Is Your Meal Plan Working

Meal plans -

Some people love them, while others hate them. If you’ve ever worked with a personal trainer, you'll often receive one.

The sad news is that meal plans often do not work.

For example, in traditional meal plans, you’ll see specifics. Specific things to eat, in specific amounts, at specific times.

Like this: Breakfast-7 AM

-Four scrambled eggs

-One cup veggies

-One piece of whole

-grain toast

-One cup fruit

-One glass of water

The bad news is, when trying to follow a rigid planned like this, many things can often go wrong.

Example 1: Meal plan is followed perfectly

MEALS PLANS ARE DESIGNED TO BE TEMPORARY

Meal plans are created to assist an individual in getting to a specific short-term goal. It could be they need to lose a few pounds before a vacation, a reunion, or learn how to manage blood sugar.

Our bodies are amazing as they usually tend to adapt to a strict eating plan, but only for a short period of time. Not to mention, if you were too strict for too long, you could end up having harmful eating habits which have negative consequences such as metabolic and hormonal disorders.

Example 2: You follow the plan precisely, but you can’t stand it.

These rigid meal plans aren’t sustainable. You may see some short-term results, but you despise living and eating this way.

You can’t wait until you don’t need to eat another piece of chicken or broccoli. Sadly, you get so frustrated by the process that you give up altogether.

You decide in your mind that “eating healthy “ is not for you.

Unfortunately, you miss your opportunity to learn how to make healthy and lasting real changes

Example 3: there’s no way you can stick to the plan

Even though you are super excited about the meal plan, it can be incredibly difficult to follow. What happens?

Life gets in the way.

— you are expected to work late

— you’re busy

— your children get ill

— there is always a holiday or birthday gathering

— having another protein bar for your mid-morning snack sounds disgusting.

You may even find yourself rebelling against this meal plan. This is all very common.

The bummer news is, you most likely will not get the results that you hoped for. If you want to learn to eat better, it’s not necessary to measure food or figure out how many ounces of turkey you're eating, or anything weird like that.

The key is thinking about the food you’re already eating, and how you could make it better.

What I mean by this is adjusting and making small changes and improvements to what you’re already eating and enjoying, one small step at a time.

So let’s think of this as a game. How can you make your meals or snacks just a little bit better in every situation?

For example, when your choices are limited like you’re eating out or traveling, while still being realistic and without trying to be perfect, how can you aim for food/beverages that are a little bit better for you?

—> Here is an example:

You’re at the drive-thru getting your special whipped cream coffee drink and croissant. Here’s your choice, you could have the drink as is, or you could say hold the whipped cream. Or maybe go for skim milk or coconut milk instead of whole milk. And instead of the croissant, swap it out for a whole grain muffin.

—> Here’s one more example:

It’s dinner after work and your day was crazy. The only thing you wanna do is eat while sitting in front of the TV. You don’t even want to make anything more complicated than macaroni & cheese. Here is another option but the same scenario. It’s after a long day at work, and you’re exhausted. Instead of using a box macaroni & cheese you choose to add protein with the help of a rotisserie chicken leg which you picked up on the way home from the supermarket. Add a side salad, and you whipped up to your own homemade pasta.

How far you choose to progress depends on what you want, and what you can reasonably do right now.

Over time things can change, and you can start replacing certain food items with other, healthier choices.

One way of setting yourself up for success is having a food prep routine. Practice planning and preparing healthy food in advance. It will also make your decision-making much easier. Additionally, you don’t have to figure out what you’re doing for food when you’re hungry and rushed.

A food prep routine can be as simple as:

—Menu and meal planning

—Grocery shopping, online shopping, or having food delivered (many stores do this now)

— Cleaning and chopping veggies

— Prepare and cook your protein (this can be done in bulk and be refrigerated for five days)

— Place food into small containers or baggies for the week

— Cook in bulk (soups, casseroles, stews)

Hopefully, this helps. If for some reason you are on a meal plan, remember it is to be short-lived.

If it is making you feel:

• guilty

• overwhelmed

• obsessed with food