Preparing Meals

doctorwho2x

Hi Guys

On the weight loss journey! Again!

I was about 160kg when I was 16. Am 27 now but have been going from 100kg to 110kg off and on.

I now would really like to get down to my goal weight and exercise.

I've found that the reason for alot of my weight gain is laziness after I finish work and do not take time to prepare my meals.

My question is that do you prepare your meals for the week ( calorie count each container ) or prepare your lunch in the morning and dinner when you get home?

I'm finding it hard to motivate my self in preparing my meals but I would love just to get an idea of a routine of someone who has lost weight or is maintaining a healthy eating balance.

Thank you all

yaafee

I recently came back to MFP and am at -13.5 (had been down to -21). I pack my lunch the night before and thus am forced to eat only what I have logged.

I use the recipe feature to make the foods we eat and see what fits into my calories. When playing dinner I just portion the next day's lunch containers at the same time.

I have to log it all in the morning or I go crazy with the afternoon snacks.

For me it's fail to plan, plan to fail.

Good luck!

abadvat

I cook, prep in advance in batches and eventually assemble portions in the morning. Only thing i cook fresh every day is breakfast and last meal in the evening.
I cook in batches - rice / pasta / quinoa, hard boil eggs, bake potatoes, grill chicken, do a pot of legumes, wash / prep salad etc... enough to cover 2 / 2.5 days ahead of time - when levels drop low I top up as and when needed. Rather a repetitive menu during the week but easier and i don't mind eating the same stuff day in / day out.

doctorwho2x

Fantastic advice thank you all.

I am planning to cook in batches as well. I've had a look at the 30 recipe guide on the site and Am planning to buy ingredients to suit. The ounces are throwing me out a bit! I've never planned a week ahead and I find my self at the supermarket every night and this is a habbit I would love to get out of!!!

MaryCS62

I don't have time in the am to prep my food. I prep & log breakfast & lunch the night before & have specific snacks (usually yogurt & fruit) that I grab & put in my bag. Dinner depends on what we have in the house, what I feel like cooking, & what else is going on that day (my work day starts anywhere from 7-830am, so I get out 3-430pm). I usually leave at least 40 % of my daily calories for dinner & evening snack, so I have some leeway.

Liftng4Lis

I pre-log every morning, so do lunch and snacks then. I find cooking in bulk for the week, on my day off helps.

mysticlizard

I am the mom of five kids (last two now at home). Working, school, and meal times were problematic for a long time. I found that if I made out the menu for the week and made my grocery list based on the menu it really helped. We made lunches and laid out breakfast things the night before. Week (work) night meals were meals that took no more than 15-30 minutes prep to table. It takes planning but it made life so much easier.

ana3067

I don't prep at all. And when I did it just made things more annoying and complicated, especially regarding prepping whole meals into specifically-divided containers. At most I will make large meals, like I always have, and leave leftovers in the fridge. I weigh entire dishes once they are done and base servings off of that weight. I have preferred breakfasts that I make repeatedly and that don't take all that much time to make, or I will make something like baked proatmeal to last me a few days if I know I'll be busy that week. I'm probably gonna make some today actually since I have midterms this week. I grab leftovers and fresh/raw ingredients or other non-prep-needed foods to add into my lunch box. When I get home I either eat more leftovers or I make whatever I crave depending on how much protein I have left for the day and based on what is in my fridge.

I'm not motivated to meal prep, I already tried it. I'm motivated to make a large meal a few times a week and just eat those throughout the week. Or motivated to throw a chicken breast in the oven when I get home and then grab some veggies or maybe some popcorn to eat with it. Or just grabbing whatever is convenient, because I'm also lazy as eff, but I've still lost weight. So if you aren't motivated now to prep meals for a whole week in advance, then you should just find a way to make your current approach work in your favour. I.e. put more easy-to-cook protein sources in your fridge throughout the week so you can throw them in the oven or on a pan when you get home. Have more fruits and veggies to throw into things. More yogurts for easy snacking. have bagged snacks in the kitchen for other easy snacking. Because at the end of the day weight loss is about cals in < cals out, so meal prepping won't specifically prevent you from taking in too many calories.

jadumz

I did my first meal prepping session today! Roasted off a whole chicken and boiled veggies, rice and made a carrot and swede mash! Came together nicely! The one I had for dinner this evening was amazing!

rocknrollfire

it's all about finding a system that works for you. on my days off, i make a couple of really simple meals that i know i'll want to eat throughout the week and freeze them in portions. i buy restaurant-use 500ml and 1L containers and find those to be ultra-useful. or if it's something i want to go straight from the freezer to the oven, i get little oven-safe foil containers from the dollar store.
examples:

- falafel burgers
- vegetable-packed tomato sauce to eat with pasta or spiralized zucchini noodles
- pesto wheatberries with roasted broccoli + brussels sprouts, and braised kale
- veggie casserole (basically like a pot pie with only veggies, and no pastry)
- stuffed sweet potatoes
- tofu scramble
- chili
- kitchari (like this: http://www.sunwarrior.com/news/make-kitchari-healing-stew/)
- various soups + other stews

also, i pre log all my recipes in their individual portion sizes.

this system works for me because i get a really good variety of things available. and as long as i have the foresight to pull my dinner out from the freezer in the morning, cooking and cleanup at night is a breeze.

00figg

lately, on sunday afternoon, i have been roasting veggies, cooking grains, and grilling meats then putting them in separate containers. in the mornings while i drink my coffee i pre-log my meals, which i pick and choose from the things i prepared on sunday. i supplement with smoothies and fresh fruit and veggies. it has been working quite well. keep trying different things until you find what works best for you.

hesn92

I normally just make dinner for the family, and weigh it. However many grams or oz that it weighs is what I put for the # of servings. That way when I serve myself, It's easier to log. If I put 9oz of the meal on my plate I log 9 servings, for example.

I pack my entire days worth of good except dinner and log it the night before. There is the occasional meal prep that I do where I make a big batch of something and freeze individual portions of it but I typically just eat dinner leftovers for lunch.

hesn92

I pack an entire days worth of food. Not good.