In this episode, Coach Kim and Coach Jo dive into practical meal prep strategies for busy individuals. They emphasize the importance of planning meals around protein, keeping meal prep simple, and focusing on sustainable, realistic routines that are simple to start. By planning ahead, listeners can avoid impulsive, unhealthy choices and reduce stress around mealtime. 

Both Coach Jo and Coach Kim share personal stories of how their day spirals when they fail to meal prep. While acknowledging we’re all human, they encourage listeners to value their health and nourish their bodies while highlighting the benefits of batch-cooking proteins and packing meals for on-the-go convenience.

Listeners are encouraged to create small, manageable shifts in their meal planning that align with their health goals. The episode underscores that meal prep is not about perfection but finding a balance that works for each individual. The hosts also discuss family meal challenges and strategies for introducing new, nutritious foods. By the end, listeners will have actionable tips and tools to stay on track with their health and nutrition.

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Coach Jo 00:09

Welcome to Perfectly Unfinished Conversations, the Iron Lab podcast with Coach Jo…

 

Coach Kim 00:14

…and Coach Kim…

 

Coach Jo 00:15

Where you ride shotgun with us as we have raw, real, unfiltered, and unfinished conversations about trying to eat, sleep, train, and live with some integrity in a messy, imperfect life.

 

Coach Kim 00:27

We're all about creating a strong support system, taking radical personal responsibility, having fun, and being authentic. And one of the most common themes you're going to find in this podcast is the idea that we create positive momentum in our life, by doing what we call b-minus work.

 

Coach Jo 00:45

We’re making gains and getting ahead and loving life without self-sabotaging our goals by striving for perfection. We get it done by moving ahead…

 

Coach Kim 00:55

…before we're ready…

 

Coach Jo 00:56

…when we aren't feeling like it…

 

 Coach Kim 00:58

…and without hesitation.

 

Coach Jo 1:00

Be sure to subscribe now on Apple or Spotify, so you don't miss a single episode. It’s good enough. Let's go.

Coach Kim 01:11

All right. Welcome to Perfectly Unfinished Conversations. We're talking today, episode 11, already dead simple meal prep help for the overwhelmed and overworked and for busy people, meal prep can feel practically impossible. It's just one more responsibility, thing that has to be attended to in an already insanely busy life. Like isn't it enough that I actually had to get dressed and go to work today, let alone stop and buy groceries or pick up supper, and now you want me to think about and actually pre-plan what to eat tomorrow or on Thursday? Like it can feel daunting.

 

Coach Jo 01:52

I've heard from many different clients that I worked with in the past that they don't want to spend an entire day in their kitchen slaving away when they would rather be relaxing on their day off. But it doesn't have to feel this daunting.

 

Coach Kim 02:07

I feel like we could sum up the reasons people don't spend any time on nutritionally sound meal prep in any number of ways, and it probably sounds like I don't like to eat the same thing every day, or I don't have time to batch cook, or I don't know what to eat, or my kids are picky and healthy food and groceries are so expensive, but we live in this fast food world where there is little incentive to take control and tame this beast. It's so much easier to hit a drive-thru than it is to create simple strategies at home that work, but drive-thru is also way more expensive in the long run than or than groceries are. But, you know, there's a cost to your health and your pocketbook, and I promise you that you're also picking the exact same thing at the drive-thru. You know, for those people who are like, Yeah, well, they don't want to eat the same thing you're eating the same thing at the drive-thru. We're creatures of habit. The, I don't like to eat the same thing everyday. Excuse goes all to hell when you're ordering a caramel macchiato and egg sandwich for the 100 and second day in a row. The big payoff with meal prep is that you're not making rash impulse decisions. You're able to choose ahead of time with your best brain, and so you're setting your body up to win. You're creating habits that support healthy outcomes.

 

Coach Jo 03:30

I think one of the most important things to do when you approach the topic of meal prep is to just keep it simple. And I know it's simple, quote, unquote to say that, but one of the biggest misconceptions about meal prep is that it has to be this elaborate process with gourmet meals and matching containers, Pinterest worthy, or that it will take so much time. Think about how many times that you've stood in front of the fridge or the pantry at the end of a long day or in the morning knowing that you have a busy day ahead of you, or running from meeting to meeting, event to event, or, you know, hockey practice to hockey practice, and are indecisive in what you should eat at that time, that moment of indecision can be stressful, especially when you're hungry and need something quick. Meal prep, it really isn't just about nutrition. It's about creating space in your life for other things by automating one of the most basic human needs, and that's eating. And the best part, it helps you stay on track with your health goals without feeling overwhelmed by the processes every day.

