“Just tell me what to eat and I’ll do it!” -everyone.
Look, I get it. You just want simplicity.
You already have a ton going on in your life, and having to decide what you’re going to eat just adds to that stress.
But here’s the thing.
Meal plans never work.
Well they do in the short term. You’ll see results at first, but eventually something happens.
You don’t have an ingredient, which leads you to say “screw it!” and order pizza.
You forget to bring your lunch to work, so you just go out and grab tacos with your coworkers.
You wake up late, so you stop at Starbucks on the way to work and grab a muffin.
And you continue those patterns until you find yourself back to where you started.
Now I’m not saying that those foods are “bad”. They aren’t! But having a strict meal plan gives that impression.
My point is you don’t learn anything with a meal plan.
It’s like in school the professor shows you how to solve a problem, and then you have to do the homework and solve it yourself but it’s ten times more challenging. But that’s how you learn.
Meal plans are short lived and give no valuable information. They just make you sad from eating chicken and broccoli all the time.
However, if you learn to write your own meal plan, they can be valuable in adding structure to your days.
Having structure in your meals is how you can build habits, but still be flexible enough so when you do inevitably eat out, you know what to do!
Choose How Many Meals
I usually recommend clients to have 3-4 meals per day, as that is the most common and works with most people’s schedules.
We want to feel satisfied throughout the day and not reach a point of starvation and “hangry”. So don’t be skipping breakfast if you tend to snack on the m&ms instead.
Pay attention to your habits throughout the day, do you tend to leave work starving? Do you always skip breakfast, but have 3 coffees before noon?
Play around with the number of meals you have. Smaller number of meals, you’ll have to have bigger meals. While more meals might mean smaller portions.
Composition of Meals
So what elements should most meals be comprised of?
- Protein
- Carbohydrates
- Vegetables
- (Fats)
Meals with all of these elements helps keep you energized and satisfied!
Set Goals and Build Habits Instead
Instead of trying to follow someone else’s meal plan and preferences, develop your own.
This will not only help you learn to make better decisions, but it helps you not become all-or-nothing.
The all-or-nothing mindset is when you are either eating healthy, or you’re not. There is no in between.
This mindset can be dangerous and it helps NO ONE.
What is much more beneficial is building habits that fit your lifestyle and make you happy while achieving your fitness goals.
I urge my clients to start with one thing or meal at a time.
For example, instead of changing everything at once, just focus on having a balanced breakfast each morning with a source of protein and a handful of vegetables.
Example: 2 egg muffin with peppers, onions, and broccoli. Or a protein smoothie with protein powder, fruit, and a handful of spinach.
Eventually you’ll get into the routine of making yourself breakfast.
Then you add on another goal and so on!
A healthy lifestyle is not one that you copy, but one you create for yourself.