THE LEAN BODY COOKBOOK & MEAL PLANNING GUIDE THE GET IN SHAPE GIRL
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Before we dive into how you can use these recipes as a meal plan, let’s talk more about nutrition....
BMR.
NUTRITION
Let’s talk about how many calories your body needs in a day to stay fueled. BMR = Basal metabolic rate. We all have one. It’s different for each person based upon their age, weight, height and sex. I just calculated mine on http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/ and it is 1363.25. That’s how many calories I need to consume each day just to be alive. Then you use the Harris Benedict Equation which is based upon how many calories (approximately) you expend each day. You get to pick between five choices, Sedentary, Lightly Active, Moderately Active, Very active, or Extra Active. What each means is on BMI-Calculator.net, where I chose Very Active. It tells me to multiply my BMR (1363.25) by 1.725. 1363.25 x 1.725 = 2351 2351 is the number of calories I expend each day including my activity. Even working out is included in that. Now, there is a ton of controversy on what to do here. Many people will reduce their expended calories by 500 a day to lose 1 pound a week, based on the idea that if you burn 3500 calories, you lose 1 pound. But it doesn’t always work so perfectly. Imagine a girl with low, 15% body fat, who weighs 110 pounds reduces her calories by 500 a day for 20 weeks, do you think she is going to weigh 90 pounds? Probably not. It’s not exactly perfect. But based on this idea, the max number of calories I recommend reducing your daily deficit to is 500. If you burn 2500 calories a day, but you only eat 1500 you are going to feel tired, your immune system will not function at a high level, neither will your brain, your reaction time slows, your digestive system slows, so does your metabolism.
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If your primary goal is fat loss, let’s say you are around 35% body fat and you weigh 200 pounds, yes, your primary goal is truly fat loss, that deficit will help you quite a bit. But, if you are already 19% body fat and you weigh 135 pounds and you are trying to see visible abs, your focus should not be eating in that deficit, but instead, eat around what you are burning each day (or perhaps more) and focus on building muscle - that will help you lose fat and the more muscle you build, the more visible muscle you will have. If you reduce, reduce reduce you will eventually not be able to take anything else away, risk damaging your metabolism, won’t be able to build muscle and force your body to store fat to survive. You will see that I have included the calorie count for every recipe in this book. Take those into consideration and make sure you eat enough, but you don’t overeat. The most important thing is not necessarily the quantity of calories you eat anyway, it’s the quality...
Macronutrients/ Tracking Your Food. Before diving into the details the term macronutrients refers to what makes up your food, protein, carbohydrates and fat. A lot of people are really into macronutrient timing and getting a certain percentage of each macronutrient. Some women feel really good when they have moderate protein (maybe around 30% of your food coming from protein), low - moderate fat (20 - 25% or so) and high carbs (45 - 55%.) But some women feel really good having moderate/ high
protein (around 40%), high fat (40%-ish) and low carbs (20%-ish.) It’s really about trial and error. one thing for a week or two and your body feels. Do you have Are you losing fat? How is your performance?
You try see how energy? workout
I cant recommend one way over another for you because it’s your body and we are all different. I also want to make another quick note about counting calories and counting macros. There are various apps and websites that can be used to track your food to see what you are eating. I think this can be eye opening to do on occasion. I also think it’s helpful for someone if they are trying to get to the bottom of something. For example I would have a client track for a few days if their fat loss stalled. Perhaps we could find out if they were eating enough, not getting enough protein, etc. Aside from that, don’t over complicate things. Tracking all the time can become cumbersome and make you become obsessive. That’s not healthy either.
Protein is your friend. We need protein to help build muscle in our body. As you increase muscle, you will decrease fat, thus making your overall size smaller. When you exercise, specifically strength train, you break down your muscular tissue in your body and to get stronger or build muscle, that tissue must repair and protein helps aid this process. It also digests pretty slowly keeping you full longer, it is not very easily stored as fat,
and you know how you feel sore when you lift a lot? It helps you not feel so sore. The absolute minimum of protein your body needs each day is 1g/pound of body weight. Anything over this is considered a “high protein diet” which is fine, but it means you absolutely must be flushing your kidneys with extra water. We will discuss this later. Foods that you want to get protein from: fish, red meat, poultry, egg, egg whites, dairy (cottage cheese, greek yogurt and milk), casein and whey protein.