 

Coach Kim 04:34

So first, I want to talk about what kind of decisions I make when I don't meal prep. And you know, let's say I wake up one day and say, Fuck it. I'm not one bit interested in packing my food today. What does my day look like without a plan? Well, truthfully, I'd probably burn my guts out with two or three coffee even though I'm almost two weeks off coffee. Miracles do happen, but typically. Actually, you know, like in the past, I'd probably burn my guts out with two or three coffee in a row, and then I might hit the Starbucks drive-thru for egg bites and maybe another americano on the way to the gym. I'd get some kind of a disappointing salad with too small amount of protein from lunch somewhere nearby, and maybe try to soothe my disappointment or lasting residual hunger with a grenade bar sometime mid-afternoon, and then on my way home, I'd hit the grocery store and probably buy things that I love spontaneously, because I can't say no when I'm exhausted and beat down by the bullshit of the day. So something like trail mix, like with dried pineapple and banana chips, those are my favorite and they're so addicting that it's pretty easy to eat a half a bag at 1000 calories, or taco chips, and then start eating them on the way home in the car, and then while making dinner or waiting for something to defrost, I probably would dig out whatever potato chips or chocolate chips or crackers, something that might be in the pantry that or I might order takeout, because I don't have it in me to start the process of planning a meal depending on the day of the week. But if I ended up cooking, I wouldn't have planned it, and I probably wouldn't have enjoyed it, because I would have been snacking on all that other stuff before I eat, and I probably, after I eat, would still be looking for something that feels better after supper, even though I'm not really a nighttime snacker at all.

 

Coach Jo 06:23

Side note, I remember when you and I first met each other years ago, and it was before a staff meeting at our previous employment at the gym, and I had a little tiny, like, one of those, like ones you would hold, like salad dressing in, plastic containers, and it was full of cashews, and you were like, That's all you're gonna eat. And I'm like, well, if I have, like, if I take the whole bag, I'm gonna eat it all. She's like, oh, I just love trail mix. I can't buy it, so.

 

Coach Kim 06:49

I can't buy it. Like, I will totally. I thought you were gonna say those little containers. I'm always like that, you know, like, who wants to count out 11 cashews or 10 cashews? That's just enough to piss you off.

 

Coah Jo 07:02

I'm pretty sure that's what the fuck you said. But you know, not planning anything is usually for me, a nutritional nightmare. And it goes like this, I wake up, I get the kids ready, they get their breakfast, and I make their lunches at the same time, because I didn't get them done the night before. So now that eats into my own breakfast, slash lunch prep, eating anything. So pretend this day now is an office day. We won't even say if I'm coaching or not. I'm just coming into the office. So now I'm at the gym. I have a coffee on my empty stomach. I sit and I pound out keys on my computer for the next few hours, vibrating because you don't do caffeine. Well, not like if and I'm a fast typer, so people know, and I'm like, in the zone, because around here it's like, it just goes so fast. But you know, usually about round 1pm because I wait for the noon class to be done. I don't like to come down and out when the class is on and disrupting them. Like I'm getting hungry. I roll over on East Side Eatery, this local sandwich shop across the street from our gym, or I head to a grocery store for a protein box, or whatever I can find that's high in protein, if I can, or if it's really busy with office work, like I don't eat it all. I here I am. I've had a coffee, and now it's about what, two, three, I gotta get figuring out my kids, and I've had nothing in my whole system. Then I'm in the after-school rush, grabbing kids or waiting for kids after school. If I'm at home, I tend to grab whatever is snacky on the counter or fridge. This means, like, fresh baking Duke's birthday cake that's still in the fridge from Sunday, or some goldfish in the pantry because Brandon bought pizza flavored which I would never buy. And, wow, that was, like, amazing, but it's quick, it's easy, and it's mainly carbs. Once I leave home and I'm at the hockey rink, I fight to not snack, or, you know, go to the concession, probably about 80% I'm successful with that. But once the kids are back home and we are in the witching hour before bed, damn, it's crazy. While I'm cooking whatever that may be, I'm snacking along with dinner, maybe a slice of toast with butter and homemade jam, a banana, meat sticks, turkey bites. A nibble here and nibble there again, of whatever it is, it's gonna be easy, but, like, horrendous sometimes, and then before bed, I might snack even further, because I am, I'm starving, like I've ate nothing pretty much all day, and I've basically had zero protein most of the day, on those type of days, and I'm eating around 830, to 9pm at night. And this is like an absolute worst-case scenario of a day. I'm human too.

