Recently, I’ve been going to the gym in the mornings before work. I like getting my workout in before I go about my day, because then I can use my nights to blog, watch reality tv and just relax. Yesterday morning I did a painful 2 miles on the treadmill. I don’t know if I was just exhausted or what, but I just couldn’t get through the run. I had to walk some, run some, and then sprint some. I’d like to be able to do a full 3 miles without stopping. Any tips?
After a short gym session, I headed back home ate my breakfast (Greek yogurt) and started packing my lunch for the day. I like having my lunches packed during the week, in order to save some money. Eating out at Whole Foods gets pricey! Whole Foods is right around the corner from my work, so it’s just too easy to drive over there and pick up lunch to-go.
My food for work on Tuesday was:
- Salad: lettuce, cherry tomatoes, croutons
- Baked potato
- Banana
- Kellogg’s fruit crisps
- Fruit salad: watermelon, grapes
- A1 sauce for my potato (SO GOOD!)
- Italian light salad dressing
Bryan saw all the food sitting on our counter and just laughed. He knew that all my food was NOT going to fit into my lunch bag…he was correct.
Luckily, I was keeping the fruit salad at my desk for a morning snack. The rest went into the fridge at work.
Here are my fail-proof tips for packing food for work:
- Use quality containers. I can not reiterate this enough. Do NOT just put your food in any old container. Make sure the lids pop onto the bottom. Nothing is worse than spilled dressing or fruit juice everywhere.
- Pack things that can be easily heated/re-heated. I like packing items that don’t need a lot of time cooking. At work we only have 1 microwave and 1 toaster oven at the moment, so I want to make sure that I’m in and out of the kitchen as fast as possible.
- Use a stretchable lunch bag. Mine is from Built, but you can get one from a bunch of online stores. I like mine because it stretches to fit whatever strange containers I put it in. It is also washable!
- Pack healthy snacks. I am a huge culprit of forgetting to bring healthy options and walking to the vending machine. Our vending machine is pretty unhealthy, but every once in a while there is a bag of pop chips bbq (my favorite). However, I’d rather pack healthy stuff that I know will be in the fridge rather than taking a gamble with the vending machine.
- Change it up. Although I am the queen of routines, I try to bring something different every day. I find that if I start bringing the same items every day, I am more likely to go get Whole Foods or Saladworks with my friends at work. I’m not saying that going out for lunch every once in a while is bad, but my wallet doesn’t like that too often.
What do you typically take to work for breakfast/lunch?
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Maybe you’re running too fast? Try slowing the pace down a bit, and work on running slower, without walk breaks.
Love this post on lunches, I just started doing it myself & I’m saving a TON of money by not going out everyday. Also it helps that I have delicious food to look forward too rather than a Lean Cuisine or something similar.
Hey Melissa. Yes, I think that was what the problem was. This week I’m working on taking the pace down but running without breaks. Today I did 2 mi in 19:55. Not the best, but at least I didn’t take breaks.
Hi, Nicole.
Tips for running without stop for 3 miles is ;
1. Try to run regulary, it’s built your muscle & will help increase your endurance.( 4 times a week)
2. Enjoy your pace & distance.
3. Add distance max 10% every week, if you could, if not stay at the same distance.
4. Take control your breath & body posture when running.
I’m start from 0,5 mile every day run.
After 3 years i’m enjoy 5 miles in 50 minutes, 4 times a week.
I’m combination with ; monday,tuesday, Thursday 3 miles (high pace) & saturday long distance 6 miles (low pace).
Good luck !
Thank you for the great tips! I hope to be able to do 13.1 in November without stopping much!
During the school year, I always pack my lunch. The cafeteria options freak me out, so I just avoid them completely! I usually bring a sandwich & some sort of baked chip, a Greek yogurt, & fruit snacks for a little something sweet. I’m always sure to bring snacks, too!
Eek cafeteria food. IDK how kids eat that stuff. It just LOOKS gross, I can’t imagine how it tastes. I pack my lunch a lot also b/c I don’t eat meat.
Love this post! You are super organized for work meal-planning! I definitely have a routine down but need to “break out” a little to add some variety. I typicaly pack the following:
Breakfast: Banana and FiberOne bar
Snack: Apple
Lunch: Chobani and raw veggies
(Lately been trying to prep a salad in the morning for lunch options as well)
Afternoon Snack (occasional): Whatever I have left of raw veggies, raw almonds, or trail mix
Any suggestions on mixing it up?
i love raw veggies. I need to bring them to work more. I also need to start pre-packing at night b/c a lot of things don’t seem appetizing in the morning. I like to try and bring different things each day, but it doesn’t always turn out that way. I’d say try to experiment with different types of salads (diff ingredients each day), different fruit salads, different breakfasts. I say that, but I typically eat a yogurt EVERY DAY for breakfast.