Ideal Protein Diet At Innovative Aesthetics: Life in Maintenance... Food Preperation.

Monday, August 11, 2014

Life in Maintenance... Food Preperation.

Main-te-nance. That scary 3 syllable word.
Most people on phase 1 are TERRIFIED of maintenance. Why is that?!
I know exactly why.
Phase 1 and 2 are black and white. We tell you what you can and can't have.
Then phase 3 comes a long and we give you long lists of carbs, fats, sugars, proteins, and hey we even throw in an indulgence day!!!! What the heck, right?
It all sounds so foreign. BUT so wonderful at the exact same time.
A question I get time and time again...
Can I just stay on Phase 1???................................................NO!
Because then what happens is we slowly slip back into our old BAD habits.
You didn't take all this time and money to go backwards. You did this to change your lifestyle so let us help you do just that.

Phase 3 and 4 are fun! (I Promise)
We get to eat breakfast like kings.
We no longer have to stay away from carbs.
We can have a piece of FRUIT!
Fun, Right?!
I know, I know, still a little scary, but use us as your tools.
We have a lot of information and knowledge that we can't wait to share with you.

My main focus for this blog post today is to talk about food preparation and its importance.
Every Sunday I prep for an hour or more.
I will fill you in on a little secret. I HATE prepping.
On a Sunday night I would much rather lay on the couch and watch a Red box, BUT I know that if I don't do this now my week will be rough.
By rough I mean rushing in the mornings, not enjoying what I eat because I just threw it together, or I fall off because I didn't have anything planned. It is a snowball effect. Haven't you been there?!
I think we all have.
Honestly, prepping has taken me a long time to figure out. I am human, I still fail and that red box wins on occasion, and then come Monday morning I am regretting that decision.

A blog that I want to recommend is Lindsay at the Lean Green Bean. Her blog helped me with some great ideas for food prep. Last year her goal was to do some Sunday Food Prep every weekend and that really helped to motivate me. So now I have it down to a science. My grocery list is usually the same each week and my food prep time has cut down since I first started, but I just had to find MY routine, and I encourage you to do the same thing. What works for me may not work for you.

***Here is a list that I use often to make sure I have all of my necessities to keep me on track. This also makes it easier for grocery shopping. So please feel free to use and add food items to each column as you would like. (Reminder this list is for phase 3 and 4)

Food Choices for Phase 3 and 4
(number in the brackets= roughly 1 portion)

Protein	Carbohydrates	Dairy	Dairy Alternatives	Fat	Greens	Fruits
-Chicken (3.5 oz.) -Turkey (3.5 oz.) -Wild Meat (3.5 oz.) -Extra-lean beef (3.5 oz.) -Rib-eye/sirloin steak (2. Oz) -Tuna (4 oz.) -Salmon (2.8-3.5 oz.) -Shrimp (4 oz.) -Lobster (4 oz.) -Cod/Haddock (4 oz.) -Egg whites (3) -Whole eggs (1) -Ham (3.5 oz.) -Casein/Whey protein powder (25-30g)	-Sweet potato (4.2-5.2 oz. baked weight) -Wholegrain rice (3.5-4.2 oz. cooked) -Bulgar Wheat (3.5 oz. cooked) -Buckwheat (3.5-4.2 oz. cooked) -Quinoa (3.5 oz. cooked) -Oatmeal (40g dry) -Organic Rolled Oats (40 g dry) -Rye Bread (1 slice) -Ezekiel bread (1 slice) -Lentils-all types (4.2 oz. cooked) -Pumpkin/squash (7oz boiled weight)	-Fat-free yogurt -Fage zero fat-no sugar added (5.2 oz.) -Skim milk-preferably lactose free (5 oz.) -4% fat cheese (1.5 oz.) -Cottage cheese 1% fat (3.5-5.2 oz.)	-Hazelnut Milk (5oz) -Almond Milk (5oz)	-Fish oil (3 caps) -All-natural peanut butter (1 tsp) -Almond butter/other nut butters (1 tsp) -Avocado (1/2 approx. 1.7 oz. flesh weight) -Macadamia Nuts (20g) -Other nuts (20g) -Butter (1 tsp) -Coconut oil for cooking (1 tsp/approx. 6-8 g) -Olive oil (1 tbsp.) -Ground flaxseed (1 tbsp./approx. 10g) -Flaked coconut (1 tbsp.)	-Lettuce (any type) -Brussels sprouts -Broccoli -Asparagus -Celery -Cucumbers -Kale -Spinach -Watercress -Cauliflower -Bok Choy -Chinese Cabbage -Arugula -Bell Peppers -Bean Sprouts -Cabbage -Dill Pickles -Radish -Jicama -Rhubarb -Tomato -Green Beans -Carrots -Corn -Eggplant	-Pear (1) -Apple (1) -Kiwi (1) -Grapefruit (1) -Orange (1) -Tangerine (1) -Peach (1) -Grapes (3.5 oz.) -Cherries (3.5 oz.) -Strawberries (3.5 oz.) -Raspberries (3.5 oz.) -Blackberries (3.5 oz.) -Blueberries (3.5 oz.) -Pineapple (3.5 oz.)

**Follow Lindsay on MyFitnessPal –Lindsay@iamedicalspa.com

**Go to settings and allow friends to view your diary so I can help guide you

(You can download the app on your smartphone or use their online website Myfitnesspal)

Last, but not least I wanted to share a few of my food prep pics from Sunday. If you have any questions or need more ideas I would be more than happy to help!