#I’ve been trying to eat healthy but the free donuts I get at work scream my name every morning | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

elisaphoenix13 · 5 years ago

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(Your) Light In The Dark (Ch. 2)

When Quill woke up Saturday morning, his muscles were screaming at him the second he moved. He groans loudly into his pillow, and lays in bed unmoving for the next half an hour until there's a knock on his bedroom door as it opens. His grandfather walks in and chuckles quietly when he finds Quill with eyes wide open but making no move to get out of bed, and green eyes peer up at the elder.

"Hard day at practice yesterday?"

"If I don't move, I won't fall apart." Quill groans.

"I guess you don't want the breakfast I made you. I even made french toast." His grandfather bribes and Quill stuffs his face back into his pillow.

"Five minutes."

The elder man leaves the room with an amused huff, and Quill takes the time to gather the energy and motivation to fight his pain and get out of bed. His grandfather made everything whenever he made Quill breakfast. Eggs, bacon, sausage, hashbrowns...and instead of toast, he made french toast. It was worth suffering for in Quill's opinion. On school days, he usually shoveled down some cereal or picked up donuts on the way to school (not really a healthy choice, especially since he was an athlete), so he always appreciated a proper breakfast. He wasn't allowed to make much more than cereal anyway. No matter how hard he tried to learn, he always seemed to ruin something when he cooked so he was eventually banned from cooking anything hot that didn't go in the microwave.

With another groan, Quill throws off his comforter and sits up before getting out of bed and trying to stretch out his sore muscles. A shower would have to wait until after he ate since his grandfather already cooked, but he would stand in there for an hour if he needed to. Just when he thought he had stretched all the muscles he thought he had, yesterday proved there were some muscles he didn't use. Muscles he didn't even know he had.

It was a miracle he made it downstairs to the kitchen, really. The moment he sat down at the table, he knew it was going to take some effort to get back up and he was almost tempted to just live at the table. Almost...because he knew his grandfather would literally kick him out of the chair and wouldn't cater to his every need. His grandfather was awesome and Quill appreciated everything the man had done for him, but he also didn't take his shit. Like when he pushed Quill off the couch when he fell asleep watching TV.

"Ow! Hey! What the hell gramps?!"

"You're in my spot and I want to be able to hear my show. Not an overgrown cat."

Quill rubs his head. "Could've just asked."

"Go snore in your own room."

"I don't snore!"

"Yes you do. Go run and play." His grandfather waves him away and Quill grunts.

"Not a little kid you old fart--OW!" Quill yelps when his grandpa smacks the back of his head.

That was a normal occurrence. They traded quips and while the younger Quill usually got smacked for it in the end, it never actually hurt and Quill knew there was no heat behind it. If there was, he wouldn't have a plate full of food set in front of him at this very moment.

"You've outdone yourself again, Tim." Quill grins and winces when his grandfather swats him again.

"Don't call me by my name." Tim sits across from the younger with his own plate of breakfast and the daily newspaper. He hardly read the news from it. He just used it for the crossword. "So care to explain why you came home looking lost in thought?"

Quill looks over at him as he stuffs his mouth with french toast and then chews thoughtfully before swallowing to answer. "There was this guy at school. I think he's mute or something. Kind of cute…really cute." He corrects with a mumble. "

"I thought you were dating that girl...Rachel was it?" Tim asks as he fills in an answer and Quill makes a face.

"In her dreams maybe. Even then that's terrifying and I feel sorry for my dream self."

"Well...what's the boy's name?"

"...dunno." Quill admits lamely and shoves some hash browns into his mouth.

His grandpa gave him a look of 'are you kidding me?' before continuing with his crossword. It was nice being able to talk to him openly about students he thought were attractive. In fact, when Quill gathered enough courage to come out to him that he was bi, Tim just chuckled and said, "Here I thought I was going to have to be the one to tell you."

