5-Day Meal Prep for Weight Loss (Shopping List Included)

Meal prep is the most practical tool for eating well consistently without spending 45 minutes cooking every evening. Two hours on Sunday produces 5 days of healthy, calorie-controlled lunches and dinners that make hitting your fat loss targets almost automatic.

This guide walks through a complete 5-day prep for approximately 1,500 kcal/day and 130g protein, scale up for higher targets.

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The 5-Day Meal Plan

Daily targets: ~1,500 kcal, 130g protein (adjust with our Calorie Deficit Calculator)

The Core Prep Components

Everything is built from these batch-cooked foundations:

Protein: 800g chicken breast (produces ~600g cooked) + 400g turkey mince Grains: 400g dry brown rice (produces ~1kg cooked) Vegetables: 1kg mixed roasting vegetables (courgette, peppers, red onion, broccoli) Breakfast prep: 5 portions overnight oats + 5 hard-boiled eggs

Daily Meals

Breakfast (same every day, varies in toppings): Overnight oats: 50g oats + 150ml milk + 1 tsp chia seeds + seasonal topping

• Mon: mixed berries + almond butter
• Tue: banana + peanut butter
• Wed: apple + cinnamon + raisins
• Thu: mango + coconut flakes
• Fri: mixed berries + protein powder blend

Per serving: ~350 kcal, 15-25g protein (25g when protein powder added)

Lunch (varies by day from prepped components):

Dinner (quick assembly from prepped + fresh):

Daily snacks (2 planned):

• Morning: hard-boiled egg + piece of fruit (120-150 kcal, 8-10g protein)
• Afternoon: 150g Greek yogurt + berries (150 kcal, 15g protein)

Daily Total: ~1,450-1,550 kcal, 125-140g protein ✓

The 2-Hour Sunday Session

Equipment needed:

• 2 large baking trays
• Large pot or rice cooker
• Large frying pan
• 10 airtight containers (min. 500ml capacity)
• Food scale

Step-by-step timeline:

0:00, Start rice

• 400g brown rice in large pot, 800ml water, bring to boil then simmer 25-30 min

0:05, Prep chicken

• Cut 800g chicken breast in half lengthwise (even thickness)
• Season: olive oil, garlic, paprika, salt/pepper
• Arrange on baking tray

0:10, Prep roasting vegetables

• Chop: 2 courgettes, 3 peppers, 2 red onions, 1 head broccoli
• Toss in 1 tbsp olive oil, garlic, herbs
• Spread on second baking tray

0:15, Oven on at 200°C

• Put chicken tray in oven: 25-30 minutes
• Put vegetable tray in oven: 30-35 minutes

0:20, Turkey mince

• Brown 400g turkey mince with onion, garlic, cumin
• Add tin of tomatoes, simmer 15 minutes
• This becomes Tuesday's lunch and Friday's dinner

0:35, Hard-boil eggs

• 5 eggs in boiling water, 9 minutes, transfer to ice water

0:45, Check oven; make overnight oats

• Prepare 5 overnight oats jars (mason jars or small containers)
• 50g oats + 150ml milk + chia seeds per jar
• Seal and refrigerate, add toppings each morning

1:00, Chicken and vegetables out of oven; rice done

• Allow chicken to rest 5 minutes, then slice or shred
• Weigh and portion: 120-130g chicken per lunch container

1:15, Assembly

• Lunch containers: chicken/turkey mince + rice (150-160g cooked) + vegetables
• Dinner containers: components measured separately if needed

1:45, Label and refrigerate

• Label: Mon-Fri
• Store first 3 days' containers in fridge; other 2 can remain in fridge if consumed by day 5, or freeze until needed

Total active time: ~1.5-2 hours

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The Complete Shopping List

Proteins:

• 800g chicken breast
• 400g turkey mince
• 2 salmon fillets (buy fresh day of cooking)
• 1 can tuna in brine (×2)
• 6 eggs (5 hard-boiled, 1 for dinner omelette)
• 500g 0% Greek yogurt

Carbohydrates:

• 400g dry brown rice
• 2 large sweet potatoes
• 500g new potatoes (for Friday dinner)
• Wholemeal pasta (200g, for Thursday lunch)
• Oats (300g)
• 2 slices wholemeal bread × 5 days (1 loaf)

Vegetables:

• 2 courgettes
• 3 peppers (mixed colours)
• 2 red onions
• 1 large broccoli head
• Spinach (large bag)
• Cherry tomatoes (punnet)
• Cucumber
• Green beans (250g)

Fruit + snacks:

• Mixed berries (frozen, 500g)
• 2 bananas
• 5 pieces of fruit for morning snacks
• Almond and peanut butter (for oats)

Pantry:

• 1 tin chopped tomatoes
• Olive oil
• Garlic (bulb)
• Teriyaki sauce (small bottle)
• Paprika, cumin, herbs
• Chia seeds

Estimated cost: £35-45 for one person for 5 days

The Bottom Line

A 2-hour Sunday meal prep session produces 5 days of lunches, dinners, and breakfasts that make hitting your calorie and protein targets nearly effortless. The investment is the Sunday session; the return is consistent, healthy eating Monday through Friday without daily cooking time.

Start with lunches only if the full prep feels overwhelming. Once that habit is established, add dinners.