Busy (Fit) Girl's Guide to Meal Planning
- andreahbradley
- Nov 29, 2013
- 2 min read
The Building Blocks
I approach meal planning with an understanding that macro nutrients (protein/carbs/fats) are the building blocks of a solid diet. I have a list of foods by macro nutrient that I like to eat, and are excellent sources of that macro.
My favourite sources are:
Protein: eggs, chicken, whey protein, pea/brown rice protein
Carbs: oatmeal, brown rice & sweat potatos
Fat: almonds, flaxseed & coconut oil
This doesn't look very exciting but read futher on how I have foods that I eat regularly while still having all things in moderation...
I then ensure I'm pairing protein + carbs at EVERY meal/snack, and add in healthy fats 2-3 times a day. I use MyFitnessPal on my iPhone & computer to keep tabs on my macros and total calorie consumption.
Meal Planning
The other main point of my meal plan is that I classify my foods into what I eat "REGULARLY", "SOMETIMES" and "OCCASIONALLY".
"REGULARLY" (shown below in my example meal plan): I eat these foods 4-5 times a week...it's efficient for food prep & it's the mentality that most of the time "food is fuel". I have a full and wonderful life I want to lead with energy AND the time to live it! I'll eat something different for dinner every night but the other 4-5 meals are pretty well the same (weekdays).
I then have a list of food I eat "SOMETIMES" (2-3 times a week, usually weekends) which are all the yummy but healthy things I tend to post here or get off of other people's pages like Nutritionist In The Kitch. I don't eat them all the time because they take longer to make and/or aren't as nutritionally "solid" as my "REGULARLY" list.
Of course I have foods that I eat "OCCASIONALLY" and they are indulgent treats such as pizza night, birthday cake, wedding dinners, ice cream, and McDonalds. I try and keep these to once a week, and in a social fun/celebratory setting. I don't feel guilt or look at them as "bad". They are such as small part of my bigger picture approach to nutrition, and life's too short to miss out on Chicken McNuggets with sweet & sour sauce :)
Comments