Quote:
Originally Posted by Manda
.it isn't so much that the successful ones don't ever screw up...we do! We just come here, post about it, and move on.
Amen to that. Check out the post I made on my blog this afternoon. This year has been a ride for me and I've not kept to my plan the way I should - but I have to remember that I've lost 70 lbs and kept it off and that's an accomplishment in and of itself. So I just keep moving forward.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Robin
One has to MAKE time to prepare the food. Extra time will NEVER fall into your lap. You need to CARVE it out. When something is a top priority, then one somehow, someway FINDS the time.
I so totally agree. A very wise friend of mine once gave me a stern talking to when I said I couldn't find time for something. He said that when something is important to us, we don't "find" time ... we MAKE time. He said if you can't make time for it, then it's not important enough to you. At first I was resentful and thought he was being harsh ... but it really is true. If you leave something to "find time" then it obviously isn't important enough for you to prioritize.
Ok, those two things followed up with, I have a few thoughts about what else you've posted.
You said:
Quote:
my diet and workout program will be focused building muscle and losing fat.
Based on what you've written here, I don't really see a hardcore, high protein, muscle building diet in progress. I see a LOT of carbs, a lot of junky food, a lot of "bad" fat, a lot of processed food, and not a whole lot of protein. I personally would not consider this a "high protein" diet.
I kind of get the feeling that you're putting a lot of reliance on these CLA pills and less on food. My advice to you would be to ditch the pills (which are probably expensive), ditch the meal replacement candy bars, ditch the energy drinks, ditch the granola (which is nothing more that sugar), and really push whole, natural foods and more whole proteins.
I personally aim for 35% of my diet from protein, which works out to about 120g of protein per day. I eat a lot of eggs, a lot of chicken, a lot of fish, a lot of lean pork. I eat steel cut oats, cheese, and greek yogurt which has more protein per serving than just regular low fat yogurt. I don't use meal replacement bars at all, or energy drinks. In fact other than 1 cup of coffee in the morning and a Diet Coke in the afternoon, I drink water exclusively. I am for about a gallon a day, but that's also very personal and something you'll have to figure out for your body's tolerance. I will say on days I lift, I drink more because I sweat more.
The only supplement I use is a whey based protein powder that I use on workout days as an after workout snack.
There are a lot of things you can do to prepare food ahead of time to help with your schedule. Every Sunday I do the following:
- boil a dozen eggs
- make 5 peanut butter sandwiches (2 T Naturally More pb on 1 slice whole grain bread folded over) and put them in baggies
- fill 5 snack baggies with baby carrots, sliced celery, etc. for snacking
- make homemade oatmeal bars with a few scoops of protein powder for pre-workout snacks (not every week, but about once a month or so)
- slice cheese and portion it out in 1 oz servings in snack bags
- check that I have 5 apples for my morning snacks
- cook 5-10 chicken tenders in my George Foreman grill so I have something to chop up and put in pasta or on salads for the protein
- portion out my yogurt in small containers (if I haven't bought individual containers already)
I do a few other things that work for me, since I am living in my own house and so have more freedom to buy my own food and cook meals and so forth. I do a lot of prep for the weeks meals by pre-chopping veggies, precooking burger and chicken, and so forth.
But by taking an hour or two on a Sunday, I really set myself up for the coming week. I find that if I don't follow through with my Sunday routine for any reason, I really do have a harder time staying on plan. When I have food and snacks prepped, it really keeps me on track.
Hope that helps you some ... I know it can be overwhelming at first, so don't get discouraged.
None of us here learned all fo this overnight. It's been a process and one I'm still learning!
.