The Key to Weight Loss is … Organization?

By Adam Saball of Sterilite Corporation

With summer just around the corner, many of us are aiming to lose a few of the pounds brought on by winter’s over indulging. The problem is most of us live fast-paced lifestyles that often lead to poor dietary choices making it harder to lose the weight. Overcoming this obstacle doesn’t have to be difficult. By organizing your meals for the week ahead of time, you can eliminate the poor lunch-hour decisions and get started on the body you want for the summer.

Did you know in order to lose one pound of fat you need to burn 3,500 more calories than you consume? This means to lose one pound a week, you need to consume 500 less calories than you burn per day. The average take-out meal exceeds 1,000 calories alone. By replacing one meal with a pre-made home cooked meal, you can eliminate 500 calories with minimal effort. Planning meals is much easier than you may think. Allow me to use myself as an example.

Sunday is my day of preparation. I plan what I will have for breakfast and lunch during my work-week, leaving dinner as my wildcard (if dinner is the meal you struggle with nutritionally, by all means plan it out too).  For breakfast, I make a smoothie using these ingredients:

•    A glass of Simply Orange Mango juice
•    2 bananas
•    ½ cup mixed berries
•    1 scoop of vanilla whey protein
•    1 cup of Quaker Oats oatmeal

After my trip to the grocery store on Sunday afternoon, I put all my berries in one Ultra•Seal™ food storage container, and put them in the freezer. I keep my protein powder and oatmeal in two separate Ultra•Seal™ Dry Food Storage containers on top of the refrigerator. Each morning, I put everything into the blender and after a few seconds, breakfast is served and ready for my drive to work. Taking into consideration the time spent in line, the smoothie is much quicker than grabbing a bagel on the go (not to mention healthier!).

For lunch, I typically eat an Italian seasoned chicken breast with avocado and mixed vegetables. Each Sunday, I take a few minutes and grill the chicken, usually five breasts at a time. When they are finished, I let them cool and store them in another Ultra•Seal™ food storage container. It’s quick for me to take one from the refrigerator each morning while gathering my lunch. If chicken is not your favorite meat, try another. If meat in general is not your thing, make whichever foods you enjoy. When organizing your meals ahead of time, it’s important to eat the healthy foods you like.

By spending a half hour each week organizing your meals, you can cut out a large number of calories you would normally consume. The result will be those slimming changes we strive for.  Ultimately, we all have the power to make the small changes in our diets, so what do you have to lose? Give it a shot! Personally, I’m always looking for new recipes to keep my breakfasts and lunches exciting. If you have a particular meal you enjoy, please share!

Comments

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