Needless to say, Quill had been thrown for a loop until his grandfather told him that he very obviously checked out both girls and guys whenever they were out in public. He had been mortified for a good five minutes after that discussion, but Tim never treated him any differently. Maybe a teasing jab here and there to embarrass him, but nothing degrading. His grandfather accepted him for who he was and supported him through any problems he had...and he knew a lot of his classmates weren't so lucky.

"So what is it about this boy that's got smoke coming out of your ears?"

"He ran."

Tim looks at him from over his coffee cup. "He ran? Have you seen yourself, Pete? I don't blame him."

"I don't know...it wasn't like that. Maybe it was part of it but he didn't run immediately. He stood there and….holy crap! Gramps, he had the prettiest eyes I've ever seen!" Tim snorts humorously and looks down at his crossword. "They were like honey! I want to know how I've never seen him before!"

Quill went on his rant after that. Explaining every thought he had about the guy he ran into yesterday with his grandfather who simply nodded until the teen was done. Even if he didn't give any advice, it was okay because sometimes Quill just needed to get it all out before the thoughts started tripping over each other. Half the time, Quill stopped making sense and Tim just ignored him until he either needed advice or figured things out on his own.

He didn't need any. At least not this time. Quill spent the weekend mulling over what he would do about the boy at school. He knew he wanted to see him again, to find out his name, but he had a feeling it would be like chasing a shadow. There also had to be a way that he could come across less intimidating, but one look in the mirror nixed that thought process. Quill just had to hope that his kindness would be enough and that he didn't bulldoze the poor guy to the floor again. When Monday came around and the teen devoured a couple bowls of cereal (and had a bag lunch thrown at his face as he left), Quill went to school and threw his lunch into his locker. As he grabbed books for the first half of the day, his friends approached him and groaned.

"Did you die on Saturday?" Eric asks.

"Almost. I was revived by Gramps's breakfast." Quill replies.

"He pack you lunch?" Eric reaches out to grab the bag of food until Quill pushes him away and closes his locker.

"Why are you always trying to steal my lunch dude?"

"He gives you all the good stuff."

"Get your own." Quill laughs before heading to class.

He went through his typical day of ignoring the stares of every girl he had classes with, and after a head scratching math class, followed by history, lunch finally came. Quill had to talk to his math teacher about the recent work though. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't seem to get anything right and he was falling behind. He needed tutoring or something before he was kicked off the football team for failing math. It wasn't that bad yet, but he needed to do something about it before he was.

So he stopped by his math class.

"I'm sorry Peter. I've already got other students I'm helping and I don't have any time for another. Maybe you can talk to your grandfather about hiring one?"

"I...can't ask him to do that. I'll try and figure something else out." The teen replies as the classroom door opens behind him. He didn't bother looking to see who it was until his teacher looked over his shoulder at them.

"Ah, Scott!" Quill's teacher exclaims and the teen turns to look.

It was the boy with the pretty eyes. How was that for coincidence?

"Sorry. I was just getting my book. I'm leaving again." The younger boy mumbles as he scurries toward the door with his book.

"Oh. So you can talk. I thought you might have been mute." Quill blurts out and almost feels bad when Scott visibly jumps.

Quill was inwardly gushing over the guy's name as he stared. Sure he looked a little bit like a frightened animal, but the senior tried to come across as approachable at the very least. It didn't seem to help since Scott looked ready to bolt at any second again. Was he really that intimidating?

"I see you know each other. Scott here is one of my top students." Their teacher says.

"Oh...uh...know is kind of stretching it. I ran--" Quill starts and the teacher interrupts him with a wave of his hand.

"He would be able to help you with your math homework." He and Quill look at Scott. "Do you mind?"

Scott seems to snap out of whatever daze he was in. "What?"

"I already have three students I'm tutoring, but I don't have the time for a fourth. You understand the material so would you be willing to help out Peter?"

"Huh?" Scott wheezes out. "I-I'm only a Sophomore sir."

