Motivation Does Not Last
Motivation is a fickle thing. Some days you feel as if you could run a marathon and others running a mile is torture. Motivation comes in many forms for people, but regardless it does not stick around for the long haul. Some are motivated by videos of people doing what they hope to accomplish, a simple quote can pep some up, there are those that thrive on competition, a change in the way your clothes fit or the number on the scale, etc.
Regardless of what gets you going, it isn’t always going to be there to pep you up, day in and day out to make you get up or stick to the plan. Commitment is what gives you results. Running the mile when it feels like torture versus sitting on the couch, is being committed. Not giving in to the temptation of eating all of your kids’ leftover supper, even though you really want to, is commitment. Planning out your meals and snacks is a commitment.
If I sit around long enough being lazy, I will eventually get motivated, simply because that is my personality. I can only be lazy and unproductive for so long. I don’t necessarily have to go workout to feel like I am being productive, I just have to cross something off my list. My desire to be productive is the only reason why I started this blog. I binge-watched Netflix all I could stand while on maternity leave and needed something else besides laundry and cooking to make me feel proud of myself. I wanted to accomplish something more than watching an entire series or two.
Even though most places are still closed down or slowly reopening, my routine for going to the gym has not changed (unfortunately). I would love to sleep in and go to a later class, but that just doesn’t work with our schedule. I can’t work out with my kids, so I have to go when they are asleep because I also have no one to watch them while I go to the gym. It is a struggle most moms face and usually they just say screw it and don’t go. They let themselves go and push their needs to the side because it is not convenient.
When people don’t see immediate results from what they feel like is a commitment, they will quickly bail. I see it often when it comes to working out and tracking macros. After a week or two, those that are not committed will stop. Tracking macros is not a diet pill that will shed all your water weight, just to have you put it right back on.
Tracking requires a level of dedication and a lot of patience. It is not for those that want to just lose weight quickly, but for those that are searching for something sustainable and practical. Tracking is something that can last a long time. What I love about it, is that anyone can do it and there is no set in-stone rules. It is all trial and error really.
If you eat something that blows your fat out of the water, well you know to plan better next time or that that particular food might not be worth it anymore. Some days you will fall short of your goal, but that is part of it. You won’t hit 100% every day and really on the days that you are not working out, you don’t need 100% of those macros.
What you need have to have is a level of commitment and consistency to see results. Finding the motivation to start is easy, but finding the right level of commitment to keep it going is the hard part. There will be times that you want to quit and take a break from fitness and tracking, which is not the end of the world, but being able to jump back on that train is very important. Fitness and being healthy is just part of my lifestyle so I do not foresee a break in my future unless I am going on vacation, with some pretty awesome and tempting food. I like to eat and try all the new foods…so I will workout on vacation too. đ
M E N U
Zesty Shrimp and Sweet Peach Salad
Lemon Parmesan Salmon + Corn Tomato and Avocado Salad
Steak + Blueberry Feta Salad
Rotisserie Chicken Coconut Curry Soup
Pork Tenderloin Stuffed with Shallots, Poached Pears, and Blue Cheese + Roasted Brussel Sprouts + Onion
Zesty Shrimp and Sweet Peach Salad
Oh, this salad gets me so excited for supper and lunch the next day. To say I loved this salad is an understatement. I have used the zesty seasoning so many times since then and it never disappoints.
The first time I made this dish, I did a mixture of shrimp and chicken last time, which was a great cheap way to get more protein in. The chicken was great, but the shrimp were right on the money. So good. The lemon and lime zest mixed with the spices, and one ounce of honeyâŠsuch a good combination! This time I am going to use backstrap. It is super lean and we have a good bit of it saved up in the freezer right now.
To be 100% honest it is SO frustrating trying to calculate the macros for this dish because there are so many separate parts to it. I put everything into one recipe on my app, but keep all the ingredients separate to divide evenly to each salad. It is tedious, but worth it to get the exact macros. When I made this dish before, the macros were 286 calories, 42.2 grams of protein, 20.6 grams of carbohydrates, and 5.7 grams of fat. I did add some extra shrimp for the second day because the calories are very low and the shrimp was amazing.
