Hello and Welcome to Lesson 16 of
Our Free "Meal Planning 101" eCourse

Hello, and welcome to your sixteenth lesson.  This week let's think about all of you who are trying to lose the baby weight or stay healthy or get healthy.

Lesson Sixteen;  You can only truly say you "know it already" if you're doing it.

A few months ago I met with a personal trainer.  I really don't have time to go to a gym but I decided that I certainly could make time to work out at home 3 days a week.  Anyway, the trainer had made up a plan for me to follow. 

Funny thing was, there I was asking for advice to get my 30 extra pounds off and there he was giving me advice... that I already knew.  I kept saying, "Yeah, I've heard that before" and "Oh yeah, I know".  But did I really know it if I wasn't doing it?  Maybe not. 

If I had really known how important it was to have my plate half full of veggies each meal for example, I would have already been losing weight because I would have been doing it.

This week when you write out your meal plan (and after) keep these things in mind and take care of you too. 

• What veggies do you like enough to fill half your plate with them?  Buy enough for a week.  Try to get more than one kind - the more the better - so you won't tire of them.
   
• When do you tend to overeat each day (if at all)?  Plan to be out of the house then if possible.  For me it's afternoon so I plan to be at a play-date or the park - away from my cupboards ;)
   
• What are your food weaknesses?  Get them out of the house and replace them with a healthier snack.  I love low fat popcorn, grapes, green tea (to fill me up), small ketchup rice cakes, or a handful of nuts (just a few).  Browse the grocery store isles for what you like and get it. 
   
• Next time you want to binge, ask yourself if you are really hungry or just trying to "treat" yourself for having a tough day.  If it's a treat you're after, go buy a magazine instead or read for 10 minutes (whatever tickles your fancy).
   
• Don't eat at night.  After 8pm that's it - no eating.  If you just don't think you can not eat, try doing something else with your hands like reading or knitting or just go to bed;).  I mean it.  Eventually your body will get used to not eating at night and thank you for it by dropping some stubborn pounds.
   
• My final golden rule is to always have a drink of water if I want to eat.  Often I'm just thirsty.  If, after 20 minutes I'm still hungry, I'll have a snack.  So, have a drink, set the stove timer for 20 minutes.  While you wait for it to ring, remind yourself of what's for dinner or lunch, and that if you wait to eat you'll be so happy with yourself!  See if that doesn't inspire you to hang in there.

The thing is, if you are taking care of you, guess what?  The rest of the family will begin to eat better too AND you'll be setting a healthy example for your family too. 

Crystal

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Again, all the sheets are in PDF format which means you need to have Adobe Acrobat to see it.  If you don't have Adobe, click here to download it – it's fast and free.

The Blank Shopping list is available online here. 

The Blank Meal Plan comes in two sizes:
 

1. Letter paper size - you'll also find this version online here.
   
    
2. Legal paper size - you'll find this version online here.

 

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