Want to learn how to meal prep the easy way? Learn how I do it and get access to my macro meal plan template
Don’t want to do all the hard planning yourself? Check out my macro meal plan with all the recipes ready to go for a perfectly balanced diet!
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Why Meal Prep?
I decided to start counting my macros and meal prepping in 2018. Mostly because I wanted to be in control of my diet and ensure I was eating what I needed to in order to improve my health.
At the time I was really struggling with some digestive disorders and trying to figure out what my trigger foods were.
Meal prepping allowed me to consciously know what I was eating and that allowed me to pay more attention to my reactions.
Even today I LOVE meal prepping because it 1. Gives me more control over my calories and macros 2. Keeps my budget low and 3. Ensures I don’t crack and eat something that won’t make me feel great because I don’t have anything else around.
New to Macros? Get started by reading this article first “The Ultimate Guide To Counting Macros“
I love showing others how to meal prep too! It’s simple and easy to pick up, so here’s your how-to meal prep guide and a free template to get you started.
If after reading this guide you still have questions please drop a comment below.
Related Article: 6 Steps To Weight Loss
Discloser: I am not a trained health professional. All articles are based on my own experience and opinions. Please consult with a health professional before making lifestyle changes.
Meal Prepping vs. Meal Tracking
This is an important difference you should understand if you’re thinking of counting your macros and meal prepping. Meal prepping is typically planning out your entire weeks’ meals in advance so your macros are balanced, cooking it all during one day, and having it ready to go every morning.
Meal tracking however is popular on websites like myfitnesspal.com. These allow you to track what you’re eating during the day and show you how much more you should eat.
I personally don’t like meal tracking because I find as I get to the end of the day I either don’t have calories left so I don’t eat dinner or my macros are out of balance and I don’t know what to eat to balance them.
I’m an over-planner and over-thinker – so planning my meals out ahead of time gives me confidence that I will have the right amount of calories, my macros will be balanced, and I don’t have to cook every day!
Depending on your lifestyle you’ll want to choose one over the other. You might do a hybrid for a bit to find what works for you. I personally love meal prepping because I can cook on one day and sleep in every day because my food is already packed for the day.
Rules of Meal Planning
1. Balance is Key
As with all things, balance is key. If you really love your afternoon snack – keep it! Just plan for it in your meals.
I personally LOVE Chocolate Chip LaraBars (the perfect little paleo sugar crusher) and even though the calories are a bit high for my snacks, I plan for them because they make my soul happy 🙂
Planning your macros is all about finding balance and not overindulging. So you love pasta? Great! Pair it in a vegetable soup or with something else you love – just plan for it in your meals.
Don’t think of meal prepping as a “diet”. As soon as you see it as restrictive you’ll resent it and give up after a few weeks or even days. You’ll be able to eat what you love – just balanced and in healthy proportions!
2. Eat every 2-3 hours after you wake up
This is really important because it keeps your blood sugar levels steady and prevents you from snacking.
NOW it is normal to feel hungry the first couple of days on your new plan and have cravings for your favorite unhealthy snacks. BUT DON’T WORRY! That’ll get better as your body gets used to it.
Keep water close by and be sure to drink half your body weight in ounces every day (if not more!) This will also help you fight cravings.
Your body will get used to your plan and it’s so important that you eat everything to hit your macros. If you’re trying to lose weight don’t think that by not eating you’re doing yourself a favor. That is completely BACKWARDS.
You need to be giving your body the right balance of macros to perform correctly so you lose weight. If you find that there’s something on your plan you dread eating and never do – don’t include it next time! It’s important to love the foods you plan so you actually go through with them.
3. ALWAYS eat protein with a carb
This is a great rule of thumb and can be helpful during your planning. If you’re like me and don’t eat gluten there are TONS of alternative carbs (like fruits and gluten-free recipes) so don’t stress! If you’re a carboholic you might have to adjust to just one piece of toast.
4. Eat for your activity level
This is equally important. If you’re working out every day then you’ll want to bump your calories up a bit. If it’s spring break and you’re just laying around watching The Office (me 90% of the time) then you’ll want to keep your calories on the lower level.
I know for me I bump myself down about 100 calories during finals week because I know I won’t make it to the gym that often. Know yourself and be ready to listen to your body.
5. Determining your calorie and macro levels takes time
While there’s science behind it – you can’t get your perfect calorie and macro levels on your first try! Start with my recommended baseline and see how you do for a few weeks.
If you haven’t determined what your calorie ad macro levels should be take a moment to review this guide: How To Calculate Macro
I typically try and stay in the same range for a week or two and watch my progress. If I’m not doing that well I’ll adjust my calories or one of my macros to see if that works better.
6. ALWAYS MEASURE AND WEIGHT YOUR FOOD!
You’d be surprised at how much 4 oz of lunch meat really is. This has a HUGE impact on your results so be picky and get a scale! (They’re not very expensive) Here’s one of my favorites from Amazon. Or this super fancy one if you really want to understand your foods.
How To Start Meal Planning
1. Choose your format
There are lots of ways for you to plan your meals – but they’re not all going to work for you. If you want to take the meal tracking route I personally recommend myfitnesspal.com. But again – there are literally hundreds of websites and apps that do the same things, so look into them, try a couple, and decide what you want.
