Let’s be honest, eating healthily is usually much easier when you’ve got the time, the food in the fridge and a vague idea of what you’re actually going to eat.
It’s when it’s 6pm, you’re hungry, you’re swinging on the fridge door, it contains half a cucumber and a questionable-looking yoghurt, and everyone is asking “What’s for tea?” that things can start to go slightly pear-shaped.
And that’s where meal prep can make a huge difference.
Now, when I say meal prep, I’m not suggesting you spend your entire Sunday afternoon cooking 27 identical containers of chicken and broccoli while wearing a fitness watch and feeling smug.
Meal prep can be much simpler than that.
It’s really about doing a little bit of preparation when you have the time, so that making good choices is easier when you don’t.
Start with a plan
One of the easiest ways to make healthy eating simpler is to have an idea of what you’re going to eat before you get hungry.
You don’t need to plan every mouthful of the week, but having a rough plan for your breakfasts, lunches and evening meals can stop the dreaded:
“I don’t know what I fancy.”
Which often translates into:
“I’ll just have something quick.”
And “something quick” has a remarkable habit of turning into whatever happens to be easiest.
Before your food shop, have a look at the week ahead.
Are you working late?
Have you got appointments?
Are you going out for a meal?
Do you have a day when lunch needs to be something you can grab and go?
Planning around your real life is much more useful than creating a perfect meal plan that falls apart by Tuesday.
Prep the basics
You don’t have to cook complete meals in advance.
Sometimes preparing a few ingredients is enough to make the rest of the week easier.
For example, you could:
- Wash and chop vegetables
- Cook some chicken, lean meat or another protein source
- Boil a few eggs
- Prepare a batch of potatoes
- Make a big salad
- Portion out fruit
- Prepare overnight oats
- Make a batch of soup
- Cook some vegetables ready to reheat
- Portion snacks so you aren’t eating directly from the packet
It’s amazing how much easier it is to put together a healthy meal when half the work has already been done.
Think protein first
One thing I encourage my members at The WeightLoss Company to think about is including a source of protein with their meals.
Protein can help you feel satisfied and is important for maintaining muscle as you lose weight.
So when you’re planning your meals, ask yourself:
“Where’s the protein?”
It could be eggs at breakfast, chicken or tuna at lunch, Greek-style yoghurt as a snack, or fish, lean meat, beans, lentils or another suitable protein source at dinner.
You don’t have to eat the same protein every day either.
Variety is your friend.
Don’t forget your fruit and vegetables
Meal prep is also a great opportunity to make sure you’re getting plenty of fruit and vegetables.
If the fruit is washed, chopped and ready to eat, you’re far more likely to reach for it.
If the vegetables are already prepared, adding them to your dinner becomes much less of a chore.
And remember, your five-a-day doesn’t have to mean five enormous bowls of salad.
Fruit and vegetables can be fresh, frozen, tinned or dried, depending on what you’re having and in what quantities.
Make it easy for yourself.
Use your freezer
The freezer is one of the most underappreciated members of the kitchen team.
It doesn’t complain, it doesn’t ask what’s for dinner and it never judges you.
Batch cooking is a brilliant way of making healthy eating easier.
If you’re making chilli, curry, soup, stew or another suitable meal, why not make extra portions and freeze them?
Then, on one of those evenings when cooking is the last thing you want to do, you’ve already got something prepared.
Future you will be very grateful.
Portion it before you’re hungry
One of my favourite meal prep tips is to portion food before you’re hungry.
If you’ve bought a large packet of something, divide it into individual portions rather than eating straight from the packet.
Because, let’s face it, standing in the kitchen eating “just a little bit” from a large bag can be surprisingly difficult to track.
Especially when the bag appears to have developed a magical ability to refill itself.
Using your Nutracheck app can be really helpful here too.
You can plan meals, check calories and keep an eye on your overall day before you get to the point where you’re desperately trying to work out how many calories are in “a handful”.
Don’t aim for perfection
This is probably the most important bit.
Meal prep isn’t about being perfect.
Some weeks you’ll be organised.
Other weeks you’ll remember at 8pm on Sunday that you meant to prepare something for Monday.
That’s life.
The aim isn’t to create a perfect eating routine where nothing ever goes wrong.
It’s to make healthy choices easier more often.
Even preparing one or two meals ahead can make a difference.
Even chopping your vegetables can make a difference.
Even knowing what you’re having for dinner before you get home can make a difference.
Small things really do add up.
Make healthy eating convenient
We often talk about willpower when it comes to weight loss, but I think making your environment work for you is much more helpful.
If healthier choices are easy to see, easy to reach and easy to prepare, you’re giving yourself a helping hand.
So put the fruit where you can see it.
Keep prepared vegetables in the fridge.
Have some easy protein options available.
Keep a few healthy meals in the freezer.
And make sure your kitchen works for the life you actually live.
Because healthy eating shouldn’t mean spending hours in the kitchen every single day.
Your meal prep challenge
This week, why not choose just three things to prepare?
Maybe some chopped vegetables, a batch of cooked protein and a couple of easy lunches.
That’s it.
No need to turn your kitchen into a production line.
Just make the next few days a little easier for yourself.
And when Wednesday evening arrives and you open the fridge to find something healthy and ready to go…
You can thank Sunday-you.
Healthy eating doesn’t have to be complicated. Sometimes it just needs a little bit of preparation.
And remember, at The WeightLoss Company, we’re not looking for perfection.
We’re looking for progress, one choice at a time.
Debbie x
The WeightLoss Company
Supporting you to lose weight, build healthy habits and make changes that fit into real life.