Main Meal Ideas For Weight Loss
Main Meals that can help with Weight Loss
For most of us, our evening meal is the main meal of the day. If you plan it well this is the perfect opportunity to boost your intake of nutrients and enjoy a delicious and satisfying meal without overloading on calories. Remember, it doesn’t matter whether you follow a keto, paleo, low fat, low sugar, vegetarian or vegan diet. What matters it that you eat healthy and create a calorie deficit. If you don’t create a calorie deficit then you will have trouble trying to lose weight.
Research shows that the bigger your dinner plate, the more you will eat. If you reduce the size of your plate then you will basically fit less food on it, and get used to eating smaller portions. A portion or serving of any food should be the same size as the palm of your hand.
When it comes to your evening meal, continue with the theme of foods that are unprocessed and nutritionally dense. The one food I always tell people to try and avoid is pasta. It has very little nutritional benefit and is best kept as an occasional food rather than a ‘go to’ food. Omelettes are great because they take minutes to prepare and eggs are very nutritious. Adding meat, fish and vegetables increases their nutritional profile even more.
The only rule for your evening meal is to try and incorporate as many vegetables as you can into it. Challenge yourself to get 5 different vegetables (excluding potatoes) into your evening meal.
Omelettes
If you are looking for an easy to cook, nutritionally dense, high protein meal then the humble omelette is perfect. It takes less than 5 minutes to prepare and works with a massive amount of additions from salmon and watercress to cheese and tomato.
Casseroles, Soups & Stews
The big advantage with these is that you can put them in a slow cooker and come home from work to a ready to eat meal. Trim excess fat and skin off your meat and chicken and use plenty of vegetables – ideally you want 80% vegetables and 20% meat. Avoid bulking up it with potatoes, instead use beans or barley.
Other meal ideas
Salmon with samphire & peas
Pollock or Tuna steak with sweet potato and vegetables
Mussels / prawns with brown rice and vegetables
Goats cheese, beetroot and buckwheat Salad
Chicken curry with brown rice and peas (make from scratch, avoid jar sauces)
Quinoa, chickpea and lentil hotpot with vegetables
Pork chop or Steak with vegetables
Pan fried Garlic Chicken, quinoa and vegetables
Pearl Barley Risotto (use pearl barley instead of rice) with whatever vegetables you have to hand – eg mushrooms, tomatoes, onions.
Don’t Forget …
The most important thing to remember is to write a meal plan once a week and commit to following that plan. Most people struggle with weight loss because they don’t have a strong diet and nutrition plan in place. If you put a meal plan together once a week then you create the right foundations for weight loss. If you combine that with a food diary and exercise regime then everything is in place to facilitate your success.
Stirfrys
The stirfry is the undisputed king of quick, nutritious, low calories meals. Try and have a stirfry at least once a week, but if you can, have them more frequently. There is one one proviso – avoid using noodles or rice. If you need to use spiralised vegetables and quinoa instead.
Avoid shop bought stir in sauces and make your own using ingrediants such as fresh lemon juice, lemongrass, ginger, tumeric, garlic, chilli, soy sauce and a tablespoon of coconut milk.
Use whatever vegetables you have in the fridge for example:
Peas
• Red, green and yellow Peppers
• Asparagus
• Bean- sprouts
• Spinach
• Broccoli
• Onions
• Green beans
• Carrots
• Kale
• Mushrooms (try a few different varieties)
• Soya Beans
• Chard
• Yellow or green Courgette
Don’t be limited by the suggestions above. The choice of vegetables is virtually endless. Never be afraid to experiment.
Then simply choose your protein – prawns, chicken, beef, quinoa, tofu and your stir-fry is ready in less then 10 minutes. If you need to, buy prepacked stir-fry vegetables from the supermarket. These will reduce your meal prep time if you are in a hurry. Try to avoid the meal deals though, as they often include noodles and calorie dense sauces.
Total calories aprox 500
Never be afraid to try something new and if it looks and tastes good and you’re proud of it, take a photo and share it on social media. Sometimes that extra encouragement from friends and family can really spur you on.
Quick Tips
- Use as many colours and varieties of vegetable as you can.
- Avoid noodles, rice and pre-made sauces
- Try to drink water, herbal tea or regular tea with your meal
- Don’t limit yourself, use spices to your advantage.