Ultimate Portion Fix – Plan C Meal Plan (with container counts)

May 23, 2019May 24, 2019 mumnstuffLeave a comment

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I just completed my 21 days of Ultimate Portion Fix (UPF) partnered with the 21DF Extreme workouts, and I’m hooked! I feel so much better and healthier. I haven’t been perfect in terms of sticking to the eating plan, but I have cleaned up my eating significantly and cut way back on processed food. I’m so glad to be back in the swing of Beach Body programs again, and back in my fit life.

Here are my results from the first 21 days:

Starting Point, 5 weeks Postpartum:
- Waist: 34.7″, Hips: 36.5″
Mid-point, 6.5 weeks Postpartum:
- Waist: 32.5″, Hips: 34.5″
“End” Point, 8 weeks Postpartum:
- Waist 32″, Hips: 34.5″
Weight: Lost 3lbs (but feel much more toned, added muscle)

I’m happy with the inches lost around my midsection, but more so I’m happy with how I feel – I feel healthier, stronger and determined to continue!

Now, I’m planning to continue with the Ultimate Portion Fix eating plan but move on to other workouts, I’m not sure which workout program I’ll tackle next, but this week I’m going to just do a variety from different trainers all on Beachbody on Demand. Monday I did the ‘Obsessed with Fix’ and it was an awesome workout, Tuesday I did T25 Cardio and it was killer!

Now, back to the meal plan. I really wanted to streamline this week, since I only have a couple weeks before I have to go back to work! I will have very little time to plan, prep and cook meals at that point – so I’m getting back into that mode. Rather than picking recipes to make, I just went for staples.

Here’s the food I bought for each of the container categories this week, and this will feed myself, my husband and our 2 yo for the week (and technically my baby girl too since she is nursing).

Red Container (Protein)
- Eggs
- Siggis Yogurt (low in sugar, high in protein!)
- Orgain PB Protein Powder
- Turkey Bacon
- Ground Turkey
- Boneless, Skinless Chicken Thighs
- Ricotta Cheese
- Whole Chicken
- Tonnino Tuna – yes this tuna is expensive, and yes it is worth it! I stock up whenever I find it on sale
Purple Container (Fruits)
- Mandarin Oranges
- Strawberries
- Blueberries
- Bananas
- Apples
- Lemon and Lime
Green Container (Veggies) – this list is the longest because we’ll eat more veggies than anything else!
- Brussel Sprouts
- Asparagus
- Broccoli
- Cucumber
- Golden Beets
- Bell Pepper
- Bok Choy
- Radish
- Celery
- Carrot
- Spaghetti Squash
- Red Onion
- Cherry Tomatoes
- Tomato Sauce (not pictured)
Blue and Orange Containers and Teaspoons (Healthy Fats)
- Blue:
  - Feta
  - Almonds
  - Walnuts
  - Shredded Monterey Jack Cheese
- Orange:
  - Olive Oil (to make healthy salad dressings) – can also be used as teaspoon for cooking
- Teaspoon:
  - Fresh Ground Peanut Butter
  - Butter (not pictured)
Yellow Container (Healthy Carbs)
- Sweet Potato
- Oats
- 16 Grain Bread
- Quinoa
- Whole Wheat English Muffins

I am the only one in my house who eats wheat bread, my husband and son go for white bread and pasta. So I freeze at least half of the bread and english muffins when I get home from the store – they freeze really well and this way I don’t waste any!

My prep plan of attack –

Saturday:
- Chopped a bunch of veggies (radish, cucumber, celery, carrots, pepper, sliced red onion)
- Prepped Broccoli Salads
- Prepared Orange Chicken marinade (see recipe below) on Saturday.
Sunday:
- Roasted beets, sweet potato and spaghetti squash

Since I’m still on maternity leave, I didn’t actually grill the chicken thighs until Monday, but you could easily cook these Sunday along with the ground turkey to be able to throw dinner together quickly Monday and Tuesday!

This week I used jarred tomato sauce (ok if you buy a brand with no sugar added and basically veggie only ingredients) but Fixate has a great recipe for Quick Marinara that you could make to be 100% clean.

