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Getting prepared

22/5/2017

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One of the biggest tricks with nutritional success is to be prepared with your food! aka 'Meal Prep'. You can do this on a weekend for the upcoming week. 

Depending on your goals and commitment levels will depend on where you should start with this.

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One week of lunches and dinners sorted.
​If you want to go for big improvements right away then so be it, calculate your macros, calorific requirements and do your meal prep around that as I have done in this blog.

Keep in mind that the changes you make should be sustainable changes,  that you will be able to keep on doing for life, so if working out all your macros and calorific requirements is unrealistic, start small. 
If you have no idea what a micro is and simply want to eat healthier then these calculations are not essential, but it is will be very helpful to do this at least once, so you get a better idea of what quantities and proportions of protein/carbs/fats you should be eating. 

(IF YOU ARE ONE OF MY CLIENTS THEN YOU SHOULD HAVE MY NUTRITION VIDEO IN YOUR TRAINING PORTAL, IF YOU ARE NOT A CLIENT THEN MY NUTRITION MASTERY GUIDE WILL HELP YOU)

More importantly you do need to be prepared, meal preparation will help you keep on track throughout the week. The next time you get caught short and need a quick meal, its ok. There is one in the fridge good to go! There are also snacks which you can eat guilt free! 

In this blog, I am going to should you how I prepared for a week of seriously good nutrition. ​
First off lets just crush the reasons why you might not do this.

1. "too expensive". well this actually saves me money, I bulk buy things at the beginning of the week.month. But mainly by being prepared I do not need to rush off to the shops/takeaway to buy a snack/lunch/dinner. This also avoids the temptation of treating your self while you are in said shop, which I would do with chocolate or cake. 


2. "Not enough time". Well this saves me a lot of time during the week, I simply microwave/ pan fry what I want to eat in whichever combination I fancy and I am good to go. Saves on washing up as well... which no one likes! 

[E:BOOK] Mastery Guide: Basic Nutrition

£9.99
What does nutrition mean to you? Does it even matter?Hopefully, your answer to the last question is yes. Nutrition matters, whatever your goal, health, shape, fitness or performance.
 
The world of nutrition can be a very confusing place, often exploited by savvy fitness marketers who make billions selling you the latest discoveries in fat loss or muscle gaining pills, herbs, lotions and potions! It is very easy to get confused and settle for buying the ‘quick fix’ before first mastering the basics.
 
Many of us are so disillusioned with food that they have totally given up on nutrition all together!

This guide is intended to be a reliable starting point and reference guide for you as you begin your quest into improving your own nutrition.

Inside you will find: 
  • A full explanation of what 'Macros' are 
  • Food industry and the effects on nutrition
  • Why Diets do not work 
  • Eight tips to master nutrition 
  • Additional tips to master fat loss 
  • Additional tips of master muscle
  • Supplement advice 
  • Lot more! 
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3. "I don't want to eat the same thing over and over", take a look back at the week and you might realise that we are in fact pretty boring, we eat pretty much the same thing over and over.

I had one client who used to eat a ham sandwich and packet of monster munch every lunch time. The way I have done my meal prep leave plenty of space for mixing it up anyway. Use spices and sauces (no sugar) to mix the flavours up!

Find something that works for you and stick at it, consistency is key here. What counts is what you are doing 80% of the time, not the occasional treat you have. (I underlined the work occasional for a reason, a whole chocolate bar every evening is not occasional).

Meal Prep 

My meal prep and total food for the week probably costs in the region of £50 per week, MAX.

Thats accounting for everything, some of it which I already have bought in bulk to save money in the long run such as a ton of protein, nuts, spices and oats.

Considering that gets me 7 breakfasts, 7 lunches 14 snacks and 7 dinners and one meal in a restaurant can cost that then I think that it a pretty good deal. I could probably do this even cheaper but I am buying fairly decent food, enough for all my breakfasts, snacks and two decent meals a day.

​The time saving is also immense, I no longer need to cook every lunch and dinner time! Just heat up what I already cooked/prepared at the start of the week. 


The following list is what you will need to do something similar for the whole week, I haven't included exact quantities because it will vary depending on your bodyweight and calorific requirements. This is something I can calculate for you, or look it up on the internet.

(UPDATE: SINCE ORIGINALLY WRITING THIS I HAVE BEEN EATING FRUIT FOR BREAKFAST AS A WAY OF CLEANSING MY SYSTEM AND ENSURING I AM GETTING ENOUGH MICRONUTRIENTS IN)

Protein
  • Bacon
  • Turkey Mince (or other meat)
  • Chicken thighs
  • Eggs lots of eggs
  • Protein powder 

Carbohydrate 
  • Mixed dried beans (also contain extra protein) 
  • Mixed peppers
  • ​Butternut Squash 
  • Broccoli 
  • Carrots 
  • Leeks
  • Apples 
  • Pears
  • Mixed frozen berries 
  • Frozen spinach 
  • Oats
  • Tomatoes 
  • Tinned tomatoes
  • Celery 
  • Onion
  • Mushrooms 

Fats
  • Good quality extra virgin olive oil /Coconut oil
  • Various mixed nuts 
  • Avocados  
Picture
All the fresh ingredients
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Beans are awesome, you can add them to pretty much anything

Step 1

  • Soak your all your beans in water overnight, then boil them the next day, then add them to your food throughout the week. Keep half in the fridge and half frozen they will last approx 4 days in the fridge no worries.  

