Question for Meal Preppers

DedRepublic

Queenmunchy wrote: »

Love it! I want to make a video too!!

Do it!! And post here!!!


I really want you guys to understand something...I really...really...REALLY...LOVE BODYBUILDING...and have seriously come a long way....and I will never be who I used to be again...I mean...I had a big beer gut and was borderline alchololic 3 years ago.



That change will happen for you the moment you decide you want something MORE...something more than your (Vice, your cigarrette, your Netflix, Your Sweets, Your Football Game, Or in my case...alcohol). Once you want your results more than you want these other things your decision making will start to change...but NOT UNTIL THEN.

Your actions follow your heart. You sit there and say...wow...that meal prep stuff looks crazy, but if you decided that Fast Food was simply off the table, and no longer an option for you....then meal prep makes sense. Listen...I have made 10 pm trips on Sunday to Walmart because the Grocery Store was closed to get what I needed to be prepared for the coming week...and on that night I cooked into well past Midnight. As painful as that was I learned from it...and did not want to do it again.

So work on your processes...this will take some time to figure out how to be efficient...but I promise you...you will not regret it. You only have to prep for a week at a time once to experience the resuced stress of not having to worry about food all week.

This also means you get to hit your calorie goals because now you are making your weight loss a planned weekly measureable event that you are in total control off. Doesn't this feel empowering?

Oh yeah...and there is this pay off if feeling better, being healther, being stronger...and looking better naked...yeah I said it! So here's to all the meal preppers there grinding it out...

"We're all gonna make it brah!" - Aziz Shavershian

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JdxbpCfiPU

linabina993

Bump

Katiebear_81

I prepped my breakfast/lunch for the week last night, thanks to this thread! Ha ha. Dinner is easy - meat and veg in a pan... I don't mind doing that when I get home. Maybe next week I will prep for dinners, too.

I'd really like to get a bunch of protein shakers, that's such a great idea!

DedRepublic

Katiebear_81 wrote: »

I prepped my breakfast/lunch for the week last night, thanks to this thread! Ha ha. Dinner is easy - meat and veg in a pan... I don't mind doing that when I get home. Maybe next week I will prep for dinners, too.

I'd really like to get a bunch of protein shakers, that's such a great idea!

You are doing this the right way...pick one meal at a time...then move to the next....in a month or so you'll have it all figured out.

icemaiden37

DedRepublic wrote: »

Katiebear_81 wrote: »

I prepped my breakfast/lunch for the week last night, thanks to this thread! Ha ha. Dinner is easy - meat and veg in a pan... I don't mind doing that when I get home. Maybe next week I will prep for dinners, too.

I'd really like to get a bunch of protein shakers, that's such a great idea!

You are doing this the right way...pick one meal at a time...then move to the next....in a month or so you'll have it all figured out.

Do you have the same thing each day?

DedRepublic

icemaiden37 wrote: »

Do you have the same thing each day?

I do...but I have highly targeted results. But what I recommend for people who just want to lose weight would be a meat, carb, veggie, fat of certain portion sizes. Maybe one meal for lunch is Talapia, and the next day it is Chicken, and the next day it is ground turkey...by the way...all three of these meats could be cooked in one hour with various carbs and veggie sources. You can hit your targets and macros in this way.

And if you are eating the same foods each day you can spice each meat differently...like in the video above when I prepped fish...I could have seasoned each portion differently...put different veggies in each container...even varied the carb as long as it hit my marcros.

Remember my goals are different than yours...than someone elses....my carbs are timed specifically to when I weight train as I want to get the maximum amount of results for my time spent building my body.

You can take this to what ever level you want...but honestly there is no point in taking it to a level that is not sustainable. Go at the pace you are comfortable with...but understand that drastic results are absolutely possible...if you put in the time and dedication...but again...it all depends on what you want...and how fast you want it...as in the end...it is you looking at yourself in the mirror...it is your health...your transformation...your responsibility, your ownership, of your results.

