October 2011, Week 2 Meal Plan

Throughout my struggles with fat control, one immutable truth I've come upon time & again is the need for a weekly meal plan.  Planning my meals weekly allows me to ensure I have a balanced diet with the appropriate amount of calories, sodium, and macronutrients (protein, carbohydrates, & fats) to support my goals.  Here's this week's plan:

Breakfast (7:00 a.m.)

• 3 whole eggs - scrambled with cooking spray
• Oatmeal - 1/2 cup boiled oats with 1/2 tbsp real butter (no margarine or fake butter) & 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 500 calories

Snack 1 (10:00 a.m.)

• 10 strawberries
• 1/4 cup roasted unsalted almonds
• 290 calories

Lunch (1:00 p.m.)

• chicken stir-fry - made this myself on Sunday.  Ingredients: boneless, skinless chicken breast tenerloins, broccoli, red bell peppers, zucchini, squash, mushrooms, peanut oil, sesame oil, soy sauce, dry seasonings
• 360 calories

Snack 2 (4:00 p.m.)

• Chobani Greek yogurt
• 140 calories

Post-workout (around 6:30 p.m.)

• 1 banana
• 1 1/2 cups whole milk
• 330 calories

Dinner (8:00 p.m.)

• salad - 2-3 leaves Romaine lettuce, 5 slices cucumber, 1/2 large avocado
• 1 cup whole milk
• 315 calories

Totals
Calories: 1935
Protein: 110 g
Fat: 88 g
Carbohydrates: 200 g
Fiber: 35 g
Sodium: 1260 mg

This is a pretty simple plan.  I keep things like oats, brown sugar, & almonds on hand as I really like them and they work well in my diet.  My grocery list this week consisted of: milk, eggs, chicken tenderloins, 5 Chobani yogurts, 3 large crowns of broccoli, 3 yellow squash, 2 zucchini, 3 red bell peppers, 1 yellow onion, 1 carton of white mushrooms, 2 avocados, 5 bananas, & 2 packages of strawberries.  I had Romaine lettuce, cucumber, & some eggs left over from last week.  I spend my Sunday afternoons cooking my lunches & portioning them into containers so all I have to do during the week is grab & go.

Of course there are people who can pretty much eat any foods they wish and maintain healthy body fat levels (this is not to say they are healthy...they just aren't overfat).  Judging by the ever increasing waistline of the average American, these folks are in the minority.  If you are, like so many people reading this, tired of seeing the bulge win battle after battle, then you're going to have to discipline yourself to plan out your weekly eating and execute that plan.