Let’s face it, eating healthy consistently is challenging. If you’re like most people, you probably find yourself snacking on unhealthy foods more often than you’d like to admit. But what if there was an easy way to make healthy eating easier? What if there was a way to set yourself up for success and make everything come together?

Believe it or not, there is a way to do both. And the secret lies in meal prepping. Meal prepping is a practice that helps you prepare healthy meals ahead of time and cut back on the amount of time you spend preparing food every week. It’s really simple: just cook your meals for the entire week and divide them up into individual servings so they’re easy to grab throughout the week.

There are several benefits you’ll see from meal prepping that will make it easier to stick with your healthy eating goals. First of all, you don’t have to worry about what you’re going to eat for lunch or dinner. You already have a plan in place which means no more impulse decisions and less time deciding what to cook.

Meal prepping can also help you stay on track with your diet. By cooking your meals in advance, you’ll be less likely to order unhealthy take-out or indulge in unhealthy snacks. And because you’re eating the same healthy meals all week long, you’ll start to see results in no time!

Ready to get started? Here are some tips for setting up your own meal prepping routine.

1. Meal Prep Start

First of all, you’ll need to do a little bit of research and find out how many calories you should be eating each day in order to reach your weight loss goals. Once you know the number of calories you should eat every day, divide that total by 7 to determine how many calories you should be consuming each meal. Don’t worry about getting too caught up on the numbers-just use this as a general rule of thumb and you’ll be fine.

2. Meal Prep Plan

Next, decide what kind of meals you want to prep ahead of time. You can create your own recipes or follow some premade plans for inspiration. Here are some ideas:

  • Protein and salad
  • Burritos and Mexican food
  • Soups and sandwiches
  • Soups and stews
  • Baked goods (muffins, energy balls, etc.)

3. Meal Prep Cook

Once you know what your meals will be for the week, all that’s left is to cook them! If you’re not a very experienced cook, make sure to keep it simple. Meal prepping is supposed to make your life easier, not more difficult. Remember: simplicity is key!

Once your meals are all cooked up, you can spend a couple of hours on Sunday evening dividing them into individual containers where they’ll stay fresh all week long. If you work out regularly, make sure to pack a meal prep cooler to take with you to the gym so you always have a healthy, tasty meal to eat after your workout.

Sample Meal Prep Plan

  • Oatmeal and fruit for breakfast
  • Salad with chicken or baked fish for lunch
  • Veggies and hummus for a snack
  • Beans and rice with steamed vegetables for dinner

This is just a general guideline-you can create your own meal prepping routine based on the meals and schedules that work best for you. Just be sure to prepare as much food as you need ahead of time so there’s no prep work leftover at the end of the week.

And remember, all of this assumes you’re cooking at home with healthy ingredients. If you find yourself eating out a lot or indulging in unhealthy snacks throughout the week, meal prepping probably won’t make much of a difference for you. You’ll need to cut back on your snacking and start cooking more meals at home if you want to see results.

With a little bit of planning and some healthy ingredients, you can make meal prepping work for you.