Monday, March 1, 2010

X-TREME Meal Planning

As you may know, I've been struggling with food lately. I haven't been in control of my food, it's been in control of me.

So I took drastic action.

It began on Saturday night. I did some preliminary meal planning:

Then, on Sunday, I got the necessary groceries and spent a few hours cooking, chopping, pre-portioning, packaging, and labeling. Behold:

And close-up:


That's right. Those are all of my lunches, dinners, and snacks (except already-portioned things like fruit and granola bars) for the rest of the week (exceptions: I'm planning on eating two meals out this week, and for some reason Friday dinner is not accounted for. But that shouldn't be a problem).

It's like my very own Nutrisystem! Hmmmm... Katri-system?

I didn't want to have to THINK at all this week. I just wanted everything laid out for me so I would have NO EXCUSES. Some highlights:
- red lentil curry
- homemade hummus (I don't use tahini though... I like it better without!)
- tofu stirfry
- triscuits!
- date coconut bar

I didn't pre-make my breakfasts, because it's not usually breakfast where I go off-track. I already have not stuck with my plan 100% (I had a latte today, and I'm having an extra snack), but this will be accounted for with weekly points and activity points.

Obviously, this is not something I can do every week. I happened to be able to make the time for it this weekend, because I knew I had to do something radical to jumpstart my eating again. And I have some extra leftovers because I made big batches of the red lentil curry & tofu stirfry, so there is more in the freezer for upcoming weeks! :)

The only drawback to a mass cooking session:

I've also got this week's exercise off to a good start! As I mentioned on Saturday, I did the Booty Camp Beginner Workout from the DVD. I also managed to go for a swim on Sunday! I have Pilates class tonight, and Booty Camp on Tuesday & Thursday, so even if I don't do anything else, I feel pretty set.

How are you planning to be healthy this week?

7 comments:

Ellen said...

I'm impressed! And what a great idea, to have your meals so well thought out and ready to go. No excuses allowed! You've inspired me to do the same. Thanks!

Katie said...

Thanks! You're right, it really leaves NO ROOM for excuses or error... which is exactly what I need :)

Anonymous said...

My god, that fridge is a thing of beauty!

Your plan is very similar to the "reboot" idea I got from another blogger, in which you have kind of a last meal and then spend an evening in the kitchen prepping and baking.

Yea, there's no way you could do that every week without going wacko, but you could certainly do a modified version with some prepping and planning on Sunday nights, or do it if you feel like you're getting radically off track.

Jackie C said...

I am so impressed with your fortitude and ambition1 I've known that it was important for me to plan, but I haven't even been able to do it on paper!! So I can't imagine doing all this work in advance. Good for you! I'm sure this could be the thing that you need to get you over the hump - in a way it's like having your own chef (except the day you actually do the cooking!) because each day you will come home and it will be a np-brainer, dinner on demand! You go Girl!

Katie said...

Julie - Thanks! YES, I definitely had to "reboot"!!
I often do this to some (much lesser) degree (I live alone, so I will cook a big batch of something and freeze portions), but I usually think that planning so much will be too restrictive... but sometimes it's definitely necessary!

Jackie - Haha, I was thinking that it was like having my own chef! Sometimes I find myself thinking "man, this whole weight-loss thing would be so EASY if someone would just come and tell me what to eat and cook all of my meals"... :)

Diana said...

Yeah you! I definitely do better when I plan out my meals. It's a big old pain in the butt, but it really does help. Maybe why my week isn't going all that well!

Katie said...

Diana, it's made such a difference! I want to continue doing this (to some degree) in the following weeks.