Does cooking your own meals help you lose weight?

February 2, 2017 Ashley 0 Comments

Are you basically kinda lazy when it comes to weight loss?

I hear you, man. I mean, looking at my life – you wouldn’t think I was. I run bi-daily. I train in Muay Thai tri-weekly. I’ve got an active gig that ushers in the funds. But that’s only because I’ve become so addicted to my favorite kinds of exercise (and love my job), that I do them kinda compulsively. Other than that? Not so much. When it comes to the food side’ve fitness, I’m legitimately lazy. That said, I’m committed to eating clean and green. Conundrum? Not if you dump a bunch’ve frozen veggies in a vat of stew every night. (Which totally works if you don’t have anyone else to cook for.)

But, am I maybe cheating myself out of variety? Or a better method for edible weight loss?

Should I be doing some legit Rachel Ray style, top chef cookery? I can think of every reason not to. It’s tedious. It takes a painstaking amount of time sniping all of those ingredients off the shelf. (I lit’rally spent half an hour hunting down a minuscule jar of curry paste in the Asian aisle one evening.) And, if you’re only cooking for one – that’s less fun, ya know?

“I’d share, but you’ll be shizzing molten magma-fire, my friend.”

That said, once you actually start, all those excuses kind’ve turn on their torpid heads.

See, first off, you’re getting variety. Unlike my same-meal-every-night habit (where I might be missing out on certain stuff that’ll enhance my activity or overall life performance), supplementing with some new foods might fulfill a need I never even knew I was missing. Second, when you start cooking, you’re learning a new skill. (And, if you’re vain and ego motivated like I am, that makes you a bit more interesting.) You’ve got a hobby that others benefit from and marvel at. Suddenly your lime-tofu dish has you in the limelight. Not a bad pantry door prize.

Or, if adulation ain’t your thing, maybe that admiration could turn into more of a camaraderie dynamic. Because cooking gives you an excuse to not just be cooking for numero uno anymore. If you’ve got any old kinships you wanna rekindle, they can come over and help in the cooking process. Boom. Bond solidified. If you don’t, maybe you can summon some new ones by making a cuisine concocting companion or two – when you throw a whole dinner party. Or, for that matter, it might be a fun first date. First dates are always awkward, so if you’ve gotta task, that can distract you from any lack of conversational skill you might be try’na hide.

“Here, honey. Let’s occupy your face hole so it stops boring me with stock talk…”

Then, finally, on the weight-loss side of it (what we’re all here for anyway), cooking’s the wise way to go. Why? ’cause you suddenly can’t play ostrich any longer. Now you know every last element going into your gullet. No hidden sugars or mystery ingredients clogging up your arteries or puffing out your skin tomorrow morning. You’re the one who gets to decide if your version of the recipe really needs that much salty sauce they serve when you suck down the dining-out version. So, if laziness beat out your new year’s health resolutions this January, maybe try learning how to whip up some exquisite, healthy, home made cuisine.

The bonus?

It’ll make you more well-rounded while making you opposite of of round looking.