Success Secret

One habit that is pivotal to long term success in my desire to eat healthfully is the planning & displaying of my projected meal plan. I have tried navigating my days with and without this aid and the results are palpable. I simply eat more wholesome, balanced meals and gravitate to better choices when I have a map to follow. Not somebody elses idea of what I should and shouldn't eat, but my own.

I shop every two weeks now so I need to plan carefully to ensure that I buy everything we will need and in proper quantities. By sitting down for hour or so every other week and typing this info into a Word template that I use over and over again, I save hours in shopping, many $ in impulsive buys, several unnecessary trips to the market, and I set the tone for positive food choices every day. Why would I NOT do this for myself?

A friend was discussing "You on a Diet" and it's theory about automating your food choices. They said that for the sake of simplicity it is better to map out one healthy meal and then repeat that meal daily leaving the other meals free for variety. I understand what they are trying to say but after years of attempting this approach off and on, I have experienced mutany on a phychological level. While certain foods are welcome to reappear in my diet daily, identical meal combinations are not. I am much more in favour of an automated meal "rotation" in which a series of acceptable meals are suggested. This leaves room for variety, mood, time, and social changes which may make a meal substitution not only pleasurable, but practical.

An example of this would be that I typically prefer an energy drink for my midmorning snack. I enjoy several different combinations and couldn't imagine limiting myself to one drink formula day after day, but the concept of a energy drink is a recurring theme. I currently alternate between a Chocolate Isogenix Shake, Carrot/Apple Juice, and an Orange/Banana/Strawberry/Vanilla Protein Shake. I would rotate other combinations too as I remember or discover them.

The other benefit to advance meal planning is that I avoid frustration at not having the necessary ingredients on hand as I need them. My planning & shopping are not perfect and sometimes food disappears or goes bad before I get to it, but the overall objective is achieved.

Following this approach I plan the best I can, my projected eating plan is posted on the fridge and then used as a visual cue to making healthier, varied meals throughout my week.