4 Ways to Get the Most Out of Your Workouts

If you’re a professional, your life is always busy. My clients roster includes executives, software engineers, attorneys, accountants, day traders, and bankers. Many of them have families and active social lives. Some spend several hours each day commuting from the suburbs. Getting the most out of their workouts is not just a nice idea, it’s a necessity.

Yet despite feeling crunched, many people waste time at the gym. I often see gym regulars performing the same workouts year after year with little to show for it. New clients frequently tell me they don’t have a plan when they show up for their workouts. And don’t even get me started on all the people I see texting, watching videos, or scrolling through social media in between sets.

If you want to make the most of your precious workout time, you need to change the way you train. Keep reading to learn my four favorite strategies to get more bang-for-your buck at the gym.

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Keep a training log.

Writing down your workouts lets you assess progress and adjust your training accordingly. If you aren’t tracking your training, you’ll never know if what you’re doing is taking you closer to your goals.

Recording your workouts helps you track progress in the short and long term. You may remember a few lifetime personal records on big lifts, but nobody’s memory is good enough to recall all their personal records for various exercises and rep schemes. I know I have a hard time remembering what I did last week, let alone 3 months ago (in the case of an exercise I haven’t done in a while).

I recommend recording every single workout in a notebook or on your phone. Track the exercises, sets, reps, and weights used for each workout. Track the time and/or distance travelled for cardio workouts.

It’s also useful to note how you felt during the workout. For example, if you found a particular exercise challenging at a certain weight, make a note to focus on form without increasing the weight the following week. Write down any information you think will be useful. Then, periodically review your logs. It’s motivating to look back over months and years of training logs to see how far you’ve come. 

Focus and minimize distractions.

The more you focus during your workouts, the better your results will be. Don’t just go through the motions; really focus on the exercise you are performing at all times. Try to get in the zone as you train.

Set your intention before the set begins. Focus one tempo, using perfect form, owning the entire range of motion, or really feeling the target muscle working.

Phones are perhaps the biggest distraction at the gym. Scrolling through social media, answering emails, texting, or taking calls wastes time and prevents you from training with the intensity necessary to see results.

Keep your phone on you (in Do Not Disturb mode) if you need it for music or to track your workout. If you don’t need your phone, leave it in the locker room.

Training partners can be awesome motivators, but workouts with friends can sometimes devolve into two-hour long gossip sessions. If you train with someone else, stay on each other to keep things moving. You’ll have time to catch up in the locker room after the workout is over.

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Use timed rest intervals.

A few years ago I did a program that instructed me to take specific rest intervals between sets. This was the first time I had ever paid much attention to rest. In the past, I took as much time as I wanted before beginning the next set.

Holy crap did this program smoke me! I realized that although I was pretty strong for a beginner lifter, I had been completely neglecting other areas of my fitness (namely cardio).

Some people have the opposite problem: they are used to taking too little rest which prohibits them from using appropriately heavy weights. These people are likely leaving strength and muscle gains on the table even though they feel they are working hard.

If you’ve never held yourself to strict rest intervals before, give it a shot and see how it affects your workout. Here are some ideas to get you started:

  • High rep, lighter, metabolic work (eg arm training in the 12-20 rep range): 30-60 seconds between sets
  • Power work (eg jumps or throws in the 1-5 rep range): 45-60 seconds between sets
  • Moderate/challenging strength work (eg compound movements or assistance work in the 6-12 rep range): 60-90 seconds between sets
  • Heavy, intense strength work (eg barbell lifts in the 1-5 rep range): 2 minutes or more between sets

Follow a program.

Too many people show up to the gym without a plan and decide what to do in the moment based on how they’re feeling. Although doing something is better than skipping the gym entirely, this is no way to get real results. If you value your time or are serious about achieving a goal, you need to follow a training program.

A training program is an intelligently-designed roadmap which helps you reach a goal such as fat loss, building muscle, getting stronger, or recovering from an injury. I write 3-4 month blocks of training consisting of different phases that build off each other. Taking a long-term approach helps my clients build consistency and get better every week without spending hours and hours at the gym.

Once you begin a program, stick with the it until the end. Hopping from program to program wastes time and kills your progress.

There are many ways to find a program. The best way is to hire a qualified online or in-person coach to provide individual guidance. Always ask any potential coach about their approach to programming before you sign up

If you don’t have access to a trainer, you can purchase a DIY program online from someone in the fitness industry you trust and respect. You can also find some good free programs online on various fitness websites. Make sure whatever program you select is appropriate for your skill level and goals.

Looking for a workout program specifically designed for busy professionals? Check out Full45, a three month training program featuring twice weekly workouts you can complete in 45-minutes or less. Click here to learn more and purchase your copy today.

Working with a coach or trainer is one of the best ways to get the most out of your workouts.

If you’re a busy professional who feels like you’ve been getting less-than-stellar results from your workouts, try implementing these tips. I guarantee that with increased focus, fewer distractions, and a good program that you track and periodically review, you will make much faster progress toward your goals without adding extra time or workouts.

Got New Year’s Resolutions? I’ve Got Resources

As 2017 comes to a close, I want to take some time to reflect on everything I’ve covered this year. Since launching this website in mid-April, I’ve written 37 articles covering a wide range of topics related to training, nutrition, and healthy lifestyle. It’s been such a joy for me to use my passion for writing as part of my fitness work, and I’m grateful to everyone who has read and shared my posts.

My two most popular posts this year told the stories of two different phases of my ongoing fitness journey. The first post, How I Lost 30lbs Without Counting Calories, revealed the habits that allowed me to lose weight with minimal stress while living in San Francisco in 2014 and 2015. The second post, 6 Things I Learned From a Year of Online Training With Bryan Krahn, explained some lessons I learned in 2016 and 2017 when I hired a coach to help me get in my best shape ever. I hope some of my experiences can provide insight and clarity on issues you may be dealing with as you chase your own goals.