Oh, he's cute when he's nervous.

"That doesn't change the fact that you know the math." The teacher dismisses flippantly and Quill suddenly finds himself being pushed out the door with Scott. "You'll do fine. Now excuse me while I try to eat lunch before the period is over."

Quill felt exactly how Scott looked when the teacher closed the door behind them. Completely and utterly confused. Did their teacher just make a decision for them? Scott clearly looked uncomfortable about the idea of helping Quill with his math so the older teen figured he should probably say something to alleviate the expectation of the younger. Specifically that there wasn't any.

"Are you okay with this?" Quill finally asks and sighs with some relief when Scott nods hesitantly. "Okay...I have football practice everyday, so should we meet somewhere afterwards?"

Scott uses his free hand to grip the bottom of his sweater while pointedly avoiding eye contact. A nervous habit of his maybe? "I...I go to the library to study for a little while after school. I can stay there."

"Cool. So I guess I'll meet you after school?" Quill asks gently.

All he got in answer was another nod before Scott was running away once again. Maybe he should have just said that he didn't expect Scott to put time aside after school to help him. He obviously made the other teen nervous, but the thought that he would be able to spend time with Scott excited him. Hopefully he would get to know the teen behind the lonely eyes and the skittish behavior.

He was so excited that the rest of the school day and even practice went by faster than usual. Quill did have the worrying thought in the back of his mind that Scott would leave him high and dry and he would find the library missing one student, but the idea that he would be there when Quill went to meet him? It drowned out that little worry. He took his shower after practice as quickly as possible, got dressed, and barely managed a 'see ya' to his friends as he rushed to the library with the books he had grabbed before practice.

His initial worry was all for naught. Scott was sitting alone at one of the tables with his own homework, so Quill quickly composed himself before walking over and sitting down across from the younger teen.

"Hey--" Quill blinks in surprise when Scott startles in his seat and his head snaps up to look at him. "Oh shit. Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you!" When all Scott did was stare at him for the next thirty seconds, Quill tried again. "Uh...how should we start?"

Scott blinks up at him. "Sorry...what?"

"Where do you want to start?"

"Do your homework I guess and then I could look it over and then help you with what you missed." The younger mumbles and Quill nods as he pulls out his books.

"Sounds good."

When Scott looked back down at his homework, Quill took the next couple of minutes to look the guy over. He was small enough that Quill wanted to hold him right and protect him from the world, and still wore the sweater from Friday. It was clearly a favorite of his based on the wear and tear of it and for a second, Quill wondered how he would look in one of the senior's sweatshirts. Even smaller probably.

It was disturbing how fixated he was on Scott already. Good thing he wasn't a mind reader or he would be running and screaming for the hills yesterday. Quill made absolutely sure his large frame didn't take over the table in any way too. Leaned back and kept his legs as close to the chair as possible even if it was a little uncomfortable.

He did his homework as Scott had suggested and when he was finished, he got the younger's attention and had him look it over. Scott pointed out some mistakes and explained how to do it easily, and Quill had to fight to keep his focus on what Scott was saying instead of how he was explaining it. The brief smell of mint and oranges coming from the younger teen was no help but he managed to push through it until they had finished.

"Thanks for the help. You make it easier than the teacher does." Quill says as they pack up their things.

"Sure."

"Do you want a ride home?" The senior asks carefully.

"No thank you. I have a few things I need to do on the way home." Scott replies quietly.

"I don't mind helping you run a couple of errands. It's the least I can do after keeping you at school like this." Quill insists.

"One of them isn't very quick. I have some grocery shopping to do."

Quill was sure he had a weird look on his face as he asked his next question. "Don't one of your parents do that?"

"Usually." Scott shrugs. "They're out of town right now though so I need to do it this time."

The senior nods "I still don't mind, and it would make things easier for you since I have a car. You wouldn't need to carry everything home. I'm assuming you're not at the driving age at least." He finishes with a bit of a challenging tone.