For the whole chicken, I suggest cooking it Wednesday (as I did). You can make this in a slow cooker, instant pot, or roast in the over depending on what works best for you (and how much time you have available) so there’s not a big reason to cook days ahead.

Here’s this week’s meal plan (and container counts) with a few recipes and tips below!

Reach out via comments if you want to learn more about Ultimate Portion Fix or to start your fitness journey today!

Some of the week’s highlights so far:

Beet Salad
Monday Morning Breakfast
Turkey, Spaghetti Squash Dinner

Orange Chicken Thighs

Delicious Grilled Chicken Thighs!

This recipe is from Little Broken Blog, and super easy to make. The only change I made was to substitute Coconut Aminos for the Soy Sauce to get that same umami taste without any soy. It happened to rain the day I made this, so I broke out my handy indoor grill (great for food prepping in New England given the unfriendly weather!)

Veggie Packed Tuna Salad

Servings: 2
Time: 5 mins
Difficulty: easy
Print

INGREDIENTS
2 carrots, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
3 radish, diced
pickles or cornichons (optional) diced
1 jar tuna with 1 tsp packed oil
1 tsp mustard
salt and pepper

INSTRUCTIONS
After collecting 1 tsp of the oil, drain the tuna and place in a large bowl. Add reserved oil, mustard, veggies and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Mix well. Serve on wrap, wheat bread or top on a garden salad!

How to Cook Spaghetti Squash

Spaghetti Squash is so easy to prepare and holds up well for 3-5 days if stored in an airtight container, making it perfect for meal prep! I have found this to be the easiest way to prepare:

Preheat oven to 400
Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil
Cut the squash in half the long way. Be careful when slicing because it can be hard to get through!
Clean out the seeds and stringy substance
Place the squash on baking sheet flesh side up
spray lightly with EVOO and season with salt and pepper
Cook 35-50 minutes depending on the size of the squash (squash should be soft but not fold in on itself when grabbed).
Allow to cool enough to handle
Using a fork, scrape/shred the inside of the squash creating ‘noodles’
Divide into 4 containers to portion out
Serve immediately or store in an airtight container for up to 5 days

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beachbody · Exercise · Meal Prep · Recipes · self care · Ultimate Portion Fix

Ultimate Portion Fix (UPF) Week 2

May 9, 2019May 24, 2019 mumnstuffLeave a comment

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And just like that we’re in the second week! Getting my nutrition and fitness on track has a funny way of becoming addictive, but in a good way. Once I’ve built up a nice streak of working out every day I tend to feed off that, and do whatever I can to make sure I get that workout in! However, I need to be fair to myself, and be patient with myself. I missed a workout at the end of Week 1 (Saturday). We had family over that day, family that was in town and hadn’t met our little bean yet, and between getting the house into a ‘presentable’ state, making a dessert (I made a healthy-ish strawberry shortcake, see below) and just generally enjoying some time with the family – the workout didn’t happen. Oh well, right? But I was bummed! Luckily I have a great Beachbody coach who reminded me just how much I’m doing! She centered me, reminded me I just had a baby barely over a month ago, and that I was actually doing more than I knew with all the healthy eating and workouts all week before Saturday. After hearing her perspective and getting her support, I reset, I should take it easy on myself. So take this as a reminder to do the same for yourself!

You are doing amazing, you are doing more than you know, and the important thing is to just keep going!

My eating plan for Week 2 took advantage of some of the ingredients bought for Week 1, and will use up my last 2 freezer meals I made before the baby arrived. Doing that prep was such a good investment and I am so thankful I put in the time, I’ve been enjoying them for 6 weeks! I also wanted to use up some frozen shrimp I had leftover from Easter.

You might notice I’m doing the same meal plan 3 days in a row this time around (vs. 2 days last week) – this is just another way to simplify, and makes my prep easier!

Let me take a minute to talk about the fixate Broccoli Salad, I had it twice last week and three times this week, so you might think I’m sick of it – but no! This salad is so delicious I think I could eat it every day! Its also easy to prep, and I made a batch of the dressing last week that I’m still using this week. Its just broccoli, red onion, celery, dates, almonds and turkey bacon – so good!