My objective is to provide clear, simple, actionable tips and inspiration to help you navigate the confusing and contradictory world of health and fitness advice. With that in mind, this week I’ve put together a year-end guide for you. I reviewed my 2017 posts and organized them by topic. Many of you probably have New Year’s resolutions related to health and fitness. However, it’s likely that you aren’t 100% sure what steps you need to take to realize those goals. Skim through this post, look for the articles relevant to you, bookmark them for later, and share with others. I hope this guide can help answer some of your questions and give you the resources needed to take the first steps toward a fitter and healthier 2018.

Note – hyperlink text does not appear in another color. Hover over the text to find links to each post

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Healthy eating

Year after year, weight loss is the most common New Year’s resolution. If you want to lose weight, take control of your eating. Calories must be managed to create a deficit. This requires you to cook more, manage portions, choose more nutrient-dense foods, and combat destructive eating habits like emotional eating. These are all great skills to master even if you are happy with your physique.

  • Cooking more of your own meals is an important step in making healthier food choices. Check out these articles for tips on how to become a better home cook:
  • It’s not always possible to prepare your own food. This post provided strategies for eating out at restaurants when you are on a diet.
  • One of the easiest ways you can improve the quality of your diet, regardless of whether you want to lose weight, is to eat more vegetables. In this post, I explain how I overcame my dislike of vegetables and transformed them into a centerpiece of my diet.
  • Finally, for many people healthier eating means taking control of destructive eating habits such as emotional and stress eating. Check out these posts for tips on combating these challenging obstacles:

Training

It’s no secret that I think everyone should perform some kind of regular resistance training. Strength training builds strong muscles and bones and makes our bodies more efficient. However, it can be confusing, overwhelming, and intimidating to get started with lifting weights. Check out some of these resources if you want help establishing a new routine or improving your current routine.

  • If you want more information on how to train around pain and injuries:

Consistency and Routine

Many New Year’s resolutions fail because people are too ambitious right out of the gate. If you aren’t in the habit of coming to the gym every day or prepping all of your meals, you should set more realistic initial goals. First work to build better systems and develop consistent routines. Real change is made by developing sustainable healthy habits. Start where you are and take one small step forward every day.

  • If you struggle to have healthy food available when you need it:
  • This post on seasons of lifting provides ideas and inspirations for organizing a year’s worth of training. This is a great strategy to ensure your fitness goals mesh well with your life outside of the gym.

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Mindset and More

Mindset is the secret sauce to achievement. You can have all the practical knowledge in the world, but if you don’t surround yourself with good people, practice patience, believe in yourself, and choose goals that resonate with your values, you will never truly succeed.

That’s a wrap on 2017. As always, feel free to reach out with any questions or ideas for a future blog post. If you are interested in working with me, please fill out an application for my online training program here. Thank you all for your continued support!

What Does Fitness Do for You? Part 1

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There’s so much more to fitness than losing 10 pounds. Many of the most powerful rewards of regular exercise manifest in small, daily improvements in your quality of life.

What is Your “Why?”

I encourage all of my clients to complete an exercise to help them get in touch with why they are coming to see me. Sometimes clients come in with specific goals and we talk through this process together. Other times, especially if someone is new to exercise and doesn’t really know what they want, their motivations reveal themselves over time as the client starts to reap the rewards of a regular exercise routine.

Ask yourself what you want out of exercise. Some common reasons include improved health, increased strength, and weight loss or other physique goals. These are broad, surface-level statements that need to be explored further. What exactly does this goal mean to you? Why is it important? If you accomplished this goal in a year, what would your life look like? How would things be better? How would life be worse if you stayed where you are at now or moved farther away from your goal?

I find people often know deep down inside what they want to accomplish and why, but they feel embarrassed or worried their reasons aren’t the “right” reasons. They then express goals they don’t really care about but they think I or other people want to hear. Don’t let anyone tell you your goals are bad or wrong. Furthermore, remember your initial goals don’t have to remain your goals forever. You will almost certainly have new goals arise as you progress further along your fitness journey. As you age, your priorities will also shift. This is all totally fine.

After you identify some possible motivators, you have two final steps. First, establish metrics for success. How will you know you’re doing a good job or moving forward? I like habit goals because they encourage you to take things one day at a time and focus on the process rather than the outcome. For example, instead of measuring success only in pounds lost, focus on making healthy food choices and monitoring portion sizes every day. Ultimately we cannot control our outcomes, only our behaviors. I encourage you to look for ways to measure success aside from hard data and numbers.

Finally, set realistic expectations and commit to the long haul. This is an area where many new exercisers set themselves up for failure. If you plan to do ALL OF THE THINGS right away, you will almost certainly fail. Start small and build on your initial successes. Avoid setting hard deadlines for your goals (there are exceptions of course, such as getting in shape for a wedding or training for some kind of event). Instead, get comfortable with the idea of building a lifelong practice of regular movement. Be open to experimentation and shifts in priorities.

In part 2 of this post, I will dig a bit deeper into the most common goals I hear from new clients. I explore why these goals are valuable, what they may mean on a deeper level, and some unexpected benefits you get from focusing on each.

 

What Should I Do When I Come to the Gym?

It’s Monday at 11:45am and you heading to the gym for a quick lunchtime workout. Your last meeting left your head spinning and all you can think about is the work you need to complete that afternoon. You throw your things in your gym bag and race over to train.

When you get to the gym, you walk out onto the floor and totally blank on what to do. You hurry through a few sets of bench press, chest flyes, curls, and crunches. Everything feels rushed and you are unable to focus. You return to your desk feeling like you accomplished very little.

