Meal Prep

Ever hear that phrase "abs are made in the kitchen"? It's pretty true.  The general breakdown of fitness is somewhere along the lines of 70% food 20% exercise and 10% genetics (I wouldn't quote me on that, but it's in the ballpark).  That being said paying attention to what you eat is pretty vital.  Most people are busy, I know I am...as shown by how often I post.  A way to remedy eating crap because you are too busy is to meal prep.  Sit down when you are watching a movie, playing on Pinterest, or just generally goofing off and write down what you think your meals ought to be for the week/next few days.  This can be difficult as you don't really know what the calorie and macro content of all the food is.  Personally I like to use My Fitness Pal to track these things.  You don't have to count every calorie, but it's good to have an idea of how many you are taking in so you aren't grossly under or over your general calorie goal.  Next is grocery shopping.  Planning your meals beforehand gives you a pretty clear cut grocery list, which is awesome because it takes away a good amount of aimless wandering through the grocery store and keeps it an in-and-out event.  It also helps you budget a little better if you are tight on funds.

Once you leave the grocery store it is time to cook.  If you are like me and cook everything for the next 3 days to a week it takes the Sunday afternoons I allow for cooking, and a considerable amount of tupperware.  On the whole though, the time spent pre-cooking my meals is well spent because I always have food available and don't end up eating crap because I didn't plan ahead well enough.  More importantly I don't starve my way through a work shift or go to bed hungry because I have no food readily available.

After all the cooking is done I like to set it out on my table and make sure it's enough for my days, and that it looks tasty.

Today It took me about 2 hours to cook (the chicken took a while) and I ended it with a fairly clean kitchen and the following meals:

Lactose Free Cottage Cheese and an apple

Rice pasta with avocado cream sauce and grilled chicken

Green Beans and two hard boiled eggs

Asparagus and tuna packet with sweet potato

Pre workout and Pumpkin Pie Protein shake (I'll post that recipe later, it's amazing)

I tend to stick with smaller meals so I can eat regularly throughout the day.  It also works out because I sometimes barely have enough time to eat a small meal in a decent amount of time so a large meal would mostly go to waste. 


EDIT: It was asked why I chose lactose free cottage cheese.  I'm lactose intolerant.  There's no other reason for it.