Your Ideal Form

Helping you on your journey to your best self!

Audrey D

Meal Planning for Healthier Eating

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Meal Planning for Healthier Eating

Success in just about any endeavor where you are trying to make a change comes down to honesty, consistency, tracking and planning ahead. Planning ahead makes it much easier to honestly stick to your plan, be consistent about it, and also easier to track since you’ve thought about it ahead of time. Planning out your meals in advance is a great way to get ahead of the game. I’ve written about preparing meals ahead of time, but this is about planning things out before you even get to the grocery store.

Promise me something

I want you to make a vow right now to never again head to the grocery store without a list. No more just “winging” it. No more just buying whatever you feel like. Even if you are only going in for a couple things, make a list. I find that when I only need a few things, I think I can remember them all, and also since my list is short, I figure I can pick up a few random extra things, and then I inevitably forget one of the items I actually meant to buy. Make. A. List. Decide what meals you will make for the week, and add the ingredients you don’t already have in the pantry or fridge to the list. You can use a pen an paper list, or one of the many list apps out there. There are even apps that will store your ingredient lists for meals, so you simply select which meals you plan to make, and it automatically adds what you need to your list for that shopping trip.

Make a meal list

This is different from your grocery list, but will help you tremendously in planning your meals for the week. Make a master list of easy to prepare, healthy meals. (To help you get started, fill out the form below to get three free recipes!) This list also keeps your meal rotation from getting too boring, as you can reference it for a meal you haven’t had in a while. Pinterest is a great place for finding easy meals for the slow cooker, or one pan oven meals. Keeping the recipes for these meals is handy when it comes time to make your shopping list so you can be sure you don’t forget any main ingredients. It also gives you the opportunity to be sure you have enough of a particular ingredient on hand rather than getting to the store and trying to remember if you have lentils at home or not and if you do, if you have enough to cover the amount the recipe calls for.

Don’t over complicate it

While your meal list can help you with keeping your menu fresh, don’t try to make it too complicated by trying to come up with too many different meals. It’s a great idea to have at least one go-to meal that is super simple each week. In our household, we alternate between chicken thighs and wings each week, but we have them every single week. (I’ve included this one in the recipes below) Also, try to keep most of the meals themselves relatively simple. The idea here is to make it as easy as possible to cook a healthy meal at home rather than going out to eat. The easier a meal is to prepare, the more likely you are to choose that option.

Plan ahead with the sales flyer

If you live near a supermarket, you likely get a flyer from them in the mail each week. You can also use this flyer to help you plan out your meals, especially if you are on a budget. Just cross-reference what’s on sale with the meals in your lineup, and then add those items to your grocery list.

Stick to the list

I’m sure you’ve heard this one before, but once you’ve consulted your meal index and the store flyer and created your shopping list, ONLY BUY WHAT’S ON THE LIST. For one, this will get you in and out of the grocery store faster. Also, if you avoid buying extras, then you won’t be tempted by having them in the house. Healthy eating starts in the grocery store. If you don’t put it in your cart, you won’t put it in your mouth.

For more tips on planning out your meals, including how to build a Meal Library, check out my Ultimate Guide to Meal Prep.

Working Out Is Not a Free Pass for a Poor Diet

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Working Out Is Not a Free Pass for a Poor Diet

No matter how much you work out, if you don’t eat right, you’re not going to achieve the body you want. There was a time in my life that I was doing CrossFit five times a week, marathon training three times a week, and taking a horseback riding lesson once a week (getting a one-ton animal to do what you want with just your legs is a HUGE workout). That’s NINE workouts of an hour or more each week. I didn’t lose any weight during this time, although I certainly had some excess fat to lose. And that’s because I didn’t really watch what I ate. I ate mostly “healthy” foods, but I didn’t really regulate how much I ate. I didn’t even know how much I should have been eating. Working out is not a free pass for a poor diet. Working out is also not a punishment or some trial that you get rewarded for after with snacks. Don’t undo all your hard work!

Setting up a Morning Routine

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Setting up a Morning Routine

In her quest to make the most of her day, Jane has set up a nightly routine to help her fall asleep faster, she has taken steps to make her bedroom into a sanctuary so she can get better sleep, and she has tweaked her alarm clocks so that she is waking up earlier. She still feels like she isn’t quite getting a jump on her day though; she grabs her phone to check social media, and before she knows it, the time she had by waking up earlier is gone. Having a morning routine to bookend the nightly routine we started with can be that jump start we need to make the most of our day. Here are some things you can include in your morning routine.

No screens

Checking Facebook and email can be an enormous time drain, so avoid checking your phone until after your routine is done. If you absolutely must know something right away, say, what the weather is going to be like, add it as a notification to your lock screen, so you don’t even have to unlock your phone to get that information.

Make the bed

Making your bed is a quick small thing that can have huge returns. It doesn’t have to be hotel style fancy or anything. Just straighten out the covers and arrange the pillows. It takes less than a minute, and it starts your day off with a sense of accomplishment. It makes the bedroom look nicer, and reduces the background stress that comes whenever something is out of place or cluttered.

Do some exercise

If the whole point of getting up early was to give yourself time to work out, then do it now! If you just wanted some more time in your day, do a little something, even if it’s just 10 push-ups or 20 jumping jacks or something. Yoga sun salutations are another great way to get in some movement in the mornings. The idea here is to get the blood flowing and get you from a state of merely having your eyes open to actually being awake.

