{Whole30 Hacks}
Day 60 has me feeling like...
60 days is no easy feat. There have been plenty of times when I wanted to reach for a piece of candy...of even a piece of gum. But I stayed strong and persevered because there are no shortcuts to being healthy.
We are busy. At any given time there is a load of laundry in the washer that has been ran multiple times (that's what happens when you forget it's there for a few days), dishes that need to be put away, and pets that haven't been fed. Between working, parenting, and spousing, we are tired and generally the first thing that get pushed to the side is our focus on eating well and working out.
But, there are no shortcuts to being healthy.
If you've ever attempted a Whole30- or any lifestyle change- you know it can be daunting. So many rules to abide by. It's such a process...shop, put food away, cook, clean, workout, repeat. Over and over again. Plus it's not cheap. Why is whole, nutritious food so expensive?
But, again, there are no shortcuts to being healthy.
That's right. There are no shortcuts. You want to lose 5 pounds...10 pounds...25 pounds? Then you make a conscious choice every day to eat healthy and get yourself moving. You want to tone? You carve out time at the gym to lift. There might not be any shortcuts, but there are definitely things I do regularly that make our lives run a tad more smoothly.
1. Make ahead breakfast. Neither one of my boys are morning people. The big one isn't even human before few cups of coffee and the little one only seems to be up and energized on the weekends...go figure. In an effort to alleviate some of the morning stress I prep breakfast on Sunday. I make breakfast for the entire week. Generally it is in the form of a casserole with a ton of eggs, protein and vegetables. A 9x13 pan of goodness lasts Ty and I the whole week. Each morning we cut a piece, reheat, and eat it with a side of fruit. See our meal plans for my all time favorite casserole recipe.
2. Lunch prep. Our biggest obstacle to maintaining healthy choices while at work is slacking on lunch prep. Because of this, I prep lunches on Sunday. Usually, we pick a crockpot recipe that can cook all day and then be portioned out before we go to bed on Sunday night. This week we made chicken fajita soup and it made enough for us to have lunch for most of the week...each morning I throw a container of soup and some fruit and veggies into my bag and I am good to go!
3. Pre wash fruit and veggies. On Sundays, we grocery shop right after church. We find that the stores are not as crowded and we can navigate the aisles without any major meltdowns (fyi...the meltdowns usually come from the adults, not the kid!). One of the first things I do when we get home is wash our fruit and veggies. I also cut up any melons, pineapples, etc. This ensures that at any given time we can grab a healthy snack or side with ease.
4. Meal plan. Planning keeps us on track. Usually it's a mix of old tried and true recipes and fresh recipes. We go over the plan together and tweak based on cravings and preferences. But without this plan, we would end up overspending and eating out. If you despise meal planning, no worries. I post our meal plan each week!
5. Embrace leftovers. Prior to Whole30, we threw away a ton of food. Most meals leave us with leftovers- but we hardly ever ate them. By the time we pulled the neglected Tupperware out of the fridge, it was too late. Into the trash it went. Now, we use leftovers regularly. We generally plan one night a week where we eat leftovers for dinner and will also pack it for lunch if needed. Some weeks, Ty and I have late nights at work- so we need to pack both lunch and dinner. We will use leftovers for the second packed meal.
6. Schedule workouts. Ryan isn't quite at the age where we can leave him on his own. So Tyler and I work hard to schedule our workouts in ways that allow us to go one at a time. Luckily, our gym is 2 minutes from our house and lots of times I just like to run the lake by our neighborhood. But still, it is way easier if we talk about it ahead of time- usually in the morning while we are getting ready...who is going when, what we plan to do, etc.
7. Try new foods. This isn't really a hack, but it did help me survive my first Whole30. Before Whole30 I hated grapes, blackberries, orange juice, etc. However, about half way through---I began to try some of the foods I thought I hated and realized they were amazing. It amazed me how quickly my palate changed just by cutting out junky food- especially sweeteners. So basically my tip is---try all fruits and veggies, even if you haven't liked them in the past.
8. Spices. Spices are your best friend on this program. A good spice combination can add the needed kick to veggies, chicken...pretty much everything. HOWEVER, step one is to clean out you spice rack. I quickly realized that some of my go-to spices were not compliant. Season salt has sugar. Garlic powder has a label that says may contain milk and soy. Yikes. Once we tossed all of the non-compliant spices, I felt freedom to grab whatever combinations I wanted without worry of crossing (or blurring) any lines.
9. Maximize time. This is going to sound silly, but I try to make a conscious effort to do squats, lunges, calf elevations, etc when I am waiting on things in the microwave, or in the oven...or when I am straightening my hair in the morning. Instead of hollering upstairs to Ryan when I need him, I walk/jog the stairs. I honestly think these little times of consciously exercising add up and add to the overall changes I am experiencing while Whole30-ing.
So there you have it. These are not rocket-science. Honestly, they are probably things you already do. But sticking to a lifestyle change is hard. So why not make it easier on ourselves by simplifying, sharing, and encouraging?!
What are you favorite tips, tricks, and hacks for eating healthy and staying fit??
