Sure, popping a bottle of wine and ordering takeout while you Netflix one of your favorite romantic comedies is fast, fun and convenient, right? But, perhaps not on par with today’s wellness trends, eh? And we all want to be healthy, don’t we? So how do we stay healthy and cook delicious meals for one? I’ve been inspired to write about this one because it was a recent struggle in my life because Timmy is constantly on the road traveling for work and I have found it hard to stay motivated to go shopping, cook a dinner, eat the dinner and then clean up from the dinner… alone… every night… and feel good about it?? I often would go to the grocery store after work, starving (never a good idea) and come out with too much food. I would cook a dinner that would make so many leftovers and personally I am not a leftover person, so it was becoming wasteful. I am lucky I don’t live in the city or somewhere more trendy with healthy fast food eateries and uber eats apps because I would be screwed. But, as many of you know, I love cooking, trying new recipes and eating clean, wholesome foods makes me feel good. No guilt, no adverse reactions, just a satisfied tummy (and baby!) So I wanted to share some helpful tips I have created for myself while I am shopping and cooking for one that keeps me motivated in the kitchen and keep my healthy habits on point! Tip #1: Don’t over shop. Like I mentioned earlier it took me a few weeks of throwing away food to realize I needed to buy less and just shop more frequently. I started making lists of things I eat every day like eggs, berries, cottage cheese and nuts. Then I would create a list of things I would need to make the next two nights of dinner. This way I was only buying what I know I would consume. Tip #2: Stockpile staples. I make it a point to always have eggs, salsa, a couple cans of beans, one or two of my favorite soups and a few packets of my go-to grains in the pantry. These are things that I can always use to build a meal last minute. Make a list of basic building blocks of the meals you eat often and always have them on hand. Who doesn’t like a little huevos rancheros for dinner?! Tip #3: Indulge and make it fun. Cooking for one can be the opportunity to eat all of your favorite meals without worrying about if someone else likes what you’re putting together. For example, I love pizza and always wanted to try a cauliflower crust pizza. So I have taken the opportunity of being alone to try some of these healthier recipes for all my favorites. What is your favorite meal? Go ahead and get inspired to make that for dinner tomorrow night! Tip #4: Embrace being healthy. For me, I love going to the market and picking out my fresh ingredients and coming home to chop, prep and cook a delicious wholesome meal that makes me feel good inside and out. The reality is that we tend to eat whatever we have on hand in our homes. So be sure to have some of your favorite salad fixings and throw together a big dinner salad twice a week with different protein sources. Another thing that I love to do is cook up a big batch of roasted vegetables that I can use in different meals throughout the week. I will throw the vegetables with rice or bean pasta or couscous or I’ll have them with a rotisserie chicken and brown rice. They also make a yummy snack! Tip #5: Make enough for two. If you make enough dinner for two then you can have lunch to take the next day to work. It saves you some money so you are not running to the local café or salad bar and chances are will save you some calories too! Tip #6: Be smart with your time. Only you know how much time you have throughout the week to grocery shop and cook meals. If you find that you are usually tight for time at the end of your day and cooking creates more stress then pleasure, plan accordingly and do some meal prepping on Sunday. Roast a whole chicken and throw a turkey chili recipe in the crockpot. This way you will have dinner already made when you get home after work and wont have to worry about cooking. I hope that these tips help to inspire you to look at cooking for one as a fun opportunity to have some fun in the kitchen and stay focused on your healthy eating goals. I also recommend looking into some Solo Chef Cookbooks if you’re a foodie like me that loves to cook. They have a million different books out there for all different types of eaters and it’s a fun way to learn some new recipes designed for us Solo Eaters! Do you have some tips for cooking for one? A favorite recipe to share? Feel free to comment below and share your go to's! Xoxo
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A really popular question these days as I am about half way through my pregnancy is, “Are you still working out?!,” “You need to be careful Kat.” While I appreciate the sentiment, as a Personal Trainer, I wanted to share with you why it is safe and actually recommended to exercise while pregnant and also share what my weekly workouts look like right now. First, I think many women believe that because they are pregnant they need to drastically change their daily routine, and often times that means they cut back or stop working out because they fear they might hurt the baby. Let me just start by saying, that’s not the way it works. If you are someone who works out prior to being pregnant, you can and should continue to workout through out your pregnancy, unless you have a medical condition or injury that prevents you from doing so. Now there are a few things to be mindful of while you are continuing to workout throughout your pregnancy. For one, you want to be mindful of your heart rate. You don’t want to feel dizzy or feel as if your heart is going to pop out of your chest at any time. Personally, I really enjoy HIIT workouts, so I have had to make modifications to those types of workouts by performing the same exercises, but at a slower pace and allowing for more recovery time between exercises. Secondly, you don’t want to perform crunches or anything that requires you to be on your back for a long period of time after the first trimester. When exactly you should stop lying on your back is different for everyone, but your body will tell you when it is no longer comfortable. I know many women experience some sort of unpleasant symptoms during their first trimester. Whether it be some queasiness like myself or full blown morning sickness, you should still try to complete some sort of aerobic exercise for 20-30 minutes a day. Aerobic exercise, like taking a hike or going for a light jog, will actually help increase your energy levels, improve your mood and help you sleep better. If you