Eating Better with Bae: Tips for Dieting while Living with a Professional Athlete
By: Taylor Webster (@taywebster)
Living with a professional athlete means a lot of cooking and a lot of eating. Our husbands and boyfriends workout at a high level every day and they need the extra calories just to break even on what they’ve lost for the day. As their significant other, sometimes it’s hard to balance what you’re eating with what your man is eating. I personally found it difficult to follow my normal diet—I was eating whatever he was eating. Over the last few months I have made some changes so that I can maintain my weight and his weight at the same time.
“You are more likely to eat unhealthy if unhealthy food is the only option. ”
Cooking
Maintaining my diet cooking for myself and my boyfriend was hard— if he wanted eggs, bacon, grits and pancakes that’s what I would make us for breakfast. I made a change by buying egg whites and turkey bacon alongside the regular bacon and regular eggs. I put the turkey bacon and the regular bacon in the oven, made the pancakes, made my egg whites, and lastly, made his cheesy scrambled eggs. I figured out that the reason I was eating poorly was because that was all there was to eat. You are more likely to eat unhealthy if unhealthy food is the only option. My theory goes for snacking too. I buy fruits like: apples, peaches, berries and bananas. I also buy salty snacks like: skinny pop and veggie chips. These snacks come in handy when we are watching a movie; he eats his Ritz-bits and I eat my skinny pop. I may eat a few of his crackers, but since I have my own healthier option, I am normally content. For dinner, I normally sub out my carbs for extra vegetables altogether or just eat less carbs and more vegetables. I learned that when my body is craving carbs, I don’t need to eat as much as my boyfriend. A little bit will satisfy the craving. Lastly, I found making healthy meals that we both enjoy works.
Eating Out
Eating out can be tricky because you don’t know what ingredients the chef is using to make your food. You’re also sitting, talking and laughing so the act of eating becomes passive, and thus, you consume more food. I learned recently that I can order my sushi with less rice and it will taste exactly the same but will cut my caloric intake in half. I’ve also been taking the top of the bun off my burgers or removing the bun entirely to spare myself the carbs.
I still believe in a cheat meal every once in a while (my weakness is truffle fries), but it’s okay to cheat if you are disciplined for the most part. Here are some of my favorite healthy dinners to make:
Cajun Lemon Salmon with Baked Asparagus, Baked Mixed Veggies & Cilantro Rice
Turkey Meatballs & Whole Wheat Pasta
Thai Chicken Salad with Avocado
Homemade Tomato Soup with Homemade Croutons
Greek Chicken Salad with Homemade Croutons