Wednesday finds you in the same situation, except this time you complete a handful of different exercises. The rest of the week you are so swamped with work and unmotivated from your lackluster workouts you don’t make it into the gym at all.

This cycle repeats week after week.

This story exemplifies how many busy professionals approach their training. You don’t have a plan or know how to maximize your time. Instead, you bounce haphazardly between the exercises you know and like. You may try to follow a multi-day body part split, but fail to make it in for all of the workouts. This not only wastes time and results in no progress towards your goals, it can lead to imbalances and potential injuries.

I want to suggest a better way to build workouts, even on the fly.

Legendary strength coach Dan John explains that there are five major movement patterns: squat, hinge, push, pull and carry. Full-body workouts that focus on these five major movement patterns are an effective, efficient, and enjoyable way to train. This article looks at each pattern and provides exercise examples and progressions for each one.

You can use this basic framework and the exercises included to quickly assemble a safe, effective, and challenging workout. At the end, I include two sample full-body workouts based on these principles.

Squat

The squat is a lower-body movement that uses lots of flexion at the ankle, knee, and hip joints. Think of a squat as sitting down into a chair.

There are many different ways you can train squats at the gym. Start with bodyweight air squats or box squats. Next, progress to front-loaded variations including goblet squats, double front racked kettlebell squats, and barbell front squats.

Once you have mastered basic squat form, you can add in barbell back squatting. I don’t have all my clients back squat. Most people can get the same benefits from front-loaded squat variations, which tend to have a lower risk of injury.

Read More: Can’t Back Squat? Try These Front-Loaded Squats Instead

I also include single-leg exercises under the squat category. Everyone should do some single leg exercises throughout the week. This is especially true for runners or athletes.

The most basic single leg exercises include step ups and stationary split squats. Once you are more comfortable, you can progress to various lunge variations (reverse, forward, walking, side, or deficit), rear-foot elevated split squats (also called Bulgarian split squats), and single-leg squats.

Hinge

The hinge is the second major lower body movement and it involves lots of flexion at the hip, minimal flexion at the knee, and almost no flexion at the ankle. Think of a hinge as picking something up from the ground.

Everyone regardless of age, experience, or injury history needs to train the hinge. You don’t want to be the person who throws out their back helping a friend move or picking up their child at the playground. Learning to move from your hips and load your legs without risking your spine is an incredibly important skill.

The deadlift is the king of hinge exercises. You can perform a variety of deadlift variations depending on your skill, strength, and injury history. Choose a deadlift variation that allows you to get into the longest position without any rounding of the spine. For example, if you are one of the many people who lack the flexibility to perform a great barbell conventional deadlift from the floor, try pulling from a sumo position, elevating the bar on blocks or doing rack pulls, or using a trap/hex bar. You can also use dumbbell or barbell Romanian deadlifts to practice moving into a hinge from a standing position, which requires much less coordination and flexibility.

Read More: Which Deadlift is Right for Me?

Other hip hinge exercises include the cable pull-through, back extension, goodmorning, and kettlebell swing. Experiment with different exercises and implements to determine which choices are best for your skill level and body.

Push

Upper body pushing and pulling movements are divided into vertical and horizontal categories. As a general rule, most people should perform more horizontal pushing and pulling than vertical pushing or pulling. People with shoulder injuries or very tight upper backs should use caution or avoid vertical pushing and pulling altogether.

Horizontal pushing includes pushup and chest press variations. Pushups are a tremendously efficient exercise that builds upper body strength along with core strength and stability. If you can’t complete pushups from the floor, elevate your hands on a bench or smith machine and work your way down.

Chest press exercises include standing cable or band chest press, flat bench press, incline bench press, decline bench press, floor press, and single arm presses at any angle. Start with dumbbells or kettlebells and then progress to the barbell.

Single-arm landmine pressing is a great half-way option for people who want to train their vertical press but don’t want to or can’t get into a fully overhead position. Complete these in a half-kneeling position for an extra challenge for your core and legs.

Vertical pushing exercises include different types of overhead pressing. If you include vertical pressing in your program, start with light weights and use implements such as dumbbells or kettlebells that allow less restricted movement of your shoulders. Once you are strong and sure of your form, you can progress to barbell overhead presses such as military press or push press.

Pull

Horizontal pulling is also known as rowing. You can row using barbells, dumbbells, kettlebells, bands, cables, machines, and even your own bodyweight. Beginners should begin with bands or cables (low row, single arm cable row, face pull) and machines (chest supported row) before progressing to dumbbells and kettlebells (bent over rows or chest supported rows). As with all movements, the barbell is the most advanced progression and should only be used if you are sure of your form and have built a solid foundation of strength.

Trainees of all ability levels can benefit from bodyweight inverted rows using a TRX or a smith machine. Elevate your feet or add a weighted vest to make these more challenging.

Vertical pulling includes chin-ups and pull-ups using a variety of grips and implements. You can also perform lat pulldowns if you aren’t strong enough for pull-ups or want to supplement your vertical pulling training. Check out the video below to see a TRX progression I use to help my clients work up to their first bodyweight chin ups. 

Carry

Carrying is perhaps the most basic of all the movements included in this program. No matter who you are or what you do, you will need to complete carries on an almost daily basis. Common real-world examples include carrying groceries, children, pets, or moving objects for your job or hobby.

My favorite carry is the basic farmer carry. Grab two heavy weights, stand up with tall and tight posture, and walk around. You can mix up your carries by holding weights in front of you (front rack carry), overhead (waiter carry), or by pulling or pushing a heavy sled or box.

With this framework, you can easily put together an effective full-body workout even when you are crunched on time.

Pick one exercise from each category and complete 2-3 sets of 8-12 reps each.

Use supersets (two exercises paired together) to save time. Pair hinge with push and squat with pull.

Finish with a few rounds of carries and call it a day.

