My Go-To Healthy Meals

Disclaimer: Please keep in mind that I am in no way a dietician, a nutritionist, or qualified in any way to discuss nutrition. I simply wanted to share some of my favorite healthy meal ideas. I am not saying that this is what everyone should be eating; this is just what I enjoy! I eat pretty much the same things every day (on the weekends I change it up a bit). Also, I definitely don’t make my food look pretty all the time (I did that for the photos)!

Today’s blog post is all about food; one of my favorite things 😉 I started eating healthier in January of 2018, already 2 years into my fitness journey. I realized that while I was seeing some results with my body due to the gym, I was still eating the same way. I was never someone who ate a ton of unhealthy food or junk food, however I knew that I could do better. I made small changes and I’ve been trying to eat healthier ever since. I’ve never had a bad relationship with food, but it was hard to change up my diet. I was trying to gain more muscle, which meant I had to eat a bit more than I was used to. I had to eat more protein, fruits and vegetables, and I also needed to drink a lot more water.

You are probably going to notice that these meals are very simple and easy to make. I am no chef, but I can cook pretty basic foods. You don’t have to learn crazy difficult recipes in order to eat healthy. I find that not only is it easier to make these meals, but they can be put together very quickly, and they are nutritious.

 Let’s start with the most important meal of the day; breakfast!

I was never the person to skip breakfast, though my breakfasts are much more filling now! Typically, I like making breakfasts that are quick and easy, but also healthy. For today, I am sharing a favorite of mine! Oatmeal is a great option because it provides vitamins, minerals, fiber, and even antioxidants. (If I don’t feel like oatmeal, or I am running low on time, I will opt for eggs instead). When I make oatmeal, I like to add milk and a bit of brown sugar as well. To top it off, I will either add flax seeds or chia seeds, both of which have many great health benefits. On the side, I like to make some multi grain toast. I will switch it up at times, and either go for peanut butter or avocado. Today, I decided on avocado toast. I simply cut an avocado in half, mash it up and use it as a spread for the toast. I’ll sometimes add a pinch of salt to give it a bit more flavor. It is important to eat fruits or vegetables at every meal, and while I do not do this every day,  I do try! One of my favorite fruits to have for breakfast is a banana.

Lunch time!

When it comes to lunch, mine is often all over the place and random. Today, I decided to share a salad, however I added a few things to make it more exciting. I try to eat salad most days, but if I am honest, some days I simply don’t feel like eating it. Like I said, my lunch can be pretty random. I’ll often eat a sandwich, fruit, or salad. It really depends on the day and what I am craving. For the salad pictured above, I included romaine lettuce, broccoli, turkey, feta cheese, and avocado.  I know that dressing is not very healthy, however I enjoy it so I added a bit of Italian dressing. I haven’t exactly found a healthy substitute that I like. If you have any recommendations for a healthy salad dressing that tastes good, let me know in a comment! I also like to eat a bit of fruit such as grapes or an apple at this time.

Dinner time!

I would say that out of all of my daily meals, dinner is the one that I change up the most (though I still eat the same foods pretty often). For dinner, I enjoy salmon, chicken, pork, or beef (yeah… I could never be vegan). Today, I am sharing another go-to meal: salmon. I made pink salmon with broccoli and basmati rice for my sides. I like to switch up my sides between broccoli, rice (brown, jasmine, or basmati), or potatoes. To add some flavor, I’ll add a but of garlic powder or salt to my sides as well.

As for drinks, I really only drink water. I am not a coffee or tea drinker, and I stopped drinking soda (except on special occasions) in 2018. Before I started working out, I would drink 1 or maybe 2 bottles of water a day. Cut to over 4 years later, and I am drinking 4-5 bottles a day (4 bottles = 8 cups). I’ll typically drink 1 bottle around breakfast time, 1 during a workout, 1 around lunch time, and 1 around dinner. I keep water with me at all times, and I’ll sip it often throughout the day.

I would like to mention that this is not ALL I eat in a day. I definitely like to snack, and I like to enjoy something sweet pretty much daily. I don’t want anyone reading this to think that I eat 100% healthy 100% of the time because that is not at all true. While I am proud of how I’ve changed my diet thus far, I am not perfect, and I am still learning. I struggle with self-control when I know we have ice cream or chocolate in the house, and honestly, sometimes I’m just craving some chips or some buttery popcorn, and that is ok! I allow myself to indulge (though I try not to do it all day everyday). It is important to listen to your body. Feed it healthy and nutritious foods, but don’t forget to enjoy your favorite dessert once in a while too.