Scott seems to think it over but shakes his head again. "No. It's fine. Thanks."

Oh there was no way Quill was going to let this go easily. He could grab a few snacks at the store while the younger shopped and hopefully get more than a sentence out of him that wasn't about school. He was still curious about Scott and taking him to run errands would be the perfect opportunity to watch him.

Fuck...that sounds creepy.

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wellpersonsblog · 7 years ago

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Best of the Bean – Year 7

Hi friends!

I can hardly believe that today marks the start of my 8th year of blogging! That’s 7 full years in the books, folks. And boy has a lot changed since I hit publish on that first post back in 2010.

The blogging world is a unique space that is constantly evolving and changing. I continue to be eternally grateful that I’ve been able to turn my passion into a career. It took hard work, dedication and sacrifice, but I’m so proud to see all that hard work paying off. I get to wake up every day and divide my time between raising my kids and sharing my love of food and nutrition with all of you – my two favorite things in the whole world!

Every time I sit down to work on this blog, I strive to stay true to my tagline – Balanced. Simple. Real.

I’m just a girl attempting to navigate the world of motherhood, on a mission to show you that healthy eating doesn’t have to be restrictive, complicated or expensive.

But when it comes right down to it, the thing I value most about my blog and my social media accounts is that they give me a platform to keep it real.

I share my life with you guys in hopes that it’ll help just one person every day. Because despite what a lot of social media today wants you to believe:

Real life isn’t perfect. It’s reheated coffee, dirty clothes, screaming kids, sleepless nights, mile long to-do lists, messy play rooms and forgotten appointments. It’s feeling immense amounts of love and pride for some of the tiniest people in your life, while simultaneously feeling overwhelmed, frustrated and hopelessly inadequate.

If me sharing everything from healthy family dinners to epic toddler meltdowns helps even one person feel like they’re not alone…then it’s worth it! And on the flip side…when I share my life with you, it gives you the opportunity to teach and help me as well…And for that, I’m eternally grateful.

So thank you so much to all of you who read this blog and choose to follow along on our crazy journey. I certainly couldn’t do it without you!

Every year I like to take a look back at all of the posts I published and share a recap with you. If you’re a new reader, here are some resources and recipes to check out. If you’re a longtime reader, perhaps it’ll remind you of a recipe or two you’ve been meaning to try!

So, here are some of my favorite posts from the past year:

MAIN DISHES

Healthy options for breakfast, lunch and dinner!

5 Minute Breakfast Hash Turmeric Yogurt Chicken Skillet Mediterranean Chicken Pasta Wild Rice Power Bowl Instant Pot Beef Stew BBQ Pulled Pork Stuffed Sweet Potatoes Instant Pot Asian Chicken Greek Shrimp and Farro Pesto Chicken Caprese Pasta Instant Pot Pasta With Meat Sauce Instant Pot Shredded Hummus Chicken One Pot Orzo Pasta Salad With Chicken Sausage Asian Flank Steak Spicy Chicken Pitas Instant Pot Thai Peanut Chicken Soup Lentil Sloppy Joes Quick & Easy Vegetable Recipes

SNACKS

Snacks that kids and adults alike can enjoy!

Easy Smoked Salmon Dip Sweet Potato Waffle Nachos Easy Banana Oat Bars Green Smoothie Snack Bars Peanut Butter Chickpea Bars Nut Free Toddler Trailmix Dessert French Toast Waffle Bites Peanut Butter Banana Chia Pudding Blueberry Cauliflower Smoothie

KID FOOD

Healthy food inspiration for your little ones! Easy Toddler Meals 40 Healthy Toddler Meals 50 Healthy Toddler Meal Ideas What My Toddler Chose To Eat Kid-Friendly Food Prep Recipes Kid-Friendly Vegetable Recipes Table Talk – An ebook full of tips & tricks for feeding young kids

Life: On my blogiversary last year, I was about 6 months pregnant so the past year has been a big one for our family. Squish turned 2 at the end of October. Little Miss was born the first week of November. I wrote a day in the life post every 3 months and monthly updates for Little Miss (click here to read those).

