My week definitely goes smoother when I put a little planning behind it. I'm just a person that needs a plan and needs the time and space to visualize something in order to achieve the best possible outcome. I found this to be extremely true when it came to my marathon training, and now that I have really realized it, I am applying it to the rest of my life. This has the potential to work out really well for me. The downside, of course, is that I need to be flexible enough to adapt and not fall apart when the plan gets derailed, as it inevitably will. I do believe that control is an illusion, but it is often hard to actually accept that and run with it.
Knowing all of this, I've been spending some time this weekend writing out my menu and thinking through my fitness for the week.
Knowing all of this, I've been spending some time this weekend writing out my menu and thinking through my fitness for the week.
Here's this week's menu!
Let me just add, the Buffalo Meatballs and skinny blue cheese dressing last night was AWESOME!! It was a total crowd-pleaser. Bob took one bite and said, "We don't have this often enough! It needs to be rotated into our weekly menus." And the blue cheese dressing was sooooo good. It had blue cheese (obviously!), nonfat, plain greek yogurt, about 1 tbsp. regular mayo, lemon juice, white wine vinegar, and some seasonings. And I would defy anybody to think that it didn't taste as delicious as the best full-fat blue cheese dressing out there. The meaballs were ground chicken, one egg, some panko bread crumbs, 2 oz. nonfat cream cheese, and 3 tbsp blue cheese. They were super yum! Taylor at all of his and clearly enjoyed them! Stephen just didn't seem that hungry for dinner in general. He usually really likes meatballs, so I just don't think he was that hungry. He ate at least one of his carrots and all of his mac-n-cheese.
Another thing I did in terms of planning for this current weekend is that I made enough of my healthy dinners this past week to have some yummy healthy options for the weekend. This was a bright idea!
Something I've noticed that past few weeks is that I do a great job during the work week of eating fairly clean and getting in daily fitness. Then, on the weekends, it's not that I go crazy in the opposite direction, but I definitely take Sat. and Sun. as rest days, and I am usually quite lax on my eating. Pretty much ever since we started the marathon training and Taylor started having soccer games on Fri. nights, Friday has become "Family Pizza & Movie Night." Quite frankly, I've become pizza-ed out. So with pizza for dinner on Friday, and our lazy, big pancakes & eggs breakfasts over the weekend, plus more processed foods with lunches and sometimes dinner, I am basically just feeling a little yucky by the time Monday rolls around.
In terms of my daily weight fluctuations, I have also certainly noticed that my daily weight is a nice, fairly consistently low number throughout the week and then over the weekend it sort of creeps up. Now, this isn't a huge deal because I am not dieting, and I am not trying to reach some magically low number. I'm comfortable with my body, I'm comfortable with my weight, and I know that it fluctuates over time anyway. That said, I still don't like feeling like I'm some weekend roller coaster or yo-yo. It just sort of goes against the consistency I sort of strive for in my life.
So I've been thinking about all of this and I decided to plan ahead a bit and try to have some healthier options for myself this weekend. I had some nice leftover meals to have for my lunches the past two days. And yesterday I experimented with a smoothie I've been wanting to do for awhile now, so I have been very happy with my weekend eating. I'm so happy with it, in fact, that I will have absolutely no problem going out and enjoying a delicious fro yo snack this afternoon :)
Here's what I've been eating this weekend:
On Friday, when the rest of the family ordered pizza from our favorite restaurant, I ordered a chicken breast and substituted the starch for a double order of veggies. I ate half of it for dinner and saved the other half.
On Saturday, I totally enjoyed our traditional pancakes and eggs (eggs made with half whole eggs and half egg whites). For lunch, I had a thawed salmon in the fridge that I needed to eat, so I sauteed that up and enjoyed it on top of a bed of spinach, with sliced peppers and cherry tomatoes. I squirted some lemon juice over the whole thing as my dressing. It was insanely good!!
For Sunday breakfast, Bob didn't want to have too big of a mess in the kitchen, so we skipped our pancakes, which was kind of a nice, light, change for me. I ended up accidentally making an omelet (the eggs cooked as an omelet while I was prepping my spinach and tomatoes). I had that alongside two turkey sausage links. I snacked on two apple slices and a half a banana smeared lightly with natural pb. Lunch was leftover ground chicken taco meat, mixed in with chopped spinach and cherry tomatoes, and finished off with two of my guilt-free oatmeal cookies. Right now I'm having a cup of carrot cake tea, which is super tasty and comforting.
