I eat weird shit

How's that for a blog title...lol. But its true I really eat some weird things. That I absolutely love! I cannot feel like I'm dieting, it is not sustainable and if I'm not happy with the things I eat I cant stick to it. That being said I have experimented with a lot of different meal plans to come up with what works for me and what works for me right now might change again in a couple months. 

I lose about a lb a week on 1500 net calories. The net part is key. I would die if I only ate 1500 calories a day...which may be a slight exaggeration, its more likely that I would murder someone else in a hangry rage. So I have found that instead of cutting calories I would rather just exercise more. I aim to burn at least 500 calories a day through exercise which for me is about an hour of exercise. That means on any given day I eat about 2000 calories. 

I like to eat often, lots of smaller meals at very set times...I dont like missing my meal times. My Technician at work has become well aware of this and I have no shame in whipping my random required snacks out in the middle of a meeting if I need to. 

 Back to the weirdness factor. Not only do I eat in front of whoever happens to be around at "said time Jess needs to eat" I eat odd combinations of foods and people are always asking me what the heck I have. 

My current meal plan:

Breakfast:(6am) Oatmeal, Egg whites, Peanut Butter, Banana, Cashew Milk

I love the egg whites in oatmeal, it makes it so fluffy! I love this meal so much I have been eating it twice a day for months. The first time I tried it it seemed a little off and I wasnt sure I would enjoy it but within a week I was addicted! 

Snack 1:(10am) Cottage Cheese and Sweet Potato (plus a turkey pep stick if I need on run days)

This also makes me happy...especially if I'm at home and can heat up the sweet potato...so yummy! 

Lunch:(1pm) Broco-slaw, white navy beans, cheese, salad dressing (yogurt ranch) and a Kashi granola bar (chia, dark chocolate, almonds and sea salt)

The brocoslaw salad I'm getting tired of...its probably my least favorite meal of the day. A sign I need to mix it up.  

Snack 2: (3pm) Plain greek yogurt, peanut butter and agave all mixed together and then a couple carrots 

Yogurt and PB is a fairly new one for me...but I love it...I'm not into sweet yogurts and Peanut butter is pretty much my favourite food of all time. It makes anything that much more delicious! Before yogurt I was eating brown rice with PB and honey...

Dinner: (5:30pm) 400 calories. I cook mainly from the blog/book skinnytaste. I love her recipes!!

Snack 3: (7:30pm) Oatmeal, egg whites, cashew milk, agave

Kind of like breakfast but I swap out the PB for agave...mainly because I thing 3 servings of PB a day is probably a little excessive! But yes I eat oatmeal, go to bed and wake up and eat oatmeal. Back to back oatmeal meals I love it that much!

I eat the same meals every day except dinner. I dont have time to think of different breakfasts or lunches and I dont mind eating the same thing all the time. I like that I dont have to think about what to make. Its just so automatic every morning to make the same thing. I usually get tired of something after 3-4months and then I will swap it to something new for another 3 months...lol. I pack my meals everywhere I go. I travel for work a lot and I have a little cooler I pack all my meals to go in. A lot of the things I eat are on the list as well because they are high iron. I struggle with iron deficiency and so that plays into my meal planning. 

My current exercise plan:

Run as much as possible without getting injured, or lose my job or family. 

I run every lunch hour that I can, baring I'm in the field or have some crazy meetings scheduled. These are usually 5-6miles and depending on the training schedule and a mix of easy runs, tempo, and speed drills. A mix of trail and road running as well depending on which I'm office I'm at so the variety is nice. On the weekends I try to do a long run 20km+ and then take a rest day. Unless the kids are away in which I'll sneak in two long runs :)  

(today's lunch hour run with a rain warning in affect for 50-60mm - tested the limits of my running buddy on that one)

Strength training - 15mins at least 3 times per week. (coffee break at work...I cant seem to get these done ever at home). The exercises are a mix of core strengthening exercises recommended for runners and some ones my PT and massage therapist wanted me doing.