Being Prepared

I know as well as anyone that time is a huge commodity in the society that we live in. I happen to be a mom, wife, and a full time nurse/sidekick to a doctor in a crazy busy orthopaedic surgeon practice. It is of course overwhelming considering the obligations of all of those individual roles, and it can certainly make my healthy living a challenge.

I cannot speak enough though on how much being prepared has helped me along my journey (battle?) that is weight loss/maintenance. The preparation that I speak of is regarding meals, or having quick and easy options available at a moments notice throughout the week.  I have been much better about this lately, and it is paying off because I'm not jumping to unhealthy 'easy' choices because I am surrounded by healthy easy choices also. Of course this is not always easy to find time, but with a little time investment I find a HUGE payoff in my weekly eating.

Here is what I did today in preparation for the week ahead (and the time investment required of each thing)

-steamed vegetables (carrots and broccoli) for sides as lunches (took 12'ish minutes)
-cooked green peppers, zucchini and onions for making my 'taco salads' for lunch (took 10 minutes)
-cooked quinoa for taco salads or easy side salads for the week (takes 15 minutes)
-prepared an all natural ranch dressing/dip for my uncooked veggies (10 minutes)
-hard boil eggs for easy grabbing in the morning (13 minutes)

So, for a grand total of 60 minutes, I save myself the hassle of figuring out what to take or preparing it throughout the week. A lot of this can be done all at once, of course also. And it is no longer 'easier' to pick something unhealthy, because it is equally as easy to grab what I have prepared.

I also do other little 'cheats' for time saving. My latest has been freezing pumpkin in ice cube trays for my smoothies (to save time on adding pumpkin AND ice) and getting out the door in the morning.  In preparing for my runs, I fill by bottle with half as much water as is required in my electrolyte drink, freeze it overnight, then add the rest of the water in the morning to keep it cold during my run (saving time again on adding ice).

Again, a little time investment for a great time saver & big health payout.

This all helps with both my peace of mind, and feeling less overwhelmed throughout the week!

Have a great, blessed (and happy and healthy week).


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