Braxton Gilbert Fitness

Meal prepping is something that so many individuals praise for helping them remain organized and on track with their healthy eating plans. If you’ve never used meal prepping before, the idea of getting started can sometimes feel overwhelming, so today we’ve put together our guide to meal prepping to help you get on track with your healthy eating this year. Working alongside your training sessions at Braxton Gilbert Fitness Mobile, you’ll find this will be one of the best tools to help you live a healthy and stress-free life.

What is Meal Prepping?

Meal prepping is used to prepare meals ahead of time, which is ideal for anyone who lives a busy lifestyle. After working out with different personal trainer types, you’ll be able to come home and enjoy a nutritious and delicious meal without spending hours in the kitchen. This can help you to meet your nutrition goals and eat the correct portion size and stops you from relying on takeout or unhealthy junk food because you are in a rush or tired. As you will take the time to plan out your meals in advance, you’ll often find this to be a long-term solution to offer your family much healthier meals. While some people may set aside an afternoon on a Sunday to prepare their meals, you’ll want to find a way that works for you and that you won’t find to be too much of a burden on your schedule.

Why Is It Good To Meal Prep?

Meal prepping offers so many benefits to anyone looking to enjoy a healthier lifestyle. Paired alongside working with a personal trainer in Mobile, you’ll find it will help to keep you on track when working towards your fitness goals. These are just a few of the reasons we recommend that anyone considers meal prepping:

• Saves Time – Instead of wasting precious time wondering what to cook and then ordering takeout, you’ll always have lunch or dinner ready for you to enjoy in a rush. You’ll also find it saves on washing up, which is something all of us can appreciate.
• Saves Money – Another great benefit of meal prepping is that you can save money. When you are trying to eat healthier, it can often seem like it will cost you a fortune to buy fresh produce. However, buying your ingredients in bulk and cooking for the whole week can save you a fortune. You’ll also spend less money in restaurants and on takeout, which is both good for your wallet and your waist.
• Reduce Stress – After a busy day at work or a heavy leg day workout, the last thing you probably want to do is cook. Instead, you’ll just pull your meal out of the fridge or freezer, and you’ll be ready to eat within a few minutes.
• Manage Portion Sizes – For anyone who struggles with overeating, this is one of the top benefits of meal prepping. You’ll be able to create equal portions and control the amount you eat during each meal.

How To Meal Prep

When it comes to meal prepping, it’s all about finding a solution that works for you and your family. These are a few of the best methods for meal prepping that are trusted by many individuals today:

• Cook Full Meals Ahead of Time – Many individuals choose to cook full meals in advance, which can then be placed in the fridge or freezer to be reheated. This is a good method to use for your dinners, and you can create meals that are big enough to serve your whole family in this way.
• Prepare Large Batches – Making a huge quantity of your favorite recipe is a great way to save money. You can then split these into portions and freeze them to be used whenever you need a healthy meal after different personal training types.
• Create Individual Portions – If you live alone or find your family ends up eating on different schedules, make individual portions that can then be reheated when someone needs a quick meal. This method is often used for lunches, which you can reheat in your office’s kitchen.
• Prepare Your Ingredients in Advance – If you still enjoy cooking a fresh meal each day for your family, meal prepping could just involve preparing the ingredients for your meal. This is a good way to save ten or fifteen minutes a day chopping vegetables and getting everything ready to cook.

Top Tips for Meal Prepping

Choose the Right Containers

A key part of successful meal prepping is having containers to place your meals into. If you are going to freeze your meals, ensure you choose freezer-safe containers, which can hope to avoid any nutrient loss. BPA-free microwaveable containers are good for your health and ideal for taking to work each day. Always look for airtight containers for ingredients, and ensure anything that involves a liquid or sauce is placed in a leak-proof container.

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Make a Schedule

For most people, meal prepping becomes a natural part of their weekly routine. Put aside a morning or night for meal prepping each week, where you prepare all of the dinners or lunches for the upcoming week. You are much more likely to keep up this good habit if you add it into your schedule in advance instead of just meal prepping at random times.

Select a Good Variety of Meals

Try to find a combination of meals and recipes that will save you time but also allow you to enjoy a good variety of meals. When cooking, try to make a set of meals that all require different appliances so that you can cook two or three meals at one time. To go with the cooked meals, you can enjoy salads and sandwiches for lunches and dinners on the days where you don’t have a meal prepped and ready to enjoy.

Create a Shopping List

Before you head to the grocery store, make a list of everything you will need to get that day. This will help you to save time and money and ensure you don’t forget anything that’s vital for your cooking that week.

Meal prepping is something that we recommend anyone training at Braxton Fitness looks at, and you’ll find it’s the ideal solution for those days where you are exhausted after training and work. By following these top tips listed above, you’ll easily be able to add this into your weekly routine, giving you more time to train at our Mobile, AL gym.