 

Coach Kim 09:24

Yeah, totally. And you know, Joe and I, we've said before on a different podcast, we approach our meal prep very differently, and our personalities are different, our day-to-day routines are different, our tastes and our preferences are different. And so it makes sense that our individual meal prep habits are also unique to us. Now there are all kinds of way to approach this practice and make it yours. There's no perfect way to meal prep. It has to become a habit that is sustainable for you. And so what we thought we do in. Instead of giving you tips that you could find on any internet website or Pinterest, we thought we'd give you our tried-and-true habits for meal prep.

 

Coach Jo 10:09

Because it's about what works for you in the long run, not. Betty-Susie-Homemakers-Pinterest-worthy meal prep that you believe that you need to do,

 

Coach Kim 10:18

Yeah, like sometimes I'm using Sunday to make two different kinds of soups to freeze for the future, but mostly I'm running like a pretty repetitive system that I like, that feels good, and that I find easy to do.

 

Coach Jo 10:32

So, questions to ask yourself are, where in your life do you think you require the biggest dial movers in order to feel successful when the going gets tough. What are the moments in your day when you feel most overwhelmed, and how could planning ahead with meals reduce that stress? What are some small, realistic shifts you can make in your current eating habits that would give you the biggest return on feeling more energized and in control. Because everyone should have a different answer to those questions, which means we will all have a different plan of what meal prep looks like for us.

 

Coach Kim 11:08

Okay, so let's start with you. Then, how do you structure your week? Before we talk all the details, how do you structure your week?

 

Coach Jo 11:16

Well, Sunday is my day to feel organized for my week ahead, like my Monday begins on Sunday. I look at my schedule for the week. What like coaching blocks am I coaching? Which days am I opening the gym? Which days Am I closing the gym? Which days do I have an office day at the gym? Is my husband away? Is he going to be home? Then what the kids at school and extracurricular activity schedules look like in that week? And then you know, how I get my decisions done earlier in the week, so that I can just flow into the rest of the week. And I look at it as decision fatigue, you know, like, if we don't make these decisions ahead of time, that's what I hit. I hit decision fatigue when I'm super stressed. And like, what is that? So it refers to the mental and emotional strain that comes from when you make too many decisions throughout the day. The more decisions you have to make, the more your like mental energy gets depleted, which can lead to poor choices as the day goes on. And I find I just want to have that out of the way so I can have an easier week, because there's a lot going on in my weeks. Yeah,

 

Coach Kim 12:17

I think it's so cool that we actually, you know, we have different approaches, but until we talk it out like we can't see that our system is actually really very similar with our own unique spin. So, let's talk about habits and tricks that support establishing or strengthening a meal prep routine. The first thing I'd say is to for me, like, I'm going to sit down and I'm going to think about it, I'm going to make it purposeful. What do I like to eat? What will I eat? I think one of the most futile habits that I see with all nutrition is trying to plan what you think you should eat versus what you actually will eat, and it doesn't have to be complicated, like what is and the other question is making it purposeful. What is the solid nutrition that supports the way I want to feel about myself, that one that I, that I need to incorporate in order to feel like a badass? And so one of the biggest ways you'll sabotage yourself is by not putting any thought into it and trusting yourself, trusting yourself to do well on the fly. You've tried that it almost always ends bad when you're hangry and tired and, like I've said before, beat down by the bullshit of the day. This is decision fatigue that Jo has talked about, when you've had to fight off children and, you know, help them find their mitts and get them off to school and pack lunches and get gas and decide what happened. Like it's just, you just got nothing left for the common sense, easy but exhaustive kinds of decisions around nutrition, right? Like so on Sunday morning, I like to also sit down with a coffee or water or a tea, and I think about my week. Where am I going to be every day? Am I driving anywhere? Do I have late nights on my schedule? Are there any events or meetings, or do I have a date night planned? Like, just knowing what I'm going to be doing over the next several days will help me to decide how to get ready for it. Then I have choices to make, like, where am I going to wing it? Is that date night? Am I going to just enjoy, like whatever's on the menu? Am I going to think about it in advance? Am I going to surprise myself, or maybe a meeting lunch at work where it's going to be catered? Do I want to? Do I want to eat catered food or do I want to prep a meal and haul my own food? Like, looking at my week ahead, then I can decide what's the next step? What am I going to plan? What am I going to free for all so when you've looked at your week, what's your next steps? How do you how do you go?

