Fervent Foodie

Lucky for me the BF doesn’t read this blog.  If he did, he’d catch one of the RARE instances of me admitting to be wrong.  One of the far and few between moments where my big brains did not perform to their maximum outrageously high potential.  Lucky for me, this little admittance will stay between you and me

Last post, I admitted that there might just be a little something to this whole weightlifting thing.  Perhaps.

Of course I did some (extensive) research.  Hello, have we met?!  And apparently it’s not just about WHAT you eat that’s key, but the combination of foods you eat.

Way back last year I revamped my workweek meal plan to include lots of healthy and nutritious meals.  Step in the right direction?  Check.  The combination of foods in these meals, however, never crossed my mind.  I had a really good plan based on ZERO exercise.  So if work got insane, at least I was eating healthy.  And if I did exercise I got to eat more.  (more=better, am I right?!)

My anal teensy bit neurotic self likes to keep track of everything I eat (I use myfitnesspal.com).  This means I have TONS of data of the foods I’ve consumed over the past year.  When I sat down and started analyzing all this information I realized something.  Something kinda big actually.  I was doing such a great job of eating healthy during the workweek (weekends are another story), but those days that I did exercise I filled those extra calories “earned” with the junk that I’d worked so hard to get out of my diet.  If I ran on the treadmill I earned a cookie or two or a big bowl a cereal before bed.  None of these are “bad” things, but if you think about it I was forcing my body to work overtime so that I could refuel it with crap.  No wonder I have been feeling so weak.  Busting your butt exercising results in your body needing FUEL.  Not cookies or chocolate or Peanut Butter Puffins, but rather lean proteins and slow digesting carbohydrates.

Lean protein and slow digesting carbohydrates…  that doesn’t sound nearly as tasty

So my new project at hand is tweaking my meals to focus on the pairing of foods and the quality of “fuel” for my body.  All without sacrificing the level of tastiness my mature pallate demands 😉   The other issue to take into consideration is that I get super bored eating the same things day after day.  So my lunches and dinner NEED TO be especially varied.

For those who are interested, here’s what I’ve come up with so far.  No, I’m not a nutritionist or any sort of dr.  This is meant to be a rough guide to help me make smarter choices throughout the day—not a rigid list of requirements.

Granted this is Week #1, so I foresee lots of adjustments to come.  Suggestions are WELCOME!

Pre-workout (EARLY am)

• 1 slice Trader Joe’s 7 grain Sprouted Bread (protein & slow digesting carb)
• 2 tsp Smucker’s Organic Natural Peanut Butter (protein & healthy fat)

 Breakfast #1 (post workout)

• 1 whole egg  (protein & healthy fat)
• 3 egg whites (protein)
• 1/2 cup strawberries (fast digesting carb)

Breakfast #2 (mid-morning)

• Overnight Oats (1/2 cup oats, 1/2 cup almond milk, cinnamon, 1 tsp brown sugar) (good carbs)
• 1/3 cup Greek Style nonfat plain yogurt (protein)

Lunch

• Flexible, but frequent large salads with protein (chicken, tuna, shrimp, etc) (protein and lots o healthy veg)
• 2 tbsp cheese (fat/protein)
• 1/4 beans (good for ya carbs)
• Small piece of dark chocolate (mandatory for mental health)

Afternoon Snack

• 1 apple (carb)
• Small protein shake (protein) Bleghhhhhh… I tried.  I promise I tried.  I just can’t stomach protein shakes.  I’m still seeking a good protein to pair with the apple…

Dinner

• Flexible.  Focus on protein, veggies GALORE, and minimal processed carbs.

Late night snack

• Cottage cheese Strike that… cottage cheese is absolutely disgusting.  It literally made me nauseous the first night.  Dry heaving commenced. So I cut it out IMMEDIATELY.  For now I’ve replaced it with 1/2 cup fat free plain Greek yogurt (protein)
• 2 tbsp nuts  (healthy fat)

I’m really interested to see how my body reacts to these slight changes in diet over the next couple of weeks.  I’m also really interested to see if alternating Body Pump days with cardio days will hold my easily bored self.

We shall see……………