Day 11 of 25 Days of Fitness: Coach Jen’s Fat-Loss Journey Part 2 (and FREE Menu Planner)

By Jennifer Pittman

It’s been a little over a month since I last checked in with everyone and, let me just say, I feel great!!! After employing some basic fat-loss lifestyle methods (like pre-emptive eating and efficient exercise) I’ve learned that TRUE body change comes from adapting a sustainable and flexible lifestyle.

Fat loss and fitness are not painted in just a “black and white” portrait. It takes many tries, achievements and failures to figure out what works best for your “fat-loss formula”.

This journey is about learning what works for YOU!

Getting “down & dirty” coaching our Bikini Bootcamp sisters @ NB Gymnastics!

Here’s my progress measurement update…

Almost 4 inches lost and 5lbs down!  That’s 5lbs and 4 inches that are NOT going to return thanks to smart hormonal nutrition and efficient, weight bearing exercise. AND, this occurred during the Thanksgiving feasting season…so I’m pretty happy with those numbers! 🙂

As I’m still very much in the “learning” and/or “detective” phase of my fat-loss journey, I’ve got to say that I’ve learned quite a bit about myself over the past 6 weeks.

For instance, I realized that I actually LIKE working out in the morning….excuse me??? What was that??? YES, you heard me right – I LIKE early AM workouts! They set me up with a positive mentality for the day. And, I find that I have more energy to tackle my busy days; rather than before, when triathlon training took up 2+ hours of my evening (BLARG!). I have more free time, have seen more results and work out less than any of my previous fitness routines. Awesome!!!

Something else I found out about myself is that I need to plan my weekly meals in order to stay on track with my nutrition.

This is something I used to mentally employ; but I never actually wrote down what I planned on eating for the week. This led me to more cheats than were necessary and excessive fat gain.

Demonstrating some “efficient” exercise moves during a Bikini Bootcamp session

If I had only one tip/trick to give to our fellow BeyondFit sisters, it would be to plan your weekly meals!

Please take note that I’m not just talking about planning what you’re going to have for dinner. I’m talking about planning every morsel of food you anticipate eating for the week – breakfast, snacks, lunches and dinners. Even if you don’t follow your weekly menu plan verbatim every week, you still have a guideline to go by that will help keep you on track. During these past 6 weeks, planning my meals has been the biggest help to me in learning how to make the fat-loss lifestyle sustainable and something that I can practice for life. My guess is it will work positively for you too! ☺

Since weekly meal planning has been such a huge contribution to my motivation for success, I wanted to share a FREE weekly menu planning template with you…

FREE Weekly Menu Planning Template: click HERE to download!

It’s super easy to fill out and will take only about 10 minutes of your time. Plan your menu the week before, write out your grocery list and you’ve already taken the steps necessary for further success!

I usually fill my menu out on Friday, grocery shop on Saturday and meal prep for the week on Sunday. Keep in mind that your meals don’t have to be complicated. Actually, the easier, the better!

Wanna see an example of what MY week’s menus looks like?

Click here!  You’ll notice that I eat a lot of the same things over and over throughout the week; and that’s OK! I like sliced apples and boiled eggs, so I eat sliced apples and boiled eggs. Use the KISS method (Keep It Simple Sister) and you won’t have a problem thinking of things to eat.

Actually, the more I plan my weekly menu, the more creative I get with recipes and snack combos!

Please drop us a line on our Facebook page or comment below to let us know how you plan your menu for the week.

I hope you enjoy your FREE weekly menu planning template and keep your eyes open for more nutritional menus and plans from us in the near future!

Until next time…
Xoxo, Coach Jen 🙂