Meal Prep YOUR WAY!
Let’s start with you, what do you want to eat?
You might be asking yourself, why does that matter, just tell me what to eat already!
To which I would say, well that is why you are still not losing weight and are constantly in search of the MOST perfect diet or meal plan for weight loss.
If you are new to my blog, then let me just introduce myself, Hi, I am your Non-Bull💩 Dietitian who knows that if you are not thinking about YOU and what YOU LIKE, WANT, and NEED daily, and how to make those things fit into a meal plan for weight loss – I am about to blow your mind! 🤯
Ok, now that I have cleared up who I am, let’s talk about what you like to eat. Seriously, I want you to write down your top 10 favorite meals. Don’t skip this, it doesn’t have to be your all-time “healthiest” or “good for me’ foods either, just your faves. If you skip this part for now, fine, but you MUST come on right back here and keep going because it’s crucial for the next parts.STEP! Top 10 favorite meals/foods
STEP 1 List your TOP 10 Favorite meals/foods
1
2
3
etc.
Now let’s talk about how to create your easy meal plan for weight loss
Cool, now that you have this list of 10 all-time favorite meals I want you to make 3 separate columns. This is the 3 step method I mentioned, but I like to call it my P.P.C method which stands for Protein, Produce, and Carb. Produce what the heck is that you ask? Well, think of the “produce section” of the grocery store – THAT anything in there basically – veggies & fruits, I am also cool with frozen and canned of either too!
Step 2 Categorize
| Protein | Produce | Carbs |
You are going to take that list and start separating the parts of the meals you listed in Step 1 (see I told you you’d have to go back😉) into this chart. Say you picked Pizza, yes that is slightly challenging, but not if you think about it. Pizza is Bread (carb) Cheese (protein, in this case, + whatever meat if any) and you can put vegetables on pizza- it is possible.
| Protein | Produce | Carbs |
| Cheese/Pepperoni | mushroom | Pizza dough |
Now if you are still very unaware of which foods are considered protein, which are produce aka veggies/fruit, and which are carbs keep reading I have some examples below!
Why set up meals like this? Great Question! There is growing evidence that an intake of certain types of nutrients, specific food groups, or a more consistent variety, positively influences health and promotes the prevention of disease1. AKA when we create more Balanced Meals🥗🍞🧀🍓🥦🍗, you can have the less balanced 🍕🥡🍦 versions and enjoy it, not feel guilt and your body will thank you too!
In order to create more balanced meals you need to have at least 3 out of 5 food groups (grains, protein, fruit, vegetables, dairy) to create a balance of nutrients, and energy and keep it interesting too! Eating just 2 can usually lead to no Veggies or Fruits because let’s face it, few people start with these in meal planning and these are the foods just about EVERYONE needs to eat more of, and more consistently
Ok, now I want you to go back to the list of your favorite foods and fill in the columns. There is nothing more annoying than not knowing what to eat, but overthinking it is typically the reason you feel this way. So we are going to give you back some mental freedom right now!
Here is an example of my meal planning:
| Protein | Produce | Carbs | ||
| Chicken: Boneless/skinless; Breast/Thighs, Eggs Pork: Tenderloin, Pulled, bone-in pork chop, Beef: Roast, Ground Seafood: Salmon, Shrimp, Mahi Mahi Dairy: Greek Yogurt, Low-fat cheese stick | Vegetable: Green Beans -Fresh/canned Broccoli-Frozen, fresh, steam Carrot -crinkle cut Raddish Peppers- Romaine lettuce Mushrooms Onions Zucchini/Squash Fruit: Strawberry Grape Apple Mandarin Pineapple Berries – red/black/blue Cantaloupe | Jasmine rice Potatoeswhite/sweet Oatmeal Killer Dave’s Bread/Bagels Penne Pasta French Fries/ Tots Tortilla- Carb Balance Rice cakes Granola |
Most importantly, don’t forget to PREP!
Here is the fun part! Ever play that game where you have to match words or phrases to each other on opposite sides of the paper? Well even if you don’t we are going to do that now, sort of.
Step 3 Mix & Match
I want you to pick 3 sources of food from EACH collum and you are free to pick 6 (3veg & 3fruit) from the produce column, and we are going to mix and match them in a separate area. For example, I am going to pick;
- Chicken breast, Pulled Pork and Salmon
- Zucchini, green beans, and Romaine (or bagged salad)
- Strawberry, apple, and blueberries
- Oatmeal, Rice, and potatoes (white)
Now I am going to pair them up. If you get a little stuck or want to add another item to your list, guess what, you totally can!
| Protein | . | Produce | . | Carb |
| 1-Grilled chicken | Green Beans | Jasmine rice | ||
| Salad | Strawberries | |||
| Zucchini/mushrooms | potatoes | |||
| . | . | |||
| 2-Eggs* Bonus | Blueberries | Oatmeal | ||
| peppers/onion | Potatoes | |||
| . | . | |||
| 3-Pulled pork | Green Beans | Potatoes | ||
| Salad | Rice | |||
| Zucchini | Potatoes | |||
| Peppers/Onion | Tortilla | |||
| . | . | |||
| 4-Salmon | Green Beans | Rice | ||
| Salad | Potatoes | |||
| Peppers/onion/mushroom*Bonus | Tortillas* Bonus |
Now you have about 12 different meals to plan for and think about for the week. If you decide to go rogue and make something completely different, that is ok too! The idea is to give yourself the backbone of meal planning. You can take it a step further and write them out something like this. My Client had a GREAT example, don’t you think?
Final thoughts…
Losing weight needs to work FOR YOU and the more you start to own this and live this, the better your experience will be. I love it when my clients tell me they are eating the way they want to and never really feel like they are on a “diet”.
Now it does take some practice of course, and I often spend a lot of time with my clients repeating this conversation so I thought I would write about it. The reason it works so well is that you can make this P.P.C work in any situation.
The more you try to fit your life into someone else’s choices FOR YOU, the farther away you get from creating the sustainable lifestyle you have been craving!
I NEVER tell any client what they “should eat”. I HATE the word should it just implies a demand of guilt, like you are never doing enough. Ugh, the worst! I do my best to avoid using it or thinking about it myself.
There you have it! How to customize your own simple weight loss meal plan!
If you love this blog then I bet you are going to LOVE working with me on how to OWN your weight loss journey and finally stop wasting your time⌚, money 💸, and energy ⚡trying to lose weight anyone else’s way but yours. Do it your way, but with me!
Click here to join my waitlist for my Learn, Lose & Live Sustainable weight loss program!
Kicking off another round May 31st, 2022 – 12 weeks to get you in the best shape physically and mentally for the upcoming summer months.
See you inside!
Laura
REFERENCES
- Cena H, Calder PC. Defining a Healthy Diet: Evidence for The Role of Contemporary Dietary Patterns in Health and Disease. Nutrients. 2020;12(2):334. Published 2020 Jan 27. doi:10.3390/nu12020334
