How Meal Planning Has Helped Me

When something is written down, whether it’s a to-do list or a meal plan, it keeps me organized, less stressed and keeps me on track.  I haven’t always meal planned, I’ve been working on this for the last 10 months by making it a priority each week.  I choose a day each week to plan my meals for the upcoming week.  I prep some of the veggies, fruits and meats to make things easier for me during the week and to ensure that I always have something quick and healthy available so that I don’t snack on junk!

Step 1 is to determine what your calorie target is for each day.  This is why I use the 21 Day Fix nutrition system for weight loss and weight maintenance.  This program allows you to determine the number of servings from each food group that you need each day, then you can start dividing your foods up throughout the day.  I always plan 3 meals and 2 snacks.  And I always combine a complex carb with a protein based on the Clean Eating principles by Tosca.

A few quick tips for meal planning:

1. Decide which day of the week will be your planning & prepping day.

2. Write the meal plan down, either electronic or pen & paper

3. Meals don’t have to be complicated.  Find a few favorite, easy recipes to get started then you can add in different meals once meal planning becomes a habit. 

4. Include protein and complex carbs at each meal and snack.

5. Once you’ve decided on the meals for the week, start your grocery list.

6. Keep frozen veggies and frozen pre-cooked meats (such as turkey meatballs) on hand so that you always have a quick meal available.

7. After grocery shopping for the week, wash/cut fruit & veggies so they are ready to eat.  You can pre-cook meats such as turkey, chicken, ground meats, etc to use for packed lunches and supper.

If I know that I have a meal plan for the week, I don’t worry about what I will cook.  And I know that I will be eating enough food because when we are busy at work, etc, it’s easy to skip a meal or snack.  NOW, even with a meal plan, I still make changes during the week when something comes up.  And sometimes when work is crazy busy, I end up skipping a meal or snack.  BUT, with a meal plan (written down!) I am much more likely to stay on track with my clean eating goals 80% to 90% of the time. 

If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.

My newest Sweating for Summer Challenge is starting June 1^st if you’re ready to get healthy, learn about clean eating & meal planning, start an amazing workout program, drink a superfood shake each day and have the support of me as your coach and a group of people on the same mission. 

It’s time to FIND YOUR HEALTHY!  Join us!

All you need to do is click here to make me your free COACH then email me at kristingator@gmail.com OR fill out the form below this post and we will get started!