Own it first...and then start. Start where you are...with what you have. Over time you will learn...and make improvements.

noclady1995

I don't eat sandwiches and I mainly stick to the same foods: chicken, ground turkey, broccoli, zucchini, sweet potatoes and brown rice. I'm still new to meal prepping so eating the same foods until I get a super efficient system down keeps it less stressful. It takes me 2-3 hrs on Sundays.

tibby531

I prep three sandwiches (tuna fish salad) and bags of raw veggies on sunday, and then two of each wednesday night. I've gone four days, but... mentally, I feel like they're fresher if I only do it three days out. I learned the hard way that you can't freeze a bag of chopped raw veggies and then take it out to eat it. bad bad things happen.

Katiebear_81

icemaiden37 wrote: »

DedRepublic wrote: »

Katiebear_81 wrote: »

I prepped my breakfast/lunch for the week last night, thanks to this thread! Ha ha. Dinner is easy - meat and veg in a pan... I don't mind doing that when I get home. Maybe next week I will prep for dinners, too.

I'd really like to get a bunch of protein shakers, that's such a great idea!

You are doing this the right way...pick one meal at a time...then move to the next....in a month or so you'll have it all figured out.

Do you have the same thing each day?

When I was hardcore prepping, I'd set out my menu for the week, get it all prepped, then I could grab what I wanted to eat that day (out of the premade choices). I usually had a few different choices for each meal. I was mostly doing it for convenience (I have two small kids - smaller back then!), and so I knew that I was making good choices regarding nutrition and not defaulting to Little Ceasar's $5 pizzas.

This weekend I'm going to make some space in my upstairs freezer for some precooked meals. We're renovating the room my big freezer is in, and I won't be bothered to navigate that minefield right now I should have time on Sunday to make some dinners for the coming week.

Queenmunchy

icemaiden37 wrote: »

DedRepublic wrote: »

Katiebear_81 wrote: »

I prepped my breakfast/lunch for the week last night, thanks to this thread! Ha ha. Dinner is easy - meat and veg in a pan... I don't mind doing that when I get home. Maybe next week I will prep for dinners, too.

I'd really like to get a bunch of protein shakers, that's such a great idea!

You are doing this the right way...pick one meal at a time...then move to the next....in a month or so you'll have it all figured out.

Do you have the same thing each day?

I don't! I have so many dishes in my freezer - varieties of soups, stews, chilis, curries, beans, nuggets, meatballs, burgers, meatloaves, casseroles, stuffed peppers, burritos, etc. and they're all in individual portions (with the exception of the cauliflower/cheese sauce, marinara, BBQ, enchilada sauces) or flash frozen.

All I do is make a list of a few dishes, cook them, portion, and freeze. If you do a small load (maybe 2-3 dishes per weekend) you will build up quite a stash. I tend to cook 6-8 different dishes in a weekend, then use the following weekend to make 1-2 or just take the weekend off.

BigLifter10

DedRepublic wrote: »

Steph38878 wrote: »

@DedRepublic That truly is awesome!!

Thanks bud...it really makes your week easier.

I love it when people do this type of thing. I'm so boring with my food, so these suggestions and videos are absolutely GREAT! Appreciate it very much.

bcruz313

softblondechick wrote: »

When I prep veggies for week, I make egg salad. Or cut up a chicken, ie, tear down rotisserie chicken, so it is ready for salads.

The bonus of veggies prep is at end of week you throw stuff in a crockpot and decide what it looks like, soup, chili, and you make a batch of that for eating, freezing.

I love this idea of prepping veggies for the week and then throwing them in the crockpot at the end of the week! Thanks, I am going to try it next week.

bcruz313

DedRepublic wrote: »

Queenmunchy wrote: »

Haha @DedRepublic, your freezer looks like mine! I've done this for 7 years but never splurged on a standup freezer (single mom and bought a house 3 years ago). My parents bought one for me as a christmas present last year and I think I went nuts prepping 8 weeks worth at a time for weeks!
I honestly can't imagine how some parents can cook everyday while we need to do homework, bring the kids to extracurriculars, bathe them, etc. I make my time work for me!

