Are you trying to make healthier food choices? If so, be sure to check out parts 1-3 of this “How to Make Healthier Food Choices” blog series for more simple tips!
We’re finishing up with Part 4: Prepare in Advance
Preparing healthy meals and snacks before you’re hungry is one of the most foolproof ways to make the better choice when you want to improve your diet because it guarantees you’ll always have a healthy option on hand.
One of the most common struggles I hear from clients is that their day was busy and they had to skip breakfast, order in for lunch, or go get takeout on the way home from work. While this is fine once in a while, a daily lack of not being prepared will cause your calories to add up quickly (as will your monthly expenses). Most restaurant meals are hundreds of calories and even up to 1,000 or more calories for one meal (yes, even salads)! Even if you’re not watching calories or your weight, most restaurant meals are higher in sugar, salt and fat, made with processed foods, low fiber, and low nutrient density.
When I start with a new one-on-one nutrition coaching client, often one of the first goals we make is to cut back on the number of restaurant meals they consume. This has proven successful for many clients, and is one of the keys to my own personal weight loss and maintenance. I always see my weight increase faster if I start eating out more frequently, and I feel worse in general.
Meal Prep to Reach Your Fitness Goals Faster
Your goal may be to eat better so you can lose weight, gain lean muscle, or improve your health in some way, but it is easily derailed by having no healthy choices when you need them. If you don’t bring your lunch to work and then only have fast food joints to order from, it’s much harder to stay on track with your goals. If you skip lunch and have no snacks, then are ravenous when you get home from work, you’re more likely to order a quick meal like pizza rather than take time to cook a nutritious meal. You’re also more likely to overeat.
Proverbs 21:5 says,” The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty.” While this verse is a bit more applicable to finances, the principle applies to our health. When you are diligent and plan ahead, your health will be better and you can help prevent pitfalls. But failing to plan and having to be hasty about your food choices can lead to physical poverty.
By making most of your own meals and snacks at home and having plenty available when you need it, you can easily eat healthier and maintain your weight while still eating foods you enjoy.
If you have overnight oats or hardboiled eggs in your refrigerator every day, you’ll always have a healthy breakfast that you can take on the road with you if you’re running late. When you’re tired and hungry around 3pm and you have pre-portioned bags of nuts or veggies with you, you’re far less likely to raid the vending machine for chips or M&Ms. On days you get home late from work, it’s so nice to have all the ingredients ready for a homemade Buddha bowl (or whatever other meals you love).
Tips for Preparing Meals in Advance
This preparation process might look different for everyone. There’s no right way to do it.
For detailed tips on meal and snack prepping, check out this blog and get some great ideas for tasty meals and snacks.
You can pick a weekend day and do almost all of your cooking that day, then store and freeze as needed to have everything ready for the week. Or you might just cook enough for the next 2-3 days and once that’s done, cook again. It may even be as simple as starting with taking snack bags of nuts and dried fruit with you to work so you always have a healthy snack at your desk. Once that becomes a habit, then add in lunches and start packing those each day.
While upfront it may seem like it will take more time out of your life, in the long run you’ll save time. If you cook in one big batch or a few batches per week, then you get a whole week’s worth of cooking out of the way. You’ll save time on driving to restaurants to eat out or pick up food, scouring menus, and trying to decide what to eat.
In fact, having your food prepared can even reduce mental fatigue because you don’t have to waste energy deciding what to eat and where to get it. When it’s all prepared in advance, it’s one less decision you have to worry about every day so you can focus on more important things.
You can get a meal plan here that INCLUDES preparation tips and instructions to make the process much easier!
Personalized Coaching for Making Healthier Food Choices
Still need more help? Contact me for one-on-one customized nutrition and health coaching to help you with not only choosing the right foods, but finding the internal motivation to do so. Many times we know what we need to do, but actually doing it requires support, accountability and someone to bounce ideas off of. You can use the contact form on this website or email me directly at [email protected] and I’ll be happy to give you a free 15-min consultation with no commitment to sign up.
What are some of your favorite tips for making healthier food choices? Share them in the comments!