60 days is no easy feat. There have been plenty of times when I wanted to reach for a piece of candy...of even a piece of gum. But I stayed strong and persevered because there are no shortcuts to being healthy.
We are busy. At any given time there is a load of laundry in the washer that has been ran multiple times (that's what happens when you forget it's there for a few days), dishes that need to be put away, and pets that haven't been fed. Between working, parenting, and spousing, we are tired and generally the first thing that get pushed to the side is our focus on eating well and working out.
But, there are no shortcuts to being healthy.
If you've ever attempted a Whole30- or any lifestyle change- you know it can be daunting. So many rules to abide by. It's such a process...shop, put food away, cook, clean, workout, repeat. Over and over again. Plus it's not cheap. Why is whole, nutritious food so expensive?
But, again, there are no shortcuts to being healthy.
That's right. There are no shortcuts. You want to lose 5 pounds...10 pounds...25 pounds? Then you make a conscious choice every day to eat healthy and get yourself moving. You want to tone? You carve out time at the gym to lift. There might not be any shortcuts, but there are definitely things I do regularly that make our lives run a tad more smoothly.
1. Make ahead breakfast. Neither one of my boys are morning people. The big one isn't even human before few cups of coffee and the little one only seems to be up and energized on the weekends...go figure. In an effort to alleviate some of the morning stress I prep breakfast on Sunday. I make breakfast for the entire week. Generally it is in the form of a casserole with a ton of eggs, protein and vegetables. A 9x13 pan of goodness lasts Ty and I the whole week. Each morning we cut a piece, reheat, and eat it with a side of fruit. See our meal plans for my all time favorite casserole recipe.
2. Lunch prep. Our biggest obstacle to maintaining healthy choices while at work is slacking on lunch prep. Because of this, I prep lunches on Sunday. Usually, we pick a crockpot recipe that can cook all day and then be portioned out before we go to bed on Sunday night. This week we made chicken fajita soup and it made enough for us to have lunch for most of the week...each morning I throw a container of soup and some fruit and veggies into my bag and I am good to go!
3. Pre wash fruit and veggies. On Sundays, we grocery shop right after church. We find that the stores are not as crowded and we can navigate the aisles without any major meltdowns (fyi...the meltdowns usually come from the adults, not the kid!). One of the first things I do when we get home is wash our fruit and veggies. I also cut up any melons, pineapples, etc. This ensures that at any given time we can grab a healthy snack or side with ease.
4. Meal plan. Planning keeps us on track. Usually it's a mix of old tried and true recipes and fresh recipes. We go over the plan together and tweak based on cravings and preferences. But without this plan, we would end up overspending and eating out. If you despise meal planning, no worries. I post our meal plan each week!
5. Embrace leftovers. Prior to Whole30, we threw away a ton of food. Most meals leave us with leftovers- but we hardly ever ate them. By the time we pulled the neglected Tupperware out of the fridge, it was too late. Into the trash it went. Now, we use leftovers regularly. We generally plan one night a week where we eat leftovers for dinner and will also pack it for lunch if needed. Some weeks, Ty and I have late nights at work- so we need to pack both lunch and dinner. We will use leftovers for the second packed meal.
6. Schedule workouts. Ryan isn't quite at the age where we can leave him on his own. So Tyler and I work hard to schedule our workouts in ways that allow us to go one at a time. Luckily, our gym is 2 minutes from our house and lots of times I just like to run the lake by our neighborhood. But still, it is way easier if we talk about it ahead of time- usually in the morning while we are getting ready...who is going when, what we plan to do, etc.
7. Try new foods. This isn't really a hack, but it did help me survive my first Whole30. Before Whole30 I hated grapes, blackberries, orange juice, etc. However, about half way through---I began to try some of the foods I thought I hated and realized they were amazing. It amazed me how quickly my palate changed just by cutting out junky food- especially sweeteners. So basically my tip is---try all fruits and veggies, even if you haven't liked them in the past.
8. Spices. Spices are your best friend on this program. A good spice combination can add the needed kick to veggies, chicken...pretty much everything. HOWEVER, step one is to clean out you spice rack. I quickly realized that some of my go-to spices were not compliant. Season salt has sugar. Garlic powder has a label that says may contain milk and soy. Yikes. Once we tossed all of the non-compliant spices, I felt freedom to grab whatever combinations I wanted without worry of crossing (or blurring) any lines.
9. Maximize time. This is going to sound silly, but I try to make a conscious effort to do squats, lunges, calf elevations, etc when I am waiting on things in the microwave, or in the oven...or when I am straightening my hair in the morning. Instead of hollering upstairs to Ryan when I need him, I walk/jog the stairs. I honestly think these little times of consciously exercising add up and add to the overall changes I am experiencing while Whole30-ing.
So there you have it. These are not rocket-science. Honestly, they are probably things you already do. But sticking to a lifestyle change is hard. So why not make it easier on ourselves by simplifying, sharing, and encouraging?!
What are you favorite tips, tricks, and hacks for eating healthy and staying fit??
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