My Clean Eating Meal Plan to Keep Me Accountable

Are you with me?  Did you wake up this morning thinking to yourself, what the heck happened over the weekend?  It was the last weekend of the summer, the pools are about to close, the last BBQ’s were being had and now it’s time to think about back to school and fall sweaters.  Today was a little cooler than normal in Pittsburgh which reminded me that the cooler weather is coming whether I want it to or not!  But just because I am putting away the bathing suits and shorts doesn’t mean I bring out the donuts and latte’s.  It means that I am about to turn up the heat inside!  I’ve got a leadership retreat in California at the end of the month, a cruise in March next year so there is no time for slacking!!!  How can you stay focused when your focus sometimes turns south??

1.  Get plugged in.  I have to say that is the #1 reason that people fall off the health and fitness train.  They stop engaging with like minded people.  For me that is through my challenge groups. As a coach I run monthly challenge groups or accountability groups where I engaged people daily.  I help you set personal goals for yourself, we adress your current struggles and needs and together we come up with a plan of attack that will meet your needs.  Having someone to just vent when I am having a bad day or brainstorm ideas for a weekend trip or to just be excited when a new pair of jeans finally fits!  I mean seriously, there is nothing worse than a pair of jeans that hug your muffin top!  It’s time to melt it away even if it’s just 25 minutes right?!

2.  Have a plan.  More often than not we have good intentions for our weight loss.  We think about it a whole lot, we even search pinterest or the internet for good ideas.  But we fail to do one very powerful thing.  That is make an actual plan.

So that is where meal planning comes into place.

Each Sunday I sit down and create my meal plan.  I use a table I created on Microsoft word, I plug in my Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Snacks and Workouts.  I make my grocery list and I make an effort to go to the grocery store that day so the food is in the house.

For example here is the plan that I created for my family and I on Sunday.  Note, there are not separate meals for everyone in the house.  We all eat the same things.  Yes, it was trial and error but over time we have found a system that works.

I also plug in my workouts each day as well.  They happen at 5:00 am because it’s before my kids wake up, it’s my “ME” time and I don’t want to have to worry about when I am going to workout for the rest of the day!  I literally will find every excuse in the books, the later in the day that it gets.  

Then on Sunday, I take some time to plan and prep.

I grill chicken, cut up peppers, cucumbers, celery, portion out nuts, dressing, peanut butter, prep my shaker cups for the week.  I am ready to go by Sunday night!

Then, Monday morning or in this case Tuesday because it was a holiday weekend, I literally just open the fridge, pull out the things I want to eat, place in my cooler and off I go!

The key to success is always having a plan!!!

3.  Find an accountability partner.  This is one area that keeps you on track.  Are you bad at waking up early to get your workout in?  Are you just bad at working out in general?  Do you need someone to tell you NO don’t eat that or to give you a pick me up after a bad choice?  Having someone to keep you focused on what you truly want will give you strength! My accountability partner was Sara!  We would text each other every morning to wake up and press play.  I knew she was counting on me and vice versa.  So I always made sure to hold up my end of the deal and be present!!! It saved me more times than I can imagine!!

4.  Convenience.  There always needs to be some level of convenience without compromising your results.  For me that is Shakeology. I am a busy mom of 2 small boys and let’s face it.  We have a lot to do!  We just get busy and sometimes we just don’t have enough hours in the day.  But when it comes down to it, you have a decision.  You can compromise your nutrition for convenience at a drive thru or you can have Shakeology which has the proper carb to protein ratio that your body needs, is equivalent to 6 salads in one meal and it honestly truly tastes really good!  It’s my saving grace in the morning when I’m pressed for time, it’s my go to when I have errands to run and am not home to eat lunch.  It’s my snack when I’m headed to a party with not so good food choices to hold me over and it just keeps me healthy!

So now you have my secrets!!!  You know how I manage to stay on track!

It’s all these things combined that keep me motivated to be the best version of myself that I can be!

If it wasn’t for my Beachbody family and support system I would of given up a long time ago!

Don’t be that person that throws in the towel again?

This time it’s different!

Now is your time to shine!