By: Chris Gates

Balancing a career, family, hobbies, and social life can make staying on track with your diet feel overwhelming.

But there must be a solution, right?

• There has to be a way to manage everything in your life AND find a way to eat healthy, nutritious foods on a consistent basis.
• Otherwise, how do you explain some of these busy professionals in great shape?
• How do the jacked moms and dads do it?

Of course there’s a solution!

And that’s what I’m going to break down for you in this article.

A little planning can go a long way with meal prepping, and there are a number of ways you can customize the prepping process to fit your schedule and your dietary preferences.

Whether your goal is to lose fat, build muscle, or simply create healthier habits, meal prepping can help you hit your health and fitness goals without consuming all of your free time.

Let’s break things down in a way that’s easy to understand and put into action.

Time to talk about how to stick to your diet. For real this time.

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The Core Concepts of Any Diet

Before we break down the entire meal prep process, let’s first make sure you’re familiar with some of the core concepts related to any successful diet.

Because to stay on track and actually hit your goals, it’s important to understand the fundamentals of nutrition:

• Calorie Deficit for Fat Loss: To lose fat, you need to consume fewer calories than you burn. A calorie deficit forces your body to use stored energy (fat) for fuel.
• Calorie Surplus for Building Muscle: On the other hand, if your goal is muscle gain, you should probably eat slightly more calories than you burn, providing the fuel and building blocks your body needs to grow.
• Weight Maintenance: If you’re happy with your current weight and want to maintain it, balancing your calories and eating at maintenance is key. This allows you to stay active and healthy without fluctuating in weight.

My free calorie calculator will tell you exactly how much to eat to hit each of those goals, so if you’re not sure what your calorie deficit, calorie surplus, or maintenance calories are, make sure you go grab that asap.

Because being consistent with your diet, and having it fit those concepts I just outlined for you, is largely going to make or break your health and fitness goals.

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How to Stick To Your Diet: Block Out Time for Meal Prep

Meal prepping doesn’t have to be a huge time commitment.

I think a lot of people see it as this massive time suck, full of glamorous recipes and tons of effort, and that couldn’t be further from the truth.

All you need is an hour or two and a few staple food items, and you can get yourself set up for success each week. Start by setting aside 1-2 hours once or twice a week to prepare food for the upcoming days.

1. Often a short block of time for meal prep on Sundays is ideal. The weekends tend to be more flexible and laid back, which provides you with time to get this done. And Sunday is often where you mentally transition to start thinking about your work week.
2. Another mid-week meal prep window can be really helpful, too. Sometimes you’ll run out of a few items that you prepared on the weekend, so this can be a shorter meal prep opportunity to clean up any loose ends with your diet.

Those days obviously aren’t required, but they’re options that I’ve found to be really effective with my 1-on-1 online fitness coaching clients.

And when you meal prep, don’t complicate the process. You don’t have to make extravagant meals and get everything perfectly portioned.

That’s overkill.

Use this time to prepare large batches of core ingredients that you can mix and match throughout the week. The goal is to make meal prep as efficient as possible so you’re ready with healthy meals when life gets busy.

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What Foods Should You Prep?

Everybody’s dietary preferences are going to be different, so it’s hard for me to tell you EXACTLY what to prep each week.

But I can offer some suggestions that work really well for most people.

Because if you focus on simple foods that are easy to prepare and store, it will make meal prepping easier. And it will also make sticking to your diet throughout the week a breeze.

Here are a few of my favorite options…

• Proteins: Cook in bulk and store chicken breast, ground turkey, ground beef, tofu, or eggs. These can be grilled, baked, placed in the crock pot or air fryer, or pan-seared and easily used for various dishes throughout the week. I have an in-depth article on different protein sources if you’d like to learn more.
• Carbs: Choose carb sources that store well, like white rice, brown rice, quinoa, oats, white potatoes and/or sweet potatoes. All of these can be batch-cooked and portioned out to pair well with your protein sources.
• Fats: You shouldn’t really need to prep fats, per se. But having foods like avocados and nuts on hand, as well as keeping dairy items like milk, cheeses, and yogurt are great for adding healthy fats to your meals.

None of those foods are super elaborate or confusing to cook, and if you can keep various spices and seasonings on hand, you can turn the same prepped foods into completely different tasting meals each week.

For instance, if you cook up several chicken breasts, they can be seasoned afterwards to be spicy, or sweet, or tangy. You can turn them into a Mexican-style dinner one night, and a Chinese-style dinner the next.

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Prep Pro Tip: Batch Cook, Don’t “Meal Prep”

We’ve been talking about “meal prep” all along, so you might be wondering why I’m now saying… Don’t meal prep.

Confusing?

I get it.

Don’t worry. I’ll make this make sense for you.

Rather than preparing entire meals, focus on cooking large quantities of staple ingredients that can be combined in various ways throughout the week.

A lot of people think meal prep has to be this process that ends with your counter full of little Tupperware containers, filled with foods that are perfectly weighed out and measured.

And that couldn’t be further from the truth.

In fact, that’s never how I’ve meal prepped, and it’s never what I’ve told my clients to do.

Instead, you should just focus on batch cooking ingredients. For instance…

• Cook 4 chicken breasts at once and store them in the fridge.
• Toss 3-4 cups of rice in a pot, cook it up, and then toss all of it into containers.
• Dump a bunch of broccoli, or carrots, or asparagus onto a baking sheet, lightly salt and season, and bake in the oven, solely for the purpose of storing.

