Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Possible Meal Ideas

As soon as I started telling people that Personal Trainer Jimmy had me increasing my calories from my usual 1,200-1,400 to 2,400... I got attacked with questions! First of all being: Is it working?

I'll give the kid this, he knows his stuff. I was stuck at a plateau of doom and gloom between 193-195lbs. Breaking 190 seemed like a far off finishing line that I'd never cross. Well, in walks Personal Trainer Jimmy like he's freaking Malibu Lifeguard Ken and WHAM! I'm down to 185lbs. Ya. It's working. There is a method to his madness, people. Pay attention.

I am now eating 6 meals a day, aiming for 2,400 calories, soon to be 2,600-2,700 calories. Increasing my calories has been the HARDEST part for me. Make me run, tax my muscles, bring on the sweat... but asking me to increase my calories was like asking a duck to bark. Really strange and a horribly awkward analogy. But you get what I'm saying. It felt counterintuitive! More food?

Personal Trainer Jimmy said, "You eat more, to lose more." At that moment, I thought the kid was on crack. I'm sitting there in our first meeting thinking "rrriiigghhhttt... alright, you can teach me the weights, I'll stick to my diet, though. I know nutrition wack-a-doodle." Turns out, I'm the fool who needed to listen to the teacher!

Long story short to answer the first question : Yes, it's working. Popular second question I've been getting: HOW are you eating that much and WHAT does a meal look like? Excellent question!

I'm going to break down what a day looks like and what my actual meals are. There are more choices listed than I actually eat in a day (although if I ate this much, I think Personal Trainer Jimmy would be pretty OK with it... maybe?), but I wanted to give you options and a good idea of what meals look like....

This is a meal plan as instructed by Personal Trainer Jimmy, all credit goes to that guy...

Calorie Target: 2,400 calories

Meal 1: 1 whole egg, 2 egg whites, and measure out 1/2 C uncooked Oatmeal (then cook with water). Calories = 266

Pictured here I have my homemade breakfast burrito with 1 whole egg, and 2 egg whites, salsa and avocado in a whole wheat tortilla. Little more calories than Jimmy's recommendation for meal 1, but as long as I even out the rest of the calories for the remaining meals, not a problem.


Meal 2: 2 Tb organic peanut butter, 1 large apple. Calories = 315


Meal 3: 1 C greek yogurt, 4 Tb toasted wheat germ, 1 Tb organic strawberry jam, 1/4 C raw almonds. Calories = 530
My variation: I love Chobani Greek Yogurt, so I skip the addition of jams and go straight for their good stuff, I add in the wheat germ and pair with english muffin, or nuts added to the yogurt.


Meal 4: 4 turkey slices (5g protein/slice), 2 slices whole wheat bread (toasted), 1/2 large avocado. Calories= 450
My variation: I do 1/2 C cottage cheese with the diced avocado on the toasted whole wheat slices. Or 1/2 C cottage cheese with 2 C fresh grapes and toasted whole wheat slices or a Luna Bar.


Meal 5: Measure out 1/2 C of uncooked brown rice (cook with water and olive oil), 1 salmon patty. Calories= 470
My variation: This meal did have brown rice with it... I just failed to capture it in the picture. ANYWAY... I am picky with my seafood, so I usually do grilled chicken breast, unless I can get my hands on worthy seafood (blessing and curse of being raised near the coast with friends who catch fresh salmon, tuna, and halibut regularly!)



Meal 6: 2 servings of walnuts, 4oz chicken, w/ salad and broccoli. Calories = 250.
My variation : I make a grilled chicken salad with walnuts, and various veggies...


Total Calories with 6 meals = 2,271

With protein shake immediately following workout, calorie intake will be around 2,400!!

There you have it... here are some other common eats in my day...

Pre workout snack or a breakfast choice : whole wheat english muffin, 2Tb natural peanut butter and sliced banana. Calories = 385


Grilled Chicken Spinach Wrap : whole wheat tortilla, 2oz grilled chicken breast, spinach, 1Tb hummus, and 1/2 avocado sliced. Calories = 349.



A favorite snack : 2 C sliced peppers with 2 Tb hummus. Calories = 140.



And just to throw things off... once per week, I'm allowed 1 cheat meal. NOT a cheat DAY. 1 cheat MEAL. A couple weeks ago we hit up Roscoe's which is known for fried chicken and waffles. Strangest combination I have EVER heard of, but freaking amazing! Not gunna lie.