planning meals for the week. anyone doing that?

Definatley! I work a rough 7 day plan and make sure I have the food in. i may need to nip out and to top up in the week on real fresh sutff that doesnt keep but I believe if you fail to plan you plan to fail. I am not rigid as in I will eat this on Monday etc but I know from experience how many times I didnt have breakfast to find myself runnig to the vending machines to get something and our vding machines at work are full of chocolae bars and crisps)

Planning seems like a hard chore but really 20 or 30 mins once a week is a lot less stressful than spending time kicking myself for eating rubbish when I failed to plan. I think of it as 'investing' in myself!

The only reason I don't plan my meals is because it gives me an excuse to walk to the grocery store (40min of cardio) so for me it encourages me to get out more. Sad but true.. especially true in winter. I do however try to plan a couple nights in a row if that counts.

I've actually been doing this for the last 2 weeks and I have dropped alot more weight in these 2 weeks, then I did when I wasn't. It really helps me to stay focussed by planning my meals and stop me from being tempted by that "bit of chocolate" that I'm being offered when at work, as I know that I don't have enough calories. So it definitely works for me!

As a working mum of two, planning meals is the only way I don't stray - Don't throw food away either so saves my waistline and my purse

I'm a working mum too and I tend to plan for a couple of days in advance. I always have nutritious food in the house that I can fling together in an instant. My son is 7 and he is an influence when it comes to meal planning because he tends to eat lots of veg and likes fish.

I plan out most of our meals well in advance, although I don't always make them on the day I had them scheduled for ... depends on what's happening and how much time I have. I buy most of my groceries for the week on the weekend (just came back from the city where we hit the farmers' market, organic food store, and our favourite butcher), but do leave highly perishable items to be picked up on the way home.

I also tend to cook ahead a bit ... I know that Wednesday is going to be crazy, so I put together homemade soup this morning, then will freeze it and defrost it Wednesday morning. With two small boys, two jobs, and my husband out of town a lot for work, I find we need a bit of structure or we'd end up eating macaroni and hot dogs way too often.

good for you, i also plan my meals & snacks, usually by the day, but for the week would probably save me some time, i beleive its very doable if we discipline ourselves. Keep up the good work.

I tried it but it just didn't work for me. I found myself wanting things that weren't allocated for that day so gave up. Unless you are severely pushed for time everyday or are just a super organised person I don't see how planning meals in advance will help. You can't know what you feel like eating a week in advance. I had a friend that did it aswel and stuck with it and she became super annoying and wouldn't come out for meals with us incase she couldn't order what she had planned for that day and it's like your bodies not gonna punish you by going "NO! That soup was for friday you B!tch! Right i'm adding a pound on"

I have been a working mom my whole life so I know what the struggles are. I recently opted to stay home and raise my second family of which are only 16 months apart, the oldest are in college.

Soooooo I dont have alot of time to think about meals with two little ones hanging on me needing my time. Feels like I had more time when I worked...LOL. Anyway, what I have found works is buying in bulk the frozen items that are so time consuming to add to your meal but make it REALLY good. Love the 3 pepper and onion frozen veggies, also broccoli and cauliflower, asparagus. I have a steamer or I roast them in the oven and I always make extra and store in the fridge.

I buy individually frozen chicken breast and fish fillets to keep things easy. I keep things on hand that are fast. For example Jennie-o lean trukey pastrami, also fully cooked jennie-o sausage patties which I grind up in my food prcessor, throw in the pepper and onion mix and viola, omelette filling in a flash. I have individually frozen 4-5 oz steaks as well.I buy all that in bulk from a wholesale restaurant food service supply. Therefore the only things I need to shop for on a regular basis are the perishables. I plan each day ahead, cause I find it hard to plan the whole week. But with everything I keep on hand, theres enough to get thru each week and then some.
Planning has been key for me. I recenly started planning all three meals for the next day and that has helped me not go over my goal. Also been implementing a 1200-1500 rotation plan concentration on 40 30 30. It has been a huge eye opener!
Good luck!

Plan out meals ahead of time. My hubby & I are using this app and have been successful losing weight. Shop on Saturday for what meals we are eating during the week. 2 days a week (work days) we have a salad in our lunch. Have eaten far more fruit & veggies since using this diet. I have cut back on the sugar and eliminated soft drinks all together. So planning is a good idea.

I don't plan by week I usually do day by day or two days. For instance I'll go to the shops and buy soup,veg,fruit some chicken/beef and cereal and that will be my food for the next day or two. I find it easy to manage that way instead of what I'll be eating 4-5 days in advance, and it gets me out the house.

hi there. i was wondering if anyone plans their meals for the week and would you say that makes things easier/more manageable for you? it's a big deal for me as i'm a working mum and end up eating all sorts of rubbish because i'm constantly running around. so was thinking perhaps planning would make all the difference as i would know exactly what i'm eating and when. is that doable do you think? thanks

Yep, it works very very well.

I don't do this but I am going to use it as one of my goals to start doing.....sounds so organized.....I am terrible for forgetting to take something out of the freezer and then making something quick

I try to do this on paper (not on mfp), planning out the meals for each week just because my boyfriend are on a really tight budget and it helps us figure everything out (: Every morning I prelog what i'll eat for the day, then make adjustments at the end of the day if I need to.

I actually LIKE to cook so I find it enjoyable to look at recipes and make a menu for the week. I do NOT like to grocery shop but if I have a list made for my menu items, it's a lot easier and faster to get that chore done. Also it helps me to plan my calories better. I have about 4 GOOD Weight Watcher recipes books that I use a lot and I just installed a recipe toolbar for even more ideas. Keep bein' a LOSER!