So I posted this in my journal, but will cross-post here since it's relevant, too.
With the exception of going out on dates, I am going to try to eat out of my pantry for the duration of this month.
What I will buy if I run out:
• Frozen Fruit
• Almond Milk
I have a ton of:
• Frozen Chicken (~10)
• Frozen Beef Patties (~8)
• Frozen Turkey Burgers (3)
• Black bean spaghetti, edamame spaghetti, and red lentil penne
• Regular Pasta
• Protein Powder
• Eggs
• Bacon
• Parmesan cheese
• Artichoke hearts (marinated)
• Palmini
• Riced cauliflower
• Frozen Spinach
• Potatoes
I have been intermittent fasting 24-40h per week. I’m also down about 10lbs this year so far (yay!).
I honestly think that this is plenty of food for me for a month, especially excluding date nights out. I’ve been eating a lot of smoothies for breakfast/dinner since it’s an easy way to get protein in.
I have been really bad about eating leftovers, so the focus will be to only make 1-2 meals at a time so the food is fresher and I’m more likely to eat it. This results in more cooking, but also less food/$ waste.
It's been going well so far. I've cooked a bunch of chicken-pesto black-bean spaghetti which I'm eating for lunches this week, I've been doing smoothies and/or coffee for breakfast, and a lot of chicken salad for dinner. It's nice to have something protein-packed ready to go, and it's also nice to not spend a ton of money on groceries. My instant pot helps a lot with this since I can cook chicken breast from frozen in about 35 minutes and then shred it up for salad.
On the exercise side of things, I've been really consistent. I've been going 4-5 times per week and have switched my cardio from treadmill to stationary bike. This is easier on my knees but I've noticed I can also consistently put forth more effort on the bike, which means more calories burnt and better results.
I haven't weighed myself in a few days so I'll make sure to do that soon, too. I feel like I'm holding pretty steady around 130, and I'll probably fast again for 24-36h at some point this week to try to break that plateau as well. For now I am trying to ensure that I'm hitting 100g protein per day, it's not as easy as I thought it'd be! But the smoothies have been helping to supplement (1/2 banana, 1-1.5c almond milk, 1 scoop protein = 240 cal/27g protein).
Hope everyone's having a good week so far! 3 weeks left to go!