This week I’ve added spinach to my Banana Protein Smoothies, it doesn’t change the taste but does add a great Green Container to my snack – win!

So far today the little lady hasn’t wanted to sleep much, so I haven’t gotten to do my workout yet (Yoga Fix Extreme Real Time today!). So instead I’m doing some Mommy and Baby workout moves, I can still get some form of a workout in even while keeping her close. Important to remember to support her head and keep your balance, but there are a lot of great moves to work your body that you can still do while holding your baby.

Sumo Squat
Lunges
Leg raises
1-Arm Bicep Curls
1-Arm Tricep Dips

I recommend one minute per exercise (for exercises on each side I recommend 1 minute per side).

Another meal that worked out really well was the roasted shrimp and zucchini – its so quick and easy to make, healthy and tasty! One sliced zucchini, 6 shrimp, a little EVOO and seasonings. Cook at 400 for 15-20mins and enjoy!

A new find I have to share is this Lemon Ginger Seltzer from Trader Joe’s. I like the Lemon-Ginger combo for infused water because there are tons of health benefits (immune system boost, good for skin, etc) and a sparkling version is even better.

Snuck in with all this healthy eating was a treat, of course! The weather has been so nice, Ice Cream season has returned! There is nothing better than a kid’s pure joy and enjoyment of ice cream, don’t you think?

Healthy-ish Strawberry Shortcake

Servings: 6
Time: 15 mins Active
Difficulty: easy
Print

SHORTCAKE INGREDIENTS
6 Eggs
1/2 Honey (or Pure Maple Syrup)
1/2 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract
1/2 Cup Melted Coconut Oil
1/2 Cup coconut flour
1/2 Teaspoon salt
1/4 Teaspoon baking soda

TOPPING INGREDIENTS
1.5lbs strawberries, quartered
3 Tablespoon Sugar in the Raw (or plain sugar)
Whip Cream or Cool Whip

INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Mix Strawberries and sugar in a bowl and refrigerate to allow juices to develop, at least 30 minutes
To make shortcake, mix wet ingredients until smooth
Add in dry ingredients and mix until combined
Pour into greased 8 X 11 baking dish.
Bake for 35 minutes or until golden
Remove from Oven and allow to cool completely – store at room temperature

When ready to serve, slice cake into six pieces, then cut each in half horizontally.
Layer dish with cake, strawberries, cake, strawberries and top with Whipped Cream!

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beachbody · Meal Prep · postpartum · self care · Ultimate Portion Fix

UPF Week 1

May 2, 2019May 24, 2019 mumnstuffLeave a comment

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Ultimate Portion Fix is in full swing! It feels great to be working out again. Today is day 4, so far I’ve been able to get the workout in each day, even though sometimes I have to stop a couple times to feed or soothe my baby girl. I also had to significantly modify yesterdays workout (21 Day Fix Pilates Extreme Real Time). Any moves targeting legs I completed as is, but any targeting core I just substituted in one of the Diastasis Recti exercises, to be safe.

The eating plan has been going fairly well. On Day 1 my Brother-in-law (professional chef) made homemade fried chicken, so I broke my meal plan on the first day, but it was worth it! Day 2 I was perfect to make up for it 🙂 In general it is a lot of food – and I’ve found some great new recipes even in the first week. Fixate has a bunch of good options for vegetables/salads. Two favorites this week (so far) are the Fixate antipasto salad and the roasted cabbage with Cotija cheese.

I was able to complete the bulk of the food prep Saturday/Sunday before the week started which is essential. I’ve been fitting in the other steps here and there where I can. Its been a super rainy week here, which gets a little depressing when you can’t get out of the house with the baby, so I’m glad I’ve had the Beachbody workouts to get me moving a bit and get those endorphins going!

It’s not always easy to fit all that prep in, or get anything done in a day it seems! I’ve taken to ‘baby wearing’ lately. Its one guaranteed way to calm my little one down, as she loves to be close to me. There’s not too much I can get down while wearing her, but prep is ok (I’m just slow and can’t bend over!)

