Healthy Eating Hacks From a Personal Trainer

When it comes to eating healthy, it’s all about prep.

When you have a plan, you are a million times more likely to stay on track.

Whether you’re a clean eating devotee or strictly making your macros work, it’s so easy to get derailed and say to heck with any of it it when you’re starving.

I know that food prep can seem overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be.

And it really does set you up for success.

I think we all know the feeling of coming home at the end of a long day, starving, and opening the fridge without anything having anything prepared.

We start shoveling food in our face without even sitting down and often totally gorge ourselves.

Recently I slept so terribly (for a variety of reasons) that I felt hungover the next day.

I was in a total brain fog and craving foods I knew wouldn’t serve me well.

I’m all for an indulgence, but this wasn’t that.

I knew this was a sleep deprivation craving, and one that would make me feel like poo and sleep like poo again that night.

Thanks to my hacks below, I was able to keep it clean and delicious with minimal effort and have a lovely night’s sleep.

Here are my Top Healthy Eating Hacks to stay on track and goal focused:

1. Eat the Same Meals All Week

On Sunday, I write out what I want to eat for the week.

I have enough prepped and ready to rock so that I can just grab what I need.

It’s no big deal if I want to eat out or something different because then I just have more leftovers throughout the weekend.

Or I can freeze things.

For example, here’s what I’m eating this week:

Breakfast (no cooking required) – 4oz of quality turkey from my Whole Foods deli on quinoa cakes (like a rice cake) with a little mashed avocado and mustard and a small bowl of frozen black cherries and pineapple.

Snack – 4oz bison patty (cold) with a little mashed avocado on top, grape tomatoes, bell peppers, and a tangelo.

Lunch – Wild caught cod sautéed in coconut oil and lemon juice with kale salad and a sweet potato peanut butter chocolate protein shake for dessert (happy dance).

Dinner – Grilled whatever I have in the freezer (plenty) with whatever veggies I have in the fridge (plenty).

After dinner (if I want) – Organic popcorn that I pop on the stove in coconut oil. With black cherry Zevia (stevia sweetened soda) for my sweet tooth or another protein shake.

I’m not left wondering what I going to eat. I already know and have it basically ready.

I love all of these foods and there’s a massive variety throughout the day so I’m not bored with any of my meals.

Plus, I know I might wind up grabbing something out or mix around which meals I eat for what.

Next Sunday I’ll ask myself, what sounds good to eat this week? And start over with a new menu. I’ll know what to expect and be ready for it.

2. Hire someone to come help you shop and food prep.

Look, it takes a village, and most of us don’t have a village.

I’m running a business, staying in shape, sleeping 8 hours a night, learning, growing, and having fun.

I had a think about what stresses me out the most and takes up more time than I want to give and recruited some help.

I’m not anywhere near the top 2% of income earners (yet 😉 ) or ready to have a full-time private chef.

But I do have an awesome girl who comes and helps me out from being upside down on the things I need to get done.

And it’s one of the best things I’ve ever done for myself.

I simply put an ad on Craig’s List looking for someone passionate about food and fitness and willing to help me with just about anything.

I could have also posted on care.com.

My email was inundated with candidates who were thrilled to help at totally reasonable rates.

Ultimately, I chose a nutrition student who was excited to work with me. I connected with her right away during our first meeting at Starbucks and trusted her implicitly after one afternoon at the house.

She grocery shops, chops, cooks, and helps with other things like errands, returns, putting away clothes, and organizing closets and drawers.

She’s even filed business documents for me downtown, helped me write, research, taught me a thing or two on social media, and pet sat.

It’s similar to hiring a babysitter. She’s just babysitting me. 😉

She actually saves me money, because:

a. time is money.

b. I don’t need to run out and spend $20 at the salad bar for a quick meal. She’s already steamed my cauliflower, roasted my sweet potatoes, and marinated my steak.

c. I don’t do any impulse buying while I’m at the store because I’ve sent her with a list. I’m always shocked at how low my bill is. And thrilled that I can open the fridge and she’s prepped it for me.

Post an ad. Get help. You need a village too.

This is my beautiful homegirl Leticia. That’s her official title 😉 She makes sure my head is above water.

3. Learn to love cold food.

We need to snack sometimes and often that happens in the car or somewhere else where you can’t heat food up.

Learn to love it. It will help.

My favorite road snacks are two hard-boiled eggs with a chunk of cold, roasted sweet potato.

It’s delicious.

Other amazing foods that are normally served hot, but stellar cold?

+ Anything from the grill like mini burger patties (especially with mashed avocado on top).

+ chicken or salmon, meatballs, lentils with protein, sprouted rice with protein and veggies, etc.

Toss it in a storage container and throw in your purse or backpack and be prepared.

Here’s some of my recent road food. It’s leftover grilled chicken, kale, garbanzo beans, avocado, and red bell pepper with a dash of lemon juice and salt and pepper.

I literally threw it in this tupperware as I was running out the door.

I hope these hacks will help you stay on track!

Will you do me a favor? If you liked this post, please share it. Thank you!