*Changes I make to meet my macros
Ingredients: 2 pounds shrimp, peeled and deveined *meat of choice 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling *zero calorie olive oil spray 2 teaspoons chipotle chili powder 1 teaspoon smoked paprika 1 teaspoon honey *1 ounce zest of 1 lemon and 1 lime kosher salt and pepper 4 thick slices ciabatta bread *omit 6 cups mixed greens spinach or arugula 1 peach, thinly sliced *245 grams (split into 4 servings) 2 ears, grilled corn, kernels removed *1 cup sweet corn 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved if large AVOCADO VINAIGRETTE 1 avocado, halved and pitted *3 ounces 1 cup fresh cilantro 1 jalapeño, halved and seeded, if desired juice of 1 lime 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar *4 Tablespoons 1 pinch of kosher salt
Lemon Parmesan Salmon + Corn Tomato and Avocado Salad
Salmon is on sale this week, so bring on the fish! Recently talking with a couple that I working with on macros they expressed how much they realized they love fish, not only for taste purposes, but also for their macros. They love how easy it is to go to a restaurant and order blackened fish with a salad and meet their goals.
I don’t usually experiment with my salmon, I love it the way we cook it already, but Josh sent me this recipe from Half Baked Harvest…so we are going to give it a shot. The salad alone looks amazing, but he wants to cook the salmon the same way too. I will report back on that next week.
If you are like me and just want to stick with the basic salmon and have the salad on the side, I think that would be great! We use lemon zest, lemon slices, garlic powder, onion powder, and Tony Chachereâs seasoning. Rub or spray the fish down with olive oil, season, wrap in tin foil and cook until it is done. We donât flip our fish, we just set it off to the side if it is cooking too quickly and let it slow cook.
I need to update my salmon cooking method since we recently purchased a RecTec Grill. We don’t wrap the salmon any more with it being on a pellet grill. It does have a different taste to it, but I really loved it the last time we ate it. It is well worth the money in my opinion.
*Changes I make to meet my macros
Ingredients: 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil *spray olive oil kosher salt and black pepper 4 (5-6 ounce) salmon fillets 2 teaspoons smoked paprika 4 cloves garlic, minced or grated zest of 1 lemon 1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese *reduced fat parmesan CORN SALAD 1/2 cup fresh basil, roughly chopped 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil *lemon juice 1 tablespoon fresh chopped chives 1 pinch crushed red peppers flakes kosher salt and black pepper 1 can (14 ounce) chickpeas, drained 4 ears grilled or steamed corn, kernels removed from the cob 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese *omit or non-fat feta 1 avocado, diced *0.5-1 ounce per serving LEMON YOGURT 1 cup plain Greek yogurt *non-fat Greek yogurt 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 1-2 cloves garlic, minced or grated kosher salt
Steak + Blueberry Feta Salad
In an effort to keep the carbohydrates balanced, I try to cook two-three âheavyâ carbohydrate meals and two-three light carbohydrate meals every week. I will alternate the high carb and low carb meals between lunch and supper so I donât go over my allotted carbohydrates every day. I donât worry about which meal of the day has the high carb or low carb, I just focus on keeping it balanced.
With this salad donât skip making the dressing, donât try buying some store-bought version, because it wonât be the same. Any dressing made with lemon juice is right up my alley. I skip the olive oil and just up the amount of lemon juice and it makes it extra healthy. I donât mind eating fats but I would much rather save my fat for the almonds or avocado, not the olive oil.
I like to put a lot of blueberries in each of my salads, but you can put from 1/2 cup to a whole cup. Strawberries are also in season right now and would be a great addition if you canât get good blueberries. The strawberry patch is a great place to go to, to get a break from in-home quarantine.
Usually, I pick between almonds of avocado. I donât want to go over on my fat because of one dish. Typically 1/4th of an avocado is 1 ounce. 1 ounce of avocado is 50 calories, 0.5 grams of protein, 2.5 grams of carbs, and 4.5 grams of fat. You can add both, just make sure you watch the calories, fat adds up quickly. Two ounces of avocado are 100 calories and that would is about a fourth of what I would want my total calories to be for one meal. In my opinion, it is just a lot of calories for something so small. Just make sure you weigh it and track it.
Since I am going to be eating this salad as a side instead of as the meal, I will probably opt for avocado one day and almonds another. I don’t want to push the fat too much since fat is my lowest percentage of macros eaten.
