MEAL PLANNING
When it comes to fitness, eating well through meal planning is one of the easiest things you can do to see results and feel successful. The key to meal planning is simply just to start! Here are some of my essential meal planning tips to get you started:
The 4 Most Important Steps To Meal Planning: There are four main steps to keep in mind when planning meals, including devoting time to look for healthy recipes, creating an organized area for saved recipes, keeping a meal journal, and tracking what you eat on a calendar. It’s also incredibly helpful to keep your recipes simple and to create themed eating nights so you always have something to look forward to. Lastly, and possibly the most important piece of advice, do not overstuff the fridge!
How to Cut Costs: It’s no secret that eating healthy typically means spending more at the grocery store. Luckily, I have a way of keeping your food costs in check. For starters, always plan your meals ahead of time. This allows you to realize exactly what you’ll need to be buy once you get to the store. Some of my other saving tricks include buying produce in season, paying attention to sales/coupons, buying generic brands, and; buying/cooking in bulk (this also allows you to have something to pack for lunch at work)! If you’re feeling adventurous and have a green thumb, you might consider planting your own garden.
Busy People Must Eat Too: More often than not, many busy individuals tend to skip meals or eat something quick, and usually high in calories. Just because you’re busy doesn’t mean you should deprive your body of the nutrients that it needs. Some helpful things to start implementing are keeping healthy snacks always in reach, figuring out better alternatives to takeout, and preparing meals in a slow cooker. All of these things will make meals quicker, easier, and never leaving you starving again.
Schedule Times to Eat: It’s no secret that being organized makes life easier! This same rules applies when it comes to eating your daily meals. To make sure you never miss a meal, set up a calendar on your phone and write down everything that you’re going to eat. If you’re someone who tends to loose track of time, setting a daily reminder for when to eat throughout the day can also be a major help in ensuring you don’t miss any meals. In addition to planning your meals, you should be eating at least 5 to 6 times a day if your goal is to lose fat and make your metabolism faster. This schedule should consist of 3 meals and 2 to 3 snacks per day (eating every 2 to 3 hours). Lose weight while eating more frequently!
Healthy Snacks: Most people love to snack in between meals, which is completely fine unless your idea of a snack is cookies and candy. A few of my favorite on hand snacks include a handful of raw almonds, an apple, a cup of strawberries, and half of a banana. Try out these snacks and let me know what you think!
Lifespan of a Meal: It may seem too good to be true that a meal you make on Sunday can still taste good the following Saturday. The trick to making sure your meal lasts an entire week is keeping half of your meal in the fridge and putting the other half in the freezer. When mid week comes around, you can pull out the other half of your meal from the freezer and enjoy it for the rest of the week.
Although meal planning takes time to organize and prepare, it’s a small price to pay for a whole week of food ready to go and a much healthier body. Time to get cooking!
