Weight loss ladies -- Meal prep?

dmartin726

I have been trying to do weight watchers, but it's tough for me.  DH just started a Paleo challenge with his Crossfit gym and yesterday grilled a bunch of chicken and steamed a ton of veggies and made himself little containers of food.  
I think I might be able to benefit from this too.  Does anyone do this when they are trying to lose weight?

What are some other options to prepare lo-cal, lo-carb foods?

Just a protein and veggies?  Maybe some roasted sweet potato slices?

My problem is I don't plan ahead, I wait until I am starving and then try to prepare something that will fill me up and not be a ton of points and I end up eating more than I should.  It will help if I can just warm up a meal when I feel hungry and know what that mean contains pointwise.

Help me out, I've got 10 lbs to my pre-preg weight and then I'd like to lose another 10 after that  

zbeesma86

I have tried to meal prep- the only thing is I like variety and get sick of the same thing everyday. I can only eat chicken, sweet potatoes, and kale/spinach so many times before I'm like DONE. GIVE ME PIZZA!

I  try to make things I can turn into other things. So if we have grilled chicken one night, I'll use the left overs to make chicken salad (without mayo) or chicken tacos.

I do a lot of chicken- all sorts of ways. And fish. Tilapia and cod and salmon. Fish is best cooked fresh and the day of. When I tried meal prep- I did fish for 4 days and it was no bueno by the 3rd and 4th day. Even chicken starts to taste funky after day 2. I'll take 3-4 chicken breasts and slow cook them, shred them, and use them all throughout the week- make BBQ, buffalo, teriayki, put on salads, tacos, chicken salad, and so on.

Perhaps pre-wash and cut veggies so all you have to do is dump them into a skillet with some oil and seasoning. If I get a head of cauliflower or broccoli I will wash and cut and put into Tupperware so it's easy to munch on. Grab a container of that and hummus and have a snack while prepping dinner.

I've been looking into Paleo... I just don't know if I could commit. My friend tried it and lost 20 pounds. But I feel like it's a lifestyle. Once you go back to eating 'normal' you gain it all back. Like Atkins.

magentawarped

I don't meal prep. I've just gotten rid of all the crappy food in the house so I'm not tempted. It helps if you have a few items premade/prepped, though, so I usually clean fruits and veggies right after we buy them and put them in a Tupperware. I generally have some eggs hard boiled so I can grab them as a snack or for an easy breakfast.

jensriot

magentawarped said:

I don't meal prep. I've just gotten rid of all the crappy food in the house so I'm not tempted. It helps if you have a few items premade/prepped, though, so I usually clean fruits and veggies right after we buy them and put them in a Tupperware. I generally have some eggs hard boiled so I can grab them as a snack or for an easy breakfast.

Do you find the fruit going bad any faster? I have no idea where, but I read that fruit (esp berries) will go bad faster if it's rinsed then refrigerated.

dmartin, I don't meal prep, but plan my day in the morning to fit into my macros. Really, as long as I'm under my calorie goal, I'm usually good. Anyway, I have breakfast in the morning, then plan dinner and my bedtime snack (I eat the same little sweat every night ). Once I log those calories, I review my log to plan lunch and snacks. Do I need more protein, fiber, etc. or do I need a lighter or heavier lunch? I don't prep in advance, but I know what I'm going to eat before I get hungry.

Of course, there's always days like today when I have no dinner plan yet, but usually this works really well for me.

zbeesma86

JenS2203 said:

magentawarped said:

I don't meal prep. I've just gotten rid of all the crappy food in the house so I'm not tempted. It helps if you have a few items premade/prepped, though, so I usually clean fruits and veggies right after we buy them and put them in a Tupperware. I generally have some eggs hard boiled so I can grab them as a snack or for an easy breakfast.

Do you find the fruit going bad any faster? I have no idea where, but I read that fruit (esp berries) will go bad faster if it's rinsed then refrigerated.

Let them dry! After I wash berries I lay them out on a paper towel to dry and then put them into Tupperware. If you put them in the fridge after washing and not drying they will mold.

magentawarped

@JenS2203‌ I let them soak for a few minutes in a warm water/vinegar mix, then rinse, then let them dry. I've found that they actually last longer this way.

dmartin726

These are good ideas!  I just know myself, and I need to be pretty strict in order to stick to something.  Otherwise I have the "Screw it, I deserve the cookie" mentality.  And that sucks.

It is hard to keep it out of the house usually.  Right now it is easy with DH doing this challenge, but he usually eats sweets and stuff. 

I'm going to stock the house with good fruits and veggies this afternoon!

superToots

Most nights we have a small salad with dinner and I'll chop an extra one for lunch the next day. Then add leftover meat from dinner. That's my lunch most days. I add a handful of nuts, dried cranberries, onion straws, our avocado to keep from getting boring.

I also ALWAYS pack a snack for myself as well as the kids when we leave the house. An Apple, some almonds, a granola bar, whatever. If I'm not starving I make better choices.

And pretty much everything diapers&wipes said too