Plan to Eat -OR Fail. Planners please chime in!

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  • met42485
    met42485 Posts: 71 Member
    I pre-pack my lunches and snacks for the week on Sunday afternoons. I have protein shakes for breakfast so I prep those the night before. I am not a morning person and barely coherent before I leave the house so pre-planning is a must! :laugh:
  • cep06e
    cep06e Posts: 4 Member
    I prepare all of my lunches and snacks for the week in advance and store them in the fridge. The night before work, I just pack up my nerdy little lunchbox and I'm all set! Breakfasts are usually the same and I plan to have a few different dinners for the week. Prepping as much food as you can for the week makes a huge difference for sticking with your plan.

    You should check out The Lean Green Bean's Food-Prep Page. Her blog has some great how-to articles on weekly meal prep and LOTS of meal plan inspiration http://www.theleangreenbean.com/food-prep/

    What was the Ani Phyo meal plan you mentioned?
  • lazytolight
    lazytolight Posts: 38 Member
    I love to cook, and don't do much of that any more because I munch on food while I cook. It's been frozen entrees for me to help with portion control and to keep me from eating my calories before I actually sit down to eat. I do keep rye bread and turkey pastrami in the house at all times, because that's something that I always enjoy and will fall back on when I just can't make myself eat other things. It's my "go to" food that feels normal (I just don't use mayo anymore!).

    I'm the same way but I set aside a day each month to cook a lot of meals that I pre-portion and freeze. To help with munching I chew gum or set out a bowl of grapes or something healthy to snack on. But this helps me when I need something quick and easy that's healthy. Right now I have spinach lasagna rolls and mini spinach and cheese quiches. I hope to make some chili soon as we'll as maybe some enchiladas or something.
  • mercurysfire
    mercurysfire Posts: 144 Member
    i'm a planner. i have a few staple dishes that i use over and over again just kind of changing the basics. like for breakfast i have fruit cheese and cold cuts. or fruit nuts and hard boiled egg. or fruit nuts and cold cuts. or a throw together omelette- plastic container with 2 eggs, some veggies, spices microwave for 2 minutes. or greek yogurt fruit and a waffle.

    for snacks, it's usually fruit and an egg. or fruit and cheese. or fruit and nuts. meant and cheese. meat and nuts. or 1 piece of bread with spreadable cheese (like goat cheese or laughing cow) and lunch meat. or hummus instead of cheese.or fruit and nut butter. or baby carrots with some spices sprinkled on them. you get the idea.

    dinner we eat meat and a salad. or soup. i'm no chef, but i prefer simple foods anyway. the less cooking and prepping i have to do the happier i will be. i usually roast a chicken or pork loin or something on sunday and plan a couple of meals around that (meat and salad/soup/sandwiches etc)

    boiled eggs last the entire week without going bad. nuts and granols last while as does yogurt, cheese, lunch meat that sort of stuff. (properly refrigerated) if we have cooked meat left over i freeze it and use it on days i find myself short of meat for whatever reason. i might have to run by the grocer to get some fruit or veg during the week on occasion but usually no need. and if you like smoothies, if you have fruit that is starting to look questionable (not fuzzy yet, but sort of lost some charm) cut it up and freeze it. no need to toss it just yet. same with veggies- they can go in soup later. as long as they don't start wiggling on their own and calling you mama. then it might be too late.

    don't be afraid of canned/bulk goods and don't be afraid of your freezer. they are your friends.
  • katbirdinpa
    katbirdinpa Posts: 105
    For me, I have to have the right food available. If I am on the road, I know what I want already. It's always the same
    Shrimp cocktail and side salad dressing on the side. Or 2 eggs Grilled Tomato on the side

    So I guess I am a planner
  • SlimJanette
    SlimJanette Posts: 597 Member
    I plan all my meals. I cut up all the fruit and veggies and have a sticky note on them with the calorie amounts. I have to do this or else I will just eat whatever and guess what it might be.
  • emjaycazz
    emjaycazz Posts: 330 Member
    I thought I was really good a meal-planning, but having read every post on this thread, I am completely humbled and impressed!

    I have a full time job, a husband who is an amateur race car driver, and a child who's at soccer practice or a game most nights a week, so it's a necessity for me to plan a week's worth of meals and shop on Sunday afternoon. That way, I can freeze the meats that don't get used later on in the week, buy vegetables and fruits based on when they should ripen, etc. I will look in my planner in the evenings and see what's supposed to be made the next day and then do any food prep needed to shorten the cooking process.

    I pre-package all of my work snacks, although that was a big fail this week because hubby and son liked the crackers I bought and so they ate them all!!
  • jennylee133
    jennylee133 Posts: 26 Member
    I also try to pre-plan and often to pre-log. I travel every week so often it's just me which makes it easier as I only have to worry about what I like/want but I find that if I don't prepare it also makes it much easier to just grab something unhealthy.

    So many good ideas in this thread though already have me thinking about ways to improve what I'm already doing!
  • heroyalslimness
    heroyalslimness Posts: 591 Member
    20t194y.jpg


    ABSOLUTELY


    ADMIRE


    THIS



    POST


    :flowerforyou:
  • heroyalslimness
    heroyalslimness Posts: 591 Member
    YESSSS food prep on sundays.. Is important to my personal success and takes the focus off of finding things to eat everyday..