 

Coach Jo 14:48

Well, my next steps is determining where am I on the fly, like you just talked about, if I'm going to be running from as soon as I leave the house and I'm not going to be home until like 7pm because I have to go pick up, go straight to the rink or whatever. I have to make sure that I've got that organized as well as I have to have some kid food organized, because I don't want to have to go to drive-thruwith them or grab what's at the concession. I want to have. Here's your food I brought before you go into the rink. So I look at those type of days and I have to decide, am I making my lunches? Am I making the after work, between the extracurricular snacks for the kids as well. I have to have all that ready to go. But, you know, protein, obviously got to have lots of protein. That's going to be a priority. But I think what's really successful, too, is like, I know I look at this on Sunday, like Sunday, if I'm really kind of last minute on the fly, I will be thinking and planning on Sunday. But, you know, really, like, when I think about the truth of the matter is, like, I'm thinking about it Friday and Saturday, sometimes I'm already at the grocery store, so that by Sunday, I don't gotta leave my house in the country to go into town to get the groceries. I just gotta create.

 

Coach Kim 15:55

Again, that's just reinforcing what we just said, is that you have to, know, you have to put some thought into it, like it's got to fit in your life, you know. And so this is where it just becomes practice and habit. And so once you've determined, like, where you're going to be, then are you, like, thinking, okay, I'm gonna have lasagna on Wednesday, and we're gonna have this on this or, like, you just…?

 

Coach Jo 16:15

it's based around proteins, like, so I'll buy whatever meat, and then we will, since harvest is at our house, we have all the sides. I have all the vegetables, I have the potatoes, I've got rice in the pantry if I need it. So I have all the sides. It's always about what is the main thing for dinner? I've got the pantry full of things to create. I really do. I always try to keep that stocked. It's always about what are we gonna have for dinner each night? And then I don't decide I'm gonna have this chicken thigh on this night. It's more like when Browning gets home, what do we feel like of these meats that are ready to go? Yeah, you know, and then we'll cook it, yeah.

 

Coach Kim 16:44

So this is also, again, where it's really interesting, because I think Sundays you tend to do a lot more batch protein prep. I do the same thing, but I have a little more flex during my week. So like, for example, and I do quite a bit in the morning, like, I'll start stuff in my air fryer or my oven, and then I'll go get ready for work while it's cooking, right? But on Sunday, you because I don't have to get boys out the door to school, so Sunday, you're probably doing some of your protein cooking, you know, you might put all in your chicken thighs, and you might cook up two pounds of ground beef for, you know, like, that kind of a thing, right?

 

Coach Jo 17:19

So, like, once we've determined what we're gonna eat, like, the process for getting ready for it, that's definitely what I start working on, is I decide, okay, I obviously, I know I need to have breakfasts. I need to have lunches. I'm out of the house at those times, and that's where I will have those meals spread out over time and if I can have five days worth, and I'm like, yes, because then my whole Monday to Friday is taken care of.

 

Coach Kim 17:39

You save so much energy and time you're, and so this is where we're a bit different. Is that Jo will do, for example, six glass jar parfait, yogurt, protein bowl kind of things. Or she'll do like, ground beef and sweet potato, which you talk about, but you're getting those things ready, so you they're ready to go, you can just grab it out of the fridge.

 

Coach Jo 18:01

Yeah, it's in the it's not like, waiting to be prepped. It's like, ready in the glass containers, ready to grab.

