One common question i get is how to meal prep for beginners for weight loss. Meal prepping is very important when trying to lose weight or stay fit. It is the act of planning out your meals ahead of time to give you healthier options. Being able to plan your meals for the week ahead of time helps you stay on track and avoid guessing game. Meal prep is great for beginners for weight loss because it not only saves time, it also ensures you have the right portions of all your meals. Have you noticed, you tend to eat worse when you do not have something planned out? Personally, i have, when i have to guess what to eat, i end up buying food or picking wrong choices.
Today i will be sharing some beginner meal prep ideas for weight loss. This is a complete guide to meal prep.
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How to Meal Prep for Weight Loss
Write out the meals
Choose what meals you plan to eat for the week. Write out all the ingredients and quantities, then you can make a grocery list with it. Personally, i prefer to meal prep mainly my lunches. Hubby does not really eat breakfast since he leaves home super early. I tend to stick to overnight oats or some toast and eggs so those need no prepping ahead. For dinner, i prefer to be a little flexible and prep when i get home. But you definitely want to write out what meals you plan to make so you can grocery shop ahead. This is an important step in the meal prep guide for weight loss.
Grocery shop
Plan your grocery shopping day and have your list of items and quantities ready. Nothing worse than getting to the grocery store without a list with you. A great tip is to have staple items that you always use available so you do not always have to buy them.
Pick a day
Usually, I pick a day to do my meal prep, every other week it’s Sunday then every other week its Monday (the Sundays I have to work). To be honest, some weeks i do not do extensive meal preps depending on my work schedule. Most people tend to meal prep on Sundays since its a less busy day and free of engagements or events. Another idea if you are like hubby who loves fresh food, you could choose two days in the week to meal prep. This way of meal prepping means you prep on Sunday for about 3 days then maybe on Wednesday or Thursday you meal prep again.
Containers
You want to use BPA free (safe and microwaveable) ones or glass containers to store your food. Make sure they are also freezer and dishwasher safe. Choose appropriately sized containers so you can weigh out and measure the right servings of everything. This is especially important if you are meal prepping for weight loss.
Batch cook
I make similar things together, I chop up all the protein foods like chicken, steak, salmon, then I chop all the veggies together.
The Basics
Proteins:
I season them differently so I get different tastes each day to prevent boredom. The point of meal prep is to make life easier for you during the week. This doesn’t mean you have to pre-cook all of your food though! For example, you can marinate your chicken breasts with different seasonings, place them in the freezer, and defrost when ready to use. Check out how this blogger does her own HERE and HERE.
Veggies:
I season them and then bake as well, however, sometimes I like my veggies fresh and crunchy. It is preferable to bake or steam the veggies rather than boiling to save the nutrients. On days like this, you can have veggies chopped up in a bowl in the fridge. Then throw these in the oven for like 15minutes when you need them.
If you like your vegetables freshly cooked, portion them out for each meal and put in containers ready to be steamed or cooked. If you know you will be making a meal that requires a lot of chopping, you can do this in advance as well. You can also wash all fruit and portion the nuts that you will be using as snacks so that you can easily eat them on the run. Also, if you are considering going vegan, check out my vegan guest post.
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Carbs:
For these, personally, it varies and depends on what i am making. I like my rice and potatoes fresh so i might just make this when i need it
Finally, once it’s all ready, I have my macros for carbs, protein, and fats calculated out. I don’t always stick to this but I have a mental check most days to make sure I don’t go over. I then weigh my meals, again not always and then I portion them out into my Tupperware.
Check out my post on when to eat carbs, fats, and proteins for weight loss.
Carbs: quinoa, brown rice, oats, sweet potato, whole wheat pasta, couscous
Protein: steak, chicken breast, salmon, turkey, meatballs, eggs, beans
Veggies: broccoli, asparagus, green beans, mixed veggies, Brussel sprout, kale, spinach
I hope you found this meal prep guide for weight loss helpful. Feel free to drop your tips on how you meal prep. Also, if you need help losing that stubborn belly fat, check out my BELLY FAT post series. It comes in 3 parts to ensure you are thoroughly covered, click HERE and HERE for part 2 and 3.
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