Meal Planning

Meal planning has been essential to my successful weight loss. It also SUCKS. I'm not the best at planning ahead, but I've forced myself to do a better job. If I don't, my healthy eating suffers.

First, I take an inventory of my kitchen to determine what I'm out of. If I don't do this, I will end up with 17 jars of PB2. And who wants that? So first up, inventory what you have.

Based on what I know I need to use up, then I write out what meals I want to make for the week ahead. I use a copy of my meal planning template for this.

Next up - I make a grocery list on my iPhone - I use the notes section. I ALWAYS have my iPhone with me. Therefore, I'll never forget my shopping list.

And finally, over the weekend I shop! I try to stick to my shopping list. I delete items as I put them in my cart. I spend the majority of my time shopping the outer perimeter of the grocery section - proteins, veggies, fruits. All the processed stuff is in the middle, and I'm to the point where it just feels wrong to be shopping there.

And finally, food prep Sunday. It's amazing how much easier my life is when I pre-wash my fruits and veggies. I also like to pre-cook the foods I know I'll need a lot of - boiled eggs, chicken breast, ground beef, etc. Food prep ensures there's no chance of failure!

It's super important to me that I keep a food log - I print a second copy of my meal planning template, and write down what I have eaten. I keep it at my desk, and I write it down as I go along through the day. It helps keep me focused on my goals, and I'm much more successful when I do this.

I'm posting my meal planning template on the blog today for everyone to download. I couldn't find a template that I liked, so I made one! I'm happy to share it with you. Here's another meal planning template version that I made too.

Hope you have a successful meal planning weekend for great results next week!

21 Day Fix Preview!

I can't WAIT for celebrity trainer Autumn Calabrese's new program 21-Day Fix. It's a program that focuses equally on what you eat and how much to eat, AND exercise. And it's for all fitness levels. It even comes with 7 portion controlled containers. You just fill the color-coded containers - and eat. No measuring, counting carbs or calories, etc. And the program is 21 days long. I have serious commitment issues - when programs last for 10 weeks I feel like total failure when I skip days. And I usually end up flaking out or only finishing certain parts of a program. I can do anything for 21 days! And I won't feel like a total loser for not finishing. This program also has 30-minute workouts that you complete along with it. In the test groups, people lost 10-15 pounds during the 3 weeks! And many participants completed multiple rounds of it, and lost up to 100 pounds! This program launches in February, and I'm happy to give you all the details if you think you might want to try it with me. My February challenge groups will be focusing on this program. If this sounds like the program for you, send me a note or sign up for my fitness team for FREE, and I'll let you know the release date the second I find out. I think it's set for February 3! A challenge pack will be $140 (this includes a month of Shakeology and saves you $60) and the base pack for the program is $59.85!

Meal Planning

I have a love/hate relationship with meal planning. I know I need to do it, but I stress out about it. I'm not a fan of cooking - never have been. I'm a quick fix kind of gal. I have been studying meal planning and trying to find the best way to make the process easier for me. Today I created a template to use. I've meal planned on a tiny hotel room note pad before. I used notebooks. I bought a tracking book. I didn't find anything I loved. So I made one. What do you use to keep your meals straight and your grocery lists easier?

I'm posting my meal planning template on the blog today for everyone to download. I couldn't find a template that I liked, so I made one! I'm happy to share it with you. Here's another meal planning template version that I made too.