Crush Your Goals with Meal Prepping!

Meal PrepMeal Planning
Written By Janiece Gilbert
 
 
 

In my last two blog posts, I touched on consistency, and how committing to action and process is key to reaching your goals.  One of the actions you can take to remain consistent in your effort to improve your health, lose weight, or build muscle, is by incorporating meal prepping into your weekly routine.  

Meal prep looks different for everyone.  It can be as simple or complex as you like. Unfortunately, many who are new to meal prepping may struggle due to feeling overwhelmed or intimidated.  The key is to gradually incorporate the number of meals you prep each week.  Remember, creating new habits and routines takes time.

 

LET’S TALK ABOUT TIME…

Some people tell me they don’t have “time” for meal prep...and I find that so very interesting!  Quite frankly, I’d like to challenge that.  Meal prepping can actually SAVE you time!

Every single weekend I take a couple of hours to bake all my fish, prep all my meals, and get everything ready for the ENTIRE week…WHAT!?  Some weeks my meals are done in an hour or less.  This is the result of consistency over time.  Maintaining the habit so it becomes like second nature, and therefore takes even less time!  It’s a skill you can improve on the more you do it.

I’m not buying the “I don’t have time to meal prep”. You can be fancy, or you can keep it simple. In the grand scheme of things, if you make it a priority, you save time AND set yourself up to be more successful in reaching your goals.  Which leads me to the benefits…

 

THERE ARE SOME GREAT BENEFITS TO THIS MEAL PREPPING THING!

✅ I have everything easily accessible and therefore stay 100% on plan…there is no excuse for diverting from my plan.

✅ I have MORE time during the week to relax, get training in, spend time with my family, or do other things I enjoy.  No really, I do!

✅ I save money.  Believe it or not, taking the time to plan my meals allows me to better budget and save money for other things. 

✅ I still have flexibility if I want to change something up one day because everything is already recorded in my meal tracker, My Fitness Pal.  I also follow a macro routine so I am able to easily change something up if I’m really craving something else, or if something comes up ...and still know I’m on plan.

 

WHAT DOES MEAL PREPPING INVOLVE?

So, there are technically two parts to meal prepping: Meal Planning and Meal Prepping.  What’s the difference?  Let’s break this down…

  • MEAL PLANNING

    • Meal planning is a way to visualize your daily/weekly meals, or your weekly menu.

  • Decide what you will eat.

    • Break down your typical day.  What do you want for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks…?  Are you having egg whites and veggies for breakfast?  Shrimp salad for lunch?  Maybe you want the ever-famous chicken and rice?  Regardless of what you eat, start writing it down.

    • Tip: if you want to save money, try using some of the same ingredients in multiple meals.

  • Determine how much you need.

    • Decide how much of each ingredient you will need each day.  Maybe you are eating 85 grams (3 ounces) of chicken for lunch every day.  If you are cooking for your work week, this likely means you need prepared lunches for 5 days.  So, you will need 15 ounces of cooked chicken for your work week.  Do you want to add veggies to your meal?  Maybe you are eating 150 grams of broccoli with your chicken every day.  That means you’ll need 750 grams.

    • Tip: Get your veggies in the frozen section at the grocery store.  You will see the weight noted on the bag, so it’s easy to determine how many bags you will need.

  • Consider a meal tracking app to organize your meals.

    • Tracking apps can make planning so much easier, especially if you are counting calories, or tracking macros.  Apps like My Fitness Pal allow you to put in daily calorie or macro goals.  As you log each food item, you can be sure you stay within your goal range.

  • Create a grocery list and purchase your groceries.

    • Once you have everything written down, or recorded in your app, put your grocery list together and go shopping!

 

  • MEAL PREPPING

    • Meal prepping is cooking and prepping your food.

  • Decide on your meal prep day and time.

    • Once you have all your groceries, choose the day/time for prepping your meals and get to cooking!

    • Tip: For bulk prepping proteins such as fish, steak, or chicken, consider baking or grilling to save time!

  • Determine how you will store and transport your meals.

    • After you have everything cooked, start dividing/measuring out all your meals.  For this step, you will need to decide how you will store/transport your meals.  Do you prefer plastic or glass?  Several companies exist that offer specific containers and bags to store and transport meals (6 Pack Bags, WOLFpak Bags, Isolator Fitness). However, you can also use Rubbermaid or Pyrex containers to store/transport your meals as well.

Once you have everything in containers, you are DONE!

 

 
 

A FEW THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND…

  • Start simple.

    • Don’t overwhelm yourself by choosing several different recipes.  Think about what you normally eat, or recipes you are familiar with.

    •  Use different seasonings for simple variations.

      • Garlic

      • Fajita/Taco seasoning

      • Italian seasoning

      • Greek seasoning

      • Asian/Teriyaki sauce

  • Start slow.

    • It is less intimidating to start with 1-2 meals per week, rather than your entire menu.  Once you have this down, add another meal to prep each week.

  • Buy foods you often eat in bulk to save time/money.

    • Stock your freezer with your protein, frozen veggies or fruit.

    • Stock your pantry or countertop with rice or oats.

  • How you decide to cook your meals can save time.

    • It is easier to bulk prep meals using the oven, grill, crock pot or instant pot.

  • Avoid prepping foods that can become soggy.

    • No one wants to eat mushy bread.  Save your sandwich and wrap prep for the day of.

    • Tip: Prepping salads ahead of time? Be sure to purchase small dressing containers to avoid that soggy, mushy lettuce. 

  • Think about how you will store and transport your meals.

    • Do you have enough containers to place all your meals in for the week?  Or will you pack your meals each morning?

    • Do you prefer glass or plastic containers?

 

 
 

Meal prepping does NOT have to be a chore.  It also should not overwhelm you.  However, it is definitely a routine that takes time to perfect.  Take it one week ahead of time and know that in the long run, as you develop your skills, you will only get better…and you will be well on your way to crushing your health and fitness goals!

If you are interested in any of the companies I mentioned above, you can find them below:

Janiece Gilbert
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