Staying Organized on Ideal Protein: Your Weekly Checklist

Once you get going on Ideal Protein, it’s simpler than most people expect. Your Ideal Protein foods, your vegetables and one home-cooked evening meal make for an easy rhythm. We actually like that there’s still some cooking involved, because that’s real life, and it’s where new habits get built.

The weight loss phase has a beginning and an end. Along the way, you’re quietly building habits that carry you through once you’re back to eating whole foods:

• Drinking more water
• Eating more vegetables (for many people, 4 cups a day is brand new)
• Getting enough protein, which helps you feel satisfied
• Paying attention to you, even just five minutes a day to catch your breath

Many clients also tell us they sleep better and have steadier energy through the day.

Why a little planning goes a long way

The protocol is laid out for you, so following it isn’t complicated. What makes it easy is a bit of planning ahead.

Some of the busiest, most capable people we work with gained weight simply because they never made time to plan around food. They were looking after everyone and everything except themselves. Planning is one more habit we help you build.

Your Sunday planning checklist

Set aside 30 minutes on Sunday with your food journal and work through this list:

1. Map out your Ideal Protein foods for each day in your food journal. Leave a few spots open for spontaneous choices if you like.
2. Check your cupboards and add any Ideal Protein foods you’re running low on to your next order.
3. Plan your lunches. Pair each day’s Ideal Protein choice with vegetables you enjoy, ideally ones that travel well to work.
4. Plan your dinners. Choose 7 proteins for the week (salmon, lamb loin, ground beef, tofu, eggs and so on) and map them out. Then add your Phase 1 vegetables. Dinner is a great time for the ones that roast or barbecue well, like fennel or asparagus. Picking a couple of occasional vegetables from your Phase 1 sheet for the week keeps things interesting.
5. Find a few recipes. Start with our own Vital Body recipes, full of ideas we love and make ourselves. Janeva’s Kitchen cookbooks are another favourite. Or keep it simple, there’s a lot to enjoy in simple food. Always check new recipes against your Phase 1 sheet. Your coach can guide you on batch cooking too, so a little time on Sunday covers several meals.
6. Make two grocery lists: one for Monday to Thursday and one for Friday to Sunday. Then you just grab your list and go.
7. Make a Phase 1 friendly salad dressing for the week. Measure your oil so you know what your 2 teaspoons look like.
8. Lay out tomorrow’s supplements in a dish you love. Nice pottery does it for me. Refill it each night after your evening snack.

Put it in your calendar

• Two grocery shops for produce and protein. Sunday and Thursday work well.
• Time each morning, or the night before, for meal prep.
• Your weekly video check-in with your coach.

What planning gives you

Taking 30 minutes on a Sunday pays you back all week:

• You feel calm and confident around food.
• You enjoy what you’re eating.
• Your days flow, and you have room to think about other things.
• You keep the promises you make to yourself.
• You’re taking time to look after you.

Know your why

One of the very first things we ask new clients is, “Tell me why you’re here. Why does this matter to you?”

When your why is clear, planning and following the protocol come much more easily. When it isn’t, no checklist will fix that. There’s a real difference between “I just need to lose weight” and “It’s time to take care of me and my body.”

Love yourself enough to put yourself first. Everything else follows.

If you’d like help setting up your week, book a free consult and we’ll talk through what would work for you.