I was inspired the other day by a single mum who is uber busy and uber successful who at the same time needed some tips to give her the energy to succeed. More exercise wont cut it. New skills are where she needs to look.
1. Take in inventory of your skill set
Imagine I sent you off on a trip with a destination but no map, no directions, no tools and no skills. Very quickly you will find out that this trip would be impossible to do!
When most of us start a trip in earnest we soon understand that we may need special skills. These include, but are not limited to, being able to rustle up a 20 minute workout that doesn’t require any equipment, cook some meals in minutes, find a way to reduce stress on a daily basis and being able to monitor and improve upon sleep quality. All are skills and may or may not need a learning curve attached to them.
2. Learn to Cook
Learning to cook may be the best skill that you acquire in the long run if you want to ensure that your health kick doesn’t last as long as Wolves’ plight in the Premiership football league.
Take some lessons and think of them as an investment. We thought it was so important that we had Red Chef Cookery school over to our gym to give a workshop and it went down a storm, alongside the healthy desserts!
3. List off 6 meals in minutes
To this end you should be able to rustle up 6 meals in minutes without any bother. An omelette with vegetables, a frittata, some poached fish, grilled fish seasoned with herbs and served with some grilled veggies or a side salad and home made dressing can be knocked up very quickly. The trick is being prepared and KNOWING what you are going to eat.
We make 200 decisions around food on a daily basis. So make it easy on yourself with a meal plan that allows you then to think about the important parts of food like tasting it!
4. Cook in Bulk Twice Per Week
Cooking in bulk allows you to lower that number of decisions around food. Roast joints on a Sunday, bulk cook several chicken breasts or fish fillets will happily keep for days in your fridge and make adding to salads and stir-fries easy.
5. Make Your Breakfast the Night Before
I have written extensively about the benefits of breakfast. Don’t skip it or read about this ridiculous fasting craze sweeping the world. Most of us have about as much time as it takes to boil ½ and egg in the morning so make it the night before or at least have it ready to go first thing in the morning. Make time for it or make time for an ever expanding waist line.
6. Bring Left Overs with You
If you d
epend on others for your food then don’t complain that your results are less than optimal. I deal with a lot of folks who eat out. It can’t be helped in some cases but those who don’t and stay in control over what they put in the cake hole do better. Call me naïve, but the delicatessen really doesn’t care about your health as it warms that breaded goujon for the ninth day in a row.
7. Make you kitchen a safe haven
If it is in your home you WILL eat it. A client of mine bakes for the kids and doesn’t rely on her will power. Instead she drops it round to the neighbours out of harms way. Wise move. We only have so much will power to play with.
8. Have a Bowl of Salad Ready to Go in the fridge
Ready washed bags of salad are handy to have. Empty a couple of bags into a big stainless steal bowl, chop a whole cucumber and add some peppers and tomatoes, drizzle some lemon juice over it and you are good to go. This will keep for a few days and will be great to dispense on a plate as and when you need it!
9. Make some dressings ready to go
I learnt this off my mate Stephen at Red Chef. Use a ratio of 1:3 vinegar to oil and make up your own dressings. These keep great in empty jam jars and you can use pretty much any combination and add in fresh herbs too.
Lovely jubbly I am turning into Jamie Oliver as we speak.
John Lark is a personal trainer in Dublin
Visit his website http://spherefitness.ie/special and download your free T2H 2013 Diet Revolution Pack
