When we start talking about health, I think most of the topic should be centered around food. I love food and honestly I think about eating a lot. I guess I am a self proclaimed foodie. However, I have a knack for controlling my portions, eating right and saying no, thank you. People have asked me how I have developed the discipline and I think it is because of a few strategies I incorporate into my lifestyle. I am going to spend the next few blog posts sharing those strategies. I hope you can find at least one of them useful to you!

Strategy #1: Plan your meals a week in advance

    I cannot live without my planner, it is huge and wherever I am it is somewhere close by waiting to be grabbed and have something else to do jotted in it. I plan everything because I believe not planning is truly a recipe to fail. It may be cliche but it is always true. Whenever I do not write down my plans, the likelihood that they will be carried out become very slim. We all have some kind of routine in carrying out our day to day activities. Oh, and life gets very busy. The last thing you want to have to worry about is coming home and wondering what you are going to eat. It's the middle of the week and you are thinking, I guess I'll just have to go out and grab some dinner. I know that feeling, it is not a good way to unwind after a hard day's work.
    Now think about this, if you spend about thirty minutes one day out of the week and just list out all you will be eating that week you will hardly find yourself gracing drive-thrus or curb pick-ups at 5:30pm. Right? It sounds like a no brainer, because it really is.
    a. Plan out what you are going to eat for a week i.e. breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. Yes, everything you want to eat. Start by listing all the days of the week then simply start writing down what you want to eat each day of the week at each meal.
    b. Next, take stock of what is in your pantry and what is in your fridge. Check the expiration dates on your food. I hate going to the grocery store thinking I have milk, then when I come back find out that the milk is expiring the next day! I don't know about you, but grocery shopping isn't too much fun for me so that means I may go a few days without milk.
    c. After finding out what you do have, now make a list of what you do not have using the list of what you want to eat that week.