Meal Prepping For Weight Loss
The hospital breakroom: a dumping ground for sweet gifts of thanks from patients' families, leftover Easter candy from nurses who didn't want it sitting on their kitchen counter, and the half-decimated party sub tray the surgical reps brought in plus at least 3 random bags of chips.
Here’s why I recommend you bring your own food to work if you're serious about changing your shape…
Without a plan, you're relying on work to go smoothly, or on your willpower, or your ability to make the right decision at the moment. Seems easy enough, right?
But then you get to work and find out you're short-staffed. Two of your patients are testing your last nerve, another seems like she's actively trying to die, and that extra-cocky resident won't shut up about his skiing trip and help out!
Then you find out you missed your lunch break. It's ok, you can take 15 minutes. But the cafeteria is on the other side of campus and walking there and back leaves you with .2 seconds to shove your purchase into your mouth (sigh). You're left choosing between the vending machines, the breakroom, or starvation.
Planning And Meal Prepping
Planning and meal prepping for work is one of the very few things you can control when you work in healthcare. It's how you set yourself up for success, so you can take better care of yourself, and your patients.
Meal prepping also saves you a ton of time throughout your week and lightens your mental load, since you don't have to always be deciding what to eat. It also makes you less likely to hit up the drive-thru on your way to/ from work.
But it also takes time to make a plan and do it right. I used to be so intimidated by meal-prepping so I would just put it off. And when I finally "got around to it," turns out I was doing it wrong. Save yourself some time, and learn from my mistakes!
Here are 4️ simple tips to help you nail meal prep:
Keep it simple. Pair a protein with a grain/carb source & some healthy fat. Think chicken, rice, & veggies roasted in olive oil - seasoned however you like. Now is not the time to try your hand at that new paella recipe.
Stretch your protein. Instead of making a chicken meal, a pork meal, a steak meal, a shrimp meal, and a tofu meal, choose 2️ main proteins & vary those. Think shredded crockpot chicken + baked chicken + chicken kebabs + some shrimp for salads & shrimp for pasta - seasoned however you like.
It doesn't have to be pretty or elaborate. I'm sad to say... this is what held me back at first. I was attempting to make these gorgeous gram-worthy meals with 7,000 ingredients, and that is NOT how I like to cook. It's totally fine to just slap it together.
It doesn't have to be made by you. Even the most well-prepared type A's among us have their butts kicked from time to time, and keeping a handful of prepped meals in your freezer can keep your nutrition game on point! My personal fav is @powerplatemeals.
If your goal is to get leaner and build sexy curves, I can help with that structured plan. Oh, and you won't have to give up cake either or carbs or any food you don't want to give up. Learn more about my 12 Weeks to Fitness group coaching program here.