Proper meal planning and preparation can make or break a weight loss regimen. Often, a consistent and effective weight loss diet depends on the foods you eat and the frequency of meals, not on trips to the gym or unnecessary fasting.

Plus, meal prep is a useful skill to master regardless of weight goals, as it can improve diet habits for good. Meal prep can also save you time and money.

Here are five simple meal prep tips that can make it easy to follow a weight loss diet.

Start small

Meal prep does not have to be intimidating. If you’re only starting out, start small by ensuring each meal you plan to cook contains the necessary nutrients like carbohydrates, protein, fiber and healthy fats. Try to cook simple meals as well. You can experiment using advanced recipes later on after you have figured out the strategies that work best for you.

Keep a food journal

Keeping a food journal is a good habit to practice for two reasons: A food journal lets you track calorie intake and allows you to plot what recipes you particularly liked. If you plan to practice meal prep for a long time, you’ll have to look up new recipes at some point to keep meals fresh and exciting. Plus, a bird’s eye view of calorie intake makes for a quick reminder of weight loss goals.

Repurpose leftovers

If you have food leftover, get creative and repurpose them so you don’t waste food. Think “ingredients,” not “leftovers.” For instance, you can shred leftover chicken to create taco filling. That being said, you can just freeze the leftovers and reheat the following day. But avoid reheating food more than once, as this can encourage the growth of bacteria.

Cook in large batches

Nothing says meal prep more than batch cooking, a process that involves cooking large quantities of foods to prepare for the week’s meals. Batch cooking is especially useful if you do not have the liberty of preparing home-cooked meals throughout the week. Cooking large batches also discourages fast foods since you wouldn’t want to waste perfectly good food at home. Moreover, you can also apply the same principle to overnight oats by creating a large batch and pre-portioning the oats into containers.

Prep smart

Meal prep does not have to be complicated. For instance, you can easily cut prep time by pre-portioning meals. To do this, divide meals into individual containers and place them inside the freezer, a process that is also known as freezer cooking. When you are ready to eat, simply take out a container and reheat using the oven or microwave. However, be sure to label containers to avoid spoilage.

Additionally, you can also wash and prep all the fruits and vegetables at once. This way, you won’t take five minutes the next time you need to whip up a salad or prepare a veggie dish. Plus, fruits and veggie sticks make for tasty and nutritious snacks throughout the day.

Meal prep can quickly feel overwhelming if you try to tackle too many things at once. If you’re only starting to get the hang of meal prep, take it one step at a time. Careful preparation, no matter how slow or time-consuming, guarantees minimal stress and mistakes throughout the week. To avoid blunders and resist unhealthy cravings, try to dedicate a day to plotting out ingredients, looking up new recipes, organizing containers, refilling the pantry and hitting the supermarket.

Sources:

Healthline.com 1

Healthline.com 2