Land of the Lean

People always ask me how I am able to remain lean for such long periods of time. There is no “secret” answer; it just takes a lot of preparation and discipline. In my opinion, it takes more of the former than the latter. I thought I would share a few things that I do to make life easier while living in The Land of the Lean!

1)How it Works. The pictures show the process my food goes through from grocery store to meal ready. EVERYTHING is pre-measured, weighed, and packaged during competition season. I’m more lax with the scale during the off season.

2)Prepare Larger Quantities. So what’s in the pictures? It is 15lbs of chicken, 4lbs extra lean ground turkey, 4-16oz cartons of Egg Beaters, 2-10oz packs of extra lean deli meat, 6lbs of sweet potatoes, ½ pack of Uncle Ben’s instant brown rice, 2 bushels of asparagus, 2 red peppers, 2 orange peppers, 2 chopped cucumbers, 1 large purple onion, 1-16oz pack of sliced mushrooms, ½ bushel of spinach, and about 46 egg whites. I had enough food cooked, measured, and eventually frozen for 2 additional weeks. (How’s that for preparation?)
 
3)I Cook Because I Have To. I have learned to enjoy it over time and have become quite the culinary queen in the kitchen. I never use the excuse “I can’t cook!” because initially, I couldn’t do it so well. You learn to do what you have to in order to get the results you want!

4)I Look for Bargains EVERYWHERE! Eating clean is as expensive or inexpensive as you make it. There are certain things I just refuse to pay full price for, unless I have no choice. I have learned when and where to shop to get the best bargains. (Notice the discount prices in the picture at the top. I spent $18 on what would typically cost $40).
 
5)The Preparation Involved is Worth the Long-Term Benefits. So what if you have to spend 6-8 hrs of your weekend preparing your food for weeks in advance. You would definitely spend more time than that doing cardio if you chose to eat out. Think about that!

6) Get Creative! People assume all I eat is chicken, broccoli, and oatmeal. My question to them is this: even when you eat junk, do you eat the same thing every time? No! If you are bored with trying to eat healthy it is because your menu and preparation of the food is boring. “Food” is never boring, it is always the hands that prepare it that lack creativity. When was the last time you checked out the food network and got some ideas for creative healthy meals? You should try it sometime.

7) I ALWAYS Travel with Food. I laugh when people blame their poor nutritional choices on travel. Do you know how much you can put in a cooler that fits in a carry on suitcase? The attached picture has 39 meals. That is almost 7 days worth of food. And YES, it ALL fits in my carry on suitcase with room to spare.

Hopefully you learned something that you can take with you and try out for yourself. When you get it down, let me know how it works, or feel free to add your own alternatives or comments, and then come on over to the The Land of the Lean. It ain’t so bad….really!