Meal Planning

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Nlongenecker
Nlongenecker Posts: 765
in Health and Weight Loss
How far in advance do you plan your meals? I do not plan mine in advance. Occasionally in the morning I will pack my lunch & snacks, but that's as prepared as I get. I've heard that planning your week is helpful. I always shy away from this because I don't want to be "tied down" to a specific menu. But I am really struggling to lose weight. Maybe a better "plan" would be helpful.

Replies

  • Juliebean_1027
    Juliebean_1027 Posts: 713 Member
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    I've recently started thinking about this as well. For me, it's not so much about being "tied down" to a specific menu as it is a time constraint. I know that it would help me in the end if I were to take the time and plan my meals, but being a full time graduate student and working full time I find myself eating what is within my daily calories and fat range and hoping for the best. Mondays are especially difficult because I have class from 4-10pm, which is obviously during almost anyone's dinner time. The past few weeks I've packed some 100 calorie packs or cashews or apple slices, but I'm struggling to find things that are going to fill me up without blowing my entire day.
  • fitgirl4life
    fitgirl4life Posts: 111 Member
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    Oh this is a topic I'm really passionate about!

    I plan my weekly menu on the weekend. It doesn't take long, I have about 5-10 different breakfasts/lunches/dinner/snacks to choose from, and I use the "copy recent" function in MFP to populate each day, or choose from the "My Meals" tab that I've put together. My diary is open so you can see I've planned up to Thursday this week already.

    I don't really understand how people can successfully lose weight without planning what they're going to eat. For example, how can you shop for the right foods? How do you know the fridge is stocked with food that falls within your calorie allowance? How can you make sure you're not caught out, if you're hungry, and eat something that's potentially loaded with calories? How can you plan a healthy dinner that falls within your calorie allowance if you haven't planned what you're eating for breakfast and lunch?

    To me, planning is key to successful weight loss! I've written a blog post about my obsession with planning :wink:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/fitgirl4life/view/failing-to-plan-is-planning-to-fail-35760
  • ruggie
    ruggie Posts: 26
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    I really believe that planning ahead is important! If you know what you are going to eat it takes all the guesswork out of it when you get hungry. Trying to decide what to eat when I am hungry makes it much more difficult to make "healthy" choices. Try it for a few days and see how it goes. Plan foods that you enjoy and look forward to-just watch portion sizes. Coming up with new and creative ideas also helps with boredom. Good Luck!
  • Disciplined74
    Disciplined74 Posts: 298 Member
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    I agree with all of those that say it's a good idea to plan. In the beginning I was NOT planning and was running out of calories by 2 PM. It was frustrating and I was starving.

    To lessen the "tied down" feeling. Plan only half of your calories with your proteins and pre-prepared foods. With the other half, save them for fruits and veggies and eat what you want, when you want.

    Good luck.
  • Nlongenecker
    Nlongenecker Posts: 765
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    Oh this is a topic I'm really passionate about!

    I plan my weekly menu on the weekend. It doesn't take long, I have about 5-10 different breakfasts/lunches/dinner/snacks to choose from, and I use the "copy recent" function in MFP to populate each day, or choose from the "My Meals" tab that I've put together. My diary is open so you can see I've planned up to Thursday this week already.

    I don't really understand how people can successfully lose weight without planning what they're going to eat. For example, how can you shop for the right foods? How do you know the fridge is stocked with food that falls within your calorie allowance? How can you make sure you're not caught out, if you're hungry, and eat something that's potentially loaded with calories? How can you plan a healthy dinner that falls within your calorie allowance if you haven't planned what you're eating for breakfast and lunch?

    To me, planning is key to successful weight loss! I've written a blog post about my obsession with planning :wink:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/fitgirl4life/view/failing-to-plan-is-planning-to-fail-35760

    Thanks for the reference to your blog post. I needed to hear it!
  • Nlongenecker
    Nlongenecker Posts: 765
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    I agree with all of those that say it's a good idea to plan. In the beginning I was NOT planning and was running out of calories by 2 PM. It was frustrating and I was starving.

    Yes, this is happening to me. I am out of calories way too soon and starving!
  • DarleneOwens
    DarleneOwens Posts: 1
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    I'm in the same boat as you - planning ahead (especially meals) is not one of my strong points. What I have been doing is making sure I have groceries on hand for a variety of easy fix low calorie meals, then I can decide what I am hungry for. One suggestion is to pick up a rotissorie chicken on the weekend.... this will make at least 3 meals (for 2) at my house. Steam some broccoli to go with it (1 or 2 meals), then de-bone the rest for a good green salad with chicken. You can always make a chicken salad with some of it - always a quick eat without a lot of prep. The cantalopes are ripe here, so I cut one up is bite-size pieces and put in the frig for a quick low calorie breakfast. There is also a nice variety of 100 cal snacks that get me through my cravings for something a little sweet.

    Exercising is the hardest part for me to add - so I am headed out to weed the flower beds. It's 7 am and already over 90 - that should burn a few calories!

    Losing weight is a new experience for me - so it has to be simple or I will not stay on the plan. Hope this helps a little.

    darlene in Florida

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