October 27, 2016

Transforming Your Meals One Step at a Time (Breakfast)

OCTOBER 27, 2016 | Ray Cattaneo

A lot of times we are so concerned with completely overhauling our diet but many would be much better off just thinking about what you’re already eating, and how you could make it a little bit better.
 
This means just making adjustments here and there over time perhaps to just one meal at a time.
 
Think about a spectrum of food quality rather than this is “bad” or “good”.
 
When you play with the idea of a food spectrum or food continuum, you get to experiment with variables like what you eat and how you eat.
 
Think of It as a Simple Task
 
How can you accomplish “make this meal just a little bit better” in every situation?
 
In which situations is that easier or harder?
 
When your choices are limited (for instance, when you’re traveling, or eating at a workplace cafeteria), how can you shoot for “a little bit better” while still being realistic, and without trying to be “perfect”?
 
Let’s go through transforming breakfast first.
 
Here’s how that “food spectrum” might look in daily life, with a sample day of eating.
 
Transforming breakfast
 
Stage 1
 
Let’s say that your go-to breakfast is a Frappuccino and a chocolate croissant.
 
You pick it up in the drive-thru, and throw it down on your way to work.
 
This is your starting point. It’s not “bad”. It’s just no longer working for you.
 
You’re getting indigestion from rushing, the croissant doesn’t hold you at all, and you're wondering if the caffeine and sugar from the frap is going to hold you over until lunch.
 
Now your task is to improve your breakfast just a little bit, starting with what you already have or do.
 

Stage 2

 

Your first attempt may be:

  • You might replace the croissant with a whole grain muffin.
  • Instead of a “dessert in a cup”, you get a regular coffee with a single cream and sugar.
  • You grab a yogurt cup on your way out of the house for a bit of protein.

 

Naturally, you’re still rushed and busy… so you eat your breakfast with some distractions, while scrolling through emails at work.

 

But this is a solid start. Well done.

Stage 3

Next level:

  • You switch the muffin to granola with cottage cheese or Greek yogurt.
  • You switch the cream in your coffee for 2% milk. (Or even go right to black coffee, you meal player you!)
  • You add some colorful fruit.
  • You’re now eating out of dishes on a table, instead of out of takeout packages off the dashboard of your car.


 Stage 4

Now you are seriously eating like a pro!

  • You’ve changed “rushing and panicked” to “set aside a little extra time to enjoy a leisurely breakfast”.
  • You prepped an egg frittata with veggies in advance on your food prep day.
  • The coffee’s may have become green tea
  • The protein plus colorful fruit and veg have become the stars of the meal.

Way to go!


NRemember: Meal transformation is not about reaching perfection.

 

If you’re at stage 1, all you have to do is shoot for stage 2. Or stage 1.5.

 

If you’re in stage 2, play with getting to stage 3.

 

And if you’re stage 3, you may be able to stay there.

 

You might never get to stage 4. Or it might only happen at times when you’re relaxed and have a little extra time.

 

Stage 4 might only happen on Sunday night, whereas the rest of your week is a mix of stages 1, 2, and — if you’re super lucky — 3.

 

And that’s OK. Additionally it may take you 1 month or 2 before truly mastering a stage and that’s also OK.

 

How far you progress along the continuum all depends on what YOU want, what YOU need, and what YOU can reasonably do, right now.

 

Over time, things can change but what matters most is admitting where you are and taking one step at a time! If you're an active client a good place to start is our meal plans which are now listed in the members area of this website.

 

Hope that helped! As always let us know if you have any questions @ infinitytrainers@gmail.com

 

If you're not currently working out or feel you need help with getting into a workout routine click here for a no obligation consultation!

 

Source: Precision Nutrition 

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