June 18, 2020

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Meal Planning Matters Shopping Tips Meal Planning Made EasyThe Truth About Skipping Meals Breakfast, Lunch, Snacks, and DinnerHolidays and Special OccasionsMore Meal Planning IdeasFood Groups and Portion Control

Program Contents 

Most people don’t plan to fail, they fail to plan.

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Planning meals is one of the most important strategies you can use to help you lose weight. It takes practice to learn how to balance healthy meal choices with personal taste, control portions and prepare meals in advance, but it is well worth the effort. Planning meals in advance increases your awareness about the foods you are eating, helps you avoid impulse eating and ensures healthy options are available when you are hungry.  The food you have on hand determines how healthy you eat.Plan meals ahead of time: the day before, a week before or even longer if necessary. Choose wisely when you shop. Stock up on nonperishable, healthy foods for those days when you're on the run. With practice, you’ll soon see how easy and effective planning can be to help you reach your goals.

Meal Planning Matters

Action: Use the Building a Healthy Pantry list to help get you started with your plan.

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Shopping Tips

Shopping online for grocery delivery or pickup is another option, and is helpful to avoid impulse buys and stay on budget. 

Understanding the layout of your local grocery store and how you can avoid unhealthy choices will help keep you on the road to better health.  Most grocery stores are designed with produce, meat, dairy, and bakery departments located along the perimeter of the store. Do most of your shopping in these areas for fresh, healthy foods.  The inside aisles are more likely to contain processed, canned, frozen, and junk foods, most of which are high in fat, sugar, sodium, or calories. When shopping in these aisles, go right to the items you need, which will reduce the chance of an impulse purchase.

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Planning meals before going shopping will help you stay on track with eating healthy and will help limit your choices at the grocery store. Here are some other tips to make your shopping trip a healthy experience: •  Make a list and stick to it.  •  Eat a snack before shopping so hunger doesn't tempt you to buy items not on your list. •  Take water with you to drink before and during shopping. •  Read and compare labels on similar items and pick the healthier option.  •  Choose items with the fewest ingredients on the label. •  Choose a checkout line that doesn’t offer candy or snack items if your store has one.  •  Buy fruits and vegetables in season as they have more flavor and cost less. 

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Action: View the Sample Weekly Shopping List and use one of the shopping lists in the Related Resources section to help you. Use the list that works best for you.

Reading Food Labels

Some people think food labels are confusing and aren’t sure what purpose they serve. Understanding how to read food labels is an important part of learning how to decide if a food is healthy. Once you learn the food label basics, you can make quick and informed choices about foods that contribute to a healthy diet. 

Action: Learn more about reading food labels with the FDA’s How to Understand and Use the Nutrition Facts Label.

Tip: If you are short on time, the two main items on the label you need to focus on for weight management are the serving size and the number of calories for each serving.

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How often should you eat?

Examples of 1,600 Calorie Meal Plans

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Meal Planning Made Easy

Action: If you have not yet learned how to determine how many calories you should be eating for weight loss, refer to the American Council on Exercise - calorie estimator calculator.

The American Heart Association states the number of meals you eat is probably not as important as two other variables – the total number of calories you eat or drink during the day, and not skipping meals, which can deprive your body of nutrients.  Begin by determining the total number of calories you should consume each day, then divide the calories between the number of times you prefer to eat. 

Action: Use the Calorie Quick Reference Chart or a calorie calculator to help you get started with your plan.

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Planning Meals

Planning Meals

Now that you’ve determined how you are going to spread your needed calories throughout the day, you can track your calorie intake easier by planning your meals and snacks ahead of time. It’s helpful to have quick, easy backup or “go to” meals available in case your plan A fails. Don’t forget to include calories from beverages.

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The Truth About Skipping Meals

When you skip meals your body reacts in many ways: First, going for long periods without eating slows down your metabolism. Your body senses food is scarce and it receives a signal to slow down and burn fewer calories. Since your ability to burn calories is reduced, your body begins burning other sources such as carbohydrates and protein instead of fat, causing a decrease in lean muscle mass. By eating small, frequent meals throughout the day, your metabolism is kept active and continues to burn calories more effectively throughout the day.

Losing weight by skipping meals is a common myth. While you may think you are getting ahead by eating fewer calories throughout the day, the reality is you are making it more difficult to reach a healthy weight.

Skipping meals also deprives your brain of glucose, the energy it needs to function properly. Low glucose levels affect your mood and energy, causing you to be irritable and making it difficult to focus or concentrate. Additionally, you may actually eat more in the long run. Skipping meals can make you extremely hungry and cause you to overeat at your next meal.

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Establish a Partnership

Action: View Breakfast Matters for more information and tips about eating a healthy breakfast.

BreakfastYou have probably heard breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but do you know why? People who eat breakfast are more likely to maintain a healthy weight.1 Eating breakfast fuels the body and gets your metabolism running. Breakfast provides energy for your brain and body. Without it, you may become tired, unable to concentrate and may make unhealthy food choices later in the day because you are extremely hungry. A healthy breakfast should include fruit and fiber, along with protein and heart-healthy fat. A good example of a simple, healthy breakfast is a hardboiled egg, a small orange and a bowl of whole-grain cereal with skim or one percent milk. 

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Meal Planning Made Easy

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• Use an assortment of whole grains,    protein, fruits, and vegetables.

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• Pack quick and easy brown-bag    lunches the night before.

Action: View Smart Snacking for Adults and Teens for snacking tips and a list of healthy snack ideas. 

