I’ve said it many times before, but planning is key to success in anything, and especially in maintaining a healthy and balanced lifestyle. This past week, I have been overindulging more than usual and I can tell that if I do not curb my eating back soon, it will start to physically show. Although I have been overindulging in healthy foods (with the exception of some ice-cream from Bi-Rite Creamery and many a tortilla chip at my graduation party), you will gain weight and fat from overindulging in anything. Okay, maybe not lettuce and celery. But you get the point!

What Is My Game Plan?

My usual method of getting back on track is to have a day or two of having a diet high in protein and fat, and lower in carbohydrates, before switching back to my normal routine of moderate carbohydrates, protein and lower in fat (an example of a breakfast I would have during this time is poached egg, smoked salmon with tomatoes and broccoli, as seen below). I use the Clean and Lean recipes by James Duigan whenever I do this.

This is just what works for me personally, and you need to experiment to see what suits your body best. As much as I love foods higher in fats, I find that I feel more happy, balanced and satisfied when I can include more carbohydrates into my diet. I also make sure to start my day off with a cup of green tea (either using green tea bags or matcha green tea powder) and a slice of lemon. 

My Personal Meal Plan

So during the weekend, I decided to do two days of eating a higher amount of fats and protein with lower amounts of carbohydrates. If you follow me on Snapchat, you would’ve seen what I was eating (username is honestlyfitness)! To give you an idea of what I was eating, I had my usual poached eggs, tomato and asparagus with 1 slice of marble rye toast with smashed avocado for breakfast, superfood spinach salad with Indian spiced chicken, and zucchini pesto pasta for dinner. During the course of this week, I will be transitioning back to what is a ‘normal’ diet for me, with the focus on sticking to specific portion sizes. Last week, I ate similarly to this but kept adding on more … dark chocolate at night, couple of casual medjool dates, tons of pistachios, more bread. You get the point, and hey what can I say, I am human but I know when it is time to get back on track 🙂

Monday
Breakfast: Boiled egg with roast asparagus and marble rye bread with smashed avocado
Snack: Medjool dates and matcha green tea latte
Lunch: Chicken quinoa stir fry with broccoli and peas
Snack: Greek yogurt with apricot
Dinner: Zucchini pesto pasta with shrimp

Tuesday
Breakfast: Overnight oats with pecans, chia seeds, ground flax seed, and chocolate protein powder
Snack: Banana (or other fruit) with almond butter
Lunch: Chicken and spinach salad with avocado, sunflower seeds and pepita with simple olive oil dressing
Snack: Marble Rye Bread with broiled and sliced tomato + non-fat latte
Dinner: Off The Grid, food trucks with my friends

Wednesday
Breakfast: Poached egg with roast asparagus and marble rye bread with smashed avocado
Snack: Hazelnuts and medjool dates
Lunch: Chicken quinoa stir fry with broccoli and peas
Snack: Greek yogurt with apricot
Dinner: Baked salmon with vermicelli and vegetable mix

Thursday
Breakfast: Overnight oats with pecans, chia seeds, ground flax seed, and chocolate protein powder
Snack: Marble Rye Bread with broiled and sliced tomato + non-fat latte
Lunch: Chicken and spinach salad with avocado, sunflower seeds and pepita with simple olive oil dressing
Snack: Banana with almond butter
Dinner: Zucchini pasta with marinara sauce and shrimp (may not have this depending on how much I eat at my class’ potluck!)

Friday
Breakfast: Poached egg with roast asparagus and marble rye bread with smashed avocado
Snack: Greek yogurt with mango
Lunch: May have lunch with friend, otherwise will buy fresh BBQ chicken rolls
Snack: Cashew Cookie Larabar
Dinner: Making dinner with my housemate, most likely zucchini pasta!

I usually plan up until Friday, and then plan on what I will be eating over the weekend on Thursday or Friday.

What Do You Do?

Do you find that making a meal plan helps you? I find that most times, I do not have to physically write down what I will be eating during the week, but that I definitely have to think about what I want during the week and go grocery shopping and do food prep on Sunday. Would be curious to hear how you guys go about eating healthy while staying happy and balanced 🙂

Honestly yours,
Alice

Thank you for always supporting me! For more Honestly Fitness, check out my Instagram, Facebook, Twitter & Pinterest and don’t forget to subscribe!