KID ACTIVITIES

Tips for keeping the kiddos busy!

Kitchen Tasks For Toddlers Indoor Activities For Toddlers How to Make a Busy Box For Toddlers Toddler Gift Ideas {Ages 1-3}

MOMS

For my fellow mamas!

Gifts For New Moms Make-Ahead Snacks For Breastfeeding Moms Dairy-Free Lactation Cookies To The Parents With The Colicky Baby How To Handle Toddler Meltdowns

RECIPE RESHOOTS

Old blog recipes that were updated and/or republished!

Apple Cinnamon Breakfast Bars Cranberry Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies Baked Pumpkin Donuts with Cinnamon Glaze Tuna Quinoa Cakes Sausage & Wild Rice Stuffing Lentil Vegetable Curry Spicy Salmon Cornmeal Cakes Zucchini Carrot Apple Muffins Homemade Whole Wheat Tortillas Blackberry Crumble Bars Sweet Potato Protein Pancakes Cheesy Mexican Quinoa Cranberry Corn Muffins Cajun Meatloaf Easy Fish Chowder

FOOD PREP

Posts and resources to encourage you to give food prep a try!

How to Find Your Food Prep Focus Area My Weekly Food Prep {By the Minute} A Beginner’s Guide to Food Prep Top 10 Foods For Sunday Food Prep 6 Months of Food Prep 15 Quick Food Prep Dinners 30+ Ways To Use Leftover Chicken Dinner Made Easy: One month of meals, shopping lists, food prep tips and more The Ultimate Guide To Food Prep – my ebook full of all my food prep secrets!

SPONSORED POSTS

Some of my favorite collaborations with brands I love!

Maple Cinnamon Latte Pork and Egg Breakfast Pizza Spicy Ranch Popcorn Mediterranean Turkey Spinach Salad Roasted Sweet Potato Yogurt Bowls Chocolate Sweet Potato Mug Cake Berry Farro Breakfast Bowl Small Batch Cinnamon Roll Scones Vanilla Cake Parfaits Grilled Foil Packed Tilapia with Pesto Veggies Sheet Pan Italian Salmon with Green Beans Ginger Peach Turkey Tenderloin

Enjoy! –Lindsay–

The post Best of the Bean – Year 7 appeared first on The Lean Green Bean.

First found here: Best of the Bean – Year 7

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joelandryus · 8 years ago

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When to Work Harder, How to Work Smarter, and When to do Both

To improve your health, build a leaner body, or establish new habits …

Sometimes the solution is to work harder.

Sometimes the solution is to simply work smarter.

Sometimes what you really need, is to do both.

Smarter may mean being more efficient with your efforts. Or doing fewer things, but doing them better.

Harder may mean putting more effort into your actions, spending more time on activities that lead you to success, or simply taking action even when it’s difficult or something you don’t feel like doing — when motivation is absent.

When to Work Harder and How to Work Smarter, With Strength Training

When to work harder. Do you use a challenging load when lifting weights? For example, do you perform 8 reps with a weight you know you could easily crank out 12+ reps with? (Do you even know if you’re using a challenging weight?) You could benefit from working harder and putting more weight on the bar.*

Why is it a common mistake for women to not use enough weight, even though they could handle it? For many, particularly those new to lifting weights or performing the big basics (e.g., squats, deadlifts) the feeling of resisting a weight or straining even slightly to lift it is foreign and uncomfortable. Though she can physically handle the challenge, her brain is screaming, Holy crap what are you trying to do to me this is uncomfortable and I don’t like it one bit, DAMN YOU!