I provide two examples of workouts catering to beginner/intermediate and advanced lifters below.

Beginner Workout

Dumbbell Romanian deadlift

Smith machine elevated pushup

Step ups

TRX inverted row

Farmer carry

Advanced Workout

Barbell front squat

Chin ups

Dumbbell bench press

Kettlebell swings

Waiter carry

Putting it all together

Stock Your Pantry and Freezer for Easier Cooking

It’s Wednesday night at 9pm. You’ve just come home from the office after an unexpectedly long day and you’re totally exhausted and ravenously hungry. You open your fridge and see that there is nothing inside. You realize you didn’t buy enough food at the grocery store over the weekend and it’s too late to run there now.

What do you do? If you are like a lot of people, you pull up GrubHub and search the for the fastest, closest Chinese food or pizza. Doing this repeatedly costs a lot of money and will wreck your efforts to eat healthy or lose weight. The good news is you can easily prepare for situations like this and ensure you always have healthy options available.

If you want to make easy, delicious meals at home, invest some time and money into stocking your pantry and freezer. Having a fully stocked kitchen makes it easy to put meals together on the fly, even when you don’t have time to go to the grocery store. It also allows you to experiment with different flavors so you don’t get bored with your food.

In this article, I share my essential pantry staples and how you can use them. It can be expensive to stock up on all this stuff at once, so buy just one or two things each time you visit the grocery store. After a few weeks, you’ll be well on your way to having a fully stocked kitchen.

Spices

One of the biggest complaints I hear from people trying to eat healthier is that they get tired of eating bland food all the time. With the help of spices, making good food choices doesn’t need to be a death sentence for flavor. Stock your pantry with plenty of spices to add variety to your meals. In addition to tasting great, many spices  provide health benefits.

My essential spices are salt, black pepper, and granulated garlic or garlic powder. Other common and useful spices include cumin, paprika, coriander, oregano, cinnamon, rosemary, and thyme. Look at the recipes you make most frequently and buy the spices that repeatedly pop up.

I am also a big fan of spice blends. Stores like Penzeys, The Spice House, or your local spicer will have many different blend options to chose from. Spice blends are great for people who are short on time or don’t really love to cook because they allow you to add complexity to a dish with little effort. Simply chose the blend that matches the flavor you want, apply liberally to your food, cook, and enjoy. You can purchase blends that work well for certain cuisines, cuts of meat, vegetables, preparation methods, and more.

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Oil and Acid

Next on your pantry shopping list are oil and acids, such as vinegar and citrus juice. These items are very versatile and can be used to cook food, make salad dressings, and add flavor to a variety of dishes.

My three go-to oils are olive oil, avocado oil, and coconut oil. I use olive oil and avocado oil to make salad dressings and I cook primarily with coconut oil. Sesame oil is handy to use for stir frys.

Don’t be overwhelmed by the wide variety of vinegars at the store; the basic three are apple cider vinegar, white vinegar, and balsamic vinegar. Vinegar is great for dressing salads and you can also add a splash to stir frys, soups, and other dishes.

Other acids include lemon, lime, and orange juice. You can buy bottles of lemon and lime juice to keep in your pantry, but these must be refrigerated after opening.

Canned Goods

Canned goods sometimes get a bad rap in the health food world. However, I believe that for the average person the benefits of convenience outweigh any loss of nutrients. I use canned goods on a regular basis for salads, soups, stir frys, and chilis.

I recommend always keeping a few cans of protein on hand. My preferred canned proteins are chicken breast, tuna, and salmon, but any protein you enjoy will work. Vegetarians (and people who enjoy them) should keep plenty of canned beans on hand.

Canned vegetables are a great addition to soups, chilis, curries, stir frys, and other one-pot dishes. I usually keep some tomatoes, green beans, corn, olives, and stir fry vegetables in my pantry. I also use canned pumpkin in my daily oatmeal.

When buying canned goods, always try to chose items packed in water instead of syrup or oil. This helps you keep calories in check.

Dry Grains and Legumes

Dried grains and beans are a cheap way to fill out any meal. You can keep these items in the pantry for a very long time. Keep in mind that many dried beans and grains take a while to prepare and may work best cooked in large batches and then saved for later. If time is a concern, you can also buy instant rice or other grains that you can cook quickly in the microwave. Many cooked grains can be frozen and saved for several months.

I always keep bags of oats, jasmine rice, and basmati rice in my pantry. Some of my other favorites include couscous, lentils, and quinoa. You can experiment to figure out which grains and legumes you enjoy and work with your body.

Frozen Foods

The pantry isn’t the only place you can keep food on hand for easy meal prep. I recommend keeping a few key items in your freezer for when you can’t make it to the store or need to fill out your favorite dishes.

First, keep a bag or two of frozen protein that you enjoy. My favorites are chicken breast and shrimp. Most grocery stores now carry a wide range of frozen fish that is often higher quality than what you can grab at their fish counter. If you are concerned about the environment as well as your health, check out http://seafood.edf.org/.

Keeping a few bags of frozen fruits and vegetables in your freezer is also a great idea. Frozen fruits make great additions to smoothies or oatmeal and frozen vegetables can be added to omelets, stir frys or simply popped in the microwave for a quick and easy side dish.

Other Pantry Items

You may notice a few of your favorite items missing from my previous lists. Things like nut butters, honey, dried fruit, pasta, and nuts are staples in many people’s pantries. I encourage you to think honestly about your relationship to these items; for many people, these foods are no better than having candy or cookies lying around the house. People start eating them and aren’t able to stop. If this sounds like you, I recommend keeping these items out of the house. If you don’t have a problem with these foods, feel free to enjoy them sparingly as treats.