 

Coach Kim 18:07

That's what you do. That's what you're doing on Sunday. Yeah. And so for me, I am the same way, like I am once. I've decided I'm always again, I'm always just basing it around protein, because I'm not a recipe cooker. I don't want to, I don't want to have to pick out things, unless I'm making soup or something like that. I don't want to have to put any thought into making those decisions. And I don't want to chop and cut and blah, blah, blah, like, I've got all of my things. I've got all of my vegetables. I've got all of my proteins. That's the most important thing. I've got rice, I've got rice pasta, I've got potatoes. I've got, you know, what would be considered a carb, and then I'm just making any variety of meals out of that. I'm not, you know, like, I'm not making, I'm not making lasagna. I can't remember the last time I made a lasagna, you know, like, I'm actually just going, okay, protein and I'm gonna have it with rice and broccoli, or I'm gonna have it with mixed frozen vegetables and elbow rice macaroni. You know what I mean? Like, I'm just creating on the spot, protein, fat, carb, meals on the spot. So okay, so then, what would your top three, specifically breakfast and lunch? Because I'm gonna say, like, probably nutrition challenges that we see with our clients, very, very typically, are that people are either skipping breakfast totally because they don't feel hungry, or they're just feeling too pressured for time, or they don't have time to eat during the day, which is setting them up to struggle later in the day. So what would your top three tips be for our listeners, for what works for you, for meal prep, for breakfast and lunch?

 

Coach Jo 19:40

Well, one of my first priorities for myself, like I had said, my number one tip, if I had to go 123, would be like, where is the protein coming from? As you know, protein is super important to start the day, and I always try to aim between 30 to 50 grams of my breakfast and have that also for my lunches. So I will, like, make sure that I have a cycle of recipes I rotate between that are high in protein that I can batch cook on Sunday, I can grab and go, or I can eat at home with the kids before I leave the house. And you know, as you mentioned, Hillary got me hooked on sweet potatoes and ground beef. I feel so good the rest of the day energetically on that. My husband loves protein yogurt parfaits more than I do. So sometimes I'll cook batch of those. We have chickens, so the eggs are plentiful, whether scrambled, omelet, frittata or egg bites, even hard-boiled eggs, like eggs are around And truth be told, like breakfast doesn't have to be breakfast for me. I eat leftover dinner for breakfast, like chicken thighs, broccoli and rice. I'm eating that at eight o'clock in the morning. Like, to me, food is fucking food. I eat it for what it is. Like Kim said, a protein, a carb, and a fat. It's there. My lunches are usually prepped in advance. Most likely it's like some sort of animal protein, chicken, beef, pork, ground turkey, eggs, whatever. With sweet potatoes, potatoes, rice, and a vegetable. I'm still eating so much from my garden, like the zucchini, tomatoes, beans, peas, like I love all that fresh stuff. And it lasts pretty long here all the fresh stuff, and then it goes into the more of the frozen variety, and then I pull out. But at least I know it came from my dirt. You know, even though I know I don't have ample time to get things going in the week or I'm in a pinch like midweek to Friday, I have found that even sometimes a prepackaged salad in a can of tuna is beyond easy, and it takes like one fucking minute to prepare the morning before I go to work, I grab, I grab, I grab, and I go. And those are, like the pinch mornings. If I come in with that, it's because it was like nothing was really cooked for the whole week, and I just pinched and grabbed. And like my last tip would be to really just find what you like to eat. If you've worked with Kim and I, and Kim touched on this briefly, like in in the past, we had our clients work with food matrixes, and we asked them to create it. And what does that mean? It means it basically goes like this. We provide a list of all the healthier options for the three macros, your protein, your fats and your carbs, and then we ask them to select the ones that they would prefer to eat within that category. So once you know what you want like to eat, like Kim just mentioned before. Then you just search for recipes that align with that, and you save them. And there's a million ways to play with the foods you love. So what about you? What would you say your top three tips would be?

 