Don’t fall for the anti-carb rumors. Your body needs carbohydrates to function! But not all carbohydrates are the same. The rate at which they are digested is extremely important here. Simple sugars are digested the fastest, which are honey and fruit. Dextrose, which is table sugar, comes second fastest. And the slowest digested sugar is found in vegetables and starches form whole grains. This also includes lentils
and beans. The amount of fiber in these slow digesting carbs also slows down the process further. So when you hear about the Glycemic Index (GI) this is what I’m talking about. Fruits/ honey will be high high high! And veggies, oats, beans, etc will be lower. I generally think of carbs in two or three different categories: simple sugars/ starches, fruit and vegetables. Simple sugar/ starches being potatoes (all kinds), rice, oats, grains: This would include, but not limited to: pasta, whole wheat pasta, white bread, wheat bread, sprouted grain bread, brown rice, white rice, sweet potatoes, white potatoes, potato chips, oatmeal, corn, corn flakes, cereal, rice cakes, cake, cupcakes, donuts, waffles, rice crispy treats, ok, now I’m getting hungry so I will stop. Fruits: Dates, figs, cherries, watermelon, cantaloupe, grapes, tomatoes, cucumbers, bananas, mangoes, berries, pineapple, apples, pomegranate, oranges, grapefruit, etc.
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Batch cook. Each week many women batch cook lots of food on Sundays. This makes life easy through the week to grab your meals and take them on the go. You could batch cook everything from your breakfast, snacks and lunch for the week to even prepping dinners ahead of time. Here are my batch cooking recommendations: • Keep frozen veggies on hand • Slice up veggies each week so you can fresh cucumber, carrots, peppers, etc. to snack on • When cooking dinner make enough for leftovers the next day • Hard boil 1 - 2 dozen eggs each week depending on how many you eat • Grill/bake/fry/ boil 2 - 3 chicken breasts, ground beef or turkey, then measure and place into separate containers to add to salads • Pre-measure nuts/ oats/ fruits for each serving and place in separate containers • If you are very busy and have little time for breakfast, make one of the breakfast recipes in a large batch so you have enough to bring to eat on the go • I will make sure to note which of the recipes in this cookbook are ideal for batch cooking
Other. Vinegars, stevia, mustard, Bragg’s liquid aminos, coconut aminos, real extracts, tomato sauce (no added salt), hot sauce, ketchup (no high fructose corn syrup or
sugar), lime, lemon juice, spices, herbs are fine unlimited.
time adding mass. I like Xtend which you can get here.
Tea, seltzer and coffee anytime. Unsweetened nut milk (unflavored) are fine anytime.
• Nordic Naturals fish oil. This is what I use.
Dark chocolate is 70% of higher cacao. Also, another good “dessert” idea is 1 T 100% cacao powder, 1tsp/ packet stevia, 1 cup unsweetened coconut milk. These are pre-emptive cheats. If you are having a craving, this is a much better decision to have this than go overboard. These don’t count toward your treats or cheats as long as they are kept to a minimum.
Supplements. The supplements you choose to use are 100% up to you. I am a big fan of eating real food and supplementing lightly, where needed. For example, right after a workout I don’t want to eat eggs, so I choose to go with protein powder. You can pick and choose which ones you feel may benefit you. This blog explains the benefits of each in more depth, here. • For whey protein, I recommend About Time use GISG for 25% off. I recommend this post workout only unless you are in a pinch. • Casein protein. You will see it in some of the recipes and this is to be used for after dinner snacks as it is slow digesting. I recommend About Time use GISG for 25% off. • Branch chain amino acids (aka BCAA’s). I definitely recommend these for women who do AM fasted workouts, and also for those who are lean and have a harder
• Multi-vitamin daily. This is what I use. • Probiotics daily. This is what I use. • Apple cider vinegar 2 - 3 times daily. This is what I use.
A Few Important Notes. Most importantly, don’t over complicate things. If it isn’t processed and came from the earth (like beef or an apple) it is good for you. Eat it. Try to keep the processed foods like ice cream and fast food to a minimum. Listen to your body. Even if you worked out way earlier that day but all you can think about is eating a loaf of bread, a huge bowl of pasta or an entire cake, have some sweet potato - your body is asking for carbs! And if you are hungry, EAT! Your muscles need fuel. I’ve tried to follow meal plans perfectly for years only to realize that if I just listen to my body it will tell me what I need. When creating a meal plan for a new client I generally think of some of the following things as absolutes... • There will be protein eaten at every meal. • There will be veggies eaten in unlimited portion at every meal possible. I know eating sauteed kale with your greek yogurt and berries as a mid-morning snack doesn’t sound awesome, but make sure you have them at breakfast, lunch and dinner at minimum.
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BREAKFAST
BACON & EGG MUFFINS These are excellent for an on-the-go breakfast or a snack anytime in the day. But if you have just hit the weights make sure you add some sweet potato here. Or if you are getting ready to workout have a little fruit because they are very low-carb. However they include veggies, are moderate fat, have lots of protein so they are perfect if they aren’t right before/ after a workout. Perfect for batch cooking.
