{Day 18} Successful Weight Loss Starts With A Meal Plan

When following a strict weight loss regimen, it is important to plan out your food for the day so you don’t spend all day thinking about food.  Basically, if you have everything planned out, you don’t have to keep thinking about what you are going to eat or how hungry you are.  When you plan your meals correctly, the weight loss becomes much more likely to happen.  Here are a few tips for meal planning for weight loss success

• Plan for Breakfast — Breakfast is the meal that gets your metabolism running and, if done properly, can help you burn fat all day long. It is important to plan for breakfast because a rushed morning makes for poor food decisions. Planning for the morning is better done the night before. Now, this doesn’t mean you need to pour your cereal and let it sit overnight, but you should have an idea of what you want to eat when you wake up. A tip for planning for breakfast is to take everything out the night before, like your utensils, cereal, and anything else that can be left out, and consolidate your cold ingredients in one space in the refrigerator. This will help you to be more efficient in the morning when your eyes are not quite open yet. Hard-boil your eggs the night before, peel and store in a ziploc bag in the refrigerator.  They are the perfect morning protein that even the sleepiest dieter can manage.

• Set Up the Snacks — When we get hungry during the work day, those lunch room or cafeteria vending machines start calling our name, whispering sweet nothings. If you start a love affair with these vending machine vixens, you’ll be sorry. While trying to live a healthy lifestyle, those giant boxes packed with unhealthy choices are your worst enemy. This is why it is so important to plan your snacks for the day. By bringing fruits and vegetables or other healthy options from home, you will be able to control your hunger and avoid the trips to the vending machines. Great snacks for the workplace include an apple, plain popcorn, cut up veggies, whole nuts, and Greek yogurt. Not only will you feel better about the choices you make throughout the day, you will be able to stick to your weight loss goals for the long term. Small healthy snacks should be planned out for the day so you and your diet stay on track, and away from the vending machines.

• Plan for Lunch and Dinner — When you don’t have a plan in place for your main meals, chances are you could end up foraging in the refrigerator and coming up with a bowl of leftover mashed potatoes as a main course. Or worse yet, calling for pizza or driving through the fast food place. This will turn into a dieting disaster, so it is important to think about your meals ahead of time. When your diet consists of lots of vegetables, fruits, protein, and whole grains, and all you have in the refrigerator is cold spaghetti noodles, you are putting your diet in jeopardy. Fill your refrigerator and pantry full of healthy choices and write out your meal plan for the week.  If you fall off your diet routinely just because you didn’t plan your meals, you may be sabotaging your diet.  Make the commitment, then make the plan. When you take the time to plan your meals and snacks, you have a better shot at keeping up with your weight loss goals. By planning your breakfast, being sure to pack appropriate snacks, and planning your lunch and dinner, you will be able to fend off the evil vending machines, fast food lines, and unsuccessful attempts at foraging for healthy foods. Remember, the food you eat should be a choice, and not just what is available on a whim. Plan for your meals and plan for a healthier you.

To give you a headstart I’ve give you 35 clean eating meal ideas,35 Healthy Meal Ideas.

Today’s assignment. 

1. Using the healthy meal ideas, make a menu of the week.
2. Make a list of snacks you can bring with you no matter where you so you aren’t tempted.

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Day 1 — Intro the challenge
Day 2 — Getting your mind straight 
Day 3 — Goal setting 
Day 4 — What’s on your plate
Day 5 — Lift
Day 6 — Cardio
Day 7 — Living on your own terms
Day 8 — Rest day
Day  9 — Forming a habit
Day 10 — Just Breathe
Day 11 — Fat loss secrets revealed
Day 12 — Can you pinch an inch
Day 13 — Dedicated and Focused 
Day 14 — Doubt
Day 15 — Rewards and Consequences
Day 16 — Damn Hormones
Day 17 — Pre and Post Workout Meals