Easy tips on eating healthy
The number one objection I get when trying to help people start a health and wellness journey is “I’m too busy!” Well, here I am to give you tips and tricks on meal prep for beginners, easy healthy meal prep, cheap meal prep, eating healthy on the go, lunch meal prep for the week, healthy snacks for on the go folks, and just easy ways to eat healthy overall. Somehow we have managed to allow the hustle and bustle of today’s world and being busy to become something that is revered. Why allow that to be your excuse to not live your healthiest and best life?
Meal Prep
OK, we have heard about this “fad” a million times over, but that is probably because IT WORKS! Whether you’re into vegetarian meal prep, high protein meal prep, paleo meal prep, it doesn’t matter. There are ways to meal prep with all different kinds of diets that are effective and affordable. Meal prepping not only helps you to meet your health and fitness goals, but also your financial goals. Imagine how much money and time you would save if you stopped hitting the Starbucks drive-thru every morning (sorry Starbucks). I feel like I can say that because before my health and fitness transformation I WAS YOU! “Coconut milk latte and reduced-fat turkey bacon sandwich please” sounds healthy right? I mean sure in moderation, but it wasn’t healthy to consume daily and was certainly not light on my wallet. A few of my go-to meal prep strategies are salad in a jar, overnight oats, and bulk prep. Jars are the jam, no pun intended. They make life so easy. You make the food in the mason jar and then leave it in your fridge and you have meals for the week that you can take for work or grab in the middle of the day between breastfeeding and soccer practice. Here are some of my favorite salad in a jar recipes. If you would like to check out some overnight oats recipes please refer to my blog on my “favorite camp recipes.” Last, but not least, bulk prepping is awesome and one of my very favorite ways to do it is on a sheet pan. There are tons of sheet pan bulk prep recipes out on the internet but I like to simply put lots of veggies on a sheet pan and roast them and then mix and max for different meals, ie: sweet potatoes, Brussels sprouts, asparagus, squash. Bake at 375 with coconut oil, salt, and pepper and then mix and match with your favorite plant or animal proteins. If you like this idea here are some awesome recipes from a fellow blogger, Meal Prep on Fleek.
Should I sleep in my workout clothes?
Ok, I realize this may sound ridiculous but it seriously works! Waking up in the clothes you need to get your fitness on makes it a million times easier. I also realize we all have different schedules and workout at different times of the day but what I have come to find in the last four years of coaching and pursuing my own health and fitness journey, is that getting your workout done in the morning helps you to meet and achieve your goal and not make excuses as you know what hits the fan throughout the day. THIS is also why I use effective, calculated, 20-30 minute workouts that I can use at home and then simply carry on with the rest of the day. So whether you drive to the gym or workout at home, wear those clothes to bed or have them laying right next to where you wake up so it’s the first thing on your radar. If you absolutely cannot get your fitness in the morning make sure you have your clothes and equipment prepared and close by for the time of day you can.
What about intermittent fasting?
Believe it or not, intermittent fasting is super easy and only eating in a very selective time window makes things simple and can be easily fit into any busy schedule. If you have your meals and snacks all planned and packed ahead of time as we’ve previously discussed, then intermittent fasting and timed nutrition should make having a busy schedule and wanting to achieve your health and fitness goals a no brainer. Intermittent fasting works extremely well with meal prepping and is highly effective in meeting weight loss goals. It may even sound boring, but if you enjoy structure, eating the same planned and packed meals and snacks at the same time of the day every day could create more time in your busy schedule due to planning and predictability. You could rotate meals weekly or every other day to mix things up and not get bored. To read about more of the benefits of intermittent fasting and timed nutrition, read my previous blog here.
Schedule the time you will be moving your body.
Do me a favor, grab your planner right now, seriously do it! Whether it’s a spiral-bound planner, paper, digital, your iPhone, grab whatever you keep your schedule in now. Each day may look different for you, and some days you may only have fifteen minutes to yourself, that is why it is so important to visualize your schedule and pockets of time that you have to yourself. It is important to treat your workout or your daily physical activity like a very important date or business meeting that you prioritize. We prioritize many other things all the time. If we don’t prioritize ourselves eventually we will not have the time and energy to prioritize others. Would you miss a meeting with your boss? Would you choose to not feed your child? Would you miss a date with your significant other or best friend? Then why do you consistently put other things before your date with yourself? What would happen if you prioritized your health and fitness like you do everything and everyone else?
Snack time!
Last but certainly not least, always have something healthy to grab in between meals. Not all snacks are good snacks and not all snacks are created equal. So be mindful of what it is you’re putting in your body between meals. NUMBER ONE tip I can give you when it comes to snacking is, try water first. Often, when we get what we think, is a hunger pain, we may simply need water. That’s why I swear by nutritionist Ilana Muhlstein’s philosophy “water first, veggies most.” So after you try water, if you are still hungry 30 minutes later it would be extremely helpful to have some vegetable snacks close by. Carrots, celery, broccoli, grape tomatoes, and cucumbers are all delicious vegetables to carry around that go great with some healthy fat like hummus. If you’re at a 9-5 job or in any position where you are on the go or at a desk most of the day, you need healthy snacks for work. An easy healthy snack that many folks have on hand is a snack bar. Again, not all snacks and especially not all bars are created equal. It is important to take note of the sugar content, carbohydrates, protein, and fiber. You want low sugar and carbohydrates and high on the protein and fibers. I discussed it in my camping recipes blog, but I swear by Beachbars. I also swear by my portion containers when it comes to packing snacks! They are all small, easy to throw in a purse or gym bag, color-coded and make healthy snacking a breeze. My purple container is for fruit and I’ll pack it in the morning with berries or watermelon. As previously discussed packing veggies is super easy when all I have to do is throw them in my green container and then add a blue container of hummus, easy and yummy!
If you feel like you are wanting more recipes, tips, and tricks to living your healthiest life no matter how busy you are, I have lots more tips where those came from, but for the sake of space and time, these are my favorites. All of my meal plans include access to hundreds of recipes and short, easy, all-level workouts. If you have any specific recipes you would like or fitness questions, always feel free to reach out to me. Thanks for reading I hope this information was useful and finds you in a space of heart. I’m just me Sarah Roberts (Savino), MSW, RYT200, TBB Coach founder of team Indie Sols, figuring out what works for me and sharing it with you in hopes that it will make some positive changes for you as well! As always if you have any direct questions or want personal consultation for anything you can reach me at my email thefitphilanthropist@gmail.com or contact me through any of my social media: Facebook.com/sarah.savino IG- the_fit_philanthropist
Love and Light Always
Sarah
“Sarah Savino is my recommended Wellness and Nutrition Coach who resides in Colorado but has a community of clients she guides and manages nationally. She has her frequent retreats that her clients are encouraged but not required to attend and someone who knows first hand how it is to be overworked and overweight. She is a living truth that once within the right community and with the right guide, everything is possible. Check out her bio. under ‘Meet Our Team’, available on the website here.”- Dr. Shakib, your Irvine Chiropractor