This is a subject A LOT of people including myself at some point or another has suffered with - finishing at the gym, can't be bothered cooking, I’ll order take out… Am I right??!
Eating the right foods, fuelling your body and maximising recovery is just as important if not more important than working out. Making sure you eat energy filling foods for you to perform your best during your session and eating foods to help your body replenish and recover immediately after is crucial!
As well as REST! Good sleep will work wonders for recovery.
After an intense workout, such as a session at The Lab ;-), your working hard, pushing your body through gruelling exercises, your causing teeny tiny tears in your muscle cells that your body will repair to help your muscles regenerate and grow stronger. Giving your body the best chance of recovery by following the steps below could have huge benefits such as injury reduction, not being fatigued for your next workout, reduction in muscle soreness and keeping your energy levels at tip top highs!
Will power alone isn’t always going to work out, we’re all guilty of dipping in the biscuit tin whilst we decide what to make for tea, or making a couple of slices of toast whilst waiting for food to cook, my 3 P’s below should help eliminate all these snacking and binging habits!
Plan, Prep and Positivity
Plan - planning your meals can mean the world of difference between having a list of ingredients ready to cook as soon as you get home and eating a hearty nutritious meal OR swinging by McDonalds on the way home sitting in the drive through queue placing your order, driving off and realising they f*cked your order up, never mind your so hungry you ram it down your neck feel bloated and fat, then hungry again 45 minutes later!
Planning can be a day to day thing or if your really organised get a weekly food plan already sorted, food shopping already done so all that’s left to do is cook. This is the part some people hate as they associate it with boredom, waiting for food to cook and thinking that cooking takes up hours of your time! There’s other things you can be getting on with whilst food is cooking (quick workout perhaps ;p) and a lot of the recipes I have on offer can range from 10 minutes to 45 minutes tops!
Preparation - preparing meals to take to work, gym etc with you means your getting good nutritious food the instant you need it as opposed to having to eat whatever is on offer at the canteen or fatso’s down the road! Wake up 15 minutes earlier and prepare a salad and I don’t mean some iceberg lettuce and cucumber. I mean, leafy dark greens like spinach, rocket, chard, kale, colourful variety like peppers, red cabbage, avocado, carrot, celery, tomatoes, add some cheese, cold meats, tuna, quinoa, nuts, seeds, sliced apple, grapes be as inventive as you like! Take handfuls of fruits like blueberries, strawberries, bananas. Pre boil some eggs and take these with you to snack on - perhaps not at your desk or you may stink the office out! Slice some carrot into sticks and take with a small pot of houmous or goats cheese to dip. Blend a smoothie to take with you. Just that extra 10 minutes a morning can benefit your waistline and your wallet! OK, so I think that’s a line from somewhere else but it still works!
Positivity - be positive and be around positive people, there’s nothing worse than sitting at your desk and your work colleague is offering you biscuits and chocolate whilst saying ‘what are you going on a diet for’, ‘your mental for going to the gym all the time’, ‘just have some chocolate’ - these people will bring you down because they are unhappy in their own lives and jealous that YOU are doing something about yours, oh and it’s not a ‘diet’ it is a whole change into a healthier, happier lifestyle which should be enjoyed not resented. If you have to be around these people just remind yourself every so often of your goals, of a happier lifestyle and what a positive influence you can have on your loved ones.
So there was my 3 P’s, make small adjustments to your day, make time for planning and preparation, be positive and see what a difference it can make to your training!