Doing anything brand new alone can be scary. Having a partner in this new Conservation Fitness journey is helpful. It can be a friend, a spouse, a family member. Anyone you feel could benefit from eating healthy, getting in shape, and doing their party to save the earth.
Because this program works so well with a partner, I did create the meal plan for two people. But this week has shown the difficulties with planning for two, especially two very different individuals with very different fitness goals.
Take vegetarian week, for example. The biggest complaint I read online about vegans and vegetarians is they don’t get enough protein in their diet. This is baloney (or tofurkey, I don’t know the equivalent to vegetarian baloney). You can get so much protein from a vegetarian diet, it actually can put you over the daily recommended allowance. Which if you are really being conscientious of your protein, it can be a frustrating task.
The Dietary Reference Intake for protein is only .8 grams per kilogram of body weight. Which equates to only about .36 grams per pound. So, for me, that’s really only about 67 grams a day. Now, if you are active, and looking to gain muscle, it increases to about 0.5-0.8 per pound, which is roughly 100-130 g of protein a day for me.
Most of my days on the vegetarian diet this week had me at about 85-90 g of protein for the day. Which is great for me. For my husband right now, who is trying to be conscientious of his protein intake, it’s been a little tricky. Also considering Chris dislikes deviled eggs and can’t have poached eggs, which were planned entrees for today, it gets even trickier. Balancing both of our needs takes a lot more planning than even the Conservation Fitness Guide can provide.
So, that’s a little of the downfall for having a partner. There are going to be some differences in goals and preferences. I debated whether to make this program completely for one person, but decided against it, because the chances are greater we make meals for two people. And having two people involved has greater benefits.
With two people, you can share the responsibility of making food. Okay, so I’ll admit, I make most of the meals around here. Okay, I make ALL the meals around here. But most people don’t have time to cook EVERY. SINGLE. THING. themselves. With a partner, whether it’s a spouse, a friend, or a co-worker, you can share some of the burden for cooking, and grocery shopping.
Next week I’ll delve into meal prepping, and this is PERFECT for having a partner. Have a meal prep party and spend a couple hours preparing your meals while socializing and having fun. This is actually a great way to connect to your family or loved one.
But the most important reason I encourage a partner in the Conservation Fitness Guide doesn’t have anything to do with your meals. It has to do with your physical fitness routine, your workouts.
Today, I had a rare spark of motivation to do a workout without a partner, alone, at home. This doesn’t happen very often. It’s one of the reasons why I go to classes in the morning, because I won’t do anything on my own. But I calculated my caloric intake for the day, and knew I would need another workout later on. Here is where having a partner helps.
A partner will help motivate you when you need it most. And you in turn will motivate them when they need it. Chris was really tired when he came home (our cat likes to wake him up at odd hours and makes it hard for him to sleep past 4 am). So we took a nap, with our cats. When Sully woke Chris up to feed him at 3:30 (pm), he got up, but I stayed in bed. Big mistake. My energy and motivation started waning immediately.
I needed Chris’ help to get me up and going. So I annoyed him until he came up the stairs and helped me get up. Then I dragged my feet trying to find an appropriate workout for us to do. I wanted to just forget about a workout but Chris prodded me, gently, for us to just do SOMETHING. So I put together a short music workout and something is what we did.
Partner accountability and motivation is also why I created the Sloth Army. It doesn’t matter how fast we run, or how far we run. What matters is we show up. Every Sunday and Thursday. Having people waiting for me or expecting me to be there makes it a priority. I make the workout fun, and reinforce the efforts for those showing up, which continues to motivate me to keep going as well.
Partners are a vital part of successful fitness program. Regardless if they actively participate in the program with you. Maybe they are only there for emotional support. Starting something this new, big, and exciting requires some of that. Make sure you graciously accept.
So, thank you, Chris, for being my partner through all these crazy endeavors. You make ZooFit a much more fun program to plan and develop.
Today
Breakfast: Deviled eggs
Lunch: Leftover cabbage enchiladas
Dinner: Poached Eggs over grilled veggies in marinara sauce
Workouts:
Morning- “Just One More” with Inchworms and Rowing followed by “Nancy” (5 rounds of rowing and squats)
Afternoon- A modified version of Conservation Hero WOD “John Denver”- Thunderstruck, Sally, Born to Rage, and Gold
Mood: I feel good. I still haven’t found this deep drive to work on writing projects, but I’m getting more done every day, and with Vegetarian Week almost over, I am starting to switch my focus to Keto. NaNoWriMo is also quickly approaching, so I need to make plans for that as well.
Challenges: As I mentioned, it’s a slight struggle trying to provide Chris with enough calories and nutrients and meet his needs, while also providing for me to meet my goals. Breakfasts are the hardest if there isn’t a prepared casserole or batch of something made before, because he typically gets up hours before I do, and naturally wants to eat. But honestly, I think Keto week will be easier to manage, mainly because there are so many meal prepped items, he can have his pick of food when he gets up or if I’m away for the day.