Plan tomorrow’s meals before your hungry.

Weight Loss Tip 92 – Plan Your Meals Ahead

Diet Plan

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a proponent for folks to enjoy life.  There is no reason to be miserable so you might as well have fun.  Most of the time, I can meet this challenge, but over the past two months, I have struggled.  Part of it was the stress of my mother’s death, and the remainder has been travel for work and vacation.  Every time I travel, I fall into the same trap as most by eating food that is less healthy than I would have preferred.  

Often during travel or the work day, we are under the assumption that we have no control when it comes to healthy eating on the fly.  Spontaneity can be a good thing in life to maintain your interest and excitement, but this is not true for a weight loss plan.  Variety is a good idea, but spontaneity is not.  You should plan ahead and not make decisions on the fly.  If you wait until meals time, hunger will take over, and you will make poor choices.  

We’ve all been there. We are preparing for a trip or tomorrow’s day at work, so we stay up late packing or preparing, and then we wake up early and rush to the airport or work.  We then rush through security as fast as possible to make our gate on time.  The stress is unbelievable.  To relieve the pressure, we reach for food and grab whatever we can get our hands on before we board our flight.  We are not concerned about quality or health, so we fall for this comfort or trigger foods.  The choices that are available are the perfect storm for indiscretion, and they are often heavily processed and horrible for you.  It’s these types of high-stress events that we should not force ourselves to proper nutrition and our health.  Instead of choosing the most convenient option, we should plan and avoid these nutritional traps.  

The good news is that we actually have choices and there is a solution to this dilemma.  Your work and travel days should be no different and with a little planning, you can bring a home-packed meal or stash of snacks that will get you

Meal Planning

through your day.  Having a plan is the key to success, and by having healthy options conveniently packed in your briefcase or carry-on, the healthy choice also becomes more convenient than the doughnut at the coffee shop or the crappy sandwich sold by the vendor in the airport.

The significant point is that if you wait till you are hungry and stressed to plan, the predator will kick in, and your animal instinct will take over.  This instinct will set you off the prowl for any food material that you can get your hands on, and you will not make the healthiest decision. I try to plan my meals for at least three days at a time.  The planning includes three breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and snacks.  It is much easier to maintain a healthy focus when you are no stressed or hungry.  

The bottom line: Plan your meals ahead of time and plan to succeed.  This way you will avoid the inner predator that has caused you fail in your prior diets.  Having your meals ready to cook and planned out will make you less likely to stray.