I spent my weekend kind of holed up at our beach place. Despite the beautiful weather, I spent little time outside. My Alpha Training group on Friday left me a little beat up. I've never done 50 back squats in a row! My partner and I stuck to just the bar weight (35 lbs) and by squat 27, I felt done. But my trainer encouraged me to push through and I did. And then I paid for it all weekend!
But back to the title of this post - food. I must have watched 100 YouTube videos on clean eating. I listened to women who were just like me and decided to take their nutrition to the next level. I watched them chop veggies and place them in adorable mason jars. Every meal prepped looked so good! I knew what I had to do.
Back in April, I tried the 21 day fix. I measured out all my food and drank my shakes. I lost some weight but the restricted diet pushed me to my limits and I wound up eating a bunch of crappy food that made me feel discouraged and yucky. But what I did learn from that experience was food prep for me is key. I love being able to open the refrigerator and have lots of healthy options waiting. Little prep is key. And it's easy to do if there are all the pieces waiting for you to just assemble.
This morning I went to Aldi. I have a love/hate relationship with that place but this morning was ALL love. I found quinoa and there were varieties! Organic vegetable, beef and chicken broth in easy to use cartons. Agave nectar. And lots and lots of vegetables. I bought - red onions, cucumbers, romaine lettuce, zucchini, broccoli, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, tomatoes, lemons, bananas, raspberries, asparagus, carrots, celery, peppers, spinach - and I'm sure I am forgetting something! I also bought chicken tenderloins and ground turkey meat. All in all, I spent $100 on food and brought home bags of real foods. Sure, I bought my son some sliced bread and I can not live without my flavored coffee creamer. But combined with the items we have here at home, this $100 was well spent.
I love to shop at the "pretty" stores. Harris Teeter and Publix are right down the road. I can easily walk to the Fresh Market. But I spend a fortune in all of those places and still run into the "what do I eat now" dilemma. I'm hoping that by meal prepping and keeping foods ready and available, I don't fall into that trap again.