•Blood is 83% water
•Muscles are 75% water
•The brain is 74% water
•Bone is 22% water
It may feel like an annoyance at the beginning but having water with you will make a huge difference in your life. Water is a requirement. Your body needs water to digest and absorb vitamins and nutrients. Water also detoxifies the liver and kidneys, and carries away waste, and makes digestion possible. Fiber alone cannot aid proper digestive function. Feeling dehydrated? You may be, and not even know it! Without water, your blood is literally thicker, and your body has to work considerably tougher to cause it to circulate. Your brain becomes less active, it’s hard to concentrate, your body feels fatigued, and you just tire out. Aim for a gallon a day. Before you know it, you will start to crave and love your water.
For best consistency eat meals every 2.5 to 3 hours apart, choose the right about of each food for your goals. You can buy a scale for $10-$20 bucks that will help you tremendously divide the food up with accuracy and speed. Divide all your meals into portion sizes for meals and storage. To speed up time in the kitchen I will cook a large amount of rice or sweet potatoes, and steam some green beans and/or broccoli while my meat is on the grill or in the oven. Make sure to keep spices handy when cooking meat to keep things different and more enjoyable. When choosing foods, try and pick ones that are low in the glycemic index, though there are many other healthy choices such as raisins, peas, corns, carrots, and white potatoes.
The last thing to mention that could make or break your success is the food that you choose to prep and cook. The richest sources of protein are animal foods such as chicken, meat, fish, cheese and eggs. However, plant proteins are believed to be healthier because of their lower fat content. Some of the best protein to eat from animals is turkey, fish. Chicken, steak. Once it comes to picking out carbs there are a couple that I would say are the go depending on if you want simple or complex carbs. Sweet potatoes are my favorite but for those who don’t like those there is brown or white rice. There is also whole wheat pasta & breads. You can’t forget to add in enough healthy fats which many do because they think of fat as being a bad thing. Healthy fats can be found in olive oil, almonds, natural peanut butter, and avocados. Although many hate veggies they are also a must to eat along with the other foods to get enough fiber. Those foods include broccoli, asparagus, green beans, brussel sprouts.
While there are not a ton of choices of food above, those are just a base line to get you started. There are many other options out there to eat healthy. You have to find the right food that you can enjoy eating and still be healthy. Find the right combination that works for you and have fun with it.
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Why is meal prep important? Preparation is key on your road to a healthier lifestyle! One common mistake is not having healthier alternatives readily available. When we don’t have food prepared or healthy snack options, we tend to reach for items that may not support fitness goals.
If you’re a bodybuilder, fitness model or athlete, you may want to consider meal prepping since your body is your lifeline for your business and understanding what you’re putting in to it is very important. Beginners should start with prepping 2 meals and 1 snack and they should make sure this covers their meals.
Another reason to meal is prep is to save money. When I’m discussing meal prep with others I often hear people complaining about how expensive meal prep must be. It may seem like a lot at first because you are spending all your money for food at once. However if you combined how much money is spent on food when you going out to eat and food for at home meals, I promise it will cost a lot more. Buying ahead of time and when there are deals to buy in bulk will save you a ton of cash.
Not only is meal prep affordable but there are ways to make it even cheaper. The best way is to start browsing your local grocery stores’ sales flyers. Start planning your grocery list around items that are on sale and you’ll see how much food you can get for your weekly budget. Once you start reading them, you’ll see that there are tons of items each week that are on sale for as much as 50% off without even using coupons! Shopping the bulk bins, even at pricey stores like Whole Foods, can also help you save money. Bulk oats are often a huge savings when compared to name brand oats, where you’re typically just paying for the packaging.
Cook Your Meals In Advance & Keep It Simple.
Preparing your meals in advance ensures that you won’t be tempted to make a pit stop into getting fast food. If you are short on time and want a gourmet meal then you may be setting yourself up for disappointment since gourmet cooking may take more prep time than you have. Maybe save the gourmet meal for a weekend treat when you have more time and it will give you something to look forward too.
Plan ahead by cooking your meals every other day, providing you with enough food for the next two days. If you are really busy, keep Sundays and Wednesdays as your ‘chef’ days. I normally eat breakfast at home unless I am doing morning cardio and am not returning home right away. I like to prep all my food on Sundays for the whole week. This way not only am I saving money but I am also save time during the week when I am most busy. Whether I am taking the kids to an event or having to do work around the house my meals are only 3 minutes in the microwave away from being ready.
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