Preparation is one of the most important things on your way to achieving every one of your goals. Whether it's the proper warm up, creating a to do list, or preparing your meals, you must break down your goals into easy to follow steps in order to reach the end result. In this post, I'm going to talk to you about how to plan for success with your nutrition. As most of you know, nutrition is a huge component to reaching your fat loss and performance goals. You CAN NOT out work a bad diet. Food should be a means to provide your body with fuel, not something to fall back on because you're bored or stressed. 90% of the food we consume should be eaten to help us reach our goals and the other 10% will keep you sane and allow to indulge once in a while. In order to be sure that you are following this type of plan, preparation has to come into play. In the following, we will talk about 3 easy ways to set up your week for success!
1. Create a List Start your week by writing down a list of things you need to accomplish in order to have a successful week. As you plan out your week, think about when and what you will be eating throughout the day. To best prepare yourself to eat the right foods, they must be readily available to you. In your initial preparation, if you plan your grocery list and only buy the foods on it, you will eliminate the temptation of having bad food choices in your home. You will buy what is needed in order to make all of your meals and snacks.
2. Shopping and What to Do with It When you head to the grocery store, bring your list with you! Once you get there, if you have planned accordingly, you should be making your way around the outside of the store. The perimeter of most stores is where you will find all of your fruits, vegetables, meats, eggs, dairy, etc.. All of the food choices that you want to be making. As soon as you start roaming the isles is when you will find all of your processed foods and other junk you want to keep out of your diet. Stick to your list and you will come home with a recipe for success. Once you get home, it's time to prepare everything. Cut up your fruit and vegetables for the next 2-3 days. Cook one or two main meat choices, chicken, fish, etc. Throw something into the crock pot, turkey chili is always a great choice, so you can prepare 3-4 meals in one pot. After these are prepped, package them in containers and baggies that are appropriate serving sizes in order to simplify your meal choices.
3. Eat What You Cooked! Last, but certainly not least, eat the foods you have prepared! All of that may have seemed pretty easy to do so far, but no you must be sure to stick to it. Don't bring your afternoon snack to work with you and then go for a walk to the vending machine. You did all this work for a reason. You have a goal in mind and you want to stick with it. The easier you make the process, the easier you will stick to it and achieve your goals.
After a while, this will become habit. You will find one or two days a week to prepare everything. You will find you will have more time for other things as you will not have to cook so often. Excuses are easy to make, but if you are prepared, there will be less reason for you to make them! Most of us fail at a task because we do not prepare ourselves for success. The better prepared you are the more likely you will reach your goal!