Meal Planning Made Simple

Pretty young woman in kitchen

Did you know that every time you eat out it’s pretty much guaranteed you will be consuming more calories than if you prepared your own meal?  A recent study published  in the IDEA fitness journal stated that when people ate out they averaged 200 more calories per meal.  I believe them!

Please understand, I’m a big fan of going out to eat.  It’s part of our culture, and I think everyone should take advantage of the fabulous restaurants in their area.  However, several years ago I learned that the average American eats out four to five times per week.  This made me realize that the calorie overload could add up quickly for anyone frequenting restaurants this often.

I also understand why people are eating out this much.  After a long day at work, cooking dinner can sound daunting and unappealing.  You want something simple that tastes good,  and it’s all too tempting to swing by your favorite take out joint or restaurant.

However, meal planning and preparing your own food is one of the key ingredients to weight loss/management without dieting. It’s how my household is able to enjoy eating the foods we like without gaining weight.

Does meal planning mean that you need to go to culinary school and become a chef, or that you have to eat the same meal five days in a row?  No!

It does mean that you will spend a little time up front before your week begins. The 30 minutes you spend meal planning will actually ending up saving you time.  No more daily trips to the store or a restaurant.  Not only will planning your menu save you time, it saves you money and helps you avoid throwing away food that went bad sitting in the fridge.

Just between you and me meal planning was not something I used to do. I would get home from a long day of work and throw some chicken or fish in the oven while the rice and veggies cooked together in a steamer. I really enjoyed this meal. It was easy and I knew it was healthy for us, but eventually my husband and I got burned out on eating the same thing five nights a week.

That burnout inspired me to take my knowledge from the fitness industry and teach myself how to meal plan. I started creating weekly menus, and learned to cook healthy interesting meals for our family. It wasn’t super hard, it just took planning and following recipes.  That’s why I know you can do it too.

Here are eight simple steps to help you start meal planning right away.

1) Make a quick plan.  Make a list of what you want to eat for dinner, lunch, breakfast, and snacks for the next seven days. Look at your calendar to see if you have any planned dinners, parties, or lunches when you will be eating out.

2) Get inspired! If you like to cook or want to learn how, try using light recipes from the web, cookbooks, and/or magazines to inspire you. Cooking Light is my favorite. EatingWell is another option.  Go through the magazines or the website.  Let the pictures of the meals inspire you to try new recipes.

If cooking is new for you, pick the 20 minute recipes to start.  Even if you are a seasoned cook, you may want to stick to the short recipes on your busier days and save the project meals for your days off when you have more time.

3) Make quick and delicious no cook meals.  Rather not cook? Assemble prepared food that is fresh. Try things like a roasted chicken, pre-cooked rice and pre-washed lettuce for a salad. Add some frozen organic vegetables on the side.

These are great meals when you’ve had a crazy day and need to feed you and/or your family quickly before the blood sugar starts dropping.

4) Frozen can be your friend.  Try frozen organic pizza with a salad. Be sure to pay attention to serving sizes. A healthy frozen pizza has fewer calories than restaurant pizzas.

5) Write it down.  Once you’ve decided what you will eat for the week, make a shopping list and write everything down before you go to the store.

6) Make extra. Use leftovers for lunches or freeze appropriate portion sizes for meals later in the month. For example eat meals that you froze during week one in week three. This allows you to save time and stay on track without growing tired of the meal because you ate it for four days straight.

7) It’s okay if you need to outsource.  You may discover that cooking every night is a challenge. If so, consider these great ideas:

Order meals from a company like MagicKitchen.com. The food is made fresh and delivered to your doorstep.  If you think that may be too expensive, do a little calculating. You may find it a lot less expensive than eating out.  You can also try doing a search for local businesses in your area providing meal services.  Imagine what it would be like to have all of your meals planned and ready to go in the freezer.

8) Stay consistent!  Over time you will become an ace at meal planning and will learn what works for you.  Stick to it and it will become as natural as brushing your teeth!

If you have ANY questions or comments please feel free to leave them below!

Blessings,

Jennifer Ledford
Jennifer Ledford Picture

Why I Stopped Comparing Myself To Others

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It’s pretty normal to have experienced comparison to others at some point or time in your life.  For example, that moment you see someone on the street, in a magazine, or in your neighborhood that seems so put together and successful that you are tempted to be just a tad bit jealous. You know what I mean, from appearances it looks like they have the perfect hair, body, home, job, family, pet, etc.

