Meals For Work

As some of you know, I work the night shift for some lame government agency. The only available option for purchasing food is a 24-hour McDonald's across the street. I refuse to do that to myself. So I usually need to prepare food beforehand so I can continue fueling through the misery of my job. Typically, I just cook some chicken breasts, bring in some fruit, and pack some almonds and cashews. Today, however, I had more time and put together a couple salads...


Since my roommates and I don't own a decent set of tupperware, I had to use two for all the food I prepped. In each salad, you'll find: baby spinach leaves, half an orangic orange pepper, half an organic avocado, a chicken breast, crushed bacon, and olive oil for dressing. I also packed some dried fruit, some berries and grapes, some organic apple slices, a cup of yogurt, some granola, and of course, almonds and cashews.

Protein:
-chicken
-bacon

Carbs:
-spinach
-pepper
-strawberries
-blueberries
-grapes
-granola
-dried mango & berries
-organic apple slices

Fat:
-avocado
-olive oil
-almonds
-cashews
-bacon
-crunchy peanut butter

Extra:
-I forgot to bring my fish oil

As you can see, there is a ton of carbs up there. Please bear in mind, I definitely won't eat all of what's posted. I just bring a lot of food into work to ensure I don't go hungry. My shift is ten hours long after all. Altogether, it took about 40 minutes or so to prepare all of this. And it's worth it if it keeps me from eating something off the wretched Dollar Menu. It's important that we eat well throughout the day, not just before and after workouts. Maintaining a good diet throughout the day not only leads to increased work capacity, but better overall long-term health.

Pre/Post Workout Meals

I woke up at 5:30AM today to train our 6:30AM class. Luckily, I had already prepared some food the night prior for a quick and easy breakfast...

Protein:
-one chicken breast
-two slices of roast beef
-two slices bacon
-slice of Swiss cheese

Carbs:
-strawberries
-blueberries
-grapes

Fat:
-bacon

Extra:
-three capsules of fish oil
-lots of water

You will notice a few things about this meal. I'm definitely missing out on fat. I had an avocado that I forgot to eat, but I did eat some almonds as I was training a few clients. Another thing significantly lacking is vegetables, something I could definitely eat more of. Classes ended at 8:30AM. I did my lifts and then some sprint work on the local track. At about 11AM, I had this post-workout meal...

Protein:
-one chicken breast
-one salmon filet
-two pieces of bacon
-a protein shake (not pictured)

Carbs:
-half a sweet potatoe
-strawberries
-blueberries
-grapes
-another shake (Perfect Food's Super Green Formula)

Fat:
-bacon
-olive oil on the sweet potato
-cashews (not pictured)

Extra:
-three capsules of fish oil
-lots of water

This meal is similar to my breakfast, but with some obvious adjustments. First off, there's a lot more protein in this meal. Post-workout is the ideal time to consume more protein in hopes to gain weight/muscle. This is especially necessary for a hard gainer like myself. Once again, I forgot to eat my damn avocado. I'm also eating half a sweet potatoe post-workout. According to Robb Wolf, there is a 45-minute window immediately following a workout in which your insulin sensitivity is at it's highest. This is where you want to consume a majority of your daily carbs, especially those rich in nutrients - like sweet potatoes. I can elaborate on insulin sensitivity if anyone is interested, but I'll leave it alone for now. You'll also notice I had a shake of Perfect Food's Super Green Formula. It's designed for people who don't consume enough leafy/green vegetables. I do not recommend it for several reasons: 1) It tastes awful, literally awful 2) There's no excuse for not eating enough veggies and I admit this supplement is a bit of a cop-out, but I'm a busy man damn it. And finally, the last thing to take note of is that I have upped my fish oil intake to three capsules per meal. I'm essentially going for 12 per day. Why? Because we need at least 3g of essential fatty acids (EPA/DHA). This requires a lot of fish oil everday.

I hope everyone is starting to take their nutrition more seriously. With football season fast-approaching, it's going to be very hard to stay disciplined. Do you best and let's hope the Patriots fail miserably...

Quick & Easy...

I'm doing my best to post on here more regularly. You're all also encouraged to do so. In fact, without your input I'm going to assume none of you are eating healthy. Hey, it's your life, but if you really want to crush a workout and maximize your performance and potential, food is the fuel to do so. If we work so hard every day at the gym, why can't we put in the same effort in the kitchen? Let's face it, we absolutely brutalize our bodies during workouts. Why not give them the sustenance they deserve? Here's a quick midday meal I had today...