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Having a well-stocked pantry and freezer makes it much easier to cook healthy meals that aren’t boring or bland. It also means that you will never be unable to prepare something healthy because you didn’t have time to run to the grocery store. Instead of ordering a pizza when you get home late and don’t have food, you will be able to quickly throw together a healthy meal that tastes great.

Need more help putting together easy homemade meals? Check out Eleven Easy Meal Templates, a totally free PDF guide to creating fast, tasty, nutritious meals without the hassle. Sign up using the box below.

 

Essential Kitchen Tools for Easy Home Cooking

When I was in college and first learning how to cook for myself, it always seemed to take forever to prepare meals. Over time, I learned the importance of having the right kitchen tool for the job. For example, it took me way less time to chop vegetables for scrambled eggs with a nice chef’s knife instead of trying to cut everything with tiny steak knives. This also carried over to the quality of the food I prepared. I didn’t have to suffer dried oven-baked chicken breast anymore once I discovered the wonderful power of the George Foreman grill and the slow cooker. Stocking my kitchen with the appropriate tools made it much quicker and less daunting to prepare healthy, tasty food at home.

Failure to cook most of your own meals is one of the biggest obstacles to healthy eating. For many people, cooking and preparing food is a cumbersome and frustrating process. Even with decent cooking skills, a poorly-stocked kitchen makes meal preparation much more challenging. If you want to make it easier to prepare healthy, home-cooked meals, invest in a few key pieces of equipment. This article gives you my go-to kitchen tools for easier home cooking.

Pots, Pans, and Cooking Utensils

There are three essential pots and pans you can use for all your cooking. The first is a frying pan. This is my go-to pan for day-to-day cooking. Frying pans can be used to scramble eggs, sautée veggies, and make one-pot meals, including stir-frys and curries. You can also use them to cook certain cuts of protein including steaks, seafood, and pork chops. A cast iron pan is especially versatile since you can use it in the oven as well.

Second, you need a large pot and a small pot. Both can be used to steam, boil, or blanch vegetables. I use my small pot to cook grains such as rice, oats, quinoa, and couscous. The larger pot is more versatile, allowing you to make homemade soups or chilis, boil a dozen eggs at once, poach chicken breasts, and more.

Although you can purchase these three items separately, it often makes more financial sense to purchase a pots and pans set. Any store selling housewares (Target, Walmart, Kohls, Amazon, etc.) will carry these. Look at several brands, read reviews online, and choose an option that works best for your budget. Smaller sets are best for those just starting out with cooking or who have limited kitchen space.

You should also purchase one silicon spatula, one silicon ladle, one silicon slotted ladle, and one wooden spoon. These may come with your set of pots and pans or can be purchased in a separate set. These four tools will cover all basic cooking needs.

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Sharp Knife and Cutting Boards

A single, high quality chef’s knife is all you need for most basic kitchen tasks. It is safer and less time-consuming to cut meat and produce with a chef’s knife than a steak knife or another small knife. Chef’s knives can be pricey, so read reviews and find an option that works best for your budget. If you have a larger budget or are a more advanced cook, you can purchase an entire knife set. Just remember that this isn’t necessary for people who just want to make basic, healthy meals.

To keep your preparation space sanitary, you should purchase one cutting board for raw meat and a second cutting board for everything else. Choose the largest cutting boards that fit on your counter so you are not cramped. There is no real advantage to different materials for the beginner cook, so pick the option that works best for your budget.

Slow cooker

The slow cooker is the ultimate appliance for people who want great tasting, healthy food but don’t want to put much effort into cooking. For a delicious dump-and-go meal, add a big hunk of protein, a bit of salt and other spices, some heartier vegetables or legumes such as carrots, onions, potatoes, and beans, and set to low for 8 hours. The long cook time brings out tons of flavor from even the toughest cuts of meat and requires little hands-on time.

If you don’t already own a slow cooker, I recommend splurging for a large size (6 quarts is ideal) that is programmable. Larger sizes allow you to double or triple your recipes, leaving you with plenty of food for leftovers. A programmable slow cooker allows you to put in the ingredients and then leave for a long period of time with peace of mind that your meal won’t be overcooked. This is also a great option for cooking meals overnight.

Grill pan or George Foreman Grill

Indoor grilling is another great way to prepare fast, delicious meals. A grill pan or a George Foreman grill allow you to capture some of the delicious flavor and texture of grilled meat indoors, all year round.

Grill pans are generally made of cast iron and sit on top of your stove. The George Foreman grill is a plug-in countertop appliance that uses a lid to cook both sides of the meat at once. The grill pan has a longer cook time and works better for thick cuts of meat such as steaks and bone-in chops. The George Foreman is a bit faster and is ideal for boneless cuts of meat and burgers. You can use either of these tools to quickly cook large batches of protein. Simply preheat the grill, season the meat, and cook until it hits the desired level of doneness.

There are many different sizes and costs for both grilling options. Be realistic about how much meat you want to cook at once and purchase an appropriate size so you don’t end up extending your prep time because your grill is too small.

Blender

My final appliance recommendation to round out your well-stocked kitchen is a blender. Blenders combine multiple ingredients into smoothies, shakes, sauces, spreads, and soups. Smoothies and protein shakes are an especially valuable time saver for people with hectic mornings. If possible, I recommend investing in a high-end blender as cheap blenders tend to break down with frequent use and end up costing you more in the long run.

Tupperware and Freezer Bags

If you prep large amounts of food, you need a way to store the leftovers or take food on the go. Invest in a high quality food storage set (such as Tupperware or Rubbermaid) for effortless storage and more portable meals. Choose a set with various container sizes that are BPA free and microwave-safe. In addition,  quart and gallon freezer bags are great to freeze leftover meals or raw ingredients to ensure you always have healthy meals available if you can’t make it to the grocery store.

