Diet is essential to reaching your health and fitness goals, yet it can be easy to stray from healthy eating habits when life gets busy.

Meal planning and smart grocery shopping strategies can help ensure you maintain good nutrition. Skipping meals or resorting to fast food and junk food for convenience may tempt you, but these foods often lack essential vitamins and nutrients essential to keeping weight off and energy up. Planning meals ahead and making smart purchases are surefire ways to stay on track with nutrition goals.

1. Plan your meals in advance.

Meal planning can help ensure you’re receiving all the nutrition your body requires while cutting calories from fast-food like pizza and fast-food drive-thrus. Planning also reduces food waste; knowing exactly what’s going into your body makes sticking with a healthy diet much simpler!

Create a meal plan for the week or month ahead. There are apps and websites that do this automatically (both free and paid versions are available), or use an old-school notebook or spreadsheet – be as specific as possible and try to include an array of foods!

Make sure your meals consist of lean protein, whole grains or legumes, fruits and vegetables as well as healthy fats like olive oil and nuts in moderation – but remember to avoid unhealthy ones like fried foods with saturated or trans fats! Lactose intolerant individuals or vegan diets can still get enough calcium through fortified dairy products as well as non-dairy sources like canned fish, tofu and dark leafy greens.

2. Batch cook.

Many people choose meal prepping in order to save time, which includes cooking meals in advance and freezing them, making for quick reheating when desired. When meal prepping for efficiency purposes it’s important not to go the entire hog; rather prepare ingredients or food that can be used across several meals throughout the week for maximum variety in your diet while still protecting from spoilage.

Spend some of your weekend time cooking bulk meals or prepping snacks in order to set a routine and stick with a meal plan more easily. This might involve prepping ingredients for breakfast (overnight oats, chia pudding), lunch (grain bowls with roasted vegetables and chicken, grilled salmon with sweet potatoes), dinner (sheet pan meals, stews) or anything in between. Also be mindful of emotional hunger due to stress or boredom versus physical hunger that requires energy expenditure.

3. Focus on simple recipes.

An effective diet doesn’t have to be complex or time-consuming to be healthy – all it requires is creating simple meals from food already on hand and setting out a weekly menu and grocery list with recipes using staple items like fruits, vegetables, lean proteins and whole grains.

As you create the menu for your family, be mindful of their schedule as well as tastes and preferences. Prep several days’ worth of meals at once for easier storage in fridge or freezer for later consumption; alternatively “graze” throughout the day instead of three traditional meals to maintain energy levels by including protein foods into each snack and meal.

Beginners to the kitchen and culinary experience alike should start off their meal plans slowly by starting with basic recipes, then gradually expanding upon more complex methods and dishes as their confidence increases.

4. Don’t skip meals.

Even when we begin with good intentions – such as bookmarking healthy recipes or purchasing kale and quinoa at the supermarket – our days quickly become overwhelming with work projects, sick children or running endless errands. Instead of making healthy eating a priority again, we end up at drive-thrus or ordering pizza, leaving us disheartened about ever being able to eat well again.

Skipping meals decreases daily energy intake and can have detrimental long-term consequences on metabolism. To maintain an ideal metabolic environment, it is vital that three nutritious meals per day be eaten alongside an afternoon healthy snack.

Keep a few staple foods on hand as back-up for when your meal plan falls through, such as frozen dinners, instant oatmeal or soup, frozen veggies and fruit bags, hard-boiled eggs or nuts for energy, whole grain bars with berry ingredients or energy bars – you’ll save yourself both money and temptation by keeping these in the freezer.

5. Stay hydrated.

A balanced diet means more than simply choosing healthy food options; it means hydrating properly and getting sufficient rest to ensure optimal health. Drinking water and selecting healthier snack alternatives play an integral part in this equation.

As part of your daily health regimen, it is recommended to consume half your bodyweight in fluid ounces every day. While this can be challenging when life gets hectic, keeping a water bottle nearby and using apps that track intake can make this easier.

Introduce more water-rich foods into your meals such as berries, cucumbers, lettuce and other vegetables. Add slices of lemon, lime or orange for flavor in your water for extra zest!

Hydration is especially essential during warm weather and physical activity, when your body may shed more fluids through sweat than normal. Drinking water regularly – even when you don’t feel thirsty – will help avoid dehydration and improve concentration levels. Carry a reusable water bottle wherever you go and set reminders on your phone so that drinking can continue uninterrupted!