Ingredients:
Nutrition:
• 12 large eggs
• *2 Muffins per serving*
• 12 pieces nitrate free, uncured bacon
• Cals – 258
• 1/2 cup red pepper, diced
• Carbs – 3g
• 1/2 cup green pepper, diced
• Fat – 17g
• 1/2 cup red onion, diced
• Protein – 41g
Directions: Preheat over to 350 degrees. Cook bacon your favorite way, I fry it then set it on paper towels to let all the grease soak off the bacon before I crumble it up. Place liners in each of the muffin cups. Beat eggs in a medium bowl, adding the rest of the ingredients and mixing. Pour mixture into muffin cups. Bake for 18 - 20 minutes.
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ENERGY SHAKE
(EVERYTHING AND THE KITCHEN SINK) This shake is awesome because it has casein AND whey protein. Plus a serving of veggies and fruit for tons of long-lasting energy. You may not like or feel comfortable using fat free dairy here and you can certainly use 1 or 2% cottage cheese rather than fat free, but I chose to use fat free for this recipe so as to not add any fat to make for quicker digestion for a snack after a workout. Also, this would not substitute your PWO whey protein shake. I would still have that while stretching at the gym then come home and make this rather than a salad, for example.
Ingredients:
Nutrition:
Directions:
• 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
• *Makes 1 serving*
• 1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder
• Calories – 263
Add all ingredients to blender and blend.
• 1/2 banana (best frozen)
• Carbs – 26g
• 1/2 cup FF cottage cheese
• Fat – 5g
• 1/2 cup spinach leaves
• Protein – 32g
• 1/4 cup raspberries (best frozen) • Ice
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SWEET POTATO PANCAKES These are very portable and have come with me on several trips out of town for breakfast. They are also a perfect postworkout snack since they have lots of carbs and protein. I imagine these to be something I would want to bring with me if I were going away for a weekend and was gonna workout on my trip or something to take with me to snack on during a Crossfit competition to keep me fueled.
Ingredients: • 2 whole eggs • 4oz sweet potato, cooked • 1/2 cup plain 2% greek yogurt • 1/2 tsp liquid stevia • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract • 1/2 tsp baking soda • 1/2 tsp baking powder • Cinnamon to taste
Nutrition: • *Makes 1 serving* • Cals – 270 • Carbs – 30g • Fat – 7g • Protein – 23g
Directions: Mix in a food processor or by hand, thoroughly, until even. Separate into 2 - 4 pancakes, depending on how many you want, just make sure they are no more than a half inch thick to begin because they will take longer to cook through. Place on frying pan over medium heat and cook 3 - 4 min before carefully flipping onto the other side. You may have to flip 2 more minutes on each side to ensure they cook all the way through.
SAMPLE MEAL PLANS
***These are just starting off points for how you can incorporate these recipes into your meal plan. These are just examples and aren’t created specifically to you or your needs but hopefully they will help you get started.***
SAMPLE PLAN DAY 1 Plan:
Totals:
• Breakfast - Bacon and Egg Muffins Cals - 258, Carbs - 3g, Fat - 17g, Protein, 41g
• Cals - 1796
• Snack 1 - Turkey Rollups, .5 oz almonds Cals - 334, Carbs - 17g, Fat - 17g, Protein - 30g
• Fat - 73g
• Carbs - 125g • Protein - 183g
• Lunch - 1 - 2 cups kale, 8 cherry tomatoes, 0.5 cup cucumber, 3.5oz chicken breast, 1 tbsp olive oil Cals - 333, Carbs - 19g, Fat - 18g, Protein - 28g • Snack 2 - Vanilla Berry Greek Yogurt Cals - 231, Carbs - 30g, Fat - 0g, Protein - 27g WORKOUT • Post-Workout Snack* - 1 serving About Time whey protein and 4oz sweet potato Cals - 203, Carbs - 24g , Fat - 0g, Protein - 29g • Dinner - Spinach and Cranberry Stuffed Chicken Breast and 2 cups steamed broccoli
Cals - 437, Carbs - 32g, Fat - 21g, Protein - 28g
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kyra Williams has not always been known as The Get in Shape Girl. She used to be quite the opposite in fact. Through college Kyra was very unhealthy - living off of pizza and beer, and post-college her weight was as high as 160+ pounds due to total inactivity. One day it clicked, and she knew it was time to lose the weight. Since then, Kyra has never looked back and has fallen so in love with all things fitness that she has made it her life’s work to help others make the changes necessary in their lives to become fit, active and healthy. Kyra, AKA The Get in Shape Girl is a self employed, NASM certified online personal trainer and nutrition expert, USA Weightlifting Coach and has written two cookbooks and a 12 Week Workout Plan available for purchase online. www.thegetinshapegirl.com Facebook Twitter Instagram