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Cooking at home doesn’t have to be a daunting process. With the right tools and a bit of practice, you’ll have a much easier time navigating your kitchen. You don’t need to spend a ton of money or buy the fanciest model of an appliance. Think about how much space you have, how much you want to spend, and then use online reviews to determine the best option for you.

Appliances are an important piece of the puzzle, but how do you know what food to make? If you’re struggling to come up with easy, healthy, homemade meals, I’ve created a solution I’ll think you’ll love. Eleven Easy Meal Templates is a totally free PDF guide to my go-to meals for busy people. Grab your free copy using the box below.

 

How to Pack Your Lunch

Most of my clients are busy professionals. The biggest nutrition downfall for this group is constantly eating out for lunch. My clients repeatedly tell me about their struggles to find time or inspiration to pack lunches from home and the huge temptation of hundreds of restaurants right outside their office. This often leads them to consume excessive calories, ultimately preventing them from losing weight or feeling their best.

Like all changes to your eating or exercise routine, bringing lunch from home is a habit that requires planning, practice, and consistent execution to master. This article summarizes the benefits of bringing lunch from home and outlines my two favorite approaches to building this habit.

Packing your lunch has several benefits. First, preparing your own food gives you more control over what you eat. You can pack appropriate portions and ensure all of the ingredients in your meal work for your body and your eating plan. This makes it much easier to make healthy choices and avoid temptation. Second, bringing your own lunch can help you save hundreds of dollars over the course of a month. You may be surprised at how quickly the cost of restaurant lunches adds up, especially if you are eating out everyday of the week. Grocery shopping gets you much more bang for your buck.

Meal Templates

Many people want to bring lunches, but struggle to develop the habit of preparing food day after day. There are two ways to make this process easier. The first is to use meal templates to eat similar meals every day.

A meal template provides the basic construction of a meal while allowing some flexibility with individual ingredients. Templates can be based on anything. Some popular ideas center around a type of dish (salad, soup, chili), ethnic cuisines (taco Tuesday, Indian food, Mediterranean food), a particular protein (steak, fish, pork), or a certain method of cooking (slow cooker, Instant pot, sheet pan dinner).  Meal templates help you avoid decision fatigue while still providing diversity to avoid food boredom. The preparation and primary ingredients remain the same as you rotate seasonings, sides, added vegetables, cooking fats, or other minor components of the meal to change up the flavor or character of the dish.

My Favorite Templates

Rather than coming up with a complicated meal plan consisting of different lunches every day, choose one or two meal templates that you enjoy and are easy to put together. I have used two simple meal templates to successfully pack my lunches for years.

The first is a salad. Every salad consists of some kind of chopped lettuce or greens, protein (usually canned chicken, tuna, or salmon or leftover protein from dinners), a variety of chopped vegetables, and a homemade dressing made from an oil, an acid (lemon or lime juice, vinegar, etc.) and seasonings.

The second template I use regularly is grilled protein with steamed vegetables. I use my George Foreman Grill to rapidly cook beef, turkey, or chicken burgers; chicken breasts or thighs; or lean pork chops. I always have a few spice blends in my pantry for easy and delicious seasoning. My vegetable side alternates between steamed broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, asparagus, and carrots.

Both of these meals take minimal time to put together and allow enough variety that I don’t get bored. For example, my favorite salad is inspired by southwestern flavor and includes lime juice, avocado oil, cilantro, red onion, tomatoes, bell pepper, and chicken. Another salad is much sweeter, using spinach, strawberries, mushrooms, red onion, tomatoes, salmon, olive oil, and apple cider vinegar. The preparation time and method for these meals is exactly the same, but they taste very different.

 

Leftovers

Another way to easily pack lunches without a lot of extra effort is to take advantage of leftovers. Instead of cooking just enough food for one dinner, try doubling or tripling the recipe so you have enough food to take for lunch the next day. To maximize your cooking time, consider setting aside an hour or two on the weekend to cook a large dish that you can portion into daily lunches. This works especially well with one-pot dishes like soups, chilis, stews, roasted vegetables, and baked dishes. Grains like rice, oats, and quinoa are also much easier to prepare in large batches.

If you get food boredom easily, repurpose your leftovers into different meals for some variety. I like to use leftover protein in salads and scrambled eggs. You can also add cooked ingredients to sandwiches, soups, pasta, or grain bowls. The possibilities are truly endless if you are creative and open to new food combinations. You may be surprised at what foods work well together as you stumble upon some new favorite lunches.

Lose weight, Save Money, Feel Better

Packing your own lunch is one of the best ways  to improve your eating habits and general health. You will also save money so you can spend more on truly meaningful meals and social outings or enjoy other things in your life.

If you struggle to bring lunch, start by cooking more at one or two dinners each week so you have a couple of leftover lunches. Once you succeed with that, pick a meal template to use for the remainder of the week’s lunches. Don’t be afraid to eat the same things every week or to experiment with totally new dishes and combinations of food. Remember, success with healthy eating requires you to adopt habits you can realistically sustain over the long term.

If you want more practical advice, check out Eleven Easy Meal Templates. I compiled my personal favorite meals into this totally free PDF guide. Sign up using the box below.

 

Master Meal Prep

One of the biggest secrets to successfully losing weight or improving your health is learning to cook your own food.

Constantly eating out at restaurants gives you little control over what and how much food you consume. Restaurants want to make your meal as tasty as possible and often add in a great deal of sugar, fat, and salt, creating dishes that are deceptively high in calories. The official nutritional information published by chain restaurants is helpful, but even these numbers can be inaccurate depending on the individual meal. Eating out every day also rapidly adds up to hundreds of dollars or more spent on food every month.

Cooking more of your food at home can save you both dollars and inches off your waistline. You can spend less money, eat a larger volume of food, prioritize protein and vegetables, and ensure that your food isn’t loaded up with extra sugar and fat. All of these things will help you feel more satisfied, avoid cravings, and make faster progress towards your goals.

