Happy New Year! Are you ready for 2018? This is Part 2 of my mini-series on how to easily stick to your lifestyle resolutions. You can learn about why a diverse diet is important for post-holiday detox in Part 1. Today I’m going to help get you started with meal planning and prep tips.
Meal planning and prep may not seem to be directly related to detoxification, weight loss and getting back in shape.
However, both are key requirements if you really want to stick to your goals.
Meal Planning and Prep Guidelines
Sticking to your goals or resolutions is more effective with meal planning and prep. You know ahead of time exactly what you’ll be eating. Plus, you’ll have most of your meals all ready to toss in a pan for a very quick and convenient dinner on a busy night.
Let’s get started!
Meal Planning
Plan your week out in advance. Choose your breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks for the week.
Make a grocery list and head out shopping. By planning ahead, you’ll choose healthier meal options and save money too!
If you’re not sure where to start, check online for healthy meal plans like these ones.
Meal Prep
Here’s the fun part!
Go through your weekly meal plan and pick out anything you can prep ahead of time.
Chop veggies for a stir-fry; pre-cook chicken to cut back on cooking time during the week.
Allotting just 1-2 hours on the weekend to cook, chop, create and portion out meals, snacks and recipe ingredients can save up to 2 hours of time each week on cooking and making school or work lunches.
In fact, the easier you make healthy meals, the more likely you will be to stick with them!
Reach Your Goals Faster
Implement my meal planning and prep guidelines and you’ll definitely reach your health and lifestyle goals faster this winter.
Meal planning and prep sets you up for making healthier choices all week long. Meal planning makes it easier to get back into the swing of things when you do have one of those crazy nights where you just don’t feel like cooking, too.
There is nothing wrong with eating out or ordering take out if it helps keep your family fed and sane. But, when you do your diligence with meal planning and prep, you’ll have healthy meal ideas ready to go for the next night.
Practice makes perfect! Make it a goal to plan your meals every week for the next 2 months. Fill your meals with healthy, fresh vegetables, fruits, and fats. And, engage the entire family for meal prep, too. Get the kids filling small containers with lunch portions or ask your husband to chop vegetables while you cook.
Another helpful tip to make meal planning and prep even easier is to cook up a big batch of chili, stew or curry that you can quickly reheat on busy nights. This can be a life (and waist) saver!
Stick with It
The longer you practice meal planning and prep, the easier it will be to stick with it. All it takes is a few minutes each week to plan out your food for the following week. You have to grocery shop anyway, so why not use the time to choose healthier options and avoid picking up those processed extras that you don’t really need?
It’s way easier to eat healthy meals when you have the ingredients in front of you. It’s also a lot easier to stick with healthy eating when you know exactly what you’ll be eating each day. No more wondering what to make for dinner; no more feeling overwhelmed by all those vegetables to chop after work.
With some simple meal planning and prep, you can set yourself up for a stress-free week of health eating!
Now, all you need to do is plan out your exercise and self-care for the week and commit to that!
Get all this on the calendar and you should have no excuse for NOT sticking to your New Year’s resolutions this year!
