Meal planning and weekly shopping not working

[legolammb]

In an attempt to eat more healthily, avoid waste and be organised, I currently try and meal plan and do a weekly online shop. I go to Weight Watchers meetings and my new week starts on Thursday, so on Wednesday night I edit my Tesco/Ocado basket with meals for the next week and get a delivery on Thursday evening after work. When I plan, I think about the week ahead - e.g. am I out that night etc. Problem is, when it comes to it, I often don't fancy what I've planned, e.g. I may have something light planned but it's freezing cold and I want stodge, or I've planned a meat and 2 veg type meal but just fancy something more snacky. Sometimes I can't face cooking what I've planned so end up at the little Waitrose on the way back from the tube getting a ready meal. Cooking in advance means I sometimes feel like a kitchen skivvy at weekends doing batch cooking, and then I have to remember to defrost stuff on the correct night in the week. How do others make it work for them planning in advance?

I want to avoid calling into the shop on the way home as I end up picking up quick, unhealthy stuff. I am always home at 6.30pm, and DP is often home much later and at irregular times, or away travelling, so cooking falls to me and I just get a bit fed up. No DCs so just the 2 of us

I don’t plan for specific nights, but have 7 options for the week. So every night I can choose what I feel like (or have the time to cook!) would that work on weight watchers?

I've never thought meal planning suited everyone but then I also think WW is a bit of a waste of time.

Can you not just eat a balanced diet OP? Soups for example are good, batch cooked and frozen...stews and curries too.

I would cook a load of those for when you want something more filling or less light. And stick to your WW meals if you're finding it's working otherwise.

I'm the same. What I started doing was instead of batch cooking on a weekend I'd just make a lot of the meal I was cooking that evening and freeze the extra.
I use frozen veg , fish and meat so I can decide what to eat that night.
It's only salad and I use a lot of low fat creme fresh for sauces that I have to eat by a certain time.

I have five of us to meal plan for whichbis bloody hard as all have certain things they won't eat etc.
Four of us eat adult portions aswell so it was getting really costly as I was often preparing and making more than three diff meals per night as well as working full time and having varying eating times some days due to shift patterns.

We now plan 7 meals and then the night before will decide what everyone's having the next day.
For example eldest ds is off work tomorrow so him and dd are having brioche steak burgers with wedges and me and dh will have them later when he finishes. I've taken burgers out of freezer tonight.
Tuesday is chicken in leeks so will take chick breasts out freezer tomorrow and tues am will pop them in slow cooker with sauce on low ready for Tuesday evening. I will put frozen veg with them.
Frozen veg,mushrooms,onions and peppers are easy to make a casserole base with it fajitas etc so always have bags of them in the freezer.
I bought a meat hamper from muscle food two weeks ago so base meals around what meat we have.
Works really well and also saves on shopping bill.

My message was deleted!! OMG I have no idea why!!

And no-one's "rattled my cage"! I was trying to say that menu planning and shopping for the week is a good idea and works well for me. I am always happy to eat what I've planned, and have a few emergency dinners in the freezer for those days it all goes to pot, and it works. IF the op is the sort of person who wants to eat what she fancies on the day then this is not the way to go. My comment about will power was not meant to be rude, I meant if you menu plan then you stick to it with resolve. Good luck.

I think when you start meal planning it's too easy to set the bar too high. Plan in more ready meals or simpler foods, be honest about the number of times you'll be knackered and just want fishfingers and chips.

You could also keep a log of what you do eat (as opposed to what you planned) and reuse that as a plan round that kind of thing in a couple of weeks' time. You'll refine what works and what doesn't over time. I'm not a fan of batch cooking really. I think the freezing and reheating is a bit faffy. I've collected recipes that can be done in 15 mins, and I'm in the habit of reusing meals from fridge rather than freezer - cook Night 1, eat half that night, then eat second half on Night 2 or 3. If still not eaten by Night 3, freeze.

Dieting is tricky, you do end up having meals you don't fancy as much sometimes. I wonder if the problem is not so much the meal planning, but the discipline you are imposing on yourself through the diet.