Keto Meal Prep for Beginners: One Afternoon, One Week

Quick answer: Cook a few pounds of protein in one go, keep it in the fridge ready to eat, and you've solved the moment most diets break: being hungry with nothing ready. A slow cooker, a cheap cut of meat, some butter and dry seasoning is enough. For weight loss, KetoDick ranks meal prep ahead of exercise.

In this article

• Why meal prep beats the gym for weight loss
• Know which kind of eater you are
• Step by step: one afternoon
• Putting plates together during the week
• What the research says
• KetoDick's take
• Key takeaways

Why meal prep beats the gym for weight loss

He says weight loss is mostly made in the kitchen, about 80% diet, and that if your time is short you should spend it on diet first (video f119qGyJ7AY). For weight loss, his order is shopping, meal prep, carbs and a food journal first, then add walks. In his 2018 basics he repeats it: exercise isn't required for weight loss, and meal prep is the priority (video UygKGoP_BtA).

That doesn't mean exercise doesn't matter. He praises it for health, mood and focus (video f119qGyJ7AY). It means that if you've got one free afternoon, the kitchen is the better bet. See weight loss is made in the kitchen.

The reason is simple. The danger moment isn't dinner. It's the 3 p.m. or 9 p.m. graze. In his words from the video, grazing "is what gets most people" (video hHFu6L-yedE). A tray of cooked meat in the fridge beats willpower on a Wednesday.

Know which kind of eater you are

He offers two styles, and the trick is being honest about which one you are (video UygKGoP_BtA).

Most people are a bit of both. Start with the routine version; it's less work, and you can add variety once the habit sticks.

Step by step: one afternoon

This follows his pork-chop demo, where he cooked 2.8 lb of sale pork chops in an inexpensive slow cooker (video hHFu6L-yedE).

1. Buy on sale. Pork chops, chicken thighs, chuck roast, whatever is cheap this week. He bought his chops on sale (video hHFu6L-yedE). See cheap fatty cuts of meat.
2. Load the slow cooker. Meat, a dash of apple cider vinegar and hot sauce, salt and a salt-free seasoning blend (video hHFu6L-yedE).
3. Add fat if the cut is lean. He used a whole stick of butter because the chops were lean (video hHFu6L-yedE). A fattier cut needs less.
4. Season dry, not sweet. Dry seasonings replace sugary sauces and are, in his words from the video, "the number one free kind of calorie" (video hHFu6L-yedE).
5. Cook a second protein. He suggests cooking chicken and beef the same way, so you have a week of grab-and-eat protein (video hHFu6L-yedE).
6. Boil some eggs and make a salad base. Egg, tuna and chicken salads are among the things he eats (video cTGYIFOTPl8).
7. Prep vegetables you'll actually eat. He wants vegetables cooked better than the "sad wet" steamer-bag kind (video hHFu6L-yedE).
8. Build the tray. Put the cooked meat front and centre in the fridge, his protein "tasting tray" (video hHFu6L-yedE).
9. Write down three to five go-to meals. This was his homework for viewers: three to five go-to meals with side dishes and macros worked out, at least one for maintenance (video hHFu6L-yedE).

The arithmetic: he put the cost at under about $6 for several meals (video hHFu6L-yedE). Your prices will differ, but cheap cuts plus store-brand butter is about as budget as cooking gets. More in keto on a budget.

Putting plates together during the week

Once the tray exists, a meal is a two-minute job. His serving ideas from the demo: shred the pork over cauliflower rice, roll it in a low-carb tortilla with salsa and cheese, or serve it with eggs and vegetables (video hHFu6L-yedE).

The plate changes with your phase. In month one, eat fat to fullness. Once you're in the weight-loss phase, his examples run lean protein, high fibre, low carb, low fat: chicken and broccoli, sirloin and eggs, white fish and kale (video hHFu6L-yedE). At maintenance he suggests thickening the butter sauce back up.

He'd rather people learn to cook chuck roast, pork shoulder and chicken thighs than buy specialty products (video DWI8qQl5BbY). The grocery side of this is in keto grocery list for beginners.

What the research says

No study on the evidence pages tests meal prep as such. What the literature does support is the thing meal prep makes easy: reliable protein at each meal.

• A review associates about 1.2–1.6 g/kg/day, with about 25–30 g per meal, with better appetite, weight management and cardiometabolic markers (Leidy et al., 2015).
• The International Society of Sports Nutrition gives 20–40 g per dose every 3–4 hours for exercising people (Jäger et al., 2017).
• Another review suggests about 0.4 g/kg per meal over at least four meals (Schoenfeld & Aragon, 2018).
• Raising protein from 15% to 30% of energy led 19 adults to eat 441 fewer kcal a day on their own (Weigle et al., 2005).

Caveat: these weren't keto trials, and the per-meal numbers come from reviews, mostly in exercising people. See how much protein per meal.

KetoDick's take

I've said weight loss is mostly made in the kitchen, and that for weight loss I'd get the shopping and meal prep straight before adding exercise (video f119qGyJ7AY).

Failure to plan is planning to fail, and grazing is what gets most people, so keep a protein tray in the fridge (video hHFu6L-yedE). I cook like normal people. You don't need anything fancy to do this.

Key takeaways

• For weight loss, meal prep comes before the gym.
• One slow cooker, a cheap cut, butter and dry seasoning is a week of protein.
• Keep a ready-to-eat protein tray in the fridge; grazing is the real danger.
• Know whether you're a routine or a variety eater, and prep to match.
• The research backs steady protein at each meal; meal prep is how you deliver it.

Related

• Guide chapter: Starting keto · Month one · Protein and satiety · Habits that last
• Blog: Keto grocery list for beginners · Weight loss is made in the kitchen · How much protein per meal · Hit your protein goal
• Videos: Making pork chops for meal prep · Do you need exercise? · Beginner questions and tips · Keto basics for beginners