So what did I eat last week to lose 5.6 pounds?

Last week’s meal menu. Every Sunday I take 10 minutes to put it together. It keeps my eating in check and my weight loss on track.

Pretty simple.

In truth, planning meals for the week is the key. Every Sunday I spend 10 minutes mapping out what I’m having for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. With planning comes healthier eating. Plus it makes my life a lot easier — I no longer fret about whipping something up for dinner.

I know many of you are thinking: “It’s hard enough planning for tonight’s dinner, but planning for a week is just downright crazy talk.”

I had the same attitude until I weighed-in at 325 pounds. That’s when I became a believer in the weight loss power of weekly meal planning.

I won’t lie to you: planning does take time and effort, but only until you get your routine down. It took me an hour to write my first weekly menu. I spent a lot of time figuring out the carb counts of meals because I cap my carbs at 20g/day. It was frustrating and not very fun.

Simplify Your Menu To Save Time & Lose Pounds
Who has an hour to spend on meal planning? Those were the days when I didn’t eat the same type of food twice in a week. Boy that was dumb! When it comes to food, variety is the key to weight gain. When one or two of your daily meals is the same each day, you increase your weight loss success.

I needed to simplify my menu. Starting with breakfast, I figured out that I needed something to give me the energy for my long morning workouts and keep me full until a late morning snack or even lunch.

Gone are the cereals, instant oatmeal packs and breakfast sandwiches. These days, breakfast is almost always 2 eggs, a quarter of an avocado and half a tomato. I have the option of making omelets, scrambled or over-easy eggs. On occasion I might add bacon or sausage. But my main ingredients are always the same. My breakfast gives me the energy I need for my morning workouts and keeps me fuller longer.

By simplifying my menu and consistently eating the same foods during meals, the weight came off and my menu planning got a lot easier (and quicker). Now my weekly menus take less than 10 minutes (and that includes building the grocery list!).

You just need to be patient. It took me about 2 months before I got the knack for weekly meal planning. Now it’s so simple, I can’t believe I wasn’t doing it all along.