Start the day with journaling

Another reason to get up early is to have time to write in a journal. You can make this as quick or as in-depth as you wish. If you don’t have much time, but would like to start your days on a positive note, consider keeping a journal handy and simply writing down three to five things you are grateful for each morning. If you have more time, you can plan out your day a bit more. I keep a bullet journal, and while I normally prepare for the day the night before, if I forget, it’s something I do first thing in the morning. List out the day’s appointments and tasks you’d like to accomplish, and then get do it! If you truly have time on your hands in the morning, you can try morning pages. Morning pages is basically taking a notebook and writing three pages every morning. It doesn’t matter what you write. It’s basically just a brain dump, and it really helps to get your mind clear of clutter so you can focus on what you really want to accomplish that day.

Add in some meditation

Taking time for meditation before you start your day can really help bring your focus to the here and now and on what you want to get accomplished. It will help clear your mind of distractions so that you can be your most productive self. This doesn’t have to take long, just a quick five-minute session can be enough to help you get  going.

Grab a magic potion

Now is the time for your morning power potion of choice. Whether that be coffee, tea, orange juice, a power smoothie, red bull or what have you, gulp down some of that rocket fuel (bonus points to doing so while listening to your own personal power anthem) and seize the day!

 

You Did Not Wake Up Today to Just Be Mediocre

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You Did Not Wake Up Today to Just Be Mediocre

I want you to take the time to think about all of the billions of tiny events that had to happen just so to make you who you are and bring you to where you are today. One little change in the past, and all of this would be different. What if your great great great great grandparents hadn’t met for some reason? What if a different sperm had won that race to the egg? Whether by crazy random happenstance or divine guidance, you are here, now. Do not let all of the effort that brought you to this time and place go to waste. You did not wake up today to just be mediocre. Go out there and be the very best version of you that you can be. If the very best you can do is getting out of bed and taking a shower, do that. If it means getting a new PR on your squat, do that.  Whatever you do today, do it to the very best of your ability. Go out there and be your own hero!

How to Wake Up Earlier

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How to Wake Up Earlier

Our saga of Jane and her quest to get up earlier so she has time to workout and get more done in her day continues. Jane set up a nightly routine and is now getting much better sleep, but her sleep has gotten so good, she has a really hard time getting out of bed in the mornings. Here are some suggestions to help you actually get out of bed earlier.

Go to bed earlier

Set an alarm at night so that you know to start prepping for bed and don’t lose track of the time. Be sure to give yourself time to do your nightly routine which will help you fall asleep faster! It’s really hard to get up early if you haven’t had enough sleep.

Wake up at the same time each day

This one is tough, especially on weekends. But waking up the same time each day gets your body into a routine, and our bodies love routines. This helps in two ways: one, it teaches the body what time to wake up, so you start to naturally wake up at that time, even without an alarm; and two, it also makes you start feeling sleepy at the time your body needs to go to bed in order to get the optimal amount of sleep. How much sleep you need is different for everyone, but if you make it a habit to wake up at the same time each day, your body will let you know when it’s bedtime!

Avoid hitting snooze

The snooze button is insidious. It seems like your friend, but it’s really not. You aren’t going to be able to get any quality sleep between when you hit that button and when the alarm goes off again, so you might as well just get up. Also, going in and out of sleep like that lengthens your “sleep inertia” making it harder for you to fully wake up and be alert enough to get on with your day. Another option is using an alarm app like the Rock Clock which has no snooze function at all, so you have no choice but to get up. (Also, who doesn’t love The Rock?)

Try an alarm clock hack

To avoid that snooze button, try moving your alarm clock to the other side of the room. This requires that you actually get up to turn it off. You can also get an alarm clock app for your phone that is trickier to turn off, such as one that requires that you solve a math problem (or several) before it will turn off. That forces you to get your brain working and gets you to “wake up” before turning the alarm off. Another helpful tip is to use an alarm clock app that works with your body’s sleep rhythms to wake you when it thinks you are at the lightest part of your sleep cycle. The idea here is that instead of shocking you out of a deep sleep, the app monitors your movement patterns (requires that your phone be under your pillow or on your mattress somewhere) and will wake you up anywhere up to half an hour before your “must be awake” time based on how much you are moving about. More movement = lighter sleep and thus not as much of a shock to wake up.

Get a sunrise alarm clock

Just as it was important to darken our bedrooms to prepare our bodies natural rhythms for sleep, having some natural light in the mornings can help to wake us up. Getting an alarm clock that has a sunrise feature can help bring you out of sleep slowly, while also signaling to your body that it is time to be up and about. This is especially important the further you live from the equator, as in winter time, it can stay dark out for a long time, and you need that fake sun to help you get going. Some of these lights can even do double duty as light therapy for Seasonal Affective Disorder. (For more ways to combat SAD, check out this infographic over at Positive Health Wellness)

Try feeding pets earlier

Not guaranteed to work, especially if you have pets that are content to cuddle. That said, try feeding your pets earlier. Once they get used to a routine of eating at a certain time, they’ll start waking you up expecting their breakfast. And how can you say “no” to that face?

 

Now that you’re up, let’s make sure you start this day off on the right foot!

Excuses Don’t Burn Calories

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Excuses Don't Burn Calories

Excuses might make you feel better about missing a workout or about eating that second cookie, but they won’t help you get any closer to your goals. Instead of being reactive, try to switch to a more proactive mindset. Think of the excuses you use the most, and pre-define for yourself how you will overcome it next time it rears its ugly head.

For example, if you’ve had a rough day and thus feel you “deserve” a second cookie even if it doesn’t fit within your meal plan, instead, decide beforehand that if you do have a rough day, you’ll treat yourself some other way. Perhaps a bubble bath, or taking time to read, or doing your nails.

Your challenge for this week: write down every time you use an excuse, and then come up with a way to combat that excuse in the future. Can’t come up with an alternative tactic? Let me know in the comments, and I’ll help you out!