Q: Gina, I am VERY new to all of this and wanted to make sure I am in the right direction with my meal planning, as today is my first day of the “new and improved clean diet” and I stuffed! I believe I’m supposed to eat every 2-3hours, but I don’t think I’ll be hungry, should I still eat? Can you tell me if I am on the right path? On another note, as for my workouts I do Upper body Tuesdays/Thursdays, lower body on Wednesday and Fridays with Monday and Saturday a circuit type day. Should I change it? I’m currently also doing a spinning and sports conditioning class at my gym. Anything I should change/modify? Thank you!!
Here’s my plan for today:
Meal 1) Protein Shake and Banana
Meal 2) Oatmeal, 1/2cup blueberries & 5 Egg Whites
Meal 3) Brown rice w/protein powder –Protein rice pudding, thanks for your suggestion! 🙂
Meal 4) Chicken Salad
Meal 5) Cottage Cheese w/Apples & maybe a little nut butter
Meal 6) Chicken, brown rice & broccoli
Meal 7) 5 egg whites (I was going to eat boiled eggs, minus the yolk, does that still work?)
A: First of all, congrats on embarking upon your “new and improved clean diet” program. Looks like you have yourself a great plan. It is normal for you to feel full and “stuffed” if today is your first day. It takes a while for your metabolism to pick up and once it does you will wonder who the heck you were “stuffed” before! Trust me, once your metabolism starts, it is hard to stop it. You are an eating machine and nothing can fill you!! I suggest you do eat every 2-3 hours, this is fueling your fire (metabolism) and allowing your metabolism to pick up. You may go up a lb or two but trust me, it will pick up and you will be burning food like crazy. One suggestion is if you are feeling really full, switch out your protein for lighter proteins such as egg whites or a shake, until you get over that full feeling. Those lighter proteins sit lighter and get digested easier so you will not have the same full feeling as if you eat chicken. I have made a few critiques to your plan below… As far as your training, Looks like you have yourself a nice plan with a combination of concentrated and circuit workouts. My suggestion is you have 2 off days in order to allow yourself the right amount of recovery! Your spinning and other classes sound fun and a great addition to your plan!!
My suggestion is to hit glutes/hamstrings and shoulders 2x/week and rotate everything else, once a week. Again, this can vary from person to person, depending on your body and goals but this is a guide. As women we can always improve our glutes and hamstrings and I believe a physique with nice round delts adds to a tiny waist and beautiful shape! 🙂
Meal 1) Protein Shake and Banana
Meal 2) Oatmeal, 1/2cup blueberries & 5 Egg Whites
Meal 3) Brown rice w/protein powder –Protein rice pudding, thanks for your suggestion! 🙂
Meal 4) Chicken Salad
Meal 5) Cottage Cheese w/Apples & maybe a little nut butter
Meal 6) Chicken, brown rice & broccoli
Meal 7) 5 egg whites (I was going to eat boiled eggs, minus the yolk, does that still work?)
A few suggestions to your meal plan are the following:
-where is your complex carb with your meal #1??
-I would have one serving of fruit a day and have it post workout, not in meal 1 AND 2
-meal 3 and 4 is great 🙂 — be sure to go light on the dressing on your salad
-limit your dairy and if you have it be sure it is low fat or non fat and again, the meal is great but limit fruit to 1-2 servings per day (2 at most and not 2 every day)
-you have carbs in meal 6 (great meal, by the way) but limit carbs later in the p.m.Maybe switch meal 4 and 6
-for your last meal, egg whites or a shake are a great option!
Remember to eat lots of veggies! You are off to a great start and hope that helps you!! Keep us posted
