Everyone wants to lose weight but do not know-how. Many start searching the internet for diets until they find one they think seems easy and will work.

Diets are hard. End of story. Its why so many people have a hard time sticking to one, but they are one of the biggest sellers online. Dieting is simple, tough, but simple.

Avoid sugar at all costs. Eat enough to support the exercise. Eat most of your carbohydrates in the meals around your workout. (this means you need to workout to eat carbs)

Although those are only three things to follow, they are Achilles heel for most people. Although health and fitness is my life, I have trouble following these same guidelines, but I have developed a strategy to help me stay on track, and that is “Lunch is Dinner.”

Every night I fire up my Traeger grill and cook something. Simple as that. Each week I go to the grocery store, and I buy the same six proteins: chicken, steak, pork, ground meat, shrimp, and fish. I try to mix up the types of each one every week. For example, one week it will be chicken breast, the next chicken thighs, and the week after a whole chicken. The same with steaks and the others. With that in mind, I will look upon the Traeger app, a recipe for each one, and make a grocery list. (I usually chose recipes that are easy and are on the lower end time-wise, and try to do a long cook on the weekends.)

Every night I cook and make enough for our lunches the next day. This has changed me completely. I use to cook all my proteins at one time and meal prep them all at one time. I hated this. I would cook 20 meals, and eight would get eaten because we would be sick and bored by Wednesday.

For my first meal, I usually do something simple like some hard-boiled eggs and Greek yogurt. Have my lunch after that and then a snack like oatmeal and protein bar before my workouts, a protein shake with some carbs after my workout, and then I go home and cook my big meal. I stay full all day, and this has kept me from straying too far off the path.

I have always cooked, but the Traeger has made it fun, and because it’s fun, I am willing to do it when I get home. Find a cooking or eating method that brings you joy, and your diet will be easier. I have always been the cook, but getting a Traeger has made it fun. I like to play around and test things, which makes the time cooking not feel so much like a chore.

This is just a strategy that I have been using. If you are someone that cooks, start making a little extra for lunch and see how it goes!

Richard