12 Week Transformation with Prep Kitchen: Week 1
It's only 12 weeks till New Year’s 2022 and I’ve given myself a challenge: I’m going to spend the rest of 2021 eatingonlymeals from Prep Kitchen and putting their nutrition to the test! I’ll be seeing what results I can get with weight loss, muscle gain/tone, and performance by combining Prep Kitchen meals with a regimented exercise plan. I’ll know I’ve achieved my goal when I hear people whispering,“he’s gone too far”behind my back-kidding!
I’ve said it time and time again, and you’ve probably heard it from many other health and fitness professionals: Meal prep isKEYto weight management- be it for losing weight, or for muscle gain. One of my biggest problems is that I’m a big eater- there’s not much I won’t eat. I’ve tried every trick in the book to help me, but I ate that too.
The key reasons why I chose Prep Kitchen UK:
So here we are at Week 1 of 12. The starting line of another weight loss attempt isn’t an unfamiliar place for me. Most of us have been, or are currently, here. Week 1 is the honeymoon phase where I’m excited about change, optimistic about results, and I still have a food hangover from the previous week where all the junk food I binged is still fresh in my mind (so cravings, at this stage, are non-existent). If anything, I’ve overindulged to the point where I’m craving a salad and a balanced meal.
Starting weight & waist: 110.1kgs/108cms
End of Week 1: 107.6kgs/ 106.5cms
Current weight loss total: 2.5kgs/ 1.5cms
I consider myself an active person and, despite what my ‘before picture’ may say, I exercise 5-6 times a week. My weight tends to fluctuate a lot, particularly between the following three phases:
Phase 1: “Wow, Paulo’s looking good! What’s he been doing?”
Phase 2: “Paulo’s put on a bit, but still, he’s quite fit and athletic for a bigger guy”
Phase 3: “Oh, he’s let himself go. What happened?”
So, meal prep will be a big part of this challenge because I have a feeling that my nutritionmaybe what is stalling any meaningful progress.
I can humbly say that I am by no means a social media influencer of any sort. I have more fingers than followers on Instagram, and hash browns will always take priority over hashtags. But I’ve been given the ultimate stamp of authority that marks the pinnacle of success on social media for any brand. I’ve been given aDiscount Code, and any chance I would get I’d brag my discount code into every conversation regardless of the topic.
“Mondays are so hard right? Unlike my meal preps from Prep kitchen, Discount code Paulo10.”
After a workout: “I could’ve done ten more burpees in that last round.Maybe if I had a Prep Kitchen meal before class- discount codePaulo10- I would’ve managed it.”
Meal Prep is always worth doing, especially when you’re wanting more control over what you’re eating. But it does take its toll on time, energy and sometimes stress.
Now, I’m not new to meal prepping. Where most people see Sunday as their day of rest, or their recovery day (from the gym or the previous night out), Sunday became known in this household as ‘Meal Prep Day’. And it really did take the whole day: Finding recipes to make; making calculations of the rough calories of each meal; calculating macros; then making food lists; grocery shopping; preparing the food, cutting, measuring, slicing, dicing, peeling; cooking, cooking, more cooking, and then some more; and then the cleaning (oh, the cleaning!).
Prep Kitchen meals have changed my Sundays. My first delivery arrived Sunday afternoon. I grabbed a butter knife (it was the closest thing to me at the moment), sliced through the box, tore open the box flaps, and ripped open the insulated foil wrapping to find a week’s worth of meals! From hours and hours of planning, preparing, cooking and cleaning, to unboxing and storing ready-made meals in all of 5 minutes, I can easily say this is definitely one of the main benefits of Prep Kitchen meals!
It’s surprising how much you think about what to eat during the day, and you only realise this when there isn’t a need to. Even with my meals sorted, I’ve found myself wandering through the aisles at Tesco out of habit and, out of spite, discreetly crushing all the hollow rabbit chocolates.
The key takeaway from this week is ‘time’. I have more of it because of Prep Kitchen meals. Week 1 has flown by and I’m feeling great! I’m feeling lighter and brighter, and I’m excited for the coming weeks.
Meal of the Week:
Sri Lankan King Prawn & Fish Curry
A fragrant mix of mustard seeds, cumin, turmeric, chilli and fresh ginger is lightly toasted and fried with a generous serving of vegetables, king prawns and fish. Finished off with tamarind for sweetness, coconut milk, coriander and served with sticky jasmine rice or caulirice for our low carb customers
