Life Planning and Meal Prep
How often have you heard, “80% Nutrition, 20% Exercise” or “abs are made in the kitchen!”, unfortunately it’s true to an extent, you can’t out-train a bad diet, but with so much information out in the world, it’s hard to know what to believe. Currently sitting overlooking Ocean Isle Beach in North Carolina, my nutrition is the best way for me to stay close to being on track. But, that does not mean that I am not enjoying myself!
One of the first things I did when starting to get healthy was cutting out fizzy drinks. I still stand by this as a change we should all make. Most fizzy drinks are full of sugar, can increase our risk of heart disease and Alzheimer’s and, contrary to being a drink, can actually dehydrate the body. I fully understand that drinking water all day sounds boring, and that when you take fizzy drinks out of the mix it can be difficult to find an appetizing alternative. However, as a small change to aid in weight loss, muscle gain and general health and well-being, it can have fantastic rewards.
By cutting out fizzy drinks and choosing water more often I noticed so many physical changes, my skin was much clearer, I wasn’t as bloated, I bounced back much quicker after a night out and generally I was more awake, more lively and in a far better overall mood. My next step was to reduce the amount of convenience foods I ate. I was the worst for heading out to work or class and buying lunch from the nearest supermarket or café. So I started small, taking a sandwich or salad with me for lunch and buying a small snack. Over time it became easier to prep a full meal, and it also lowered my feelings of guilt when I treated myself to a take away or if I didn’t feel up to cooking and bought a ready meal for dinner.
I still struggle to eat homemade meals everyday, life gets in the way and that’s why convenience foods exist! But, by prepping my breakfast and lunch everyday, I know that should life get in the way, I’m not derailing my progress by having a night away from the oven. There are so many tips and tricks out there for eating healthy, prepping your foods, but for most of the general population, focusing on prepping lunch three days a week is a big step forward. The biggest wake up call I had was looking at nutritional labels. A Tesco meal deal (ham and coleslaw sandwich, McCoys crisps and fizzy juice) can total up to 750 calories. There are healthier options, choosing a bag of fruit instead of crisps, or water instead of juice, but when most of the wraps and sandwiches start out at 350 calories, it is difficult to then reign in the calorie intake and still feel satiated. However, prepping a full meal at home; my current favourite is jacket potato with tuna mayo which comes in at around 330kcal, it is far more filling and macro friendly.
In my experience, nutrition is perhaps the most over complicated part of healthy living. Daily we are bombarded with adverts celebrating new ‘healthier’ menus, or encouraging us to try the newest low calorie options, but reminded to take our vitamins to stay healthy. It can be an absolute minefield! Macro and micro-nutrients are important to overall health and it is important to get a healthy mix of carbs, fats and protein, and the easiest way to start this is to cook at home. Take control of your diet and only eat what you want to eat, monitor your portion control and the instant reduction in salt, sugar and fats will make a massive difference to your diet.