How To Put the Guy in Your Life on a 24 Day Challenge

I often share how I eat, supplement, etc. and today I thought I'd share a little bit about how to put the guy in your life on a Challenge.


If your's is like mine, he'll do it, but you'd better make it easy. I'm talking literally laying every, single step out for them in the morning, packing their lunches and making sure to have dinner ready every. single. night. It can be daunting if you think too much about it, so I'm here to share what I do. Everyone is at a different starting place, has different goals and tastes, so my routine may not look like yours but, I hope it will give you a good starting place.

My husband is a meat-and-potatoes kind of guy. On top of that, he doesn't work out, leaves the house at 5:30am, works 12-hour (sometimes longer) days where is on his feet all day long and spends a ton of time in his car. He, growing up in one of the unhealthiest places in the US and I, in one of the healthiest, let's just say we come from different 'nutritional upbringing'. This is a guy who literally gags at the sight of broccoli in the fridge so, I have to get creative and work with what I've got. 

When it comes to Challenges, I'm quite a bit more lenient on men than I am with women, anyways, but especially if it's a guy that doesn't already eat clean and has quite a bit of weight to lose. For example, I let them continue to eat gluten and dairy in moderation - basic clean eating principles apply most here. 

So, here's what I do to make sure that my guy stays Challenge-compliant.

Breakfast:

Meal Replacement Shakes :: these are the most nutritious and convenient options for him, especially while on a Challenge. If it's an off day or weekend, I'll make him eggs and whole oat oatmeal with unsweetened almond milk and fruit (he likes the frozen cherries). Sometimes, on long days when I know he'll have a late night case, I'll do some overnight oats the night before so he can have those for breakfast and have a shake for dinner. I don't advocate this, but sometimes it's the only option. Better to do that than not eat, then be so hungry on the way home that he pulls through the local Captain D's and orders his meal with an extra side of just the crispies. Yes, honey - I found the receipt.

Snacks:

• Hard boiled eggs with fine-ground sea salt
• 2% milk string cheese
• 2% cottage cheese
• Men's Health Nuts :: I like these because they're already portioned out and they're "salty enough". I made the mistake of trying to feed him unsalted roasted almonds once and you'd a thought I tried to feed him freeze-dried cockroaches. Apparently, he likes a little salt. Lesson learned. I don't like them because they're heavy on the peanuts. If I were superwife, I'd get the nuts in bulk and make my own mix, but haven't done that yet. 
• Clif Builder Bars :: Again, I think there are more nutritionally satisfying (for me) options out there (Quest Bars, Rx Bars, etc.) but he likes and will eat these.
• Fruit
• Apples with a couple tablespoons of natural peanut butter (I don't send nuts with him if I do this snack)
• Whole grain crackers or Veggie Straws (again, I know, but it's these or Grippos out of the vending machine)
• Grass-fed beef jerky 
• Greek Yogurt (I'd put this in there if he'd eat it - if your guy does, go for it)
• Chocolate Protein Bars

Lunch:

• Typically leftovers - a protein, veg (most of the time) and a complex carb. I cook a lot from either my food page (where everything is guy-Challenge compliant) or my Pinterest board.
• Favorite chicken
• Taco meat (sometimes turkey, sometimes grass-fed beef) with pinto beans and brown rice. I'll throw a little shredded mozz and Taco Bell hot sauce on there because I'm sweet.
• Filet or Strip
• Chicken & Quinoa
• Burger (no bun)
• Spaghetti with whole wheat or gluten-free pasta (careful here, there's a TON of sugar in pasta sauces. Check your labels.)
• Turkey sandwich :: Applegate turkey on whole grain with a slice of cheddar and a smidge of Miracle Whip. Yes. This pains me to even have this in my fridge, but again, baby steps.
• I'd send him with Stuffed Sweet Potatoes, but the only sweet potatoes he likes are covered in brown sugar, cinnamon and marshmallow...

Dinner:

• Really, everything I cook regularly comes from my food page or my Pinterest board. 

Luckily, he'll eat the same thing over and over again, so lucked out there. What do you guys do? Any great, packable lunch options I need to add to my repertoire?

Sidenote:
If your guy is further along on his health and fitness journey and doing a Challenge to lean out, increase some PR's, etc.: Follow the Challenge food guidelines to a T. Tighten up his diet as much as humanly possible (no gluten, minimal dairy) and really up his protein and veg. Even go Paleo. It's pretty incredible. More to come on that later...