We all know that what you put into your body to provide fuel is vital in achieving training and health goals and that in modern life there is pressure on all of us to make the most of every moment, so the idea that people have the time to cook healthy meals several times a day, from scratch is ridiculous. Here are the 9 MVP tips to help you effectively meal prep:
Goals
What are you looking to achieve? Meal prep will be very different for someone who is looking to lose weight when compared to someone whose main aim is to improve power or to gain weight. So first and foremost, decide on your goals!
Do your research
Once you have decided on your goals it is time to do your research, there are thousands of people professing to be dietary gurus out there, many with their own agenda. They could be supported by a supplement organisation or be selling their own book. Look for independents and keep an eye out for qualifications, although there are so many nutrition courses out there you may be entering a minefield.
The basic premise here is to get the right balance of calories, protein, fat, carbohydrate and vitamins, I like to use myfitnesspal.com to give me a guide.
The menu
Once you have completed your research you are ready to compile your menu, you'll have to establish which meals lend themselves to being frozen or refrigerated and then reheated or eaten cold. On a personal note, my lunches are usually made up of a salad with a protein source and a fat source. The salad has to be prepared fresh that morning or for a max of 2 days but the protein will usually be cooked in bulk whether that is boiled eggs (last for a week in a fridge), vegetarian sausages ( up to 4 days in a fridge) or a seasoned chicken breast (4 days in a fridge, 4 weeks in a freezer). The fats can be added on the day as well, for example, avocado, cheese, or nuts in my case.
Know your meals
More of a note to myself here, I recently decided to bulk prep some new meals using new ingredients, so I produced 2 new meals with 5 servings each. It was a total disaster not only did I hate the taste of these revolting dinners, but they were made even worse when frozen, defrosted and reheated. I am also mean, so I ate them all anyway and it made me hate food for a whole week.
Planning- weekly, nightly
Selecting an afternoon or an evening to dedicate to preparing your food may seem like overkill but you will save time in the end by doubling down on your efforts, for the economists out there its economies of scale.
You will need to look at the whole week ahead of you and know exactly when you are eating what. If you know you will be travelling, you may choose a meal that is easily eaten on the hoof or if you eat differently after a session you may wish to take that into consideration. You also need to have a quick thought each day to ensure that anything that needs time to defrost is taken out of the freezer the night before, there's nothing worse than trying to eat a Bolognese like an ice lolly.
Equipment
I have eaten on park benches, trains and literally walking along. You will need Tupperware that doesn't leak and even if it doesn't leak, assume it will anyway and keep your Tupperware box in a watertight plastic bag, ideally with some tissue in it too, also don't forget your cutlery it gets messy!
A couple of handy hints and tips on this one; opening a dish that includes boiled eggs on a crowded train is never going to make you popular, laptops cease to work when curry has been absorbed through the keyboard.
Shopping
You need your shopping to arrive before your dedicated prepping time slot if it hasn't, you may well be going hungry this week.
COVID-19 has meant many of us are relying on deliveries rather than just being able to nip to the shops for a couple of items you have forgotten. If your grocer lets you down and one or more of your ingredients is missing you may need to be flexible the link below is helpful, if not just google it.
https://www.allrecipes.com/article/common-ingredient-substitutions/
Stick to your guns
Food prep is wasted if you walk past a McDonalds and order a large Big Mac Meal, vanilla milkshake, 9 nuggets and 2 double cheeseburgers (that used to be my standard order). Remember your goals be strong and cook interesting meals!
BUT, everyone is human if you do have a slip-up and eat a double cheese, double pepperoni deep pan pizza by mistake don't beat yourself up over it draw a line under it and get back to being disciplined. Do not let a slip become an avalanche.
Review your results
If you have not achieved your goals in your given time period you need to examine what you are doing, both training and eating are vital components here. Go back to the research phase.
Happy eating!
If you need any advice or guidance with your training then get in touch via email - hello@projectmvp.co.uk
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