BY EMMET RUSHE: This week has been an eventful one.
In the past 7 days, I have finished up my job, started full time at my Personal Training business, moved location to Optimal Fitness, all while moving house… and we have begun building our new house……….phew!!!!
It would be easy to assume that my eating these past few weeks has been pretty crappy, but you know what happens when you assume something.
During times of increased pressure and stress, mistakes in our dietary habits can easily happen.
You don’t have time to prepare meals. You are snowed under at work and haven’t time for lunch. You are rushing from place to place and grabbing the quickest thing that comes to hand and those things are usually junk.
Is it any wonder that some of us wake up one morning and wonder what the hell happened?
How do we get around this problem?
How do we make better choices when you are tight for time and finding it hard to think ahead?
Here’s a few things that I did over the last few weeks that help me to stay on track and keep mistakes to a minimum.
1: I got up early
When you know you are going to have a busy day ahead of you, setting the alarm to go off half an hour earlier than usual means you can get up and prepare yourself a big breakfast.
This isn’t anything new. Our mothers have been telling you this for years and mammies know best.
By eating a balanced breakfast not only are you are curbing hunger for a few hours, you are also helping your concentration levels and because your satiety levels are increased the likelihood of reaching for something at the till is greatly reduced.
2: I reduced my carbohydrate intake.
My training was all over the place because of different projects pulling me from pillar to post.
Carbs are a fuel source for our body; if the body is idle it doesn’t need as much fuel. Reducing your intake of carbs to mainly around training times means your body will use them for energy and you won’t have excess in your system that can be stored as fat.
3: I increased my intake of vegetables.
When you take something out you simply cannot leave a void.
Increasing your intake of vegetables with every meal will help keep you feeling fuller for longer during and after meals and because vegetables have very few calories, you don’t have to worry about how much you eat.
4: I snacked on fruit and nuts
When you are in a hurry you always end up reaching for the quick fix food choices.
Keeping portions of fruit and nuts at hand means you will always have a quick and portable snack at hand.
Portion sizes for nuts are a small palm-full or a thumb length of them (not the whole bag).
The reduction of carbs means that our fat intake will have to increase to keep energy levels up; snacking on nuts can help with this.
5: I ate protein with every meal.
This should be a staple of every diet no matter what the goal is.
Protein helps with satiety levels and will keep you fuller for longer and because it is so satisfying it is very hard to over eat, you are getting calorie control without even knowing it.
Protein is also needed for maintenance of and increasing muscle mass, this is not a bad thing.
The more muscle you have the more calories your burn at rest.
You are basically turning your body into a fat burning machine; pass the chicken ☺
These are some basic tips that you can use when you are busy and find it hard to pre-prepare your meals in advance. They should help you keep on track.
#TrainSmart
If you have any question on this article or for getting a tailored program to help you reach your goals, please contact me through the link below.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Rushe-Personal-Training-and-Performance/120518884715118
* Emmet is the owner and operator of Rushe Personal Training and Performance
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