Susanna’s Weight Loss Regime: Planning your Meals

If you haven’t read the introduction, please read it now! I’m continuing a weight loss regime for what I feel would work! You don’t have to follow this exactly, but I do think it will help!

When’s the easiest time to prepare a meal?

Some of us leave for work/school early and never get time for breakfast, but we have plenty of time at night. Others may be busy during the day and night but have more time in the morning. Please look at your schedule for the week and pick out one meal of the day that you have the most time to prepare. I always think breakfast is the most important meal of the day but unfortunately, most people don’t really have time for that.

What I would hope for you to start with is preparing one meal in a day where the focus is on healthy vegetables, legumes and whole grains, so we’re cutting down on the sugars, meat, eggs and refined carbs.

I am not saying to never eat them, but let’s just start with one meal in the day where you’re giving your body a rest from the grease or empty calories. Most often, we’re simply eating far more than what our bodies need or has the capability of working of. That’s what I believe causes health problems and weight gain.

Write a Shopping List

Now that you’ve picked out the time of day that’s easiest to prepare a meal, time to write a shopping list.

I have to say, whenever I cook and it’s not for this website, I just go with what I have, I never really look up an actual recipe and measure everything out, because that takes way too long. However, if you haven’t had much experience in cooking up veggies, you may need some guidance.

What I advise is go through this list of vegetables recipes, and choose 7 dishes in this category and write down the ingredients you will need to make it.

The dishes in this section are all foods that my husband and I eat and has kept his weight under control!

Try the Vegetable Stir Fry

The vegetable stir fry is one of my favourites and it contain so many healthy vegetables it’s not even funny, and I absolutely love the taste. I think that should be a meal made at least once a week, just because the colour of that dish is almost like a rainbow!

Start the Fruits

I feel that beside eating vegetables, fruits are very important as well, and you just need a bowl of it to get the best benefits. What you can do is buy either those pre-cut fruit slices (if you really don’t have time) or buy 5 types of fruits. I recommend: Oranges, apples, grapes, blackberries/blueberries, raspberries and bananas. Of course, they can be a bit expensive so do look for sales! If your fruit salad can have almost every colour of the rainbow, you’re good to go!

What I like to do is cut fruits on Saturdays and Wednesdays. I’ve always hated the idea of cutting each day and believe me, some people are dedicated enough to spend an hour each day cutting but I personally find that way too hard, so I precut the fruits and enjoy it first thing in the morning!

I also recommend getting the veggie wash to get rid of those nasty waxes and pesticides, because sometimes, you can do more harm than good by eating too much unwanted pesticides.

You can buy it here: Citrus Magic, Fruit & Veggie Wash, 16 oz

Make a Delicious Green Smoothie

I totally recommend investing in a $380 Vitamix 1782 TurboBlend, 2 Speedbecause it is worth every cent. The things that come out of an expensive blender is simply divine and makes you think you’re eating junk food (because it tastes so good) when in fact, you’re having healthy fruits, vegetables and nuts!

(Even if you don’t usually like green vegetables or the taste of spinach, the fruits will completely cover the taste!)

Important: Just because you’ve planned one meal in the day where you’re eating more veggies and fruits, that doesn’t mean you should increase the meats and sugary stuff in your other meals to “make up for the loss”, as that would defeat the whole purpose. It’s best to see them as something you look forward to.