Meal planning

When I first started doing Insanity back in March, I was also trying to follow the Insanity meal plan.  This may sound strange but I had a really hard time sticking to the plan because I was supposed to eat sooo much food!

Incredible amount of food aside, there are several keys to the meal plan that do work for me. I found that most of the meals in the plan were foods that I already enjoyed before starting the plan (except the seafood stuff) which made it easier to adapt my current diet to "fit" the plan.

The first key to the plan is that you eat several times a day - I'm talking at least five.  I typically have my mini-meals at 7:30 AM, 10 AM, 12 PM, 3 PM, and 8 PM.  I oftentimes have other little snacks in between.  The reason this works is because you eat less to satisfy your hunger and you eat more often to keep it satisfied.  When you reach the "starving" phase of hunger, you always over indulge so keep your hunger at bay by eating several times a day.

The second key is that your meals should include protein as often as possible if you are working out.  This helps your body build muscle instead of fat.  I'm not a huge meat eater, in fact I usually don't eat meat if Chris isn't home to fix it but I find other sources to meet these protein requirements.

My typical mini-meal plan is the following:

7:30 AM (Check out this previous post about the importance of breakfast)

• Kashi cereal with almond milk or
• Whole wheat english muffin with natural peanut butter or
• Smoothie
• Add a banana or apple, too!

 10:00 AM

• Greek yogurt - I usually have strawberry or raspberry flavored even though I know that I should have plain...  If I have plain, I like to add fresh blueberries or strawberries. or
• Protein bar

12:00 PM

• Spinach salad with tomatoes & avocado or
• Turkey sandwhich on whole wheat bread with low fat cheese and little or no condiments or
• Brown rice with chicken and broccoli or green beans

 3:00 PM

• Protein bar. My favorites are Special K, Luna, or Kashi.  Kashi has less protein but they are just so good! Buy protein bars from the pharmacy section for the most protein content.

(Long break becuase I workout during this time...)

8:00 PM

• Protein shake after your workout and
• A little snack like fruit or cottage cheese

If you're hungry between these meal times, grab a fruit or vegetable.  In fact, you can add any fruit or vegetable to any meal if you didn't quite fill up.  Also, try to avoid eating late although I almost always eat late at night because I workout so late. 

The last key is to stick to your plan! Plan your grocery list ahead of time and plan your meals ahead of time.  This way you are more likely to stick with it.  Here's to happy but healthy eating!

Today's workout:  Insanity's Max Cardio Conditioning