God is in the Details: Planning Ahead 101

Well, well, well...

In about two weeks I would have completed 10 whole months of straight up Wellness Logging. I could not be happier. Most of you who follow me on social media already know about my obsession with the Wellness Log and how it organizes my entire life in terms of exercise, nutrition and supplementation as well as being the sole program I follow and the entity entirely responsible for my progress over the past year both physically and mentally.

But the Wellness Log isn't just about reading it day-by-day and following it as it comes; it's all about planning ahead. Most people see it as more of a daunting premise that they're told what to eat day in, day out for eight whole weeks. I, on the other hand, think of it another way entirely. I believe that knowing what I'll be consuming - down to the midday snacks - for eight weeks gives me an advantage over others. It allows me to plan way ahead. It allows me to set tight budgets for groceries and know that I won't be squandering money on things that'll end up taking up shelf space then going to waste. Most of all, it allows me to deal with the curve balls life throws at me, whether it's business travel, a weekend getaway to the beach or just simply staying at the office a little longer than I had planned.

Obviously I'm on the extreme side of the spectrum, I in no way try to convince others I'm "normal" or a "standard" to follow. I treat my body like the machine I believe it is. I feed it the right fuels, make sure it's moving and functioning properly and above all; ensure that it gets the rest it deserves and needs from time to time. I do however believe that my methods are universally applicable to anyone who wants to take charge and make sure their approach is fool-proof. I digress.

Where do you start? Read up.

Whether you're following the Wellness Log or any other program, you should know up ahead that nutrition is 80-90% if the game. Exercise is the easy bit. It only happens for an hour a day or less. The remaining 23 hours of the day make or break your entire progress. Planning ahead comes down to read up and understanding all the variables which you need to be aware of in order to control.

Fig. 1: Sample shot from The Wellness Log Eight-Week Schedule

When I get my new log, I spend an entire day reading the whole thing, understanding my meal schedule, its patterns, and making up a grocery list of the items I'd need every week in their specific quantities which allows me to set a specific budget.

Next up is learning how to cook in bulk.

This one comes down to gaining experience over time. You're to burn a lot of food at first. Under-cook it, overcook it or straight up fuck shit up in your kitchen. We're not all natural born Julia Childs. You gain experience in the kitchen and you get better at managing multiple tasks and eventually getting good enough to cook for the entire week and knowing how to store foods properly and knowing which foods can live out a week in your fridge and which foods can only be made on the day of.

Fig. 2: Cooking in bulk can help alleviate the mental stress associated with daily cooking

Things like oven roasted/grilled chicken or cooked vegetables generally tend to live out just fine in sealed Tupperware containers inside your fridge or freezer over the week. Things such as salads on the other hand are best made fresh on the day of to avoid wilting of greens.

The biggest weapon in my arsenal though? The briefly aforementioned Tupperware.

Fig. 3: Your new bestest of friends, family and loved ones all compactly stored together in joyous harmony

Air/Liquid tight Tupperware containers can and will become your new best friends. You will store cooked food into them. You will scurry your daily meals into them and carry them across town to college or work. You will wash them. You will cherish them. You will be committed to them. You will drive up to Vermont and hold a commitment ceremony with them. You will love them forever.

At the end I guess it all comes down to how much you want it, and if you want it bad enough, you'll find yourself willing to make sacrifices you found laughable just weeks or even days ago. You'll be cooking the next day's food the night before. You'll be the guy with the comically large backpack who walks around everywhere with his 3,000 calories-a-day in tow. You won't be fazed by the ridicule you get even from your friends because at the end of the day; you do what you do for you, to become the best you.

Are you ready to walk down that road?