    IMG_20121108_224631.jpg


    IMG_20121108_224336-2.jpg

    THIS POST MADE WANT TO CRY
    IT'S SO SMART AND TIME CONSCIOUS
    AND SO MUCH DELICIOUSNESS WITH RAW VEGGIES


    THANK YOU- EVERYBODY


    --THIS THREAD OUGHT TO BE A STICKY--
    SUCH GREAT IDEAS
  • krazyforyou
    krazyforyou Posts: 1,428 Member
    Unless its a crazy day I always try to plan aheah. Keeps me on track.
  • mahanaibu
    mahanaibu Posts: 505 Member
    I just stock up on plenty of basics that I can mess around with to make meals. On the weekend I'll make a couple of things for the week ahead...a veggie stew, roast a chicken. But with my spices and sauces around, some fruits and veggies, dairy and eggs in the fridge, plus frozen goods, I'm usually ready to pull together a meal pretty fast. Recently bought a Vitamix, the kind that cooks fresh soups etc., which makes a lot of things possible quickly. For me, it's more fun to think about the combinations of things I can put together from what's in the house. But I have to admit, I had to make my own spice rack and take up an entire shelf in the cabinet for it. I use a lot of spices and herbs from different ethnicities as well as sauces, salsas...but that allows me to mix it up even when I have relatively little in the way of basic ingredients.
  • thistimewillbedifferent
    thistimewillbedifferent Posts: 217 Member
    This is one of the best threads I've ever seen on MFP! Any fellow planners are welcome to add me!

    Every Friday night I sit down with my calendar and map out what the week ahead looks like -- when am I eating out, when am I seeing my trainer or taking an exercise class, when do I have an official function right after work and therefore won't have time to cook, etc.

    I then "fill in the gaps" by planning out what I'll eat throughout the week. If I have a late-night exercise class, I eat a heavier-than-usual protein-fulled afternoon snack and pick up sushi on the way home from the class. If I have an early morning meeting, I make overnight oats the night before. If I'm going to a restaurant, I go ahead and look at the menu online and decide what I'm going to order. If it's a Friday night, I know I'll be too tired to cook anything complicated, so I plan something simple like tortilla pizza.

    I then go through my fridge and figure out what ingredients I already have and need to incorporate into my menu plan and what I need to buy for the week ahead.

    Saturdays I do the grocery shopping, and on Sundays I spend about an hour doing advance food prep. I might grill a bunch of chicken breasts and freeze them in individual portions, or cook a bunch of black beans, or make a pot of quinoa or brown rice, or make some hard-cooked eggs, or roast some green beans, etc. I also pre-portion things like hummus, natural peanut butter, almonds, pistachios, berries, etc. into individual serving sizes. If I have something that needs serious cutting like a pineapple or a canteloupe, I do that, too. By the end of the hour, my fridge looks very similar to the one in the above photos.

    Each night before I go to bed I pre-log what I'm planning to eat the next day. Sometimes it follows my original menu plan to a T, sometimes I have to adjust because other things have come up. Throughout the day I make adjustments as needed -- if a girlfriend is having a crisis and I want to have a glass of wine with her, I do...and then I find a way to remove that 120 calories (or whatever) from somewhere else later in my day.

    I obviously slip up and fall off the wagon occasionally, but for the most part this method has been a MAJOR part of why I have been able to lose 51 lbs since January despite having a job that involves a lot of eating out and travel (at which point I introduce my handy insulated cooler bag into the equation).

    You've gotten some great advice throughout this thread, as have I! Best wishes finding a system that works for you!
  • heroyalslimness
    heroyalslimness Posts: 591 Member
    Ooooh--I was away---but glad to read the rest of this amazing thread.
    I will report back on your ideas--that I will use
  • heroyalslimness
    heroyalslimness Posts: 591 Member
    This is one of the best threads I've ever seen on MFP! Any fellow planners are welcome to add me!

    Every Friday night I sit down with my calendar and map out what the week ahead looks like -- when am I eating out, when am I seeing my trainer or taking an exercise class, when do I have an official function right after work and therefore won't have time to cook, etc.

    I then "fill in the gaps" by planning out what I'll eat throughout the week. If I have a late-night exercise class, I eat a heavier-than-usual protein-fulled afternoon snack and pick up sushi on the way home from the class. If I have an early morning meeting, I make overnight oats the night before. If I'm going to a restaurant, I go ahead and look at the menu online and decide what I'm going to order. If it's a Friday night, I know I'll be too tired to cook anything complicated, so I plan something simple like tortilla pizza.

    I then go through my fridge and figure out what ingredients I already have and need to incorporate into my menu plan and what I need to buy for the week ahead.

    Saturdays I do the grocery shopping, and on Sundays I spend about an hour doing advance food prep. I might grill a bunch of chicken breasts and freeze them in individual portions, or cook a bunch of black beans, or make a pot of quinoa or brown rice, or make some hard-cooked eggs, or roast some green beans, etc. I also pre-portion things like hummus, natural peanut butter, almonds, pistachios, berries, etc. into individual serving sizes. If I have something that needs serious cutting like a pineapple or a canteloupe, I do that, too. By the end of the hour, my fridge looks very similar to the one in the above photos.

    Each night before I go to bed I pre-log what I'm planning to eat the next day. Sometimes it follows my original menu plan to a T, sometimes I have to adjust because other things have come up. Throughout the day I make adjustments as needed -- if a girlfriend is having a crisis and I want to have a glass of wine with her, I do...and then I find a way to remove that 120 calories (or whatever) from somewhere else later in my day.

    I obviously slip up and fall off the wagon occasionally, but for the most part this method has been a MAJOR part of why I have been able to lose 51 lbs since January despite having a job that involves a lot of eating out and travel (at which point I introduce my handy insulated cooler bag into the equation).

    You've gotten some great advice throughout this thread, as have I! Best wishes finding a system that works for you!

    Very cool---and congrats on the 51 pounds:smile:
    who would have thought something as simple as planning and pre-portioning as well as having healthy snacks at the ready for the munchy-times could be a major player in losing weight

    when my fridge looks like the photos --I will post it:bigsmile:

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