This is one of the biggest benefits of working with a coach. The coach can see what’s going on and knows if you can handle more weight. For example, I’ve seen women exclaim a 45-pound barbell felt too heavy for squats. But I’m watching them perform perfect reps with plenty of bar speed. I nudge them into adding more weight to the bar each set, and they continue to crush it. The same woman who said 45-pounds felt too heavy was able to work up to squatting 95-pounds for six reps perfectly. It felt heavy, but she was capable of lifting it properly and safely.

She had to break past the mental barrier that told her hard work was bad or scary and discover she was more than capable of performing the task.

If you don’t have a coach to guide you, then it’s your responsibility to see what’s going on and determine if you’re challenging yourself properly. A simple suggestion: record your work sets and see what’s happening for yourself. Pay attention to your form and bar speed. (I still record my heavier sets for exercises such as squats and deadlifts to make sure I’m using correct form with every rep.)

*Always use proper technique — never add more weight at the expense of correct form. Lifting heavier weights is good. Lifting heavier weights properly, and with confidence, is what matters most.

How to work smarter. Perhaps you don’t have limitless time to work out and need to be in and out of the gym within 45 minutes. Let’s say you, like many women, want to improve the appearance of your arms. You have to add in lots of extra isolation exercises like curls and push-downs, right?

No. You need to work smarter.

This can be achieved by training efficiently. Since time is limited you need to use exercises that will provide most of the results: use big compound exercises that give your arms more work. This would include pulling exercises that use a palms-up grip (this causes the biceps to get a bit more work than a palms-down grip), such as chin-ups, inverted rows, barbell rows, and seated cable rows. Instead of triceps kick-backs perform large compound exercises like close grip bench presses and push-ups, and even parallel bar dips if your shoulders tolerate them well.

A woman who progresses to busting out chin-ups and close grip push-ups for several reps will have strong, “toned” arms. Not just that, but her entire body will be strong. That’s efficient training in action.

This isn’t to say you should never include curls and triceps extensions if you want to give your arms extra work; you can include them when you have extra time. But most of the work you do in the gym should revolve around the big basics that allow for increased loading over time, because they provide most of the results.

When to work harder AND work smarter. Continuing with strength training, let’s say you want to achieve maximum results from your efforts, but don’t want to spend more time than mandatory at the gym. In this case you would benefit from working smarter by using the best exercises. The “best exercises,” again, would be those that provide most of the results you could expect to achieve. These would be compound exercises that allow for incremental loading: e.g., barbell exercises such as squats, deadlifts and presses; bodyweight exercises like pull-ups and push-ups; you can also use dumbbell exercises like goblet squats, presses, RDLs, etc.

Exercises like barbell squats and deadlifts are already hard because they use so much muscle mass and require coordination, but make sure you work hard by using a challenging load (discussed above) and by improving your performance each time a workout is repeated. This could be achieved by increasing the weight, performing more reps with the same weight, or combining both into what’s called the double-progression method (use a rep range of, for example, 5-8 reps; start at 5 reps and use the same weight until you perform 8 reps for all sets, and then increase the weight the following workout and start at 5 reps again).

This is a great example of working harder and smarter, and as long as you’re consistent, the results will speak for themselves by rewarding you with a stronger, healthier, and, if you eat properly, a leaner body.

Should you work harder, or work smarter? Let’s say you want to lose fat. You’re already making good food choices and you’re trying to decide whether to add HIIT (high intensity interval training) or long slow cardio to your routine. Both are useful, and both have pros and cons.

A HIIT workout (e.g., using a stationary bike sprint 15-30 seconds, rest 30-60 seconds, repeat for 5-10 total rounds) is more time efficient, but it’s much harder. It can also detract from your strength training workouts, because the body responds to hard sprints in a similar way as a bout of strength training.

Slow cardio is much easier, it doesn’t detract from strength training, but it takes more time. Instead of performing sprints for 10-20 minutes as with HIIT, you’d generally need 30 minutes or more of traditional cardio.

