9 Awful Meal Prep Mistakes That Will Wreck Your Success
It’s safe to say that in 8 years of meal prepping, I’ve discovered some awful meal prep mistakes that will wreck your success. If you are just starting or you are close to the beginning of your meal prep journey, I want to give you some pointers and tips to help you to avoid some of the expensive and dangerous mistakes I’ve made as it relates to meal prepping. You’re doing the smart thing, something I should have done, by looking into and finding out the 9 awful meal prep mistakes that will wreck your success.
Before we jump right into the meal prep mistakes that will wreck your success, I want to let you know that I have several other posts, dedicated to meal prep that give you guidance on why you should start a meal prep lifestyle, tips to help busy moms who are short on time , some easy, but delicious recipes and the essential tools you need in your meal prep kitchen. There’s no point in talking about awful meal prep mistakes to avoid without first talking about what meal prep is and how to do it correctly, so let’s dive right in.
What is Meal Prep?
Meal prep is a system of preparing meals where the food is prepared ahead of when it will be eaten. People meal prep for many reasons, most commonly to help them achieve their health and fitness goals, to save money and to eliminate the stress of daily cooking and deciding what to eat.
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Meal Prep Ideas
Another important part of meal prep that I think is important to share with you is meal prep ideas. Most people are easily convinced that adopting a meal prep lifestyle is the best decision for them and their family. However, they struggle with meal prep ideas and recipes that don’t intimidate or overwhelm them. To help with this, I have shared my top 8 easy, fast and delicious meal prep ideas . With these meal prep ideas you will be sure to feel more confident and can count one common meal prep mistake that will wreck your success off your list.
Meal Prep for the Week
Another meal prep question that I have been asked frequently is how often do you meal prep and what length of time do you meal prep for? Honestly, I think this depends on the individual and/or their family and what they need. When I first started meal prepping, it was just for my husband and me. Now, I meal prep for myself and my son because my husband practices intermittent fasting and does his own meal prep. As far as the amount of food or how long I meal prep for, it is usually for 5 days. I eat my strict meal prep from Monday to Friday, but am more relaxed in what I eat on the weekends.
What’s interesting is that the more I’ve lived a meal prep lifestyle is the less I want to eat outside of my meal prep routine. When I do I feel sluggish and full, so I’m usually really happy for Monday to roll around so I can get back to my meal prep lifestyle.
Is Meal Prep Healthy?
While I’m answering some meal prep questions, I guess I’ll answer a few more that I’ve been asked consistently. Is meal prep healthy? It can be. I have had times when I was very rigid in what I ate and I have had other times where I still meal prepped, but it wasn’t with a health focus, just more of a saving money and taking the pressure off of what to eat away. However, for the most part most people do meal prep to help them to achieve health and fitness goals because proper nutrition in addition to exercise is more effective in achieving health and fitness goals.
Why Meal Prep is Bad?
This question is an interesting one. To be clear I am a meal prep cheerleader, but I am going to try to answer this openly as I can as someone without a bias. Meal prep is bad because it may not offer a lot of variety, especially when you’re first starting out and may be unsure of recipes to try and what to do. Meal Prep may also be bad if you don’t do enough research before hand and you’re unprepared for a meal prep lifestyle. While we’re talking about being unprepared, I think it’s time that I go ahead and help you with 9 awful meal prep mistakes that will wreck your success.
How to Meal Prep Correctly to Avoid 9 Awful Mistakes that Will Wreck Your Success?
First and foremost, to avoid 9 awful mistakes that will wreck your success, you should keep reading. You should also cut yourself some slack and understand that the people you see with the table filled with amazing meal prep have probably been doing it for a little time. You may not get it right at first and that’s ok. Some of your meal prep meals may taste awful. Correct what went wrong and then move on from there. More importantly, ask for help. Some ways to ask for help with meal prep would be to follow people who do prepare their meal prep, get ideas of recipes from them, ask questions about their tools, process and advice. Also, just enjoy the journey of finding out what works for you as you side step the 9 awful meal prep mistakes that will wreck your success.