In it for the Long Run

wellness | intuition | curiosity

What I Ate Wednesday: Routine Hacking

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Last week when I shared my latest snacking obsession, the nut butter date aka a deconstructed larabar, I also shared that I had been pretty exhausted. These little beauties were the perfect high energy snack that helped me avoid yet another coffee. But after last week I realized that this pattern of exhaustion from the start to finish of my day wasn’t how I wanted to be going through the week.

Working all day in a foggy distracted haze, snacking and over caffeinated to stay awake, going through the motions at the gym, coming home at 8:30, showering and scarfing down whatever I could throw together quickly without gnawing my arm off first and trying to catch up on blogging left me up until 1pm. Then, I’d wake up around 6am and do it all over again. I wasn’t feeling particularly accomplished at work, with my blogging goals or with my workouts. Why? Lack of focused energy.

In it 4 the Long Run

Then a light bulb went off. By tweaking my daily routine I could harness so much more energy and potential. I needed to evaluate my daily routine and look for areas where I’m productive and where I’m not and plan my day around those times, which is why I decided to start working out before work. Mornings are when I feel inspired, energetic and productive (if I’ve had enough sleep) – but late nights make me cranky, anxious, ravenous and unfocused. Bonus, the sunrises have been a beautiful beginning to my day.

WIAW Vegetarian

So far this week I’ve had so much more energy due to 7-8 hrs of sleep (versus 4-5) and jump starting my morning with a workout. If you’re feeling in funk or you’re just off your game, there’s a good chance that some part of your daily routine isn’t serving you. Maybe it means cutting something out or rearranging parts of your schedule… or maybe you just need some good ol fashion zzz’s – turns out sleep is amazing… whodda thunk?

With a change in my routine, came some adjustments with my daily eats:

Post Workout/Breakfast

1 Scoop of Vega’s Mocha Protein Powder mixed with Coconut Bai & Chocolate Chia Pudding with fresh raspberries & blackberries (my favorites)

WIAW Vegetarian

Lunch

Apple, Strawberry Fig Bar, 3 Brownie Batter Balls (you guyz, I wasn’t going to share the recipe but they’re too good not to! Recipe coming Friday)

WIAW Vegetarian

Dinner

A mountain of arugula, 1/4 acorn squash, zoooooodles, red peppers, tahini tuna (strange but good) topped with almonds, sunflower seeds and hemp seeds

WIAW Vegetarian ‘Zert

1/2 Cup of Fage with a dollop of almond butter & grain free granola (another recipe I can’t wait to share) – I was too lazy to take a pic *emoji monkey covering it’s eyes*

If you like seeing daily eats and enjoy a good food pun let’s be Instagram buddies

Thank you to Jenn, and everyone who’s been hosting this What I Ate Wednesday link up!

Your Turn:

  • Are you an early bird or a night owl? (I’m generally happier in the AM)
  • Do you like to work out in the AM? (I guess I do now!)
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Yup, you know I agree with this! When things aren’t feeling right it’s necessary to tale a step back and readjust/relax/change your routine. Thanks in advance for sharing that brownie batter recipe 😉

  2. Back in February I was facing the same issue with working out in the evening. I was able to give my workouts my all because I was exhausted from my day and after a few weeks of evening workouts, I just wasn’t feeling it. I made the switch back to morning workouts and although it is tough getting out of bed so early when it is so dark, I instantly feel so much better when I have my workout done before 8am! I think it is so important to look at our routine and change whatever isn’t suiting us.

  3. I feel ya girl, I have definitely hit a similar wall. Kudos to you for listening to your body and adjusting as needed! And I have to say, I am totally a morning workout person. It’s the BEST way to start the day…if I don’t do it within an hour of waking up I won’t at all!

  4. Speaking of waking up early and early morning workouts…I woke up at 5:30 AM, chugged some coffee, and hit the pavement for a awesome 45 minute run. Instead of dilly dallying and making excuses, I knew I should just do it, cause I had the energy, and I felt GOOD. Early mornings and workouts are my JAM! And yes seeing the sunrise is always a added bonus!

  5. Interesting! I was a morning workout-er through and through but lately I have been doing evening workouts. I don’t want to butt in where I’m unwanted but the afternoon brain fog could be due to food choices earlier in the day (depleted glucose to brain). Good for you for changing things up to what serves you best

    • Oo interesting! Thanks for the tip – I also know that the amount I use screens for my job (and personally) is a big contributor to being unfocused and distracted (I have about 10 tabs open at all time) I’ve noticed when it comes to weight lifting I prefer to do it in the afternoon but cardio is easier in the AM – thanks for stopping by Amy <3

  6. I do like working out in the morning better since I usually have a little afternoon slump where I’m really tired in the afternoons. It’s funny that you wrote about this today because I’ve been thinking about how I really need to make some changes in my routine. I’m in a cycle of not getting enough done in the afternoons because I’m tired and then having to stay up too late to finish everything I need to get done…so it never ends!

    • I can totally relate – I find that afternoons are my least productive times of day – I’m usually very fuzzy or hangry or distracted. Sometimes if I have the time I’ll try to go for a walk with no distractions just to clear my head.

  7. yum that salad looks so good! squash is my favorite vegetable but i don’t have it nearly enough.
    definitely am a morning person, but i prefer to exercise in the afternoon/evening otherwise i don’t have time to eat before a morning workout!

    • Isn’t squash great? It’s definitely not easy fitting so much into a morning (even before work) I’ve found that I can do cardio without eating, but if I’m weightlifting I definitely want some food in me before.

  8. While routines can be good, sometimes it’s easy to fall into the monotony of things – I can totally relate! Starting an office job post-grad sort of put me in this position – sometimes it takes a few re-evaluations to get it right! Sleep is definitely an important factor though – our bodies are so smart at telling us when it’s time to rest.

    I’m for sure a morning person – and love morning workouts. For some reason my body is just programmed to want to sleep after the sun sets, haha – mornings help me get productive! Sometimes I don’t even set an alarm. Hope the morning workout routine will give you some positive energy for the rest of the day!

    P.S. Tahini tuna though – YUM!

    • As much as I crave routine I know how important (for me) it is to break it once and a while and be open to spontaneity. I’m working on being more mindful throughout the day because otherwise time goes by so fast and it feels like you’re on autopilot.
      And yeah, cannot get enough tahini lately!

  10. I love this! I recently tweaked my routine to become more of a morning person, for blogging. I feel like I have a clear head in the morning. I try to do my workouts in the afternoon if I can because I feel like it’s when I have the most energy!

  12. I’m ALLLL about those morning workouts, I hit the struggle bus in the afternoons and can usually find no motivation. In the mornings I’m usually envisioning the awesome breakfast I’m going to reward myself after I workout and it usually is enough motivation for me:)
    PS I’m excited for your brownie protein ball recipe! Happy Thursday!

  15. I can totally relate to you! A while back I decided that I needed to make the most of the part of the day when I’m most alert and productive…mornings! My brain seriously shuts off after 8 PM so now I save my mind-less activities for the evening and crank out the more intense-I-need-a-working-brain-to-accomplish-this activities in the mornings:)