How To Start Meal Planning For Weight Loss

5 Hacks For Meal Planning For Weight Loss

Meal planning for weight loss is one of the best habits you can get into for  shedding those unwanted pounds. There’s been quite a bit of research done demonstrating that habits and preparation are the best way to ensure a proper diet and healthy habits maintain over time.

But this isn’t always easy. In the course of our busy and hectic day-to-day lives it certainly doesn’t always seem like we have time to cook full meals of farm-to-table food, not to mention the resistance you may encounter is you’re cooking for a spouse or children.

Use these 5 meal planning hacks as soon as possible to make meal planning easy, inexpensive and a functional part of your healthy lifestyle.

Free Report: 6 Daily Habits To Boost Your Energy Levels

5 Hacks When Meal Planning For Weight Loss

1. Stock up on the inexpensive staples in bulk

Meal planning for weight loss can be an expensive proposition. Not all of us are chef’s or run a full kitchen and it’s costly to always use the latest recommended diet products or specialty items. The best strategy is to leverage our resources for the important ingredients that need to be fresh and stock up on those other items in bulk.

Beans, tomatoes, spices, frozen fruit and vegetables and more can add up to huge savings over time.  Meal prep is much easier when you know that you’re well stocked in many of our ingredients ahead of time.

2. Make a plan prior to visiting the store

We’ve all been there. The grocery store temptation. Whether it’s the shiny buy one, get one free sign on a snack we know we don’t need, or the alluring scent of freshly prepared food. When we shop hungry and without a plan we make poor decisions, tend to buy the foods we know we shouldn’t and spend money we know we shouldn’t.

The key to resisting these urges is having a plan ahead of time of exactly what we need, how much we need and sticking to that list. Spending the extra 10 minutes prior to shopping to make a detailed list will help you to get exactly what you need and sidestep the traps and temptations of your store.

3. Invest in portable storage to make meals easy to access

Meal planning for weight loss can be a time-consuming process. And we don’t always readily have lots of spare time, especially during the middle of a busy week. One of the best and easiest strategies to avoid this pitfall is to make an investment in portable food storage both for at home and on the go.

To minimize the time and energy cost, preparing as many meals as possible when you have the time is critical to maintaining your goals throughout the week. In addition, having the right meals already prepped and made, with all the equipment needed, makes it easier when you’re in a rush to grab a healthy meal and get going. This will help your willpower to avoid fast food or other options that may be more convenient.

4. Use (or get) a slow cooker

One of the biggest pitfalls in diet and healthy eating is the after-work rushed dinner, pizza order or drive through pick up. It’s an easy option after a long day at work and you simply want to go home and relax rather than cook a whole dinner and all the effort and logistics needed to pull that off.

Unfortunately, this almost always leads to regret later on and the kind of negative reinforcement that crashes many diets. However, in the morning or the night before when you’re more mentally fresh, popping the requisite ingredients into a slow cooker that will cook while we’re at work makes for a great option. Then, when you get home the food is already cooked and you just have to serve and eat!

These cookers are a fantastic investment and with a little creativity can make some very tasty meals as well!

5. Make meals in small, portable portions

Our metabolism has to be revving for our bodies to burn fat. One of the primary ways to do this along with exercise is to eat regularly throughout the day. In addition, having easy to access portable nutrition options is a key strategy when you feel the urge or temptation to grab the easy, convenient fast food choice.

When meal prepping and planning, it’s a key task to prep small portions in portable containers that can be used throughout the week. Whenever these options are readily available, you’re  putting yourself in a position to be successful and achieve your health goals!

6 Daily Habits To Help Maintain A Healthy Lifestyle

What you put into your body is going to have a huge impact on how you perform throughout the day. So choose the right diet, but then fine-tune how you eat throughout the day based on how you perform.

Getting into a daily routine of practicing certain habits will keep us going day-in and day-out. For more information on meal planning for weight loss, download this Free Report that reveals the habits that should be part of your daily routine to help you maintain a healthy lifestyle.