You’ve been running late all day, your boss asked you to take on an exhausting project, your son has soccer practice in one hour, and your daughter needs help with her science fair project. Just the thought of cooking dinner from scratch makes you want to cry… so you hit the nearest drive-through fast food restaurant. In about three minutes, you can have a 1400-calorie meal in your hands, and a bag of similar food for the whole family.

Sounds familiar? You know this habit is killing your weight loss plan. But you just can’t seem to dump the drive-through. In most cases, the inability to provide yourself with healthier food comes down to one thing: You aren’t prepared.

Follow these tips to get your weight loss plan back on track, even on the busiest of days.

Keep snacks in your car. When we’re starving and our blood sugar is low, it becomes more difficult to make healthy choices. You just want a quick fix right now! But if you grab a piece of fruit or some other healthy snack before you leave the house in the morning, you’ll have something to nosh on while you drive. This will quell your temptation to stop at the nearest fast food restaurant on your way home from work.

Learn some shortcuts. When you are able to cook a full meal from scratch, make a double portion and freeze a second meal for busy nights. Purchase bagged salad kits or pre-cut veggies from your grocery store. Or, spend Sunday afternoon cutting up vegetables and meats that will be used to throw together quick meals later in the week.

Prepare for dinner in the morning. Toss some chicken in the crock pot, or pre-chop the vegetables, before you leave for work. Cooking dinner won’t sound so overwhelming if you know that half of the work is already finished.

Delegate responsibility. If you have kids that are old enough, assign them some dinner-related chores. It’s easier to face your nightly cooking duties if you have a sous chef or dishwasher to help with prep and clean-up!

Check out your grocery store deli. Many grocery stores sell rotisserie chickens, entrees, side dishes, and more foods that are ready to go. Some even include salad and fruit bars! Sure, it takes a bit longer than 3 minutes to dash into the store, but you will still save time and keep your weight loss plan in check.