3 Steps To Meal Planning Success

Here’s a scenario I want you to think about: You spend the working week eating ‘clean’ and training hard. Perhaps you even get a good 5 x HIIT sessions in this week. But here comes the weekend… 😬

Have you ever had a weekend where you’ve felt like you’ve wasted your efforts to stay healthy, fit and focused? You feel like you have derailed all of your hard work earlier in the week by eating too much and drinking even more? You may even feel fatigued, trapped in an unhealthy cycle and demotivated because you can’t see results from your efforts to meet your training goals.

Can you be social and still achieve your fitness goal?

This is difficult for high achievers, because we always want to do ALL the things ALL of the time! The answer is yes, but it’s not that simple. Like almost all things, making changes can feel uncomfortable, but it’s in the discomfort that we make progress. I’m a firm believer that if nothing changes, then nothing changes.

You can stay in the comfort zone and repeat behaviours, and then repeatedly get the same results, or not get desired results at all.

Here’s what’s going to derail you:

• Not having a clear fitness goal.

• Restricting your food intake through the week.

• Over-training on the weekend.

What’s the alternative?

Here are three simple steps to making meal planning work for you so that you can release excess weight, increase your energy, and make your fitness goals not only achievable, but ensure you hit these goals on repeat without restriction, and without overtraining. 👊

Step 1: Know your Fitness Goal

Are your training goals specific?

What timeframe have you set? Short-term or longer-term goals?

What are the barriers? Have you identified them?

Step 2: Meal Planning that works for your lifestyle

You need a strategy. What may be effective to start with:

1. Select your recipes

2. Shop for your ingredients

3. Prep your meals

Then think about how to timeframe this strategy. For example, plan Friday, shop Saturday, cook Sunday.

I’m a recent convert and big fan of ready meals because today they are far more health-conscious with ingredients that are both tasty and sustainable, and reasonably priced. They are also a great option if you need a quick, easy meal for lunch or dinner that isn’t loaded with saturated fat, sodium or sugar (depending on the brand). My tip here is to go for high-protein, plant-based and add your own fresh non-starchy vegetables to the meal i.e. salad or chopped veg to bulk it up with healthy fibre. Tip: does it resemble your Healthy Plate?

For more on how I recommend structuring the above, register to receive the recording of the Webinar: 3 Ways to Meal Plan to Achieve Your Fitness Goal.

Step 3: Timing your meals around your training

This step is crucial! I can’t count how many clients that start with me, reveal they don’t eat until hours after they have trained. Why is this an issue? For a start, all of the work you’ve put into your training session is almost wasted because our bodies need a quality combination of protein and carbs pots-training to increase lean muscle and avoiding muscle protein breakdown (thus increasing metabolism), to increase our fitness level, to keep our blood sugar levels consistent (avoids 3pm sugar crash!), to recovery effectively in between our training sessions, to hydrate, and is generally beneficial to enzymes and hormones depending on the type of the food ingested. What you eat post-training impacts your:

• Metabolism

• Lean Muscle Mass

• Energy Levels

• Fitness

• Cravings

And the list goes on. Read this article on why post-training nutrition is essential.

You can also pick up this free resource: The Essential Post-Workout Nutrition Recovery Guide.

I don’t think unhealthy cycles of extremes is sustainable, which is why I show people how to create and use simple meal plans that are effective in achieving their personal fitness goal. No more unhealthy and unsustainable cycles.

If you found this article useful, let me know. Your feedback is why I enjoy supporting people in their health journey!

If you need further support on any (or all of the areas) of meal planning, nutrition mindset and behavioural eating, breaking unhealthy cycles, getting fitter with nutrition (not over-training), book a free call today and let’s get you on the right track to achieve that goal!

Karen