How to create the perfect meal plan

One important component of maintaining a healthy lifestyle is a well-balanced diet. Creating a meal plan enables you to keep track of the foods you’re eating and monitor your progress to ensure you’re consuming enough calories and nutrients for your needs.

Meal plans also make nutrition less stressful and more time-efficient. To create the meal plan that’s right for you, it's important to consider your nutritional needs, personal preferences and practicality.

In this article, we will provide a step-by-step guide to help you develop a meal plan strategy.

Step 1 - Define your goals and nutritional needs

The first step in creating an effective meal plan is to identify your goals. Are you aiming to lose weight, gain muscle, or simply maintain a healthy lifestyle? Once you have established your objectives, determine your nutritional needs.

Step 2 - Plan your meals in advance

Planning your meals in advance is key to a successful meal plan. When planning breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks, think about variety and overlap.  Variety in your meals helps to keep food interesting and enjoyable, helping to maintain motivation to stick with your meal plan.  Overlap refers to using similar ingredients throughout the week so that you are not wasting food. This helps your meal plan to stay on budget.

Consider the number of meals you usually eat and allocate the appropriate amount of calories and macronutrients to each meal if you’re tracking your intake this way. Aim to include complex carbs, lean proteins, healthy fats, and micronutrients in every meal.

Step 3 - Grocery shopping and preparation

Once you have outlined your meal plan, create a detailed grocery list based on the ingredients you need. Head to the grocery store and gather the various foods that you need for the upcoming days so your cupboards and refrigerator are stocked up, and ready for when you start cooking.

Step 4 -  Complete meal prep

Prepping food ahead of time can help you eat healthfully during the week while saving on time. You don't need to prep every meal, but consider doing so for snacks and meals that take more energy to make. Make a soup or casserole that you can easily reheat for a few dinners, and chop up some fresh veggies to grab on the go or cook as a side dish. A bit of work ahead of time can make your planning a success.

Step 5 - Track and adjust

Consider tracking your progress by keeping a food journal or using a mobile nutrition tracking app. Doing so enables you to more clearly identify patterns in your nutrition and potentially associate these patterns with your health or mood by monitoring your energy levels, digestion and overall well-being to make necessary adjustments to your meal plan.

You can also use a food journal to document meal planning successes and barriers. What is working well for you? What is challenging?  This step can help you repeat successes and problem-solve roadblocks.