What should I plan to eat?

How much should you eat?

 

 
This is a diagram that I got from Precision Nutrition showing ideal portions. They have some variation depending on your size and body type, but this is great to start. What should my meal look like? When planning your meals keep this diagram in mind. Try to eat a palm size portion of protein, along with a cupped handful on healthy carbs, a fist of vegetables, and a thumb size portion of fat. 

Ideas for Lunch:

Your lunch could be a salad with lettuce, chicken, other veggies like cucumber, tomato, onion, carrot, etc., and avocado for your healthy fat, and some quinoa for your dense carbs (or maybe a few whole wheat crackers), dressed with an olive oil and vinegar dressing or a Tablespoon of Ranch or other creamy dressing. As I mentioned before, I plan my meals on the weekends. For my lunches I try to buy salad fixings like lettuce, cucumber, carrots, peppers, broccoli, avocado, etc, with some some protein like chicken or tuna. And, I like ranch dressing, so I will usually use that, but I do measure it and only use a Tablespoon or so. Sometimes I add a 1/4 cup of garbanzo beans or a Tablespoon of feta cheese, again measure those too! On the run I will sometimes get a subway sandwich with turkey and lots of veggies and avocado (I know Subway isn't the best, but it sure is a lot better than the other fast food alternatives out there. Just make sure you get a turkey or chicken sandwich on whole wheat without all the sauces and stuff and a load up on veggies.) Sometimes I have salmon, with brown rice and veggies. Again, here portion control is key! Or a couple of hard boiled eggs, some carrots, with hummus, and a few whole wheat crackers.

 

Some of my go to lunches:

 

• Salad with chicken or tuna with lots of veggies
• Subway Sandwich on whole wheat bread
• Whole wheat turkey sandwich on a sandwich thin with lots of veggies and some fruit
• Salmon, with brown rice and veggies

 

Ideas for Dinner:

 

I like to cook (lucky for my husband or maybe not, since I am always trying new healthy recipes on him.), so I cook most nights. Tonight it is Taco Salad - lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, scallions, avocado, taco seasoned lean ground turkey, and a little shredded light cheese. Yummy! He puts some nacho chips in his too! But, for my purposes, I'll skip that.

 

Some of my go to dinners:

 

• Roasted chicken with root veggies
• Spaghetti squash with marina sauce with pesto chicken
• Turkey Chili
• Salmon with spinach, brown rice and a little feta
• Chicken with quinoa and asparagus

 

I usually write out all of my planned dinner menus and check to see if I need any of the ingredients before my weekend shopping. And, I make sure I have all of the ingredients for my go to breakfasts, snacks, and lunches on hand. Then I'll make my list and it's off to Trader Joe's, and then if they don't have everything I need, a trip to Sprouts or Vons to pick up the rest. I like to buy organic as much as I can. I also try to buy things with the least amount of ingredients possible, and without ingredients that I don't know what they are. I will post some recipes along our journey for you to try.  This is a photo of the Salmon, with sautéed spinach, brown rice with a little feta. Yummy!

 

 

To Plan or not to Plan?

Should we plan our meals?

 

For me I find that I need to plan, at least my lunch and dinner. I have the most trouble eating healthy for lunch - mostly because I am often on the go and get hungry while I am out. Let's face it, if we don't plan our meals we are much more tempted to eat something unhealthy.  I like to plan my meals for the week on Sunday before I go grocery shopping.

Today we will focus on breakfast and snacks. I have a list of several breakfast ideas that I eat on a weekly basis. I pretty much just mix and match these menus for breakfast to make sure I get a healthy start to my day. I try to keep my calorie count around 300 calories for breakfast.

 

 Here are some of my healthy breakfast ideas:

• Whole Grain Cereal/with almond milk and berries, or melon
• Whole wheat toast or English muffin with almond butter (one Tablespoon or so) and an apple, melon, or berries, banana  (you could put the berries or banana on top and make a little sandwich)
• Whole grain waffles with berries or melon, with pure maple syrup (1 Tablespoon or so)
• Protein Shake with almond milk, protein powder, a banana, frozen berries, and some kale.
• Oatmeal with berries or banana, and a hard boiled egg
• Yogurt with fruit ( bananas or berries or whatever fruit you like) and a few nuts (almonds or walnuts, about eight or so nuts) or a little granola
• Two eggs scrambled with lots of veggies, spinach, onion, peppers, zucchini, mushrooms, etc., and a little low fat cheese

Today I had a protein shake! Nummy!
1 cup of almond milk
1 scoop of protein powder
1 banana
1/2 cup frozen berries
handful of kale

Snack ideas:

• String cheese and an apple or any other fruit
• Apple with 1T almond butter
• Hummus and veggies
• hardboiled egg and veggies
• Small handful of Almonds
• Small handful of Walnuts

More tomorrow on planning lunch and dinner.

 

 

90 Day Challenge - Game On!

Join me in a 90 Day Fitness Challenge

 

 

I am committing to a 90 day fitness challenge to release weight and get healthier by eating real whole foods, exercising and meditating. And, I hope YOU will too! Beginning tomorrow and for the next 90 days through September 30, 2013 -  I challenge myself to release at least 33 pounds. This is my goal!

This is my time frame.

You should make your own goal for the 90 days. Maybe your goal is to release 2 pounds a week, maybe its 1 pound a week. Maybe you want to get stronger, maybe you want to run faster. Then post your goal!  You decide when you want to start the challenge, but I suggest starting it now, because there is no time like the present to get going!  The official challenge will be July 1 - September 30th! The key is to make the goal and then take the steps towards reaching your goal on a DAILY basis.

This blog will provide support, including meal, exercise and meditation ideas and information.

Keys to being successful on the challenge (I'm talking to YOU and ME!):

· Write your goal down. Weigh yourself on day one, and write your starting weight down. Then weigh yourself weekly after that. Don't be tempted to get on the scale everyday - your weight will fluctuate during the day.

· Plan your meals. Make sure you know what you will be eating each day, so you are not tempted to just grab something that isn't healthy. I will give some suggestions on planning during our journey.

· Exercise consistently and regularly. For me this is going to be at least 45 minutes five (5) days a week  You decide how much you want to exercise and then do it. Maybe it's 3 days a week for 20 minutes to start out.

· Eat a lot of vegetables and fruits. It's summer so there are bevy of great choices out there.

· Eat three healthy meals and two snacks a day. By snacks I mean healthy snacks, like nuts, or fruit or veggies, not ice cream! I will give some suggestions for meals and snacks in this blog.

· Be active. That means take the stairs, take the dog for a walk, clean the house,  take a bike ride around the neighborhood, garden - movement burns calories. Move as much as you can in addition to your consistent exercise.

· Track. By this I meal record your food intake and exercise time and intensity. Consider some sort of monitoring system. I use Body Media - I really like it. I can track what I eat and it tracks how many calories a I burn a day. It's great!

· Meditate daily. This may be something you haven't heard before regarding releasing weight and fitness, but I think it is key. I meditate at least 15 minutes a day. I try to do more, depending on how much time I have. I think it really helps me to focus on my goals and curbs my cravings. Try it! You might like it. More on meditating during our journey.

· Remember this is a journey, not a destination!

I will be posting tips and information daily. Look for more good stuff tomorrow!