If you’ve ever sought advice for losing weight, you’ve probably been told to meal prep by everybody from your trainer, your doctor, and maybe even your pastor. And we’re not here to bust any myths. If you want to step your nutrition game up, lose weight, gain weight, or just be consistently healthy, meal prep is king.
This is the case because when you have all your meals figured out, cooked, and packed up for the day ahead, you leave very little room for error in your diet. You’re never unprepared when hunger strikes, and most importantly, you are in total control of your portions, calories, and all those wonderful macros (carbohydrates, fats, and protein).
But what if, for whatever reason, you just can’t prepare a week’s worth of meals? What if you travel for work 5 days out of the week? Or what if you’re on vacation or living that nomad life abroad? Or what if you just can’t wrap your head around cooking for a week even if you are at home and living in your regular routine?
Luckily for you, you won’t be left off the healthy-lifestyle bandwagon. You can choose not to meal prep and have your health too. The same principles of being prepared for your hungry and hangry moments still apply, and you will have to do a little bit of planning. But this solution requires no Tupperware, no batch cooking or even a food delivery service.
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Write Out Your Meals In Advance
You can reap all the benefits of meal prep by simplywriting out your meals ahead of time. Yes, you read correctly. A pen and paper, or perhaps your phone’s notepad can do the trick to help you stick to your health goals and avoid the temptation that creeps in when your stomach starts rumbling.
This no-cook meal plan is simple but you do need to put some thought into it. Basically, you want to lay out a full week’s menu of what you plan to cook, grab out of the fridge, or even pick up at the coffee shop on your break.
Just as if you meal prepped, you will already know what you should be eating so you don’t have to waste time wondering or wandering around restaurants and food courts, where you are most likely to make your worst food decisions.
So let’s start with breakfast. If you’re home for the week, write down your typical breakfast, whatever it is that you normally have on your way to the office or when you sit down at the desk. If not, then think of a breakfast you can find pretty much anywhere, like yogurt and fruit, or oatmeal.
Then, write out your lunches. If you’re not in control of your menus (i.e., you normally eat at your job’s cafeteria) give yourself a guide instead. If the cafeteria normally serves chicken pitas and veggies, write that down for your lunch. Then when it’s time to make your choice, there will be less risk of falling for the fried-whatever-sandwich.
The same goes for dinner. Be very thoughtful about your typical routine, or if you’re away from home and your routine, think about which options may be available to you. Again, give yourself a guide if you can’t really predict what food will be on the menu. Consider writing down that you will have grilled seafood and vegetables, and then when it’s time to hunt down your meal, you would have already narrowed down your scope.
So give the no-cook-meal-plan a try. Pause right now, and write out what you will have for the rest of the week. This includes your snacks and drinks too if you eat throughout the day. It’s not the time to try and deprive yourself too much because then you’ll just laugh at yourself when you’re actually facing down hunger and endless options.
So tell us, what’s on your menu?
Sharita Jennings is a fitness and travel enthusiast and creator of Get Fit Like That, LLC. She is a health policy attorney and ACE certified group fitness instructor and fitness nutrition specialist. She provides online fitness plans and leads group fitness classes in Washington DC. Check out her fitness tips and workouts at GetFitLikeThat.com.
