Meal Planning for Weight Loss

Meal Planning for Weight Loss

Whether you’re trying to lose weight, maintain a healthy weight, or even just improve your eating habits, meal planning is a great step to help your reach and maintain your goals.

“With anything in life, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. That applies to meal planning as well,” according to Sivlia Veria, registered dietitian at the Beaumont Weight Control Center - Canton. “Planning meals and snacks ahead of time increases the chance for success, it increases the likelihood a healthier food choice will be made.”

Here are a few added benefits of meal planning for weight loss:

» Eat Healthily:

When you’re hungry and your sugar drops you are more inclined to eat whatever you can get to the fastest. Meal planning assists in eliminating the impulse to buy food from the closest fast-food restaurant or reach for an unhealthy snack. Keeping well-balanced meals and snacks 

» Save Time: 

Have you ever opened the fridge or pantry and just stood there because you couldn’t decide what to whip up for your meal? Instead of stressing because you have nothing planned for your meal, 

» Save Money:

We all have to eat but many of us would like to cut costs when it comes to how much we’re spending. Meal planning helps save money by helping you to skip eating out and spending additional money at restaurants. Also, meal planning tends to cause you to buy in bulk and stick to what is on your list to avoid impulse buys at the grocery store.

» Avoid Wasting Food:

Not only do you save money by sticking to what is on your list, but meal planning also helps you avoid wasting food. When you go grocery shopping and use all the ingredients during your meal preparation, you won’t have to worry about excess items in your fridge going to waste.

Resources:

1. https://www.beaumont.org/health-wellness/blogs/health-benefits-of-meal-planning 
2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5288891/