How to Fail at Meal Planning

Just got back from running to the store to pick up some pads with wings for Bethany, and some diapers for our little man.  Bethany was smart to have me leave with the old box of pads because WOW, was there ever a lot of choices! 😳

 While checking out, the nice check out lady looked at the empty box in the cart with a suspicious look,

 "Oh, I'm just a hubby running some errands for wifey, that's just the empty box she sent with me so I grab the right ones." I assuredly told her. 

"Yup. Totally get it," she replied back with a big grin on her face, while nodding. 

She continued, "Reminds me of those viral videos online of the husband being sent out to bring back some pads with wings... and he comes home with pads...  

 ... and an order of chicken wings from the restaurant!...  

Sets them on the kitchen counter and doesn't even question why wifey would want chicken wings out of the blue" 

 "I have seen those videos," I said. "And sure enough it was my wife that had me watch them" :) 

We had a good laugh about it, me and that nice checkout counter lady,🤣 (is that their official title??) 

with that there "pads with wings" -getting quest successfully completed, it's time to share 4 more little tips, strategies, secrets, hacks, etc when it comes to fitness and graceful aging to get closer to my 43 total -- which is how old I'm turning next week... 

... this one focused on the first component of my 3 step Workout Hero Transformation Strategy:   

1.)Proper Nutrition that you don’t hate 

Because if you HATE IT, that's a fantastic way to fail at the nutrition side of your fitness journey.

When we do something we hate doing, tis just a matter of time before we STOP doing that thing. HATE drains our motivation and willpower like a... well, a drain in the bathtub. :)  

(if you're keeping track on our route to 43, this would be tip #4 :) ) It's amazing how long it took me to realize this. and one of those total "DUH!" moments.  

I was always 100% focused on the results side, jumping onto the latest fad diet, being "good", losing some pounds, then gaining them right back as soon as went back to my old way of eating.

 You want a Proper Meal Plan that you can see yourself doing for months on end no problem... if not years, that also abides by the principles that every successful diet program adheres to.  Principles I go over in my L.I.Y.F.F. Meal Plan (formerly called the "Never Skip Dessert" Meal Plan... which that link takes you to the cheat sheet of the 10 essentials of this LIYFF Meal Plan in case you missed it earlier this week)  

You find this nice little balance between enjoyment of it and results so that it is sustainable.

Which brings us to tip #5…

.. you can still eat your favorite foods, but if your favorite foods are a lot of foods that are more so man-made, instead of God & nature made... aka, less nutritional value to it... it's best to not LIVE on these foods long term. 

There's a story I share in my book about the 19 year old girl that loved Ramin noodles and lived on them.

It was the majority of her calories for the day. She was really skinny and didn't have any weight to lose.  However, when she went to the doctor, they told her that her organs were shutting down. That she had the body of an 80 year old.

 If she didn't incorporate real food into her diet, she wouldn't live to see her 30th birthday.  

Tip #6

Total Calories are King, Protein is Queen, and your Anti-fragile based workouts are like the "Hand of the King" from Game of Thrones lore. (shout-out to my fellow GOT fans :) ) 

 If you aren't familiar with Game of Thrones, this position is basically a person that is the right hand of the King and wields as much power as the King throughout all the land... second only to the King.

 ... and in some cases even runs the Kingdom when the King is a dunce (as happens in the show because otherwise there would be no drama and it'd be boring :))

 Same goes for your Anti-fragile Workouts.  They can either take over the show and get your metabolism revved so screaming high that it practically makes eating too much an impossibility

(just ask Workout Hero Warriors Ashley & Jeni after their specialized form of deadlifting called 'Relentless Sets'. #alwayshungry :) )

 Or your Anti-fragile workouts can just be a really strong supporting character, if you will, that makes keeping to your total calories and hitting your macros way easier.  

Tip #7

Although the timing of your incoming nutrients and calories can be helpful, it is less important than total daily intake.  Less important than the quality of food choices too.  Back in my early training days, it was pounded into my brain that I was to have breakfast be my biggest meal of the day, and it was to get less and less as the day went on.

 "Eat like a king in the morning. Eat like a pauper in the evening" -was the saying.

 And that whole "Don't eat anything 2 hours before bedtime", yup, dats a myth too.  In fact, carbs before bed can actually help people sleep as it helps balance out blood sugar.

 (shoot, that should be its own tip, shouldn't it?. Yeah, let's make that Tip #8... I do have 43 of these to get to, you know, which is a lot --- but my fault for being so old! ) :)

 But with that said, it is still wise to have your protein spread out throughout the day if possible to help with muscle recovery and growth.

If not though, no worries.

 There's 5 tips to add to my 3 yesterday so up to 8 total so far...  

... see you tomorrow for some more, and 1 of them tomorrow involves the Packers, just so you know :)  

Stay classy now, Workout Hero

 With love & tacos (or should I have said 'chicken wings') Your Guide & biggest fan,
Mr Trainer man Erick