BURN Fitness 101: 5 Easy Tips on Meal Prep… The BIGGEST Key to Long-Term Success
If there is one fitness fact that stands out in my mind about success and failure in the battle of the bulge, fat loss, it is: “YOU CAN’T OUT-TRAIN A BAD DIET!” As a veteran Personal Trainer, I can design a PERFECT fitness program for a client, down to the second, rep, and pound of exercise… but if they eat nothing but garbage food, even the best workout plan will not succeed at burning excess body-fat.
To me, the biggest key to getting the diet dialed in is meal prep. Planning out your food intake for the week in advance, and preparing as much of that food as possible in advance is the biggest key to success. Here are five quick tips to make your meal prep easy and effective:
1. Cook up all of your white meat protein at once! I own a huge barbeque grill that will cook a dozen chicken breasts at once. I will often cook chicken breasts, pork loin chops, and even lean burgers all at once on Sunday afternoon. 6-8lbs of meat at a time!
2. Pre-slice all of your protein. You don’t need to portion out every serving. Just slice everything into “finger-size” pieces of about 1oz, and store it in Tupperware. Put one Tupperware in the fridge and the rest in the freezer… already cooked.
3. Get a “fancy” rice cooker that cooks 6-8 cups of brown rice and KEEPS it hot and moist right on your counter. If you have a basic rice cooker, cook up a large batch and store it in the fridge in zip-lock bags. We ALWAYS have brown rice ready to go.
4. Cut up your week’s veggies while the chicken and rice cook. Chopping peppers, cucumbers, onions, and mushrooms, slicing tomatoes and everything else you’ll need. Make healthy meals EASIER than fast food or ordering pizza!
5. Build your grocery list off of your meal prep, which is built off of your meal plan! Do your grocery shopping from a prepared list, and ONLY right after a workout! You’re much less likely to buy junk after a great workout!
Convenience is critical when you’re trying to eat cleanly. The biggest complaint we hear about eating clean is the effort and inconvenience of cooking, cooking, and more cooking. If 90% of your meal prep is done in an hour or two on Sunday afternoon… eating clean all week is EASY! Just grab 4-6 pieces of chicken breast, some spicy mustard, a cup of rice, and a big pile of raw veggies or an apple… and you have a perfect meal in seconds.
If there is one fitness fact that stands out in my mind about success and failure in the battle of the bulge, fat loss, it is: “YOU CAN’T OUT-TRAIN A BAD DIET!” As a veteran Personal Trainer, I can design a PERFECT fitness program for a client, down to the second, rep, and pound of exercise… but if they eat nothing but garbage food, even the best workout plan will not succeed at burning excess body-fat.
To me, the biggest key to getting the diet dialed in is meal prep. Planning out your food intake for the week in advance, and preparing as much of that food as possible in advance is the biggest key to success. Here are five quick tips to make your meal prep easy and effective:
1. Cook up all of your white meat protein at once! I own a huge barbeque grill that will cook a dozen chicken breasts at once. I will often cook chicken breasts, pork loin chops, and even lean burgers all at once on Sunday afternoon. 6-8lbs of meat at a time!
2. Pre-slice all of your protein. You don’t need to portion out every serving. Just slice everything into “finger-size” pieces of about 1oz, and store it in Tupperware. Put one Tupperware in the fridge and the rest in the freezer… already cooked.
3. Get a “fancy” rice cooker that cooks 6-8 cups of brown rice and KEEPS it hot and moist right on your counter. If you have a basic rice cooker, cook up a large batch and store it in the fridge in zip-lock bags. We ALWAYS have brown rice ready to go.
4. Cut up your week’s veggies while the chicken and rice cook. Chopping peppers, cucumbers, onions, and mushrooms, slicing tomatoes and everything else you’ll need. Make healthy meals EASIER than fast food or ordering pizza!
5. Build your grocery list off of your meal prep, which is built off of your meal plan! Do your grocery shopping from a prepared list, and ONLY right after a workout! You’re much less likely to buy junk after a great workout!
Convenience is critical when you’re trying to eat cleanly. The biggest complaint we hear about eating clean is the effort and inconvenience of cooking, cooking, and more cooking. If 90% of your meal prep is done in an hour or two on Sunday afternoon… eating clean all week is EASY! Just grab 4-6 pieces of chicken breast, some spicy mustard, a cup of rice, and a big pile of raw veggies or an apple… and you have a perfect meal in seconds.