A key part of staying healthy and/or losing weight is to plan ahead. If you wait until you are hungry to decide what you're going to eat, and you don't have the groceries needed to prepare a healthy meal or snack, you're more likely to grab a bag of chips, or a handful of cookies, or heat up a frozen pizza for dinner. With a little planning, you can be sure you'll have the healthy stuff on hand, and when it comes time to make your meal, you'll be completely prepared to make a good choice and whip up something healthy.
Your challenge for this week is to create a meal plan. Make a list of 7 days worth of breakfasts, lunches and dinners. Don't forget to include items for snacking. Try to keep the plan balanced, incorporate fruits and vegetables and at least one protein every day. Don't forget to factor in any days that include special challenges. If you know you're going out for a big dinner one night, incorporate that into your plan, and try to eat a little lighter during that day in preparation.
Once you have your plan, make a grocery list and get to the store. All the planning in the world means nothing if you don't stock up on the foods needed to execute it!
This article gives a little more detail about the benefits of meal planning:
http://www.joybauer.com/planning-for-weight-loss.aspx
Here's a link to a sample meal planner for Excel 2003. If you don't have Excel and want help finding a template, let me know and I'll help you find something that works for you.
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/templates/results.aspx?qu=meal#ai:TC001018303
Happy planning!
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