Healthy Meal Planning On A Budget

Successful meal planning is not difficult but is vitally important for keeping you and your family well fed and healthy. Planning meals for the coming week saves time and money. It is important to go food shopping only once a week -- with a list. Going every day or every other day causes you to spend more money than necessary. It also wastes time you could be spending with your family. Avoid shopping after work when you are so starving you want to buy-and eat--everything in sight. Also, you are more likely to eat unhealthy highly processed foods. Planning for the week ahead will make mealtime much easier and you are more likely to choose healthier options.

When planning a meal, go through the sale flier of your grocery store to see what items are on sale. This will help reduce your overall grocery bill. Note which items you normally eat during the week. For instance, if you always have pork tenderloin, notice if that is on sale or if some other pork you like is on sale. Remember that the store will also have in-store only sales that are not featured in the flier. These sales are sometimes related to what the store advertises in their weekly circular.

Once you have done this, search for recipes that have the sale items as the main ingredient. The best way to save on money is to not make complicated meals with a lot of ingredients that you have never heard of before. This will cause you to have a lot of leftover ingredients that will spoil. When you want to try something new, only choose one or two new food items. This will keep you from spending money on foods that will eventually go bad.

When searching for meals always keep in mind the Plate Method--fill half your plate with vegetables, a quarter with protein, and the last quarter with a complex carbohydrate/starch. Using the plate method can make meal planning simple. For example, a possible dinner could be a grilled chicken breast, ½ cup of brown rice with toasted almonds, and a steamed vegetable such as broccoli.

Once you have your desired recipes, make a grocery list. Note which items are on sale, and how much you are required to buy for your recipes. This is an extremely important step; not having a list with these specifics will cause you to buy more food than necessary. Without a list, you could forget what you really wanted to buy or get a bunch of unrelated items.

Once you have done your shopping for the week, plan out which recipe you will make on what day of the week. For example, you plan to make the chicken breast dish on a Monday. This type of planning makes the rest of the week run smoothly, reduce your stress level and you can feel good about serving healthy meals to your family.

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The "Secrets" To Long Term Weight Loss

For many, losing weight can seem like a goal that may never be accomplished. So many struggle and feel so discouraged with weight loss. But many do lose weight and kept it off long term. These individuals do not feel deprived or miserable. In fact, most feel energized and hopeful. There are a few key steps that increase your chances of losing weight and keeping it off. Many of these findings come from studying the 5,000 individuals who are part of the National Weight Control Registry. Participant have has on average a 66 pound weight loss and have kept it off for at least 5 years.

The first step is to assess how ready you are to change your lifestyle. There is no fad diet or short term plan you can go on that will lead to long term weight loss. You must change your eating habits and lifestyle for the rest of your life. For some, this may seem like a very overwhelming task and they just want to do something easy. Many of these individuals want something they can stop doing after a short period. If this is the case, then consider waiting a few months. During this time, list ways that permanent lifestyle change will help you improve your life and health.

Once you have decided that you are ready, you need to decide how you want to change your eating habits. 98 percent of the participants in the National Weight Control Registry changed their eating habits. Many chose a low fat, low calorie diet. Base your diet on fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean meats/poultry and low fat diary products. Reduce the portions of food you take in so you are consuming fewer calories. It is also important that you make time to eat breakfast. 78 percent of National Weight Control Registry participants eat breakfast every day. This will start the day right and you will feel energized. Be sure to space out your daily meals to every 3-4 hours. This regulates your metabolism and keeps your weight in check. If you wait longer to eat, you will be so hungry that you overeat leading to weight gain. Be sure the eating plan you chose is one you can stick with. Remember, it is important that you like the food you are eating.

The next component of long term weight loss is physical activity. 94 percent of the individuals in the National Weight Control Registry exercised, and 90 percent of those were physically active for at least an hour a day. Their preferred method of activity was walking. Be sure to choose an activity you enjoy. It will be easier to stick with if you choose to participate in a sport, preferably a group sport and have team members help hold you accountable. Besides a sport, be more physically active in your daily life. Take the stairs instead of the elevator, and park at the end of the parking lot and walk. Many in the Registry watch less than 10 hours of TV a week. Spending less time in front of the TV (and computer) can help with weight loss. Spend the time you would be watching TV being active.

The last component of long term weight loss is self monitoring. 75 percent of the National Weight Control Registry participants monitored their eating habits, physical activity and weight. Weighing yourself every week can help you keep tabs of how you are maintaining your weight. You will also know if you begin to gain a few pounds and can take steps to lose that extra weight. One of these steps is keeping a food journal. Write down everything you eat, including the time the food was eaten and the specific amounts. If you begin to gain a few pounds, you can use this tool to see if you need to modify your eating. Keeping an exercise journal can also help you monitor how much physical activity you are getting in. This is especially helpful if you begin to gain a few pounds. You can quickly diagnose where the weight gain is coming from-food intake or exercise? These tools are meant to keep you informed of your weight and they will be vitally important to stop any weight gain.

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