Alright, so we’re a week and a few days into our latest and greatest fitness challenge. So many of you are off to a great start, and I’m more than excited to show you how this style of eating with prolong the life of your fitness and show you better results over time.

As I gathered my Sunday goodies this week, I realized there are so many small things I have learned throughout the past six months. A very dear friend told me, “Chip away at the small things, and the big things will come.” I can’t reiterate how important this mindset is when you’re taking on a new approach to eating/dieting/fueling. For many of you, this is going to be a lifestyle change that you will continue to improve upon for months on end. I find that now that I have a better handle on what types of food I need to meet my macros, I can add more variety to my food.

Food prep on Sundays has become one of my favorite things to do. It’s also one of the most important steps for me to be able to eat well throughout the week. Just like so many of you, I get home late or am starving by the time I need to eat. Prepping the meals for the rest of the week has made eating well a synch, comparably speaking.

Remember, each of you have different goals for this challenge. Mine, as I’ve told many of you, is to lean out while fueling the best daily performance. I’m in my final 18 days (GASP!) before the open starts, so I’m also trying to eliminate more processed foods if my timing will allow it.

Although this isn’t structured meal by meal, you get the idea of what I am consuming at different points throughout the day. Here are my meals for the week:

Recovery Rice Crispies: http://www.livestrong.com/recipes/recovery-rice-crispies/

Turkey Meatballs: http://elanaspantry.com/spunky-coconuts-chicken-meatballs/

Mini Cauliflower Pizza Bites: https://dashingdish.com/recipe/mini-cauliflower-pizza-bites/

Cauliflower & Spinach Breakfast Bread: http://www.goingcavewoman.com/paleo-cauliflower-bread

Pulled Pork

White Rice

Mini Bean-and-Cheese Quesadilla: 55 grams of black beans, 1 tablespoon salsa, and 7 grams of cheese in a small corn tortilla. I wrap them in individual foils and stick in a plastic bin to grab and reheat.

For me, I typically work out in the mornings, and then three days per week, I so a second workout in the afternoon. I typically do my first workout fasted or with a small amount of carbohydrates (i.e. a banana or cereal bar) in the morning. After my first session, I immediately have an SFH protein shake, a banana, and a starchy carbohydrate, which is this week’s protein recovery rice crispy treats. As my system calms down and I get hungry, I’ll reheat my breakfast, which has more carbs and a heavy dose of protein and fat. This week, I’ll have two egg cups, and a cup of rice (*Note this is different than on days that I’m not working out or working out later in the day).

After about three hours, I usually complete my second session for the day, which is followed by another dose of a SFH protein shake, a banana, and a mini black bean taco.

I’ll then eat a high protein, higher fat meal of chicken meatballs, spaghetti squash and a cauliflower/spinach pancake as this will be heading into my part of the day that is most stagnant (i.e. my need for the least amount of carbs).

For dinner, I’ll take a look at my macros, and try to eat the remainder of my calories to hit exactly what I need to round out my day. This week, I’ll have pulled pork with brussel sprouts and a little bit of rice to round out my macros. The rice helps fuel my performance for the next morning and provides energy for my muscles to restore while I sleep.

As I close out my day, one BIG tip I’ve learned is that it’s best to enter my meals throughout the day. That way, I always have a running tally in my head of what else I need to consume, and I’m less likely to forget snacks or meals. On the days that I enter it all at night, it’s much harder to meet my numbers with the correct balance, and I always end up remembering stuff I ate when I’ve already gone over my numbers.

Hope that helps!