Preparation is Key!

Goooooood Morning!

  Today we shall focus on being prepared when it comes to dinning out options.

First, twice this week I will be having dinner out… aka not prepared by yours truly…aka menus filled with the overwhelming amount of carbs! But no need to fear, there are ways to go about this without feeling the dread of the possibilities of those sneaky carbs getting into your “clean” meal!

Numero Uno! Find out where you will be dining. This way you can look up the restaurant and know what kind of cuisine they serve. Along with checking out their menu to see what options you have to pick from. Tonight I will be going to a pub type place, which I’m a huge fan of because pubs tend to always have a variety of options of their menu. You can get a burger and hold the bun and add your own carb free/ low carb toppings, with a vegetable side (tell waiter/waitress NO FRIES pretty please and get a substitute, that way they aren’t just sitting there staring at you and tempting you). Or if you want fries and only want like 2, to try them, then have two and IMMEDIATELY throw something gross on them so you won’t eat anymore!

Numero Dos! WATCH OUT FOR THE “LOW CARB” MENU OPTIONS! It may say low carb, but if you doing carb night and have a VERY limited amount of carbs you can eat during the day, then look closely, because in reality its not carb night low carb. Just because they remove the bun and add a lettuce leaf instead, doesn’t immediately make it low carb. You gotta watch out for those onions, tomatoes, and other carb loaded toppings! Restaurants are usually good about adjusting the meal to fit your needs, so don’t be afraid to ask if you can eliminate and add things.

Number Tres! Get a gooooood workout in! Today I have a cardio workout, and not that I’m a slacker when it comes to doing workouts when I don’t go out to eat, but I like to just kick it up a notch. I always go hard at the gym no matter what day it is, but if I know I am going to go out to eat and if there is a chance that sneaky carbs get in, then I go bigger and harder during my workout. Adding extra sets, extra minutes, extra sweat.

And last but not least, if you know your going to be going out to eat, and it’s not impromptu, then plan your day. Plan out what your going to be eating through the whole day, so that you know when dinner comes you have extra carbs to use at dinner …just in case. And if it is impromptu, and you have smart phone, and you  have the myfitnesspal app, then while your looking at the menu take your time by checking eat ingredient in the meal your interested in to make sure it fits your diet! And if you don’t have the myfitnesspal app THEN GET IT!!! IT’S A LIFE SAVER!

Basically when going out to eat, check out the menu and find something you would like that follows your diet plan before your get there, don’t be fooled by the “low carb” menu option, get a good workout in prior to, and lastly plan out your day! All simple things!

Now I wanted to put up a quick recipe!

Dark Chocolate Black Raspberry Sneed Bars

These high fiber and low carb gluten free bars are great for keeping in your fridge, and grabbing to go when in your in a hurry! I have been eating them before workouts to get some of the carbs that I need to get fueled. And because some of the carbed ingredients contain fiber as well, that cancels out the carbs and makes it low carb! It’s like magic! And the best part is, it only takes like 5 mins to make!! LOVE IT.

 This recipe should make 12 muffins (or in my case because I couldn’t find my muffin tin, I made 12 bars)

-100g. almonds

-50g. sunflower seeds

-50g. sesame seeds

-50g. flax seeds

-50g. pumpkin seeds

-1 handful of blackberries

-50g. of dark chocolate (yuuum)

-1tsp sea salt

-1/4 cup of oil (olive or sunflower)

-3 eggs

preheat oven to 390 degrees F. Chop the almonds and dark chocolate coarsely. Mix together almonds, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, blackberries, chocolate, and salt. Add in the oil and then the eggs and mix well. Pour mixture into nonstick muffin tins (or baking dish) and bake in the oven for about 15 mins. Allow to cool and store in the fridge in an airtight container.

Truly a Break-Fast

Goooood day!

      Ok this post will be quick, I say that now but of course paragraphs later and I’m still going ;-).

        This morning I was definitely feeling extra tired from this past weekend. It was one of my best friends birthday and we went out Friday night and so yesterday I was beyond tired and very thrown off of my regular routine. Which hey, it’s not always gonna be perfect, just means I have to suffer the consequences and get back on track. But it was definitely worth it, we had a blast!

Were crazy, but we don’t care.

       Anyway after working late last night and having to get up early this morning, I was slow to get out of bed and tired of eggs! But I definitely needed to eat something. So after a quick brainstorm I decided to throw together a smoothie. Of course when your going low carb a smoothie is a difficult task because most fruits are high in carbs. BUT I recently found out that blackberries are free game! And luckily I had some left over after making this blackberry dark chocolate sneed (nuts and seeds) bar (I’ll be most definitely sharing the recipe on that on in another post).