are a mama that didn’t exercise prior to being pregnant, then walking for 20-30 minutes a day can absolutely help make your pregnancy (& labor) easier! Believe me… there were times during my first trimester when literally all I wanted to do was close my eyes and I could of fallen asleep anywhere, but if I at the very least grabbed my dog and went for a 15 minute walk I always felt ten times better. I promise! Once the baby arrives, all moms tend to carry their child on one side more than the other and this can cause some serious back issues and discomfort. To prevent having back issues it is important to keep your core strong and balanced. One of my favorite functional movements to help strengthen my back and core right now is to perform walking lunges with a medicine ball. Lunge forward with one leg and reach the medicine ball on the inside of that front foot toward the ground. Step your back foot forward and stand with your feet together. Alternate sides. These movements pretty much replicate a motion we will be doing quite a bit once the baby arrives, picking up toys and clothes off of the floor. My Weekly Workout Schedule Right now I am about half way through my pregnancy and my energy is high. I am sleeping great, my appetite is more than good and my energy levels are high. So for me I am able to exercise daily and reap the benefits. Here is what a week of workouts looks like for me right now: Monday: Monday I teach two fitness classes. I teach spinning and functional strength training. I am able to perform the exercises and take both of these classes right now and feel really good doing it. Again, my spinning intervals are tapered a bit as I am watching my heart rate, but other than that I am keeping up with class so far! Tuesday and Thursday: Strength Training. I am completing two days of strength training in the gym. Mixing up the variety of exercises I am performing and depending on the exercise I am completing anywhere from 3-4 sets and 8-15 repetitions. Here is a look at a workout I completed this week: Dynamic Stretch Warm-up (10-15 minutes) This starts with lateral lunges with a medicine ball, skater lunges, arm circles etc. and moves into exercises with a resistance band. Then I performed the following supersets, four sets x twelve reps: Dumbbell Squats --> Lateral Pull-down (pronated grip) Step Back Lunges --> Bent Over Barbell Rows The next few exercises I also performed in supersets, three sets x fifteen reps: Rear Delt Fly with Dumbbell --> Single Leg Box Squats Dumbbell Bicep Curls --> Triceps Dips with my Feet on a Stability Ball I finished my workout with some Core: High Plank Taps Downward Facing Dog Taps Plank Up Downs (I’ll post a workout video on my Instagram account tomorrow of these core exercises! Find a link button to my account below.) Wednesday: I went for a 40-minute bike ride on my Specialized Rock hopper that I am totally loving!! It’s a comfy fit for my spreading hips and growing belly and still allows me to get outside and do what I love! I try to get out on my bike as much as I can and vary the intensity. Most days just getting outside, soaking up some Vitamin D and getting a bit of sweat on makes me and baby feel great! Friday: This week Timmy and I are going to a 90- minute Restorative and Relaxation yoga class tomorrow night and I can’t wait! Yoga and meditation, more than ever, have been key aspects of my pregnancy. I plan to write a totally separate post about that soon! I practice yoga frequently throughout my week and take time to mediate daily, even if it is just for 10 minutes. Yoga and walks with my dog are things I add into my life daily. p.s. Remember that you absolutely do not want to be in a calorie deficient during this time in your life. You need your calories to help nourish both you and your baby. I recommend a 200 calorie snack before you exercise if your last meal was more than two hours ago and replenish with a snack or light meal once your workout is done. So there you have it! Pregnancy Fit from yours truly. Stay active my Mama’s. xoxo If you had told me on January 1, 2017 that I would marry the love of my life and become a mom this year, I would of told you, you were crazy! I knew these things were absolutely in the cards for me, but I wasn’t exactly sure when… and didn’t see it all happening in one year! On July 27th of this year, my life changed forever. I will never forget the moments that Timmy and I shared that morning as we learned the news that we were going to be expecting a baby in March. Its hard to even write the emotions I felt that morning… we were surprised, overwhelmed, excited, nervous, anxious, overjoyed, happy, scared… It was the day that my life changed forever. I see the world through a different lens. I am now a mom. It’s a beautiful, beautiful gift. The first three months I had a relatively easy time. Luckily I never found myself hugging the porcelain sink. I had days where I was queasy for sure, and I dealt with a lot of food aversions that made it hard to find something satisfying to eat at times. The worst side effect was how exhausted I felt all the time during the first couple of months. I was really tired and couldn’t seem to get enough sleep. Around week 13, I woke up one morning and just felt completely different. My energy was replenished, the queasiness had passed and my appetite was back, with vengeance! The second trimester has been great! Its really proven to me how amazing and strong my body is. I am literally building a human inside of me and my body systems seem to operating better than they ever have. My food allergies seem to have taken a hike. I no longer have any issues with my G.I system. My energy levels are great. I am still getting in all sorts of workouts (going to do a separate blog post on that!) Every day I see small changes in my physique as my body continues to prepare for labor. I am still sleeping really well… So far Timmy and I have had three ultrasounds. Last week we got to experience our first 3D/4D ultrasound and it was amazing. We got to see our little baby up close and personal… falling in love all over again. As of this week, we are 19 weeks into this pregnancy and happy to report that the baby looks great, all systems are healthy and everything looks good with Mama and Baby. Sooooo some of you are probably wondering… is it a Boy or a Girl??!! Well… Timmy and I have an envelope in our home that is locked away. That envelope contains that information, but as of now we have decided to continue to keep it a surprise and not find out. So you will just have to stay tuned! :-) |
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