Getting in a one hour workout is the easy part... It's the food you consume during the other 23 hours that count even more.
I know you’re crunched for time, but you still manage to carve out a few hours each week to get to the gym and do your training. Good for you! Scheduling time to take care of yourself is absolutely vital. Since you’re so limited on free time, it’s also really important that you use those sessions wisely, and make sure your workouts are effective. So what’s the most beneficial workout you can do? How can you get the biggest return on your time investment? Strength training? Endurance sessions? Maybe bouts of high intensity intervals? I would actually argue that the most important workout you should be doing happens in the kitchen, not in the gym.
Your workout sessions honestly won’t give you the progress you’re hoping to achieve if you don’t also have good eating habits. You can't outrun the junk food, folks. The quality of food and drink you consume determines the quality of your body composition. That’s worth repeating: the quality of food and drink you consume determines the quality of your body composition. The purpose of your training sessions are actually to break down muscle, and proper nutrition (along with adequate sleep!) helps build that muscle back even stronger. A session of heavy lifting and sprint intervals won’t help you make much progress if you follow it up with a pack of ramen noodles. If you don’t have time to cook after spending the time training, then next time, skip the training and spend an hour in the kitchen cooking food for the week instead.
My argument is this: if you have time to make 4 workouts per week (or 2, or 5, or whatever), but are always eating out or grabbing convenience food from a box because you have ZERO time to cook food, then cut out one of those workouts and make it meal prep time instead. This is your most important workout of the week! It will make the rest of your workouts far more effective, so don’t feel guilty for missing the gym that day. Use the time to cook up lots of quality protein and veggies, and chop up salad ingredients and make your dressing. Maybe boil some eggs, make tuna salad or a pot of chili. Get your prepared meals into the fridge and they’re ready for you to grab and go during the week, so you won’t have to settle for the drive through.
Remember; meal prep comes first, training comes second. Get in the habit of taking some time at the beginning of the week, either on Sunday or Monday, to do your cooking, and stick with your training in the gym the rest of the week. Commit to this meal prep “workout” and you’ll be shocked at how much more effective your other workouts become!
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Need more guidance? You're in luck! I'm halfway through my Precision Nutrition Coaching Certification and am now accepting a limited number of nutrition clients. I will coach clients at a discounted rate of $89 per month until I finish my certification. I see many coaches charging over $700 per month for this service! This is a completely individualized program. You'll get an initial consultation and weekly check-ins. I will keep an eye on your progress to be sure you are moving toward your goal. This is a habit-based approach to nutrition, in which our goal is to find what works for you and find how to make it stick. If you've tried every diet out there but can't maintain the body composition you're after, I can help!
Contact me at info@trainoctane.com
