Daily eating vs planning out weekly meals

Through this entire process - learning when to say no and yes has been a vital element. If I am thinking about eating a slice of pizza or maybe some chicken wings, I have to remember its okay to say yes but the frequency is what needs to be considered. I cant say "I'll only do this once this month" and then tomorrow have chicken wings once this month and next day have macaroni and cheese once this month. Then I'm defeating the purpose because everyday is only once a month with something different that isn't good for me. How I do this is by evaluating what I am going to eat everyday in the morning. Ill plan out my 6 meals a day

Breakfast - Tea and boiled egg

Snack - Cashews or granola

Lunch - Salad w/chicken -  no dressing -  I use lime wedge

Snack -  Beef Jerky (1ounce)

Dinner -  Chicken Burger no bread and roasted red potatoes - no oil ( I use chicken broth or pam)

Snack - I handful chex mix

I plan these out at work that way I feel as though I'm not planning my entire food life all at once and getting overwhelmed - and it also leaves room for change - If I use grilled onions vs roasted red potatoes or something if my mood changes. Remember Mood changes what we want to eat! Just make sure that you keep track of what you eat on my fitnesspal or a similar site that way you can track what you've eaten. This helps in making those decisions if you are like me and dont like to make meals in advance. I do not like cooking my meals in advance because I love fresh flavors and not just reheated ones. 

I hope this helps for advice wise. 

One of the things that works for me is to plan all my dinners for the week (which is the only meal I cook each day) but to not assign them days.  I try to do a mix of easy, hard, crock pot, grill, etc.  So while I have a meal plan for the week (and can grocery shop for everything at once) I have flexibility each day based on my time, energy, and desires.  

I've been meal planning this way for 15 years and it works really well for me!  

(And this reminds me that I'm roasting a big hunk of cow tonight, so I should probably pull that out of the freezer to start it thawing..)

Thanks for the information!  (Whatever works for any individual is definately the way to go and this sounds like it is working well for you!)  Take care!

Karissa - LOVE the new pics that you posted!  You are so adorable and TINY!  Great job on getting to maintenance and figuring out what works for you 

Great post! I like to log all my meals and portions into MFP in the morning for the day as well.

I am also a huge fan of leftovers as I'm not a particular fan of cooking. I'll make a large dinner on Sunday and then eat the leftovers throughout the week!  The leftovers are extremely useful because I can memorize exactly how much of it I should eat to get the right amount of protein. Also,  having ready to eat meals helps to fight the cravings. Instead of choosing to get take out because I don't feel like cooking I can just go to the fridge and pop something in the microwave! 

I try to plan my meals the night before too - that way I know what I'm going to have, and also I'm sure I'm meeting my guidelines.  I always have "staples" on hand, and I enjoy leftovers too.  So in my freezer I've got loads of chicken, fish, beef and pork - already broken down into portion sizes before freezing.  When I shop I always pick up fresh veggies:  this week I'm getting cauliflower, zucchini, mushrooms and tomatoes.  Cans of tuna on hand too.  Want to get some jerky too, along with my almond milk and greek yogurt.  I never want to be thinking "what should I have for lunch today?"

Pre-planning is an excellent strategy!  Thanks for posting your ideas.