Well, I’ve fallen off of the wagon. I’ve not been eating the healthiest.

Ice cream from Kovener’s Korner has become my new best friend. Every night, I just want to eat ice cream. I’ve just been so hungry lately. It’s hard to manage this hunger with eating healthy and trying to lose weight.

Usually, every afternoon around 3 to 4 p.m., I am starving. It’s hard to know what to do with this need to eat in the afternoon when I need to go workout around 5 or 6 p.m. I can’t eat dinner before I do my afternoon/evening workouts because I’m too full and it upsets my stomach while training. But if I eat a snack, I feel like I’m still hungry.

I finally consulted with a friend and person who knows a ton about nutrition. Joy Grout is a local personal trainer, and I’ve worked with her before on eating healthy and losing weight. She also has helped me with agility, strength and improving my running speed.

Joy gave me a ton of recommendations but mostly told me that I’m not eating enough carbohydrates, especially on days when I have two workouts a day or really long workouts. She said that I need to start my day out with a large breakfast like with a big bowl of oats mixed with quinoa and add in things like almonds, raisins and dried cranberries.

Joy also recommended that I eat a snack in the early afternoon like an almond butter and banana sandwich on whole grain bread. Wow! OK. Those diet changes are delicious.

Since I’ve changed this, my hunger has been much more manageable. I am feeling more fueled for my days. I have been eating a lot more carbs in the morning and allowing myself a bigger afternoon snack. I try to eat a smaller dinner and keep my breakfast as the largest meal of my day.

I also have been struggling with eating on the weekends. Usually, I will have my long ride on Saturdays (about 50 to 60 miles) followed by a 20- to 30-minute run. On Sundays, I have my long run, which is averaging about two hours (approximately 12 to 13 miles).

On those days, I am ravenous. Because I burn so many calories, I allow myself to eat about whatever I want. However, I’m finding that I have a hard time getting my eating back under control during the weekdays. I am trying to get a hold of it again.

I had stopped tracking what I was eating for a bit, but I’m back at it again. I have got to find that balance again. It’s tough, though. We have three containers of ice cream in my fridge right now. I just can’t kick that habit.

I think it’s going to be the one allowance I make. I’m working so hard doing all of this training, and I think I deserve some ice cream. I’ll probably single-handedly keep Kovener’s Korner open this summer.

Stacey Parisi is a Seymour native and resident. Her columns will appear regularly in The Tribune as she trains to compete in Ironman Louisville 2015. Send comments to [email protected].