Your Simple Weight Loss Meal Plan: A How-To Guide

If you’re looking to jumpstart your weight loss, then it’s time to get organized and turn your goals into reality.

Getting organized with the help of a simple weight loss meal plan should be the first step of your successful journey. All it takes is one hour (or even less) per week to map out your meals and get your nutrition plan set.

With life being so busy these days and unhealthy foods available everywhere you turn, it’s never been easier to let your healthy eating habits slip. That’s why we recommend making it as easy on yourself as possible and by planning ahead and getting your meals prepared for your busy weeks.

Our simple weight loss meal plan makes it easy to jot down and execute your healthy meals for the week.

And because our weeks are busy too, we’ve also included some of our favorite weight loss apps and providers to fall back on when you just can’t find the kitchen creativity you need to whip up a meal all by yourself.

Your Simple Weight-Loss Meal Plan: Prep & Tips

Before we get started with the actual plan, here are some top tips to remember when mapping out your meals:

1. Visit your physician first: Before mapping out a simple weight loss meal plan it’s best to get the expert advice of your doctor. He or she will be able to tailor your meals according to your health history, may even suggest foods or snacks specific to your needs and can steer you in the right direction (and out of troublesome territory if need be).

2. Experiment: Approaching food and nutrition with an attitude of experimentation will help ease any negative feelings that may arise from switching over to a healthy diet. Not only will you enjoy the process far more, but you’ll also become far more confident in the kitchen and feel in control of the process and your (incredible) transformation.  

3. Variety is the spice of life. Add some color: If you’re on this journey to just losing weight, you’re missing out on half of the benefits. Switching over to a weight loss meal plan systems allows you to evaluate how healthy your diet actually is and gives you the chance to integrate more fruits and vegetable. As a general rule of thumb, the more colorful the fruit or vegetable, the richer in nutrients it is and the better it is of your body. Opt for deep greens, bright reds, vibrant purples and more if you want to maximize your nutritional potential. Try your best to include 4 different colors onto your plate, every single time.

4. Eat regularly and on schedule: Losing weight doesn’t necessarily mean eating less. Depending on your current diet, you may find yourself eating more. One thing’s for sure, it’s absolutely vital that you NOT skip a meal. Skipping meals often leads to overeating, massive cravings, and unhealthy food selection later on. Not only does eating often and regularly improve your waistline, but it also improves your concentration and mood too.

5. Cut Back on Sugar and Starches: If you’re looking to make a lasting impact on your health and waistline then cutting back on sugar and starches should be your first step in achieving a healthier you. Cutting these out will help you curb your cravings, decrease hunger levels, reduce bloat and forces your body to feed off the stored fats instead.

6. Include Protein, Good Fats and Vegetables: As a rule of thumb, each one of your meals should include a protein source, a fat source, and low-carb vegetables. This combination helps boosts your metabolism. Some weight loss friendly foods include:

7. Supercharge Weight Loss with Exercise and Natural Supplements

How To Build A Simple Weight-Loss Meal Plan in 5 Easy Steps

To make meal-planning as quick and easy as possible you’ll need to determine the following:

1. Your daily calorie count: While 1,500 calories may be the recommended number of daily calories for the average women looking to lose weight, it can feel rather restrictive to many. It’s best to use a weight loss calculator that takes your unique body composition and physical activity level into account. We highly recommend using one similar to MyFitnessPal to track your goals and determine the number of weekly calories you’ll need to cut back to reach your target weight.

2. Your Number of Meals: Take stock of your week. Jot down the times when you won’t need to prep lunch or dinner (ie. business lunch, or date night), or times when you’ll need an extra snack (ie. post-workout smoothie). We recommend to all those who are new to meal prepping to start with 2 meals per day. For all the meal-prepping pros out there, we recommend planning 3 meals per day and freezing your 4th to 7th-day meals for ultimate freshness. Defrost your meals the night before so that they can be reheated quickly on the day of.

3. Your Portion or Serving Sizes: If portion sizes are a mystery to you then using your hands as a guide should be helpful for you. Refer to MyFitnessPal’s handy guide to food servings if you’re unsure about how large your portion of chicken, salad or granola should be.

4. Your Weight Loss Meal Plan Recipes: After portion sizes comes the fun part: choosing your meals. If you’re in need of meal inspiration we always love perusing Pinterest or Instagram for recipe ideas. But if you’re really strapped for time, we highly recommend using the below apps, where you can search for recipe ideas by total calories or dietary requirements. Here are some of our favorites to get you going.

For those really short on time, enlist the help of healthy meal delivery services to save you time, while still preparing fresh meals at home. These services allow you to easily track the number of calories per meal, and if you have kids, you’ll be able to involve the entire family in your healthy habits.

5. Your Grocery List: Next, make a complete list of everything you’ll need for the week, and hit the grocery store...then get cooking!

Here are some additional tips from the NATUREAL team that we sometimes forget ourselves, so we thought we’d pass them along:

• Eat a high protein breakfast
• Avoid sugary drinks and fruit juice
• Drink water a half hour before meals (set a time if you need to)
• Choose weight-loss friendly foods (see list)
• Eat whole, unprocessed foods.
• Eat your food slowly
• Weigh yourself every day or every other day
• Get a good night’s sleep, every night.