Do You Struggle To Stick To Your Perfectly Designed Nutrition Plan That Your Coach Has Designed For You? Do You Find Yourself Resorting To What Is Available And Quick For Lunch On A Wednesday Because You We’re Not Prepared For Your Week Properly And Ran Out of Food?
Sunday could very well be the most important day of the week. It’s our opportunity to relax, socialise, eat lots of yummy food (unrestricted) but it should also be the day that you plan your attack for the week ahead! There is a saying that perfectly describes what happens when you don’t plan ahead “fail to plan, you plan to fail”!
With busy schedules and pressures of families, careers, world domination and trying to improve your waistline, it’s crucial that you run a tight ship and that you are prepared for the week ahead. Failing this it is inevitable that over the course of the week you will give in on the Thursday night drive home and make a pit stop and end up and the drive thru at your local McDonalds because you know that you fridge is empty of lacking any fresh food.
Achieving a lean and sculpted body is not easy, if it were, everyone would be lean. Obviously you have to hit the gym, consistently. But as you know, that is only half the story, the other half of the story unfolds in the kitchen. How you fuel your body ultimately will determine whether or not you reach your outcome based goals such as: 5kg fat loss, decreasing body fat from 18% down to 10% in 12 weeks etc…
The best way to ensure that your week ahead ends up being a raging success and contributes positively to moving you forward towards your goals, it’s important that you have a routine.
The biggest complaints about nutrition I hear as a coach are:
- I don’t have time to cook!
- I ran out of healthy food, I was hungry so I went to KFC!
- I don’t know what to cook!
If healthy food is around you and convenient, you’re more likely to eat it. If you have a trusted system for making healthy food available, you don’t have to decide to eat well… you just show up and do it.
Enter the Sunday ritual.
You can choose any day you like, it doesn’t have to be Sunday, we just find that Sunday tends to be the most appropriate day for a few reasons. So, why Sunday you ask?
- Sunday tends to be the best day to plan ahead for the week and get it done.
- Sunday is often a time when people are more free, more relaxed, and more able to devote time to this type of task.
- Sunday is when we’re usually thinking ahead to the upcoming week, it prepares us mentally and gets us in the right mindset for the week ahead.
- Sunday is the end of the current week, it’s a great time for reflection, self appraisal of your wins for the week and what you will aim to do better next week.
- Sunday is the end of the indulgent weekend, motivation levels are high to get back to the grind and healthy eating and training! This will ensure that you make good choices and are more likely to not be extra generous in your portion control and food selection at the grocery store.
Whatever day you choose, set aside 2-3 hours to do the following, again we recommend that you do this on Sunday.
Below are the Miyagi 5 steps for creating the perfect Sunday ritual and increasing your chances of achieving and become the BEST version of you…
- Look ahead to your upcoming schedule and see what’s happening!
What challenges or opportunities might be popping up? Have you been booked in for a social event? Where might you need some special preparation in advance? What are the quiet and busy times? Identify any schedule commitments and speak to your coach about how to work around it so that you can stay on track.
We also recommend that you schedule in all your workouts into your diary. Abs are made in the kitchen, muscle though is stimulated at the gym!
The balance between training well and what goes on in the kitchen (or lack thereof) is what creates a positive energy balance situation.
- Create a menu for the week from your meal plan
Come up with a general menu for at least the next few days. What we tend to recommend is that having variety of foods in your day be limited to dinners, as dinners can be prepared most nights and is a great way to ensure you are getting a broad range of proteins, vegetables and other foods giving your body al the vitamins and minerals it needs to function and perform optimally.
Breakfasts, lunches and snacks can be kept quite consistent as this will limit the need to think too much about your meals. This also keeps it simple, keeps preparation to a minimum, limits the chances of getting confused, reduces the likelihood of over consuming energy as a result of eating different foods all the time due to not knowing what is in them!
It doesn’t have to be anything too in-depth. Doing this will give you a basic idea of what you might need to have on hand for the week ahead and get it done.
- Write down your shopping list of ingredients you will need
Build your shopping list from your menu. This will help you be as effective and efficient as possible when you tackle the grocery store, and you’ll be less tempted to buy random (and unhelpful) things.
Studies show that having a shopping list not only limits the chances of buying the wrong foods that will lead you astray but also helps to keep your grocery bill down!
Losing weight, putting on muscle and saving money? Winning!
Having a shopping check list will ensure that you don’t forget anything and that you’re fully prepared for the week ahead.
- Hit the grocery store
Approach the store in military mode! These grocery stores have more sneaky techniques of sabotaging your waistline than you even want to know, they have strategically placed calorie loaded bombs everywhere for you to pick up. Stay focused, the battle is real.
Stock up on what you need for the week, having everything you need in advance will save time and increase the chances of success for you.
Consider grabbing a few extra “just in case” emergency items as well, such as canned beans, frozen vegetables, nuts or other easily-stored healthy options that you can use in a pinch.
Avoid the naughty isles by knowing in advance what you need to pick up and put in your trolley. Get in and get out fast is the goal.
- Schedule in meal preparation time
Once you’re back home, start prepping and cooking. Whip up a batch of lean protein – for example, by grilling several portions of salmon, roasting several chicken breasts at once and preparing a large pasta and vegetable salad all in the same go.
You could even try some hot-pot meals that can be easily cooked in a slow cooker, then divided into containers and frozen or refrigerated, such as soups, stews, curries, chilli etc.
Wash and chop all your veggies in advance, put them into separate containers. You will be more likely to eat them if they are pre-prepared.
There you have it, as you now know, preparation is key.
If you would like to find out how Miyagi could help you along the journey of becoming THE BEST VERSION OF YOU, visit www.miyagi.fitness today and APPLY to be trained by Australia’s leading fitness and nutrition coaches.
