If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail...

Hello Steemians,

First of all a big thank you to everyone that has joined in with my #sixweekhealth challenge so far. If you've not seen the challenge, and want to join in for the chance to win 60 Steem, check out the challenge for this week HERE.

'If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail' - Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin is credited with saying, if you fail to plan, you are planning to fail. But I doubt he was thinking about diet and exercise when he said it. It was probably about war or politics or something. None the less, the saying applies really well to planning for our health.

Veggies from the farmers market all washed and dried ready for storage

Eating well for a day or a week won't improve your health much. It takes months and years for changes to happen and for health to improve. So you need to have a plan in place that lets you keep on with those healthy habits. So step one is to plan the days that you'll go shopping. If you just wait until you're all out of food, you're destined to fail. I always go shopping at 8am on a Saturday because then it's done with. You can make most veggies and meat last a week if you store them properly, though some people might like to shop twice per week.

Always having healthy foods in the house makes it so much easier to eat well. If you run out of healthy food, you're more likely to just buy a take away or make some crappy pasta or frozen pizza rather than a meal rich in protein and vegetables. Storing different foods correctly can really help. THIS article gives some great pointers on how to store fruit and veggies so that they stay fresh for longer.

Batch cooking some chicken skewers for lunches

Once you've bought your food on your planned day and prepared it and stored it for lasting freshness, it can be helpful to prep food in advance. Perhaps you marinade chicken for dinner later in the week or pre-cook a bunch of food to have for lunch or breakfast. Look for the times that you struggle to eat properly most often. If you find yourself reaching for a store bought sandwich at lunch, what you're really reaching for is convenience. Prepare yourself healthy lunches and have them ready to eat, and you're more likely to eat well.

So if you're struggling with your diet, have a think about how you could prepare more healthy food for yourself in advance. Eating out at restaurants frequently? Look at the menu before you go out and make a healthy choice. Regularly missing breakfast? Prepare some healthy breakfast options in advance and leave them out for yourself. The more you can plan, the less likely you are to fail.

I hope today's post has been helpful and is a little reminder to be extra prepared! If it was helpful, comment below and let me know which ways you plan to be healthy.

Yours in health,
Coach Ben

#coachben