does planning meal help

If you can.. try to set aside some of your own space in the fridge for some healthy food options you can always turn to. Healthy and delicious snacks, veggies, fruits, protein and fiber-rich foods. Maybe it will influence your family to also keep some extra healthy stuff around too.

I usually buy some foods that I know I can use in different dishes throughout the week, but don't plan it day by day. Just kind of generalize healthy food for the week that I can make different combos with.

I know it's tough. It's alot easier when I'm at my own place. Been at home for the last 2 weeks and there's so many temptations! You can do it though. Mental toughness, and remember this is a LIFESTYLE!

Being the Mom of my house I buy all the groceries and plan all the meals. It helps a ton!! If I don't buy crap I'm not tempted by it later on in the week. It's been quite an adjustment for my kids but since my husband and I want to be healthier they get dragged along as well.

I find meal planning is the most crucial aid for me in my weight loss and maintenance.

It takes a long time to sit down and plan my foods, what time I'm going to eat them and the nutritional value. A long time as in one hour EACH night. It is tedious. But it works wonders. I stave off hunger because I eat what fills me up, if I get hungry I can look forward to my next meal because it is all planned out.

I am pretty disciplined about planning my meals. And that is what it takes. Determination to sit down and do the work of planning, writing it down, calculating everything. As well as making sure I have all the ingredients in the house.

Plan to lose. Plan to be successful. Plan to have delicious foods to look forward to so no deprivation is felt. Plan on looking good!

I always meal plan. I have a calendar in our kitchen and I write what's for dinner each night. Helps me stay balanced. If I fail to plan, I plan to fail.

For me I find it critical to my goals by planning them out. I know at least one day before and sometimes plan to week out. It really helps you stay on plan to hit your goals as opposed to the random selection where we can all do something we regret. I have also found by pre-planning that I can have my nutrition so dialed in that I will often be at the end of the day with extra cals or maybe sugar/carbs and can have a treat. So for me I would say yes!

I actually fill out my FP meals in advance so that I know what I have on the menu for that day. I find that helps. Of course it isn't carved in stone, if I decide to change something then all I have to do is delete that part and fill in whatever it is that I had instead. It seems to help for me....Also...I do try to have fresh veggies prepped in my fridge at all times...then if I suddenly decide that I am super hungry and need something fast it takes no time at all to whip something together. I cooked a small turkey for my Christmas dinner ...(There is just me) so as you can imagine I had mounds of turkey leftover for future meals. I took the meat off the bone and put it in containers and bags in the freezer for future stir fries, soups or just heated up as is....a great time saver.

Doing this kind of thing means I can have a meal on the table in 15 minutes or less so don't run into the problem of stuffing my mouth with junk foods because I am "starving"

Hope that might help to inspire you. Good luck with your weight loss journey.

Meal Planning is really useful


BUT


you will still have to be able to resist the other junk in the house.

Definitely does help! I always prep mine the night before starting from making my breakfast so I don't have to rush in the morning, I also prep my 2 snacks to take to work & my lunch. So I'm never tempted to buy junk food from the vending machines or fast food for lunch. Try to set some time to prep your own meals ahead of time & eventually you will develop a routine & will be on your way to healthier new you!

Since I started MFP I have pre planned and pre logged everything for the day Lost 56 pounds last year doing that and I shall finish off my remaining 24 pounds this year doing the same.

I struggle to stay on target if I don't. Also if I really want something extra then I know how much I need to work out to have it.

Be strong and think of yourself...keep your own goodies in a cupboard and eat those instead...you will if you want to lose!

It was key to changing my lifestyle to plan out my meals and get in the habit of having a strict grocery list to follow. That way I had the right foods on hand to follow my plan. I do like being able to choose my meals or adjust for the meals I eat out on work days ( I eat out every lunch on normal work days).

So yes, planning helps and you can always adjust easily on MFP... even more so when you get to maintenance!

definitely plan! but a slightly different approach.... I hate boring, so I try something new all the time I try to make "junk food" healthy. After I got my adult kids the message that "fast food" = Fat, it got a lot easier for me. The challenge now is to make acceptable healthy food. Some small changes that helped us were roasting vegetables, vinaigrettes for salad dressing, healthy soups. A thought...could you cook once in a while and show them a better way?

I always have enough 'easy' servings of veg, fish etc in the house to make quick, simple and low calorie meals. I also batch-cook hard boiled eggs and leave them in the fridge for easy snacks later, pre-measure portions of dried fruit into little boxes, make my lunch salad after I've eaten breakfast and popped it in the fridge, pre-log my entire day on some days so I know exactly what I'll be making, etc. It's just easier to stick to if you actually HAVE healthy things to grab, rather than the easiest snack being a packet of crisps (for example). So yes, deal with your meals in advance and you'll never over-eat due to dithering again.

This is me as well. My downfall is wanting food instantly and that led to a lot of fast food. I always stock up on things just so I can tell myself I already spent the money on groceries, what's 5 minutes to put together a sandwich? You'd spend that amount of time in the drive thru sometimes.

I always have eggs, bread, cheese, salsa, tortilla wraps, salad, fruit and vegetables on hand. That way I can always just slap together a sandwich or wrap, throw some salad in a bowl and bam, lunch. I don't sit and plan things for hours, but I do have a good idea of the calories in things I eat frequently.