I know I sound old when I say this, but I can't believe how quickly the weeks fly by these days. I think it happens because I'm so busy between my full time job, my private practice, and managing my blog and Instagram. Not to mention my health, which between all the IV's, acupuncture, appointments, supplement ordering and prep, etc etc could be a full time job itself! I wake up, exercise, go to work, come home from work, answer a few emails or do 1-2 other chores, then head to bed to do it all over again. Before I know it, another week is gone, and now here we are half way through October!
Don't get me wrong, I've been thinking lately how incredibly grateful I am for my life. I enjoy my job(s), I get to help people daily, and I get to share my obsession with healthy, practical, and creative food with the masses though social media. I get to work with brands that I love and respect to get the word out about their products, and I get to eat plenty of them! I live in a beautiful place with so much sunshine, and even though I pay an arm and a leg in taxes, it's the middle of October and the weather is in the high 50's at night and mid 70's during the day, and I can walk a mile and be at the beach. I really can't complain.
I just don't want to miss it, you know? These weeks that fly by. I want to be intentional with them, purposeful. After all, that's the whole point.
Alright, on to the practical part of this week's blog post, the meal plan.
First, an update on carb cycling:
I'm officially one week into my carb cycling routine. For those who are curious, I'm averaging around 100 gm of protein per day (I've experimented with varying amounts and found that this is where I feel best personally), and then either 75gm CHO (all from non-starchy vegetables) and 120 gm FAT or 175 gm CHO and 45 gm FAT. I'm eating to satiety and not limiting my portions. On higher carb days I have been eating more frequently, which makes sense because fat definitely helps with satiety!
I've been feeling pretty good overall. I can't say that I've noticed any major changes, but I'm only a week in. One thing that I can say is that my workouts on the day after a LCHF day are more challenging, naturally, because my glycogen stores are depleted. However, I just take that into account and plan for a little less intensity. My Rootz pre-workout is also a gem and keeps me fueled all the way through. It's really the best. (You can get 10% off with the code "wholedailylife"!)
I'm content to continue the experiment for another two weeks!
Here's this week's meal plan:
Breakfast: Overnight Oats or Protein Shake // On higher carb days I'll be incorporating some overnight oats into my diet! I very rarely eat grains, but I recently tried some overnight oats and did really well with them (aka no digestive issues). I've been craving them since! I'll be using Maker overnight oats (a newer company that I discovered at Expo East) and having some additional protein on the side, probably a couple of eggs or a small protein shake. Sometimes I also mix protein powder right in. On higher fat days I'll be having a protein shake with MALK (favorite nut milk!!), frozen veggies, Equip protein powder ("wholedailylife" for 15% off), and MCT oil. It seriously tastes like a milkshake!!
Lunch: No Cook // I decided to keep things simple and repeat my usual no-cook plate for lunches this week. I'll be having deli turkey lettuce wraps with either avocado or an apple, depending on the day, and a bottle of Zupa ("wholedailylife" for 20% off and free shipping!).
Dinner: Meatballs or Chicken with Roasted Veggies // These really are two completely different meals depending on the day, so let me break it down:
- Carb days: chicken tenders (cooked in some broth with Paleo Powder seasoning) + steamed broccoli and cauliflower seasoned with Sari Foods Nutritional Yeast + roasted delicata squash
- Fat days: beef and liver meatballs (I use the blend by Da Le Ranch, a local farm, and cook according to my basic meatball recipe) + creamy cauli rice + roasted asparagus. For the cauli rice, I cooked up a package of Trader Joe's pre-riced cauliflower in a few tbsp of ghee and then added about 1/2 cup of coconut milk.
Snack: Pumpkin Bread or nut butter // For the pumpkin bread, all I did was mix 1 can of pumpkin puree with about 1/2 tsp salt/ginger, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, 1/4 cup Almond Pro high protein almond flour, 1/4 cup coconut flour, 1 tsp vanilla extract, and 1/2 cup egg whites. I also added a little bit of sweetener to taste (pure maple syrup tastes amazing!). I baked it at 350 until cooked through, about 30 minutes.
That's a wrap for this week! Have a good one and I'll see you back here next Monday!
-Tracey