How to build a Tyrannosaurus Flex...Food Edition.

Hello lovelies! It has been pouring all day here, kind of a crappy day but I'm in good spirits for some reason. Atleast the temp is above freezing for once.

I was out early this morning for a back workout that had me sweatin'. I upped my deadlifts and I'm doing just about my body weight now (including the weight of the bar). Not too shabby for just incorporating deadlifts I guess. I mean, I wish I was adding my weight in plates to the bar and then lifting it but...I'm not quite there...yet!

But let me take a second to be that girl...

 

I had to snap a picture at the gym before the swelling went down, ha ha. My arms are string beans in real life, more like the picture on the right.

I've been feeling pretty weak lately during training, like I could do more, but I can't. Confusing, right? I think my 'diet' (I hate that word, but by diet I mean the way I eat) is lacking. Don't get me wrong, I eat as clean as I can and steer clear of junk, but then there are the things that go bump in the night, like this:

Bowl of Muesli with vanilla almond milk, peanut butter, banana, cinnamon, frozen cherries and...vanilla frozen yogurt with Kashi cereal sprinkled on top. Slammin'. Obviously healthier than most desserts, but my problem is that my late night snacks, like this, can tend to be bigger than some of my meals (nearly 500 calories for this bowl) and I'd be better off with an extra serving of chicken than a serving of frozen yogurt.

Plus, eating like this so late leaves me bloated and..soft and just feeling crappy when I wake up. If I wasn't trying to build muscle, I wouldn't care as much about eating stuff like this, but I need to rearrange some things and get serious! :)

My breakfast today was:

1 whole egg + 4 egg whites + milk + a little bit of cheddar cheese and a piece of whole wheat toast.  Not pictured: spoonful of peanut butter for extra pre-work out fuel.

When I got home I slurped down this bowl of heaven:

My usual cinnamon-vanilla-banana protein smoothie in a bowl, but this time I added half-defrosted frozen cherries at the end. Genious.

For lunch I had baked chicken with ranch, spinach, green beans and some sweet tater. Dinner is going to be something involving the spinach and feta chicken weiners sausage that crossed my path the other day.

Everyone (I hope) knows by now that the eating after 6pm or 8pm or when the moon is out "rule" is a load of crap. It's all calories in vs. calories out and your body can't tell time.Yeah, yeah, but for me I tend to snack and snack and snack at night to "make up for" not eating enough during the day, which is where my problem is..because the healthy eating goes out the window late at night since I have a mouthful of evil sweet teeth. (I hate admitting this!)

Well, I'm finally breaking the habit tonight after years of doing this..and it's probably going to suck.

Late night sweets-eating is a comfort thing..large bowls of warm goodies or apple crisp and frozen yogurt at midnight...mmm. But it's the one thing standing in the way of me and my goals, and once I set a goal for myself...I don't let anything f with me because I become seriously determined!

(Apparantly I'm my own worst enemy, though!)

Here is my plan/goals for getting back on track to becoming...an Erikasuarus Flex.



Breakfasts:

• Egg and egg whites with wheat toast and peanut butter.
• Protein pancakes with fruit.
• Protein oatmeal with nut butter or nuts.
• High fiber whole grain cereal w/berries and banana.

Lunch/Dinner Proteins:

• Atleast 5-6 oz. of chicken breast.
• Lean ground turkey - turkey burgers, turkey meatloaf and turkey meatballs.
• Tuna
• Salmon (when I can afford to go to the fancy fish market! I prefer not to buy it at the grocery store, personal preference..)

(Unfortunately, I've never been a big fan of red meat =\...except for bacon! Which will be definitely consumed.)

Lunch/Dinner Carbs:

• Sweet potatoes.
• Brown Rice.
• Quinoa.
• Beans.
• Whole wheat pasta.
• Whole wheat pitas.

Snacks/Veggies:

• Protein smoothies.
• Greek yogurt.
• Nuts/Nut butter.
• Chocolate milk
• "Bars" with a good amount of protein in them.
• Hummus.
• Trail mix.
• Apples.
• Spinach, red peppers, carrots, green beans, tomatoes, etc.

The list looks boring because it's just base foods. I also always make sure to have a good hunk of fat at every meal too beause it's impossible for me to be satiated without it.  This is pretty much how I eat for my meals anyways, I just need to up the portions so there is no room for bad junk at night and my in-between snacks need to be a little more high protein. It seems strict, but I do plan on hanging onto my frozen yogurt and chocolate covered treats..just not every night :)

Setting goals and breaking bad habits and actually sticking with it is such a confidence booster, so I hope to get there. Plus, I'm wasting my time at the gym if I'm not eating right.

Oh my! In other news, I applied for an internship at my gym yesterday..and it seemed pretty promising, I'm just waiting to hear back. They told me it would work out great because I'd be the only girl trainer. Wish me luck!