All of those food items just get cooked and go directly into the fridge so you can pull from them throughout the week.

Planning three meals a day for seven days of the week all at one time is daunting, so don’t force yourself through that. Batch cook the ingredients instead, and then each morning or night you can prep your meals for the day.

This allows you to keep things simple while still offering variety in your meals, and you get flexibility without the need for daily cooking.

How to Stick to Your Diet: Tips to Extend Shelf Life

As we talk so much about prep and storage, it’s probably worth discussing the best ways to store your food.

Because it would be a damn shame to cook up a bunch of stuff that goes bad and you have to throw it away.

Proper storage can make a big difference in keeping your prepped food fresh and safe to eat throughout the week:

• Use airtight containers to store cooked foods. Glass containers are a better option than plastic. They help keep food fresh longer.
• Don’t over-prep. A common mistake is prepping too much food, and you can’t eat all of it while it’s still fresh. Evaluate how many days you want to prep food, and portion it out accordingly.
• Another option is to Freeze meals you don’t plan to eat within 3-4 days. Freezing helps maintain the quality and safety of your meals, and you can easily thaw them overnight or microwave them in minutes.
• Have select packaged food items in your pantry or fridge. Things like microwaveable rice or vegetables, yogurt, and canned meats have an inherently longer shelf life, and you can pick and choose from them at any time.

Those are all simple steps to take, and each one will help you get more out of the food you prep.

Quick & Easy Alternatives When You’re Short on Time

Even the most organized meal planners will occasionally run into a time crunch or an unexpected event.

I’m the perfect example of this. Fitness is my job, and my lifestyle revolves around training and nutrition.

But that doesn’t prevent me from running into situations where I’m out of food, and out of time.

So, here are some healthy options you can keep on hand that will help when you’re in a pinch…

• Microwaveable grains and veggies: Microwavable bags of quinoa and rice, and frozen vegetables can be a lifesaver for a quick meal. Add a protein, and you’re all set. For example, I regularly have 3-5 pouches of Royal Basmati rice in the pantry, which take just 90 seconds to heat and eat.
• Pre-cooked proteins: Canned tuna, rotisserie chicken, or pre-cooked meat options from the grocery store are simple and easy options. A personal favorite of mine are the chicken burgers sold at Costco. I can easily pop one in the microwave and have protein ready to go in 60 seconds.
• Fresh fruits and vegetables are a no brainer. All they need is a quick wash and they’re ready to eat, and the vitamins, minerals, and nutrients these foods provide to your body are unmatched. Always having fresh fruits and veggies on hand will keep you on track with little to no effort needed at all.
• Supplements are another quick and easy option (with a long shelf life). Regularly having protein powder or bars can get you a quick hit of protein with virtually no effort. My favorite brand is Legion (and the code CGATES will save you 20%!).

The prep for those items is at the grocery store, which is super simple! Pick up a few of each and just have them on deck for when you’re in need of a quick solution for your meals.

How to Stick to Your Diet: Staying on Track While Eating Out

Despite the best intentions, sometimes your meal prep runs out, or you simply don’t have time to cook.

And that might mean you need to grab a meal at a restaurant.

Have no fear. This doesn’t mean everything is destined to go off the rails!

Eating out doesn’t have to mean derailing your diet. Here are a few additional tips to help you stay on track…

• Check the menu online before you go. Almost every restaurant these days has a menu online, which will allow you to game plan what you’re going to eat. Many of them provide some basic nutritional information, like calories, as well.
• Try to limit calorie-dense sauces and dressings by asking for them on the side or skipping them altogether.
• Watch portion sizes by splitting meals or saving half for later.

If you want a more comprehensive breakdown of how to eat at restaurants and keep your diet on track, I have a full article where you can learn more.

Why All of This Matters: Diet Adherence

We’ve broken down just about every strategy in the book. And for good reason.

The knowledge you now have can help you stay on track with your diet in just about every situation, and do it in a way that fits into your daily lifestyle — not the other way around.

And here’s why it all matters so much…

There’s actually a direct tie between consistent meal prepping and sticking to your diet.

Research shows that meal prepping can significantly improve diet adherence by reducing the likelihood of choosing less healthy, convenience-based options during busy or stressful times.

Studies suggest that people who meal prep are more likely to eat healthier and stick to their nutritional goals because they have easy access to portion-controlled, nutritious meals.

So while it takes a little bit of additional time and effort, it’s effort well spent in order to stick to your health and fitness goals.

How to Stick to Your Diet: Meal Prep for Busy Professionals

Meal prepping is a powerful tool that can help you stay consistent with your diet, no matter how busy life gets.

By blocking out a small amount of time, choosing easy-to-store foods, and keeping quick alternatives on hand, you’ll set yourself up for success.

Remember, progress comes from consistency, and with these strategies, you can balance a busy life while sticking to your diet goals.

And look, if you need help creating a personalized nutrition plan or strategies for fitting health into your hectic schedule, check out my 1-on-1 online fitness coaching service.

I’ve worked with people all over the world to build muscle, burn fat, and manage a healthy diet for long-term success. I’d love to help you, too!

Thanks for reading!

~ Chris