And then, you start thinking “if only I had what they have I’d be happy.”

I’ve even heard personal growth gurus say “if you see someone that has what you want then do what they do. “

Um, yes and no.

I agree it’s a great idea to pick the brain of a successful person to learn proven principles that produce positive results. However, if you don’t know the person well or their history all you get to see and hear is the finished product. Behind every successful image lies a story of personal dreams, hard work, and failures.

And once you see the sacrifices they make, or they daily schedule they keep, you could decide their path is not for you.

If you find yourself wanting what someone else has, the best thing to ask yourself is are you willing to do what they did to get there? And, do you really want their life or is it the outward appearance you desire?

Years ago, I was sure that I wanted the exact life of a certain mentor I was learning from. I thought she was just like me. Funny thing, the more I coached with her and became more comfortable with who God designed me to be, I realized how different we were.  I really didn’t want her life at all. Not because there is anything wrong with her life, but it’s not who I am.

This set me free to be confident in my own skin. I no longer desired to be just like her, I wanted to become the best me I could be and fulfill my own dreams.

Friend, whether you are pursuing weight loss, health, fitness, relationship, business, or even philanthropic goals, it’s important that they mimic the desire of your heart and they serve the life you want to live long term. Whenever we try to copy someone else’s life it can turn out to be unfulfilling and unsustainable. In the end, this can lead to depression. No one wants that!

I truly believe that God has a path for each and every one of us. And, when you choose to listen to your heart and walk down that path, you will experience success in every area of your life beyond your wildest dreams!

That, I can promise.

With much love,

Jennifer Ledford

 

Weight Loss Goals That Work!

Millions of Americans will start off the New Year with the goal to lose weight and exercise more. It’s always great to hear those statistics! However, as a health and fitness coach for 24 plus years, I can also tell you from experience that 1/3 of the goal setters will have already broken their resolutions by January 7th. That is frustrating because I also know from experience it doesn’t have to be that way.

It is totally possible to set weight loss goals that work!

Before setting any new health and fitness goals, it’s important to know what causes people to fail in the first place. One of the main reasons people have a hard time keeping their resolutions after the new year is that the goals they’ve set are usually unrealistic. Even the most disciplined person on the planet is going to have a hard time keeping a goal that is way too lofty to start with.

Permanent weight loss and maintaining a regular exercise routine is a lifestyle that is built by developing one healthy habit at a time — not created by some unsustainable fad diet or painful exercise routine!

Five tips to set weight loss goals that work!

1) Know what you want. Take a moment to decide what you want your end goal to be and whether or not that is aligned with your values and current priorities. While looking like the model on the cover of a magazine is a great goal, after discovering what’s required, you may decide that’s not for you.

Look at your calendar and be realistic about how much time you can commit to your new weight loss goal. If you are struggling to find  time, ask yourself if there are other commitments that you should put on hold to prioritize your health and fitness goals.

2) Change one thing! The people that see the most success do so by setting small incremental goals, knowing that they are committing to the long term and not just temporary behavior change. For example, if you eat out 4-5 times per week, set a goal to brown bag your lunch for the next 30 days. Or if want to add more exercise, tell yourself you’re going to walk 20 minutes per day for the next month.

At the end of the 30 days, commit to another 30 and then repeat. Once the first habit becomes as natural as brushing your teeth, you’re in a safe place to add more to your plate.

Or, if you’ve reached your desired goal, you are now in what we call maintenance mode. You can now continue your healthy habit for life. Mission accomplished!

3) Write it down! People that commit their goals to paper have a higher success rate. So take a moment to write down your goals for each area of your life for the new year. If you are keeping your list realistic, it shouldn’t be too long. You can always add more later in the year once you’ve accomplished the first set.

4) Do the work! Once you’ve set your weight loss goal, follow through and stick to your plan. Research shows us that once one healthy goal becomes a habit, momentum occurs leading to success in adding other healthy lifestyle habits automatically.

5) Don’t quit! From time to time circumstances may throw you off track. This is normal and happens to everyone. All you have to do is get up, get back on track and you will succeed in the long term.

New Year’s resolutions should advance and take you forward, but not be so lofty that they are completely unobtainable.  Keeping this mindset will allow you to set yourself up for total success! I know you can do it!

Have a goal setting tip you’d like to share or a question for me? Please leave a comment below. I really love hearing from you!

Happy New Year!

Jennifer