18 March 2014

Meal Plan Questions

I've had some questions on facebook about food prep for my upcoming fitness plan. So here it goes:

This year has been rough. The Viking & I put ourselves on hold. Between handling the crisis and the move, taking care of the kids and both of us working, there was simply no time for us. We haven't worked out in a year and we are over it. So, we're getting gym passes and getting back on the 'ol horse.

I have no idea what my husband's plan is, but I am going for a second attempt at Jamie Eason's LiveFit (on bodybuilding.com). Her meal plan is the 3 small meals a day with 2 snacks in between. I don't recommend eating quite this much if you aren't lifting weights. Honestly it's hard to get all of it down until you are a few weeks into the workout program.

That said, whether you want to do LiveFit with me, a different program, or just want to eat healthy (if this is your option, you DO NOT need to eat 3 of these things a day), this is what I'm doing with all those freezer portions:

PROTEINS
- Cut 3oz portions of salmon, frozen individually.
- Grilled a bunch of chicken breasts with seasoning, sliced up and bagged 3.5 oz portions.
- Cubed up a pre-cooked turkey breast and bagged into 3.5 oz portions
- Made large turkey meatballs, cooked & froze 2 in a pack.
- Mini bison meatloves, cooked & frozen individually.
- Bag of frozen hake (firm white fish) fillets, individually frozen.
(Going to buy egg whites every week, too.)

VEGGIE SIDES
- blanched green beans, froze in 3oz portions.
- bought frozen broccoli florets, frozen in 1/2 cup portions.
- cooked & mashed sweet potatoes, froze in 1/2 cup portions.
- Roasted asparagus & froze in 3 oz portions.
(also going to buy salad fixings every week)

VEG DISHES
- Veggie chili & quinoa, frozen in 1/2 cup portions, with 3oz cubed cheese.
- Veggie curry & quinoa, frozen in 1/2 cup portions.

SNACKS
Pumpkin/walnut protein muffins, frozen 2ea.
Berry protein muffins, frozen 2 ea.
Lemon chia seed protein muffins, frozen 2 ea.
Banana walnut protein muffins, frozen 2 ea.
(also buying Greek yogurts every week.)

As you see, the majority of my small meals will be frozen for convenience. A sample day might be 2-3 egg whites on a piece of toast for breakfast, a whey shake post-workout, muffins for a snack, a protein & a veggie side of my choice for lunch, a yogurt for snack, a protein and veggie side for dinner (or a chili or curry).

This way I do not have to worry about what everyone else wants, eating higher fat & carb-laden foods because it is what the kids eat, etc. No fuss, no muss, perfect portions, variety, and 98% of it keeps in the freezer. Pull out, zap it (or bake the fish), done. If I don't have to worry about my meals, I have a chance at sticking to the plan. Otherwise, let's face it, I would fail. I have no time for cooking or will power at the moment because I am working from home and raising 3 kids. Finding time to get to the gym is going to be challenge enough, right now.

So all this food is taking me a few weeks to prepare, and we still need to choose a gym, but come March 31, we are going to get our shit back together. If you're game, join me or pick your own plan and join me anyway.

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