self care

meal plan: week 1

Hey there, friends. On Sundays I often share things I am cooking over on my Instagram stories. After a few requests for meal plans and a deeper dive into what I eat I decided to share more. While I don’t work off of strict meal plans, I do use meal planning of our food for the week to shop and then cook accordingly. A lot of you said you wanted to see this IRL, so here is my first attempt at sharing how I plan and feed myself and my fiancé each week. I do a bunch of cooking on Sunday. Dustin takes over on Monday nights and cooks whatever is left to do while I teach group fitness classes. Sometimes we need to cook a quick veg or protein on a Tuesday or Wednesday, and do so as needed.

P.S. I don’t have diet restrictions (except higher FODMAP items) however, if you do, simply choose a substitute or eliminate foods as needed. For instance, if you don’t eat fish, choose cubed chicken instead. Don’t eat broccoli? Use asparagus. Can’t have wheat? Choose a GF option.

Okay, lets get to it.

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planning process

I sit down Saturday or Sunday and talk with Dustin about his week. Are there any days we won’t be home for dinner? Maybe he has a work lunch planned. Maybe we have a date night. Maybe I have plans with friends. I take these things into consideration as I plan for Monday breakfast - Friday lunch. Friday dinner is rarely prepped food. Usually we think of something yummy we want and one of us stops at the grocery on the way home. If there is any food left in the fridge we try to finish it off for Saturday’s lunch. I am also considering our time to cook, if we are out of town for the weekend I am usually selecting easier meals that use more quick cook freezer items.

week 1: what we eat in a week

This particular week he had lunch plans one day and I did not eat dinner at home another day so we only ended up requiring one back-up meal.

breakfasts

I usually choose a breakfast that will get us through 4 days and then Friday we usually put together an egg sandwich or something of the sort. It helps us not get bored. We always have extra eggs in the house.

Meals

I select 2 meals that will incorporate our starch, protein, vegetables, and fat. We batch cook (large portions) so that we are fed from it ideally 3-4 times each. If this requires me to cook a larger protein portion than stated in the recipe I will increase some of the spices slightly. We do not cook a hot meal each night. It is too much work and planning and our schedules are pretty packed. Who wants to cook after a long day? Not this girl.

  • Ginger beef stir-fry (used just over 2 lb beef)+ stir-fry rice noodles (prepared according to package) + Stir fry vegetables (did not mix with the noodles for prep or storing)

  • Curried chicken salad (about 2.5lb chicken) bowls with roasted cubed sweet potato (cooked 2 large) + chickpeas + roasted broccoli + shredded cabbage (was leftover from stir-fry recipe) + feta + arugula

Back-up Meals

I have an idea of what my back-up meals will be based on whats in the freezer and pantry or leftover. I also always have lettuce in the house because you can make a salad with anything.

  • Tuna salad w/ lettuce on Dave’s Killer Bread

Snacks

I pack us each a morning and afternoon snack. These are snacks we have on hand that I mix and match each day based on each of our needs.

  • Yogurt + almonds

  • Tumeric quinoa (made in IP, stove top option included in link)

  • KIND bar or Health Warrior Chia Seed Bar

  • Rice cakes + cheese stick

  • Grapes, frozen mango and strawberries (snack or dessert)

  • PB&J on thin sliced Daves Killer Bread


Let me know if this post set up is useful. Let me know what else you do or don’t want to see. I am going to try to start posting these regularly and I am open to adjusting the format until it works for you! Prefer to see all links at the end in one place? Link to the exact products when applicable? LMK!!! I want this to help you!

are you making excuses?

Today I want to explore something that has been coming up with clients and in conversations with others. I help my clients recognize unproductive thought processes that work against their goals. Through my own work with therapy I believe, more than ever, that with the help and guidance of others it is easiest to improve ourselves. While I can’t work with each of you one on one, I hope today’s post helps you reevaluate and challenge some of your own thought processes related to your health and wellbeing.

You have heard ‘comparison is the thief of joy’. In the age of social media we know the constant comparison to the lives, bodies, etc of others brings us down and can make us feel pretty bad about ourselves or our circumstances. Most of us are aware of the harm this can do, and hopefully, take measures to avoid that spiral.

However, I have been noticing a different kind of comparison. People comparing their behaviors to others as a way to justify why their behaviors “aren’t that bad.”

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I do not and will not shame anyone for their food or lifestyle choices. It is a choice. However, when you are actively trying to take better care of yourself, improve your health, support your goals through eating more nutritious foods and moving your body, comparing your habits to someone’s ‘worse’ habits in order to justify your inaction or misaligned choices is NOT HELPFUL.

