The old adage "if you fail to plan, you plan to fail" could not be more true for people trying to get into shape. I say it all the time, there is a cost to getting fit but it doesn't cost money...it costs habits. Getting in the habit of taking 5 minutes to plan your meals each day is one of the costs of being in great shape.

I am not a planner, by nature. I resisted this so much until I learned the easy way to do this. Now, meal planning has become as normal a part of my routine as brushing my teeth. Guys, this is going to take you less than 5 minutes per day and will pay dividends for the rest of your life. Here's the hurdle, though. 

You are going to have to spend an hour upfront putting together meals you like. When I say this will take an hour, I mean that this is something you will do one time and then you will only need 3-5 minutes per day afterwards. This is such a small investment given the return you will get from this. Once you master your eating, getting in shape and staying there is going to feel soooooo much easier. 

How do I create a good meal?

You are going to hear a lot of conflicting advice on this. People tend to get fixated on "tricks" that take advantage of quirks in our physiology. Keto is a perfect example of this. The problem with keto is that although cutting out carbs will make you lose weight, since your brain has evolved to run on carbs as its primary energy source, you will crave them until the day you die. In other words, you'll lose weight while doing keto but then you go back to your regular life that made you fat in the first place and you go right back. These types of diets that rule out entire categories have a very low success rate, long term, and studies have shown that the overwhelming majority of people who do them end up worse off than they were before doing it. 

There's an easier way

I don't cut out any categories. I can potentially eat anything I want, whenever I want. I never feel deprived and I rarely feel hungry. I eat only foods that I LOVE. In fact, I enjoy food more now than I did when I was out of shape and eating junk food. While there is no "one secret", here are some basics that are going to help you make HUGE changes in your physique without having to white-knuckle your way through it. 

When you sign up for BusyFitGuy, you are going to get a lot more detail on this and ongoing help to make sure you are able to implement this in a way that works for YOU. 

1. Eat more, smaller meals. Trust me, this works. It isn't a must and you can have success in other ways, but I have found this to be the easiest, partly because it's easy for me to get enough protein when I space it out and I never get food cravings when I eat frequently. I'm constantly satiated. I eat 4-6 small meals per day, depending on whether I am trying to add muscle, lose fat, or maintain. 

2. Don't focus on cutting foods out of your diet. Focus on what you are adding in. Saying, "don't eat donuts" is hard. Instead, try saying "be sure to eat 20-30 grams of protein and 10-12 grams of fiber with each meal". In addition to being necessary to maintaining a lean, muscular body and good overall health, protein and fiber are extremely satiating. Eating more of them will ELIMINATE your sugar and junk food cravings. Honestly, you'll be shocked. You'll find yourself sitting around people eating your favorite junk foods and you won't even feel a desire to eat them. 

3. As mentioned in the last point, 20-30 grams of protein and 10-12 grams of fiber. Stick to whole foods that YOU MADE AT HOME as much as possible. You won't believe how much this is going to change your life and your physique. 

4. Eat foods you LOVE. Find foods you absolutely love that fit into this framework. Forcing yourself to eat food you hate or are neutral towards is a recipe for failure. 

5. Don't get too hungry. If you wait to long to eat, you get too hungry. The hungrier you get, the harder it is to make good food choices. 

5. Use an alarm. Until you get in a habit of when to eat, set an alarm on your phone for the times you are going to eat throughout the day and STICK TO IT. 

6. Eat more, not less. You need carbs and fats. I'm going to say that first because I am focusing  a lot on protein and fiber (and yes, I'm aware that fiber is a carb, as well), but carbs and fats tend to be VERY easy to get. Don't cut them out. I'm saying focus, for now on adding in more protein and fiber. You'll find that you can't overeat on them. Trying to lose weight by starving yourself not only doesn't work, longterm, it also deprives your body and brain of nutrients it needs to function. Increasing your protein and fiber intake is so filling that you simply won't be able to overeat. 

Get More Help

Want more help? Sign up for BusyFitGuy and I will personally help you get your meal planning completed and will help you get in good habits. You will reach a point where you will be 100% certain that you will not only get your ideal physique and health, but you will keep it for the rest of your life, easily. 

In addition to working on your eating, you will also learn how to get your ideal body with just 3 hours per week at the gym. I'll show you what to do, how to do it, and the easy way to fit it into your schedule. 

Get Fit, Stay Fit, Live Healthy
The Busy Fit Guy