Plan and shop ahead.
It’s straightforward,
yet we ignore it.
On Sundays, when I plan my meals for the week, I experience little deviation from My plan.
When I start the week without a meal plan, I not only consume more calories but I also make awful choices such as eating the cookies and donuts in the break room. Oh, and other bad decisions I give into is eating out because I didn’t plan. I don’t’ know about you, but I can’t eat out for dinner without having a beer or two.
If you find yourself throwing away food, ask your family why they aren’t eating the fresh food before it spoils. Chances are they are LAZY and want it cut up, prepared, and convenient for them. I just found that the reason my family hasn’t been eating the fruit because they don’t want to cut it up. I can’t believe I raised these people!
Take the time to prepare and plan to save your calories and $ throughout the week. Utilize websites such Skinnytaste.com to help you plan and prepare for the week.
I used to own a freeze and cook franchise. The reason I bought the franchise was to make it easier for families to eat healthy meals at home. I loved having a freezer full of meals prepared ahead so I could spend more time with my family after work. It was a blessing.
If you like making meals ahead, plan a month’s worth of meals, and get with your girlfriends to have a prep day, It is so much fun! Challenge yourself each week by asking yourself what fruits and vegetables am I eating today or during this week. How can I add more?
Vegetables are naturally low-calorie foods to fill you up and provide valuable vitamins and minerals. They can be easily added to enhance recipes. Feeling adventurous, try a new vegetable you have never had or convinced yourself you didn’t like. I recently became obsessed with eating broiled Brussel Sprouts. As I was growing up, I thought I hated them, but as it turns out, I don’t like them steamed or boiled, but I sure do love them broiled with balsamic vinegar, oil, and salt, and pepper.
Delicious!
Eat earlier in the evening if you can! As a family, we used to eat somewhere between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. So, I mean, I had a “snack” (might as well call it dinner because of the large number of calories consumed) at 5 p.m. and then ate again in the evening when we could finally sit down as a family. The reason we had to do this was because of our kids’ sports activities after school.
Now that my kids are older and we can eat at 5 p.m., we all feel so much better when we can eat earlier in the evening. However, when the kids were little we thought it was important to eat together as a family, even if it was at 8 p.m. Weigh your pros and cons.
Take your lunch. Preparing your lunch is part of that meal prep and plan.
Eating out costs too much money, and you will eat high fat, high sodium foods your body does not need or want.
It’s ok to say no to people when they ask you to join them or ask if you want anything, permit yourself to take of you first.
Taking care of yourself helps you gain momentum throughout the day. It is one less item you have to think about and you will feel better throughout the day. Enjoy!