Wednesday, September 25, 2013

It's WIAW! It's Also What I've Been Up To

Waaaaahooo! It’s Wednesday. I’ve been eating. This is what I ate today (and Monday and Tuesday, and will again Thursday and Friday- I’m a creature of habit. I also prep and portion all of my meals at the beginning of the week and it’s sooooo much easier to keep them the same).

All my meals (pre-workout muffin not shown)


Meal 1: Steel cut oats and eggs with coconut oil melted over top. This will never not be tasty.
Meal 2: Spanakopita quinoa bake. OMG so good! Recipe coming!

Meal 3: Pre-workout chocolate protein muffin. This one gets a lot of comments in the office. Smells (and tastes) like chocolate cake.

Meal 4: Post-workout tuna and barley salad with broccoli slaw and avocado… and a whole lotta sriacha sauce. This too will never get old. I’ve been eating it for lunch for months now.
Meal 5: Egg whites, cottage cheese and oats baked with green beans and coconut oil. A whole lotta cheesy goodness. Mmmmm.

Meal 6: Veg and shrimp or chicken stir fry with quinoa and bulgar. A little different each time I make it.
Meal 7: Yogurt and vanilla casein (usually eaten with either a piece of a Quest bar or banana) and a blob of peanut butter. Oh peanut butter, how I looooooove you.

As you can see, I am slowly starting to vary the foods that I am eating. I get stuck in (and enjoy!) such a routine, that sometimes it is hard to try something different or new.
Speaking of routines, that’s all I have really been about since getting back from Vegas. I have finally had a chance stay settled in one spot for more than two weeks, and it has been glorious. And, even without a specific fitness goal or deadline set (no fall shows or photo shoots planned… yet), I have actually been able to stick with my training and food plan! Training wise, I am in such a routine (weights during my lunch break and 30 minutes of cardio after work), that it’s a struggle to actually break that routine to take a rest day. It’s a weird feeling. It’s like I don’t want to lose momentum. I am also, as evidenced by the repetitiveness of my meal plans and comments above, a creature of habit. I don’t like when things change. 

I have also gotten into a great little Sunday morning routine. The day starts off with a run through the watershed with my dad, then the gym with my mom for a weights workout, and finally home for a big ol' protein pancake (some things never change).

 




Food plan wise, even though I am still trying to build on and maintain where I have gotten so far, I do now have a little bit more latitude and can even incorporate a few “off-plan” meals into my diet. I loathe using the word “treat” or “cheat” to describe these off-plan indulgences, because I truly believe I am already treating my body by fueling it right all of the time. And, it’s not a cheat, because I am not doing anything wrong or bad. I am just occasionally, and with purpose, choosing to indulge in foods that would normally be off-plan. For me, this has pretty much consisted of red wine, cheese and crackers, and some Menchies. I love me some Menchies. Haha.
 
 
And, I usually choose to consume them when I have the time to relax and enjoy the moment. I have also, on occasion, used my off-plan treat to just eat more of my regular clean food- like a larger serving of banana with peanut butter with a melted Quest bar on top. Or an extra scoop of peanut butter on my yogurt. Or (dare I even go here!), a large, unmeasured spoonful of peanut butter- hahaha. See a theme forming? In any case, I am certainly enjoying trying out different foods and appreciate the flexibility I have in my training and food plan to incorporate changes like this while still making progress.
 
One of the best treats I have had recently was an Indian buffet dinner and my friend’s wedding. It was a beautiful wedding and the food was so delicious. It was nice to be able to relax and just be a part of the day and enjoy (and not have to whip out my Tupperware of food at the dinner table because I was training for a show and on a feeding schedule).
 

 
 

The funny thing was, after stuffing my face with butter chicken and naan, drinking a few glasses of wine and scarfing down a cupcake and cookies, when I ran into a pub at the end of the night to use the ATM, a man actually approached me to say I had awesome arms and asked if I did “those fitness competition shows.” And, while it was 12:30am on a Friday night in the back of a bar in the middle of Pitt Meadows, and while I am sure it was some drunken pick up attempt, I was, in fact, quite flattered. Aside from comments at the gym, or from people who know I am training, I have never been approached by randoms who notice my development. It was a milestone of sorts for me. So, thank you, drunk, stumbling man at the back of the bar- you made me feel better about myself after eating my body weight in Indian food.  
XOXO

Jen

1 comment: