I have no regrets about the ice cream dates I’ve partaken in with my kids this summer, but the scale is starting to remind me that I don’t have the metabolism of a five-year-old. After all of the delicious 4th of July foods I ate (and continued to eat throughout the entire week) I decided it was time to get back on track before things got too out of hand! I like to do these little “resets” so that I can enjoy myself when I want and then get back to my healthy lifestyle.
I have never been a diet person because I don’t like the feeling of not being allowed to have any certain foods. I do like to think of food as medicine though and I FEEL so much better when I maintain a healthy lifestyle, which to me means eating as much whole/unprocessed foods as possible. This usually looks like lots of fruits and veggies and lean proteins. As much as I enjoy having donuts in my PJs with my kids in the moment, I do pay for it for the rest of the day. I end up feeling sluggish and craving more carbs and sugar throughout the day. That’s why I love the healthy swaps I’ve found, like having almond flour waffles instead of pancakes, or homemade donuts or muffins instead of store-bought junk food. It IS more time-consuming, and I very much look forward to the day when you can buy healthy treats as easily as you can find the artificial sugar bombs in every grocery store! (Maybe one day my healthy muffin shop will come to fruition). I try to bake something most Fridays so that we have some healthy treats to enjoy over the weekend. I have a whole blog post containing all of my healthy baking recipes, which you can find here.
When I need to reel it in a little, I like to stick to lower-carb/higher-protein meals. A “low-carb diet” has never worked for me, because I get cranky and hangry and almost always end up ordering a pizza after a few days and swearing to my husband that I will never put him through this hell again ;). However, I’ve recently been trying a new approach that combines higher protein meals than I have eaten in the past (especially in the morning) and Intermittent Fasting. I honestly thought the idea of IF was kind of dumb when I first heard about it, but it really does help me to eat fewer calories throughout the day. I’ve been doing a 16-hour fasting time and then eat between the hours of 10 AM and 6 PM, which has been really easy to stick to with my schedule. I do have a coffee with the tiniest splash of almond milk creamer when I wake up which I don’t count because I am a HUMAN BEING ;)
This all started because I was reading a lot of articles about how having a high-protein breakfast (between 30-50 grams of protein) can help you eat fewer calories throughout the day and also help with balancing hormones. My hormones are almost always the cause of me going on some kind of crazy food bender, so this was something I wanted to try for myself. I started realizing I wasn’t hungry for lunch as early once I started having this high-protein smoothie for breakfast, and I have had far fewer cravings since I changed my smoothie recipe. Since I was feeling so good from the high-protein breakfast, I decided to give a higher-protein lunch a try as well. I still eat carbs at dinner because a no-carb life is not one I want to live, but I definitely feel like I have much more energy and just feel better overall with these high-protein meals earlier in the day.
This meal plan is about 1400-1500 calories, which I feel good with on my more sedentary days. On these days I try to do a 15-20 minute strength training workout on Youtube (I love Pamela Reif and Fit by Mik) and try to walk to the playground with my kids or get some steps in another way (like shamelessly dancing around my kitchen while cooking dinner). On days that I go to Orange Theory, I add in extra carbs and eat closer to 1800 calories since I burn around 500 calories in those classes. Those are usually my pasta for dinner nights and I also add oats back into my smoothie and add nuts or seeds to my snack.
The main difference between this and my everyday diet is that it focuses more on protein than plants, but you will still find your 5-7 servings of fruits and veggies each day with this meal plan. I would just like to stress that I am not a doctor, this is just a plan that works for me for short periods when I’m extra motivated that I wanted to share. Make sure you are eating enough calories for your body’s specific needs. You can find calculators online that tell you how many calories your body needs like this one here and then subtract 300-500 calories depending on how much weight you would like to lose per week (1lb = 3500 calories).
This meal plan works for me because I really like these foods. Don’t try to force yourself to eat things you don’t enjoy. My smoothies taste like vanilla milkshakes to me and eating eggs for lunch makes me feel fancy like I’m at brunch, so there is no sacrifice. I also make sure I feel full and am not miserable or I WILL be ordering a pizza. I drink tons of water (usually around 100 oz) and also eliminate alcohol, weekday desserts, and sodas (even diet soda). I got back into a bad habit of drinking diet soda recently and QUICKLY realized it causes me to make terrible food choices and eat way more calories. If I really want a sweet drink I will have a low-calorie Humm Kombucha (I love the strawberry lemonade, especially because it looks like Rose in a wine glass!) or an Arnold Palmer with a splash of lemonade.
A lot of people worry about macros… for this meal plan, the days usually equal out to about 35% protein, 35% carbs, and 30% fat. This seems to be good for me, but every person is different and will have their own needs. I do have some treats on the weekends but I still track my calories to make sure I don’t mess up my weekly progress. During my “clean eating” period, a treat will be a few squares of dark chocolate (I love Ghiradelli) or a homemade muffin (but only over the weekend). Some of my workout days during the week may be under my calorie goal, but I make up for that on the weekend (without going over my weekly goal). So without further ado, here is my “High Protein/Tone-Up Meal Plan”!
High Protein Tone-Up Meal Plan (& Bonus Workout Plan!)
Monday: (20 minutes strength training abs/arms)
10:00 Breakfast- Green Collagen Smoothie
1:30 Lunch- 2 eggs, 1/2 cup egg whites scrambled (in about 1/2 T butter) served with string cheese, and 3/4 cup blueberries
3:30 Snack- Oikos Triple Zero Greek Yogurt (or cottage cheese)
5:30 Dinner- Salmon, brown rice pilaf (3/4 cup), roasted Brussels sprouts
Tuesday: (Orange Theory Day) - can sub with a 2-mile run/walk and 20-30 min Youtube video
10:00 Breakfast- Green Collagen Smoothie (add 1/3 cup oats)
1:30 Lunch- 2 eggs, 1/2 cup egg white omelet with peppers, onions, mushrooms, and shredded cheddar served with salsa
3:30 Snack- yogurt with 1T chia seeds and 1 cup berries
5:30 Dinner- Grilled chicken breast, roasted sweet potato, sauteed green beans
Wednesday (strength training booty & legs)
10:00 Breakfast- Green Collagen Smoothie
1:30 Lunch- 2 eggs, 1/2 cup egg whites scrambled served with string cheese, and 3/4 cup blueberries
3:30 Snack- Oikos Triple Zero Greek Yogurt (or cottage cheese)
5:30 Dinner- Brown rice bowl with blackened shrimp, pineapple, broccoli, and crushed macadamia nuts (w/ Lawry’scarribean jerk sauce)
Thursday (Orange Theory Day) - can sub with a 2-mile run/walk and 20-30 min Youtube video
10:00 Breakfast- Green Collagen Smoothie (add 1/3 cup oats)
1:30 Lunch- 2 eggs, 1/2 cup egg white omelet with peppers, onions, mushrooms, and shredded cheddar served with salsa
3:30 Snack- yogurt with 1T chia seeds and berries
5:30 Banza pasta (2 servings) with Al Fresco chicken meatballs (5 meatballs) and Raos sauce
Friday (30-minute full-body yoga)
10:00 Breakfast- Green Collagen Smoothie
1:30 Lunch- 2 eggs, 1/2 cup egg whites scrambled with string cheese, and 3/4 cup blueberries
3:30 Snack- Oikos Triple Zero Greek Yogurt
5:30 Either family pizza night (I get cauliflower crust with chicken and jalapeno) or date night (usually salmon sushi)
Saturday (Orange Theory Day) - can sub with a 2-mile run/walk and 20-30 min Youtube video
10:00 Breakfast- Green Collagen Smoothie
1:30 Lunch- Chipotle chicken tacos with fajita, salsa, cheese, and lettuce
3:30 Snack- Oikos Triple Zero Greek Yogurt (or cottage cheese)
5:30 Dinner- Takeout Indian chicken curry with 1 cup basmati rice or if out to dinner lean steak (small filet) potatoes, vegetables
6:00 Dessert- 2 dark chocolate squares
Sunday (Active Rest walk/hike/bike ride)
My new bike that I LOVE :)
9:30 Breakfast- Oikos Triple Zero Yogurt with blueberries
11:30 Brunch- Scrambled eggs with turkey sausage/muffin or Simple Mils almond flour waffle/turkey sausage
2:00 Snack- No Cow Protein Bar
5:30- Whole Grain Spaghetti with Turkey Meat Sauce