Coach Kim 22:10

So I tend to, for breakfast, kind of stick to the same stuff all the time. Like you, I will eat leftovers from the night before food. I'm the queen of, like, unconventional breakfast. I honestly don't remember the last box of cereal that I bought, like I would say, other than maybe granola for Claud, because he likes harvest crunch granola. I cannot remember the last box. It would have been when my kids were in high school, which Kiran has been graduated for 10, 12, years. So, yeah, I just don't buy it, you know. So things that I like to pick for breakfast will be too sensible or duty foods like things that get the job done, like that I like good enough and that I just know will meet the needs. So leftover chicken thighs and scrambled eggs, I like to add protein to my eggs. Eggs are not enough of a source of protein, but occasionally I'll have scrambled eggs on peanut butter, sourdough toast, something like that. That's kind of like that blend of protein, fat and carbs, right? Occasionally I also will pre-prep ziploc sandwich bags with the exact same smoothie base, so chunk of cucumber, some greens, a half a cup of blueberries, some fennel, you know, like, all these kinds of, like, really dense, fibrous vegetables and fruits. So that I can do breakfast on the run, you know, all I have to do is dump them into the blender, add water, protein powder, chia seeds, and blend it up. So, but here's the thing. Is that I used to be a breakfast skipper. I used to eat mid-morning, you know, like most women, and now, I try to eat breakfast early and before I leave the house. This is the one thing that I hear consistently all high level coaches and athletes and trainers who are specifically female focused and are talking even hormone and fat loss specialists that are talking about women's Hormonal Health, weight loss, body composition, all that kind of stuff. They're saying, eat adequate protein, yes, but you also got to eat early, like within an hour after waking and so this is about this is about your metabolism. This is about your hormones. And so skipping breakfast is probably one of the worst things you can do for yourself, and it really makes it hard to get into your protein goals. So if you don't top load your day with protein, my day with protein, it's really hard to catch up later. So I, I'm like Joe, I try to hit 30 to 50 grams either when I get up, you know, or before my coffee, or with my coffee. Now, it's tea but, but I'm trying to get it done so that I don't have to try and add it in later in the day. It's too impossible. So if I wait too long for breakfast and I push back lunch or I'm not hungry, then I snack and nibble and set myself up on a slippery slope all day. So breakfast is something that holds me over so that I'm not thinking about food till lunch. And I always make sure my lunch is packed before I leave the house. It's always the same three or four things, protein, meatballs, burgers, chicken thighs, a salmon steak, maybe with a bagged salad, like Joe said, avocado oil or dressings, apple cider vinegar, sometimes sweet potato. I love sweet potato or a piece of fruit, carrot sticks and hummus, the typical but the same thing goes at lunch, like, I want to be so full that I'm not crashing in the afternoon energy wise or reaching for a grenade bar, and I'm not setting myself up to binge between four and 6pm and I know that once you're at you know, for people who work in a, as an employee, for somebody it becomes more challenging to feel empowered to actually take your fucking lunch break. You know, like, I see this a lot with nurses and teachers who just really feel like they don't have a window of time to sit down and eat enough lunch. Eat a satisfying lunch to pay attention to that right to their, did I get enough? Do I feel nourished? And so they're kind of either nibbling and skimming, or they're basically, like their meals are so sporadic, right? Yeah. And so, you know, like, I really think that, that breakfast and lunch are the single biggest keys to getting to your goals, because you're not going to spend your night and evening snacking, ravaging your cupboards. You know, so I want it easy like this is where, for me, my food prep is all about the protein, and I've got my protein revolving door. I've got food in the freezer that's frozen that I can take out at night and thaw it before morning. I've got food that's thawed and ready to cook so that I don't have to decide and think and defrost and fuck around that way. And then I've got food that's cooked that if I'm really starving, I can eat a chicken thigh or a couple meatballs, or, do you know what I mean, or even a can of mackerel or a can of tuna, like, if I can whip it up real fast.

 

Coach Jo 27:05

And I think that's really important to have that freezer handy. You gotta have that revolving door of protein. You gotta understand what's where as well. Sometimes you put things in the freezer and we're like, we forget it's even there.

 

Coach Kim 27:15

Yeah, totally. And the thing is, is that the reason I put all my focus on protein is because I'm totally okay to go. Okay, so here's a protein. I'm either going to do taco meat, or I'm going to do Asian chicken thighs, or I'm going to do, and it's just with seasonings, throw it and cook it, and then I got what, like, five minute rice, you know, I've got broccoli or green beans I can steam, you know, cut some tomatoes, cut an avocado. Like, that's it, yeah? Like, it doesn't seem to be. Yeah. So you know. Okay, so let's talk about family meal-time. Supper we're getting to supper time. And one of the most common comments we get from busy women with kids is I cannot make separate meals for everybody in the house. Like I cannot cook meals for my kids, a meal that my husband likes, and then meal for me too. So therefore I'm cooking for everybody else and not taking care of myself. So you are living this. You got a five year old and an eight year old and a husband and you so, knock it out of the park.

