My Nutrition Upgrade: Week 4

Last week was the last week of the My Nutrition Upgrade program I’ve participated in.

Upgrade #7 was all about choosing a prep day. This is something that you guys know I consistently do already with Sunday Food Prep. The program recommends following these 7 steps when it comes to prep day:

1. Choose a consistent day to be your prep day.
2. Choose your meals/recipes for the week.
3. Create a shopping list.
4. Grocery shop.
5. Don’t put the groceries away… start prepping food! Clean/cut/chop veggies, clean/cut fruits, cook/bake/grill meats/fishes/poultry ahead of time, prepare whole grains, make soups/casseroles, basically prepare anything you can ahead of time.
6. Portion out meals and snacks into containers and bags
7. Enjoy a stress free week of healthy meals!

We’ve got this down pat in our house. This process is incorporated into every single weekend. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – it is such.a.time.saver! It takes a lot upfront, but the time and hassle it saves me during the rest of my busy week is SO worth it for my sanity.

Upgrade #8 was a discussion on the difference between a lapse and a relapse. This is a concept I learned about while studying for my personal trainer exam, and I can’t emphasize enough to you guys. A lapse is NOT a relapse. It is just a momentary return to old habits. For example, if you have a bad day and turn to cookies out of emotional eating. It’s just when lapses go unrecognized or ignored, that a relapse could happen. Relapsing is when you have a TOTAL return to your old ways of thinking and behaving, not just one slip up. I think it’s important to differentiate between the two and keep that in mind if you are being hard on yourself.

That brings me to the end of the 4 week My Nutrition Upgrade program. If you missed my first recaps, please check them out at these links: Week 1, Week 2, and Week 3. If interested in participating in future rounds, please be in touch. I’m sure I’ll have some more information to share down the line!

—

Weekly Eats

Last week wasn’t the most exciting food week. Tim was traveling, so I didn’t have as much help in the kitchen as I normally do. I also wasn’t as good about snapping food pictures as I normally am. So here’s a smattering for you:

My company gave out free fruit for National Healthy Eating Day last Wednesday. Did your companies do anything?

Here are some breakfasts. My cottage cheese usual, followed by Ezekial bread toast with peanut butter, sliced banana, and chia seeds.

Here’s some leftover veggie and polenta soup that I ate for several dinners.

Many of my lunches consisted of salad greens with tuna, chickpeas, tomato, and avocado.

 

And finally, a veggie plate. Because I think they’re pretty.

That’s it! Next week will hopefully be more exciting.

Did you take part in My Nutrition Upgrade? What did you think? Do you have a prep day? Do you beat yourself up over lapses or do you recognize that they aren’t the same as a complete relapse? Was last week an exciting food week for you?

Health fair day today! Wish me luck!

Disclaimer / Disclosure:  I was not paid to write this post, but I was provided a free registration in the My Nutrition Upgrade program in exchange for writing a review and sharing my experiences with my readers.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.