What's Stopping You? Meal Preparation

When I meet people in my office for the first time, I ask them one simple question, “what has stopped you from reaching your weight loss goals?”.  Many times the response is “It just costs too much to eat healthy and pay for training”

They just lied to themselves…

It is because of a lack of self-discipline.

What if I told you that for around $50 a week, you could feed yourself (and possibly your spouse or small family) a perfectly healthy set of meals 3 times a day with some snacks, lose weight?  What if I told you it would only take 30 minutes to prepare those meals a few times each week?  Guess what, plenty of people who are busier than you ever will be do it.  Here is how.

Learn to prep meals multiple days at a time!

1: Have a meal plan.  Plan the week ahead and stick to it.  Plan to prepare your meals in advance so you aren't spending 30 minutes every night cooking.  Remember, most of the time you can prepare 2-3 days worth of meals and store them in the same time it takes you to do 1 meal.  Take the time and research diets and educate yourself on what is healthy and unhealthy.  Remember, ignorance is not a valid excuse.

Tupperware is your friend!

2: Buy healthy foods.  Stick with Lean Protein, Veggies, Fruits, Nuts & Seeds.  Depending on your goals, some starches and dairy may be acceptable.  Avoid things with added sugar and high salt.  While eating healthy food from the store is a little more expensive than going and getting a Fast Food Burger every night, the healthy food pays off in the long run. 

There are 4 servings of each side dish in this picture...
all fresh, all healthy, under $5 total.

3:  Have a designated shopping day with a list.  Stick to the list…   If your list has things like “cookies” on it, tear up the list and start again.

4: Learn to cook.  If you fail at cooking, get over it and get on the internet.  There are plenty of “how to” videos on Youtube showing you how to cook food.

Hearty & Healthy Meals like this can be easily prepared for around $3
and be from Kitchen to Table in 30 minutes.

5: Learn to not make excuses.  If you falter on your diet or training regiment, it is your fault... not your boss's, not your kids, not your spouse, not the junk food manufacturer...  it is all on you.  Take some responsibility for yourself.

In the end it comes down to one thing...  don't waste time thinking about why something cannot be done.  Take control, and do what needs to be done!