Emotional and binge eating is often a train wreck waiting to happen. Why do I say that? Well, that was how I lived for way too many years. I was definitely a “fly by the seat of the pants” type of gal – and to some extent, I can still tend to be that way. But, when it comes to the way I eat and my lifestyle, I have learned that I just cannot do it that way. If I want to be successful with I have to be a pre-planner. That’s why I love meal prepping and meal planning. It has been key to my continued success.
So, if like I was, you have a tendency to be an emotional or binge eater, then meal planning and meal prepping can be an essential tool for helping you to overcome this. So let’s dive in.
Maybe you have had a stressful week, or maybe you have been experiencing a few days where things have not been going your way. Oh, believe me, I most certainly know where you are coming from. Maybe you are one of those people who come home drained and you have no time to look at what you have been eating. So what happens? You go for the easy option, the lift-your-mood option, and the convenient catastrophe. You may have started the week out with your willpower at a 100, and you were all set to climb the ladder of success with eating and staying healthy, but somewhere mid-week, your energy tanked and your cravings skyrocketed. Again, I know how that feels. Stumbling blocks come our way, and all our good intentions go out the window!
How do you prevent a crisis like that? You prevent it the way you prevent all crises: a crisis management program or, in this case, meal planning. It keeps you on track toward your objectives and gives you easy plans to fall back on. When energy and willpower are running low, there is already a plan in place that you put in place when your energy and willpower were high. A meal plan provides the proverbial breadcrumbs for you to follow the way to the healthy, balanced lifestyle you had set out for when life was sunshine and rainbows.
Still not convinced that meal planning can really make your life easier and keep you on track for your health goals? Let’s look at the advantages of at least giving meal planning a try.
Energy
Like many of the resources that play an integral role in our survival, our willpower is non-renewable. We start out our days and weeks with a certain amount of willpower that gets used up rapidly in small decision-making tasks, everything from what we should wear to what we should say. When it’s time to eat, if we do not have a good store of willpower, we fall back on fast foods and/or unhealthy meals.
Meal planning prevents you from crashing midway because you have plan A, B, and Z to resort to when you can’t figure what to make for dinner that is easy and healthy. Meal planning takes off one thing of your daily to-do list, freeing up time for you to treat yourself no matter how hard the day has been going.
Portion Planning
Meal planning allows you to give all the important things the appropriate place on your menu. When you plan a menu beforehand, you get to choose what goes in there. Meal planning gives you the opportunity to stick to your goals and resolutions of treating your body right and having your doctor’s recommended portions of fruits and vegetables. Even on days when you feel like putting no effort into cooking or like eating whatever your first craving is, a meal plan reminds that there is an alternate meal that will not only gratify you in the moment but will keep you on the right path toward a healthier you.
Treat Yourself
Some days you will want to piece together any and every crumb you find to just get through the day and eat for the sake of survival. With meal plans, you get to go the extra mile and plan for yourself a meal that you know you will like. This preplanned blessing might just be the meal that turns your awful week around because you planned a meal that was nutritious and a treat to pick you up.
The Tension
Lack of planning and prepping often leads to more stress, but too much structure can make life predictable and boring. With a meal plan, you get the best of both worlds. You can avoid the dreaded question, “What do I make for dinner?”, but you can also allow yourself some freedom to experiment. For example, you had planned to make pizza tonight, so you have all the basic ingredients, but you see you also have canned artichokes and some roasted chicken left—let’s throw it on! Because you planned the big stuff ahead of time, you have a little extra energy to spice up a trusted staple with some little stuff. Sometimes it’s that little stuff that makes all the difference!
So…
- If you love the idea of meal planning and prepping, but you are not sure where to start
- You want to lose a little weight and have lots more energy
- You would love to have an accountability partner but don’t want to invest in full 1-on-1 coaching yet
- You want clean, healthy recipes but don’t know where to start
Then you definitely need to check out my monthly membership offer. This is a place where you get:
- New monthly recipes
- Suggested meals for four weeks
- Shopping Guides
- Ideas for prepping and planning
- Q&As
- A private Facebook community for questions and support
- Facebook lives
- Regular access to me
- Weekly accountability
- Additional recipes throughout the month
- Tips on ways you can lose weight AND feel energized and rejuvenated without deprivation or starvation.
In this membership, you will definitely feel more energized, and begin to love the way you look and feel. It’s easy to join and it’s a fraction of the cost if you were to work with me 1-on-1.
Fast-Action bonus: Only available through April. Click the picture below to check it out and join today for $1 for the first month:
Check out your bonus recipe from my monthly program:
PASTA WITH CHUNKY MARINARA SAUCE AND SALAD
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS:
1 10-ounce package dry brown rice pasta
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 large onion, chopped
4 large carrots, chopped
1 large bell pepper, chopped
2 large tomatoes, chopped
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
sea salt and black pepper, to taste
1 15-ounce jar marinara sauce
DIRECTIONS:
Choice of Protein: 2 15-ounce can chickpeas (drained and rinsed) OR 1-pound ground beef
Cook the pasta according to package instructions. Drain the water when finished cooking and set to the side to cool.
Next, add coconut oil to a large pot over medium heat. Once the oil has melted, add chopped onion, carrot, bell pepper, and tomatoes. Season with Italian seasoning, sea salt, and black pepper to taste. Sautee for about 5 minutes, then add your choice of protein. If using ground beef, continue to break the meat up with a fork, cook until brown (about 5 minutes).
Add marinara sauce and stir until chunky sauce is warm. Add the cooked pasta and stir well. Serve alongside a large salad.