I usually begin either by doing choreography or heavy lifting to keep my muscles in shape. If it’s just weight lifting for the day, then I’m totally done in usually an hour or less (unless I decide to choreograph stuff afterward), but choreography time easily takes up two to three hours. I’m always wiped after my sessions, so I take a bath then sit at my computer doing work for my blog until late in the evening.
When I start doing work, I’m in what many people call a “zone”, where I just do whatever tasks it is I’m concentrating on for however long it takes until I’m done. I therefore usually don’t want like to take breaks and give time to eat solid foods. This is especially important during my choreography work because those can be very draining, and drinking even only a bit of my shakes during that time can help a lot. It also helps that since it’s mostly in liquid form, my body can digest it easily and quickly so it won’t interfere with my physical activities.
This is the same when I’m writing for the blog. Because I consume mostly shakes during the day, I can place them anywhere. I just leave a glass by my keyboard and sip on it whenever I like. It doesn’t take nearly as long as stopping to take a bite so it not only saves space, it also saves time as well.
But that’s just me, of course. While this has worked immensely for me, I know some people who absolutely abhor most (or even some) of their food being consumed via liquid form. That’s fine, really. It’s all personal preference in the end, so what works well for me might not for you.
What shouldn’t be left to just personal preference, however, are the contents of the meals being consumed. Whether solid or liquid, most (if not all) of the meals being consumed should have a good balance of protein, carbohydrates, and fat, and not include what is generally called junk food.
The meals that I will include in this series of articles are very healthful and have worked very well for me. When I consume meals like these on a daily basis, I am always full of energy and manage to sleep well. They also helped me bounce back from my Christmas diet disaster (which I’ll, of course, write about soon). Long story short, I lost around twenty pounds in just under four months. That’s pretty much more than a pound a week, which is pretty good for a meal plan that really doesn’t deprive me of anything. Keep in mind, though, that I only began consuming a lot of my meals as shakes only this month. Most of the foods I ate during that period were solid, which, again, I’ll write about in future articles.
Alright, with all the relevant background out of the way, here is my Health Shake:
HEALTH SHAKE
Ingredients:a. 2 cups soy milk (low fat is best, of course)
b. 1 cup spinach
c. 1 cup strawberries
d. 1 cup grapes
e. 1 tablespoon slivered almonds
f. 1 tablespoon walnuts
g. 1 cup ice
How to make it:
a. Put the soy milk in the blender first, followed by everything else, with the ice on top. I find that placing the softest ingredient nearest the blade and the hardest farthest from it works best for at least my blender. It at least won’t struggle when you start it up, leaving all those chewy solids in the ends.
b. Blend until desired consistency is achieved. Alton Brown has a great shake blending tutorial in his recent diet episode of Good Eats:
Alright, a lot of you are probably wondering why the spinach is in there. Well, it’s because I really didn’t want my shakes to be composed of mostly fruit. I wanted to keep it more balanced so I added in some veggies in there. I did a bit of research and found that a lot of people like adding spinach to their shakes not just because of its obvious health benefits but because it blends well with fruits and gives off a great added taste. And y’know what? They’re right. I actually had my friend try the shake out and he refused with all his might at first because it seems kind of weird at first glance (because of, ‘y’know, the green tint), but he eventually gave in and tasted it and loved it! Thus, he specifically asked for this article. And ask and you shall receive.
In another article I’ll write soon, I’ll put down where exactly I get my ingredients and for what prices. I apologize for the lack of pictures in this article, but I didn’t have access to my camera today. I promise I’ll put up pics in the follow up article. Until then, stay tuned!
Check out my other Diet and Nutrition Tips!
