Hi love bugs! Today I wanted to share how to keep motivated to workout and eat healthy while working a full-time job. I used to work an office job back in California and after I moved to Denver. I worked as a Pharmacy Technician and back then I wasn’t working out and was eating whatever I wanted. Looking back I remember being so tired and out of shape. If you work as a receptionist or any office job, this is a great post for you. If you simply want to know how to prep food in advance and plan your workouts this is also great for you. This isn’t a diet, it’s simply a lifestyle change.
TIP #1 Grocery shop and prep:
Working M-F doesn’t leave you much time to meal prep so what has been helping me is every Friday I put a grocery list together and write down what I plan on making for dinner every night. On Saturday or Sunday I would do my grocery shopping for the week. Sunday would be the day I’d take out some sort of protein to thaw. I usually stock up on meat and fish from Costco and freeze them because it comes out cheaper that way for us. I take out chicken or fish Sunday morning and prep my first meal. I marinate the meat and cut up all the veggies and greens and store them in containers to put into the fridge. When I get up Monday morning, I take out another protein from the freezer and start thawing that for Tuesday and I would prep that after dinner Monday night (cutting all the veggies and marinating the protein). Every night I would prep my dinner for the next evening. You daily have fresh and healthy food on hand without too much work. If you keep reading, I will be sharing recipes of what I made for dinner last week just to give you a little glimpse.
TIP #2 Working out:
I work out 5 days a week, unless I am not feeling well or something comes up last minute. I try to listen to my body because there are times when I am so tired and my body is aching. You don’t want to hurt yourself while not feeling well. CrossFit is what I do for my workout. I found that helps me and that I absolutely love doing it! It’s so fun and my trainers always push me to do more because sometimes I think I can’t do it but I actually can. I like my gym because my workout is already set for me so all I do is stretch and get into it. The last thing I want to do is plan my workout. I say, find something you love doing whether it’s biking, running, walking. Anything thats gets your body moving and heart pumping. I have been getting off of work at 5 pm. This is my last week working at this job as I was covering a shift for my sister in law while she was traveling. My usual workouts are in the mornings but switched my schedule to evening workouts because I didn’t want to miss my workouts. My class would start at 5:30 pm so I would quickly change in my car and head to the gym. Find a time that works great for you.
TIP #3 Stop having excuses and just do it:
STOP making excuses for yourself! I often hear the excuse that people don’t have time to without because they work two jobs. My blogging career is a full time job and on the weekends and I am constantly planning content, sending emails and editing photos because I also don’t want to fall behind with work. Another excuse I hear is I have kids. I’m too tired and don’t have the energy for working out. I know I am not a mom yet, but I know that won’t be an excuse for me because this lifestyle change is to be healthy and take care of the body God gave me. So stop having excuses and JUST DO IT and have fun with it.
|| Leggings || || Sports bra ||
I hope those tips are helpful because they have helped me so much! Work hard! If you really, really want it, you will make it happen. The change doesn’t happen overnight but once you see changes in your body and health it will motivate you to keep moving forward! You got this babe!
Here are my dinner recipes from last week:
Monday Night
Buffalo Chicken Cauliflower Bowl
Ingredients:
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 tsp. poultry seasoning
- 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp. onion powder
- 3/4 cup Franks Red Hot Sauce
- 2 T olive oil
- 2 T Worcestershire sauce (gluten-free if needed)
- 1-2 T agave or honey
Other Ingredients:
1 large head of cauliflower (6-8 cups chopped cauliflower)
1 T olive oil
3-4 garlic cloves, sliced
salt and fresh ground black pepper to season cauliflower
1/2 cup thickly sliced green onion, both green and white parts
1/3 cup crumbled blue cheeseThrow the chicken on low heat into a crockpot once it’s marinated for about 7 hours. When you arrive from work, home shred by pulling it apart with two forks.
Put together the cauliflower ingredients and sauté them on a pan until soft. Toss it into a bowl, add the chicken and top it off with blue cheese.
Tuesday Night
Quinoa Arugula Salad With Pesto
Ingredients:
- 3/4 cup dry quinoa
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 3 tablespoons basil pesto
- 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 1 cup finely chopped fresh arugula leaves
- 3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
Cook the quinoa according to the package directions. Transfer the cooked quinoa to a medium-sized bowl and season with salt and pepper. In the meantime, prep the remaining ingredients. Add everything to the bowl and mix well with the quinoa. Taste and adjust seasonings. Serve warm and enjoy!
Wednesday Night:
Kale Salad With Salom and Homemade Dressing
Ingredients:
- 1 bunch kale (about 7 cups leaves)
- 3 ounces walnut halves (about 3/4 cup, lightly toasted)
- 2 (15-ounce) cans beans (such as chickpeas or cannellini beans, about 3 cups)
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves and tender stems
- 1/2 cup creamy tahini sauce, see the recipe for our tahini sauce here
- Juice of half a lemon
- Fine sea salt and fresh ground black pepper
- Lemon slices (optional)
Salmon Ingredients:
- salt
- pepper
- 1 tbs honey
- 1 tbs sriracha
Marinate the salmon for at least an hour and grill or bake it.
Dressing:
- 1/3 cup well stirred tahini
- 1 garlic clove minced very finely into a paste
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (about 1/2 a lemon)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 to 6 tablespoons lukewarm water
- Pinch cumin (optional)
- Pinch cayenne (optional)
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley (optional)
Whisk tahini, garlic paste, lemon juice, olive oil and salt into a bowl until combined. The mixture will thicken so don’t worry about this.
Add the water, a tablespoon at a time and whisk well after each addition until desired consistency. If making a spread, look for the consistency of peanut butter. If making a sauce, add enough water until the consistency of runny yogurt. Stir in the optional cumin, cayenne pepper and parsley. Taste for seasoning and adjust with additional salt or lemon juice. Store covered in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Thursday Night
Nachos
Ingredients:
- 1 sweet potatoe
- Bake it on 350 for 30 min with avocado oil
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1 tsp Mrs. Dash
Beef seasoning:
- taco seasoning
- cook on the pan
Toppings:
- tomato
- green onions
- Fage greek yogurt
Friday Night
Avocado Tuna Salad:
Ingredients:
- 3 cans Wild Selections® Solid White Albacore Tuna packed in water drained and flaked
- 2 large celery stalks thinly sliced and diced
- 3 medium avocados peeled, pitted, sliced and diced
- 1/2 small red onion thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 1/2 medium lemon juiced
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon sea salt + more to taste
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper + more to taste
In a large mixing bowl, carefully stir together all ingredients. Serve on a bed of greens and enjoy!Thank you for reading babes and see you soon!XOXO, Alena Gidenko
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