Just starting

I am beginner to "meal planning" as well, but have adapted these tips:
1. Sunday is a good day for cooking ahead of time.
I try to cook 2-3 dinners for Monday/Tues/Wed. then make sure there is enough leftovers for 2-3 lunches (usually cook meat, ground beef to add to sauces or make taco salads, or chicken for dinners and chicken sandwiches or toss in salads, etc). If I have extra time to cook on Sunday, then I make more and freeze the meals for later on in the week. Prepping veggies for the week is done during this time as well. wash, chop up, put in snack baggies or storage containers (for snacks or to add to meals/salads).
2. Keep lots of fruit on hand (esp. bananas). In the beginning don't worry too much about sugars. If you're cutting back on bad sweets like candy, cakes, icecream -then replacing them with healthy sweets will help heal your metabolism.
3. Try to pack lunches the night before, and also leave snacks in the car.
4. The number one problem I've struggled with is letting myself get too hungry. I constantly snack and so having healthy snacks on hand has saved me!
*Snack ideas, cheese, crackers, apples, nuts, yogurt, celery w/ a small amount of peanut butter, bananas, shakes/smoothies, slimfast type "filling" drinks, bell peppers, pretty much any raw veggie with a protein like cheese or yogurt seems to sustain me well.

*hope this helps! I'm struggling, but finally found doing these things helps curb my appetite and save lots of time!