In a perfect world, we would all carefully prepare each and every meal and snack that we’re going to consume on our weight loss diet plan.  We’d know exactly how many calories are in each meal and have the perfect breakdown of proteins, carbohydrates, and dietary fats.

Unfortunately though, we don’t live in a perfect world and very often, we simply don’t have the time to spend hours in the kitchen cooking our many meals and snacks to eat throughout the day.

When this is the case and you’re in a rush, the fast food restaurant may look all too appealing.

If you choose wisely, you definitely can get in some good nutrition with these tips, so let’s go over a few things to keep in mind so that you don’t throw your diet out the window.

This past weekend I was at an All-Natural Bodybuilding and Fitness competition to see one of my trainers Joe compete(which he won his class by the way)

But I ended up meeting a woman named Jeanine who was competing in the women’s fitbody competition which is a mix between figure and bodybuilding.  She looked amazing and her body was ripped! But what amazed me more and prompted me to talk to her was the fact that she looked like that at 47 years old.  Not only that, but I came to find out when she told me, that she was a single mom with two kids and worked a full time job.

This also prompted the discusssion on eating right when you’re pressed on time and gave me a few ideas for this blog post.  So with that said, here are some ideas to keep in mind for optimal nutrition when in a rush.

Breakfast

As you work to improve your overall nutrition plan, one area that you can’t leave out is breakfast.  The way you start your day each morning is going to have a big influence on how you feel as you go about your day so by being sure to arm yourself with great nutrition, you can ensure that you aren’t making a B-line towards the vending machine come 10 am.

Oats with Protein Powder

If you need something fast and easy, oats with protein powder is a can’t-miss meal.  For this breakfast you’ll simply prepare a standard bowl of oatmeal according to the package directions and then once it’s finished cooking, stir in a scoop of your favorite protein powder.

If you really want to maintain good balance, stir in a tablespoon of natural peanut butter to this as well, creating a nice mix of complex carbohydrates, protein, as well as healthy fats.

You can also reverse this with the Protein Shake with Oats mix.

Snacks in a rush

Youbars.com

Carry a nutritional protein bar with you like the ones from youbars.com. Their Build-a-Bar page allows you to design your bar exactly as you want, so you can create anything from high-protein, low-carb energy bars to gluten-free protein bars.  I recommend them because a lot of snack bars out there are crap.

Fruit

High fiber fruit like apples and oranges.  For added protein to balance the fruit, I like to mix in 2 tablespoons of all-natural peanut butter also.  Keep your fruit limited though if you’re trying to lose weight and eat it only in the beginning of your day.

Hard boiled eggs

I see more and more deli’s and stores that have eggs already boiled for you.  This is a great snack because eggs are one of the best sources of protein and also contain some healthy fats.  If you have signs of high cholesterol you can just eat the whites, otherwise I recommend having the yolks too.  Most very fit people eat eggs, so you can’t go wrong.

Lunch and Dinner in a rush

Most food restaurants offer both grilled chicken and salads, so regardless of your diet, you’ll be able to find something to meet your protein needs.

While fish may seem like a healthy choice as well, the truth is that most often this fish is either battered or served up with some creamy condiment making it very high in fat and calories.

Second, one thing that you must avoid when dining out is any ‘secret sauce’.  Always request your meal without dressing or sauce and then put your own on.  Balsamic vinergerette in your salad and chicken will not contribute many calories, while high-fat mayonnaise or other dressing concoctions that restaurant has come up with will.

By doing away with the sauces you could easily slash well over a hundred calories from your meal.

Besides restaurants, more and more health food stores are popping up everywhere.  Find one in your area because they are a great option and source for you to grab a healthy hot meal on the go.  Usually you can order it in a small container which is portioned properly.

So there you have it….”not having time” is one excuse you can now throw away.

Tags: eating in a rush, eating on the go, healthy meals, healthy snacks, nutrition in a rush, optimal nutrition

This entry was posted on June 28, 2011 at 3:18 pm. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Posted in Weight Loss and Healthy Eating by Greg Crawford | No Comments Yet

To customize or remove this area, please go to your Admin panel and find My Theme -> Optin Form. Modify it at own will!