Meal plans.....??

Frenchyken89

Hi! I need some help. I'm a binge eater and def need to stop that. I usually eat 1 or maybe 2 meals a day and know that is contributing ALOT to my weight. I was thinking about coming up with a meal plan for a week (or two) then grocery shopping accordingly. I feel if I have a set 'diet' to stick to, then I'll eat more and more proportionally (sp). But I don't know how to do it and count calories along with that. Any insight would be wonderful. Thanks!

Elisabeth2506

I occasionally try to use everything up in my cupboards, fridge and freezer to:

a) save money
b) avoid having to shop every day (temptation!)
c) uses up all the rubbish in moderation, so next time you fill up the cupboards everything can be healthy!

Last week I made a list of everything in my cupboards first, with calories per portion (and how many portions I could get out of the item). Then the same with fridge and freezer items. I then made a chart for seven days, three meals per day (morning, noon and evening).

So today I've had two weetabix biscuits for breakfast, I'll have a tin of carrot and lentil soup with a wholemeal roll for lunch, and some long grain rice with grilled chicken and frozen stir fry vegetables for dinner.

Hope this helps! I've managed to get about three weeks worth of meal plans from whats lying around in my cupboards - when everything is gone I can plan a shopping list from the meal plans without worrying about using things up

Frenchyken89

Thats a great idea! My problem is my husband isn't into healthy eating. So our cupboards are full of temptation. I hate sending him to the grocery store cause his motto is if it can either be cooked in the microwave or in the oven for less than 15min with no preparation time, then it's perfect! Haha. I will go through my cupboards, fridge and feezer and look at what I have then plan accordingly. :-) Thanks for your help!

TheArmadillo

I meal plan, mostly as a budget thing but it does help having good food on hand and knowing exactly what I'll be eating. I often prepare dinner the night before (especially if I am working) so it is pretty much ready as I get in the door.

This week has changed slightly as me and husband are feeling crappy (we caught the kid's virus) so I've changed dinner tonight to be easier. Plus we have guests twice on a sunday so do 2 big meals. I tend to use up leftovers from dinner for lunch with a salad or jacket potato. My husband turns them into a burrito. Breakfast is fresh fruit (probably be tinned by the time winter comes) with salami/cheese/bread for the kids and I tend to have a protein shake. I keep a stock of hard boiled eggs in the fridge to snack on and things like portioned cheese (babybels or cheese triangles) plus we always have fruit in and some nuts in the cupboard.

This week

Sat - out all day
Sun - lunch was coq au vin, with bubble and squeak and assorted veg. Dinner was burgers and salad.
Mon - chorizo/pork/haricot bean stew with runner beans
Tues - changed to sausages, poached eggs, baked beans, potato waffles and mushrooms
Wed - a sausage based pasta bake type thing
Thur - hairy dieters lasagne
Fri - Chicken curry and rice

I tend to alter recipes myself to make them healthier. But we do eat with the kids in the evening so I often eat up to half my daily calories in dinner as it suits me and my lifestyle better.

stuffinmuffin

It sounds like a good idea to me and a great way of learning what you can eat throughout the day. I tried many variables through my weight loss and have now settled into a routine that is three meals a day and no snacks (fruit in between meals if I happen to be starving) and then one indulgent meal with drinks over the weekend.

MFP is a learning process so you have to find what works out best for you and for your lifestyle. x

Nikkie_too

I'm a much saner eater when I meal plan. I usually do a week at a time and start with the grocery store circular/flyer to see what's on sale, then build meals around that if I can. I put the meal list on the fridge and then - here's the hard part - check the night before or in the morning to make sure that what I need for dinner that night is thawed (say chicken or a roast).

It keeps me from coming home from work hungry, looking in the fridge, being undecided or uninspired, and ordering pizza.

Good luck!

marsellient

I find that taking a few minutes to meal plan before shopping makes a big difference in budget and the time it takes to shop. It cuts down on the science experiments in the back of the refrigerator, too. Another thing to do is to log food on MFP at the beginning of the day (or even longer ahead...I think it's possible to do that).

Frenchyken89

Thanks for all the input!! I think what I'll try to start is cooking ahead of time, like on a weekend. As well as meal plans! Now I just have to learn how to cook.... :-/

apching

I do the meal plan - we have a spreadsheet with all the dinners we like (replaced them with some low fat variants). We do it for the whole month so we don't have to think about it from one week to the next. I have some tips for success:

* Plan for a month so that it makes you think of 30+ different dinners (trust me coming up with 30 dinners is quite a challenge and you will get a lot of variation in your diet) which you can shuffle around rather than trying to think of 7 each week
* SHOP ONLINE - it'll keep you focused and avoid the temptation in the supermarket
* Do the full size recipe (for 4 or 6) and freeze what you don't use - it will save the pennies and mean that you get a break from cooking (that normally only a takeaway would have fixed before)