Fail to plan = Plan to fail! We’ve all heard that right? It’s so true! Planning your meals ahead of time will take the guesswork out of your days. Essentially “meal planning” is just taking time at the beginning of the week to choose exactly what meals and snacks you will put into your body the rest of the week. Your biggest obstacle in changing your lifestyle is going to be managing your time. Getting fit and healthy doesn’t have to compete with your time for family, friends, career, etc. Meal planning will help you save time in the long run as well as keep you on track with your health goals.

1. TOOLS: Use a spreadsheet to plan your meals! Set one up that has a spot for each meal of the day and each day of the week. If you’re following the 21 Day Fix, include columns for each color container and a “total” row that tallies up the number of containers you have so far (I have a couple of these already created, contact me if you need one).
2. REPITITION: Plan out meals for one or two days and then repeat them for the rest of the week. This will help you save on planning and prepping time as well as money at the grocery store! Plus, if you have Shakeology every morning for breakfast, that’s one less meal you have to plan!
3. RESOURCES: Use Pinterest, the Beachbody website, or the FIXATE cookbook for recipes and simply look them up under the meal your planning. For example, if I am planning a snack, I’d search Pinterest for “21 day fix snacks” and the results would be full of snack ideas that are in line with the 21 Day Fix nutrition guide. Pick one or two and BAM! Done with snacks!

Tip: Plan your meals before you go to the grocery store. Don’t try to plan based on ingredients you already have in your fridge. That will take much longer and you’ll end up with wasted food. Plan and then go to the grocery store. After that, it’s time to PREP!! Check out next week’s blog for tips on meal prep made easy!