Prep for Success STEP 6: Grocery Shop and Do a Little Food Prep

OK, today might NOT be the day that I grocery shop or do food prep, but I’m putting it here cuz these are ESSENTIAL steps to think about and take care of if we’re going to start this thing on Tuesday! 

I don’t know when YOU shop or when you have time to do a little Food Prep (for me it’s usually Sunday night), but be sure to do it before Tuesday so you’re all set to start!  You don’t want to start this thing hungry or give up before you start cuz you don’t have any healthy food in your house—no excuses!

We’ve gotta fill our cabinets, fridges, and freezers with the good stuff!  Pack in delicious, nutritious, colorful, fresh, healthy foods that YOU LIKE!  Don’t buy a bunch of kale if you don’t like kale!  There’s no sense buying healthy food and then throwing it out later cuz you don’t really like it!  LOL!  Again..buy healthy food that you LIKE!

At some point…do some Food Prep. 

Not a big deal…make dressings, wash/peel/cut veggies and fruit and put them in sealed containers in the fridge so you can use ‘em for snacks or for faster meal prep during the week.  (BONUS:  Food prep gives you less dishes to wash and food scraps to take care of each day–make your mess and clean up ONCE instead of daily!) 

Make it fun…blast some music, listen to an audio book, watch TV, enlist help from another human who lives with you…whatever helps to make it more enjoyable! 

 

I’m ready for this new beginning…how about you?

For those of you who are already playing along and doing prep-work for our Food Tune-Up…let me know if you need any help!

LET’S DO THIS! It's Not Too Late!

The Great Food Tune-Up starts September 5th and runs until September 14th. (10 days only!) 

It’s a fabulous opportunity to bust out of our summer indulgences, crush the unhealthy eating (and drinking!), and get back on track so we can look and feel our best! 

For those who might be hopping on to join the Food Tune-Up now, here’s what we’ve done so far to Prep for Success (feel free to scroll back and read old blogs/posts for inspiration and more details!):

1.  We defined our WHYS…we made a list of reasons WHY eating healthy is a good idea for us (“What will we get out of it?”).  We posted our WHYS on the fridge for a little extra motivation!
2.  We thought about what foods don’t serve us (foods we don’t tolerate well, foods we tend to overeat, and foods with little or no nutritional value) and what foods DO serve us (foods that are nutritionally dense, foods that promote wellness and fullness, and foods that are delicious).  Then we made a Food List/Shopping List containing only the foods that serve us!
3.  We thought about the things that have derailed our efforts to eat healthy in the past.  Then, armed with THAT info, we strategized about how to be proactive and circumvent our obstacles. 
4. Currently (for the next week or so!) we’re making a running list of healthy snacks, recipes, and a draft 10-day meal plan so that we don’t fall into the trap of not knowing what to eat when we’re hungry!

If you’re worried that you’re starting too late…no need! 

The four things listed above are very easy to do.  

There is plenty of time to get it done before September 5th.  

If you need more details or an example of a Food List, a Snack List and a 10-day Draft Meal Plan, you’ll find them in previous posts. No stress needed. The only mistake you could possibly make is doing NOTHING. If you do NOTHING, you won’t get any closer to your health goals. If you don’t have the time or energy to do it all right now, just do SOMETHING!  SOMETHING is always better than NOTHING!

You got this! 

STEP FIVE: A little more planning and some nitty gritty details to ensure success!

OK, so I’m doing it!  My fridge and cabinets are looking pretty good!  I’ve taken out the trigger foods and other junk. I’ve talked to hubby and friends about what I’m doing and I’ve asked for their help.  

Have you been proactive and started tackling your obstacles too?  Awesome!  Feel free to share your action steps below!  

Now the next step…

(This step might take a little time! No worries though, there are still 8 more days before the Food Tune-Up starts!  Plenty of time!)

To help myself avoid the stumbling block of being hungry and not knowing what to eat, I’ve also started a running list of snacks and recipes that fit within my Food List.  I’ve also got a rough draft of a 10 Day Meal Plan.  If you’re someone (like me!) who gets derailed easily if you “can’t think of what to make for dinner”, I’d highly suggest you do the same!  

