When you are already fighting the clock every day, adding in the task of meal planning for your weight loss may just seem like another thing to add to your list of things to do. But meal planning has so many weight loss benefits that make it easier for you to reach your goals.
A custom diet plan like the one we offer here in Brooklyn can teach you how to perfectly portion each of your meals as well as help you to learn exactly which foods you should eat so you are fed well but able to burn fat.
Here is how meal planning can help you to meet your weight loss goals.
Make Better Food Choices
When you are tired and hungry, without a game plan for your next meal or snack, you will likely opt for something convenient or unhealthy. When we “throw something together,” it often leads to unbalanced meals.
When we are hungry, it is hard to make healthy choices. Meal planning helps to knock all of those decisions out ahead of time when you are in a relaxed and motivated place.
Conserves Willpower
We like to have options when it comes to eating, but overwhelming ourselves with options can lead to stress and decision fatigue. Food decisions you make throughout the day can cause your willpower to wane but when you plan your meals in advance, it can keep you from having to rely on your willpower to get you through the day without consuming too many calories (or too much of the wrong foods). Having foods ready to eat is half the battle.
Reduces Mindless Eating
Mindless eating can get you in trouble where weight loss is concerned. You get hungry so you grab a handful of cashews. A few minutes later, you reach for another… then another. Soon you are halfway through the bag and your healthy snack has added a bunch of extra calories to your consumption for the day. Oops!
When you meal plan (and snack plan), you can plan with portion size in mind. Planning a menu increases your mindfulness for what goes into your body, which helps you to make healthier food choices while reduces the likelihood that you will reach for more than you need.
Gain Confidence in the Kitchen
Not everybody feels at home in the kitchen. Meal planning can help you to become confident in yoru cooking skills. You will become more comfortable in the kitchen as you cook. Some people find that they made poor food choices before meal planning in part because they did not feel comfortable in the kitchen so they frequently sought for less healthy, easier-to-throw-together meals or takeout.
Free Up Time for Other Things
Although meal planning requires a bit of a time commitment at the beginning of the week, you will free up time later in the week. Rather than wasting your time and energy before every meal, trying to decide what to make or take for a meal at work, you can get it all done ahead of time and simply heat and eat the food you have planned and prepared, freeing up time in your schedule for you to knock more items off your busy to-do list.