Weight Loss Help: 11 Steps in Meal Preparation

Have you ever thought about the mental challenges for weight loss? Some of this is carving out dedicated time for your dietary counseling sessions. Or making sure you make it to whichever fitness class has caught your interest. Juggling your time with family, work, and social commitments can also challenge your weight loss goals.

Then comes your actual eating habits within the course of a day, a week, a month.

We have all encountered some of these scenarios:

• You forgot to pack your lunch, and someone ordered pizza for the office.
• You are stuck in traffic on your lunch break trying to find a decent salad
• You are rushing to make your lunch in the morning, and the only things you have in the refrigerator are pickles and mustard.
• You made it through your intensive exhaustive workout, and getting a sub seems so convenient.

Let’s be honest: meal prep takes a little bit of forethought. It doesn’t have to happen all the time, but when it does, it makes your day and week go smoother and helps you keep your weight loss goals in mind. These 11 tips can help you stay the weight loss course:

1. Make a meal plan: Pick simple recipes that you are familiar with.
2. Check your pantry for ingredients you already have.
3. Stick to your grocery shopping list to avoid impulse buying of unhealthy foods.
   
   
   
4. Have good quality containers with sizes and shapes that help you with portion control.
5. Use a food scale to help you when you’re not necessarily counting calories.
6. Take some time just to prepare your fruits and vegetables: peeling, chopping, slicing and dicing.
   
7. Make the complicated recipes first followed by the simpler ones, including freezer-friendly meals which can also help on very hectic days.
8. Have healthy condiments around to season your meals.
9. Eat leftovers. Depending on what meal you’ve made, leftovers can be transformed into another dish. 
   
10. Organize food in your refrigerator to make it easily accessible and in the appropriate areas for the optimum temperature.
11. Store healthy snacks around the house, in snack sizes to help with your portion control. 

It is much more challenging to eat healthy when you do not cook your own meals. Making your own system will help you take control of your weight loss and lifestyle goals.

Consult with your local Metabolic Medical Center for more tips on meal preparation for weight loss.