Maintaining a Regimented Diet On A Busy Schedule

Throughout college (my first two degrees) the biggest issues I had bulking up from 105 to 205 pounds was the sheer time that eating 5,000 calories a day took. Friends would always comment on how I was always either eating or carrying something to eat later. It even got to the point where I was hoarding muffins in one of my desk drawers (liberated from the dining hall) and most of them got moldy and I had to throw them all out.

However, as I’ve recently graduated university, I no longer have the luxury of having my meals cooked for me, nor the free abundance of choices on what to eat. This newfound responsibility has forced me to become more intentional in my efforts to maintain my diet, and over the past two months, I’ve come up with a system that allows me to eat 3,600 calories (currently) without disrupting my many other tasks throughout the day.

• Meal prepping – Not only does this save me tons of time, but it also ensures that I’m eating the same portions of the same foods everyday. I usually do this on Saturday or Sunday, where I’m either only working one shift or completely off from work. The entire process takes about 45 minutes and leaves me with 6 meals that I spread out across the week. I currently (as of Year 2, July) make a curry chicken over rice, and usually eat it with two slices of bread. Its amazing to be able to come home and just heat up a meal in 2 minutes and still be keeping to your diet, when it feels like you’re just being lazy and eating a frozen meal.
• Liquid calories – Drinking your food is always faster than eating it. It’s also much more portable and mobile. I use a blender that allows me to blend my shakes directly in the container in which I drink it from or carry it around in, which also saves me a little time in not having to pour it from one container to another and the subsequent cleanup. With shakes, I’m able to down 1,100 calories in about 10 minutes, or 4 if I’m really pushing it. This same meal in solid food would probably take me anywhere from 30 – 45 minutes to consume, and would lead me to feeling much more sluggish and full. Being able to quickly down the calories tricks your brain into thinking you’re less full than you actually are (no reference for this, forgot where I heard it from).
• Huel – This is the most recent addition to my system, as I’ve only been using it for about a week. It takes everything I’ve talked about about liquid calories and makes it even easier – for a cost. I went into my first purchase having several discount codes, so I bought around 6 bags, leaving the total per meal to be around $1.90. For reference, my meal preps cost around $4.20 for around 250 more calories, so it was a pretty good price.