Working out is hard. There are so many times I'm in the middle of a workout and I wonder why I torture myself like this on a daily basis... well, because I want to be a badass... but that's a story for another day. Want to know what's even harder than working out? Eating clean. It is so freaking hard... especially when I have a wicked sweet tooth... and Ben is no better... so together the struggle is real. It's like we feed into each other's problem... no pun intended.
I've found that when I try to eat clean, I do well for a short period of time, then I cheat and everything goes to shit. And by shit I mean ice cream on a daily basis. I've also found that days I'm working are so much easier to be good... I pack my meals and eat what I bring because I don't have another option. AND I've found that when I make food I actually want to eat, I'll even eat it when I'm home and not find something better.
Ben and I decided that when we both happen to have a day off together, we'll cheat. And days we both work or one of us works, we'll eat clean. So far (meaning about 2 weeks) we've been doing well with this plan.
My CrossFit coach helped me figure out how many macros (protein, carbs, fat) I need to be eating on a daily basis. I was using "My Fitness Pal" to track my meals and makes sure I hit the correct amounts of each... After using the app for about a week or two, I more or less know the amounts without needing to log everything anymore.
Here's what I ate in a day recently...
Pre-Workout (0500): Fuel for Fire. Every workout starts with one of these... fruit and protein... they don't make you feel full but are the perfect amount to give you energy for an intense workout.
Post- Workout (0615): Protein shake. And every workout ends with a protein shake.
Breakfast (0900): 1 whole egg, 2 egg whites, 2 slices of bacon. No picture... I'm pretty sure you all know what bacon and eggs look like.
Mid-Morning Snack (1030): Lara bar, watermelon/strawberries.
Lunch (1300): Chicken breast, roasted brussel sprouts, 2 mini potatoes. No picture of this either... I'm terrible about taking food pictures... I just dig in and then remember after my meal is almost gone!
Mid-Afternoon (1600): Arugula, tomatoes, ground turkey, plantains, Chobani pineapple yogurt, Spindrift... my absolute favorite sparkling water... ever.
Dinner (2000): Chicken breast, roasted asparagus, 2 mini potatoes... and a couple bites of Halo ice cream.
Looks like a lot of food right? It is! And I have a really big lunch box! But all of that is only about 1600 calories and 145 grams of protein! Crazy when you eat clean how much you can actually eat in a day... which I love because I love eating. This is what I eat on a typical work day... days I'm home from work are not so perfect... only about half of those foods are the same... you don't want to know the other half.
The thing about eating clean is I often run out of ideas! Usually what happens is we eat the same thing until we never want to look at it again, then move onto something different. So, if you have healthy meal ideas I'd love to hear about them!
I've found that when I try to eat clean, I do well for a short period of time, then I cheat and everything goes to shit. And by shit I mean ice cream on a daily basis. I've also found that days I'm working are so much easier to be good... I pack my meals and eat what I bring because I don't have another option. AND I've found that when I make food I actually want to eat, I'll even eat it when I'm home and not find something better.
Ben and I decided that when we both happen to have a day off together, we'll cheat. And days we both work or one of us works, we'll eat clean. So far (meaning about 2 weeks) we've been doing well with this plan.
My CrossFit coach helped me figure out how many macros (protein, carbs, fat) I need to be eating on a daily basis. I was using "My Fitness Pal" to track my meals and makes sure I hit the correct amounts of each... After using the app for about a week or two, I more or less know the amounts without needing to log everything anymore.
Here's what I ate in a day recently...
Pre-Workout (0500): Fuel for Fire. Every workout starts with one of these... fruit and protein... they don't make you feel full but are the perfect amount to give you energy for an intense workout.
Mid-Morning Snack (1030): Lara bar, watermelon/strawberries.
Mid-Afternoon (1600): Arugula, tomatoes, ground turkey, plantains, Chobani pineapple yogurt, Spindrift... my absolute favorite sparkling water... ever.
The thing about eating clean is I often run out of ideas! Usually what happens is we eat the same thing until we never want to look at it again, then move onto something different. So, if you have healthy meal ideas I'd love to hear about them!
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