March 25, 2018

A lot of folks have been asking how to meal prep. Since I work in the fitness industry and talk with various people each day, I know this is something clients struggle with. But before we get rolling on how to “prep” for meals, let’s talk about how to “plan” your meals.

Planning for Meals

As novel as this idea seems (mainly because we have been doing it for so long:), planning the meals that you (and your fam) are going to eat during the week is a big deal! I spend a lot of time in the grocery store, and I am certain if I went into the store with no idea what foods to buy for the week, I would walk out with a bunch of junk!

So first things first, know what you are going to eat before you even think about leaving for the store.

Make a LIST!

But now you are wondering, “But what am I supposed to buy?”

This is where the planning part comes in. A lot of people I meet with tell me they eat a “healthy” diet. When I ask what that means to them, they typically list off a bunch of items that may not be fast food burgers and pizza, but can still be loaded with unnecessary calories!

So, courtesy of Josh Hillis and his book Fat Loss Starts on Monday, here’s what you need to know when “planning” your meals:

  • Start with protein
  • Fats and carbs are fillers to add after the protein is handled

So how does this look in real life?

Follow in this exact order!

Choose your protein: fish, poultry, beef, pork, eggs, or dairy.

Choose your seasonings! Don’t eat bland food. Season that stuff up a bit! No one got results and was REALLY happy throughout by eating bland food. Choose from: Italian, American, Indian, Asian, Mexican, and so on.

Choose your healthy fat. Fats doesn’t make you fat. Get that out of your mind! Choose from: avocados, olive oil, coconut oil, almonds, cashews, and so on.

Eat the rainbow and choose your veggies: romaine, broccoli, asparagus, and so on,

And last but not least, choose your carbs: quinoa, brown rice, potatoes, fruit, and so on.

Prepping for Meals

Now that we know what we should be eating, and what we should have bought at the store, we can get down to the options for “prepping” meals for the week.

One of the biggest things to keep in mind is time. Who really has time to plan, prep, and schedule for their food??

The person that wants to be successful, that’s who! If it’s a priority, there are ways to get it done.

When we first had Lily, I would make up freezer meals for the week and we ate out of the crockpot almost every single night. Super easy. We would just throw it in before work and VOILA! Dinner is served! THIS is one of the websites we used for a little while. Just make sure you follow the order from above (a.k.a. protein, fat, veggies, carbs:)

Another way to “prep” for the week is to make a bunch of food at the beginning of the week (Sunday). You might also have to set aside another day (Wednesday) to prep a little more. Ideas that come to my mind here are:

  • Grilling/baking up a whole bunch of meat and veggies
  • Boiling some eggs
  • Slicing and dicing some veggies
  • Notice I didn’t say anything about carbs. Those are the last things to be added!

I’m sure the list could go on and on, but you get the idea! In real life, you just pull the protein (1-2 palm sized portions) out of the Tupperware you put it in after cooking, add 1-2 fist sized portions of colorful veggies, a cupped handful of good carbs, and you’ve got a high quality meal!

So after all of that, here are the takeaways:

  1. Have a plan. What will you buy when you go to the store?
    1. Pick your protein
    2. Pick your seasoning
    3. Pick your healthy fat
    4. Pick your veggies (rainbow:)
    5. Pick your whole grain carbs
  2. Prep for the week. “If you fail to prepare, you better prepare to fail.”
    1. Choose crockpot meals or cooking ahead
      1. Remember to follow the previous list of importance!

Although, we could have gone way deeper into the rabbit hole, that is a fairly simple way to start planning and preparing meals at home! I hope you got something out of it!

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