#Momlife. Instant Pot and Rice Cooker going while baby sleeps, for the win!

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beachbody · Exercise · Meal Prep · postpartum · Recipes · Ultimate Portion Fix

Prepping for Ultimate Portion Fix

April 25, 2019May 24, 2019 mumnstuffLeave a comment

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As mentioned in my last post Ultimate Portion Fix! I am planning to start this program this coming Monday. One of the most important things when it comes to eating clean is preparation, and that is especially true for a Portion Fix (container based) program.

I know I am much more likely to stick to the healthy eating 100% if the food is prepped and ready to go. If too much work is required at the end of a hard day (and with an infant, aren’t they all challenging in some way?) then I am waaaay more likely to choose fast food, or make a quick grilled cheese or something that doesn’t contain a vegetable. So my main focus this week is to make a plan, and prep for that plan – that will help me be successful next week.

Due to the fact that I am breastfeeding, I fall under calorie Bracket C (1800-2199 calories) in the Ultimate Portion Fix Program. Now let me say when you are eating clean without any processed food, 1800 calories goes a long way! Here is my meal plan for next week.

My first thought when I finished laying this out was Holy Moly that’s a lot of food! This is a good thing, since I’ll also be incorporating daily workouts for the first time in quite some time (modified as appropriate). However my second thought was – wait this is going to require a LOT of prep! A few notes on that – first, I have 4 of the items already done and frozen from my Freezer Meal Prep I did in late February. Without these completed, I would not attempt this meal plan, because it would just be too much. Second, there are ways to simplify if you don’t find yourself with meals already prepped (and I will utilize these in coming weeks).

Instead of targeting too many complete meals/recipes (like Taco Bake or Balsamic Chicken Salad) just go for basics – cook a bunch of chicken with just olive oil and seasonings and add this to salads, wraps, pasta or with veggies on the side all week long per your containers.
Just roast a huge batch of veggies on Sunday and use them all week to pair with chicken or other protein.
Make a big batch of quinoa and/or brown rice on Sunday and have it on hand to pair with veggies and chicken.

In this way, instead of worrying about creating specific recipes you are stocking your fridge with healthy bulk items (easy to prepare) and then you can throw together a meal easily day of.

I would still 100% advise you to create your meal plan ahead of time though so that you can be sure you’ve cooked enough staples to get you through and to eat all your containers!

It’s also very common for people to eat the same thing for all 5 weekdays. I myself will probably do this once I return to work. This also cuts way down on the complexity.

Once I’ve determined my meal plan, I list out my ingredients (this list pictured above doesn’t include any ingredients for the freezer meals that are already done) and then I make a plan of attack for prepping. Normally, I would do all the prep in one day, typically Sunday – but with two kids under 3 I’m going to try to spread it out since I’m not sure if I’ll be able to get a 3hr block of time to dedicate to prepping.

With all this planning for next week, I didn’t make a meal plan for this week. I had a bunch of leftover Easter food we’ve been eating, I also used my Chicken Teriyaki freezer meal paired with brown rice and asparagus for dinner Tuesday and Wednesday, and I’ve just been keeping it simple. Today for lunch I whipped up a healthy broccoli slaw salad – it took less than 5 mins and was delicious!

Quick Slaw Salad

Servings: 2
Time: 5 mins
Difficulty: easy
Print

INGREDIENTS
1/2 bag Broccoli Slaw Mix
1 cup cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup sliced cucumber
1 stalk celery, sliced
1/4 cup walnuts
4 Tbs Primal Kitchen Greek Vinaigrette (or similar)
Squeeze of fresh lemon juice (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS
In a small bowl mix the tomatoes, cucumber, celery, walnuts, dressing and lemon juice.
In a serving/storage bowl place the broccoli slaw and pour the tomato mixture over the slaw.
Stir to coat
Enjoy!

The other prep I’m doing this week is physically. I won’t be fully cleared for exercise until next week, but I have been doing the post-natal workout on beachbody on demand (which is especially designed to start easing postpartum women into workouts) and have been making a special effort to get a full 1mile+ walk in each day. This will help me hit the ground running next week!

