Are you feeling intimidated by what to make for dinner? Do takeout meals seem more convenient, or is eating out an expense you wish were more affordable? If that is the case for you, maybe cooking at home would be cheaper!

Meal planning can help break unhealthy eating habits. Here’s how.

1. It Helps You Eat Healthy

Meal planning may seem like an extra step for those who prefer takeout meals; however, taking the time to plan a weekly menu could greatly benefit your eating habits and overall well-being. Planning allows you to select more nutritious foods while cutting back on less healthy options.

Meal planning provides you with a convenient plan that helps prevent unintended food decisions by creating a healthy eating blueprint to follow each week. By eliminating last-minute decisions based on convenience or speed alone, meal planning helps avoid poor food choices that often fall victim to our hunger pangs and busy lives. Meal plans provide us with an intentional way of staying on the healthy track with every bite and bite we consume throughout our busy weeks.

Meal planning provides another great way to utilize food you already have in the home. By exploring your freezer, cabinets and refrigerator you can write a shopping list that ensures your diet includes fruits, vegetables, grains, proteins and dairy or fortified soy products every day.

Meal planning also can reduce food waste. An estimated 40% of US food is wasted, and an average family wastes roughly $2,200 worth each year. By setting aside some time on weekends and evenings to prepping ingredients for each week’s menu plan, meal planners can prevent such foods from spoiling.

Meal planning has long been associated with healthier diets and weight loss. Research suggests that people who dedicate over an hour a day to food prep tend to eat fewer calories overall and prepare a more varied and satiating meal plate than those who spend less than an hour doing the same task. To get started with meal planning, start small; adding one or two changes at first before gradually expanding the number of meals and snacks you prepare each week so as to support long-term health goals.

2. It Helps You Avoid Overeating

Overeating is a leading risk for weight gain, heart disease and type 2 diabetes. By creating a meal plan and controlling portion sizes more easily, meal planning makes it easier to avoid overeating while stocking the refrigerator and pantry with nutritious foods rather than unhealthful snacks. Aim to dedicate an hour on either Saturday morning or evening for meal prep during which you will make healthy food with reduced sodium, saturated fat and overall calories while increasing consumption of vitamins minerals and fibre-rich food products.

Meal planning can help prevent emotional eating by helping you make healthier choices when not hungry or in an emotional state of heightened intensity. Emotional eaters typically choose foods high in fat, sugar and salt that may contribute to fatigue, sluggishness and overweightness – leading to unnecessary snacking!

Carefully planned and prepared meals can also help make for more satisfying eating experiences, leading to weight loss. Studies show that individuals who prepare their own meals at home tend to have better dietary quality as well as less likelihood of obesity and overweightness than those who consume pre-packaged or restaurant food.

Find a system that works for you! Creating a weekly meal plan on paper or using an app may work best, while purchasing some reusable containers may help ensure meals can be stored easily in both the fridge and freezer until needed later on.

If you have difficulty sticking to your meal plan, consider setting aside 20 or 30 minutes each week to sit down and review your schedule to identify when you can commit to cooking during the week. Next, create a shopping list based on this plan, shop with intent, and plan one day each week where you spend a few hours doing meal prep work such as chopping vegetables or marinating proteins to save yourself time during the week – although feel free to allow yourself a treat now and again! And it’s perfectly acceptable allowing yourself a treat now and then!

3. It Helps You Save Money

Meal planning can save money in many ways. By planning meals ahead of time and creating a shopping list, meal planning allows you to avoid eating out or purchasing convenience foods at exorbitant costs. Plus, taking advantage of sales at grocery stores allows you to stock up when items are at their cheapest. So if a particular veggie or meat will only be available temporarily – don’t wait; buy it and use or freeze it later!

Meal planning can help save money in another way: it reduces food waste. By planning out your weekly menus in advance, meal planning helps ensure that all available ingredients will be used up before they spoil, and using leftovers creatively reduces food waste even further. Meal planning saves both money and resources by not purchasing new ingredients and disposing of expired foods in an environmentally responsible manner.

Meal planning makes creating and sticking to a grocery store budget simple and effective. Simply make a list of meals you plan to prepare throughout the week, then check pantry, fridge and freezer to see what items you already possess – this gives an idea of how many dishes can be created with similar items in your home while preventing duplicative purchases – for instance if there are leftover two slices of bread from last night’s dinner can be used as lunch on Wednesday if your menu allows it.

Meal planning is an effective way to save money while enjoying healthy, tasty meals. Though it takes more work to come up with your menu each week, meal planning apps or websites that do the hard work on your behalf may save even more money in the end.

4. It Helps You Get Organized

Meal planning can help organize your life and get into a rhythm, saving both time and money by eliminating guesswork over what to eat. Though it might initially appear daunting, meal planning will ultimately reduce stress while simultaneously decreasing willpower fatigue associated with dieting.

Start Small: Meal planning can be intimidating at first, so setting small goals such as planning one meal per week to ease yourself into full meal plans gradually is a great place to begin. Once you find an approach that fits with your schedule and preferences, stick with that routine until it becomes second nature.

Make a grocery list for yourself and check your pantry to determine what ingredients you already have before heading out to the store – that way you only buy what’s necessary to execute your planned meals for the week! Use an app like AnyList or write out a physical list; either way just make sure you cross off items you already own so you don’t overspend!

Meal planning can save time, money and calories. Furthermore, meal planning makes it easier to stick to a healthy diet and manage chronic conditions like diabetes or heart disease. So if you find yourself lacking time or motivation to cook healthy meals or turning to unhealthy takeout options instead, give meal planning a try – it could transform your life!