Ask the Anytime Gal: Fit regular meals, workouts into busy lifestyle
By:
Jayme Smid, Anytime Fitness Club
Q: I am someone who regularly skips meals and workouts, thanks to both a busy work schedule and family life. I’m wondering if you have any tips that might get me back on track?
A: Luckily, there are many people that lead busy lives while still finding the time for healthy meals and productive workouts—it can be done! You need to make sure that fitness and nutrition are priorities in your life. Once you make this commitment, doing the “right” thing will seem like a lot less work. Try taking an inventory of your week on Sunday night, figuring out which days are light and which ones are heavy in terms of work and family responsibilities. Then, you can schedule your workouts in your planner and resolve any meal planning issues as well. For example, maybe you need to pack more comprehensive snacks if you have a meeting during lunch, or maybe you need to create a reminder so you remember to take frozen meat out of the freezer the night before you cook it. These seem like small, almost trivial changes, but they make a world of difference when you’re in a time crunch. We typically schedule things we don’t want to forget, so why not schedule meals and workouts, too?
Q: I drink a vanilla or chocolate protein shake every day. I like the taste, but I’d like to add some flavor without adding too many extra calories. Can you suggest some simple add-in ingredients that I could buy at my local grocery store?
A: Bananas, peanut butter, honey, cinnamon, vanilla extract, rolled oats, and many of your favorite fruits are easy add-in ingredients that will jazz up your protein shake. You can satisfy your sweet tooth and reduce post-workout inflammation with this chocolate and cherry combination: combine chocolate protein power, 1 cup of skim milk, 1 banana, and a cup of fresh or frozen dark cherries. Of course, there’s nothing better than the perfect mix of chocolate and peanut butter to curb a craving: combine chocolate protein power, 1 cup of skim milk, ½ banana, and 1 tbsp. of peanut butter. Vanilla protein powders work well with a variety of fruits. Turn your shake into something you drink poolside by adding vanilla protein power, 1 cup of coconut milk, 1 cup of frozen raspberries or pineapple and1 tsp. coconut extract for a tropical treat.
About the author: Jayme Smid is the club manager at Anytime Fitness in Brandon. To submit a question for future articles, email jayme.smid@anytimefitness.com