• Experiment with different food    combinations to keep yourself from    getting bored and making poor    food choices. 

Lunch and Snacks With a little planning, you can have healthy snacks and meals on hand to nourish your body throughout the day.

•  Bring healthy snacks to work in case your schedule changes. It can help you avoid     overeating or the urge to stop for something quick on the way home.

DinnerPlanning is key for preparing and eating healthy dinners. The chaos of daily life may cause you to grab an unhealthy snack from a vending machine or a meal from a fast-food restaurant. To avoid falling into this unhealthy habit, follow these tips:

•  Keep a list of quick, easy and healthy go to meals in case obstacles get in the way of having     your planned meals.

Action: Create your own Daily Meal Plan and Go To Meals list. 

•  Precook meals on the weekend for a busy week ahead. Freeze and package into single-    serve portions for a quick and healthy dinner option.

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•  Prepare extra when making meals to ensure you have healthy leftovers available to reheat.

Quick and Healthy Dinner Ideas

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Action: Visit ChooseMyPlate.gov for more information.

While calories are the most important factor to consider when meal planning for weight management, it is also helpful to make sure you are getting enough nutrient-dense foods from each food group. A good way to manage portions and eat balanced, nutritional meals is by using the plate method from ChooseMyPlate.gov.

More Meal Planning Ideas

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Holidays and Special Occasions

Parties and holiday feasts are often challenging for those trying to reach or maintain a healthy weight. Whether you are attending a party or planning your own, you can have fun and still eat healthy. Stay focused on your goals by using a small plate, eating low-fat options and smaller portions.  It’s easy to host a healthy party when you control the menu, or for potlucks you can ask your guests to bring healthy foods. Remember planning ahead is key for staying on track.

Action: View Weight Control During the Holidays for more tips.

Action: Use the MyPlate Plan to determine the number of servings of each food group you need based on your age, gender and physical activity level. Take a look at the Example 1600 Calorie MyPlate Plan for recommended food groups on the next two slides.

If counting calories is too time consuming for you, another option is to focus on getting the right amount of servings from each food group. When planning your meals, try to include foods from each food group. This will help you create balanced meals and help you eat healthier for a lifetime.

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Example 1600 Calorie MyPlate Plan

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Example 1600 Calorie Tracking Form

Chronic Conditions

Fist = 1 cup 

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Pointer finger =  1.5 ounces of cheese

Thumb =  1 Tablespoon

Action: Use the Serving Size Comparison Chart as a quick reference guide.

Palm of hand =  3 ounces meat

Cupped handful =  1/2 cup

Need help controlling portions in a pinch? Many people use common objects like a baseball, golf ball, computer mouse, or dice as visuals to estimate serving sizes. However, your hand can also be a great tool to help you quickly estimate serving sizes. 

•  Reassess your calorie goals. You may need to add or reduce calories depending on the amount     of weight you have lost or the amount of activity you are getting.

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Meal Planning Matters Summary

•  Find new ways to enhance your cooking and recipe collection to add variety to your meal plan,     such as joining a cooking or recipe exchange group or buying healthy cookbooks or magazines.

Other tips to help you get back on track include:

•  Keep using all of the skills learned in the Changing Health Habits module.

Throughout the Healthy Weighs program you have learned many new skills in planning and preparing healthy meals and snacks, and in choosing the right foods when dining out.  As you get more comfortable with these skills, there may come a time when you become bored, disinterested or discouraged with your healthy eating habits. The best thing you can do when you get off track is not give up – just start right back where you left off.

The Next Step

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Now that you are well on your way to controlling your eating and reducing your calories, it’s time to learn about exercise. You will learn the benefits of exercise for weight control along with how much exercise is enough, what type of exercise to include, how to get started, and how to make it part of your daily lifestyle.  View the Fitness for Life presentation in the next section of Healthy Weighs for Life. 

1Hill J, Wing R. The Weight Control Registry. The Permanente Journal, 2003 Vol 7(3). http://www.nwcr.ws/research/ You can find more information about meal planning at:

•   Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2020-2025, https://www.dietaryguidelines.gov/sites/default/     files/2020-12/Dietary_Guidelines_for_Americans_2020-2025.pdf

•  The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, How to Use and Understand the Nutrition Facts Labels,    https://www.fda.gov/food/new-nutrition-facts-label/how-understand-and-use-nutrition-facts-label

References for Meal Planning Matters

•  United States Department of Agriculture, ChooseMyPlate.gov MyPlate Plan,    http://www.choosemyplate.gov/MyPlatePlan/

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•   United States Department of Agriculture, ChooseMyPlate.gov Food Groups,     https://www.choosemyplate.gov/

•  Dairy Council of California, Healthy Eating Made Easier, Correct Portion Sizes: How to Keep Portion    Distortion in Check, http://www.healthyeating.org/Healthy-Eating/Healthy-Living/Weight-    Management/Article-Viewer/Article/348/correct-portion-sizes-how-to-keep-portion-distortion-in-check.aspx

NAVIGATION

Shopping Tips

More Meal Planning Ideas

Conclusion

Introduction

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This self-guided program allows you to work at your own pace. Click the arrow buttons that appear in the upper right-hand corner to move to the next or previous screens. You may also choose to move to different topic areas by clicking on a topic in the navigation bar located on the right. Within the action statements in this presentation, you will find reference to a handout, tool, link, or other web resource related to the program content in the Related Resources column of  Meal Planning Matters.

Getting Started