I’m sharing my meal plan template you can access here. I’ll be explaining how to use it from here on.
I like to use google sheets or excel because I feel like I have more control over everything. It may be more time-consuming at first, but it’s really not too bad – and I’ve done all the hard work for you. Using google sheets allows me to pull it up on my phone and check or change things while I’m at the store.
To start with, I have a file in my google drive for Meal Prepping. Inside I have my google sheet for my “recipe book” of foods and my weekly schedules.
I’m all about going paperless with literally everything in my life. So this works really well for me! I either type up recipes I have at home or download recipes from Pinterest and throw them in my google drive. (Follow me on Pinterest for LOTS of healthy macro-friendly recipes!) I also like to do this because I can adjust or add notes to the recipe right there!
Once I have the recipes in my google drive I use the recipe tool on myfitnesspal.com. This allows me to calculate the nutrition information for the foods I make myself.
Then I type in that nutrition information (including serving size) to my “recipe database” in my google sheet. This “recipe database” makes it easy for me to copy and paste items into my weekly meals (more info in a sec.)
2. Figure out your calories and macros
A key aspect of learning how to meal prep is getting the right amount of calories and balanced macros for your body.
There multiple ways to find the number of calories that YOU need to see weight loss (or whatever you’re goal is).
Check out my guide – How To Calculate Macros – to understand how much you’ll need to be eating.
3. Get Planning!
NOW another decision for you. Personally, I’m totally ok eating the same thing every day for a week…even a few weeks at a time. But I know for some people that’s boring and they need more variety. If you want to plan two plans a week and alternate them – DO IT! If you want every day to be different – DO THAT! Do whatever works best for your lifestyle.
If you want a ton of variety and don’t want to do all the math yourself check out my Macro Meal Plan for Beginners. It allows you to mix and match different meals without focusing on the numbers. I’ve already done the math for you so it’s really simple.
When I start planning I start by filling in my meal plan template on my google sheet (copy and pasting foods from my “database” or “recipe book”) with a few of the basics. For example, I have a hard time with solid food before 10am, so I drink a Vanilla Vegan Protein Shake in Almond milk every morning.
Then I start filling in what I want to eat that week. Don’t be too concerned with your macro levels until you’ve at least hit your calorie count. I used to get so stressed that my macros were way off when I was still 200 calories short! DON’T PANIC! Just fill it out until you’re in the range of calories – then we’ll figure out macros.
PRO TIP: When you insert a new line make sure the calculation updates, sometimes if you add a line below it won’t and your numbers will be off!
Once you’ve reached the right calorie level let’s look at your macros. If you notice you’re high in a certain macro – let’s say fat, look at what you have in your meal that’s high in fat, and consider replacing it with something that has a lower level – just be sure to keep your calorie level where you need it.
Mess around with a couple of things until you find the right balance. Maybe try lowering a cup of applesauce to 1/2 cup, or adding in another egg so you have 2. It takes practice at first but I promise you’ll get the hang out it.
I find it easier to look at the grams I need to find where I’m high or low, but you may find it easier to go off your percentage.
Remember to give yourself 5% wiggle room on your macros, not every day will be exactly perfect and that’s ok. Giving your body variety can be beneficial.
Related Article: Macro-Friendly Dinner Recipes
4. Get Shopping and Cooking!
When shopping for my food I typically spend about $20 a week and like $60-$100 a month at Costco. That’s super nice for a college student! Plus I don’t eat out so my budget stays low. I ONLY buy what I need for that week or things I eat every week (like chicken and almond milk). And I don’t buy in large quantities when I can avoid it.
You could also try using Smith’s ClickList and Walmarts pick up service. Because let’s be honest, I never feel more like Gen Z than when I’m walking around Walmart for an hour looking for some random thing. These services save me so much time and energy, and the small fee (if there is one) is worth the saved time and the saved impulse buys.
I usually start cooking on Sunday morning or afternoon because that’s when I have the freest time. I try and multitask, so I’ll get something in the oven – then mix the next thing and have it ready to go. After that, I’ll start the stovetop items.
It typically only takes me about 2-3 hours (which is a huge time saver later in the week). I also throw on some Netflix – always The Office, cause who doesn’t need Michael Scott in their lives.
Then I measure and weigh everything as I put them in baggies and containers. I love using these meal prep containers from Amazon, or these with multiple compartments. From there it’s pretty much just grab and go!Â
Click Here To Access My Digital Macro Meal Plan Template
So there you have it! Hopefully, you found this how-to meal prep guide helpful! Still, have questions? Drop a comment, shoot me an email, or reach out to me on social media! I love to nerd out about meal plans!
Click here to see some of my weekly meal plans!
I can hardly believe you provide all this relevant, nicely researched help for free!!!! I kept hitting buttons waiting for “the catch” where i have to put it my card info… Thank you so much!! I dont know if you’ve heard about Dr Longo and his research into longevity, if you haven’t PLEASE do yourself the honor and look it up!!! I read his book, watched YouTube videos on it, read all the research and believe me it is worthy of a nobel prize. Personally that is what i’m looking for when it comes to recipes and macros. But i’m grateful for finding your web cause i can adapt lots of things in it!! Thanks a million!!
Thank you so much! I too was often really frustrated and I feel like it should be more accessible!