Here's my fitness plan for the week!
- Saturday: Buffalo Meatballs, skinny blue cheese dressing, sauteed squash and zucchini, carrots, mac-n-cheese, and spinach (for me)
- Sunday: Meatloaf, salad
- Monday: Roasted chicken, broccoli, and cauliflower, leftover mac-n-cheese
- Tuesday: Asian chicken lettuce wraps
- Wednesday: Fish night, green beans
- Thursday: Philly Cheese Peppers
- Friday: Family Date Night
Let me just add, the Buffalo Meatballs and skinny blue cheese dressing last night was AWESOME!! It was a total crowd-pleaser. Bob took one bite and said, "We don't have this often enough! It needs to be rotated into our weekly menus." And the blue cheese dressing was sooooo good. It had blue cheese (obviously!), nonfat, plain greek yogurt, about 1 tbsp. regular mayo, lemon juice, white wine vinegar, and some seasonings. And I would defy anybody to think that it didn't taste as delicious as the best full-fat blue cheese dressing out there. The meaballs were ground chicken, one egg, some panko bread crumbs, 2 oz. nonfat cream cheese, and 3 tbsp blue cheese. They were super yum! Taylor at all of his and clearly enjoyed them! Stephen just didn't seem that hungry for dinner in general. He usually really likes meatballs, so I just don't think he was that hungry. He ate at least one of his carrots and all of his mac-n-cheese.
Another thing I did in terms of planning for this current weekend is that I made enough of my healthy dinners this past week to have some yummy healthy options for the weekend. This was a bright idea!
Something I've noticed that past few weeks is that I do a great job during the work week of eating fairly clean and getting in daily fitness. Then, on the weekends, it's not that I go crazy in the opposite direction, but I definitely take Sat. and Sun. as rest days, and I am usually quite lax on my eating. Pretty much ever since we started the marathon training and Taylor started having soccer games on Fri. nights, Friday has become "Family Pizza & Movie Night." Quite frankly, I've become pizza-ed out. So with pizza for dinner on Friday, and our lazy, big pancakes & eggs breakfasts over the weekend, plus more processed foods with lunches and sometimes dinner, I am basically just feeling a little yucky by the time Monday rolls around.
In terms of my daily weight fluctuations, I have also certainly noticed that my daily weight is a nice, fairly consistently low number throughout the week and then over the weekend it sort of creeps up. Now, this isn't a huge deal because I am not dieting, and I am not trying to reach some magically low number. I'm comfortable with my body, I'm comfortable with my weight, and I know that it fluctuates over time anyway. That said, I still don't like feeling like I'm some weekend roller coaster or yo-yo. It just sort of goes against the consistency I sort of strive for in my life.
So I've been thinking about all of this and I decided to plan ahead a bit and try to have some healthier options for myself this weekend. I had some nice leftover meals to have for my lunches the past two days. And yesterday I experimented with a smoothie I've been wanting to do for awhile now, so I have been very happy with my weekend eating. I'm so happy with it, in fact, that I will have absolutely no problem going out and enjoying a delicious fro yo snack this afternoon :)
Here's what I've been eating this weekend:
On Friday, when the rest of the family ordered pizza from our favorite restaurant, I ordered a chicken breast and substituted the starch for a double order of veggies. I ate half of it for dinner and saved the other half.
On Saturday, I totally enjoyed our traditional pancakes and eggs (eggs made with half whole eggs and half egg whites). For lunch, I had a thawed salmon in the fridge that I needed to eat, so I sauteed that up and enjoyed it on top of a bed of spinach, with sliced peppers and cherry tomatoes. I squirted some lemon juice over the whole thing as my dressing. It was insanely good!!
For Sunday breakfast, Bob didn't want to have too big of a mess in the kitchen, so we skipped our pancakes, which was kind of a nice, light, change for me. I ended up accidentally making an omelet (the eggs cooked as an omelet while I was prepping my spinach and tomatoes). I had that alongside two turkey sausage links. I snacked on two apple slices and a half a banana smeared lightly with natural pb. Lunch was leftover ground chicken taco meat, mixed in with chopped spinach and cherry tomatoes, and finished off with two of my guilt-free oatmeal cookies. Right now I'm having a cup of carrot cake tea, which is super tasty and comforting.
Here's my fitness plan for the week!
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