Take a few days to MAKE A SNACK LIST, RECIPE LIST, AND A “DRAFT” 10 DAY MEAL PLAN THAT JIVES WITH YOUR FOOD LIST!  (By the way, once you make these things…if you save them on your computer you can use them anytime you need a little food reset! Soooo much less work for future Food Tune-Ups!).  

You can check out MY Snack List HERE and my Recipe List and “Draft” 10 Day Meal Plan HERE.  (I always say “Draft” Meal Plan cuz I don’t always stick to it exactly…I still eat only foods from my Food List and recipes from my Recipe List, but they might be in a different order than expected.  I’ll update it as we go along so you can see what I actually ended up eating!  LOL!).

OK, so…get planning!  Remember…"A goal without a plan is just a wish!”  

Let me know if you have questions…feel free to ask below!

Repeat After Me...

That is all for today.

How to Prepare for a “Food Tune-Up”.... Step 4: Prepping for Success by Taking ACTION!

You know those strategies you came up with last time about circumventing the things that might derail you???  

Start working on THOSE things!  (Cuz it’s great to come up with ideas, but they don’t do us any good unless we ACT on them, right?)

For example, in the past, one of my BIGGEST obstacles to healthy eating has been mindlessly munching on junk food around the house, or grabbing junkie snacks cuz I was “starving” and “the healthy stuff” wasn’t available.  

So I’m going to be proactive about that.  I’m going to start clearing out the cabinets and fridge of trigger foods and junk foods.  I might freeze some things. I might hide some things out of sight and put them wayyy up high where I can’t reach them.  I might throw things away.  I might give things away.  This may take a few days…and this is ok! (That’s why we start this process early!)

Another big obstacle of mine was being led astray by well-meaning friends and family who like to take me out to dinner, offer me fun junk foods, or share amazing margaritas with me!  

As such I’ve been talking to hubby and my friends about what I’m doing.  I’ve told them when the Food Tune-Up is going to start (September 5th) and when it’s going to end (September 14th).  I’ve asked hubby if we can eat in for those 10 days and I’m going to ask everyone to do their best to not offer me junk foods or alcohol during that time.  That way those situations don’t suck up all my willpower and make me vulnerable to slipping up!  I really wanna eat healthy and start feeling GREAT!

So if YOU really wanna eat healthy and start feeling great…take ACTION!  Start DOING the things you wrote down yesterday (question #2).  Be proactive about things that may derail your efforts!  Prep for success by taking ACTION!

PS

If you listed obstacles and can’t figure out ways to circumvent them, please ask for suggestions in the space below!  I’m always willing to help and I know others who are reading have gone through Food Tune-Ups before and they have great strategies for success too!  I want everyone doing this to find success and achieve their goals!  Let’s make this happen!

How to Prepare for a Food Tune-Up...Step 3: Prep your Environment for Success!

OK.  So...  

Now we know WHY we’re doing this little Food Tune Up.  

We have a SHOPPING LIST of delicious nutritious foods and drinks that we will eat freely. (Can't wait!)

The next step is to make sure we’re PROACTIVE and get rid of the things that might derail us.

So now, if you’re playing along, be honest with yourself and write down the answers to the following two questions:

1. In the past, what have been your obstacles to eating healthy? (What situations derail your efforts?) 
2. Strategize.  How could you be proactive and circumvent those things that typically push you off track?

You can read MY answers for questions 1 and 2 right HERE.

The most common "obstacles" or "derailers" to eating healthy that clients have shared with me are things like...Lack of Willpower, Being at Social Events, Eating Out at Restaurants, Overeating, Random Snacking, or Late Night Snacking.

Are these your Obstacles too? Do you have different Obstacles?

What Strategies could you put in place to circumvent these issues?

Feel free to share your Obstacles and Strategies below...Your ideas might help others who struggle with the same issues as you!

Let's help to keep each other on track!

Stay tuned for the next post, when we start to put these ideas in motion!