When you succeed to plan, you plan to succeed. The same goes for all aspects of your health. That includes meal planning, regardless of if you are doing the 21 Day Fix or not! Thankfully, I’m here to give you some tips and hints on how to successfully meal plan each week! (It’s actually simpler than you think!)

Step 1: Plan

What is your goal?

Find out what your goal is–do you want to lose weight, gain weight, maintain your weight? Do you want to focus on protein, go paleo, experiment with vegetarian? How long do you want to focus on meal planning: 21 days, a few months, just this week to dip your toes in?

Find out your caloric intake allowance

If you are going the 21 Day route, make sure you use the caloric intake allowance calculator to figure out how much you are allowed to eat.

Start filling in your calendar

Find recipes you want to try. Mark them on your calendar. If you are doing the 21 Day Fix, you’ll need to be a bit more specific. Rather than just planning out one or two meals a day, you will need to plan out everything that you will be eating! Everything!!

Plan out your breakfasts and snacks first–these are typically monotonous and most people have the same kind of breakfast or snack every day, so they are easy to write out. Then, plan your dinners. Lunches can be leftovers and or salads. Make sure you checking off your colored containers as you go. If you are new to the program, or need more inspiration, use this checksheet of ingredients or my 21 Day Fix recipe book.

Use these 21 Day Fix calendars to fill out (make sure you get the proper caloric intake allowance one!).

Fill out your grocery list

Make sure you have a budget. Even though you have a grocery list and a meal calendar planned out, if you don’t have a budget, you typically end up buying more! Once you have figured out your budget, then write down your grocery list. Make sure you check your fridge and pantry for ingredients that you already have. If you are doing the 21 Day Fix, use this grocery list printout.

Check your local grocery store ads for coupons or discounts. Shop the sales to stay on budget!

Step 2: Prepare

Prep your food

Precook chicken or meat before you add it into your protein containers. Wash and cut up your vegetables. Do some crockpotting and freezer meals.

Organize your containers

If you are doing the 21 Day Fix, fill out your containers for the week and mark each day.

Post your calendar

Have your calendar somewhere obvious in your kitchen. Make sure you continually look at it and check it throughout the week to see if you are on target. Stick to it!

Step 3: Follow Through

Make sure that you follow through with your meal plan. Eat what you planned when you planned it. If you have leftovers, that’s ok, you can incorporate them into another meal, so don’t stress. Check off your meal plan sheet as you eat each meal or snack. Keep track of recipes and meals that you really enjoyed to have on hand for the next time you plan your meals out. And remember, it’s ok to be flexible if you need to!

My experience with meal planning while pregnant…

I’m tired of not being prepared and eating crap because “the baby wanted it”. I’m tired of saying, I’ll start tomorrow, & I’m tired of feeling fluffy and knowing I could be eating less sodium and drinking more water.

So I spent 30 minutes planning my meals and grocery list and will be heading to the grocery store tomorrow!

It’s not HARD it just takes a little prep time, now that I’ve done that I feel SOO much better!

I had a grapefruit and water for a snack before bed. I’m off to bed to wake up bright and early tomorrow to kick ass and rock my business and my health!

If you want some help with meal planning or meal prepping, comment below! I’m far from perfect, but I know what I NEED to do to get back on track and I’m happy to help you as well! We got this!!