I will be the first to admit that I HATE cooking. It brings me no joy and I do it only because I value the benefits of it (having healthy, prepared food to keep me on track) so much. Because of this, I've worked at getting prep time down and making it as enjoyable as possible.

As I typed this, I had lentils, butternut squash, and spaghetti squash all cooking and sweet potatoes and quinoa in the queue. And I still had time to eat breakfast and type up this post!

OK, so here are my best tips...

This tip has two purposes. (1) Starting with the longest cooking food helps you time things so you get them all done around the same time and prep doesn't drag on and (2) It can be a great starting point if you're lacking motivation.

If you just don't feel like cooking, start with just one simple, long cooking item. I started today with prepping my spaghetti squash and putting it in the oven since it bakes for an hour. Once that's done, I can't help but think, well I might as well get some of the other foods going.

You've probably seen them do this on cooking shows, and there's good reason for it! Having a bowl for all the odds and ends and bits of trash you create while cooking helps you keep the flow of cooking.

I was skeptical at first, but then I tried it and it's amazing how much easier it is to just stick those ends of onions or potatoes in a bowl rather than opening the cabinet and putting them in the trash. Try it, then tell me you aren't a believer.

I had this habit of taking care of one piece of food at a time and realized it was totally ruining my flow. For example, I would take a sweet potato, remove the sticker, wash the skin, cut it up, put it in the bowl, then grab the next potato.

It might seems silly, but doing all of one step at a time can be a huge minutes saver. So remove ALL of the stickers, then wash ALL of that one veggies, then chop them all at once. It allows your body to create some efficiency around movements instead of constantly switching what its doing.

I'm not much for recipes, so I don't usually follow anything when I meal prep. If you're not following a recipe, I recommend spicing/seasoning food later.

Adding seasoning can eat up time in the prep phase and you run the risk of flavoring something in a way you don't like and getting stuck with it for a whole week. I prefer to cook things plainly and then pick what seasonings I want each morning when I pack my food. 

Keeping foods separate from each other helps them stay fresher, longer. So prepare all the pieces you need and then just throw them together in the morning before heading to work or class. 

This also gives you some freedom to adjust what combines with what based on your mood and if you know you'll be eating a meal out and want to account for the types of foods you'll be eating at the restaurant to stay on your meal plan.

Sunday nights were meal prep nights for a LONG time in my house. And then I realized that I would kind of half-ass it too often. I'm really a morning person and don't like trying to do anything productive in the evenings and it was so easy to just ignore it.

Now I meal prep on Sunday mornings. As soon as I get up I get the oven and stove going. It gives me a chance to start off the day productive, have prepped food for Sunday, and Sushi (that's my cat) doesn't bother me because he's usually lounging in the bed for a few more hours.

If you're going to have to do something that isn't super fun, you might as well put a little fun in it! Blast your favorite tunes, dance around, sing at the top of your lungs! All that extra movement is good for you, so it's a double bonus :-)

​Today I'm listening to Savage Garden... and it's magical.

Got other quick meal prep tricks? I'd love to hear them! Put them in the comments so I can include them in a "Part 2" post!

xoxo,
​Amanda K

I will be perfectly frank about this… I’ve had body image issues for a LONG time. My first ever diet was imposed on me when I was one or two and my first self-imposed diet happened when I was in 6th grade. I was chubby and even after losing some of the baby fat, I’ve always held weight around my midsection.

In high school I hit puberty in the midst of changing roles in cheerleading and packed on 15 pounds of muscle and curve in a year. For a while, it was devastating. In college I was often bigger than all of my friends, meaning I could not borrow or exchange clothes easily with anyone.

Then I hit post-college life. I was running regularly and learning to accept my size and shape. Some days were better than others. And then I had my big “transformation” where I challenged my body, changed sizes, and began a brand new journey of fitness and self love.

Here’s the thing. Becoming a size 4 didn’t immediately make me happy. Seriously. Even at a smaller size I still carry any extra fat in my midsection, some people in my life assumed I was unhealthy because of the dramatic change, and every time I heard “wow, you look great!” I couldn’t help but wince a little at the thought that my friends had thought I was fat and ugly before.
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When I realized that changing size wasn’t going to immediately imbue me with true body love, I started on my journey to learn to love myself, flaws and all. I’ll be the first to admit that I still have some work to do and that really self love and body love is a continuous journey, but after struggling to know just what “progress” looked like, I want to share with you some ways you can see your own progress and have some goals to aspire to.

If you’ve really struggled with loving your body, chances are you’ve had days like I have, where you look in the mirror and HATE what you see. It’s not just about the physical flaws, but the accompanying thoughts of failure and why can’t I just stay away from the sweets or stay motivated to workout. It’s the sense that you exist in this being that will not bend to your will and the frustration leads to intense emotions.

Progress is being able to look in the mirror and just see a body. Some days I LOVE my body. I see its muscles, strength, and beauty. Other days I see it and think not much of anything. And on the worst days I see warning signs that tell me I’ve let myself get a little too far off the healthy path and I start making a game plan to get back on track. No more hate!
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I don’t always love the pouch or rolls of fat that show up when I do ab work or the cellulite on the back of my thighs, especially when it shows up when I’m feeling icky, bloated, and know I’ve been not treating my body well. But just because I don’t always love my body, I’ve gotten away from hating it, and it is amazing how good it feels to not project negative energy towards this fabulous, miraculous body of mine.

