As a Nutritionist, I have been creating weekly meal plans for longer than I can remember. I often hear people say they want to eat healthier, but they don’t have the time or knowledge to make it happen.
Sure you say! We all know that vegetables are healthy and we need to eat less sugar but get this,…a client came to me one day and said he had a great week and was eating way better.
We were going through his meal plan each day and I noticed he had written down on his Habit Tracker, ‘Chinese Meal’ for lunch on a Monday, I skipped over that thinking it might be an anomaly but then for dinner, I saw it again.
Tuesday’s lunch was again, Chinese, and lookie here, dinner was too. I skipped through the week and noticed that each day he had been eating chicken (or beef) vegetable fried rice for his main meals.
He was completely oblivious that Chinese Fried Rice from the Take Away shop was not the healthiest of options for him and his blood pressure, given the plethora of salt that’s found in takeaway foods.
Meal Planning: Why it’s Important.
When my client wrote out his weekly meal plan, he thought he was on the right track knowing that vegetables were healthy and that I spoke about protein options the previous week which included Chicken and Lean Beef but he thought the convenience of his local Chinese takeaway which included chicken and vegetables would be a good option.
Bless his cotton socks!
And that my friend, is why having a group of Nutritionists planning your meals each week is a solid idea!
You’re busy, we get it. It’s either work, kids, sports, gym, walks, extended family visits, visiting inlaws…or a blend of it all.
Creating Weekly Meal Plans is an excellent solution that can help you take control of your eating habits, save time, and save money and w whole lot of time.
Imagine having a Sunday night, and seeing your weekly meal plans laid out in front of you, you know what to shop for and don’t have to worry about random unnecessary purchases, you can let the others know what dinner is…we all get that ‘what’s for dinner question’ several times each night. So meal planning has been a game changer for many households.
Let’s discuss some of the 5 primary reasons why Meal Plans should be an important part of your daily routine.
1) Weight Loss
The data between 2017 and 2020, there were 41.9% of Americans overweight. 19.5% of adolescents were overweight. This equates to tens of millions of Americans heading toward an early grave.
If we look on a global scale, the numbers are saddening. Over 1 Billion are Obese, which equals $650 Million in Adults, over 350 Million in Adolescence, and 39 Million Children.
Nearly 1-5 Children are not eating enough vegetables, 1/3 are not eating fruit daily, and 87% of children under 17 years old drink added-sugar beverages at least once a week. I doubt they had weekly meal plans.
Meal Planning is a proven and evidence-based approach to help individuals and families lose weight. When you plan your meals, you are always in control of what you get to consume. You are way less likely to make impulse food choices and this in turn has a ripple effect throughout the household.
M.A.P. alternatives to Weekly Meal Plans are their Clean Keto Plans and Intermittent Fasting Plans. All options are professionally designed by health professionals and can be an alternative to losing weight fast.
By choosing healthy options and controlling portion sizes, you can stay within your calorie limit and reach your weight loss goals.
Meal Plans don’t necessarily mean you will lose weight but the My Action Project Meal Plans are designed with that extra health approach in mind, so if there is weight to lose. These Meal Plans will likely be on your side.
2) Time-Saving
One of the most significant benefits of having delicious, health-conscious meal plans delivered directly to your inbox each week is you have an incredible amount of additional time to spend however you wish.
You probably know what it’s like to come home and have nothing to do, you can swan on into the house, drop your stuff down, give the dog a quick rub, shoes off and slide your bare feet over the recently cut grass… well it kind of feels a little like that. A little exaggerated I know, but let’s run with it.
When you plan your meals, you can prepare food in advance, and with a well-thought-out meal plan, like M.A.P’s Healthy Meal Plans you get to benefit from leftovers. Don’t expect nasty, dry leftovers either, these are chef-worthy meals. You spend less time cooking and less time cleaning up.
You can also use meal planning to reduce your trips to the grocery store, which on average is over 154 hours a year the average person spends food shopping, that’s nearly an entire week in the grocery store.
Having that time back enables more time to do the things you want to do – that’s a holiday!!
3) Money-Saving
Weekly Meal Plans can help you save money. It’s that simple. The average person who shops 3-4 times per week (who doesn’t plan meals) spends on average $12.78 per shop on items they don’t necessarily need.
That’s over $2600 per year saved just on those items alone.
Check out Number 2 again, and combine it with Number 3. You’re Welcome.
By planning your meals you can make a list of what you want to buy. With My Action Project 12 Month Meal Plan or the 12 Week Meal Plan, you can effectively go to the grocery store once per week – that’s it.
We even give you smart shopping lists with itemized food items for each day. We customize these plans so you choose fewer ingredients, they are nutritionally balanced, fibrous, and contain the requirement of nutrients to maintain an active lifestyle.
By having an itemized list, you are less likely to spend money on things you don’t need. We also plan meals around seasonal ingredients as best we can, which are either on sale or cheaper because they are plentiful.
4) Variety
Healthy Weekly Meal Plans.
Delivered Weekly! Funny that!
Weekly Meal Plans can help add variety to your meals. When you have your meals planned for you there is automatically a variety of options crafted out for you. Some of you might have already tried but we often take standard meals and create unique, great-tasting alternatives that tend to be family favorites.
By letting Nutritional Experts and Qualified Chefs plan your meals, you get a healthy variety of different recipes and fresh nutrient-dense ingredients that allow you to discover new foods and flavors that keep your family interested.
Creating good eating habits is a by-product of our meal plans.
5) Healthier Choices.
Weekly Meal Plans can help you make healthier choices…well, really we help you make healthier choices. When you allow M.A.P Experts to plan your meals each week you just leave it up to us to get all the nutrients your body needs to stay healthy.
You will be avoiding processed foods, which are often higher in calories and salt, you have a reduced sugar intake and we make sure the fats we use are essential and limit the trans fats that could cause issues as you get older.
In Conclusion.
Having nutritionists and chefs control your approach to eating is the most effective way to get back on track and control your eating habits.
The benefits are far and wide. You get to lose weight, add in more variety or ingredients should you wish, can stick with the same meals or switch it up.
You get to reduce your stress levels and gain more time!
To have a private consultation with a Qualified Nutritionist who will design Weekly Meal Plans will be roughly between $200 and $300 for an initial consultation.
Between $5 a week and $7 a week, you get to have similar programs but customized for the whole family. Each meal has a toggle switch that adjusts portion sizes depending on how big or small your family is.
If you are looking to take control of your health and that of your family and make meal planning more manageable, choose our Meal Plan Programs and let me know what you think.
