It's almost birthday time! I'm following a 30 day meal plan in order to ensure that I stay on track.
Perks:
1) The first grocery trip for this meal plan was a little pricey because it called for so many spices, oils, etc. that I did not have on hand. However, now that I've bought most of the basics, I'm coming out better than before on grocery trips. Yay! It's good to know I can eat from-scratch meals for every meal every day at an affordable price.
2) I feel great. I've tried diets or calorie restrictions at various points throughout the last year or so and they always seem to interfere with my workouts. If following a diet means I can't push myself lifting weights, running, etc. then I'm not happy. This meal plan has not interfered with my workouts at all so I'm very happy with that aspect.
3) Yum! Most of the plan is based around foods I previously enjoyed such as salmon, chicken, meats, eggs, fruits & vegetables. There hasn't been a single item on the menu that I've had to choke down. Every meal so far has been enjoyable.
4) Does it work? Yes. The meal plan provides guidance for all my meals every day so it definitely requires a commitment, but I'm encouraged to stick with the plan because I am seeing results! I am just starting the plan and have a few weeks left to go I can already see my body responding positively to clean eating.
5) After the 30 days is up, I can still use this plan. Once the 30 days is up, I still plan to regularly incorporate meals and tips from the plan into my routine. The plan comes with lots of explanation as to why certain things work and others don't and spells out guidelines to follow in the absence of a completely spelled out menu.
Challenges:
1) This plan takes work/time/effort. I spent a couple of hours prepping various items for the rest of the week immediately after the grocery shopping trip and I spent up to an hour total per day preparing breakfast, lunch, dinner, smoothies and other snacks on a daily basis. Although I don't mind cooking, I'm tweaking a few things so that I can spend a little less time on meal prep each day. For example, the meal plan calls for hardboiled eggs and pesto made from scratch...I don't think it will be to my detriment to buy pre-hardboiled eggs and ready made all natural pesto. I think once I make those changes I'll handle the time demands better.
2) I am following this meal plan to a t. No exceptions. Following a plan so closely causes some problems with my social calendar. For example, we took one of the paralegals from the firm out for her birthday and it was not easy passing on all the delicious food, the shared dessert, etc. and sticking with my plan. I will have no Super Bowl Sunday indulgences. Granted, the meal plan itself includes many delicious foods and even allows some sweet protein bar items, I will not eat my usual indulgences while I am on this plan (except for birthday indulgences...more on that later).
In addition to the meal plan, I've been working hard to stay consistent with my workouts & definitely succeeded in that aspect for the past two weeks. My sister has been running with my, my husband has been joining me at the gym and I've been pushing myself on the days when I've had to work out solo. Like everyone else, I get tired or busy so it isn't always easy to stick to the workout schedule, but I'll play around with alternatives to figure out what works. I think incorporating a variety of exercises has really helped me stay on track: my workouts range from the gym, body weight workouts at home, to running outdoors and using elliptical and treadmills. The variety keeps me from getting bored and pushes me to meet new challenges!
Week 23:
- January 22nd cardio (HIIT on elliptical), 24th cardio (3.2 mile outdoor run), 25th cardio (45 min. incline treadmill walk)
- January 20th, 22nd, 26th strength training
- January 29th cardio (45 min. elliptical), 31st cardio (3.2 mile outdoor run), February 2nd cardio (50 min. incline treadmill walk)
- January 29th, 31st, February 1st strength training
