We all have the best of intentions when it comes to our food, intellectually knowing that ‘we are what we eat’ and thus we should not eat crap. So why is it so difficult to follow that path?! I’ll admit, this has been the hardest part of ‘My 8 Weeks to Fit’.
Planning and Prep
Most weekends, we tend to cook big batches of stew, soup, grilled chicken, brown rice and the like. Love the slow cooker! So Monday and Tuesday are pretty much covered with left overs. Then the trouble begins! If I don’t have some good options in the fridge, it’s tempting to eat a piece of toast with peanut butter, make pasta, or eat chips. Did I mention I love starchy carbs?!
I’ve found over the past 3-4 weeks that I need a bit of a plan for each day ahead. Make sure the 1st two meals of the day are covered. Cook up some steel cut oatmeal (lasts for a few breakfasts) and have that with almond milk, a little honey, slivered almonds – yum. Prep a simple salad with avocado for satiation. I’m going to the green grocer almost every other day. Yummy things to keep the ‘salad’ varied and interesting – like arugula, kale, zucchini, beets, chick peas, avocado, pepitas, pecans, cherry tomatoes, guacamole, a little hummus on the side.
Snacks and Protein
Having a stash of healthy snacks is also key: those small tins of flavoured tuna, boiled eggs, the ‘Oh She Glows’ Perfect Bars (I make a double batch, they keep well in the freezer), hummus and Mary’s crackers, oranges, nuts, an apple or banana. Smoothies are also great for mid-day (thanks for the recipes, Laura!). I have yet to try Kathy’s Kale Chips, sounds easy, maybe tonight!
As I’m lifting weights 3x a week, I need to keep an eye on getting enough protein to help the muscles repair and grow stronger. I make sure to have a protein shake after the gym, and try to consume 70 to 80 grams daily. Chicken and fish are my ‘go to’ meats (altho I don’t like left-over fish). Eggs practically every day. Chick peas and lentils are also good sources (1/2 cup = 6 grams of protein). I made Nicola’s ‘Curried Dahl Soup’ on the weekend, it’s delicious and I feel virtuous eating it!
Any other ideas, strategies or suggestions, I’m all ears!
Sandy
Sandy, thank you for your post. When I came back from tonight’s run I was too tired to prepare lunch for tomorrow. In my mind I made a decision to “eat crap” then I checked your blog and there it is. A photo of a bowl of salad made a miracle! I got up and did make a bowl of salad- not as fancy as yours… But I will eat healthy tomorrow . A big thank you.
Yay, Jola, good for you, and this will pay off with tomorrow’s awesome race! See you there!
awesome, Jola, it seems daunting yet when you decide to do it, it’s not so bad! Rest easy knowing you have a good lunch tomorrow!
Hey congrats on you Finish today at around The Bay Sandy 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
I just wondered how you felt on the race since starting your your “8 weeks to fit”
I felt strong and ready to race it. Luckily, I had a friend, Stacy, starting at 15k at the same time and we did it together. We kept it steady, and on the big hill, I was thanking all the skipping and strength training I’ve been doing because I was gradually passing everyone! 600 m of UP
whoo hoo nice Sandy and Congrats to Stacy too!
glad you felt good and saw a change.
seems like the changes you’ve made with your diet and staying with your strength training / skipping really helped …adding a different cardio workout to as appose to just running.
The xcross training it does give us a some of a cardio workout but by adding in something else like skipping / or biking ,might give us the trigger our bodies need to help us reach our goals…..
I have decided to get on my stationary bike to give me that extra cardio I need to trigger change.
running I can’t at this time due too my knee but I can bike or maybe swim since it’s not weight barring on my knee!
Thanks for inspiring me!…to make a change and rethink some of my eating habits!
MO
p.s. summer is just around the corner 🙂
That is simply awesome, Moyan, I’m behind you 100%! Figuring out what you CAN do, rather than limiting yourself with what you can’t do, is the key! Keep going!
Have you tried those kale chips yet? Don’t forget the hemp hearts in your shakes or on your salads. An easy addition of protein. Easier to digest than chia seeds I think.
Yes, Kathy, we inhaled the kale chips, they didn’t make it from the cookie sheet to the platter! And hemp hearts – another great idea, thank you!