Advice for Setting Up a Meal Plan?

[nonscripta]

Hi there! I'm Non.

My Mother has been feeling really awful about her weight lately. She's been trying really hard to lose weight, but has a number of movement issues that are making things tricky. I thought a meal plan might help, and since I'm wanting to eat more healthy, that we could do one together. But I'm not really sure where to start! We don't have a great excess of money nor time to spend, so I'd appreciate any tips on making simple, cost effective meals along with advice for setting/keeping up with a plan.

Thank you!

 

[Cate]

Hi, Non, What we eat is more important to weight-loss than exercise. Concentrating on cutting down on junk food, including soda & eating nutritious food is the best starting point.
There are various useful sites online for dietary guidelines. Some of these are-
Australian Guide to Healthy Eating | Eat For Health
Choose MyPlate
The eatwell guide - A revised healthy eating model - British Nutrition Foundation

 

[overlandflyer]

eating well is not expensive. can i ask... what is your grocery store situation? do you live in a city or town big enough to have a large chain supermarket? i live in a city and have access to a number of supermarkets plus some super-super stores, but i know from traveling, this isn't the same everywhere. what do you have to work with and i could go from there?

do you cook much now?
can you boil water... chop vegetables?

what did you eat today?
do you stop eating for the day after dinner, or do you go on eating (snacking counts) into the evening.... or late evening...?

 

[Llama]

Homecooked foods are generally the cheapest way to eat if you can somehow make time for it. I would suggest starting with a list of protein-rich foods you (both) enjoy and building meals around those. Beans, lentils, chicken, dairy, eggs, tuna... If you don't cook a lot Youtube has a ton of food prep or general recipe videos, including budget cooking. You don't have do it all in one go. If the first week or two you only replace one unhealthy meal a day with a healthier one that's still progress. Progress is easier to maintain than perfection.