How to Learn from My Major Meal Planning Fail: Pt. 2

Just a quick recap of Part 1: meal planning- not my thing. But, I can stand to lose about 30 pounds… so I decided to give it a try. Alas, life got in the way and I am a mess. That’s basically where we left off. So, to continue…

When this blog post idea was first presented to me, I knew exactly who to talk to first! My mom, Nancy. My mom has lost 70lbs in a year and a half solely through meal planning (using the Weight Watcher’s point system). Here is a picture of her about 3 months into her weight loss journey next to a picture I took of her when she was 10lbs from her goal weight. In the photo on the left, she had already lost about 20lbs. Doesn’t she look great now?!

Before she began meal prepping, my mom’s health was not ideal. There was talk of a possible knee replacement and she was on high doses of meds to lower her blood pressure. As of her last doctor’s appointment, her blood pressure meds were cut in half and she was taken off of a water pill. I haven’t heard her complain about her knees in months. The reduced weight on her joints has actually enabled her to get more active; taking daily walks and even hiking with me and the kids the other day! Her overall health has exceptionally improved; we are so proud of her!

My mom agreed to help me write up a meal plan; but first, I had a few stipulations. I could not compromise on flavor. No fat-free cheese for me. I’m sorry; but no. I also had a strict budget to stick to and three other people to keep in mind. I couldn’t go crazy on “diet” items for myself and not get the things my husband and kids enjoy. And ALL dinners had to be edible for all four members of the family. I’m soooo not into making more than one dinner a night.

My mom started by asking what I ate in a typical day. This was my first inkling that I was so far off track. A bagel or toast for breakfast (I know; carbs, carbs, carbs). But lunch; lunch was so much worse. I actually had to think about it for a really long time… and the best answer I could come up with was peanut butter and jelly crust and goldfish off the floor. No joke. Our dinners weren’t too bad, except for when it was frozen pizza. Snacking: cookies, snack mix, ice cream, ouch. Shit. I began to think that this was going to be a little more difficult than I had, maybe, thought?

So, here was the plan. To prep, I would make a crockpot full of Cranberry-Maple oatmeal. This would make 9 servings. So I could have one for breakfast each day and some extra in case my husband or one of my sons wanted some, too. I separated each serving into separate Tupperware to take out each morning. I also prepped my snacks. I washed and cut all of my fruit and veggies so that they were easy to grab and snack on. I made little snack bags with half a serving of craisins and half a serving of slivered almonds. Finally, I made a pot of quinoa, let it cool, Tupperware’d it up and put it in the fridge, ready for lunches.

Now that everything was prepped, all I had to do was stick to the plan (facepalm; you already know how that went). But, just for shits and giggles; this was the, intended, plan:

Day 1-