How To Meal Prep To Improve Weight Loss

Meal prepping is the idea of cooking all your food for the week ahead of time.  Some people prep their food for the whole week, while some prep for only a few days.  This method lends itself well to anyone trying to lose weight and eat healthier because it decreases the temptation to stray off your food plan, especially later in the week.  When you have healthy, on plan food all ready to go in your refrigerator it makes it easier to overcome the urge to eat take out or make a poor food choice. 

Plan a Time

Most people do their meal prepping on Sundays because it tends to be the easiest to find a block of time.  It is also closest to Monday, so it sets you up well for work week ahead.  However, many people have alternative schedules and may prefer to prep on a Tuesday morning while their kids are at preschool, or have a day off in the middle of the week.  Others prefer to have 2 meal prep days to break up the work, commonly on Sunday and Wednesday.

You will need to plan your menu, make a list, and do all of your shopping before you start.  Some people do this the day before, and other do this all in one day on Sunday. 

Start Small

If you are new to food prepping, it may seem like an overwhelming task at first.  Start by just planning all of your breakfasts or lunches for the week, and prepare those.  Be conscious of how long food will last - if you are making salads, will your vegetables last until Friday or will you need an alternative?  As you build confidence you can start to take on some dinners as well. 

Plan Meals That Will Last

When you are planning meals for the week, be conscious of how you will extend them throughout the week.  Soups and chilis can be bagged up on Sunday and frozen, then easily put into a crock pot on Friday morning.  Foods that taste best fresh or are more perishable should be eaten in the beginning of the week.

Consider doubling your recipes for faster food prep.  Many people are opposed to eating a dinner for more than one night, but cooking one extra large meal that will last 2-3 nights will drastically save you planning, prep, and cooking time.  The time savings may be worth it!  If you cannot convince yourself or your family to eat a meal for more than one day, an alternative is to still make extra, but freeze the extra portion.  For example if you are making a soup that freezes well, make an extra one and store it in your freezer.  Then you can save time meal prepping during a busy week in the future, or have an emergency dinner on hand when life gets crazy.

Setting Up Your Kitchen

In order to make the work go faster, try to have a clear space where you can work.  Get out all of your knives and necessary equipment before you start so you don’t have to rummage through drawers and can move quickly.  Pull out your garbage can or composting bin so that you can quickly throw any food scraps.  You will also want to get out your storage containers for the food.  You may need to invest in a few high quality containers that fit well in your refrigerator, and transport easily to work for lunches. 

If you have young children, consider getting a “mother’s helper” to watch your children while you get this done on the weekend.  There are usually many pre-teen kids in the neighborhood that would jump at a chance to earn a few dollars.

Prep Like Things Together To Save Time

The key to efficient meal prep is to prep like foods together to save time.  For example, if you have 2 recipes that call for onions, cut up all your onions at the same time. 

Consider what will take the longest to prep and start with that item.  Do you have meat that needs to be cooked in the oven, or on the stove?  Get the meat started first so you can finish chopping vegetables while it cooks. 

To save time, you might plan several recipes that use the same ingredient. You may have a week where you brown hamburger meat and use some for tacos, some for a casserole, and some for a soup at the end of the week. The next week you might cook several chicken thighs in the instant pot to use in several different recipes. 

Consider roasting several vegetables on a sheet pan.  These always make good side dishes for lunches and dinners, and can be added to eggs in the morning, topped on salads, and eaten alongside any cut of meat.  They are extremely versatile and easy to prep in bulk at the beginning of the week. 

Another commonly used technique is to make several hardboiled eggs to have on hand for the week.  These can be an on plan breakfast on the go, added to salads for some protein, or eaten as an emergency snack. 

You can also make several salads to have for lunch and use the different proteins you are cooking for your meals to top the salad.  You can easily cook a little extra chicken, beef, or fish and level up some salads for lunch.  This way your salads stay more interesting with more variety as you change up your protein each week. 

Meal Prep For Weight Loss Success

Imagine starting your week off knowing that you have all of your food ready for the week.  Not only will you have less stress around getting dinner on the table each night, but you decrease the chance of going off your food plan.  When you have to make a decision in the moment, especially at the end of the day, you will often make poor choices with your food.  If you have your food decisions made ahead of time, it is simply a matter of reaching into the refrigerator and taking out your planned, healthy meal.