When it comes to being healthy and achieving your goals, there’s one saying that I firmly believe in – failing to prepare is preparing to fail.
In my experience, people who succeed at this whole #wholefoods thing do not have more willpower than you, but, in many cases they do have a plan. It might be a rough draft, or it might be a detailed document, but either way – they don’t leave it up to the food gods to make it all come together for them.
Not convinced? Let’s talk about some of my favourite benefits of having a meal plan…
Avoids decision fatigue.
Yep. It’s a first world problem people but the reality is, we have a lot of little decisions to make in a day and for most of us, our days are already full. If you can pre-make a decision around what you’re having for dinner on Tuesday night, it’s one less decision you have to make. And research shows that we tend to make better decisions when there are less to make.
Prevents a sugar-lapse.
Do you ever get home from work starving but there’s “nothing in the fridge” or you “don’t know what you want”? Yep. I am talking to you cupboard dwellers. We all make less than ideal choices when we’re hangry (AKA hungry and tired). Your dinner choice doesn’t have to be one of them. Plan ahead and food prep ahead!
Saves time.
Having a meal plan often means that you cook LESS times throughout week, while also producing more food – hello, leftovers for brekkie! Also, if you’ve not yet been acquainted with the art of cooking in bulk, you’re missing out.
Saves money.
By sticking a meal plan, you’ll know exactly how much of certain foods you need to buy for the week. This means less food and money wasted. No more chucking out veggies you didn’t use or salmon that went off!
Helps encourage mindful food choices.
When you’re busy and making food choices meal to meal, it’s easy to forget to eat enough veggies or to overdo the added sugar. However, having a meal plan means that you can SEE what you are eating (or going to eat) and ensure it looks balanced, nourishing and enjoyable. Better still, get someone else to do the hard work for you!
And remember, meal plans don’t have to be boring! It isn’t about eating chicken, sweet potato and broccoli seven days a week, three times a day. Instead, it’s about planning ahead to ensure you are creating a supportive environment to achieve your health goals.
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