Shopping/Meal Schedule

A lot of my meals and shopping trips have a repetitive feel to them, I feel like it is easier this way. I have found a few things that I like and will eat them over and over. This is not to say that I never eat different things or never tweak my diet; I constantly look for ways that I can make my intake more enjoyable and potentially more nutritious.

Shopping Strategy
I eat most of my meals at home because it's cheaper and easier for the diet. I have certain staples that I try to always have at the house to eat as snacks or make meals out of. The way I usually prepare for the week is, unless it is something that can be prepared very quickly, cook a family-sized meal, put it in the fridge, and eat individual portions of the next few days. Here are some things from my typical shopping trips:

• Fresh vegetables such as baby spinach, baby carrots, and broccoli florets. All can be used individually or as part of salads and have very little calories.
• Pickles are good as low calorie snacks.
• A protein for meals such as chicken breast, thigh filets, or turkey sausage.
• Pre-cooked chicken or turkey breast for snacks or to add to salads.
• Cans of low-sodium pinto beans are definitely a staple of my diet and I will usually eat one a day as a low-fat, high-protein option.
• Eggs are a versatile high-protein food that can be eaten alone or as part of a meal.
• Nuts like peanuts and almonds are good snacks but it's important to not eat too much because of their high fat content.
• Coke Zero is my main non-water beverage during the week.
• Frozen vegetables, like stir-fry peppers, to add to my proteins for meals.

Typical Meal Schedule
Here is my typical meal schedule, including what I ate today:

• 8:00 am - Breakfast: Today I had a boiled egg and two links of turkey breakfast sausage (200 total calories). I try to keep my breakfasts high in protein and from 200-300 calories.
• 12:00 pm - Lunch: Today I had Harris Teeter salad bar (Spinach, peppers, carrots, cucumbers, broccoli, grilled chicken breast, a boiled egg, and no-fat, low-calorie dressing. About 400-500 calories). I eat a salad for lunch most days I go to work; I try to have a good bit of protein because it helps me not feel too hungry too quickly.
• 4:00 pm - First Dinner: Today I had a can of pintos (recipe to follow. About 300 calories). Sometimes I will add a salad to this meal as well.
• 8-9:00 pm - Second Dinner: Today I will eat at Hibernian Pub in Cary following my Wednesday 5k. I will eat Hummus with vegetables instead of pita pieces (About 500 calories) and will probably have 2 glasses of red wine (About 300 calories). Most days I eat a portion of the meal that have prepared in fridge.
• Throughout the day when hungry - Snacks: I will eat about an ounce of nuts or some vegetables as snacks between meals (About 200 calories).

So that would put me at about 2000 calories for the day. The wine will put me over where I would really like to be but because it is a once-a-week kind of thing it's certainly okay with me.

So this is my basic plan every day, I eat 4 meals and try to snack sensibly in between when hungry. I definitely eat when I'm hungry, if I had to go any length of time feeling hungry, I don' think that I would be able to stay on a particular diet.