How to start planning meals

jl191

This might seem fairly obvious..but the thought of having to sit down and plan meals for a week just racks my brain.

At the doctor the other day, she told me to start planning my meals a week in advance.

Im up to about 1200 calories a day (pre-op) but still 300 below what my dietician recommends, and my doctor feels like planning meals would help me get in all my calories.

Is there any tips on how to plan meals to fit my macros, but have variety..without knowing the nutritional value of everything?
I don't shop for myself, my significant other does cause at this point I'm not able to walk through a store. So going to a store and looking at the back of all packaging isnt going to work..(Im down to 491 now (from 580), but been mostly sedentary for years..not gonna be up to par with other 490lbers)

Is meal planning still relevant after surgery? (the first few months atleast)

dward59

Hi,

First, congratulations on losing over 90 lbs already. I know the pain of being so large you can't walk, or in my case breathe.

MFP is pretty good about helping you figure out nutritional values. Start with the things you eat regularly. Do you eat Greek Yogurt daily? Put that in, see what calories you come up with.

What do you have for breakfast normally? Do you mix it up? Plan accordingly.

Once you have your "standards" in place, you will see what you have to work with to fill out your caloric requirements.

You can look at my diary if you like, it is open - helps keep me accountable. I feel like dirt if I lie about what I'm eating, and the scale doesn't believe my lies anyway! Today I was pretty close to your 1500 calories, but my choices weren't the best. We were out of the house a lot today so grabbed things on the run, and dinner tonight was planned to keep food from spoiling. But it will give you an idea of what could be eaten on a daily basis.

After surgery, your doctor will have you on liquids, then pureed, then still soft food while your stomach heals, but what you learn right NOW will be the basis for how you do once you can start eating again. In my case, my appetite came back at about the one year mark, and now it is a fight to keep losing weight. But with over 160 lbs gone in that 15 months, it still feels do-able and while slower, I'm still going in the right direction.

I hope this helps. If I can help further, you may PM me, or I may see your responses on here. I really only have time to post well on the weekends any more, and half of those I'm out catching up on the life I've been missing the last few decades. I wish you that joy as well!

Losing_Sarah

It can be difficult to do that, but I actually still do that 9+ months out and it really does make things easier for me.

asia1967

Hi: to make a long story short, I am 3.5 years post surgery and plan my meals from sunday to Wednesday then on Wed I finish the end of the week. I did not plan my meals during my post 2 years and put back on 50lbs. That was not the entire reason, but I am sure that logging would definitely have helped. I have now lost 38lbs of the 50 in 60 days using MFP. Congrats on your weight so far. Good luck on your new lifestyle change.

ATXHeather

I haven't had surgery yet (Tuesday) but I have been regularly planning meals because of my kids swim schedules. I need to know what we are going to have each night so we don't end up at a drive-thru at 7:30 after a swim practice.

I plan my meals Sunday - Friday. I usually try to make a meal on Sunday that we can have leftovers for a day or two and then do that again later in the week when I have an easier day. I also use the crockpot so things are ready when I get home. I try to combine like foods so my grocery list doesn't get crazy. I look through the pantry, fridge and freezer to see what we have so I can work from there and save some money. Then, I make the grocery list and post the meal list on the fridge so I remember what is on the menu for that night. Breakfast and lunches are usually the same for us so I just mix it up with different fruits, veggies, etc. Really, it is just a matter of practicing and making it a habit.

csmccord

Meal planning and batch cooking is something that my wife and I do every week, without exception. Due to our work/exercise schedules, we don't get home until about 6 PM. We have a hungry pre-schooler at that point, and don't really have the time or energy to make dinner. So, we make all of our meals on the weekends when we have time.

We make our list Friday evenings, when we both side down together and decide what we want to eat. We pick out 3 meals for dinners, and make enough in each to serve four. This means that we eat each meal twice. If a meal is left over at the end of the week, or makes more than 4 servings, we will freeze the rest for a non-cook week, or when we need an extra meal.

So, we plan on Friday, then my wife shops on Saturday morning, about 7 AM to avoid the crowds. We are early risers because our little one is. So then we'll spend some of Saturday morning, cooking all the food for the week. This means on weeknights, when we are busy, we'll pop the stuff in the oven, or microwave, and toss a salad. Dinner in 15 minutes!

We heavily use Pintrest as our recipe book. We have shared boards and put all our stuff on there. We get emails from AllRecipes, SkinnyTaste and IowaGirlEats for new options. It's pretty rare that we actually have to go search websites for new recipes during our planning sessions.

pawoodhull

I am 3 years out and still plan 2 weeks at a time and that's because I shop every 2 weeks. I buy enough of what I need for breakfast and lunch for all work days. We buy however many dinners we need as well, buying things I can eat and get my the protein I need and still stay within calories. It's not as hard as it sounds, just make a grocery list.

The other thing that helps me is to cook in advance. For instance, I make my own soups and stews to keep the protein high, fat and sodium low. I make a big pot and that's what I eat most days for lunch portioned out in one cup servings. Or I bring a salad with 4 ounces of chopped chicken/turkey/ham and a little cheese. Again, I already have the stuff at home from when we grocery shopped.

And, keep some good quality protein powder and bars on hand for those times when you unexpectedly need them.

Good luck, Pat