Wednesday, July 11, 2012

New Menu

Hey, guys. I haven't died. I just started blogging on the WW site and have been meeting some fellow WWers, which is nice. Here's a recent post I put up on over there. I worked with the gym director on-site where I work and she helped me come up with a plan to bust through my plateau. Cross your fingers that it works!

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Here’s my disclaimer for what I’m about to lay out for you guys: this advice came from a trusted professional who knows a lot more about nutrition and the body than I do. This is one person’s advice based on years of education in nutrition and experience in the field, but that doesn’t mean it’s 100% correct or agreeable. I trust this woman, you do not have to. I’m just sharing her nuggets of wisdom in case it helps any of you.

So here’s the low down. The way down. The buckle down. The scoop.

Lara’s Rules of Thumb for an average day:

1. Eat less than 100g of carbs per day

2. Eat 1g of protein per one pound of your weight (I weigh 198 pounds so I need to strive for 198g of protein per day. This will not happen, but I will fit in as much as possible)

3. Eat a big breakfast. Breakfast should be your biggest meal of the day

4. All carbs should be eaten before you leave work (as in, no carbs after five). Any carbs you eat after 5 p.m. should be from vegetables only

5. Watch your fruit. Most are carb-laden; especially melons and citrus

6. You need to get protein into your body no longer than 30 minutes after you lift weights (protein after cardio isn’t as imperative). This helps repair the torn muscles

Lara helped me plan out a sample menu. She suggested a protein supplement shake after my P90X weight-lifting days. I’ve been trying to steer clear of processed foods and supplements, but after seeing how little protein I eat on a daily basis, I’m going to do the protein shake for a while to see how it works. I purchased this one based on Lara's advice. I also planned in a protein bar because Lara wants me to eat within an hour of waking up. Since I have a long drive to work, I needed something car-friendly.

Here’s the menu we worked out:

6 a.m. Protein bar in car. I’ve been eating Kashi Dark Mocha Almond bars (3 PP) and Atkins Cranberry Almond bars (4 PP). Both are very tasty and there are so many more to try besides these two flavors

8 a.m. Two egg whites

10 a.m. Banana and almonds

12:30 p.m. Protein shake, lunch salad with lite dressing (on non-weight-lifting days: a veggie and egg sandwich on a sandwich thin with a side of cottage cheese)

3 p.m. ½ Sandwich thin with ½ TBS peanut butter and some fruit (preferably berries since they have the lowest carb count

6 p.m. Protein and veggies (grilled chicken and broccoli; salmon and asparagus; shrimp and brussel sprouts, you get the picture)

8 p.m. 1 cup of cottage cheese

So that’s going to be the basic idea for my meals in the coming weeks. It doesn’t look like much carbs, but it actually is. In fact, I was just under the 100g-of-carb-per-day with this menu. And you know those beans I thought were going to solve my protein deficiency? They have more carbs than protein! This meal plan is around 26-28 PP per day. I get 31 PP per day. Weight Watchers warns us about eating under our daily allotment, and I’m very conscious of that. I haven’t counted in any oil, which I will use to prepare my dinners (and to get in my GHGs), so that should take up the rest of the points.

I suspect this menu looks a lot like a sample menu from a lifetime WWer.