   I did a nice simple smoothie full of protein and nutrients.–> About a cup of blackberries, a cup of baby spinach (you can’t even taste the spinach I swear!), some ice, some almond milk, a scoop and a half of isopure strawberry and cream zero carb protein powder (you can use any protein power of course), hemp seeds, and chia seeds! –>For a little tip next time I’m going to freeze the blackberries instead of using ice so you don’t have tiny ice bit and so it’s doesn’t get watery.

About a cup of baby spinach

Some blackberries

A scoop and a half of protein

And BAM! Smoothielicious with chia seeds on top!

Basically what I wanna get at is to not skip any meals with the excuse of “I didn’t have enough time”. When I was in high school I would rarely eat breakfast, and if I did 9 times out of 10 it was some sort of granola bar. No bueno. You can make breakfast in seconds if you just take a second and use what you have and whip something up. And even though we all have in are heads what the typical breakfast food is, breakfast can consist of anything you want to eat! Don’t get stuck in the mindset that you have to have eggs and bacon! Have a burrito! Have some grilled chicken and spinach. Just make sure to eat something! Put fuel in your body to start your day off right. Ever since starting my carb night diet I haven’t skipped breakfast once. I make it a point to have something even if its going to make me late to work. Theres no way I am going to stat my day off with an empty stomach, not allowing my metabolism to get roaring, and feel tired and sluggish. Plus with the amount of calories I burn each workout, I need to stay energized with food and need my body to burn something while I workout!

In spite of what I said I do tend to make eggs…alot. Its just a really easy fast breakfast, and I make them in different ways to keep it interesting. But after having my smoothie this morning, it inspired me to take the next step and check out other fruits that are on the lower carb side and experiment with some smoothie options!

But all in all, EAT! Nothing makes me more frustrated when people think that skipping meals or not eating breakfast is going to help them loose weight. WRONG! But that will be in another post…And I promised to keep this short. So until then! Happy eating! 🙂

It Ain’t easy bein’ Peasy

Ello ello!

          Recently my mom has gotten into baking things…things  like brownies, cookies, and bread. Aka everything I CAN’T eat. And I know some people are probably like, this is why diets are stupid, just enjoy life and eat it! But for me I consider that taking the “easy route”and I knew from the beginning that I didn’t sign up for easy. Unless you have done carb night before or understand bodybuilding diets a lot of people don’t understand why I am eating like I am. And believe me, sometimes (when I am craving something that I can’t eat normal) I think to myself, “why am I doing this??” and “will this really make a difference if I have just a small amount?” and other thoughts like that. But then I have to remind myself that its JUST food. Food you can have when you have reached your goal.

When I look at something delicious that isn’t a part of my diet I think, “ok, was this cooked by a world renowned chef? Is this something that won’t ever come by way again?” If the answer to both those questions are no, then it’s not worth it to eat and jeopardize how far I have come.

Now this is definitely easier said than done. Especially when you have these guys just sitting on your kitchen table!

But again, they are nothing special (not that my mom doesn’t know how to cook some mean brownies, cookies, and jalapeño cornbread….because she does) they are something that I will always have access to…well unless something tramatic happens, like all the chocolate in the world burns to a crips! But, you get what I mean. And with the diet that I’m on, it allows me to enjoy and really savor delicious treats like these once a week.

And I do get the “a little bit won’t kill you” from people or the “its [instert occasion or holiday here]!” But what most people don’t understand about me is that I also used to make those excuses. Saying “well it’s so and so’s birthday so its ok!” Or “it’s flag day so it’s ok to eat this and that!” But all these things add up. And if I give in one time, then I get the taste of what I’v missed out on and will want more. There will always be obstacles and temptations, but if you are really serious you have to learn to say NO! You have to understand that what you feed your body does matter, and if you start to give into a little temptation then you might start to go down a bad path allow other temptations and obstacles to run you over.

Carb night really took some time to get used to, and to learn about the foods that have carbs that I can’t have, and the ones that have carbs AND fiber which cancel out the carbs, like avocados. It pushed me to get more creative with what I eat, especially since I am one who is all for easy meals. I try to add flavor in more simplistic ways. It has also forced me to eat at home and cook pretty much 99% of my meals. I honestly can’t even remember the last time I went out to eat when it wasn’t a carb night (definitely saving me a lot of money). And this is because not knowing what exactly is in my food when I’m not cooking it raises too many questions and thoughts of, “what if there are carbs in my meal that I don’t know about?” and “how much of said ingredient did they use so that I can calculate it into myfitnesspal?”. It just makes it ten times easier if I prepare and make the meal all on my own. That way I know for sure what goes into it, and how much of something goes into it and can get the results I’m looking for without raising implications.

My advice for anyone who wants to do carb night….Know that this won’t be easy, but you will surely get used to it! Don’t let food control you, control your food and don’t be afraid to say no! And lastly, make your own meals, it might take some time to learn what foods have carbs and what foods have carbs and fiber, but once you get it, it will save you money, and in the end you’ll be much happier when you see the results come in!