Eager to lose weight, so you can stay lean and healthy? Exercise can help, but it can only go so far in helping you reach your goal. Your diet is also a major part of a weight loss program, and meal planning is often a key factor.
Meal planning offers many benefits, including:
- Expanding the variety of foods you eat
- Introducing a wider range of healthy nutrients in your diet
- Saving you time and money by reducing food waste and unnecessary trips to the store
In addition, research shows that those who meal plan tend to consume more fruits, vegetables, fiber, folate, and vitamin A. They also consume fewer unhealthy fats.
The great thing about meal planning is that, unlike crash diets and other fads, it doesn’t require you to starve yourself to lose weight. That’s no way to achieve a healthier and leaner body. Instead, it enables you to eat smarter to not only control your weight, but also help strengthen your immune system, build muscle, and boost your energy.
So, how can you get on the healthy meal-planning bandwagon? Read on.
3 Steps for Optimal Meal Planning
When meal planning, you should first consider your individual nutritional needs and goals. Once those are established, it’s just a matter of:
1. Selecting Recipes or Basic Meal Constructs
Look for meal types and choose basic ingredients that you can prepare easily. Choose quick and easy meals to eat during workdays and larger, more elaborate recipes for the weekend that can provide leftovers for other days, saving you time and money in the long run.
2. Creating a Shopping List of the Ingredients you Need to Make your Meals
Start by taking an inventory of the foods and staples you already have before re-stocking them. In terms of healthy foods, a suggested grocery list may include:
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- Whole grains, such as brown rice and quinoa
- Leafy green vegetables
- Beans, including chickpeas and lentils
- Crunchy vegetables, such as grape tomatoes, cucumbers, and carrots
- Seeds and nuts
- Fresh herbs
- Cheese
- Lean meats packed with proteins (e.g., chicken breast, sirloin steak)
- Sweet potatoes, asparagus, and green beans
- Fruits, including berries, apples, bananas, grapes, and melons
- Dried herbs and spices, soy sauce, olive oil, and vinegar
3. Preparing Meals to Fit Your Busy Schedule
Cooking meals in batches to be eaten daily can save you precious time over the week. Or, if making entire meals at once is too demanding, you can prep your meal components ahead of time, so that your meals are ready to prepare later.
Of course, if the concept of self-meal planning sounds appealing but is not practical for your hectic lifestyle, a viable alternative is to allow a professional nutritionist to do the planning for you.
Meal Planning for Weight Loss in San Antonio, Texas
The reason most diets and weight loss plans fail is that they aren’t sustainable. Fortunately, KokoFitClubtakes a different, healthier approach to nutrition that is specially designed to fuel your workout results and improve your eating habits.
Koko Fuel is a nutrition plan completely customized for your specific goals, metabolic rate, and daily activities. Koko Fuel is a 14-day meal plan that provides you with precisely what and how much to eat. It also includes shopping lists, recipes, and planning tips.
Customized Koko Fuel Plans are available at Koko FitClub San Antonio – Alamo Heights and are based on decades of clinical experience and nutritional science. Koko Fuel Plans are designed to properly fuel your body with the right nutritional balance to build lean muscle, boost your metabolism, and burn fat — all as part of your overall Koko Smartraining Plan.
To activate your Koko Fuel plan, you must complete three FitChecks and finish either the trial program or the foundation workouts. All memberships at Koko FitClub – except the cardio – include the Koko Fuel meal plan.
For more information about our highly effective Koko Fuel Plans, contact Koko FitClub San Antonio – Alamo Heights today by calling (210) 560-3044. You can schedule a one-on-one consultation or use our convenient online form to start your membership.
