Meal Prep for Weight Loss for Beginners: How to Make It an Experience, Not a Chore

Do you have to restrict to lose weight?

Let me start off by saying this... I am not a regular mum. I am a cool mum. And after over 10 years in the health and fitness industry, I am SICK of the tragic lives that get advocated on social media. Restrict... deprive... drag yourself through life as Debbie Diet Coke with a sad bowl of chicken and broccoli. Hours in the kitchen for meals you hate. Cutting the food and the drinks you love.

I repeat. YOU can eat and drink the things you LOVE and get results. Way better results than when you are yo-yo dieting 24/7.

As soon as I put the bodybuilding lifestyle in the grave, my life changed REAL fast. The key? A plan for YOU and YOUR lifestyle. Replace the words "restriction" and "cutting" with "MODERATION" and "CONSISTENCY"... and girl, your life gets a whole lot better.

Why does meal prep help with weight loss?

Meal prep is the thing I hear women whinge about the most. I don't have time. It takes hours. I hate cooking. I hate the clean up. Girl, I get it.

But let's be so for real. It is a process with BIG rewards. Meal prep does not make you lose weight on its own. What it does is take away the hundred little decisions you make every day when you are tired, hungry and over it. When the food is already decided, your emotions stop deciding for you. And that is what consistency looks like in real life.

Here is my girl math, and it changes everything. My rough maths, not a lab result.

What it costs you today:

• Putting on a cute outfit (yes, a feather dress and sunglasses are allowed). Free.
• Blasting your favourite playlist. Free.
• Making a Tommy's coconut marg to make the experience better. About 250 cals.
• Time. About 2 hours, including clean up.
• Step count. Around 1,000 extra steps (more if you boogie while you cook).
• Building the dream physique? Immeasurable.

What you get back, the way I count it:

• The calories you save by not letting your emotions decide your meals during the week. Thousands, in my girl math.
• The time you save not agonising daily about what to eat. At least 4 hours a week.
• The daily clean up and prep you skip. At least an hour a day.

Do the math, girl. The math be mathin.

And here is the thing. Most women do this on the weekend. They have worked their butts off Monday to Friday... full-time jobs, full-time mums, multiple jobs, the gym, the house, life life-ing. So why not take a little moment for you? A woman who is prepared is a woman in control.

How do I start meal prepping as a beginner?

This is your sign to do the meal prep. But with NEW RULES.

1. Grocery shop the day before, or have it delivered. I always get it delivered. Saved lists, one click, done. And my non-negotiable rule: never grocery shop on an empty stomach. Hangry girls make poor food choices. Doing it online? The snack aisle is avoided completely. You're welcome.
2. Have a game plan. HAVE a meal plan, with your calories and macros set. Know the numbers. Vague goals get VAGUE results. Do the things that take the longest first, so by the tail end you are just pulling it all together. Work smarter, not harder.
3. Invest in good containers. Glass is where it is AT. It keeps food fresher, heats evenly, and honestly just looks better when you open the fridge.
4. Eat before you prep. None of this snacking-while-you-cook business. Eat a proper meal before you start so you are not picking at everything and throwing off your hunger cues for the rest of the day.
5. Keep it safe. Eat the fridge portions first in the week and freeze anything you won't get to in the next few days.

How do I make meal prep enjoyable?

Make it an experience. Music, a podcast, your favourite show in the background. Put on something fabulous. If you are not making it enjoyable, you are making it harder than it needs to be.

Stack the habits. Have your favourite coffee, or your drink of choice, alcoholic or not. I am THAT coach. A coconut marg while meal prepping is not a crime. It is a lifestyle.

What should I put in a weight loss meal prep?

This is how I prep. I bulk cook proteins and veg so I can mix and match, build bowls and heat things up fast all week. Life is stressful enough without worrying over a different recipe every night. Just pull it together and go.

This week I prepped:

• Sweet potato and roast pumpkin
• Boiled eggs
• Air fryer chicken
• My dill and lemon vinaigrette
• Taco beef mince
• Juices for four to five days, on the side

Protein, veg and a carb you love, plus one sauce that makes it taste like you actually want to eat it. Mix them differently every day and you will never eat the same box twice.

The week, sorted

Two hours on a Sunday, one good playlist, your drink of choice, and you are the most prepared woman in the room come Monday morning.

A woman who is prepared is a woman in control. And control? That is the hottest thing you can wear.

If you want a meal plan built around your own calories and macros, with new recipes every week, that is what the Feel Good Naked app does.