For some people that is their excuse for not eating healthy and losing those extra pounds they have packed on. Do you think that eating healthy means you have to spend all day Sunday in your kitchen prepping fresh vegetables and putting them in single serve baggies so you have food to eat the rest of the week?



While I agree you could easily spend half a day in the kitchen cutting up fresh vegetables for the entire week if you wanted to, there are other options that aren't such a drain on your time.

First of all, while fresh fruits and vegetables are great foods to have handy while dieting, the salad bar at your local grocery store has them already cut up for you which will save you time. Even if your grocery store doesn't have a salad bar, they usually have precut fresh vegetables in their produce section or deli that will save you time. My favorite ready to go fresh vegetable are those already peeled baby carrots in one pound bags.

Second of all, there are lots of fresh fruits that don't need any more prep than a good washing. Apples are a perfect example. They are easy to transport and are delicious.

I also don't think it takes any longer to cook a healthy meal than it does to cook an unhealthy one. It only takes a few minutes to broil or grill a piece of fish. Fish is nature's fast food. While the fish is grilling, reach into the freezer for some frozen vegetables to steam and you have a very healthy meal in minutes. There are also healthy frozen meals available in the freezer section of your store.

You can also order healthy take out food that is diet friendly in the same amount of time you can order a pizza with the works. Order some Chinese but skip the calorie laden General Tso's chicken and fried rice. Instead choose something much healthier and lower calorie like beef with broccoli, shrimp with garlic sauce, or teriyaki chicken.

Going to a restaurant doesn't have to be forbidden while dieting either. Dieting and losing weight doesn't have to be a gloomy and horrible time of your life. Instead of sitting at home feeling sorry for yourself and thinking about everything you shouldn't eat, go out to a restaurant with family or friends, make healthy choices, and really enjoy yourself and your food.

The best strategy is to know what you are going to have before you go to the restaurant. Then you will be less tempted to order something you shouldn't or to be overwhelmed by the menu choices. If the restaurant has their menu online, look it up and pick out your food beforehand. If it's not possible, keep your choices simple, avoiding most sauces and extras because those are typically loaded with calories.

You are probably aware that the serving sizes in most restaurants are huge. Either ask for a doggie bag right when you order and put half your food in that doggie bag or split a meal with someone else. I do this when I'm going to go out and have something I'm been craving but isn't that great for my diet.

Most of the time I order seafood or a lean steak; skip the bread; have a sweet potato (without the marshmallows and brown sugar) on the side or vegetables on the side; drink water or a diet soft drink; and then split a dessert with everyone at the table so that I can have a couple of bites of something sweet.

Having healthy snacks while dieting doesn't have to be time-consuming either. You can buy nuts, those precut vegetables mentioned earlier, snack size servings of fresh cheese, and individual serving size cups of yogurt. It also only takes a few minutes to take a box of healthy cereal and put it in plastic bags for munching on when you have a craving for something crunchy.

If you want to eat healthier and lose weight you can do it even if you don't have a lot of time to cook or prep food. If you have the determination to do it, you can