Which should you choose? If time is an issue, then HIIT is likely the way to go. (But you must program it intelligently if you’re also strength training hard, and frequently). If you want to reap the greatest possible benefits from strength training, slow cardio is likely the best option. The HIIT is certainly harder, but in this case the slow cardio may be smarter, depending on your priority.

When you probably shouldn’t work harder with your workouts: During a particularly high-stress time. If you’re dealing with personal issues or you’re going through a period that’s extremely chaotic and stressful, adding more stress in the form of really hard workouts isn’t the best idea. Training should have a natural ebb and flow; it’s okay, and beneficial, to not go as “hard” during high-stress periods.

When your life goes through a higher than usual stress level, don’t pile on more with brutal workouts. Continue training, for sure, but don’t go all out trying to set new records; it’s okay to stay further away from failure (e.g., perform 5 reps with a weight you could lift for about 8 reps) so you don’t overtax your body and do more harm than good.

Another option is to continue using heavy weights, but scale back the total volume. For example, if you typically perform 4 sets of 6-8 reps, perform 2 sets instead. Another option is to perform 2 total body workouts per week instead of 3. The options here are many, but the point is, when real life stuff is happening and stress is higher than usual, approach your training wisely.

When to Work Harder and How to Work Smarter, With Nutrition

When it comes to a healthy lifestyle, most people say nutrition is the most difficult portion to conquer, or improve consistently.

How to work smarter. When it comes to improving, or tweaking, nutrition habits, one of the smartest things you can do is set yourself up for success and choose an eating style that works best for you. Let’s tackle both.

Set yourself up for success by first identifying where you struggle most. In other words: which meal(s) tend to be not-so-healthy? Maybe it’s breakfast because you’re in a rush and grab something like a donut or a not-so-healthy* breakfast sandwich you heat up in the microwave. Identify your weakness, and come up with a practical solution.

If you’re strapped for time in the morning, prepare something healthy the night before. Whip up some overnight oats; put them together the night before then pull them out of the fridge in the morning and chow down. Portion the ingredients for a tasty, nutrient-packed smoothie the night before, then blend it up in the morning and pour it into a travel container.

If you struggle with dinners and tend to grab or make something convenient, embrace tools that make life easier, like a slow cooker or, my new personal favorite, the Instant Pot. This way healthy, tasty meals can be prepped and cooked in a matter of minutes. Another helpful tip I use frequently: keep bags of frozen veggies on hand so you have a quick side to add to your meals.

Take a few moments to identify where you tend to slip up or make less than ideal food choices, and come up with a smart solution. Don’t wing it — have a plan.

The second part of the work smarter nutrition example is choosing an eating style that works best for you. The fundamentals of healthy eating have been proven: eat mostly real foods, include plenty of fruits and veggies, and eat a good source of lean protein with each meal. I’d also add drink calorie-free beverages with, and between, meals.

How often or how many meals you eat every day is up to you, your schedule, and preferences. Some people like a form of intermittent fasting for convenience; some like a more intuitive approach and eat when they’re hungry (but not ravenous) and stop when satisfied (but not stuffed); some prefer a simpler form of calorie control and drink a protein shake instead of eating a meal.

Do whatever you enjoy and makes your life easier.

*I abhor terms like “dirty” or “cheat” when describing processed foods, or foods that simply aren’t very healthy. There’s just food, and some are better than others. Eat the better ones (i.e., real, minimally processed foods) most of the time.

When to work harder. Everyone is different, and some people need to work a bit harder at their nutrition, at least at first to develop new habits. If you’re struggling to make good food choices consistently, then you may want to experiment with preparing meals in advance so when it’s time to eat, your food is ready.

Once or twice a week, cook a bunch of food and portion it for meals you’ll eat throughout the day, or week (whatever you need). Each meal should revolve around a good source of lean protein, and include other real foods like veggies, fruit, whole grains, nuts and seeds, etc.

