How I Plan My Meals
Planning meals in advance for the week is a great way to provide structure and to ensure we’re eating a diverse and nutritious diet that will help us feel our best. Consuming a variety of food will achieve a well balanced micronutrient profile.
While being blessed to be living at home with the fam, sitting down and writing out a weekly menu is something we do WEEKLY. I am a creature of habit when it comes to my breakfast, lunch meals and snacks, but I like to have a lot of variety when it comes to evening meals.
Where to start?
Choose a protein source: Protein is one of the three macronutrients that is essential for muscle and cell growth, development and repair. Having an adequate intake is very important, but is also very challenging as many under consume without realising. I like to start by choosing the protein source, and space out different sources of protein throughout the week, so it doesn’t get repetitive and for variety. Protein also contributes greatly to satiety levels, so plays a key role in hunger regulation and portion control. My staple protein sources include: salmon, chicken, pork and lean mince.
Choose a carbohydrate source: When I was being restrictive with my eating, carbohydrates were something I avoided for months out of fear of gaining weight. However carbohydrates are the body’s preferred energy source and less refined wholemeal sources provide a more sustainable release of energy while keeping us fuller for longer. It is the nature of how carbohydrates hold water in the body that is associated with weight gain, however this is water weight only, and not a representation of body fat mass. My favourite sources are rice, pasta, potato, and I do love some garlic bread.
A side of plants: ‘Eat the rainbow’ is the rule of thumb here. Vegetables are our richest sources of micronutrients and so having a wide variety across our week is crucial for good health. I love to incorporate lot’s of dark green, leafy vegetables such as spinach, brocolini, bok choy, lettuce, beans, as they rich in iron. My favourite ways to incorporate vegetables are stir fries, curries, pasta, roasted, and garden salads.
Healthy fats: Fats are another of the three macronutrients and are essential for heart and hormone health. Sometimes our protein source can double as our fat source, for example salmon is also an incredible source of omega 3 fatty acids, while chicken and steak contain saturated fats. Curry bases, cheese and cream are other sources of fat that can be added to meals.
Tracking Your Meals
Tracking food through My Fitness Pal is an incredible tool to get an insight into the nutritional value of your food. It allows you to see your total energy consumed, but more importantly your macro and micro nutrient balance across the day. You can also log potential meals a few days in advance to see where some meals may need to be swapped. For example, if one day is super high in carbohydrates, you may need to swap a meal around to balance it out.
Having an adequate protein intake is important to achieve daily, however the amount of fat and carbohydrates doesn’t matter when it comes to weight maintenance. This comes down to what you prefer, some people thrive off a higher fat diet, others feel more energetic eating more carbohydrates.
I, for the most part, am an intuitive eater, where I have go-to meals that work for me and that I enjoy, however I did spend a period of time tracking. Tracking can be a challenge as an emphasis on numbers can trigger obsessive behaviour, but it is subjective data that you can use to your advantage. And you absolutely do not have to do it forever.
After a while you can start to develop an awareness of the nutritional value of your food that you can apply going forward.
The basic rule you can always fall back on, are all three macronutrients represented?
