As I move away from rowing and back to running, I will work on trimming down a bit while maintaining muscle mass. I will record my meal and exercise plans for the next 10 weeks to monitor my progress! It takes a good amount of thought and careful preparation to create a healthy meal plan that promotes optimal performance while allowing for energy deficit needed for weight loss.
The basic idea of my plan is to keep kilocalories around 1800 per day (my typical intake for maintenance is around 2400), focus on adequate protein and healthy fat, and focus high quality Carbohydrate intake around my exercise. Eating is scheduled at 2-4 hour intervals to rev my metabolism and fight cravings. I also allow myself to enjoy food in social situations and special treats (see the muffin from my favorite bakery on Wednesday, date night on Thursday and pizza night Friday!). The only way for me to successfully change my body to optimize performance is to create a program that addresses my unique metabolism, my physical activity, my food preferences (and my love of pizza with girlfriends, dates with my sweetie and my love of Woodstar fitness muffins!)
Prescription meal plans do not often work for people unless they are tailored specifically to one's goals, body type, and lifestyle. All of my clients' plans look quite different from mine. However, feel free to use my model meal plan and recipe links as guides if you are an omnivore looking for healthy and fast meals on a budget :-)
Note: In addition, I supplement with daily omega 3 fatty acods, vitamin D, probiotics, a multivitamin/mineral, and 10-12 cups water.
Monday:
Breakfast: 1 cup plain soy milk, 1 scoop protein powder, 1 scoop amazing greens
Lunch: Chicken salad on bed of greens, 1 cup raw carrots and cucumbers
Workout: 6 easy running miles plus spinning class
Dinner: Thai Lime Chicken with 3/4 cup quinoa and 2 cups greens with cucumbers, goat cheese and onions, drizzled with balsamic vinegar
Tuesday
Am coffee with milk
Breakfast: 1 cup plain soy milk, 1 scoop protein powder, 1 scoop amazing greens
10am Workout: 12 mile steady run
Lunch: Leftover chicken salad and greens on a gluten free brown rice wrap, 1 cup raw peppers
Dinner: Spinach and chicken sausage pizza (I use Udi's GF pizza crust instead)
Snack: pear with slice of brie
Wednesday:Am coffee with milk
6am Workout: 8-10 mile track workout
Breakfast out: Woodstar Cafe Fitness Muffin (gluten free high protein muffin), hard boiled egg
Lunch: 1 scoop whey protein, 1 cup soy milk, 1 scoop amazing greens
3:30pm Workout: Lift session 1
Dinner: leftover dinner from Monday, garden salad with chickpeas,carrots, peppers and cucumbers
Snack: banana with 1 Tbsp. peanut butter
Thursday:
Am coffee with milk
Breakfast: 1 scoop whey protein, 1 cup soy milk, 1 scoop amazing greens
Lunch: 1 can tuna mixed with greek yogurt and light mayo on bed of greens, carrots, cucumbers
3:30pm workout: run 6 miles and teach spinning class
Dinner: "Date Night"-out to dinner (large salad with chicken and wine)
Snack: apple with 2 ounces mixed nuts
Friday:
Am coffee with milk
5:45am Workout: run 10 miles with 4 at Half marathon pace
Breakfast: gluten free multigrain english muffin with peanut butter and jam
Lunch: 1 scoop whey protein, 1 cup soy milk, 1 scoop amazing greens
1:00pm Workout: lift session 2
Dinner: "Pizza Night" with friends (2-3 slices GF pizza)
Saturday
Day off running
Am coffee with milk
Breakfast: 1 scoop whey protein, 1 cup soy milk, 1 scoop amazing greens
Lunch: Roasted Butternut squash with 2 ounces mixed nuts
Dinner: beef burger wrapped in lettuce with side of sweet potato fries
Sunday
Am Coffee with milk
Preworkout: 1 scoop whey protein, banana, 1 scoop amazing greens, 1 cup water
9am Workout: Run 20 miles (consume 2 cups gatorade during run)
Brunch: Broccoli and carmelized onion frittata, 1 GF multigrain english muffin with tsp earth balance butter
Dinner: Rotisserie chicken, roasted butternut squash, steamed broccoli
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Friday, January 20, 2012
I am a Business Woman!
At the Institute for Integrative Nutrition Conference in September, fearless leader Joshua Rosenthall had us do an exercise. He told us to turn to our neighbor and tell him/her where our business would be in our dreams by January 1st.
Mine was the following: "I will have 6 paying clients and will have given 2 paid nutrition talks by January 1st"...this was a huge dream, that I could not really imagine accomplishing.
Then, we had to tell our neighbor what we would reward ourselves with if we met our goal, and what we would punish ourselves with if we did not (had to be something really bad). Excuse me? You mean this is real? This totally freaked me out because I thought we were just brainstorming-not committing! But, I continued the exercise, because that's what students do....follow directions...right? Well, at least I wish that's what my students did :-)
Mine was the following:
1. If I reach my goal, I will treat Michael and I to a real relaxing vacation this summer, and will take July and August off of teaching.
2. If I do not reach my goal, I will not shop at Whole Foods or Atkins Farm (my FAVORITE, albeit, sort of decadent, places to shop) for all of 2012.
For some people, this "punishment" might seem silly, but anyone who has taken my classes or listened to me rave about Whole Foods' gluten free fare most likely "gets" how my world would be a whole lot worse by taking these places out of my life.
So, November rolled around, and I only had 2 clients and no talks. I decided I needed to hoard all the Whole Foods gluten free freezer items for the next two months because there was NO WAY I would reach this goal!