There’s a reason diets like Nutrisystem and food-delivery services help people lose weight: they remove all guesswork (and work from having to plan, prepare, and clean up) and control total calories. All you do is eat the food.

So, if you need a way to jump-start better eating choices, try prepping most of your meals. You don’t have to do all meals per day — begin by identifying the ones when you tend to make poor choices, or hit the drive through instead of cooking something healthy. If you typically get fast food or eat from a vending machine for lunch, then prepare a week’s worth of meals to eat for lunch.

Yes, cooking numerous meals at a time can be a pain. But, if it’s what you need to get you going in the right direction, it can be a good start. Then after a few weeks, you can continue to implement the habits you’ve created (eating lean protein with all meals, including plenty of veggies and fruit) but, hopefully, without having to prepare everything. These meal choices will hopefully be an established habit, not something you have to really think about doing.

If you go this route, do yourself a favor and make sure the food tastes good. You will develop a burning hatred that will get rooted into the deepest parts of your soul and cannot be removed if you attempt to subsist on plain boiled, rubber-texture chicken breasts and bland vegetables. It’s important that you actually enjoy what you put in your mouth.

Learn a new cooking method if you must, or find new recipes. Change things up; if you eat chicken for every lunch, prepare it different ways (bake it, grill it, stir-fry it, make shredded chicken in the slow cooker, etc.). Even good seasoning is enough to take bland chicken to super tasty chicken (works for frozen veggies too).

Ideally what will happen with this meal-prepping method is this: you’ll prepare several days’ worth of meals at a time and will get in the habit of eating real foods, and plenty of protein. Then, hopefully, after several weeks you’ll know how to prepare numerous tasty, good-for-you meals. You won’t necessarily have to keep preparing all that food (unless you want to) but the new framework you’ve established will help you make good choices going forward. And you’ll have plenty of “staple meals” — good-for-you meals you know how to quickly prepare — to choose from when you don’t feel like trying new recipes.

I credit my daily rotation of a few meals as one of the simplest things I do to keep me healthy and strong. My breakfast, most of the time, is either oatmeal or a smoothie. If I’m eating out for breakfast it’s usually an omelet with veggies and maybe a side of toast.

You are your habits. Build, and maintain, the right ones.

How to Work Harder or Smarter When You’re Not Motivated

I have no idea how this whole “You just need to get motivated and you’ll achieve all of your goals!” nonsense came about. Like you can shop for some artificial form of motivation and add it to your online shopping cart when you’re buying dog food and toilet paper.

What if you have zero motivation to work out or eat well? Waiting for motivation to show up so you feel like doing those things will typically result in not a damn thing happening.

Motivation is, in many ways, a scam. It’s not something you can buy at the grocery store when you pick up a gallon of milk and eggs. Sometimes you’ll “feel like” making good food choices and working out. Sometimes you won’t. If you only do things when you feel like doing them, results will be sub-optimal.

Just think about what would happen if you only went to work or paid your taxes when you “felt like it.”

If I only worked out when I felt like it, I’d miss a lot of workouts. If I only ate healthy foods when I felt like it, I’d be consuming massive quantities of ice cream on a frequent basis.

When even the tiniest sliver of motivation is absent, you have to do the hard thing — show up and do the work.

You can buy into the drivel that promises to GET YOU AMPED-UP FOR SUCCESS and says you’ll be bursting with motivation will and never get derailed again, or you can accept that, yes, there are some things you can do to increase motivation, but it won’t be limitless and sometimes you just have to show up anyway and do the work.

Sometimes you have to work harder. Sometimes you just have to work smarter. Sometimes, you need to do both.

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The post When to Work Harder, How to Work Smarter, and When to do Both appeared first on Nia Shanks.

from Sarah Luke Fitness Updates http://www.niashanks.com/work-harder-work-smarter/

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sarahzlukeuk · 8 years ago