I see more and more people using this sort of comparison to make themselves feel better about not doing the things they told themselves they would do. I hear people using the choices of others to justify why their own choices ‘aren’t that bad’. This thought process is being us as an excuse to not follow through with goals that have been set.

Here are some examples:

  • You set a goal to move your body four times this week. You don’t do it. Instead of evaluating what happened and taking steps to try again and succeed at your personal goal, you focus on Susie in the office and how she is never ever active and justify your behavior because ‘at least you are not like her’.

  • You know your reliance on and constant intake of sugar is contributing to your rising blood sugar levels but you say, “at least I am not eating donuts and candy everyday like my coworker Bobby does.”

  • You have a new diagnosis of prediabetes and are feeling resistant to giving up soda. You know you want to get your blood sugar under control, but you also know you will “never let myself get to the unhealthy place my cousin did”.

REALITY CHECK

Your health has NOTHING TO DO WITH HOW SOMEONE ELSE CHOOSES TO TAKE CARE OF THEMSELF!!!

We are unique. Our health is determined by genetics, environment, stress, lifestyle factors, and more. Just because we don’t eat fast food everyday like Joe Schmoe doesn’t mean we get a free pass to avoid a heart attack. Don’t think that just because you skipped the fried mozzarella sticks and watched your friends eat them that your excess alcohol intake is erased. Health does not work that way. We all respond differently to food and exercise, and really all health related behaviors, positive and less productive.

This sort of comparison is negative, judgmental, and none of your business.

So take a moment to reflect. If you find yourself going down this thought cycle, I hope you can recognize it and stop it. People in your life don’t deserve this kind of judgement. And your health will not improve from it.

If you have a desire to take better care of yourself, own it, do it, and stay in your lane.

Remember - health is built on consistency. Stay clear in what you are trying to accomplish, take it one day at a time, and for goodness sake leave other people out of it.


-Rant over-



life update: 2019 goals

Why hello there, friends.

As we enter into quarter two of 2019 I see that blogging once a month has become my norm (I apologize) and that my resolutions for 2019 remain unset (I will not apologize for this).

I have decided I am forgoing setting goals for 2019, both for my life, and my business.

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If you read my January post you read about how much success I had in 2018 both with meeting and exceeding many of my goals. But, 2019 is proving to be the year of slowing down. Right now, I do not need goals to push myself and achieve and challenge myself, I need to slow down. This post is let you know where I am at, and what I am focusing on. I hope it helps you be ‘okay’ with whatever your choices are. Whether you are choosing to make this a year of hustle, a year of family, a year of love, whatever it is, it is yours to choose. I certainly am periodically panicked that I ‘should and could’ be doing more. But then I remember, I am enjoying the less doing and more being. I also remind myself that those things are available to me when I want them. I know how to hustle, if I want to start pushing my limits I can certainly flip that switch. For now, this break is okay. I hope you will share your 2019 updates with me and of course continue to follow my journey on IG where I share daily. Below are some updates on what I have been up to and enjoying.

what I’m doing

  • Focusing on my job. My new job has proven to be a great outlet for my skills and passions and as a result I feel less drive (pressure) to do ‘all of the things’ outside of work. Work is more fulfilling, and that is a positive.

  • Getting married. I am getting married in just over 5 months and while we aren’t doing anything crazy, it is still WORK. We have weddings to attend, family functions, events to plan, and details to organize. That is enough for my to-do list for the next few months, thanks.

  • Hanging out with my nephew. Because he is cute.

  • Exercising. I joined a gym for the first time in several years. It is fun to get back to lifting heavier and also rediscovering what my best ‘balance’ of lifting, running, walking, yoga, barre, etc really is. I love experimenting with my body.

  • Therapy. This is new to me but has been great.

What I’m loving

  • Reading. So. Much. Reading. If you are following me on IG you are following along with my reading and my audiobook listening. I set a goal of 50 books completed in 2019 and I am already just about halfway there. Reading is great because instead of stressing and finding ‘things to do’ and things to worry over, I take any moment of free time and open a book.

  • Teaching group fitness. I am teaching at InlineFit in Canton, Baltimore 3 classes per week + subbing and recently started picking up some Saturdays at LIFT in Mt. Vernon, Baltimore. These classes are a highlight of my week.

  • My InstantPot. (DuoPlus 6 Qt.) Really working on spending more time enjoying my time in the kitchen. Turns out when you don’t overfill your life it is a lot easier to find enjoyment in cooking.

So thats my 2019 trajectory. Nothing crazy. No big goals. Just lots of things going on and I want to enjoy and be present instead of stressing over the week or waiting for stressful events to pass by. I hope you continue to enjoy my content, even if the pace is slowed down. As usual, if there is something specific you want to hear about LMK!

Talk soon!