 

Coach Jo 28:13

Well, here's my thoughts on this topic. And like she said, I have a picky eater. He doesn't like textures, flavours, nothing can literally touch on his plate, and we've been fighting that for eight years, and like he's stubborn as fuck. And I have a five year old who eats anything. A husband who wants 80% carbs in his meals every night, like I'm talking about the man who comes home from the grocery store if he's in charge of grocery shopping with like a leaning tower of Pisa of five different breads or buns on the counter, like, just a stack and, like, here's the straight-up fucking truth. Like, I matter. I value my health. That's part of like, what I really, truly value, what's so important to me, you know. And I know what makes me feel good. I know when I eat a certain way, and that helps me to create all this sustaining energy throughout the rest of the day. I cannot change my husband and how he eats. I can only focus on my own nutrition. How do I get my kids to try to eat more things? You know, like, I continually offer it to them. It's on their plate, even if they won't eat it. There's tons of weeks where one kid loves cantaloupe, and then the next month he doesn't want anything to do with it, but it's not going to leave the plate like, and the same goes for animal proteins. Also, like, I have this rule that where you have to try food at least twice if you didn't like it the first time. Maybe it was because of how it was cooked, how it was flavoured, or, I don't know what my one kid had accident was touching something, I don't know, but you have to give it a second chance. You have to try food at least twice, and really that has helped him with eating more animal protein. Now we're offering it. It's always on his plate, and he has to try it like he has to try it. I'll never forget Brandon, smoked moose on the smoker all day long. And you know how when you smoke things, sometimes it gets that pinky ring on the outside. And he looked at it and was like, like, disgusted when it came to his plate, and Brandon sat there, and he said, you need to try this. You need, you need to have a bite of it. And it hummin and hawin. Sure enough, he takes a bite, and he goes, Oh, wow, this is his, the best meat you've ever made, dad. And we're like, yeah, see, that's why we have to try things.

 

Coach Kim 30:28

And, you know, I've said it before where, you know, like, with my own kids, when I started my own health journey around 42 and I still had kids at home, and I started to add in these, like, foods that they were like, I don't want that, you know, like, you just got to keep adding it. You know, I made sweet potato fries till the cows came home, because that was the only way that they would even consider remotely trying them. They still hated them, but, but you don't stop, because that's how you introduce them to the what else is available.

 

Coach Jo 30:59

Yeah, and even, like, getting them involved in trying to plant the garden, yeah, and pulling the garden and harvesting whether or not, like, Mason does not eat barely anything out of that garden, but at least now he knows where it comes from, how it's pulled, how it grows, what it looks like, so that maybe when he's older One day, he'll be like, he'll make that connection. Because that was, that's how I made the connection with my mom. She always took me in the garden my whole life, right?

 

Coach Kim 31:22

And he will make that connection. Like, even, you know, my daughter, Lydia, who is now 25 like, oh my god, she would like, she just talks about this, like, being force fed. It was still the days where you like, you're gonna eat that if that's the last thing I do, right? No, yeah, well, and not even. But this is all there is. Don't come crying to me when you're hungry later like you. Sounds like trauma-inducing now, but you know, whatever it was, the way that it was, and, you know, and she eats all those things now, yes, all of it. Loves all of it. They'll grow through it, but you got to keep, like, just putting it in front of them.

 

Coach Jo 31:56

Like remembering the recipes that we all enjoy together. I think that's huge as a family. There are things I'm sure that you guys all would like to eat together, like for our family, it's any full breakfast meal, like any type of breakfast, any breakfast you can have for dinner, like my kids love breakfast for dinner, or breakfast any time of the day, and we can all eat that together, like certain healthy casseroles, like harvest dinners with an animal meat, meaning like your three types of food separated on a plate, but at least we're all gonna eat that together. But like all in all, my husband will eat what I cook him if it's healthy, and sometimes, like he straight up, won't, and that's his responsibility to look after himself as a 40 year old man, just like it is your responsibility to look after yourself. This is where I get too much candour, because to me, this is self-sabotaging excuse that we tell ourselves, I'm cooking too many meals. But if it's important to you to feel good in your skin, to have energy, to provide proper muscle and organ support, wouldn't you do whatever it took to feel that way? Like we all make our own choices, and my choice is to prioritize how I feel in my body, my energy and my well being, and at some point, we all have to take ownership of our health, because no one else can do it for us. If it's truly important to you to feel your best, you're gonna find a way to make it happen.

 

Coach Kim 33:12

Well, and I think as women, we're sort of conditioned to be the martyr or to be the victim in our family, like mum, mum, what was that song? Oh, geez. Do you remember this from ages ago? And it was like one of those old cowboy guys that talked about how mom always there was not enough pie. Mom didn't get the last piece by Do you remember that?

