Are you putting your health and fitness in jeopardy by failing to set workout times or plan healthy meals? Benjamin Franklin said it best when he said, “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”
He probably wasn’t thinking about “meal prep” when he said it, but it’s a good blanket statement about many things in our lives. By failing to properly prepare when beginning a fitness program, you’re almost ensuring failure.
It becomes overwhelming to think about balanced meals – the shopping and cooking involved on a day to day basis prevents many with good intentions from following through with their plans.
The kitchen is your main place to begin a diet plan to help you become fit and enjoy health throughout the years. In the kitchen, you can control portions for days or weeks to come and prepare foods to help you lose fat and build muscle.
The more you plan your meals and snacks ahead, the better results you’ll get from your fitness and health plan. Without pre-planning, you may skip essential meals to keep you energetic and focused.
You may also tend to crave foods you shouldn’t have. Fewer food choices mean that you’ll eat healthier and be more satisfied during the day time hours because you planned ahead to ensure you’re receiving the proper nutrition and enough fuel to keep your body and mind working at full blast.
Splurging on unhealthy foods such as fast food drive through options is one reason people become obese and develop health problems such as diabetes and heart disease.
When you control your eating environment and routine, you’ll still be eating without having to think about it – but you’ll be eating much healthier foods. Planning for a carb, a protein and fat for each meal is a good way to help transition your body from flabby to fit.
Plan your meals and snacks carefully by sitting down each week and jotting down ingredients for recipes and items you’ll need at the grocery store. Then, set aside time to cook and prepare for the meals.
After the food is cooked (or prepared to cook), divide it into portions that fit your diet and health routine. Knowing what you’ll be consuming on a day to day basis means that you don’t have to concentrate each day on what you’ll need to shop for and prepare.
Not only will you save time and cut calories – you’ll also save money because you’re not “impulse” eating. Impulse eating can lead to bad habits that are difficult to break and that will set you up for diet and fitness failure.
