Planning Meals

jenkofb

Does anyone else plan a whole week of meals at a time? I have found this to be really helpful so far. I'm still very early in the dieting process, and I have learned from experience that I can easily fall off track If I just wing it a day at a time. But if I have meals planned in advance, then I know what I am eating that day and I can shop accordingly. This time, I planned out 9 days of meals before I even started the diet. I just used the MFP calculator for each day of meals. The calories are pretty similar for each meal, so now I can just shuffle these meals around for variety.

Just curious how others go about planning meals, or not planning them at all, or having some other approach.

kommodevaran

I plan in a way that may sound complicated, but it really isn't. First, I'm not using the food diary here anymore, and I used it exclucively only in the beginning - it's just too slow; but it's wonderful for getting calories and macros just right. Now I'm only using a spreadsheet, and I fill in, in "fits and starts" - some meals just an outline, others down to the last detail, some just a few days, other meals two weeks in advance - to use up what I've bought, to create variety, to have acceptable and balanced meals. I started by planning what I wanted to eat and buy that - now I'm starting to plan more backwards - just have an outline for the meals, and buy ingredients to match.

A main feature of my meal plan is weekly dinner themes (different proteins for each day of the week, basically, and one day open for whims) - this helps me keep the rythm, provides variety, plus gives me a starting point for ideas.

jenkofb

Love the idea of weekly dinner themes! I may have to steal that! Your plan makes sense to me - I think planning is going to be important for me in the long run of making this a lifestyle. Thanks for your response!

Queenmunchy

My family decides on dinners together based on what we have on hand. That gets posted on the fridge. I also decide on a few full dishes to cook and freeze for my lunches or any quick meals.

I grocery shop based on that, then cook my meals on weekends, portion and freeze. That way I have months to eat all of my meals and can enjoy variety.

mamajenb

I'm not consistent but I do notice I do much better when I plan ahead. I like to look at what I have on hand and then look through the grocery store adds and make a menu for the week and shop accordingly, this way I know what to take out ahead of time. I usually leave 1 day blank and shift things around as needed. I only plan dinners as I have a rotation of easy breakfast and lunch options.

akmomof7

I plan 2 weeks of dinners and shop accordingly. I keep a list and cross them off as we eat them. This way I have a plan but I have some room for flexibility and my whims of what sounds good that day. In addition, I have some freezer meals for those days when life gets out of hand lol. Lunches are almost always leftovers but I keep tuna in the cupboard and cooked chicken strips in the freezer to toss on a salad in a bind. Breakfast is almost always scrambled eggs and bacon or cheese, so that is easy. I spend a few hours a week prepping homemade protein bars and low calorie treats for snacks (as well as usually make a batch of oatmeal or peanut butter cookies for the kids). Planning is so key for me!

Lounmoun

I've been planning meals for years to stick to our family food budget better. Not having a meal plan would probably make me nervous.

I plan 28 different dinners at a time. I just make a list and divide it into groups of 7. I post the list in the kitchen and cross things off with a highlighter as we have them.
We shop once a week and I have a running grocery list in the kitchen that I add things to as we run out plus the items for the next week's dinners. I have a grocery list saved on the computer. We get some of the same things every week so I just quickly alter it and print it out.

I don't plan out lunches, breakfasts or snacks because I eat the same things unless it is a special occasion. I just keep a stock of these foods.
Breakfast- things like Greek yogurt, granola bars, cereal with milk, sandwich, dinner leftovers, fruit, cottage cheese
Lunch- things like sandwich, salad, or dinner leftovers
Snacks- things like fruit, chips, popcorn, pretzels, chocolate, cookies, granola bar, carrots, celery, broccoli, trail mix, deviled eggs, pickles, cottage cheese

I prelog my food for the day every morning.
I do have about the same amount of calories for each meal each day.
100-300 calorie breakfast, 300-500 calorie lunch, 500-600 calorie dinner, 100-300 calorie snacks

janejellyroll

I plan dinners for the entire week at once and then I pre-log breakfast and lunch each afternoon for the next day based on how many calories I have left after dinner. I'm usually eating leftovers for those meals, so this works very well for me.

cwolfman13

Yes...not necessarily that X has to be eaten on Monday and Y on Tuesday or anything like that...but my wife and I plan what we're going to be cooking during the week (we alternate nights) and we figure out what we need for breakfasts and lunches and making a shopping list and shop on Sunday. We've done this since way before I lost weight though...we've never really cared for hitting the grocer more than once per week...it's really annoying when we forget something and have to swing in for one or two things on a Wednesday or something and stand their in that annoying line.

cabwj

Not only do I plan for a week at a time, but also do a whole lot of prep at once. I spend a few hours every Sunday cutting up fruits and veggies, weighing and bagging everything, roasting lots of veggies, baking chicken breasts, boiling eggs, etc. Then I pack up my breakfasts and lunches for the week- just grab and go. I tend to be fine with eating the same thing several days running so this works well for me.