*Change I make to meet my macros.
Ingredients:  4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 1 pound) *Steak- filet or sirloin  8 cups mixed salad greens  1 cup blueberries (* or strawberries) *1/2 cup to 1 cup per salad  1 large avocado sliced *1 ounce or less per salad 1 cup almonds *9-12 almonds per salad  3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese *10-12 grams non-fat feta  1/2 large red onion thinly sliced Lemon Poppy Seed Dressing: 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil *omit oil 1/3 cup lemon juice *add more lemon juice 2 tablespoons honey *1 ounce of honey 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard *2 tablespoons 2 cloves garlic minced 1 teaspoon poppy seeds 1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Rotisserie Chicken Coconut Curry Soup
This is one of my favorite meals, hands down. I know you might be thinking soup, in MayâŠtrust me this isnât your typical soup. I donât use the rotisserie chicken because it is hard to accurately track in my app and it has more fat than I need. I have boiled my chicken breasts and cooked them in the oven, both turn out fine. The bests way to go is on the stovetop covered. Juiciest chicken breast and you can still season them well. The chicken will even crisp a little bit, so good.
If you are going to track this meal, a few key things to know:
The kale will bunch up and is difficult to separate into equal servings. I recommend that you scoop it out without all the liquid and portion it equally into your bowls. When you add it to your app, make sure you put in how much it would have been in its raw state, not the cooked state.
Second, it is easier to top your dish off with the desired amount of meat, rather than mixing it all together.
Third, weigh the noodles out the same way you did the kale, but donât just eyeball it. Weigh out equal amounts. Try to leave the sauce in the pot as the last thing you portion out.
You donât have to make a recipe in your app to include the kale and chicken because those can be added in on their own. The noodles and sauce are what can be in your recipe. Even though in your app the noodles and sauce are in the recipe together, making sure you weigh out equal servings of everything individually, will give you a more accurate count.
*Changes I make to meet my macros
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
*spray pan with oil
1 tablespoon finely grated peeled fresh ginger (about a 1-inch piece of ginger)
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons Thai red curry paste
6 cups (48 ounces) low-sodium chicken broth
*4-6 depending on how soup(y) you want it
1 (13- to 14-ounce) can full-fat coconut milk
*Low Fat Coconut Milk
6 cups thinly sliced lacinato or Tuscan kale leaves (from 1 large bunch)
Kosher salt
1 (8-ounce) package vermicelli rice noodles
1 (2-pound) plain rotisserie chicken, meat shredded (about 4 1/2 cups)
*Chicken Breast
Chopped fresh cilantro, thinly sliced red onion, and lime wedges, for serving
Pork Tenderloin Stuffed with Shallots, Poached Pears, and Blue Cheese + Roasted Brussel Sprouts + Onion
I have just a few stuffed/rolled pork loins in my life. Usually, I opt for the healthier one, but this week I am going to see if I can make the “unhealthier” of the three healthy for us. It is filled with blue cheese, pears, and rosemary. So yummy.
This meal is a little bit trickier to count macros on. The best way I have found to count macros eating this is to create a recipe. Weigh the meat after you cut out the center and before you stuff it. Weigh out each ingredient you are stuffing your loin with. Put all that info into your macro counter so you donât forget it!
Once the meat is cooked thoroughly, you will need to âeye-ballâ cutting equal sections. I like to cut pieces about 1 inch thick. Weigh the first piece you cut and try to get the same weight each time you cut a piece of the pork loin. This will tell you how many servings of pork loin you have. Add the number of servings made to your recipe in the app. Now you know how much you can eat!
I am going to add some roasted brussel sprouts with onions to this meal. You can use any roasted vegetables that you prefer.
*Changes I make to meet my macros
Ingredients: 1.5 pounds pork tenderloin 2 Bosc pears (2 cups once diced) 2 medium shallots (1 cup once sliced) 1 tbsp Salted Butter 1/2 tsp salt 1/4 teaspoon black pepper 2 cups white wine 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese *56 grams reduced fat blue cheese crumbles 3 sprigs of rosemary 2 1/2 feet of butcherâs twine 2 tsp olive oil *omit 1/2 c. chicken broth
