Let’s talk about food! Planning out your meals is a great way to be intentional about your food choices. We are more likely to make poor choices when we are starving and have nothing planned, so let’s be purposeful and plan ahead!
The first thing I do is plan my protein source for each meal. I will then build my plate around that protein. For instance, if I am planning out breakfast, I might start with egg whites as my protein. Then I can decide what Carbohydrate source I want to add and finish with a healthy fat. One of my favorite go-to breakfast meals is an egg burrito. I start with egg whites as my protein, add a high fiber tortilla as my carb and fiber source, then add avocado as a healthy fat. I can also add fruit as an additional carb and vitamin and mineral source. I complete the meal with my coffee or tea with collagen powder. I do the same thing for lunch and dinner. I plan out my protein and build from there.
One way to plan out your meals is to get a calendar and plan out what meals you want to make for the week. This will give you a plan to follow instead of throwing a bunch of stuff together last minute without thought to your macronutrients.
Once you know what you want to make for the week, you can start pre-making some of the foods. On Sunday evening, I like to pre-cook my chicken, sweet potatoes, and egg burritos. I then put them into containers, so that I all I have to do is grab what I need each day. I also make enough food at dinner to have left overs for the next day. Planning ahead saves me a lot of time in the morning. I grab the meal I want, put it in my lunch bag and head out the door! It takes a little planning, but it makes life so much easier. I also pre-load my meals into MyFitnessPal. This gives me the ability to see if I have planned enough protein for the day so I can make adjustments if needed. I know tracking meals sounds tedious, but it has truly made my meal planning more intentional and helped me stay on track.
You might notice from my sample weekly plan that I eat a lot of the same foods. This makes life easier for me. I know what I am going to buy each week and that they fit my macro plans. Every few weeks I do search out new recipes or meal ideas, but for the most part, I eat a lot of the same foods. I like things to be simple and easy to make. I think it is also helpful to have a list of protein, carb and fat sources to help in meal planning. You can look at your list and see what foods you want to include in your weekly meals. Check out my nutrition guide for a list of foods to choose from and other helpful nutrition tips.
My biggest tip is to be intentional about the foods you choose. Ask yourself how the foods you eat will help your body thrive. Are you choosing foods that will help your body or harm your body? What nutritional value is in the foods you are choosing? Do you feel your best eating the foods you choose? Have you included a protein, carb and fat at each meal and snack? My goal is to get at least 30 grams of protein at each meal and 10-15 grams at each snack. This helps me reach my protein goals everyday. Having purpose for each meal in the foods you choose can help you stay on track, reach your goals, and keep your body healthy and thriving!
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