How to eat healthy with a busy work schedule

[katlandry]

Hey everyone, So im 23 years old, 5'2" and I bounce between 110 - 115 pounds depending on what time of the month it is. I've delivered two babies so I dont have the tight body I would like to have at my age. I have a tiny waistline but Ive always kepy my weight in my thighs. I want to start weight-training to build lean muscle and tighten up my entire body before summer hits. My problem is I am struggling with a healthy diet plan. I want a 1200 Cal. low carb high protein diet but my job wont allow me to eat much of anything. Im a maid and I work from early morning to late afternoon with no time for breaks. I go from house to house no stopping till im done. I just drink water through the day. What can I have in a healthy meal plan that I can eat on the go. First thing in the morning I have maybe 10 minutes to squeeze in breakfast and lunch has to be easy enough to eat on the go. Dinners I can do just about anything.

[Cara0915]

Purchase a lunch box?
Eat before and after work.
Bring things tjat need no refrigeration,
Protein bars, nuts, nut butters, fruit, veggies, canned tuna/chicken
The options are endless.
BTW... You won't be building any muscle eating 1200 calories. In order to achieve the "tight" look you are looking for you need to spend a good anount of time eating in a calorie surplus and lifting heavy. Then you'd switch gears and cut away the fat gained while building muscle.

[AirChair]

One part insulated lunch box, one part ice pack, and a 1:X (where X >/= 1) ratio of sandwiches and hard-boiled eggs makes a fantastic, on-the-go muscle-building survival kit. It's quick, cheap, and exceptionally easy to eat while you're traveling between houses.

The best thing you can do is to lay out exactly what you want your diet to be. Decide on the number of calories you're going to need (here I agree with Cara, 1200 is probably not right for you) and the macronutrient breakdown you want. Once you have that template, you can start filling it in with simple, easy-to-prep, easy-to-carry foods that will get you to your requirements. Winging it is never going to work, you have to plan it out ahead of time. If you can, prepare 3-4 days' worth of meals at one time so you can just grab-and-go.

[oregonchick76]

At 5'2" and 110-115, you should NOT be eating a 1200 calories diet. If you don't look the way you want at these stats, it's because you lack muscle.

Building muscle requires a CALORIE SURPLUS. LIft HEAVY, and eat to gain 1-2 lbs per month, eat plenty of protein (1g per lb of body weight), adequate fats (.5g per lb bw) and don't eat low carb. You need carbs for energy.

Personally I feel that 100g of carbs is a minimum for good function/energy levels, and if you do a lot of cardio/endurance type exercise, then that number should go way up. With you on your feet all day, you definitely need higher carbs. THERE IS NOTHING MAGICAL ABOUT EATING LOW CARB. If you eat low carb, your energy levels suck. You won't lose more FAT, but you will deplete your body of glycogen and water, which tricks you into thinking you are losing fat. But really you are just draining your gas tank so you have no energy. It is self-defeating.

Gaining muscle is a slow process. You need to stick with a muscle building bulk for a good 6 months before considering dieting down again.

How to eat healthy with your job? Carry a cooler. RTD protein shakes, or pre made protein shakes, hard boiled eggs, meat that is diced up and easy to eat from a baggy, granola bars, precut fruit, etc. It is not so hard. You can make a very nutritionally complete protein shake with flax, some banana, milk, protein, peanut butter, etc.

[Sammie14]

All of these ideas the ladies have given you are correct. I owned my own cleaning business for many years. Same deal, house to house all day. But if you really want to do this, take a lunch box, and take the time between jobs to eat. Very doable.

[girl81]

What about on-the-go snacks rather than one meal? Cheese sticks, tuna packets (w/a fork), chicken breast strips (ziplock), raw veggies, jerky, fruits, green smoothies, nuts, seeds.

[Staciepickett]

Hey everyone, So im 23 years old, 5'2" and I bounce between 110 - 115 pounds depending on what time of the month it is. I've delivered two babies so I dont have the tight body I would like to have at my age. I have a tiny waistline but Ive always kepy my weight in my thighs. I want to start weight-training to build lean muscle and tighten up my entire body before summer hits. My problem is I am struggling with a healthy diet plan. I want a 1200 Cal. low carb high protein diet but my job wont allow me to eat much of anything. Im a maid and I work from early morning to late afternoon with no time for breaks. I go from house to house no stopping till im done. I just drink water through the day. What can I have in a healthy meal plan that I can eat on the go. First thing in the morning I have maybe 10 minutes to squeeze in breakfast and lunch has to be easy enough to eat on the go. Dinners I can do just about anything.

I make all my meals for The week on Sunday. They have lunch bags that are big to bring all your food for
The day. I totally can't remember the company name