Need help meal planning

shanahz

I joined myfitnesspal awhile back, but have never actually committed to it. I tried Nutrisystem a couple of few ago and had great success with it. I had a crazy schedule and it worked well for me. I tried it again a couple of years ago and didn't have the same success that I did the first time. My schedule wasn't as crazy, which left room for cheating. Since my success with Nutrisystem I have gained the weight back and then some. I tried Weight Watchers last year and found it was far to lenient for me and I could still eat things I really didn't need to be eating.

I love the concept of myfitnesspal, but I am really looking for help in the meal planning area. I am bad about meal planning unless I am having a craving. I have poked around the website some and haven't seen a meal planning tool, just the area where you can log what you have eaten. So I was hoping to get some suggestions on meal planning. I have a rough idea of what I need to do and what I need to eat, but are there any sites that give food recommendations? I know there are tons of options, but when it comes to meal planning I easily become lost for some reason.

FrauHaas2013

www.foodonthetable.com/healthy-meals-tips
www.healthyeating.org/healthy-eating/meals-recipes/meal-planner.aspx‎
shrinkingkitchen.com/menu-plan-your-butt-off-more-menus/‎

elanaknt

Welcome to MFP! I am a planner by nature so I understand the need to want to plan out meals. And although I am progressing very slowly, planning ahead is one of the major factors that have contributed to my losses thus far.

I don't have any specific suggestions as to what to eat. I say eat what you like! If you are just starting out, I would say try to just incorporate more fruits, veggies, and whole foods and eat less of processed foods and junk and focus on portion size. You can eat most anything in moderation. Check out websites like skinnytaste.com or CookingLight.com or get a few cookbooks (I highly recommend The Flat Belly diet cookbook for tasty, well-balanced options). I plan all my meals for the entire week on Sundays, which is when I do my grocery shopping. I try to get a variety of fruits and veggies and lots of lean protein at each meal. I also know that I like to eat more in the afternoon/evening, so I plan my earlier meals lighter to accommodate that preference. I try to hit my macro goals and stay within my calorie limit for the day.

Once you start logging regularly, provided you are doing it accurately, you will start to see trends in your own eating and areas where you need to improve. (Seeing the calories, fat, etc. in your once-favorite foods will make you think twice before eating them!). Listen to your body and don't be afraid to try new things.

Not sure if this answer is what you need, but I hope it helps. Good luck!

shanahz

Thank you FrauHaas2013 for the links. I really like the Shrinking Kitchen page.

elanaknt, I am the same way. I have to have my meals organized or I will eat whatever I want. I am a planner and if I have a plan for the week I will follow it to a T. I think that is why I did so well on Nutrisystem, but I really want to eat healthier and their food is overly processed.

ChangingAmanda

A couple things that I'll add more about logging than planning. Hopefully this is helpful.

Pre-log your big meals. It's not even lunch and I've already logged breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the day. On workout days I'll also pre-log my pre-workout snack. If something changes, it's pretty easy to add/delete/change what's already been logged. This lets me know how many calories I have to work with for snacks and that way if I'm craving something in particular, I can see if/what amount will fit into my cals for the day.

If you have several standard meals, save them as a meal or put them in the recipe builder. This way it's only a couple clicks to add the meal/recipe serving verses everything you eat. Also if you tend to eat the same thing day to day (like the same lunch salad/sandwich, the "copy from..." quick tool is fabulous.

If you like the convenience of just pulling something out of the fridge, heating it up and eating (which I love on my workout days because the last thing I want to do at 8pm is cook), then make meals on your days off and freeze them. I usually crockpot 1-2 recipes on the weekends, portion them out, freeze them, and at night, pull one out and heat in the microwave. If you do something like soup, it's easy to toss together simple salad while the soup is heating in the microwave.

sarahenagy

I don't use an app or website for meal planning. I sit down on Sunday with the good ole pencil and paper and write down what meals I will have on each day. I started a new job last year and my schedule got super hectic and I ended up eating out 4-5 nights a week because I had not planned accordingly. So, this year (I'm a teacher by the way, so my brain operates on school years) I put down a meal for every night and I accommodate for nights I will be working late. For example, today I will be at work until after 7:00 and tomorrow I have a meeting at 7:30 and won't be home until after 9. So today I have a roast with potatoes and veggies in the crockpot. It's 100% ready when I get home so I have no excuse to go out. And when I purchased that roast on Sunday I bought one big enough for 2 servings, so before I even sit down to eat tonight I will cut off half the roast and put aside. Then for tomorrow's dinner (which I will eat at work before my meeting) I will use it to make a roast beef sandwich and cut up some lettuce and additional veggies for a salad and pack it all to go.

The first few weeks it takes some serious commitment to find recipes that are quick and easy to prep ahead and you can make two meals out of, but after about the first month I had a stockpile of about 20 good recipes that I now can use over and over. It only takes me a few minutes to plan meals now and it was totally worth the leg-work.

For recipe ideas I use the website weelicious.com (love the Tex Mex Rice Cakes - I make a ton of them up then freeze, so all I have to do is put a few in the fridge in the morning then grill them when I get home and the Carrot Ginger Pasta Sauce - again I make a ton and freeze it so all I have to do is thaw the sauce, boil some pasta and toss). I also love the Ellie Krieger cookbooks (my fave recipe of hers is Macaroni and Four Cheeses - once again, I make the whole recipe, then divide it into 3 sections and freeze, then all I have to do is bake it, plus this reheats really well, so I can get a couple of meals out of it), lastly I have a couple of slow cooker recipe books I use. My crockpot is getting a workout this year, but it makes life so much easier.

lattarulol

I made myself a spreadsheet that gives me a two week look at things, with room for a shopping list and a place for me to list all the current veggies I have at home and stuff in the freezer. I have a food saver so I will buy things in bulk and freeze portions. I also write down stuff with its expiration date (like meatballs, cheeses, etc) so that I make sure nothing goes to waste. When the weekly circulars come out I look at what is on sale and build meals around these. My favorite websites are skinnytaste.com and eatingwell.com I often just type in some ingredients that I want to use together into google and see what recipies come up. I preper pencil and paper as well.

lauren3101

I don't really plan my meals as such, I like to just eat what I fancy. However, over the time I have been on here I have built a list of probably 15 or so healthy dinners that my partner and I both love. Sometimes we try something new, but mostly we stick to these.

Because of this I bulk buy all my meats, frozen, canned and cupboard items in bulk on payday, then during the week I will top up on fresh foods as and when I need them. Then before I go to work in the morning, I will decide what I fancy and take it out of the freezer. I also make extra of some items so I can take it into work for lunch the next day.

Pre-cooking lunches is a good way to plan ahead, and pre-log. I pre-log as much as I can, generally putting in my dinner first and then building the rest of the day around that.

Try finding some recipes that you really like a build a planner around that. Skinnytaste is one of my faves.