Yes, Yes, and yes...you ROCK!!! Honestly people think I'm nuts...but if they only knew how lazy I am!!! Ha ha...I prep on Sundays...like even my powder meals and preworkouts in color coded shaker...so I can just grab and go. I spend ZERO time during Monday-Friday cooking. I also spend ZERO dollars buying food Mon through Friday

Ha! Color coded shakes and preworkouts! Love that idea too! I have 2 teenage sons who are in sports and workout etc. too. One leaves his protein shake at school because he is too lazy and would probably forget it if he did it the night before or that morning. However, I'll bet if I had measured out powders in shaker cups lined on the counter no doubt everyone would take one in the morning. I may just try this!

slimzandra

@DedRepublic. Thanks for the fish prep vid.
@11:20 et seq. "It's so much easier just to eat smarter, then it is to do all these extra workouts and kill yourself. Most people can just lose weight just eating right and walking." No truer words were ever spoken!
Thank you for bringing it..
Thanks to OP - nice topic.

Guns_N_Buns

Glad to know I'm not the only Blender Bottle hoarder.

bcruz313

Queenmunchy wrote: »

icemaiden37 wrote: »

DedRepublic wrote: »

Katiebear_81 wrote: »

I prepped my breakfast/lunch for the week last night, thanks to this thread! Ha ha. Dinner is easy - meat and veg in a pan... I don't mind doing that when I get home. Maybe next week I will prep for dinners, too.

I'd really like to get a bunch of protein shakers, that's such a great idea!

You are doing this the right way...pick one meal at a time...then move to the next....in a month or so you'll have it all figured out.

Do you have the same thing each day?

I don't! I have so many dishes in my freezer - varieties of soups, stews, chilis, curries, beans, nuggets, meatballs, burgers, meatloaves, casseroles, stuffed peppers, burritos, etc. and they're all in individual portions (with the exception of the cauliflower/cheese sauce, marinara, BBQ, enchilada sauces) or flash frozen.

All I do is make a list of a few dishes, cook them, portion, and freeze. If you do a small load (maybe 2-3 dishes per weekend) you will build up quite a stash. I tend to cook 6-8 different dishes in a weekend, then use the following weekend to make 1-2 or just take the weekend off.

Do you date your portions? How long is too long to sit in your freezer?

BodyByButter

I love this thread.

blankiefinder

I've been meal prepping the last 2 days. Not as low calorie and healthy as @DedRepublic but still nutritious meals that will feed my family for days that I need a fast supper. Better than hitting fast food!

Yesterday I made 47 cups of Spaghetti sauce, and today I made a similar volume of chili (can't measure it until I chill it and freeze it). I put it in the bottom of a freezer ziploc and fold it in half, and freeze them on cookie sheets in a single layer so they freeze like little bricks. Then when they are frozen, stack them up and away you go. When I need a quick supper, I take a ziploc out of the freezer and snap them in half and pop into a crockpot.

18 pounds of extra lean ground beef, 5 lbs of onions, 3 lbs of peppers, 2 flats of diced tomatoes, etc etc... it was a busy 2 days! And tomorrow I'm cooking a turkey, what was I thinking!?

Queenmunchy

bcruz313 wrote: »

Queenmunchy wrote: »

icemaiden37 wrote: »

DedRepublic wrote: »

Katiebear_81 wrote: »

I prepped my breakfast/lunch for the week last night, thanks to this thread! Ha ha. Dinner is easy - meat and veg in a pan... I don't mind doing that when I get home. Maybe next week I will prep for dinners, too.

I'd really like to get a bunch of protein shakers, that's such a great idea!

You are doing this the right way...pick one meal at a time...then move to the next....in a month or so you'll have it all figured out.

Do you have the same thing each day?

I don't! I have so many dishes in my freezer - varieties of soups, stews, chilis, curries, beans, nuggets, meatballs, burgers, meatloaves, casseroles, stuffed peppers, burritos, etc. and they're all in individual portions (with the exception of the cauliflower/cheese sauce, marinara, BBQ, enchilada sauces) or flash frozen.

All I do is make a list of a few dishes, cook them, portion, and freeze. If you do a small load (maybe 2-3 dishes per weekend) you will build up quite a stash. I tend to cook 6-8 different dishes in a weekend, then use the following weekend to make 1-2 or just take the weekend off.

Do you date your portions? How long is too long to sit in your freezer?

They can sit for about 3 months. I label them with date, calorie count, and recipe name. If it's raw meat (like burgers) they can freeze for longer - 5-6 months.