 Eating healthy has always been the hardest part of my fitness journey, but once healthy foods are incorporated into your daily routine, it becomes so much easier. Not only is this helping me reach my fitness goals, but it makes me feel really good as well. Remember that what you put into your body is either going to boost your energy or drain it. Make small, subtle changes and incorporate your favorite healthy foods into your daily meals. You are eventually going to see the changes you want to see. It takes dedication, commitment, and hard work.

Thank you so much for reading! Until next time!

Indulging Over The Holidays

Today I wanted to share an important message with you all. I think that this is something people should hear more often, especially around the holidays. Living a healthy life is not always easy. Luckily for me, I enjoy working out most of the time, so this is not much of a problem for me. What has been difficult however, is healthy eating. I made the decision to start eating healthier in January of 2018, and while I would say that I have done pretty well and stuck to that decision, I have definitely gotten off track this year, and I have mentioned it on my blog before. I have never struggled with any kind of eating disorder and for the most part I would say that my relationship with food is pretty healthy, however it is not perfect.

Even when I first started to change my diet and eat healthier, I always allowed myself to indulge once in a while. I would eat mostly healthy during the week and then on the weekends I would allow myself to go out and enjoy lunch with my family and when I got home I would try to snack on healthier foods for the rest of the day. This is a plan that I decided to stick with and I am still trying to go by it today (I found that this is what works for me, but it may not work for you, so find what works for you and stick to it)! Even though I feel that I got off track with food and even the gym at times this year, I deserve to enjoy the holidays, and so do you.

Whether you have been working extremely hard in the gym and the kitchen this year, or you got off track like me, it is 100% OK to let yourself enjoy those holiday treats. Obviously, you should still try to eat healthy and workout during this time of year, but having some Christmas cookies or missing a few workouts will not derail your progress. For me personally, I don’t workout on holidays and around Christmas time especially, I want to spend time with my family so this means skipping my workouts  a few times. Even if you feel like you didn’t make a ton of progress this year, you shouldn’t be too hard on yourself. This is something that I am still trying to learn, so if you are feeling the same way, you are not alone.

You do not necessarily have to avoid foods that may be described as “unhealthy” or “fattening”. Yes, you should remember to eat these foods in moderation, but avoiding them completely is somewhat unrealistic, and you shouldn’t feel guilty for enjoying them from time to time. If you are trying to eat healthier, remember that changing your diet is a process and it is one that takes time, so allow yourself that time.  

This isn’t just a message that I am sharing with athletes, this is for EVERYONE: let yourself indulge every once in a while. If you know that you are going to want to enjoy the sweet and delicious foods around this time of year, leading up to the celebrations, just do your best to eat healthy and when the time comes, enjoy yourself. I personally feel that the food is one of the things that makes the holidays complete. Don’t feel guilty for wanting to eat what you want to eat. Living a healthy life is important and I am working hard to get back on track, but trust me when I say that this holiday season I am going to enjoy all of the hot chocolate and cookies with no shame because I deserve it, and so do you!

I hope that this message sticks with you today and every day, and I hope you are all having a great December! Christmas is coming so quickly and although I am excited, I also don’t want it to end! I have some exciting blog posts coming up before the New Year, so stay tuned for those! Thank you so much for reading… now I am going to go find some chocolate!

The Importance of Nutrition + My Experience with Healthy Eating

Disclaimer: Please keep in mind that I am not a dietician, nutritionist, or qualified in any way to discuss nutrition, however I wanted to share my journey with food because it is a big part of my love for fitness and health. This is just MY experience so far, and I do not believe that anyone should copy it exactly. Take my story with a grain of salt, and if you do decide to make changes to your diet, start slowly and talk to your doctor. Take care of yourself!

You know that saying, “You are what you eat”? Well, I didn’t realize just how true it was until I started to change my diet. When my two year anniversary of weight training came around, I felt so strongly about trying something new. I was doing the same exact exercises every week, and I continued to eat whatever I wanted, and although I saw results in my first two years in the gym, it got to a point where I felt like my body started to plateau. I felt like I needed something to boost my motivation again. So, in January of 2018, I decided it was time for a change. I slowly started to change my diet (SLOWLY being the key word here).

I never really had any body image issues, but I wouldn’t say that I completely loved my body. I think that everyone goes through periods where we don’t necessarily like our bodies, and that’s ok, but we should work toward loving them daily. I’ve never had any eating disorders but if I am being honest, when I changed my diet, I realized just how dangerous diet culture can be. (I didn’t make any drastic changes, and I didn’t do anything unhealthy or anything that could hurt me in any way. But I could definitely see how people could get to that point when it comes to food.) When you’re trying to reach a certain goal when it comes to food and eating right, you CAN NOT be hard on yourself. I am always hard on myself, but I am learning to relax a little and just do the best that I can (in all aspects of life). I also wanted to mention that you do not need to focus on a number on the scale. As long as you know you are healthy and doing your best, THAT IS ALL THAT MATTERS. If weighing yourself gives you anxiety or it makes you feel insecure, don’t do it unless your doctor asks you to, and if you are concerned about your health, speak to them.