Cooking more of your meals can be a difficult habit to form, which is why it’s important to use a system to formulate a plan of attack. In this article, I will outline my step-by-step approach to mastering meal prep. This includes drawing up a weekly meal plan, obtaining fresh ingredients by visiting the grocery store or setting up a delivery service, and then cooking your food in the most efficient manner possible.

Make a plan

The first step to successful meal prep is coming up with a plan. There is simply no way around this, especially if you are new to healthy eating or cooking. You need to spend some time figuring out what you want to eat for all of your meals before you go to the store. This will become easier with practice as you fall into a regular routine and develop a mental library of easy, healthy meals you enjoy.

I recommend repeating meals often for the sake of simplicity. Eating the same meals every day is a great way to keep control of your calories without much extra effort. It also helps reduce your food prep time since you will eventually become very efficient at making these repeat meals. I have personally found a lot of success eating the same breakfast and lunch every day and rotating through 5-10 regular dinner options. This allows me to to minimize daily prep time while still enjoying a variety of healthy, delicious meals in the evening.

If you are the kind of person who gets food boredom easily, you can use templates to add a bit of variety without changing the entire meal. For example, I make a big salad for lunch every day. The salad always contains chicken, salmon, or tuna along with plenty of vegetables and a simple homemade dressing. I can change up the protein, vegetable selections, and dressing for just enough variety from day to day without adding any time to my preparation.

 

 

If you are relatively new to cooking or simply want to expand your arsenal of regular meals, try out one new recipe each week. Look for recipes that are simple and predominantly feature proteins and vegetables. If you aren’t up for following an entire recipe but still want to diversify your cooking, try purchasing one new vegetable or protein source each week. Look up an easy preparation method, such as steaming vegetables or grilling proteins, or add the new food to a dish you are already familiar with such as roasted vegetables, stir fry, or salad. If you like the way the food tastes and it is easy for you to prepare, add it into your regular rotation.

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Credit: iStock 526728754

Once you have created your meal plan, write down all the ingredients you need to purchase. Be specific about the amount of each item you need to avoid food waste.  Do a quick mental inventory of your pantry and write down any items that are running low and may need to be replaced. These items could include oils, vinegar, spices, canned goods, rice, and other dry goods. If you are new to cooking and have a very limited pantry, try buying one new spice or other item each week.

The last step in meal planning is to decide when to eat what. Proteins such as steak and fish should be eaten earlier in the week, whereas pork and chicken typically last longer in your fridge. Certain vegetables and fruits are heartier and will last longer than others. If you know one of your meals takes more time to prepare, be sure to schedule it for a day when your schedule is more relaxed. I recommend purchasing certain items from the frozen aisle to ensure that you will have good food available whenever you need it. Keep a bag of frozen chicken or shrimp and some frozen vegetables in your freezer in case you run out of food and can’t make it to the store. Consider all of these details to ensure your weekly cooking goes as smoothly as possible.

Navigating the grocery store

Now that you have your meal plan, it’s time to hit the grocery store. If you have done the first part of planning well, this step should be relatively easy. However, I find that people often skip the planning stage and head right to the store. This is a huge mistake, especially if you are new to meal prep, prone to impulse junk food purchases, or tend to waste a lot of what you buy. You should always come armed with a list until you are very experienced with meal prep and shopping. A list ensures that you will get the best value for your dollar and gives you a buffer against cravings.

Go through the store, buying everything on your list and nothing more. Most of your purchases should be made from the perimeter of the grocery store where you will find the fresh produce, meat, seafood, eggs, and dairy items. Only venture into the aisles to purchase items you have specifically put on your shopping list. Take special care to avoid aisles that house problem foods for you including chips, candy, soda, and baked goods.

Whenever possible, don’t go to the grocery store on an empty stomach. Your hunger may fuel impulse purchases of junk food or cause you to buy more food than you actually need.

If you absolutely detest shopping or don’t have the time to go to the store, I recommend investing in a grocery delivery service such as Instacart or Peapod. These services allow you to submit grocery lists which are then delivered directly to your house. In addition to saving you time, these services make it more difficult for you to grab that bag of chips or candy bar at checkout.

You might also consider signing up for a meal delivery service for some or all of your weekly meals. These services range from delivering meals that are precooked and just need to be reheated to sending you boxes of ingredients with instructions on how to prepare the meal yourself. Many of my clients use these services with great success. There are many options available, so talk to your friends and do some research to determine which one might be a good fit for you. 

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Credit: iStock 480391926

Get cooking

After you have finished shopping, it’s time to prepare your food for the week. There are two approaches to this process: (1) cook all of your food for the week in one sitting; or (2) prepare one day of food at a time.

If you know your weeks are hectic and you would rather get everything done at once, I recommend setting aside a couple of hours to do all of your planning, shopping, and cooking on the weekend. If your weekends tend to be busier than your weeknights, or if you have a small refrigerator and can’t store a ton of food, prep one day at a time. Either approach can work as long as it fits into your schedule and lifestyle.

There are many tricks you can use to reduce cooking time. Batch cooking is an easy way to prepare many meals at once; it works especially well with dry grains, beans, legumes, and proteins. For example, you can bake several pounds of chicken at once and then divvy it up for individual meals.

If you are making a one-pot dish such as a chili, soup, or stew, try doubling the recipe to leave you with twice the food for the same amount of time and effort. You can also freeze some of these leftovers for quick and easy meals in the future.

The slow cooker is another one of my favorite tools for easy meal prep because it allows you to make a large amount of food with minimal effort. Simply drop in some protein, hearty vegetables, and spices and return several hours later to a delicious and balanced meal. You can also use the slow cooker to batch cook large amounts of protein, grains, and vegetables to eat at various meals throughout the week.

