Meal Prepping - Pros and Cons

I've been meal prepping for about two weeks now (consistently) and I've noticed some changes since I started meal prepping. A lot of people contemplate whether or not they want to meal prep because they feel like it takes a lot of work and that it's boring. Many people do it for different reasons but seeing as I've done it consistently myself, let me tell you the pros, the cons, and the changes I have noticed since I started.

There are plenty of pros to meal prepping, especially if you're the go-getter that just has to pick up something and go. Now I'm the type of person that gets up and goes straight to work and sometimes I don't eat breakfast which is unhealthy. So for breakfast meal prep, I made my own yogurt parfaits. Now meal prepping is great if you're the type of person that doesn't like to cook every night. Now being a Navy wife and my husband gone, meal prepping is a great option for me. I just have to cook once a week and I have food for however many days I make food for. Another pro to this is that clean up is very minimal. Literally, you just wash the container that you're using and there is your clean up. Another pro is because the meals are portioned out, you eat just the right amount of food and in the process, you may start to lose weight if your meal preps aren't loaded with sugar and fats. And the biggest pro? You save so much money in the process! If you have something already made at home why would you need to pay money to go out to eat?

Now as with everything there are a few cons to this. One of the cons that I have read, heard, and experienced is that you get tired of the meals because you make everything in bulk. Eating the same thing over and over again can kind of frustrate you. You can break the meal prep up by making a protein shake to replace one of those meals or you can get ingredients to make a salad to eat in between the meals. Now if you are going to go out between meals, try to pick healthy options. One of my favorites is sushi or steamed dumplings with white rice. Another con is that yes, it does take some work to cook the food and portion all the food. You can remedy this in different ways. You can listen to some music while you cook or you can meal prep with friends to make it a social thing. I personally prefer to meal prep by myself because I'm picky about food and I like to control what goes in my food.

Now, I have noticed some changes when I started meal prepping. I noticed that I saved so much time because all I had to do was reach into the fridge and grab a meal that was already prepped. I also didn't have to figure out what I was going to cook which is a bonus because I never have what I want to eat half the time. I also noticed that I feel much more full when I meal prep rather than when I cook a meal unless I'm with my husband when he's home or I have friends come over. I also lost about three pounds on the meal prep and that's with a cheat meal or two.

So meal prepping has its ups and downs but in the end, it does work so give it a try.