7 Meal Planning Ideas for Weight Loss and Overall Health

Meal planning doesn’t take nearly as much energy as you think. If you love having extra time on your hands, then you will fall head-over-heels for meal planning.

Being a busy person doesn’t mean that you can’t take care of yourself. Meal planning exists to free up all that time you spend in the kitchen figuring out what you even have to make. Not having a plan for the week can lead to temptation foods that offer you no benefits.

Keep reading to find the best meal planning ideas for overall health and losing weight.

1. Pick Meals for a Week at a Time

When trying to stay on track with your health, one major factor in losing weight is keeping your diet healthy and controlled. It is so hard staying in line with your goals when it seems like there is no time in the day to cook.

Choosing what you want to eat ahead of time will help you see the big picture, and help you reach your weight loss goal. Try writing down a list of the meals you want to have for each day of the week, and compile all of the needed ingredients, this will help you go to the store one time instead of four.

2. Cook in Big Batches

Cooking your food in large batches helps you on track during the week when you need quick and easy lunches, dinners, or even breakfast meals. A couple of healthy examples could be pot roast or even a baked dish.

3. Freeze Meals

If you take part in meal prepping, storing your leftovers in the freezer will keep them stored for whenever you need a quick meal. This can apply to fruit for smoothies or normal meals.

4. Use a Variety of Food

Try something new that isn’t too challenging, whether that be a new spice or a veggie you haven’t had yet. This way you don’t get burnt out on the day-to-day stuff and you can keep up eating healthy in a sustainable way.

5. Include veggies

Always mix veggies into your meals to make sure you are getting all of the benefits they can offer you. After all, weight loss is 80% diet and 20% exercise. Try roasting a batch of your favorite vegetables with different seasonings and portioning it out for a few meals during the week.

6. Only Cook What You Need

Don’t cook an excessive amount of food that won’t get eaten. Americans discard nearly 40 million tons of food every year. That means millions of dollars are wasted on food that doesn’t get eaten. Be sure to freeze what you can’t eat and plan out when you can incorporate that food into your meals.

7. Meal Planning Service

Planning can be hard when you don’t always know your schedule. It can seem overwhelming to plan out seven days’ worth of food, but that is why meal delivery services exist.

Find a local meal delivery service that can fit all of your needs from hitting weight loss goals, to managing your health priorities.

Meal Planning Ideas Are Worth It

Finding healthy foods and the time to even cook them can be a pain when you are constantly on the go. That is why Lean & Tasty does all of the preplanning and prepping for you. Your health and well-being should be the top priority, so using these meal planning ideas will help take the weight off your shoulders. Check out our healthy menu for more information about our meals.