Weekly Menu Planner

The menu planner is the most powerful proven aid for dieters. People who plan ahead not only lose more weight, they also keep it off.  Here are some of the reasons:

✅ Recording your eating habits jolts you into realizing what you do eat and drink each day.

✅ Helps identify problem foods and drinks with excessive calories and fats.

✅ Helps identify moods, situations and events that lead to excessive eating of unwanted calories. You can then plan to overcome or avoid them.

✅ Prevents “calorie amnesia”—the forgetfulness that leads to weight gain (or to rebound weight gain after successful weight loss).  Remember—it’s not what you can easily recall that will sabotage your efforts; it’s what you DON’T recall that WILL.  Recording puts you back on the right track.

✅ Helps you develop greater self-discipline. You WILL think twice about over-indulging if you have to record it—especially if someone checks your diary regularly.  It keeps you honest!

✅ Motivates you to carefully plan your meals.

✅ Serves as a check system for your weight loss counselor, and your physician, to assess your progress and to make recommendations or changes.

Weight★No★More℠ Diet Center provides two options for menu planning: the printable Weekly Menu Planner (above) and the Electronic Menu Planner.

Here’s a sample of a finished planned day before you go to Print…

…and then in Print mode.

For the first few weeks at least, during the “learning” process, I want all clients (even those who are electronically savvy) to do their menu planning manually (either on the Weekly Planner sheets that I provide or in a notebook). I do this because typing involves just selecting letters by pressing identical-looking keys. When you write, you use your hand to form the letters (and connect them), thereby more actively engaging the brain in the process. Handwriting is slower, more intentional. This is where the learning, reinforcement and retention happens.

In addition to noting weight loss results in client charts, I also record losses and gains directly onto clients’ weekly menu planners so they can see the results they get from the actions they take!