Meal Planning for a Healthy Weight Loss Diet

Meal planning is crucial to the Food Addicts Weight Loss Plan.

This plan is not a conventional diet. You eat healthful foods that you like, adding a treat now and then. There are no required foods to eat nor any food that is forbidden.

The primary emphasis of this plan is to cure your addiction to food, which means changing the way you think about and relate to food. In other words, meal planning.

Having said that, there is a big But! But if you have your kitchen stocked with Coca Cola and Twinkies, potato chips and dip, ice cream with chocolate sauce you are only making it hard on yourself when it comes time to plan a healthy meal.

Take some time to go through your kitchen and get rid of the temptations. Create a healthful kitchen --a health full kitchen--filled with the nutritious super foods you like to eat. When restocking your kitchen, get in the habit of reading food labels.

With a restocked kitchen in which you have you have eliminated junk food,you will build a habit of planning and consuming nutritious meals.

You will eliminate eating by default---looking in the frig to see what is there because you are really too hungry to think about nutrition. Having default meals is just feeding your addiction.

You can plan healthy meals and still enjoy eating. If that chocolate pie looks good, you can plan to have a small piece for dessert.

Become aware of which foods are best for your body and incorporate the ones you like into your meal plans. Know which are least nutritious and eat them only occasionally.

Protein will be the first item entered for each meal. This need not just be meat. Dairy products count, as do legumes and nuts. Occasionally add or substitute a whole grain. Watch your portion size! Diabetics and people who are trying to lose weight or control cholesterol should avoid all forms of ground-up grains, and that includes bread.

Next add a vegetable to every meal. They add fiber, as well as vitamins, to your diet. Fiber adds bulk to your system, holding off hunger pangs until time for you to eat again. If you are watching carbs, add fruit sparingly as a dessert.

Now add something that you enjoy such as a dessert or a bread. Perhaps a cocktail. Keep portion sizes small. No seconds! These additions can be diet busters if you are not careful. Choose low fat, low sugar, and low calorie most of the time.

Now that we have a grasp on the basics of meal planning, draw out a menu chart and fill it in.

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