  • Boil plenty of eggs for the week. Use these as snacks throughout the week, the rest of the eggs can be used to make veggie omelettes in the mornings. 
Picture
Boil as many eggs as you need for the week. Keep some for breakfasts if you want to make veggie omelettes
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Soak you beans overnight and boil then with some bay leaves the next day. If you have chicken stock your can use this to give them more flavour, but they are mainly there to bulk out your lunches and dinners. You can also add them into omelettes.

step 2

  • Chop all the veg you need for the week. 
  • Keep some of the green stuff raw ready to heat up throughout the week (I like my veg crunchy, avoiding overcooking the veg will also help retain some of the nutritional value) 
  • Chop up the centre of your broccoli, no need to throw it away!​
Boil as many eggs as you need for the week. Keep some for breakfasts if you want to make veggie omelettes
Bag of kale, bowel of broccoli, keep this raw for adding to your food throughout the week.
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Leeks and Green beans, add this to your bowel of broccoli.
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Dont throw away the broccoli core!
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Chop it up and add it to your veg
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Chop your butter nut squash in half and scoop out the middle
Picture
Peel and chop up lots of carrots
Picture
Chop it all up, add olive oil and oregano / thyme / salt / pepper, put in baking tray for the oven
Picture
Chop up the celery, this is great to bulk out dishes

Step 3: cook it

Picture
Chuck Chicken Thighs and Butternut squash into a fan over at 200 C for approx 30mins.
Picture
All ovens are slightly different temperatures, so just cook till cooked, as long at the chicken aint pink, your ok!
Picture
Fry turkey and onions in a pan, keep cooking till you have some browning and there is no pink left.
Picture
Add in carrots, celery, tinned tomato and plenty of spices

Step 4 box it up ready for the week

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All done, for me I will put half the turkey/bacon mix into the freezer, and defrost it went I need it.

Step 5: Cook it back up when you want to eat it!

Picture
When your are ready to eat, add the veg and beans/butternut squash into a pan
Picture
eat!
Picture
Keep the eggs in the fridge for snacking on, or a quick breakfast
Picture
Other things I will snacking on this week. Try and get a couple of pieces of fruit in a day at least.

Summary

That is pretty much it! Meal prep rules it takes a bit of effort, but saves time and money overall. But more importantly it will keep you on track. 

This week I am on a deload week, which means I am not lifting heavy weight, so I do not need high levels of carbohydrate, I would generally avoid over eating rice, pasta, potato and bread anyway, unless I am doing a lot of gym work. Ok, maybe not bread I like it to much, but this week as I am not training heavy and I have not even been craving it to much. (when I do eat bread it is wholegrain and good quality). If you are trying to lose fat it would be best to just reduce starchy carbs and sugar in general as they are easy to over consume 

The following are what I would eat and drink throughout the week. All of my meals are high in protein, contain good fats and carbs they are fairly similar, but are easy to change the flavours which stops me from getting board. ​
Breakfast

  • Fruit 
  • Or a variation on 'slow overnight oats' with protein powder, nuts and fruit.   
  • Protein shake with handful of nuts, I use unflavoured whey protein so I can mix the flavours around using coco/caca or fruit, but mainly I use frozen berries.    
  • Some type of veggie omelette, I actually made a savoury omelette the other day with oats which was nice.

Snack twice a day, in between meals 
  • Boiled eggs (protein) 
  • Nuts (fats)
  • Fruit (carbs) 
  • Protein shake with fruit and oats (Carbs/Protein) 
  • Small piece of dark chocolate after dinner (what?) 
  • Lots of herbal teas 
  • Mid morning/pre workout coffee, I try to avoid caffeine after mid day if possible. I have cut caffeine out before and the results are great. I would encourage this if you feel like you are hooked on caffein or need it to function. 

Lunch/Dinner 
  • From my meal prep above 
  • Lots of veggies for carbs, if I am training heavy then I will also include starchy carbs such as rice/quinoa/bread etc. Also bear in mind that beans, carrots, butternut squash are more dense in carbohydrate that leafy vegetables, so if you are trying to lose fat these should be enough to keep you satisfied. 
  • Mix in a meat for protein 
  • Good fats, I will slice up half an avocado in each meal or drizzle olive/coconut oil into the mix
  • If I get board of the flavours I will add different spices, sugar free spicy sauce (cholula), or similar, Worcestershire sauce is also good, but does contain a bit of sugar. 

Amount will vary depending on what my training looks like. To figure out exactly what you require contact us for nutritional coaching.

That is all

Happy nutrition, any questions please ask.  

[E:BOOK] Mastery Guide: Basic Nutrition

£9.99
What does nutrition mean to you? Does it even matter?Hopefully, your answer to the last question is yes. Nutrition matters, whatever your goal, health, shape, fitness or performance.
 
The world of nutrition can be a very confusing place, often exploited by savvy fitness marketers who make billions selling you the latest discoveries in fat loss or muscle gaining pills, herbs, lotions and potions! It is very easy to get confused and settle for buying the ‘quick fix’ before first mastering the basics.
 
Many of us are so disillusioned with food that they have totally given up on nutrition all together!

This guide is intended to be a reliable starting point and reference guide for you as you begin your quest into improving your own nutrition.

Inside you will find: 
  • A full explanation of what 'Macros' are 
  • Food industry and the effects on nutrition
  • Why Diets do not work 
  • Eight tips to master nutrition 
  • Additional tips to master fat loss 
  • Additional tips of master muscle
  • Supplement advice 
  • Lot more! 
Shop

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£29.00
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You can book a one hour nutrition coaching consultation with us at the special rate of just £29, we will give you a call and guide you through what you need to do to achieve your goal. 
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    Eight years in the military... lots of injuries. Now I am here to help you learn about mobility, strength and nutrition. 

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