Eating Coloured Containers
There is a quote that comes up often, attributed to Tony Robbins, “If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten.” My trainer said this to me at the end of December.
I met my ideal fitness goals in 2009 so we looked back at what was different. There were two things that stood out: I was documenting the food I ate each day, and I was running most days. I still strength train 3-4 times per week. It was a good balance of eating, cardio and strength – although the eating wasn’t necessarily balanced, lol.
For the month of January, I am following a program called the 21-day Fix by Beach Body. The core elements are portion control and 30-minutes of daily exercise. There are many similarities with Health Canada’s Food Guide, but less starches (aka grains). This is true during the 21-Day Fix weight loss phase but especially noticeable in their recommended portions for a healthy living lifestyle. I thought it would be easier to show the differences than write them out:
The program has a daily allotment of macronutrients (protein, greens, starches) and measured toppings for salads and casseroles. The hard part of course is how to translate their guidelines into real food to eat each day, and map that to a grocery list and cooking plan. This is what my work week looks like for me:
| Time | Portions | Food Description |
|---|---|---|
| Morning Commute | 1 red | 1 scoop protein powder with water and matcha |
| Mid-morning | 1 red, 2 green, 1 orange | 1/2 chicken-breast, cubed with salad and vinaigrette in a mason jar |
| Mid-afternoon | 1 red, 1 purple, 1/2 yellow | protein pancake with berries and 2 tsp maple syrup |
| Dinner 1 | 1 red, 2 green, 1-1/2 orange | mexican casserole with homemade corn tortillas and green yogurt for 2 nights |
| Dinner 2 | 1 red, 2 green, 1-1/2 yellow | shellfish stew over lemon couscous (QuickCook Moroccan, p138) and rapini for 2 nights |
| Dinner 3 | 1 red, 2 green, 1-1/2 yellow | not 100% sure yet how many servings we’ll need (for 2 nights or 3) |
| Extra snacks | 1 blue, 1 purple | 2 brazil nuts and small handful of almonds, 1 piece of fruit, CoQ10 tablet, and herbal tea |
| Right after work | 30-60 min activity | YouTube workout video or classes: Pilate’s (Wednesday), Barre (Saturday), hike (Sunday am), yin yoga (Sunday pm) |
What’s your plan for this week? Are you measuring and tracking your food for each meal? Let me know in the comments.
Photo Credit: jasleen_kaur via Compfight cc
