Planning the Pounds Away!

You woke up late, you didn’t go grocery shopping this weekend, you were busy at work and just ordered delivery for lunch – these are all reasons we use for eating “less than healthy” throughout the day.  There’s always going to be some sort of obstacle that might deter you from eating healthier but are they standing in the way of living an overall healthy lifestyle?

By planning ahead, you can not only plan healthier meals but also make your day run more smoothly.  Here are some tips you can follow to ensure that you’re eating healthy even when life gets a little hectic.

Keep a Food Journal: You hear this time and time again but it really is the best way to hold yourself accountable for what you eat.  It doesn’t have to be incredibly time consuming.  Just take note of what you ate, the time you ate and the portion size.  This will help you notice trends, such as a tendency to overeat at night.  Next time, you can be ready with a healthy snack.

Take Advantage of DownTime: The weekends are a great time to plan for the upcoming week and go grocery shopping.  It’s much more difficult to plan a healthy dinner during the week.  Try using Sunday as the day when you make a healthy dish such as a large batch of vegetable lasagna and then freeze small portions for lunch throughout the week.  Also, if you get all of your grocery shopping done during the weekend you’ll have a variety of healthy and delicious meals throughout the week.  This should also save money on dining away from home.

Shop Smart: If you buy a cart full of high-fat snacks at the grocery store you’re just tempting yourself to eat poorly.  Stock your fridge with healthy basics such as low-fat milk, eggs or egg substitutes, non-fat yogurt and a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables.  Also keep snacks such as lean meats, low-fat cheeses, hummus and high-fiber cereal on hand.  Purchasing healthy snacks for your home will ensure that you’ve got a variety of snacks and meals to choose from.

Think Outside the Box: It’s important to eat breakfast in the morning but what if you don’t like breakfast foods?  There’s no rule saying you have to have cereal or eggs in the morning.  Try having a sandwich on whole wheat bread with lean meat and low-fat cheese.  Or you could have a bowl of vegetable soup to fill you up until lunchtime.  In the same manner, you can always have breakfast for lunch or dinner!  Mix it up however you like, just make sure you’re eating at least three small meals (plus snacks) a day!

Losing weight isn’t something that’s going to happen magically.  It would be nice to go to sleep one night and wake up the next morning 10 pounds lighter but that’s just wishful thinking.  If you want to lose weight you’ve got to plan for it – both over the short-term and long-term.