An in-depth look at meal prepping and how it can benefit your weight loss journey.

The struggle to lose weight is definitely something everyone is dealing with more and more as time goes on. The shift from manual labor to office work, and the increased availability of fast food, have sparked a pandemic of weight gain which entire nations are mobilizing to combat. Today, MUHealth.org reports that 54% of people in the US alone experienced weight gain during the pandemic.

Though getting more exercise is part of the solution, the main problem many of us have to deal with is ensuring what we eat is healthy and nutritious. This can be difficult to do as our schedules are usually tied up in other matters of our busy lives. So, to promote weight loss, many people have turned to meal prepping their food.

With a host of benefits both financially and health-wise, let’s delve into what meal prepping is and how it can help you lose weight:

What is meal prepping for weight loss?

Meal prepping is the process of preparing and packaging whole meals and dishes ahead of time. This is to make cooking quicker and easier while instilling a fixed regimen of healthy foods that one must adhere to.

This practice addresses two common problems people have trying to eat healthy: Not having time to prepare a healthy meal and not knowing what to prepare in the first place. By having the meals prepped and ready ahead of time, scheduled throughout the days, it is easier to stick to a diet and get all the necessary nutrients.

How meal prepping helps to lose weight?

Meal prepping helps people lose weight because it makes healthy and low-calorie meals accessible. It ensures that you stick to a diet that promotes weight loss without having to sacrifice convenience.

According to Alina Petre, MS, RD (2016), there are several methods to practice meal prepping that one can do depending on their preferences and time availability:

• Prep the meals themselves. This entails prepping the meals themselves either a week or a month ahead of time. They can be either cooked or raw and are usually placed in containers with labels of the day or time they are to be consumed. These are great for people who adhere to a grab-and-go kind of lifestyle.
• Preparing the meals by batch. This means the preparation of meals you are going to have over the next couple of months. This makes it extra convenient, but might require a large fridge to store all the food in. This is a great method for people looking to adhere to a strict form of diet.
• Preparing the ingredients. Though the meals are already planned and scheduled, all one have to do is prepare and store the ingredients ahead of time. This saves on storage and entails some light cooking. If you are the type that has time to cook, prepping just the ingredients is a great way to minimize spoilage and ensure every meal is hot and fresh.

How much weight can someone lose with meal prepping

Meal prepping is more of a technique to make sure you stick to a diet. Though it helps to have access to healthy meals on-the-go or with the most minimal of effort, how much or how fast you lose weight still depends on the number of calories you’re consuming compared to how much you’re burning daily.

For example, the average human needs around 2,000 calories a day. More than that means overeating and your body will store the excess calories as body fat. So, to lose weight, you need to create a calorie deficit that means you’re burning more than you’re eating.

You prep meals that, in total, amount to about only 1,500 calories a day. This means in your daily activities, you have a deficit of 500 calories that your body will derive from the excess body fat. Even more, if you pair it with exercise.

With one pound of body fat amounting to about 3,500 calories, theoretically a calorie deficit of 500 a day can lead to a minimum loss of one pound a week (Densie Webb, Ph.D.).

Advantages and disadvantages of meal prepping

Meal prepping is easy enough that anyone can do it. That being said, it does present some challenges that some people find too much to deal with. For the whole picture of what meal prepping requires, here are some advantages and disadvantages that you should be aware of:

Advantages

• Develop a healthier relationship with food. Instead of treating food like a drug that makes us happy, it is much better to treat food as what it is — simply sustenance. Meal prepping lets us see the value of eating right while not sacrificing the pleasure of deliciousness.
• Hone in cooking skills. Meal prepping allows you so much room to experiment and try out new dishes that you might otherwise never have time to prepare.
• Minimizes overcooking and leftovers. Since you prepare the portions ahead of time, you are actually eliminating the instances of leftovers that might be left forgotten in the refrigerator. It prevents spoilage and reduces your trip to the supermarket — saving you money in the process.
• Helps you stick to a healthy diet. Of course, probably the main reason people meal prep is because it helps them stick to a healthy diet and lose weight.

Disadvantages

• It takes some serious preparation and planning to get right. Meal prepping requires prepping. You need to have mapped out the meals for the week or month and do so with the right amount of calorie distribution. This might prove too much of a chore for some.
• Food might come out differently tasting. Since some of the meals will be stored in the freezer for a long period of time, they might taste less than ideal when you finally get to eat them.
• It might be hard to adjust if you eat out a lot. If you are one of those people that find themselves eating out a lot, for whatever reasons, then meal prepping might not be ideal.

Bottom line

Meal prepping takes a bit of effort at first but, once mastered, might be just the thing needed to turn that weight around. The benefits certainly warrant the effort and the potential for weight loss and improved health is reason enough to give meal prepping a try.