A day of REST does not mean LAZY

So as part of my recovery and easing back into the gym, I took the day completely OFF exercise. My amazing mom is having a LOT of trouble with her bad knee (3 surgeries so far..) the past few days, and I made her stay out of the gym too, since she can barely HOBBLE AROUND! Anyway, the point of this post is to help you to understand that a day off can go HORRIBLY wrong if you don't plan...mainly with DIET for most of you. A day off the gym means your metabolism is likely going to be acting differently, and not getting that sick SPIKE after a tough workout. Unless its a RE-FEED day, it's important to keep your meals in line so that your food intake is spot-on, and likely a little less than on training days. Today, I woke up and made protein pancakes with 3tsp of unsweetened coconut and 1/3cup blueberries. More protein, less carbs...since I won't be torching carbs on the treadmill or with my dumbbells. Had coffee, usual, made mom an eggwhite omelet with spinach and broccoli, and a tiny portion of quinoa (Again, no workout--less carbs).. 
Despite my mom's knee condition, she still wanted to hit Woodbury commons for a couple of hours. Knowing we'd be there until about 2, I packed lunch for us so we wouldn't STARVE and wanna eat the whole kitchen by the time we picked up my sisters and got home around 3:30. I made myself a piece of sprouted whole grain bread (only 11carbs per piece) with smeared avocado and a small portion of tofu, and romaine lettuce. I made mom a small salad with chopped romaine, 1 bell pepper, 1 kiwi, 1/3 avocado, and 1/2 serving tofu. I drizzled lemon juice on it. simple, and yummy! I also chopped up a yellow bell pepper and 6 sticks of celery for the car ride home after we ate our mini-lunches.  Late afternoon, it had been about 2.5 hours since we'd eaten, and mom had some small tomatoes, and I had UNSALTED pistachios. I finally found a nut that doesn't bother my stomach, and I like the unsalted ones....I have a natural distaste for all things salty...blech. Much later, I prepared dinner for my mom and I, AND my little sister, and my Dad. I was forcing my mom to put her knee up with ice, so I took over! I made my mom and I this awesome SALAD with romaine, spinach leaves, orange and red bell peppers, alfalfa sprouts, 1/3 avocado, and lemon juice. We each had a can of no-salt tuna on top of it, made MY way (celery, flax seeds, lemon juice, carrots).. I made my little sister WILD salmon and teriyaki quinoa, over the same salad my mom and I ate. 

IF YOU SET YOURSELF UP TO EAT HEALTHY...YOU WILL ! Take PRIDE in the healthy foods you make. They should look so good you wanna take pics of them! Whenever I make something, my mom is like "wow you should upload that." Take the time to PREPARE your foods. If you're busy, do it the night BEFORE if you don't want to wake up early or spend time chopping veggies during the day. The best part about eating CLEAN is that NOTHING can possibly require much effort or time to prepare. No need to sit around marinating meat or breading chicken...Eat it PLAIN. Things are more flavorful on their own than people give credit for. Heavy dressings even RUIN the crisp flavor of cold bell peppers, cucumbers, carrots, and more tasty raw veggies. It takes roughly 3 minutes to take out a heart of celery, wash it, cut the ends off, slice into bite-size pieces, and package in tupperware. Just those 3 minutes could potentially SAVE YOU from being hungry, and ruining your diet with a bag of pretzels or sugary smoothie on the go. Preparing food is ESSENTIAL for sticking to your diet. When your food is THERE, there's no need to try to find something sorta healthy. You'll end up in line at starbucks contemplating whether the 140 calorie oatmeal or the 190 calorie brownie square better suits your diet. Guess what, if you're not about to work out, NEITHER OPTION works. Avoid situations like that (or more serious, like a dunkin donut craving..because apparently some people have those) by bringing HEALTHY things with you to work, class, long list of errands, etc.
 Because of my careful planning today, I kept right within the proper calorie range, ate lots of quality proteins, got lots of greens and fiber into my day, and kept my sugar intake low. I'm working out tomorrow, and getting a MUCH needed deep-tissue massage. I'll DEFINITELY be blogging about that. PREP YOUR FOOD. Slice up the veggies, prep the no-salt tuna. Tupperware is your BEST friend!! 


XOXOXOXO