Prior Planning and Preparation Prevents Piling on Pounds!
We believe at Body Planners the preparation phase of any goal is where the goal achieved or given up on. Despite countless documents about poor health sporadically dispersed internet wide and health organisations getting on the obesity band wagon we’re still a nation of feeders. I don’t mean that derogatory in any way, shape or form. I simply mean, we reach for food, when we want it, because it’s available.
It’s agreed upon, that when you’re in a hangry state you will reach for the quickest (and often poor quality) option. Poor quality usually means higher calories, which does no good for your metabolism or waistline. This all happens through lack of preparation. For instance, if I know I’m going to the gym, I know what the session is going to entail and lever my pre gym nutrition to give me the energy to complete an effective gym session. In doing so, I almost automatically tailor my post workout nutrition to stimulate and support recovery because that’s all my macros would allow. If your training routine is adhoc, your food will be adhoc, and results negligible. If you have a little more structured training plan, your food can be a little more structured, so your results get better. If you know what you’re doing when, (and most people do) then tailor your food around what’s going on. If you know you’re up early and off to work, prep a nice, nutritious breakfast the night before, or make a little more time to grab breakfast and go. Your body will thank you for it.
Meal prep wise, anything you think you might have more than once in a week, make enough for the other day and batch it up for the fridge or freezer. Going in to winter the slow cooker will probably make an appearance. Don’t be scared to batch up out of the leftovers, keep it to one side for when you might be caught on the hop.
Here’s a few tips to help you in your food prep quest.
- Prep the meal you struggle with most – if you’re that person that struggles for breakfast because of time, make up some overnight oats the night before, or plan an extra 15 minutes into your morning routine to cook up some scrambled eggs and smoked salmon before you go. Getting breakfast nailed is a big victory. Breakfast is important because it stokes your metabolism up and starts the process of burning energy. Earlier, the better.
- Keep it simple – there’s a lot to be said about keeping it simple. Just because it doesn’t look like it should be in a good food magazine, or fresh over the counter of a classy restaurant, doesn’t mean it’s not going to be tasty and nutritious. Simple is also effective. If your culinary skills aren’t that of a top chef, keeping things simple minimises your kitchen time and speeds up the prep process.
- Prepare food you like to eat – with the best prep in the world, if the food doesn’t interest you it’s getting wasted. You have to at least have an interest in the things you’re eating, and you need to understand the goodness it will deliver long term. Body, mind and spirit are all affected, positively or negatively by the things we eat and drink.
- Log or track – logging or tracking your food will allow you to see how it stacks up against your macros. If you’re inside your macros by a healthy amount and got a sufficient supply of food logged for the day, take the extra deficit and boost your results!
Having read the above, take note of how things have gone today. Now track in advance what you plan to eat tomorrow and stick to it, then take note at the end of tomorrow and see if there’s a difference. Don’t be that person that tries to out train a bad diet because it just doesn’t work. Training and Nutrition are the legs that will carry you through this task, without either one, you’re going nowhere fast. Remember the 6 P’s of Food Prep, train and gain smart!
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