I am a creature of habit.  I tend to fix what I already know how to make, and I shop the same way, purchasing the same foods over and over again. Okay, maybe I’m just lazy. Let’s face it, our lives are busy and adding variety in order to create a healthy meal plan takes some time. It is much simpler to buy the foods we know we can find and prepare what we know how to make without the time consuming process of finding  and trying new recipes.

Thankfully, the folks at EatingWell.com understand this dilemma and have designed a healthy menu planner that is simple, and best of all – FREE!

The EatingWell Menu Planner let’s you create daily or weekly menus. You can then print a handy shopping list based on your menu, then use their calorie counter tool to calculate the calories in your menu. It is an easy way to find healthy recipes and plan meals well in advance, and track calories.

Check out their “Cheap Eats” to find over 100 recipes for healthy, budget-friendly meals!

A few months ago I reported on an article in Science Daily that proved weekends tend to be bad news if you’re trying to watch your weight (see, “Weekends Ruin Diets”). After a weekend out of town (and away from the kids) relaxing, dining, and generally putting all “rules” aside, I thought I’d revisit the theme of “weekends killing your weight loss efforts and offer a few more words of advice.

First, it is okay to take a break from your routine. Even I welcome a “day off” from being good from time-to-time. It is fun to enjoy a rich dessert on a special occasion, skip an intense workout in lieu of a relaxing stroll, and give yourself permission to put your regular “rules” aside. The hard part is staying within reasonable limits and getting back on track before all of your hard work goes down the tank. Self-discipline is hard, and often we are all-or-nothing creatures of habit (we always keep to a strict regimen, or we shuck the whole thing entirely).

• The trick to getting right back on track after a weekend of putting rules aside is to, well, set up another rule, such as: “My next meal today will be as healthy as possible,” or “I will round out the weekend with a long walk or a jog.” Notice how I didn’t use the word “Monday?” Don’t wait until Monday to hit the reset button. When you give yourself permission to suspend healthy habits until Monday, you set yourself up for more rule-breaking than is necessary. Get back on track before Monday comes, if at all possible.
• If you aren’t planning to exercise on the weekend, do something! Rake leaves, mow the lawn, go on a nature walk, play tag with the kids, go for a bike ride. Getting some form of physical activity will help counter the affects of less-healthy behaviors. You’ll also feel less guilty about skipping your workout if you at least do something active.
• Don’t binge. Eating a bit less healthy from time-to-time is fine, but don’t go overboard and say, “well, I already messed up, I might as well eat the whole cake.” You’ll feel terrible later, physically and emotionally, so stick to moderation.
• Before Monday comes, sit down with your planner and schedule your weekly workouts, plan your healthy meals, and set a small goal for yourself. Don’t let one “all-rules-out-the-door” weekend ruin what could be your best workout week ever. Focus on what is ahead of you, rather than what you didn’t do, or ate too much of, yesterday, the day before, etc.

Remember, the trick to long-term weight loss success is consistency. Balance the not-so-good days with good days (preferrably, more good days than not), try to get some form of physical activity every day, even if it is a walk around the block, and stay positive!