Avoid emotional eating
If you’re like many women who respond to stress by craving (and indulging in) fatty, carby comfort food, you’re not alone but you do need to think about an alternative. “Maybe it’s taking a walk around the block or taking a couple of deep breaths and not using food as the stress reliever,” offers Kerry Neville, registered dietician and spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association.
CRUNCH TIME: Munch an apple, celery or carrots. Simply crunching these foods will help get some of your anxiety out without packing on the pounds.

Plan ahead
This may seem obvious, but planning a week’s menu can make that week run much more smoothly. “I sit down on Saturday or Sunday and pick three or four meals that I’m going to make throughout the week, go shopping and just have those ingredients on hand,” says Neville. “Once I actually started doing it, my life was so much easier because I have my go-to meals. I know what I’m going to make.”
SHOP TIME: Establishing weekly menus once a month will not only maximize your prep time but you’ll be able to watch out for sales to ease your grocery bills.

Have a back up
Maybe it’s traffic or a late night meeting; whatever the reason, sometimes life gets in the way. If you find you’ve run out of time for the meal you intended to cook, it pays to have what Neville calls an emergency recipe ready to go. According to Neville, if you give it some thought you likely have about three or four go-to recipes that can easily be made from ingredients that are right in your pantry.
STOCK TIME: Get in the habit of keeping key staples on hand so you’ve got at least one or two meals that can easily be prepared – instead of calling the pizza guy.