1.Determine What Days You'll Prep On

This is pretty simple - you first need to know WHEN you'll actually be buying/cooking this food. I would be sure to block out 1-2 hours for this.

Personally, I prefer just prepping once per week. I HATE cooking. I would rather eat my own arm for sustenance than have to cook multiple time per week.

That said, if it grosses you out to eat food you cooked Sunday on a Saturday, you'll probably want to establish multiple prep days.

I wouldn't get TOO carried away with this.

→ Most people are good to prep for at least 3-4 days in advance, and if you have 4 prep days per week, you're not really saving yourself time.

→ I would establish something like Sunday/Wednesday as your prep day, OR just Sunday if you're good with letting your food sit longer.

2.Choose Your Food Sources For Each Macro

The three macros (macronutrients) are:

• Protein
• Carbs
• Fat

From here, choose 2-4 options from each category. 

Proteins:

→ Chicken breast

→ Pork tenderloin

→ Non-Fat Greek Yogurt

→ Protein Powder

Carbs:

→ White rice

→ Sweet Potatoes

→ Bananas

Fats:

→ Almonds

→ Avocado

→ Eggs (doubles as a protein source)

Don't forget your veggies and spices either!

While veggies are technically a carb, I would be sure get at least 2-3 separate veggie sources. These are KEY for helping you feel full, and are packed with nutrients that will help you achieve optimal health.

3.Acquire Your Food

There's a reason you planned out your foods before actually shopping.

Any time you don't have a plan, you're much more likely to fail.

When it comes to shopping, failure is the temptation to buy tons of foods that will be detrimental to your success if they're in your house. If it's in your house, you're going to eat it.

Planning what you'll buy ahead of time helps you make this trip efficient, saves you money, and keeps you on track for your goals.

→ The BEST option when it comes to shopping is to do it online. Avoiding physically facing the temptation to buy foods you don't need (inevitable when walking through the store) makes it MUCH more likely you'll stick to the established food plan.

→ If online shopping isn't an option, "sticking to the perimeter of the store" is a good rule of thumb. The nutrient-dense, whole food options that will help you build a leaner, stronger body will be primarily along the perimeter of the store, whereas the more highly-processed, calorie-dense foods will be in the aisles.

4.Cook Your Food

Unless you enjoy cooking, the name of the game here is efficiency.

We want to batch cook foods as much as possible, to get you in and out of the kitchen ASAP.

Here's what to do.

Proteins:

→ Choose your seasoning. Since these will be primarily meats, make sure to use some seasoning from the herbs & spices section of the meal template.

Outside of what's shown in the Meal Template, some easy go to's are:

Chicken: stir-fry seasoning, fajita seasoning

Ground beef & ground turkey: Taco seasoning

→ Choose your cooking method. Some super time-efficient methods for cooking your proteins deliciously are...

• Grilling
•  Air frying
•  Crockpot
•  Simply cube up your protein and cook it up in a skillet
• Throw it on a pan, and stick it in the oven

Carbs:

These don't typically require as much prep as your proteins.

→ Rice: Batch cook your estimated servings in the week.

→ Potatoes: Prep ahead the more time consuming options. Ex: You want to make low-calorie sweet potato fires. Slice 'em up, drizzle on some olive oil (be sure to track this), sprinkle on some garlic salt, and put them in the oven on a pan.

Alternatively, you can just stab some holes in a potato, wash it, wrap it in a paper towel, and throw it in the microwave for 5-7 minutes. No need to prep that ahead.

→ Veggies: The reality is, despite your best intentions, you probably WON'T eat your veggies if they're left separately in your fridge.

I highly recommend cooking them as necessary -  sauteed, grilled, or cooked with your protein source - and then putting your protein sources and veggies in the same container. You NEED your veggies for optimal health. Cooking and mixing them with your proteins forces you to eat them.

Your other carb sources (e.g. fruit) don't typically require any prep.

Fats:

These take the LEAST prep time (excluding fatty protein sources, which you'll have already cooked as your protein).

→ Eggs: These don't take much time to cook, but if you want to save 10ish minutes each morning, batch cook them and store as individual servings for each day.

And that's it as far as cooking! I personally like to store my proteins, carbs, and fats individually. This allows me to mix & match foods through the week for more diversity.

5.Enjoy Your Food, Get Leaner 10x Faster

Now, you can use the simple Meal Formula I give online clients to mix and match foods to meet your goals:

From here, you're free to add condiments to your preference - just be SURE to track the calories in those (BBQ sauce is typically sneaky high in calories - use steak sauce or THIS sauce.

Example Meal Prep

Proteins:

Mine are typically...⠀

→ Breakfast - Nonfat Greek Yogurt + protein powder, eggs (prep these ahead).⠀

→ Lunch + Dinner - Grilled chicken, ground beef with taco season or made into burger patties. I cook 3lbs of each ahead, eat 8oz at each meal.⠀

→ Pre-bed - Cottage cheese.

Carbs:

Mine are typically...⠀

→ Breakfast - Berries (mixed in Greek Yogurt).⠀

→ Lunch + Dinner - Rice (prep ahead) or sweet potato (Stab holes in it, throw in the microwave for 7 mins). I prep veggies ahead and mix them with the protein sources to force myself to eat them.⠀

→ Snacks - Bananas.

Fats:

Mine are typically...⠀

→ Breakfast - Eggs.⠀

→ Lunch + Dinner - Almonds, avocado, grass fed butter, fish oil.⠀

→ Snacks - Peanut butter.

No matter your goals - fat loss or lean gains, being prepped ahead is VITAL to your success.

For more help determining a nutrition protocol that will help you get leaner and stronger without making the rest of your life suck, CLICK HERE to apply for a free strategy call.