Preparing Food Can Help Weight Loss

Preparing Food

Let’s face it, over half of America deals with weight issues. It’s obviously a very serious problem. Obesity is now considered a disease and the disease is spreading like an epidemic. We’ve all seen the supposedly fast and easy weight loss solutions being advertised on the internet and on TV. But, as we’re all quickly finding out, most of those solutions aren’t solutions at all.

In order to lose weight and keep that weight off, it’s good to understand the amount of time you spend surrounded by food. Some people don’t realize exactly how much time they’re either around food or thinking about food. But, the preparation of food is an important aspect to weight loss.

More Preparation; Less Eating…

The logical way to think about this would be: I should spend as little time preparing food as possible, because, then, I’m not thinking about it so much, but that’s not always the case. For some people, it is better to spend as little time in the kitchen as possible, because, the less they are around food, the less they’ll eat.

For most people however, the less time they spend around food, the more they eat. Let me explain it like this. Have you ever spent hours and hours slaving over Thanksgiving dinner only to find that when you sit down to eat, you’ve not only lost your appetite, but the food doesn’t taste good to you anyway? When you spend so much time preparing the food, it ceases to be exciting, and you crave it much less.

Think of why going to a restaurant is so much fun. You order a bacon cheeseburger and it comes right to you fresh and new. You didn’t have to spend the time cooking the meat, frying the bacon, slicing the onion, cutting the tomato, spreading the mayonnaise, placing the lettuce, peeling the potatoes, deep-frying the fries, or serving the meal. Instead, it’s placed right in front of you without you having to think about it. And, everything about that bacon cheeseburger arouses your senses to the point where you just can’t get enough of it.

It’s so much different when you’re making the meal yourself. For however long it takes you to cook that bacon cheeseburger, you’re inhaling all that lovely bacon grease and hamburger grease as it splashes onto your arm. You’re tearing up as you drive that knife into the onion, releasing its poignant odor. You’re nibbling at the fries, checking the see if they have enough salt. By the time you sit down and actually eat that bacon cheeseburger, you’ve spent that past half-hour consumed in it. I guarantee you; it won’t seem nearly as enticing as if you ordered that same bacon cheeseburger at the restaurant where you didn’t have to slave in front of the cook top.

The key is to try and spend a decent amount of time preparing food if it works for you. Time is important; test it out. Is it better for you to spend more time or less time preparing food?

Can Be a Little Healthier…

As a country, we’ve become obsessed with convenience foods. We all have our guilty pleasures; McDonalds, Burger King, Taco Bell, Wendy’s, etc. But, as we all know, there are virtually no healthy fast food options. The problem is that we’re too busy or too lazy to care most of the time. We’re on the go and we need a quick bite. Even at home, we buy products like Hot Pockets and other instant microwavable meals that take two minutes or less; but can cost us hundreds of calories.

When taking the time to prepare food, we can assure ourselves that we’re making healthy choices that actually taste good. It may not be easy, but it’s worth it; and, sometimes, fun. We have the internet at our disposal; however, most of us do not make good use of it. Search online for healthy recipes or alternatives to fast and fatty foods. There are a lot of resources out there and a ton of great healthy recipes.

How to Make the Time…

Now, most of you are thinking, “Ok, that sounds great, but where do I find that kind of time!” You’re right, it’s not easy, but there are ways to do it. You need to analyze your week; figure out where you have any dead time, and utilize it.

For most people, there’s usually at least one day out of the week that isn’t chaotic, such as Sunday. So, you take that day and use it to your advantage. Go online and start looking up some recipes or dust off some of those old cookbooks you have stored in the pantry. Think about each day of the week and how much time you have to make a meal.

For parents or couples, it can be relatively easy to presume what their week looks like. If the kids are at school or the spouse is at work; you can pretty easily predict the outcome of the week due to the tight schedules. Look at each day. Maybe on Monday, you have an hour; on Tuesday, you have 15 minutes; on Wednesday, 45 minutes; etc.

Figure out what meal will work best with each day. It helps to plan ahead. And, in case things go terribly wrong, have a back-up solution you can whip up in 10 to 15 minutes. Then, in really hectic situations, you won’t feel so bad picking up some fast food because you know you’ve been eating well the rest of the month.

For people with less organized or, at least, consistent lifestyles (such as a college student), it’s probably best to just have a good amount of healthy recipes at hand. That way, depending on the day, you can easily pick a familiar recipe and whip it up quickly.

A lot of people find it best to go grocery shopping once a week. So, if that dead time we talked about is on Sunday, you can plan your meals right before you go shopping so you pick up everything you need for the week ahead of time. You’d be surprised how planning ahead can save so much extra time.

And, since you’re now planning meals ahead of time; don’t hesitate to begin preparing your meals ahead of time as well. A lot of recipes you can whip up, throw in the fridge, and start cooking the day you eat it; which may only be 15 to 20 minutes for meal that may have taking 45 minutes to fully prepare.

Another good option that works well for many people is a crock pot or slow cooker. It’s definitely a worth while investment if your kitchen doesn’t have one already. You can quickly throw together a meal in the morning, and the crock pot will have it finished and ready to eat when you get back home in the evening.

The most important thing to remember is to be creative. There are thousands of healthy recipes out there that taste great, you just have to find them. And, don’t hesitate to be a master chef yourself. Throw some things together and see what works. What’s the worst that could happen?