, place settings and favours.
Speaker 1:You can blame the husband for that one. The main questions I have been asked however have been focused on my nutrition and training how I stay motivated, balance my love for the slightly higher calorific foods, my goals and the effect of my work pattern and jet lag on my consistency. Firstly, I should add a disclaimer that I have huge periods of not managing my nutrition and training in the way I know I should. I am definitely someone that has a good level of knowledge from years of training and listening to experts explain what I need to do, but like most people I suffer from periods of self sabotage. I'm pretty damn great at giving advice and less good at taking it or doing what I know I should.
Speaker 1:So I can tell you about how I do things when I'm smashing life, but I can also tell you how I deal with times when I certainly have fallen off the wagon and what I'm doing about trying to be more consistent. Let's look at motivation for starters. I for one am a huge advocate of not relying on it for macro tracking or training. For me it needs to be commitment over motivation. I have never been one of those people who loves to train and jumps out of bed looking forward to hitting the gym.
Speaker 1:But to me, leading a fit and healthy lifestyle is incredibly important, and when you do a job that is as unhealthy in so many ways as mine, I have to be committed to achieve it. In order to do that, I need to have a plan in place which, be it macros or training, I will stick to more often than not. This means that when life gets in the way, I have a structure to support me that will keep me accountable, but is not so rigid as to run my life or prevent me from deviating and enjoying any last minute plans. I start with my why, which changes every so often as my goal changes, and there is a really good exercise for drilling down on this called the seven levels deep. As an initial WHY of why I want to lose weight is not generally strong enough to motivate when things get tough.
Speaker 1:Drilling down as to the deep seated root WHY is much more beneficial. This year I had my wedding to focus on and knowing that I wanted to look and feel a certain way on the day and when I look back on the photos was a lot more motivating than just I want to be a certain number on the scales. This helped to determine that I would be on fat loss macros from from a good six months out so they weren't too severe and also allowed for periods of coming off them back to maintenance for times like my hen do and also meant I was able to train as I did not lack nourishment. I also signed up to several half marathons and so my training became run focused rather than strength focused. I will always run a cardio and strength programme side by side, but my focus dictates how much time I spend on each.
Speaker 1:So really hone in on that why and ideally have it displayed somewhere so you can remind yourself of it when motivation is low and the commitment to it will remind you why you are going to show up for yourself. Once you've dug down as to your why, you want to stick to a training or macros plan, it's then really important to look at the best way to achieve it. I love a structured plan and the best way to develop one of these is by seeking the help from those more qualified. As even when you think you're doing the right thing, we can sometimes come unstuck. I elected to follow a half marathon training plan this year, but it transpired after following it for nearly six months that I was overtraining, as it was designed with males in mind.
Speaker 1:But this is where I am happy to take advice from the coaches I have access to, and change up where it's needed. For anyone who wants to improve on their performance, then you need to progressively overload your training. In running, to achieve your first five ks, 10 ks or half marathon, a plan is the most efficient and effective way to get there. And then once there if you want to improve your time, again just going out and running will only get you so far. Interval training is needed mixed with tempos and longer runs.
Speaker 1:For anyone wanting to gain strength, and I am a huge advocate for women lifting, it's incredibly important at any age, but especially as you approach perimenopause and menopause. Doing a class like body pump has benefits but they are very limited. You need to be tracking your workouts and that progressive overload be it weight, tempo or reps this is how you get stronger. I am also someone who loves to see those numbers rise and again, where following a structured programme, this will enable you to do this. So I have my why.
Speaker 1:Initially run a half marathon, then it changed to run a sub two hour half marathon. When I return to being lift focused after my next half marathon, my why is maybe achieving an unassisted chin up or pull up and then increasing the number I can do. Being able to deadlift twice my body weight, hip thrust three times my body weight etc. These then also tie into my macros as they will help me determine if I want to be in fat loss, maintenance or gain. I have learnt over the years and especially more recently that even if I want to lose a few pounds I need to be in a much smaller deficit to fuel my training than I have in the past.
Speaker 1:Only having a deficit of around 150 calories a day means although my fat loss is super slow, I have more energy for training, life in general, and I am much more likely to track on days when I think I'm going to splurge as the higher macros in the first place mean my splurges don't seem as bad. Notice I use the word splurge not binge because I think binge has much more negative connotations. I have also found this means I am less likely to hit the F it button and think will I've ruined the day now, I might as well just keep going. I've been well known to do this in the past and then just give up tracking for the day, which means I have absolutely no accountability for how far that splurge can go. But recently with higher macros, I've been determined to track even when I'm going over them.
Speaker 1:This has helped this has helped them stop from getting too out of hand. And I do love calorific food. Most people know my love for Biscoff and Pleasecakes and I will have them and can have them. So again, I will track and if I go over, I go over. I just make sure I enjoy them.
Speaker 1:In the past, I would eat them and feel guilty, which kind of ruins the enjoyment at the time and afterwards. So now I try to accept that if I'm going to do it, it better be worth it and it won't ruin all my progress. And funnily enough, this mentality has meant I'm actually consuming less as I will track, not overdo it as much, but yes, occasionally it still happens. Really enjoy the bit I have and as I don't have as much, I don't feel sick and full of self loathing, which would then lead to extremes of macros throughout the week. As my overindulgence would then lead to major macro restrictions, which then had an effect on my energy and meant my workouts weren't as effective, and I needed to stop this cycle.