When I first changed my diet, I would say that my goals were to eat less sugar, to eat to build muscle (this meant eating a bit more than I was before), to cut out processed foods, and to incorporate more fruits, vegetables, and protein in my diet. Before I made any changes, my diet was not terrible, but definitely not very healthy. In the mornings before school I would eat cereal or toast with butter, for lunch I’d have a turkey sandwich with chips and a chocolate covered granola bar or cookies, and for dinner I would usually eat some kind of meat like chicken or beef, and a side like mashed potatoes or rice. I definitely snacked between these meals as well. I absolutely LOVED ramen noodles and those frozen pizzas which are processed foods. In the beginning, I was so determined to turn things around, and I did. I didn’t reach my goals right away, and honestly I haven’t completely reached a couple of these goals; there are still a couple processed foods that I eat. Did I mention I have a MASSIVE sweet tooth? This is going to sound absolutely ridiculous, but I am so addicted to chocolate that I truly feel like I need a little bit EVERY DAY or I’ll go insane. Ice cream is also a problem for me. It is very hard for me to avoid sugary and sweet temptations, but I try. What I have done that seems to help me is I will take a few pieces of chocolate rather than eating an entire bar. I don’t always have to eat the entire chocolate bar in one day (but there are still times when I do). Some of the foods that are always on our grocery list now that I’ve changed my diet are broccoli, carrots, salmon, chicken breast, oatmeal, and quinoa to name a few. My meals are almost the exact same everyday now, particularly my breakfast, lunch, and snacks. Dinner is usually different depending on what my family makes and if I like it. One of the biggest differences I noticed when I changed my diet is that I was feeling SO much better. I feel like I have so much more energy when I am eating right, and it makes me feel a bit more confident knowing that I am taking care of my body even more now than I used to.

Even now, I am still learning to love my body for exactly what it is today. Not for what it will be in a few months or a few years. It isn’t easy but we need to try to love our bodies. Think about what our bodies do for us every day. It is truly incredible. Your body is working so hard to keep you alive, so you should love and appreciate it. So many older people tell me that I’ll look back at my body when I was 20 and wish I looked like that again. Realistically throughout life, our bodies are going to change. When I am 40, I won’t necessarily look the way I did when I was 20, but that is ok. I want to learn to love my body at any stage in my life, and as I get older, I think I will be better at eating healthier. As a full time college student, it isn’t always easy to eat healthy. I don’t have much money, but I do still live at home, which helps! Lately I’ve been lacking motivation and I haven’t been feeling as great, so for now I am trying to focus on getting back on track with my gym schedule and with food!

Some quick tips to start eating healthier:

• I’ll say it again, start SLOW. You do not want to rush into changing your diet. What you eat can really affect you in both negative and positive ways. If something is going to negatively affect you and your health, such as a trendy diet, do some research and speak to your doctor.
• Understand that cutting out something like carbs is not exactly good for you. Eating carbs is NOT going to make you gain a ton of weight. As long as you are exercising frequently and eating things such as pasta and bread in moderation, you’ll be fine! A balanced diet is important.
• Try to snack on things such as fruits or nuts instead of chips or candy. Because of the natural sugars in fruits, this can actually satisfy that sweet craving often!
• Don’t copy anyone else’s diet. Just because you see someone who looks very fit and healthy, that does not mean that their diet is what is going to make you healthy. You need to look at your own personal goals and go from there.
• I wouldn’t recommend following any of those “90 Day Fat Loss” challenges or anything like that. I personally feel like when you make short term goals for yourself, once you reach that 90^th day, you kind of feel like you don’t have to try anymore. Make long term goals. Eat healthy because you want to live a long and healthy life, not because you want to be “skinny for summer” or “beach body ready”.
• Give in to your cravings sometimes, and don’t be too hard on yourself.

Remember to make goals for yourself that are attainable. Try to be realistic about what you can and can’t do. Look at where you are in your life, and see if you should even be making any drastic changes. If you are an avid gym goer like me and you want to see results, they WILL come! It takes patience and hard work in the gym and in the kitchen.

I hope that you learned a little bit more about me through this post, and I hope that I was able to help you in some way! Thank you so much for reading!