Camping usually means camp fires and roasted marshmallows. Not for this girl, this time. I love marshmallows and bacon. So this weekend was a tough one with all the wonderful marshmallow and bacon smells in the air at the campground.
As many of you know, I am married to a firefighter. A firefighter’s summer is extremely unpredictable. Many seasons go by where I barely see my husband. This year we were lucky enough to find a mini vacation weekend away this July. We recently purchased a used travel trailer, and both of us wanted to get out of town before the fire season unpredictability took over the rest of the summer.
We made the decision, found the weekend, and I got on the internet in search of a place close enough and yet far enough to take the trailer for the weekend. We wanted somewhere with lake water so we could do some paddle boarding. Well, when you decide to book a trailer location two weeks before your travel dates in the middle of the summer, your selections are minimal. I found one trailer reservation on the North Shore of Lake Almanor; so, I booked it.
As many of you know, I am in the middle of prep with less than four weeks to go before stepping on stage. If you have ever camped or stayed somewhere in your travel trailer, you know what sort of food goes into packing for the weekend. Chips and salsa, cookies, bacon and eggs, hamburgers; things like that. I can’t eat most of this right now as I am so close to the show.
This weekend was important for both of us. We needed a weekend away from the house, just the two of us. We wanted to get away together to be bored together, talk to each other, paddle board, explore, and drive each other crazy. We did all these things and ate well. Going away like this doesn’t mean that my meal plan went out the window. It did take careful planning ahead.
I prefilled my meals for the full day we were up there. This helped me stay on track and pack the trailer. If you are trying to stay on track, eat healthy, or lose weight, you MUST track your food. As I mentioned last week, I use My Fitness Pal. My coach sets all my macros every week. I can eat whatever I want as long as it fits within my macro goals. This doesn’t mean go crazy. What it does is give me the freedom to enjoy the lake experience while on prep.
Here is what my weekend looked like.
Friday:
I ate my usual breakfast of egg whites and toast. I vary the amount of egg whites based on my protein intake for the rest of the day. I add a half a tablespoon of butter to my toast. Right now, I am loving the Trader Joe’s thin sliced organic multigrain bread for toast. It’s got a great flavor. I sometimes add cottage cheese to my breakfast. Today was that day. Macros for the meal: Protein 37 g, Carbohydrates 30.2 g, Fat 10.5 g.
After my workout and as I was packing up the rest of the food for the weekend, I snacked on Trader Joe’s Just Chicken (2.5 oz)and 190 g of broccoli.
I premeasured my meal for lunch as I was preparing the rest of the weekend’s food and put it in the trailer fridge for our arrival. Lunch was Trader Joe’s Just Chicken (3.8 oz), Trader Joe’s Shaved Brussels Sprouts (70 g), green beans (200 g), some romaine lettuce topped with Panera Poppyseed dressing (literally, one of my personal all-time faves, 12 g). Yes, I definitely measure dressings and salsas. Important not to skip this step. Macros for the meal: Protein 36.3 g, Carbohydrates 15 g, Fat 1.9 g.
We cooked up some ground beef, added some taco seasoning and had tacos for dinner. I had 4.1 ounces of beef with a tortilla. I found some great Organic Flour Tortillas from Trader Joe’s, added some of my other new favorite from Trader Joe’s, the Reduced Guilt Chunky Guacamole, and added a salad on the side with poppyseed dressing and a touch of salsa. Macros for the meal: Protein 28.3 g, Carbohydrates 30.1 g, Fat 15.3 g.
I also added some Chobani Greek yogurt as two of my snacks. I have a sweet tooth and this yogurt keeps that sweet tooth satisfied. Each Chobani Greek yogurt with fruit on the bottom has 16 g of Carbohydrates, 11 g of Protein and 0 g Fat.
Saturday:
Same breakfast – egg whites, toast with a little butter. I love adding spices to my egg whites. I love the Everything but the Bagel spice and a little pepper. Macros for the meal: Protein 34.8 g, Carbs 26.3 g, Fat 8.5 g
Lunch looked similar to the day before. Just Chicken, romaine lettuce, green beans, and broccoli. Macros for the meal: Protein 41.7 g, Carbs 25.9 g, Fat 2.7 g
For dinner we served up hamburgers, no buns with a giant salad on the side. I added some more green beans, and a fat-free Thousand Island dressing to my salad, which also topped my burger along with dill pickle mustard. Macros for the meal: Protein 28.6 g, Carbs 16.6 g, Fat 13.4 g
My snacks on Saturday consisted of 80 g of a banana, Chomps Turkey Sticks, and of course Chobani yogurt and nonfat vanilla Greek yogurt from Trader Joes.
Sunday:
Breakfast was very similar again, but I added 1 ounce of pork breakfast sausage we had cooked a couple of days earlier. This added more fat to the meal and was a delicious break from the norm. Since we were camping, I smelled bacon all over the place. This helped satisfy the craving for a large breakfast filled with fats. I also knew that since we would be home Sunday afternoon, I could eat a few extra fat grams early in the day and avoid heavy fats at home. Eating ground beef and pork sausage adds fat quickly. Macros for the meal: Protein 41.7 g, Carbs 26.3 g, Fat 15.4 g
We were home before lunch. I made another great big salad with the rest of the Just Chicken wrapped up in a tortilla with reduced guilt guacamole. Yum!
Getting home is nice. I have everything I need here to keep on track. I admit that I do travel everywhere with pre-measured meals or my food scale. This strategy helps me stay focused. It might take me a little longer to prepare my meal, but I know in the end it’s going to be worth it. I am less than four weeks out. There’s no cheating or sidestepping the plan now. Next step, waiting for my new suit to come in. See you next week!