If you are prepping day by day, you can still do some work on the weekend to make each day easier. Try chopping vegetables and storing them in the fridge for easy access for salads, stir frys, and scrambled eggs. Hard boil a dozen eggs for quick breakfasts or snacks. Set aside time every night or morning to do your main cooking for the day. If you can’t find time, consider switching to a weekend prep.

Meal prep your way to better results

Cooking more of your food at home is one of the best ways to take control of your health and weight.

Set up a weekly meal prep ritual that helps you get into a routine of planning, shopping, and cooking more of your meals, and stick with it diligently for several months. It takes time to establish habits and you need to get used to the numerous steps that go into this process. Once you’ve been consistent for a while, you can tweak your process to make it work better for your life. Long-term success depends on these processes becoming automatic so you can eat healthy while devoting your energy and effort to living your fullest life.

If you want some help with meal prep, sign up in the box below to receive Eleven Easy Meal Templates, a totally free guide to my favorite quick, healthy, homemade meals.

How to Make Time for Exercise

Although everyone knows that exercise has innumerable benefits and is an important part of a healthy lifestyle, many people still struggle to fit exercise into their busy schedules or develop a regular exercise routine. This leads to frustration, lack of progress, and the feeling that a healthy lifestyle is an unattainable goal. However, I believe that even the busiest people can establish a sustainable exercise regimen and make progress towards their health and fitness goals. This article provides five key steps to help you successfully make time to exercise.

Be realistic

One of the biggest mistakes people make when trying to develop an exercise routine is committing to too much too soon. While it would be great to be able to work out 5-6 times per week, this simply isn’t realistic for many people, especially if you haven’t been able to exercise regularly for the past few months. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve met with a new client who hasn’t been working out consistently but tells me they now intend to hit the gym everyday after work. How do they expect to complete that many workouts when they have been struggling to do any workouts any at all?

Sit down with your schedule and figure out exactly how much time you have to spare for exercise each week. I recommend a minimum of three hours per week to get started. This can be broken up into 20 or 30 minute sessions if you simply can’t set aside an uninterrupted hour (more on this below). Next, stick to this plan consistently for at least a month. Once you have accomplished this, evaluate whether you have time for more exercise. If you cannot stick to your plan for a full month, scale back in the next month. The goal is to get into a regular routine that you can successfully sustain from week to week. You will make more progress by completing three 30-minute workouts every week for a month than by doing four 1-hour workouts one week but then only exercising twice over the next three weeks.

Be flexible

Many people believe that unless they can get to a gym and workout for a solid hour, they don’t have time to exercise. This couldn’t be further from the truth! You can get a great workout in as little as 15-30 minutes if you keep moving and keep the intensity high. Instead of wasting time on your phone or wandering around aimlessly, make a plan and execute it.

You can also train even if you don’t have access to a gym. Many of my clients travel a lot and can only make it into the gym once a week or even less. I advise these clients to do short workouts in their hotel room first thing in the morning before they run off to meetings or other obligations. Circuits using bodyweight exercises or small pieces of equipment such as bands or a jump rope work perfectly for hotel workouts. Pick 3-5 exercises and complete 2-6 sets of each, keeping the rest intervals short for a quick metabolic burst.

Schedule workouts like meetings

Once you have determined how long and where you will exercise, schedule your workouts in your calendar the same way you schedule meetings, conference calls, appointments, and other activities. Prioritizing your training sessions helps you take ownership of your time and makes it easier to resist distractions and say “no”. If you have established a realistic plan, you will know what time of day works best to train and how long you can actually spare before you are missed by work or family. Emergencies and last-minute obligations may pop up, but more often than not you should stick to those scheduled gym sessions. I generally encourage clients to train as early in the day as possible to avoid last-minute pile-ups or the fatigue that often comes at the end of a busy day.

 

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Seek accountability

Making change and building habits are tough, and having other people help you can make the process much more manageable. There are many ways to add extra accountability to your workouts. Hiring a trainer is a great step for many, especially those who are unfamiliar with exercise, dealing with injuries or chronic pain, or who aren’t sure of the best way to get to their goals. Find a workout buddy for some or all of your sessions; partnership makes workouts more fun and will make you think twice about missing a session since you know that someone else is counting on you to show up. Making a public commitment to your partner, friends, family, or social networks can help you find support, resources, and accountability. Join an online group or forum, sign up for a race, or enter a fitness competition. There are even programs where you are charged a certain amount of money as a penalty every time you miss a workout. Figure out what motivates you and then reach out to others with similar goals or lifestyles to help you stay honest and consistent when your desire to train is low.

Learn to love exercise

Ultimately, you will not be able to stick to an exercise regimen that you don’t enjoy on some level. It saddens me to see how many people still view exercise as a punishment to be endured rather than an activity to challenge yourself, have fun, and celebrate your body and health. Unless you are training for a specific event, do not feel like you are forced to do any one kind of exercise that you hate. Experiment with different modalities and training styles to find something you enjoy. People who hate running may enjoy swimming, biking, or hiking instead. Try taking a dance class, going rock climbing, or enrolling in a circus acrobatics or pole dancing workshop. If you lift weights but are feeling burnt out from always using heavy weights on barbell lifts, try embracing bodybuilding-style training using lighter weights, more volume, and challenging intensity techniques. The possibilities are truly endless if you are creative and open to new things. Above all else, your workouts should be fun!

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A plan that works for you

Regular exercise should be a part of everyone’s life. If you haven’t been working out as much as you would like, take a step back and create a routine that works for your schedule. Set up a realistic and flexible plan, make a commitment, and seek help when needed. Try out different activities to determine what best advances you towards your goals and is enjoyable enough to keep you coming back for more. Remember that your ultimate goal is to make movement a cherished part of your life so you can enjoy good health and independence for many years to come.