 

Coach Jo 33:34

Well, I remember the saying for sure, mom never got the last piece of pie.

 

Coach Kim 33:37

But that's, but that was, you know, Mom was willing to go without, to feed the family, you know, and and, and like nobody fucking cares anymore. It's done. We're moving on, Mom, you're entitled to nourish your body.

 

Coach Jo 33:49

And you fucking matter.

 

Coach Kim 33:51

And you yeah, and what you want matters. And so this is where you got to kind of push your kids. We're not doing them any favors anyway, nutritionally out there in the world by continually giving in to all the easy, fast, cheaply made, awful crap like there's nothing wrong with saying no, tonight, I've wanted this, and this is what we're having. Hope you enjoy it. So you know, I have the exact same experience at my house as you do. My husband happily eats whatever I prep and cook, but left to his own devices, he's gonna opt for chips and dip, or Campbell's soup, chicken noodle soup with crackers and butter, or pierogies. And I do not remember the last time I ate a pierogi, maybe four sometime over the last couple years. And there's room in your life for pierogies, don't get me wrong, but you have to decide what you want for yourself, and then know that whatever you decide is creating what you have. You know, my why is so much bigger than saying I don't want to, or I don't feel like it, or it's too hard, I'm too tired. Like, I didn't get good at this in 30 days or 90 days, I just kept making it a priority, and I just kept trying over time what works and what I like have blended together, and it's just become the norm. It really has become kind of easy and effortless, because it's habits. It's like brushing your teeth. It's just the way that I'm showing up for myself and so for busy people, meal prep can feel impossible. It's just one more thing to add to an already insanely packed life. But only you can draw the line this one thing could be the only thing that is preventing you from losing five to 10 pounds or saving money this month, or it could be what shifts the amount of energy you have in your life to get the things done that you want to do like I will tell you my clients that complain of no energy are straight up under eating or eating shit regularly and habitually. They are defending their choices, because meal prep looks hard in a life that already feels hard, but it doesn't have to be that hard. It's like literally making a few minutes to look ahead at where you're going to be tomorrow. You don't even have to do it for the week. Where am I going to be tomorrow, and then come up with a plan. Here's what I like to eat, here's what I will eat, here's the things I already have or could get ready. And then the trick is I gotta take them with me. I gotta do it. I gotta eat it.

 

Coach Jo 36:30

Abso-fucking-lutely like you don't have to make it complicated, and it doesn't need to be Instagram worthy. It's all about the simple, sustainable habits that fit into your life you… meal prep is a game changer when it comes to reducing stress and staying on track with your health goals.

 

Coach Kim 36:49

We're going to include our food matrix into this show notes of this podcast. If you want to have it, it is the one where we give you good, better, best. We're giving you the best quality options for those macronutrients. You're going to combine that with based on what you like, make up your own food matrix and see if that helps you create simple, sustainable, easy meals to take with you on the go. If you enjoyed today's episode and found value in this discussion, make sure to subscribe so you never miss an update. Oh, and if you're loving the content, we'd really appreciate it if you could take a moment to leave us a five star review. It helps us to reach more listeners, just like you.

 

Coach Jo 37:31

Don’t forget to share this podcast with friends or family who could benefit from what we're talking about. And stay tuned for more episodes coming your way.

 

Coach Kim 37:34

10-4

 

Coach Jo 37:38

You probably got a sense of who we are by now and what our personal approach is to developing a lifestyle that creates really great health and strength. Using a relational common sense coaching approach that is backed by knowledge and personal experience.

Coach Kim 37:57

There are a couple of ways that you can work with Jo or I, one on one, remote or you can actually train here at Iron Lab. 

 

Coach Jo 38:05

The first is the Metabolic Blueprint, personalized coaching program, which is customized for your life and your body. 

 

Coach Kim 38:12

We work together very closely either in person or remotely to help you conquer old diet drama and to get lasting results.

 

Coach Jo 38:21

Ideally, we'd love to teach you how to never buy a quick-fix diet program or app again. 

 

Coach Kim 38:27

Next, there is the accelerator academy, which is up to 12 months of self-paced weekly bite-sized lessons and journaling exercises, that we’ve created to help you create the lifestyle habits that generate a true transformation.

 

Coach Jo 38:43

Find out more on our website: ironlablacombe.com/metabolic-blueprint