Most people who have ever lost weight know that you may or may not exercise, but you most likely have to change something about your diet to achieve your goal.
Of course, exercising is a big help in the process. The studies show that people who lose weight by combining proper diet and exercise are more likely to keep the lost weight off than the ones who didn’t exercise. Not to mention the endorphins you get from exercising!
But the truth is that your diet matters so much more than exercise if you aim at changing your body composition, that is, losing fat and gaining muscle. It’s said that your physical shape is by 25 % determined by your exercise and 75 % by your diet.
So even if you worked out two hours every day but had a terrible diet, your probably won’t shed fat and get toned.
Eating out and trying out new foods is great and I enjoy it a lot. But to have control over my waistline I eat simple homemade meals most of the time. That way I make sure that I get enough veggies, good fats and proteins with my diet and that I don’t overdo with sugar (most of the time!) and other not so healthy foods.
I typically have one day in a week, Sunday or Monday, when I get ready for the upcoming week in my kitchen by chopping, baking and cooking and then stocking my fridge with healthy foods that are easy to combine together for a satisfying lunch salad or reheat in a microwave for a nutritious dinner. I make a bigger batch of everything, so I don’t need to cook at least next three days. I really don’t mind eating the same foods several days in a row if they’re tasty and healthy.
Some people say that they have no time to cook their own food. Meal prep actually saves your time, because instead of cooking every night, you have a ton of things ready in your fridge. Those two hours on Sunday that you spend for chopping and baking are totally worth it.
You will have your lunch ready to take to your work every day and you have so much better control over the food you eat with each meal.
I typically make some sorts of good protein source (chicken, fish, meat of some sort) and prepare a lot of good veggies for the upcoming week.
I oven bake various veggies:
sweet potatoes
red beets with olive oil and garlic
turnips with olive oil, rosemary, salt and pepper
carrots
brussels sprouts with olive oil and garlic
broccoli with olive oil and sea salt
For salads, I chop up
cucumbers
tomatoes
bell peppers
scallions
red onions
Other:
Grate up some cauliflower for cauliflower “rice”
Slice up some zuccini for some zuccini “noodles”
Since it’s winter over here now, I rely more on oven baked veggies as carrots, turnips and sweet potatoes than fresh salads. It’s really comfortable to pull the box of baked veggies out from the fridge, top with some sort of meat or fish and reheat it in a microwave. Dinner is ready in five minutes!
In the last weekend I spent some time in the kitchen, chopping up and then baking some veggies. Here’s what I threw into the oven:
Since I made a batch of everything, I am pretty well prepared for the next week. Here’s my stock after I had prepared everything, plus some fresh fruits and greens.
Happy cooking!
Do you do meal prep?
How do you make your veggies?
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