Creating a Meal Plan

I've been using Livestrong's MyPlate meal tracker for about 2 years, and I've found it to be one of the best tools for weight loss. I know that Eleana is finding MyFitnessPal to be great motivation for resisting the impulse to have an unhealthy snack, and I would suggest taking it a step further: plan out your meals and snacks before the day has begun. This could mean sitting down first thing in the morning to plan out what you're going to eat that day, doing it the night before as you pack your lunch/snacks for the day, or doing it once a week before going food shopping. I'm a fan of the latter because it sets me up for the week, ensures a healthy grocery list and helps me to make sure I won't waste food. I tend to tweak it throughout the week depending on my schedule.

People have different views about how many times a day we should eat. The most common ideas are three big meals versus five smaller meals. I was brought up to have three meals a day, no more and no less. But I would be ravenous when I got home from school and snack a lot before dinner, and even after (dessert is still part of dinner, right?). When I was 18 and got a full-time office job, I needed a snack in the morning and again in the afternoon to keep my energy levels up. As a student, I would eat three meals, skip the morning snack and have something chocolatey in the afternoon. I was sort of on the right track. Now, I aim for 3 meals and a substantial afternoon snack, but since I exercise 5x a week I tend to split my breakfast calories into two meals, allowing me to eat before and after my workout. So I guess I am somewhere in between 3 and 5 meals! Anyway, I think it's important to figure out what works best for you and your lifestyle.

Experts recommend eating breakfast within an hour of waking up. Eating breakfast is so so important! Those who eat breakfast every day are five times less likely to be obese. We tend to think of dinner as being the biggest meal, but you're much better off having more calories early in the day. It's recommended that you eat every 2-3 hours. I have low blood pressure, so I have to take this seriously or else I risk dizziness and fainting, but I think it's a good idea regardless; it helps regulate your appetite so that you're not starving by the time you reach the next meal. It's also important not to eat dinner too late/too close to bed time. Bob Harper of the Biggest Loser show says you should feel a bit hungry by the time you're laying down to sleep. As for eating and exercise, it's good to eat before and after, without drastically adding on extra calories. It's simplest to line up your workout with a meal. So you could exercise right before breakfast, lunch or dinner, and have a snack about an hour before, or exercise about an hour after a meal and follow it with a snack. For a morning workout, plenty of people like to run without any food in them, but this makes me feel like death (I've almost fainted in a gym twice!) so I tend to have a smoothie, giving myself time for it to digest to avoid nausea.

To finish this post, I'll give you an example of the kind of meal plan I stick to each week. There are variations as I don't tend to have 4 slices of bread in a day or 4 eggs or whatever.

Breakfast/Pre-workout: Smoothie (current ones in rotation are Spinach Berry - 2 handfuls of spinach, 1/2 frozen banana, 1 cup coconut water, 2 cups water, 1 cup frozen mixed berries; Kale Orange - 1/2 frozen orange, 2 kale leaves, 1/2 cup almond or coconut milk).
Morning Snack/Post-workout: Peanut butter & strawberry jam on Ezekiel bread; 1/2 wholemeal bagel & boiled egg; vegan overnight oats w/ coconut milk, chia seeds, banana, strawberries and almond butter; Porridge w/ banana & almond milk
Lunch: Salad, soup or sandwich using Ezekiel bread, sometimes a combination. Currently a salad of Romaine lettuce (4 leaves), 1/2 Roma tomato, chopped red onion, sliced cucumber, 3 slices of chicken breast (from the Kroger deli counter, 1/2 lb lasts me for 4-5 salads), 1 tbsp honey mustard dressing
Afternoon Snack: Raw almonds & raisins (15/30); Lara bar; Apple w/ peanut butter & raisins; Carrots & hummus, deli meat
Dinner: Turkey meatloaf w/ sweet potato fries (Iowa Girl Eats), Thai red curry w/ tofu & brown rice (trying to help my Rice & Spice cravings and healthify a favorite dish)

On weekends I usually make pancakes! :)

Once upon a time I ate Shreddies & cow's milk for breakfast, snacked on coffee drinks and snack size chocolate bars, had a sandwich for lunch and a pasta dish for dinner. I feel much happier to be free of dairy and processed wheat, concentrating on lots of veggies and protein. I still have a ravenous sweet tooth which I am attempting to work on, but I am doing so much better than I used to.