RoxieDawn

My break fasts and lunches are the same everyday.. My husband has his same foods he eats as well.

Dinners are planned, any recipes are already setup and ready to tweak with new weighed entries. Friday is already the same meal, never changes. Mon - Thurs we pick the meal that morning and lay out food accordingly.

This past week I made chili in a crock pot and we have had chili on something or with something every night.. Fall and winter I get my crock pot out often.

kschwab0203

cwolfman13 wrote: »

Yes...not necessarily that X has to be eaten on Monday and Y on Tuesday or anything like that...but my wife and I plan what we're going to be cooking during the week (we alternate nights) and we figure out what we need for breakfasts and lunches and making a shopping list and shop on Sunday. We've done this since way before I lost weight though...we've never really cared for hitting the grocer more than once per week...it's really annoying when we forget something and have to swing in for one or two things on a Wednesday or something and stand their in that annoying line.

Same here. We plan 5 dinner/lunch meals for the week and go grocery shopping every Sunday. We usually have left overs that we eat the other two days.

akmomof7

cwolfman13 wrote: »

Yes...not necessarily that X has to be eaten on Monday and Y on Tuesday or anything like that...but my wife and I plan what we're going to be cooking during the week (we alternate nights) and we figure out what we need for breakfasts and lunches and making a shopping list and shop on Sunday. We've done this since way before I lost weight though...we've never really cared for hitting the grocer more than once per week...it's really annoying when we forget something and have to swing in for one or two things on a Wednesday or something and stand their in that annoying line.

Yes! I have 14 mo old twins and a 3 year old! Guess how much I like to grocery shop! I look like a circus side show!

RAinWA

I advance plan three meals a day for my husband and I for six days every week. It helps keep me on track when I know what I'm having. And it's much easier for me - my husband can't cook and I work long hours so having the meals planned and ready means I can pretty much feed us on autopilot.

Pre-planning also helps me use up fresh veggies, stuff in the freezer before it gets freezer burned, etc. so it cuts down our food budget too.

kshama2001

I have the same breakfasts and lunches every day. I look at the supermarket flyers, pick a protein, base a meal around that, cook three - four dinners per week and have leftovers the other days. That may change after I move in with my SO.

savithny

I plan meals because of my budget, my time, and needing to get my family fed - it's not about weight loss. I do all the shopping once a week. Sit down the night before and make a meal plan that uses a variety of meats and vegetarian options, that has some fancy and some simple meals, some more expensive and some cheap. IT lets you plan for leftovers that make some nights very easy (or make lunches very easy).

My family generally eats the same thing for breakfast (i mean each of us has "a breakfast thing" that we eat), and the kids rotate between a couple of lunches while the adults have leftovers or a sandwich, so the big planning is for dinner. I look at the calendar and note which nights we have events that affect dinnertime. I look at what we have in the house and what we need to use up, and I look at my coupons and the sale flyers for my grocery store. I don't go to lots of different stores seeking sales - I go to one grocery, the farmer's market, and one bulk store as needed.

rainbow198

I do plan. It helps me to stay on track. I mostly shop at a farmer's market and I get some items from a grocery store once a week.

Dinners are planned out one week advance. I plan out my breakfast and lunch the night before. Meals are not set in stone though. I may not feel like eating something that day or would switch days up.

On Sundays I do light food prepping (cleaning and prepping veggies and greens, making veggie burgers and freezing them, making homemade protein bars, portioning out and weighing out my unsalted cashews and put them into snack baggies, cooking hard boiled eggs etc.).

Planning is also great for me because I'm able to space out my macros throughout the day and fit things I want in with no guilt.

Eating this way saves me a lot of time and money and there's no stress like it was back when I was winging it with my meals.