Lent is upon us, and being the good little catholic that I am I decided to give up a few of my favourite things, which by no coincidence at all (If God is watching) coincides directly with my fitness goals!
My diet in general is quite good but presents two different challenges as I transition from working week to weekend!
Work
In work, it’s all about meetings; planned meetings, unplanned meetings, meetings that run over…why o why do they always run over! 😡 Typically at a conservative estimate I probably find myself in meetings between 20 and 25 hours a week, maybe more! As a result it can be hard to regulate my meals! I figured that meals requiring forks are out when flexibility is needed! Sandwiches with whole grain bread and a chicken breast has become the option to ensure I eat! I have grown quite comfortable pulling my lunch out in senior management meetings! On the plus side it makes it look like I work really hard, which I do 👍
A typical day looks as follows:
Meal 1 (7:45am):
–Aldi brand Multivitamin (can not stress the importance of this everyday when training)
–Optimum Nutrition (ON) – Fish Oil
–Matador – Lipocuts Exreme (Fat Burner)
–Protein Smoothie – ON Lean Whey, banana, spinach, raspberries, almonds, chia, mango, pineapple
Meal 2 (10:30am):
-Wholegrain sandwich with 1 chicken beast
Meal 3 (1:00pm):
-Wholegrain sandwich with 1 chicken beast
Meal 4 (3:30pm):
Protein Shake or Protein bar
Meal 5 (5:30pm):
Protein Shake or Protein bar
Meal 6 (7:00pm):
Dinner: Varies but typically a good source of protein with definate carbohydrates included as it is typically my pre workout meal- Chicken & Rice or Eggs lots and lots of eggs!
Pre-workout Shake approx. 8:15pm:
ON Amino Energy – 2 scoops
Creatine – 1 scoop (5grams)
Glutamine – 1 scoop (5grams)
Raw BCAA – 1 scoop (5grams) – this is horrible tasting stuff
Meal 7 (9:45Pm): Post workout
Maxinutrition Cyclone (fantastic supplement)
I’m currently out of cyclone so have been substituting with BSN Syntha6 mixed with creatine and glutamine
Meal 8 (11:00pm) before sleep:
–ON Casien
–Activlab ZMA
Weekends
Weekends are typically a little less structured, I sleep in a little later and I train earlier in the day so things get moved around, I tend to eat a bigger dinner as me and my girlfriend both have more time to prep it and cook it and relax! Mornings mean eggs, lots and lots of eggs! Sometimes particularly in the earlier stages I would have treats but now 6 weeks in theres no more room to eat a full Ben n jerrys to myself 🙈 The real beauty of the weekend is that it allows more time to train, a longer gym session coupled with a long walk around Marlay park is heaven. Crepes in Marlay? Yes please! A bigger dinner is beautiful too, but it’s now limited until Sunday evening steak nom nom nom! It’s worth the wait! Alcohol happens and genuinely I love a good session but honesty has to prevail! The additional calories are something which can be worked around if it’s only through alcohol, but burgers, chips, everything else while you’re out coupled with a hungover day where you either have to eat crap to feel good or eat nothing at all is going to do your progress damage! For me alcohol is more of a mental necessity than anything, if you need it to blow off some steam do it, if you feel you will be more focused because of it do it, if you just want to have a laugh do it, but ask yourself could you have done it sober?
Lent
What you don’t see above in my typical meal day is too things which I love but are gone because of Lent; Milk & Jellies…man I love milk & jellies
For me, milk goes with everything, every meal or if you just happen to be passing the fridge, have a supp! Yum miiiiiilk! It appears I’ve been consuming around 2 litres a day, which is really a grown adults required fat intake, each day, through milk! I need a cow in my life!
Old habits die hard and I found myself on several occasions this week peering into the fridge at my beloved milk…it is a complete habit, particularly when I get in the door from work! I expect my body fat % to reduce massively over the next couple of weeks now that milk is out! 👊👊
The second of my fav’s is jellies, all types of jellies. Haribo star mix being number 1 at the moment but wine gums, natural confectionary company & tubs are never too far away! Although jellies typically do not contain any fat, they are extremely high in sugars, more so than I need! And instead of having a balanced diet jellies overload with sugar which gives a come down effect and you then want more!
Two mad things to give up I know, but now they are gone! Watch this space for serious body results in the next few weeks
Faceless Fitness 