Protein:
-a handful of turkey
-two hard-boiled egg whites (with hot sauce for flavor)
-three strips of bacon
-a protein shake (not pictured)

Carbs:
-three strawberries
-handful of blueberries
-handful of cherries
-another shake (Perfect Food's Super Green Formula)

Fat:
-half an avocado
-a lot of good fat in bacon

Extra:
-two capsules of fish oil
-lots of water

I'm not strict weighing and measuring yet, but this meal is pretty well balanced. I actually plan on going through it piece by piece to see how it plays out. But this was a quick and easy meal that tasted delicious. And I like to think it's part of the reason I put up the best time on the board today. Get after it.

Think Before You Eat

Sorry I haven't been posting on here more regularly. I've been a bit of a hypocrite recently and my diet has been quite awful. I'm more concerned with putting on some weight for my upcoming Oly competition in August, so food quality has suffered. Nevertheless, one can gain weight while eating healthy; it just requires diligence, dedication, self-sacrifice, and a host of other attributes I don't possess.

Anyway, I just wanted to put something up for you guys to all see the next time you're heading out to grab some fast food. Check this out.

I found this picture one day while perusing CrossFit Coronado's Nutrition Blog and it seriously disturbed me. Pretty sick, huh? While I fully endorse the Zone and controlling your fuel intake (Remember: Food = Fuel), it does you no good if you continue eating crap. Quality first. Before you buy or consume anything, ask yourself, "Is this something a caveman would eat?" That's usually a pretty good test. And no, I'm not talking about the guys from the Geico commercials... "I'll have the roast duck with the mango salsa." My original post on diet can be found here. Any questions, just ask.

In the meantime, here is what the guys at CF Coronado had to say about it...

"This picture alone should convince you that eating real food is what you should be striving for. It is amazing the crap we pump into our bodies, especially our children's. I get fired up every month when my kids bring home the menu for their school's lunches. It is things like these chicken nuggets that they feed them and call it 'healthy' since it is breaded in whole wheat and low fat. Top it off with some chocolate milk (for strong bones and teeth) and some fruit cocktail (to help get your 5 servings a day) and you have a well balanced diet: Low fat and protein, high carbohydrate. Perfect balance for our growing children. The fact that so many of these kids are overweight is bad enough. But, there is the added bonus of ADD/ADHD, radical mood swings, the inability to pay attention in class, stomach issues etc..."

Again, that blog is a great resource I recommend to everyone. They post countless articles citing a variety of interesting studies regarding nutrition. A lot of things that make you go, "Hmmm..."

ZMA

ZMA

 

I’ve been taking this for about three weeks now, and let me just tell you, this stuff is amazing.  I’m not even sure of all the sciency effects (maybe Q or Drew can fill us in on that), but what I do know is that I’ve never slept as well in my life as I do while taking this stuff. 

 

It took a week or so to figure out the right time to take it (the directions are three pills, 30-60 minutes before bedtime).  At first I was taking it about an hour before I went to bed, and it was actually disrupting my sleep.  Now, for the past two weeks I’ve been taking it right before I go to sleep, and the effects are amazing – I sleep throughout the night and wake up feeling refreshed, not groggy at all.  This never happened before getting on ZMA. 

 

Now this may sound weird, and maybe it’s just me, but one “side effect,” if you will, is that I have some very vivid and whacked out dreams on this.  Is anybody else taking this?  If so, does this happen to them or is it just me?  Not that it’s a bad thing…

 

-Whisler

 

 

Lunch at work

I know eating at work is usually difficult, just because of the snack machines and the desire for some quick energy in the afternoon (which usually leads to something sugary). Find a grocery store nearby. They all have sald bars. It's cheap and easy.

Salad with broccoli, mushrooms, turkey, bacon, cheese, pepperoni, and some creamy caesar dressing. Side of almonds and some water. Apple for mid afternoon. All for $11. Not bad.

-Drew

post your meal ideas here

So here it is. Jelley's Diner. In honor of Jerry and Kelley's new found relationship, which has lasted through the entire engagement of Craig and Erin, and continues on strong.

This was LoveShack's idea, so he got to choose the name. I like it.

Here's the deal. You can post to this a couple different ways. You can email whatever you want me to post for meals at drew@alloutfitnessCT.com or you can send an email directly to this blog by drafting up an email the way you'd like the blog post to look, and sending it to andrewdjoy.meals@blogger.com.

Here are the rules.
--no banter on here. the comments page on AOF is fine for that. let's not clutter this page with useless stuff.
--be as specific as you can with meal stuff, whether it's ingredients, amounts, etc.
--if you read a good article on nutrition, feel free to post it on here
--if you have questions, post them in the comments section either on here or on AOF. I'm working on getting something for the sidebar where we can have a "message board" of some kind, but I'm not sure if I can do it with this program. We'll see.

enjoy