By: Laura Peill – (Check out her blog Chronicles of Passion & Facebook)
You know you’ve done it: you’re running late in the morning because you slept through your alarm and don’t have time to make breakfast. You stop at the coffee shop on your walk to work, grab coffee and a muffin and slump into your chair at the office. The lack of breakfast has left you starving by noon, but lunch prep didn’t happen this morning, so you get a take away Pad Thai at the Asian restaurant next door. You end up working late, and by the time you get home, are far too exhausted to think about dinner and you call for a pizza delivery instead. By the end of the day, you’ve eaten take out for every meal. Or even just for one meal... even that's not ideal if you're trying to get healthy or even lose weight.
Doing this on a regular basis is expensive, bad for your waistline, and is definitely sabotaging your attempts at a bikini body.
Here’s five things to do today so you don’t have take out tomorrow:
Make Snacks – Set aside a time every week where you can prepare some snacks for the week ahead. Whether it is doing up bags of trail mix, baking muffins, or making granola bars, prepare a selection of snacks that you know you will eat and that are quick and easy to grab. Think protein, carbohydrate and fruit/veggie all in one, so that in a pinch you can use them for breakfast and they will still fill you up and give you adequate nutrition.
Pre-cut Veggies and Fruit – Having a stock pile of veggies and fruit cut up and prepared in your fridge can be a lifesaver! You can grab the veggies with some hummus for a quick lunch or use them at night late to throw into a pan for a stir fry when you get home. Fresh, cut fruit makes a delicious healthy snack, or breakfast and if it’s all ready to go, what’s your excuse? Moreover, if you open the fridge in hunger and one of the first things you see is fruit and veggies that is all set to go, you will be less likely to reach for an unhealthy alternative. Or get take out.
Meal Plan – You don’t have to plan exactly what meal you are having on every night (although you can if you want to!), but do have a general idea of what you will have for dinner for the week. Sit down and come up with 7 recipes or 7 meal ideas before grocery day and shop accordingly. After your shopping trip, prep the ingredients, or put them away so they are meal friendly – freeze your chicken as individual breasts, cut up your veggies (see above), and put items in the fridge and cupboard in an easily accessible place that you will see. Having these pre purchased items staring you in the face and reminding you to use them should be enough to make you do just that!
Get up 15 minutes earlier – Just 15 minutes. It will be the difference between you being able to make a quick breakfast, or you dashing out the door. 15 minutes is all you need to make coffee and whole grain toast with banana and peanut butter. 15 minutes is all you need to whiz a smoothie around in the blender to drink on your way to work. 15 minutes is just the little bit of extra time on mornings when your hair is extra stubborn, so you still have time to get some healthy, non-takeout food into your belly and in your bag for work!
Do things the night before – If you know your mornings tend to be rushed and you always end up neglecting prepping your meals for the day, do it the night before so you don’t have to worry about it in the morning. Make your lunch, put it altogether in the fridge and fill your water bottle. Prep a smoothie for breakfast by putting all the fruit and greens in the blender and popping it in the fridge. In the morning, just add your liquid of choice, blend and pour into a take away cup. You can even have your coffee ready by measuring out the water and beans the night before and putting it in the machine. In the morning, all you have to do is press start, and you’ll smell the coffee brewing. Best deal ever!
Start by implementing one of these changes this week and then add another each week until you are in the routine and making your own food all the time. You will feel better physically, start to see the results you wanted from your new workout routine and save a lot of money at the same time!
