The Hungry Lifter is guest blogging this week to share tips for success in the nutrition portion of the Whole Life Challenge, the 6-week healthy lifestyle challenge that starts Saturday. Read Part 1 if you haven’t already. This is Part 2:
Yesterday I shared what I’ve learned testing out several different nutrition plans and what worked and didn’t work for me. Today, I’ll share some specific tips and tools that helped me stick to the RP plan and which I plan to use for the Whole Life Challenge:
Commit to meal prepping. When I first started experimenting with paleo, I fell victim to the drudgery of trying to make fresh meals every evening for dinner and the next day’s breakfast and lunch. It was awful and I hated it. I especially struggled with finding and shopping for so many different recipes. Now I am a consistent meal prepper, spending an average of about two hours on Sunday afternoons cooking up a bunch of meats and veggies, and then assembling lunches for each day of the week. I do a lot of mix-and-matching of various meats, veggies, and sauces or seasoning. That way I always have some variety. While I struggled with the initial sticker shock of a cart full of groceries, I realized I was saving a lot by not buying $10 lunches every day. Cue up a podcast or put on a favorite album in the background and commit to prepping your meals.
Find a veggie you like and snack on it constantly! Under the RP plan, some vegetables count as carbs because of their sugar or starch content (carrots, potatoes, squash) but some are “free” and don’t count as carbs. I love tomatoes, so during the most restrictive periods of my cut I would constantly snack on cherry tomatoes and pickles. This helped keep me full and helped me avoid feeling deprived – an important psychological boost for me.
Spray oils. I have spray olive oil, coconut oil and avocado oil within reach of the stove. I give a little spray rather than pouring oil in the pan. I still get the flavor but with a fraction of the calories. (I don’t skimp on vinaigrettes, though.) I’ve also found that I can adapt a lot of recipes to eliminate or cut a lot of the fat without sacrificing too much flavor. Stir fries and adobo chicken are two examples.
Eat a salad at one meal each day, even if it’s a side salad. There’s nothing like fresh, raw greens.
Similarly, put spinach in everything. I had some leftover Indian curry with rice this week and threw in two handfuls of raw spinach. It wilted in the microwave and mixed in with the meat and sauce. It’s a fast and easy way to boost your veggie consumption. I also put a handful of spinach in my morning smoothie (which I also make with frozen riced cauliflower – more easy veggies).
Sauté coleslaw mix and throw it in with any stir fries, soups, or pretty much any dish with a sauce. I found this trick to help get my two cups of veggies per meal during one of the more restrictive weeks of my RP plan, and now I do it all the time. Last week I made shredded adobo chicken, then put it in my plastic container with a cup of the sautéed cabbage and carrots and poured the sauce over. For weeks when you’re stressed, don’t have much time and don’t feel like brainstorming up creative new meals, sautéed coleslaw is cheap, fast and easy.
Eat healthy early; save treats and indulgences for later in the day. I’ve found that if I start the day off well, I’ll continue my good eating throughout the day. The opposite is true, too. I’ve been to business breakfasts where the only options are high-fat or high-sugar. If I start my day off with a chocolate croissant, I’m much more likely to forget that I had a treat earlier in the day
and want another in the evening or I’ll get frustrated, throw up my hands and call the day a loss. I tell myself if I have this dessert now, I can’t have one later in the day when I really want it. I also try to think of my nightly casein pudding as my dessert and remember that I’ll be enjoying it in a few hours when a craving hits in the afternoon.
That said, don’t beat yourself up if you go off plan or “cheat” or indulge. Every day is its own day, and if I end up veering off my plan, I’ll decide to start over in the morning and focus on consistency for that day.
Look for recipes that match the plan, don’t try to modify all your favorite foods to fit the plan.
This has been a big one for me for a long time – since my days experimenting with veganism to paleo to keto now to the Whole Life Challenge. I don’t like eating dairy-free cheese or heavily doctored recipes. If you really want French fries, or pizza, or whatever else, have the normal
version of it, enjoy and move on. Instead of looking for modified versions of these foods, I try to find new recipes to try, which usually means I find a new favorite or a new meal to add to the regular rotation. As a result, I’m more satisfied and consistent.
I hope these tips are helpful for everyone who’s participating in the Whole Life Challenge!
About The Hungry Lifter: To help lead Team Lis Smash’s Whole Life Challenge team, we turned to one of our members who has a lot of experience eating clean. She also loves to cook and dine out with her husband. If you’ve got more nutrition questions for The Hungry Lifter or for Coach Lis, please post them in the comments!
Team Lis Smash kicks off the Whole Life Challenge this Saturday. It’s a 6-week lifestyle challenge when we’ll attempt to build better habits in the areas of nutrition, hydration, sleep, exercise, mobility & well-being. Wanna join Team Lis Smash for the Challenge?
Register here now!
And meet us at CrossFit Downtown Atlanta this Saturday at 12n for our Kickoff Q+A and Prelims Workout.
