May 09, 2015
A Day in the Life: Balancing Shift Work with Fitness Goals, part 2
In Part 1 of 'A day in the life' I provided an outline of my day working a 12 hour shift followed by training. In addition to being asked how I balance both shift work and training, I am asked just as often on how I get my nutrition in consistently. One word: preparation! My schedule varies from week to week, but I always know well in advance how many shifts I need to prep my meals for. When your goal is to eat well, feel and look physically fit- you have no one else to blame but yourself if you're stuck without proper food choices. I typically do meal prep twice a week, just before a stretch of shifts and just after.
Here is a day in the life of my meal plan for a typical work day, followed by training:
Meal 1 (Breakfast)
Protein Pancake: egg whites with a whole egg, oats, flax, cinnamon, nut butter
Meal 2 (First Break/Morning Snack)
Greek yogurt mixed with 1 scoop Magnum Nutraceuticals Quattro Protein Powder
Meal 3 (Lunch)
Large grilled chicken salad with head of romaine lettuce, cucumber, bell peppers, balsamic/olive oil vinaigrette
Meal 4 (Last break/Pre-workout)
Chicken/fish with with either sweet potato or brown rice, slices of pepper or snap peas
Meal 5 (Post-workout)
1 scoop Magnum Nutraceuticals Quattro Protein Powder, mixed with unsweetened almond milk
Meal 6 (Bedtime Snack)
Protein Pudding (Magnum Quattro Protein in Chocolate Love with nut butter)
I find that my work days are easier to get my meals in since the day has structure. On days off I have to make a mental note at times of how far apart my meals are, ensuring I am eating approximately every 3-4 hours. I did not provide the breakdown/measurements of my food choices as the amounts vary depending on my training/fitness goals. I tend to keep my carb intake a little low, and my fats higher as I feel I look and feel best with this type of macronutrient ratio. When I am trying to be on the leaner side, I swap out my shakes for whole-food sources of protein (chicken/fish/egg whites), and nut butter in favour of coconut oil.
The human body is a beautiful, complex thing- nourish it as if it's your most prized possession. Be consistent, and be patient in finding out what you need to look and feel your best :)
[caption id="attachment_69074" align="alignnone" width="200"]
#truth[/caption]
Here is a day in the life of my meal plan for a typical work day, followed by training:
Meal 1 (Breakfast)
Protein Pancake: egg whites with a whole egg, oats, flax, cinnamon, nut butter
Meal 2 (First Break/Morning Snack)
Greek yogurt mixed with 1 scoop Magnum Nutraceuticals Quattro Protein Powder
Meal 3 (Lunch)
Large grilled chicken salad with head of romaine lettuce, cucumber, bell peppers, balsamic/olive oil vinaigrette
Meal 4 (Last break/Pre-workout)
Chicken/fish with with either sweet potato or brown rice, slices of pepper or snap peas
Meal 5 (Post-workout)
1 scoop Magnum Nutraceuticals Quattro Protein Powder, mixed with unsweetened almond milk
Meal 6 (Bedtime Snack)
Protein Pudding (Magnum Quattro Protein in Chocolate Love with nut butter)
I find that my work days are easier to get my meals in since the day has structure. On days off I have to make a mental note at times of how far apart my meals are, ensuring I am eating approximately every 3-4 hours. I did not provide the breakdown/measurements of my food choices as the amounts vary depending on my training/fitness goals. I tend to keep my carb intake a little low, and my fats higher as I feel I look and feel best with this type of macronutrient ratio. When I am trying to be on the leaner side, I swap out my shakes for whole-food sources of protein (chicken/fish/egg whites), and nut butter in favour of coconut oil.
The human body is a beautiful, complex thing- nourish it as if it's your most prized possession. Be consistent, and be patient in finding out what you need to look and feel your best :)
[caption id="attachment_69074" align="alignnone" width="200"]
#truth[/caption]