Two-A-Days Make Me Hungry

The key to successfully completing two workouts each day is to make sure you are getting enough food and sleep.Skipping meals is a horrible habit to get into and not only messes up your daily schedule but also impedes any progress you might be making in the gym. Same goes for sleep, if you're not getting enough your body won't have enough time to recover and you'll begin to feel sluggish. This is not the time to reach for a coffee (or energy drink or caffeine pills or whatever your personal preference is) this is the time to take a nap! All the caffeine will begin to negatively effect your body and take a serious toll on your health. I've had a friend who had to be hospitalized for kidney failure because he had too many energy drinks each day. As a freshman in college I pulled too many all-nighters and ended up completely dependent upon my three daily lattes. Trust me when I say it's so much easier to just get some sleep!

Food is the other major ingredient in pushing your body to harder workouts. Lucky for me I'm already eating enough to not have to worry about it as I begin to double my workouts. Lately I've been eating like a hobbit with breakfast, mid-morning snack, lunch, two afternoon snacks, dinner, and occasionally a small (healthy) dessert, too. These are not huge meals, mind you, but smaller portions which are high in nutrients and typically made up of fruits, veggies, and lean meats. Yogurts and cheeses also make up a large selection of what I eat during the day.

A Hobbit's Eating Schedule - not far off from my own

 I start each morning off with a smoothie made from frozen berries and Greek yogurt. My coworkers are convinced I dump some sort of magical energy powder into them as well but there's honestly no need! The frozen berries are sweet and full of natural vitamins and energy boosters. The Greek yogurt provides my first serving of protein for the day and helps to create the right consistency I like in my smoothies. I pour the mix into a tumbler to tote around with me and it keeps me full for several hours.

I make sure to pack a handful of nuts or high fiber cereal to munch on through out the work day, too. I like to have extra food with me just in case I end up somewhere unexpected.

I eat a smaller meal for lunch since I'm pretty busy during the day and stopping for a full meal is typically reserved for the weekends. So, lunch is usually made up of left-overs from whatever I had for dinner the night before. This usually includes some sort of lean meat, a serving of veggies and some sort of carb (either pasta or bread).

Today's lunch was leftover spinach ravioli and flank steak

I get hungry again around three and that's when I have my go-to apple and cheese combo. This is essentially the easiest thing to prepare ever and a fantastic source of protein as well as a high-energy snack. When I'm travelling this is also something I always try to pick up at grocery stores since it can be found regardless of what city or country I might be in and can be a great substitute for any meal on the go.

Dinner is around 6pm at my house and those meals are the ones that get switched up most often. We might have enchiladas one night and beef stew the next. Being able to experiment in the kitchen makes it easier to find healthy options that everyone will like.