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beachbody · Exercise · Meal Prep · postpartum · self care · Ultimate Portion Fix

Ultimate Portion Fix!

April 24, 2019May 24, 2019 mumnstuff1 Comment

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The time has come – time to get serious about getting back in shape and just getting healthy again! My path to a balanced, healthy lifestyle of exercise and clean eating is the Ultimate Portion Fix program. This is the latest Beachbody program, and I must admit I’m a full-blown Beachbody believer! For full disclosure, I am also a Beachbody coach (although this was on hold during my pregnancy). I’ve completed various Beachbody programs over the years, 21 Day Fix and Extreme, 80 Day Obsession and Shift Shop. I’ve loved them all and had results each and every time. I first tried 21 Day Fix when I was preparing for my wedding, and was able to lose those pesky 10lbs before my big day!

The largest transformation I’ve ever had (so far!) was after the birth of my first child. For some reason, I expected to be one of those women who is just magically skinny weeks after giving birth. I don’t know why I had that expectation (because I was clueless about what it’s really like to have a baby, most likely ;)) but I did. I was WRONG. Instead of being magically skinny I was exhausted, out of shape, and eating tons of junk because I had no time or energy to eat healthy. After about 2 months of this I decided something had to change and started the Shift Shop program. The results started almost immediately – within 2 weeks I felt better, energized and confident. By 1 month I was starting to feel progress physically – exercises that I could barely finish at the start were now too easy, I was increasing my weights, etc. By 2 months I was seeing the results – not just fitting into pre-pregnancy clothes but actually liking the way I looked in them. By the time my son was 6 moths old, I had not only lost all the baby weight but had actually hit my goal weight, which I don’t think I had been at for a decade!

For each program I’ve completed, I’ve used some version of the portion-controlled meal plan. I believe it is the best way to eat because it is :

Balanced
Easy to follow
Sustainable
Largely Plant-based
No deprivation!

I don’t believe in crazy fad diets that may be effective short-term but then you can’t keep it up and you end up gaining back all the weight (and then some). So, when I was looking into what program I’m might try after this pregnancy, I was psyched to see a new Portion Control program available. If you’ve ever tried 21 Day Fix (or 21 Day Fix Extreme), the Ultimate Portion Fix is very similar. Essentially it is an update to the meal planning guidelines and containers that were developed for those programs, incorporating all the learnings over the last 5 years and including 100+ new recipes. They are also updating the 21DF and 21DFX workouts.

The version of the program I ordered (there are different options in terms of the supplements) pictured above came with:

Ultimate Portion Fix Kit:
30+ Step-by-Step Videos
Workbook
Daily Logbook
Set of 7 Portion-Control Containers
FIXATE® Vol. 2 Cookbook
FIXATE Cooking Show
75 Healthy Lunch Ideas For Kids (Digital PDF)
Access to nutrition tracking and the Ultimate Portion Fix program through the Beachbody App
21 Day Fix & 21 Day Fix EXTREME workouts shot in real time, updated for faster progress
30-day supply of Beachbody Performance Stack
- It includes two supplements —Energize and Recover— designed to help give you a blast of energy, sharpen your focus, improve your performance, and speed recovery.*
- I LOVE the Energize to take before workouts, I’ve actually missed it during my pregnancy and can’t wait to start it up again!
Performance Shaker Cup
Free Access to my own Personal Coach
- This is one of the greatest benefits of Beachbody programs – you gain an entire community of people who are going through the program alongside you – they help offer support, but it also keeps you accountable as you want to check in with your team every day!

I am planning to start the program next Monday, as this is when the new live versions of the 21DF Extreme workouts will start to stream. I’ll be 5 weeks postpartum and ready to start exercising again (although I will need to modify some exercises) and ready to start eating a bit more healthy (although still consume at least 1800 calories a day to support breastfeeding). For the rest of this week I’ll be getting ready, making my meal plan, shopping and prepping food, and reading up on all the program materials and videos!

If you are interested in taking this journey with me, or learning more about Ultimate Portion Fix (or any Beachbody program) please let me know in the comments section!

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

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