You have seen the posts and all of the pins that deal with meal prepping. The articles probably lead with something about how meal prep is life changing, followed by images that have a lot of food containers that are placed in the fridge. Whether you want to go all in or just try some new food storage techniques you have come to the right place. There are a lot of benefits to meal prepping especially when you are busy and have a full schedule. This will help you stay on track with your goals and allow you to feel good about yourself.

Here are five reasons why meal prep is important:

Proactive Approach

The weekend comes and we all want to relax and slow down a little bit. Monday comes and life starts to go at a million miles per hour. There is not enough time to think let alone try to meal prep. This means that if you decide to meal prep you will have to have a proactive approach. Choose a day that you can plan what you want to eat for the upcoming week. You can then go out and go grocery shopping so you have everything you need for the week. This stops you from coming home after your day and going out to the drive through because you do not have anything in the fridge. Depending on how much you meal prep you may have everything cut up and ready to put in the oven or skillet right when you come home.

Time

You may feel like you have to put in a lot of time and effort to meal prep, but consider the alternatives. If all you do is get food from restaurants or cafes you probably spend a lot of time in lines waiting for your meal. Or if it is a sit down restaurant you are probably spending time there as well. While this is not a bad thing you could be spending your time making your own food in your own kitchen. You can also stop running around places to see if they have food places because you will have brought your own food.

Diet

Meal prepping is a great option if you have allergies or are on a diet of some sort. Having all of your meals ready to go for the day is a great option if you need your food to be free from dairy, eggs or other products. Depending on your diet you may have to adjust your expectations and routine. If you are doing keto meal prep you will have to consider what you can and can’t eat and how you will have to store it.

Goals

Not everybody’s meal prep routine or meal planning goals have to look the same. If your meal prep is right for you and your family than you have nothing to worry about. There can be a lot of different reasons why you are considering prepping your meals. It could be to save time and money during your hectic week. It might be because of your diet and you want to stop eating out. Whatever the reason you can adjust your meal prep to fit your lifestyle. If you just want to stop going to the coffee shop to get breakfast every morning you can focus on meal prepping for breakfast only. If you want to overhaul your whole lifestyle you can meal prep for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks.

Progress Not Perfection

Nobody is going to be perfect at meal prepping. Promise. Especially if you are doing it for the first time and are completely new to it. If you planned your week out and only stuck to it for one day consider it a win because it was one day that you stayed on track towards your goal. Use your meal prepping time to refocus your commitment to stick to your goals. Celebrate when you reach your goals because they are something to be proud of.