Hammer and Chisel Meal Plan Week 2

So this is technically the middle of week two since we started on a Thursday to make our rest days happen on Sundays :) BUT- essentially this is for our week 2 ;) Using this format makes it so easy to change my meal plan each week and tally up my portion control containers to make sure I get EXACTLY what my body needs! So far our results have been great and we are loving this program!

 Did you notice I even made us a sweet treat?!? Those flourless brownies are DELICIOUS- look for a recipe coming SOON!

Hammer and Chisel Meal Plan

Week two of being BACK ON TRACK with clean eating and meal planning! It helps so much and I was able to 100% follow the plan today- just looked on the fridge where I taped it and ate what it said to eat. Makes life much simpler and no excuses for just grabbing whatever you can find when you're overly hungry ;) If you're following the 21 Day Fix or Hammer and Chisel, it's so easy once you get the hang of it. Start with your dinner plan and work your way down and figure out the portions as you go. Here's mine for the week. Obviously, the hubby needs more calories so he eats more than I do.

Meal Plan 2-9-15

I do my meal planning on Sunday, but honestly don't usually shop until Monday because I do most of it at the local health food store, which is closed on Sunday.  I also often base part of my plan on what we may have leftover or in the freezer to save money and make sure nothing goes to waste.

It's supposed to start getting pretty cold this week so thought some soup would really hit the spot and some "comfort" pasta would be extra yummy too!

A few of the recipes from this meal plan:

Roasted brussels sprouts
Perfect salmon
Chicken Enchilada Soup

I'll be adding the lemon-garlic chicken and chicken pesto quinoa pasta this week!

If you are unsure about portion sizes, read THIS.

Meal plan for week of 2-1-15

I am officially on week one of the 2nd month of Insanity MAX:30 and am finally cracking down on my nutrition. For me, this is the hardest part. I can workout all day, but really reigning in what I'm putting in my body is a struggle. When I see it written out, I am much more likely to stick with the plan so meal planning is KEY for me!

The beauty of this program is that it incorporates easy to follow nutrition with portion control color containers to make it fool proof.

For my calorie bracket, this is my goal number of containers for each day:
Red (protein): 4
Green (veggies): 3
Purple (fruits): 2
Yellow (carbs): 2
Blue (healthy fats): 1
Orange (seeds and dressings): 1
Teaspoons (oils and nut butters): 2

I write out my meal plan in PENCIL then check off the list to make sure I have the correct number of servings from each category. Makes it easy and you know you are getting the right portions and ratios for your body!

21 Day Fix Week 1 Meal Plan

Day 1 was a success. This program is so easy to follow and foolproof. You use your handy containers and use the formula to figure out how many of each you get. Once you know that, you pick a food from each category and fill your containers. Simple and to the point so you can reach your goals quickly! And notice I even have cookies on my plan ;) That recipe will be coming up this week!

Want to know more about this awesome program? 21 Day Fix

21 Day Fix Day 1 Meal Plan

So the 21 Day Fix starts tomorrow for me and I have a HUGE group of challengers ready to do it together for support and accountability! This program takes clean eating to a simple, no excuses level!

Here is my meal plan for the day. I haven't been feeling the best so did not take the time to plan my entire week today but I'll catch up tomorrow! I'll get the rest of the week prepared tomorrow and lay out the whole plan!

The premise of this program is using different sizes of containers to control your portions. For my calorie range, I will be eating from 3 greens, 2 purples, 4 reds, 2 yellows, 1 blue, 1 orange and 2 teaspoons.

Here's what my day looks like tomorrow:

Breakfast: Oatmeal (yellow), 1 tsp peanut butter (tsp), cinnamon, 1 tsp honey, 2 eggs (red)

Snack: Tuna (red), carrots (green)

Lunch: Vegan strawberry shakeology (red), frozen strawberries and raspberries (purple)

Snack: Apple (purple), 12 almonds (blue)

Dinner: Salmon (red), kale (green), spinach (green), quinoa (yellow), 1 tsp olive oil (tsp), dressing   (orange)

Meal plan Feb 10

Here's our good ole meal plan for the week! Making a plan helps so much with staying on track and focused. It is definitely easier not to stray when you don't get stuck with the last minute, "What are we going to have for dinner?" which usually leads to poor choices. 

 The hardest part is just spending the few minutes it takes to sit down and actually make a plan. Hopefully this will help some of you have a starting point! Make it a great week!

Meal Plan and P90X3 Week 4 Review

This last week was week 4 of P90X3 for us, which made it a transition week before we move into phase 2. It was a great combo of cardio days and balance and flexibility days.

Monday- Isometrix
This was our first time doing this workout. It's all about balance and flexibility. Balance is a strong point of mine, flexibility is NOT. It's a great workout though that also works your core.

Tuesday- Dynamix
This one we're used to as we've been doing it every Sunday. Still stretching with flexibility but moving most of the time.

Wednesday- Accelerator.
Now THIS is a workout! Think it may be my favorite so far! Constant moving, running, agility and speed work.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
Thursday-Pilates X.
Gotta say I had the HARDEST time with this one. If you've got great balance AND flexibility, this one is for you. The results of the core work in this one are gonna be serious though so I WILL master it!

Friday- CVX
Still love this workout too. Weight and cardio at the same time the whole time.  Lot of calories burned!

Saturday- YogaX

Sunday- Dynamix

So now we're ready to ROCK week 5! Almost all new workouts we have never done so I had to get busy making a good meal plan to stick with.  Here is a sample of what I'm doing. People always ask if Cass does the exact same meal plan. Yes and no. It is essentially the same but bigger portions and more protein. He needs more of everything than I do of course. Hope this helps you get on the healthy track this week!

Thanks for stopping by! Let me know if you have any questions!

Meal plan and travel snacks

Figuring out my meal plan this week was a little trickier. 

A- I have a photo shoot this weekend so I'm really watching my carbs this week.

B- I have a photo shoot this weekend so I'll be out of town and out of my routine ;)

So the plan is super clean through Friday morning.

Traveling gets tricky of course and where most of us really slip up with planning. The key is, as always, to be prepared! We load up the cooler and have our healthy snacks ready. We ALWAYS take our shakeology with us on the road so that's easy. Our healthy snacks will most likely include--- apples, almonds, lara bars, boiled eggs, hummus, cut carrots and broccoli, strawberries, blueberries, kiwi. Those are almost always with us on a trip. Easy to pack a cooler and we never have to stop for food. Saves us time and money!

What do you usually pack for a trip to stay on track with your eating?

Meal plan and clean eating

Meal planning is something that has made the biggest difference for me staying on track. Failing to plan means planning to fail! I truly believe this. Make a plan and it makes it so much easier to stick to clean eating.

What is clean eating?
Clean eating is eating five or six small meals a day made up of lean proteins and complex carbs. NO sugary, starchy or processed foods. It is NOT a fad diet- it is a lifestyle. It is not just to lose weight, although that's a perk. It is to get and stay healthy so you can be around for the long haul and feel good while you're on this earth. It keeps your metabolism revved and your body running as it should!

It means eating every few hours to keep your metabolism up and your sugar levels steady. When I first started, it was about getting rid of the processed foods. The key is to continue making PROGRESS. Little steps in the right direction will help with weight loss and overall health.

Here is my meal plan for the week. I'm new to this so just took a pic of my printed plan- a little ghetto I know! :/ Next week will be better! I'll learn how to export a document into a photo file. Anybody know how to do that?

I hope this helps some of you. We finished our prep work for the week today so it's not as stressful during the week. I'll be posting recipes as the week goes along. Stay tuned!