Your #1 healthy eating top tip
This week I wanted to share with you the most helpful tweak you can make if you’re trying to reach your health goal; whether it’s to eat better or to lose weight.
Time & time again this topic pops up with my 1-2-1 clients and they tell me over & over again that it makes ALLLL the difference!
What is it that helps them so much?
Drum roll…. my number one healthy eating top tip for you is:
Plan your meals.
Ok I’m sorry if your heart just sank. You were hoping for something you’d never heard before, something new or innovative!
The truth is, it’s the simple basics that work.
There is no secret, quick-fix you need to know about.
Planning what you’re going to have, for at least your main meals each week, helps you in so many ways. In the day-to-day it saves that emotional & mental energy you need to decide what to have for dinner/tea. This is a huge one for me, I’m hopeless at making decisions especially if I’m hungry!
You can also save money & food waste if you plan what you’re having, then only buy the food you need each week. You can plan ahead for those days when you’re going to be busy so you can still have a well balanced meal even if you don’t have time to cook from scratch.
And of course planning means you’re more likely to eat a healthy balanced diet overall. If you focus on making each meal well balanced then the rest slots into place.
Here’s my step-by-step guide to meal-planning, to help you enjoy healthy balanced meals:
Step 1 – Pick a day each week for planning meals for the week ahead.
Make a note in your diary or on your calendar when you’re going to spend 10-15mins planning your meals. You could set an alarm reminder on your phone. Get the rest of the family/household involved. When kids are involved in deciding what to have then they’re more likely to eat it. If you can pick a set time each week for planning & a set time to go shopping for the week, then it’s more likely to become a habit. It’s about prioritising putting that time aside no matter how busy you are and it’s more likely to save you time too.
Step 2 – Look at what you’re doing & pick meals that work around your schedule
When your chosen day/time comes round, spend some time looking at your schedule (and what else the rest of the family/household is doing). Think about what you’re doing over the week ahead so you can decide what meals would work for each day. Is there a time when you can batch cook some meals that could be chilled or frozen ready for the busier days? (Please remember to reheat food thoroughly until it is piping hot all the way through!)
Or could you have quicker meals for days when you’re busier? We often have ‘beans on toast’ or ‘soup night’ in our house if we have a lot on one evening. Also, when you cook those kind of stew type meals (think Bolognese, chillies and curries etc) could you bulk them out with extra veg or extra pulses like kidney beans or lentils, so you get more servings? Then you can put the leftover portions in the fridge/freezer for another night? We have ‘random leftovers’ night at least once every week!
Can you share the cooking with other members of the household? This is another great way to encourage kids to eat well too. If they’ve done the cooking (if they’re old enough!) or got involved with food prep, they’re more likely to eat it.
Step 3 – Write your meals down somewhere you can see them.
You can buy special meal planner calendars that are magnetic to put on the front of the fridge. Or you can download & print off a meal planner to stick to a pin-board. Check out the one I’ve created to help you follow what I recommend to put together well balanced meals click here. You could even have a chalkboard or whiteboard specially for your weekly meal plan. Or just keep it simple and use sticky tack to stick the piece of paper up on the kitchen wall. Figure out whatever will work best for you and your household.
Step 4 – Write your shopping list.
Check your cupboards, fridge & freezer to see what ingredients you need. Think about what else you might need to get to make sure you have food in for breakfasts, lunches, packed lunches etc. Remember fruit & veg doesn’t have to be all fresh. Dried, tinned/canned and frozen can all contribute towards your ‘5-a-day’ and can help you save money/waste!
It might take you longer the first few times you do this if you’re not used to doing it. But when you get into the swing of it, in the long-term it can save you so much time & stress. Like I said my clients often tell me that planning makes the biggest difference for them.
Remember healthy eating doesn’t have to be perfect.
It’s all about what you do most of the time.
The main thing is enjoying your food. Try new recipes and new foods. Aim to include a variety of foods and give yourself permission to include those treats too.
If you need to make changes, just tweak it and take it step by step. Remember I’m here for you if you need help.
Need help to ditch dieting forever? Want to eat normally again AND lose weight healthily ..? While still enjoying the cake & chocolate? Hell yes!
I will help you ditch dieting forever, either with my 1-2-1 support. Or if you prefer to work independently, then learn all the skills I teach my 1-2-1 clients, on my ‘No More Diets’ online course.
My Weekly Round-up! AKA; what I’ve been up to recently…
- Tea of the week has been English Breakfast! I overdid it on Earl Grey I think last week and feel like I’ve gone off it a bit – argh!
- Aerial Hoop was a bit hardcore this week. I had a double session – that’s 2 hours with just 15mins break in between. It was to make up for missing the first session in the course that was cancelled. I was shattered by the end of it, but really proud of myself as I managed to do another move that I’d been struggling to do. Not gonna lie – I probably spent a lot of time in the second session just sat chilling in the hoop!
- Update on our little family challenge ’22 Hills in 2022′; we have finally made it up onto the Long Mynd! Woohoo – 3rd time lucky! The first time it was just so cold & windy, Genevieve was not impressed & voiced her displeasure loudly… Then the second time we tried to go a different route, but ended up going a really long way. Again Genevieve wasn’t in the mood for it, so we only got half way up both times. This week the weather was perfect and we planned the best route. We all agreed it was a good walk and the view from the top was fab (see below).
- I’ve been pretty sociable for me this week! Went for a meal at a local Japanese restaurant to catch up with some friends. Was a bit sad they seem to have stopped doing Bento boxes, but the food was still yummy. Also had a meeting with my biz buddies and made brownies for the first time in ages. They seemed to go down well so I’m going to make more in a minute to take this weekend. I’m going away for the weekend to meet a load of biz buddies I know online – I have never met any of them in real life. I’ll be honest, I’m feeling pretty nervous, especially about driving somewhere I’ve never been before – eek! Wish me luck!
- Must be coz spring is in the air, but I had a sudden urge to declutter! So I’ve finally got round to sorting out a load of piles of paperwork in my office. Feels better already, might so some more next week…
- Bird Nerd Report: it’s been a good couple of days for seeing birds. Yesterday I saw all of my favourites; 2 jays down by the brook, a load of long-tailed tits, a couple of goldfinches AND a kingfisher. All my favourites in just 30mins… well apart from a peacock, but they’re pretty rare around here! Although I did see a peacock a few times in a little village just south of here… Sam didn’t believe me the first time, so the second time I made him turn the car round and go back to where it was just wandering around in someone’s front garden!
