Mum Melissa Timmer who lost 37 kilograms in 18 months from meal prepping shares daily diet

A mother who has lost 37 kilograms in just 18 months from meal prepping has shared the daily diet that keeps her looking her best, and the weight loss tricks she swears by. 

Melissa Timmer, 31, from Sydney, dropped from 107kg to just 70kg by pre-preparing her meals in advance, and cutting out unnecessary snacking. 

To maintain her incredible weight loss now, Melissa said she mainly follows a high-protein diet and limits white carbohydrates like bread, pasta and rice.

‘My average day is basically a high protein diet, I tend to stay away from carbs as it bloats me – things like pasta rice and bread,’ the 31-year-old told The Healthy Mummy.

Melissa fills up on nourishing wholefoods that are both food for her and keep her fuller for longer.

Melissa explained that a typical breakfast is something that has plenty of protein, but also something that has a couple of her portions of veg in it:

‘My mornings usually start off with some scrambled eggs, spinach, tomatoes, and mushrooms,’ she told The Healthy Mummy. 

‘I’ll tend to swap between this and the premium Healthy Mummy shake with some milk and water.’

This involves mixing a smoothie powder with milk or water, and flavours include banana sundae and espresso for a caffeine hit.

After breakfast, Melissa might do a workout, but she always has healthy snacks on hand to prevent her from reaching for the office biscuit tin.

‘Snacks usually consist of mixed plates like carrot sticks, celery, dips, bliss balls or a protein shake or some muffins,’ she said.

The muffins, while delicious, clock in at under 100 calories each – and they are much lower in sugar than traditional store-bought varieties.

When it comes to lunch, the 31-year-old explained that she likes something light to keep her focused and energised throughout the afternoon. 

‘Lunch is simple, I usually do a shake or tuna or chicken salad,’ Melissa said.

‘My salads are very generous, I love to eat so I make sure my plate is as colourful as possible.’

She will then have a coffee in the afternoon to keep her going through ‘that sluggish time’, as well as a yoghurt or some berries.

Dinner is either a Mexican or Italian recipe from The Healthy Mummy app or a salad:

‘Dinner is my favourite meal of the day. We tend to love Mexican, a good serve of protein and veg, salads, Italian or your traditional Aussie foods,’ Melissa said.

She also likes Mexican because it’s great for keeping the cost of recipes down, thanks to the inclusion of ingredients like tinned tomatoes and beans. 

Melissa might finish with a couple of squares of dark chocolate or some protein pancakes if she’s still peckish. 

Melissa explained that to lose the weight, she would regularly mix up her workouts to include things like HIIT (high intensity interval training), boxing and sprinting – all of which ‘certainly helped to get the kilos off’.

Her tactic was to put herself first for one hour per day where she would do simple body-weight exercises like squats and push ups and basic cardio like star jumps and running. 

‘I went on to lose 33 kilograms in nine months and I also gained so much knowledge about how to eat healthy and fuel my body with yummy good foods,’ Melissa said.

‘My eczema has disappeared and my skin is just glowing every day, you would have never known I had a severe skin condition that would bleed every day.’

She now takes pride in making sure she has one hour for herself daily for exercise, and eats plenty of wholefoods and smoothies.