Planning ahead

I can't stress this enough only because I don't do this often enough myself. There are many keys to success and one of them is EXCELLENT planning. Well, at least for today I can say I'm having fulfilling and nutrient rich meals.

Side note: Planning ahead will also keep a little extra money in your pocket.  If you use the groceries you already have for your meals, you won't be caught off guard and have to buy something from the office cafeteria or a fast food joint.

Breakfast:
Plant based and protein rich!
I love Sun Warrior protein! Not only is it high in protein but it's the first protein powder I've had that not only tastes good but is made of ingredients I can pronounce and feel comfortable putting in my body! It is plant based.

My morning protein shake consists of a TBS of almond butter
8-10 ice cubes
1 banana
1 scoop of protein powder
Cinnamon
Sometimes one pinch of stevia

Lunch:
More of the Southwestern Chicken Salad pictured in yesterday's post minus the chicken and a no sugar added fruit cup.

Snacks will be fruit i.e. bananas and apples

Since hubby will not be home, dinner tonight will likely be a Kale smoothie.  One of my favorites.

2-4cups of frozen Kale

1 cup of frozen fruit (blueberries, strawberries)

.5 cup of water

pinch of Stevia

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Woo hoo! I'm glad I didn't give up on this blog just yet! I just now figured out how to post to my blog via cell phone. This makes things so much easier! All my pictures are on my phone and rather than waiting until I get to a desktop, email it to myself, save the pic to my desktop and THEN post on my blog... I can do it all in one fell swoop! Woo hoo! Celebrate! Celebrate!

Moving ahead! Southwestern Chicken Salad

It's been 2 weeks or so since I've begun my 60 day birthday challenge and I must say, meager results for a meager attempt.  I've lost only 2lbs but at least it's in the right direction!  I did learn that if you fail to prepare, you definitely prepare to fail! So I'm making some lunch options and planning ahead this week as best I can.

Here's meal option #1 (made it last night) I love the colors and it is truly delicious!

Southwestern Chicken Salad


Recipe:
4 hearts of Romaine lettuce
1 red bell pepper
4 TBS chopped green onions
1 can of rinsed corn
1 can of rinsed black beans
2 medium tomatoes
1-2lbs of chicken marinated in olive oil with Tajin seasoning (makes everything delish!!)

60 day b'day challenge

I write this on May 13, exactly 61 days out from my 30thbirthday.  I’ve been contemplating doing a challenge.  Would it be possible for me to reach my goal weight #1 in 60 days? Just a short while ago I was doing so well on the Paleo challenge.  While I lost quite a bit of weight on this challenge, I knew that this was not the ultimate style of eating I wanted to pursue….Juicing, heavy plant –centric diet was my goal with little to no processed foods.

Diving into this head first, along with being in the final days before the big marathon combined with 3 weeks worth of travel for business, spelled a recipe for disaster…may not have been that way for others but it certainly was that way for me.  Switching from Paleo, to plant based made me wonder if I was getting enough ‘energy’ to sustain me for the marathon…I started doubting myself and carb loaded like mad before the race and after….and then it just never seemed to end from that point….I had inadvertently reentered the junk food cycle again. Carbs, processed food and sugar, craves more carbs, processed foods and sugar and before you know it…you’ve gained 10lbs back in the blink of an eye. 

So here I am, back at 166lbs(THERE! I said it!) and feeling like my life is in shambles....with a goal of reaching 140lbs by 7/14/2012.

This is not a list of complaints but  a list of the challenges I’m facing and need to think through on how to overcome…

I’m working these CRAZY hours daily and I feel like that has affected so many things in my life.

I’ve not been back to my fitness boutique in ~2months!!

My running is down to 0-1X a week vs 3X a week

I’m eating more processed foods

I’m cooking less often

Hubby and I are BOTH gaining weight

Hubby and I are caught up in the processed food/fast food/ junk food cycle again!! Ahhh!

House is NOT clean enough for my tastes…

Have mercy!!! I need to get out of this fog, get out of this rut and FAST!!!  But how??  It sounds like the answer to my problems is simply working less hours.  Not so fast, I have so many roles within my job that it’s just not humanly possible to get it all done and stay on point within the 8 hour work day…until I can offload some of those tasks/roles, perhaps what I can do is reduce my late night/extra hours to 2-3 evenings a week and commit to 4-8hrs during the weekend.  So how would that look schedule wise??? here's a tentative one based on what I need to get back on track...let's see if this works. 

M-6am workout,12pm run, 8-5pm work, 6-9pm dinner, eat, make brkfst/lunch for next day, prep dinner for next day
T-6am-5pm work, nap until 7pm, dinn, work from 8-10pm
W-6am workout, 12pm run, 8-5pm work, 6-9pm dinner, eat, make brkfst/lunch for next day, prep dinner for next day
Th-6am workout, 12pm run, 8-5pm work, 6-9pm dinner, eat, make brkfst/lunch for next day, prep dinner for next day
F-6am-5pm work, nap until 7pm, dinn, work from 8-10pm
S-7am Run with Galloway