Overnight oats and nutrition goals with Bold trainer Chris

When Chris Litten isn’t teaching a Bold strength class or running his award-winning personal training gym in Tucson, Arizona, you might find him in the kitchen. Chris has been a certified nutritionist since 2015, and he uses his nutritional background during training sessions with Bold and in his gym. Chris spoke at our Bold Summit in 2022, and it’s not too late to learn some tips and tricks from this double-threat.

Introducing the 4 P’s: Chris’ behavior tips to optimize your nutrition

1. Purpose

Before you start making changes to your diet, Chris says the first thing you have to do is establish an objective or goal, and ask 5 questions to get to the root of your goal. Chris explains that with eating, it is important to align your actions with your values. This way, you can be sure that you line up your behaviors with your intended outcomes.

2. Planning

Once you’ve established your nutrition goals, it’s time to transition your ideas to actionable behavior. Chris emphasizes how crucial planning is to success, saying “what’s not planned for is harder to overcome.” He says that the first step in planning is to consider when throughout the day you will be able to eat, based on your schedule. From here, you can make decisions to remain proactive instead of reactive. Proactivity looks like deciding whether to eat out or cook before you start your day. Chris prefers to cook than eat because he says “it gives you more authority to decide what goes into your body.” If you’re eating out, he recommends looking at the menu of the restaurant you plan on going to before you go out, so you can make nutritional decisions.

3. Prepping

According to Chris, the next step is taking consideration of how you’re putting foods together. He suggests asking yourself, “what can I do ahead of time?” to make sure you are best prepared to optimize your nutrition. Chris discusses how the more colors you can have on your plate throughout the day is better because “different colors represent different grains and minerals.” He makes a point of incorporating red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple into his daily meals.

4. Portions

As you eat throughout the day, Chris recommends considering hunger vs. fullness. Chris emphasizes considering “am I really hungry?” at different points during your day, and let this help align your decisions about nutrition. He says that eating slowly can help you to listen to your body and gauge how it feels in terms of hunger and fullness. Lastly, you should “take the time and enjoy every bite.”

Chris’ overnight oats recipe

Put the “prepping” tip into action from Chris’ 4 tips to optimize your nutrition with this easy, nutrient-dense, and delicious recipe. This recipe can be made in a bowl or container for an on-the-go breakfast. For this recipe, Chris uses measurements that work for his age, gender, and activity level. In order to optimize your own nutrition, Chris recommends modifying the amount of each of the ingredients based on your age, gender, and activity level.

Ingredients

20 grams whey protein powder
12 ounces almond milk
Dash of cinnamon
1 ounce walnuts
¾ cup of berries
Pinch of shredded coconut
1 cup dried oats

Steps (for the night before your breakfast):

Shake protein powder and almond milk in a blender bottle. The addition of protein will help your body hold onto muscle.
Put cinnamon, walnuts, berries, coconut, and oats in the bottom of a bowl. Chris likes blackberries, raspberries, and blueberries because they’re full of antioxidants that help boost immune function.
Add fortified almond milk from step 1 to the bowl, covering the dry ingredients with liquid.
Mix all of the ingredients, allowing the liquid to permeate the dry ingredients.
Put in the fridge overnight and enjoy the following morning!