FOR most people the biggest obstacle to maintaining a healthy diet is lack of planning in the food department. When you are hungry and exhausted from a busy day, you are less likely to make good food choices. Having to make last-minute decisions like this is like playing Russian Roulette with a loaded gun. You are at the mercy of whatever cuisine is available to you right at that very moment. In these given circumstance the majority of us are more likely to make poor food choices and go for the quick fix which, unfortunately, is rarely the healthy option you aspire to.
Thankfully it doesn’t have to be like this, if you set aside a bit of time during the week to prepare some healthy food in advance. The philosophy of this food ritual is very simple – if healthy food is around you and convenient, you’re more likely to eat it. The more you plan ahead, the fewer of those last-minute decisions you will have to make and the more consistency you will bring to your diet. Set aside a few hours a week for a “food preparation ritual” and you’ll be amazed at how easy it is to eat well.
THE WEEKLY FOOD PREP RITUAL
Set aside a day to plan and prepare
most of your meals for the week (for
example on Sunday afternoons).
Look at your upcoming calendar, identify your busy and quiets times or events that you may need some special preparation for.
Come up with a general menu for the week or at least for a few days.
Build your shopping list from this and then hit the local supermarket or shops – remember to stick to the list. This is a
simple, but a very important step that will hopefully save you time and money at the supermarket because you will be heading straight for the foods on your list rather than being tempted by all the junk food.
Don’t forget to grab some “emergency supplies” – easily stored healthy options that you can grab on the run, for example frozen veg, tinned tuna, nuts.
Once you get back home start prepping and cooking the food.
Cook in bulk – for example, by grilling or roasting several chicken breasts at once. Try some meals that can be easily cooked in a slow cooker such as soups, stews, curries, chili, then freeze or refrigerate them (in containers). Each night if needed, move
them from the freezer to the refrigerator to thaw overnight for the following day.
THE DAILY FOOD PREP RITUAL
Instead of cooking for the week you are just cooking for the day ahead. For this to be effective it’s best to have done a big shop for the coming week.
Set out your proteins for the day, season them and get to work. While your protein is cooking, chop your vegetables. You should be eating one or two fist-sized portions of veggies with each meal. Don’t forget to
pack some fruit.
You can combine the weekly food ritual with the daily ritual – for example, by preparing the labour-intensive staples such as lean protein on a Sunday, and then adding some quick-prep items (such as
fruit and veggies) every day.
HEALTHY MEAL SERVICES
More and more diet-conscious people are reaching out to meal delivery services for staying healthy. Some people just simply don’t enjoy cooking or are very busy and might find that removing the hassle of meal prep worthwhile. These meals are usually prepared keeping in mind your nutritional needs and delivered right to your doorstep. Besides being super convenient, meal delivery companies have come out with menus which are not only nutritious but also very tasty. This service can be expensive but even one meal a day during your busiest or most challenging times might be worth it, and might mean the difference between a fresh, whole, figure friendly lunchtime salad or a stopgap fast-food run. Google
“healthy meal delivery” in your area and
see what pops up.
Make it a priority to try and incorporate some of the strategies suggested this week … and remember to keep it simple and do what works best for you.
Everyday Athlete gym is located in the heart of Glasgow and provides a unique, fun training environment geared towards helping clients achieve their health and fitness goals. Unit 18B 100 Borron Street, Glasgow, G49XG; www.everydayathletegym.com
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here