Working out used to be something I did to “earn” the sweets I wanted, or the punishment I had to go through to try and lose weight. Eating salads and quinoa was a restriction I had to make on myself to try and undo the damage of the last binge on junk food. Healthy behaviors were something I did only because I was not happy with my body and they were the “solution” to fixing that.

Now, I enjoy my workouts because I know how good they will make me feel… minutes, hours, and days after working out I have more energy, more strength, and an improved mood. Workouts keep my anxiety and stress low, and healthy foods fuel me to keep me feeling great. Sure I still have sweets and I don’t always feel like working out, but I always get back on track because I know I feel better when I’m treating my body well.
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If tomorrow someone handed me a pill that would give me the body that looks like I’ve always wanted and I could eat whatever I wanted without gaining weight, I would still work out, eat salads, and drink my shakes. Because it’s about a HEALTHY body for me now, one that will serve me now and for decades to come. Not just trying to have a slim/perfect body.

Here’s the truth… with enough dedication, focus, and often times restriction and time commitment, you can shape your body to be just about whatever you want it to be. There are some limitations based on genetics, of course, but it is incredible what can be accomplished with diet and exercise.

This means, that I could have that six pack I’ve always wanted… but when I weigh the things that make me happy, keep me sane, and fit my current lifestyle, going after that goal doesn’t make any sense. I want to be healthy, feel good, and stay the level of lean that my body feels good at.

​The things I would have to change in my diet, the extra time I would have to spend in a gym or working out at home is just more than I want to sacrifice right now to get that illusive six-pack. It also means that living the way I currently do is not inherently setting me up for failure. If I was trying to lean out like a figure or bikini competitor, I would never achieve my goal without making changes and would be back at feeling frustrated with my body for not doing what I wanted it to.

​Sure, it feels pretty darn good to have someone in your life who’s really attracted to you that shows your body love. And it can be nice to go out and be hit on, to feel like you’re noticed from across the room. But when it comes down to it, you have to love you.

​I am not a girl who always had a boyfriend or always turned heads walking into a room. And I used to think that if I found a man who made me feel sexy that was all I would need. Eventually I found one, and sometimes it helped, but there were still plenty of times when I would be getting dressed or looking in the mirror and those same thoughts of frustration with my body would creep in. He wasn’t there or his comments wouldn’t help. It didn’t fix anything.
Now I know that I have to love me, first. And as I grow more confident in my own body and my own worth, I attract better people into my life. When we rely on others to validate our bodies, we make ourselves susceptible to manipulation and emotional abuse. You’re making progress towards loving your body if you know that someone else won’t suddenly make you stop having negative thoughts about it. YOU have to do it.

I hope that this is helpful in giving you a way to help assess your progress. Remember, loving our bodies can be a long and arduous process as we compete with all of the things we see and hear on a daily basis. But stick with it, focus on your health and how you FEEL, and know that consistency with this can be the biggest factor in how much progress you make. Shift your thoughts and be kind to yourself as much as possible. You are human, you are flawed, and you are beautiful. And keep working hard to not let others tell you otherwise.

xoxo,
Amanda K

So here's the thing... as much as I LOVE fitness and trying new workouts, and as much as I try to do everything that I know to be healthy for me, I still kind of hate yoga. I have some amazing yogi friends who teach and live yoga, but it just hasn't rubbed off on me. So here's why I continue to try yoga and keep it a part of my routine... and you should too.

Except for cardiovascular endurance, yoga improves balance, flexibility, strength, and muscular endurance. Seriously. That slow-paced, bores me if I'm not careful workout is good for just about everything your body needs to be happy, healthy, and super functional.

Yoga includes focusing on the present and clearing your mind of distractions. If you want to tell me you couldn't use more of that in your life, I'll smile and nod and we'll both know you're lying. Seriously, this is good for your mental AND physical health!

Some workouts take a while to see real improvement and your energy level can really effect whether or not you're able to do that extra pushup or not. Yoga, however, improves the body in so many areas, and in areas we often neglect that improvement can be quick and easily noticeable for the new yogi. Being able to bend a little further, hold your balance longer, and progress into a more difficult pose are all such rewarding outcomes of yoga.

Yoga is not a one-size fits all type of endeavor. There are all sorts of various that relate to the speed, difficulty, focus on strength building, temperature of the room. Ever heard of aerial yoga? Look it up. It's my next fitness adventure! Also, just like any group fitness class, the instructor can make a big difference. So if you gave up on yoga after one bad classroom or video experience, give it another shot with a different instructor.

You've probably heard it before... if it challenges you it's probably good for you. And it's true. We tend to stay away from things that challenge us because they are difficult and we don't like to admit our areas of weakness.

The reasons I don't like yoga are exactly why I keep trying it. I get restless, distracted, and frustrated. Which means I need more practice with presence, focus, and clearing my mind. I may never be a yoga instructor or doing handstands with the masters, but I will keep it up as part of my routine, and so should you!

Are you a die hard yoga fan? What are some of the other great benefits of yoga? Leave your thoughts in the comments for everyone to learn from!

xoxo,
​Amanda K