But then something happened. I became open to new opportunities and got out of my comfort zone. I worked with my smart and marketing savvy buddy to put on 3 Nutrition/Rowing talks, and got asked to book another Nutrition talk as a result. I started talking about my business to friends and colleagues, using the language that Joshua teaches without fear that I looked like I was trying to "sell" myself. I was just honest. I shared my struggles and my passion for helping others develop a sense of well-being. I committed myself to following this passion, even if it meant shuffling my own life around a bit to exercise less, sleep a little less, and spend more time on my new passion. Low and behold, it is January 20th, I have 7 paying clients and am meeting another potential client tomorrow. I have given 4 Nutrition talks and have another lined up for next weekend. I have written about my long history of personal struggles with food for an "ebook", which was received with love and support and encouragement by my colleagues, even though it was scary to feel so vulnerable as I try to act as a "expert health professional".
Through all this, I have learned that just by being myself....my imperfectly silly, crazy, disorganized, "real" self, I have built a business and feel more joyful and grounded than I ever have. I have been fighting for years, trying to uphold some sort of wall between my students/friends/clients to prove that I am an "expert" who knew the "truth" about nutrition.
Turns out that what I needed to do all along was say, "I'm Laura, I'm educated and I'm human. I have a PhD in Nutrition and am well versed on hundreds of diet theories and holistic health practices. I've been through the ringer myself, with a history of disordered eating, body image issues, and numerous injuries related to compulsive execise. If I can overcome that, you can too. I 'get' your struggles. Let's work together to see if we can navigate this crazy, messed up world so we can come out healthy and happy and live to our potential."
Now I jut need to decise where Michael and I will take our awesome summer vacation :-)
Mine was the following: "I will have 6 paying clients and will have given 2 paid nutrition talks by January 1st"...this was a huge dream, that I could not really imagine accomplishing.
Then, we had to tell our neighbor what we would reward ourselves with if we met our goal, and what we would punish ourselves with if we did not (had to be something really bad). Excuse me? You mean this is real? This totally freaked me out because I thought we were just brainstorming-not committing! But, I continued the exercise, because that's what students do....follow directions...right? Well, at least I wish that's what my students did :-)
Mine was the following:
1. If I reach my goal, I will treat Michael and I to a real relaxing vacation this summer, and will take July and August off of teaching.
2. If I do not reach my goal, I will not shop at Whole Foods or Atkins Farm (my FAVORITE, albeit, sort of decadent, places to shop) for all of 2012.
For some people, this "punishment" might seem silly, but anyone who has taken my classes or listened to me rave about Whole Foods' gluten free fare most likely "gets" how my world would be a whole lot worse by taking these places out of my life.
So, November rolled around, and I only had 2 clients and no talks. I decided I needed to hoard all the Whole Foods gluten free freezer items for the next two months because there was NO WAY I would reach this goal!
But then something happened. I became open to new opportunities and got out of my comfort zone. I worked with my smart and marketing savvy buddy to put on 3 Nutrition/Rowing talks, and got asked to book another Nutrition talk as a result. I started talking about my business to friends and colleagues, using the language that Joshua teaches without fear that I looked like I was trying to "sell" myself. I was just honest. I shared my struggles and my passion for helping others develop a sense of well-being. I committed myself to following this passion, even if it meant shuffling my own life around a bit to exercise less, sleep a little less, and spend more time on my new passion. Low and behold, it is January 20th, I have 7 paying clients and am meeting another potential client tomorrow. I have given 4 Nutrition talks and have another lined up for next weekend. I have written about my long history of personal struggles with food for an "ebook", which was received with love and support and encouragement by my colleagues, even though it was scary to feel so vulnerable as I try to act as a "expert health professional".
Through all this, I have learned that just by being myself....my imperfectly silly, crazy, disorganized, "real" self, I have built a business and feel more joyful and grounded than I ever have. I have been fighting for years, trying to uphold some sort of wall between my students/friends/clients to prove that I am an "expert" who knew the "truth" about nutrition.
Turns out that what I needed to do all along was say, "I'm Laura, I'm educated and I'm human. I have a PhD in Nutrition and am well versed on hundreds of diet theories and holistic health practices. I've been through the ringer myself, with a history of disordered eating, body image issues, and numerous injuries related to compulsive execise. If I can overcome that, you can too. I 'get' your struggles. Let's work together to see if we can navigate this crazy, messed up world so we can come out healthy and happy and live to our potential."
Now I jut need to decise where Michael and I will take our awesome summer vacation :-)
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Eyes on the Process, not the Prize
7 Weeks until Marathon Day! I am definitely not as fast or fit as I have been in previous marathon training cycles, but that's ok. It seems the faster and fitter I am, the more silly training blips I make and the more injury prone I get. Toeing the line and completing a marathon will be more than I have done since 2007. I am going to give myself a whole year to get faster and go for a personal best marathon in 2012. But, for now, I need a few goals to keep me going through this training cycle!
I have to say, it has been extremely humbling to train and race these past couple months and just be super SLOW. My breathing has been bad, paces that used to feel easy have felt like death, and I have been falling behind on workouts. I guess that's what happens when you have 3 years of spotty training :-( It seems like the fitness is coming around a bit more the past couple weeks, but I definitely am not feeling that effortless stride and hunger for competition that I am used to. Instead I'm feeling like "Oh crap, I don't know if I can complete this workout". So, I think this training cycle is a "fake it til I make it" deal: I will remain confident and do everything in my power to work hard, recover, feed myself, and get enough sleep regardless of how sub-par my current performances are. Eventually it will pay off! If not on October 2nd, than sometime after that. I will focus on the process and the progress, rather than the outcome.
In honor of my process focus, I will post a few recipes each week of my "Peak Performance" meals, as well as give some regular updates on my training!
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