Speaker 1:This was often the case when I was working, as it was harder to track. I would be tired. The different time zones, long days and nights out of bed flying meant I would be consuming more and not even always food that I really enjoyed to make it worthwhile. I would then be restricting my calories at home as it was easier to track and access food, but this was the time I needed to have more energy for working out as I often did my big lifting at home, so they were completely out of kilter. Raising my macros, which are still in a small deficit, has meant I can still eat a little more when working and I'm tracking all the time now, even if it involves a lot of estimating, and then when I come home I am strict with the macros, but only in regards to hitting protein accurately and maintaining that higher level of calories rather than feeling guilty and dropping them.
Speaker 1:Bad decisions still happen especially after a night flight when I'm tired but I have consistently tracked recently which is giving me a better idea of my habits around work and help me retain a more consistent energy levels for my workout. So my why for macro tracking is not so much that number on the scale when I weigh myself, that's more secondary data. For me it's about fuelling my workouts and life in general as a forty four perimenopausal woman. As an aside, I've been asked how I manage my macros when at work and out of the country, so when flying I often try and take my own food, especially when leaving The UK as I can prepare it at home. I make huge protein heavy salads and take plenty of low calorie snacks, so I feel I have snack options I can eat because I do tend to eat when I'm bored on a long flight.
Speaker 1:But if I've allowed myself snack options that fit my macros, I'll be less tempted to eat the chocolate and crisps on board. Down route depends on the country. I try and avoid the buffets because all you can eat, you just keep going. So I tend to take my own breakfast. I carry protein porridge with me that I can just add water to and it's always worth having in your bag because oats are something you can take into any country.
Speaker 1:I often carry protein powder bars and rice cakes as well. But if I am eating out, be it in the hotel or in restaurants, I will try and prioritise protein first, and a lot of places have calories on menus which is actually a really good way of helping you make better choices. There are still times when I'll have, you know, a few alcoholic drinks and all the food seems an excellent idea, but these days I will just try and track it, accept it and move on. Because with my renewed commitment to tracking every day, again, it's helping me be more consistent with better choices. But also sometimes I just accept I don't want to make that better choice.
Speaker 1:I want that indulgent food. But again, I just track it and accept it and enjoy it. My motivation for my workouts again comes in the form of my why. As I said, this year was half marathon focused with strength ticking over in the background as I never completely stopped doing one or the other. Whatever I am doing, I will look at my diary for the week, work, social commitments, then I take the workouts I need to achieve and put them in my diary.
Speaker 1:For some people, this may be right down to the exact time they need to do the workout. I know people with more set work patterns, kids, etc. This may be more useful. For me, it just goes down on the day I have to do it. If I have a day off, it can happen whenever, but if I'm flying and say it's an afternoon report, I know it needs to get done in the morning.
Speaker 1:I also take into account where I'm flying to. It may be somewhere that lends itself to a long run, but for weather or safety, if it's a choice of long treadmill run or gym, I may say, well I'll hit the long run at home so when I can get outside but I'll use the hotel gym for weights this week or if I'm weights focused I may know that that hotel gym does not have a squat rack and barbell so it's easier to hit my weights at home and I therefore may have to accept that it's going to be a treadmill run. But by putting the workout down, which includes the specific workout, I don't have to think about it, I just get on and do it. A structured plan also means I know, say it's an interval run, then I need to know how to fuel myself. I can go into a weights workout much closer to eating than sprint intervals for instance, and these days I never train fasted having learnt how important it is for a woman to have some fuel on board.
Speaker 1:This takes so much pressure off any decision making during the week and stops procrastinate my any procrastination. Yes, things can change and I have days where my energy is just not where where it needs to be, so I may switch my workouts around. But I also know that they all have to be ticked off by the end of the week and I am somebody who loves ticking off my to do list. So the big thing is your why. Drill down on why you are working out, what you want to achieve and then how you're going to go about it.
Speaker 1:This also has the benefit of being much more time efficient. The same goes for your macros. Why are you going to hit the macros you have set? And if they are fat loss, think about not having such a severe deficit. If you find you're continually going over them or you just don't have enough energy for what you want to achieve.
Speaker 1:I had a quick question re jet lag. I don't generally spend enough time in places to really suffer from jet lag per se, it's more the nights out of bed flying that leave me tired, disrupt my sleep and all the great side effects that go with that. But if you are travelling, then try and switch to local time ASAP. Even when you start the flight, switch to local time of where you're going. Think about meal times for the destination, and try and tie them in with that.
Speaker 1:Obviously, sometimes you have to eat when they feed you on board, but do your best with it, drink plenty of water, and yes, unfortunately, not too much alcohol as it has huge dehydrating effects as well. It usually takes one day per hour of time change to adjust and it's normally easier going west as generally it just involves staying up later when you first land, but just be kind to yourself. Light exercise such as walking is great and get outside and see daylight when you first wake as this really helps with resetting your circadian rhythm to the local time. If you're following a training plan, again have thought about putting in any lower intensity workouts on those first few days as you're adapting. As I said at the start, I have been a great one for do as I say, not as I do, but I am always working on being that bit better and taking my own and all of my coaches advice.
Speaker 1:I think we're all a work in progress and there are times to be strict with yourself and times to cut yourself some slack. But this also should not be a free pass to give in to all your food and lying on the sofa desires as we also deserve to be the best version of ourselves we can be and that will involve getting comfortable being uncomfortable. Thanks very much for listening.
