Simple, Healthy Meal Planning: What You Need to Know
Do you find your busy lifestyle has led to unwanted weight gain? Overeating on a regular basis can have dire consequences on your health. The Greatist’s article on overeating explains that regularly eating past your stomach’s normal capacity can cause calorie surplus, unwanted weight gain, disrupted hunger signals, and digestive issues, such as heartburn, bloating, and gas. On the extreme end, overeating can lead to obesity, which makes you vulnerable to severe health issues. SymptomFind highlights that obesity often goes hand-in-hand with sleep apnea, heart disease, high blood pressure, and type 2 diabetes. And because the excess weight can put pressure on the joints, many people with obesity struggle with physical activity, making weight loss difficult.
Meal planning can help you maintain healthy levels of body fat. The World Health Organization explains that a healthy eating plan will give your body the nutrients it needs every day, while lowering your risk for obesity and other health conditions. Moreover, effective meal planning will help lessen your food waste, and save you time and money in the long run.
Here, we’ve put together a simple guide to help you start planning your meals better!
Plan for the Week
Planning for the week is the norm, but the general idea is to make a plan based on the meals between now and your next shopping trip. Here’s an example planning schedule: start planning for recipes and listing ingredients on a Friday, go shopping during the weekend, and use an hour or so on Sunday for some meal prep. Having planned meals will also help you resist the urge to order takeouts impulsively, which can significantly cut down your intake of unhealthy food.
Keep Track of Your Kitchen Inventory
On the days that you plan meals, make sure to take a good look at what you already have in the fridge, freezer, and cupboards. Incorporate anything that might go bad soon into your meal plan to avoid anything going to waste. Also, take note of the spices or ingredients that need refilling the next time you go shopping. This way, you can stay on top of the items you need and avoid unnecessary grocery runs.
Explore Your Options
When choosing recipes, there are lots of directions you can take. You can choose meals based on your leftovers, cook with tried-and-tested recipes, choose dishes based on common ingredients, or find new recipes you want to try out. Fortunately, there are loads of resources on the internet to take inspiration from. The internet is a great hub for health tips and has a range of recipes and food recommendations, especially for those with existing health conditions. For instance, you can learn about different sugar alternatives or other healthy twists for chocolate cake.
Shop for Healthy Staples
Previously, this site shared ‘10 Tips for Helping Your Child Live a Healthy Life’ which shared ideas on how parents can make healthy living easier for their kids. One suggestion was by making fruits and vegetables easily available. That advice can apply to everyone, no matter their age!
Shop for healthy staples, such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and low-fat products. Salad greens, in particular, are rich in fiber, micronutrients, and helpful supplements, so stack up on spinach, kale, collard greens, and other dim, mixed greens. Other healthy staples include asparagus, berries, salmon, chia seeds, flaxseeds, and nuts. You also can’t go wrong with brown rice and whole wheat items, as these are healthy yet versatile enough to be used in different recipes throughout the week.
Make Healthy Eating a Habit
Don’t be too frustrated if you find yourself struggling with meal planning in the first few months. Healthy eating and responsible meal planning are habits that take time to develop. After all, sudden, radical changes aren’t very healthy nor sustainable, so it’s alright to take your time as long as you’re successful in the long run.
Keep track of the habits that are hindering you from planning successfully. If impulsive ordering is a habit of yours, take a look at its catalysts — do you do it when you’re tired or stressed out? What can you do to react in a healthier way?
By actively planning your meals, you can learn to take charge of your kitchen and your diet, for an overall healthier and more satisfying everyday living.
