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As many of you know, I was out of town this weekend for a wedding.   It was a great weekend and when I got home Sunday afternoon all I wanted to do was relax.  I found a little time to do that, but I also got organized.  I've learned that if I don't take the time to plan out my week, I am not nearly as consistent in my workouts or eating clean as I want to be.

 

For me, getting organized starts with my food so I went to the grocery store for the basics such as fresh fruits and veggies, chicken breast, 99% lean ground turkey, egg whites, brown rice, black beans, skim milk, feta cheese, yogurt, peanut butter, and Arnold Rounds.

 

The first thing I did when I got home was bake the whole package of chicken breasts in the oven at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.  After they cooled off I sliced them up into strips and put them in the fridge.  While the chicken was baking I also baked two whole sweet potatoes, which I also cut into quarters after they were cool and put them in the fridge.

 

While the oven was working away, I formed the ground turkey into six patties and put them in the freezer so I have individual servings.  Then I started chopping.  I put onions and garlic in a big pot.  I added diced zucchini, yellow squash, green red and yellow peppers, and six tomatoes from the garden.  Then I added a can of black beans, a can of kidney beans, a cup of corn, Rotel tomatoes and let it simmer with some seasoning like pepper and chili powder.  Once the chicken was done, I diced a chicken breast and added it along with a cup of cooked brown rice (I use Uncle Ben's in the orange envelop which takes 90 seconds in the microwave).  I have enough chicken chili to last me the week and some left over to freeze!

 

Just from those three things, I have several quick meals I can make in less than five minutes, which I like.  When I am hungry, I want to eat!

 

1. Turkey burgers (goes right from frozen to frying pan)

2. Bowl of chicken chili

3. Grilled chicken breast with sweet potatoes (2 minutes in the microwave)

4. Burrito (wrap chicken chili in whole wheat tortilla and heat)

5. Quesadilla (fill tortilla with chicken chili and cheese and heat)

6. Pasta with meat sauce (brown turkey burgers and add to pasta sauce, serve over whole grain pasta)

 

I am sure you can come up with others of your own.  The point is to have whole food ingredients available and cooked to whip up something quick instead of grabbing for fast food, fried food, pizza or some of the other quick fixes we tend to grab for on the go.

 

Once my food is organized, then I look at my calendar for the week to see what my workout schedule looks like.  So this week I know I'll be at Highbanks on Tuesday night and we have a 12 mile walk scheduled for Saturday morning.  What other workouts do I want to get in?  I definitely want to get some lifting in, so I put it on my calendar and schedule it.  I know if I do that, the chances are much higher that I will get it done than if I just wing it.

 

There are many ways to schedule workouts, but the key is to make a time for yourself and stick to it.  There are many strategies.  One is to get up early and get it over with.  Another is to schedule a training session, a class, or a workout with a friend to keep yourself accountable.  If you find you are having the problem repeatedly of scheduling some time for yourself then not sticking with it, ask someone to help you work through what's going on.

 

If it is cardio you are planning, you can think about when you will do your short cardio, your long cardio, and your interval sessions.  If you want to do some lifting on your own, there are different strategies for that as well.  For example, you can put three full-body workouts on your calendar.   Maybe one on your own, one with a friend at the gym, and one Circuit class.  Or you can think about training in terms of muscle groups.  Monday might be biceps and back.  Wednesday legs and abs.  Friday chest, triceps and shoulders.  The key is to keep those appointments with yourself.

 

The last thing to do to get ready for your week is to get to bed early.  Get lots of sleep and wake up in the morning ready to work hard this week, stay accountable, be consistent.  It's this basic stuff over and over.  Fitting in your workouts.  Eating clean.  Getting organized.  Getting good sleep.  The big secret is there is no secret.  Have a vision, plan it, then do it.  I believe that this week you can have the best week of your life. 

Now get moving!

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