Do I write meal plans for my clients? No, I don’t.
It’s a GREAT question though because in theory, meal plans should make life easier for you – but they don’t.
What if I told you that 1/2 cup oats, 4 egg whites, 100g of chicken, and 1/2 cup broccoli was a recipe for gaining weight?
You might think I’m crazy. But, for most of us, restrictive meal plans are the last stop on the fast track to overeating.
Check out this meal plan:
Meal 1: 1/2 cup oats, 4 egg whites
Meal 2: 100g of chicken, 1/2 cup broccoli
Meal 3: 1 piece of fruit, 10 walnuts
Meal 4: Large salad with 1/2 cup cannellini beans and 1/8 cup black sesame seeds
Believe it or not, this type of meal plan could actually make you fat.
But how could this happen? I mean, the calories are controlled. And it’s all on paper!
Well, let me elaborate.
The meal plans above look great on paper. But let’s investigate a bit more, and bring in the psychology of fat loss.
A strict, detailed and regimented meal plan like the one above often doesn’t translate to real life for most people (this excludes people stepping on the physique stage each year – which is about 0.0005% of the population).
Here’s how the meal plans REALLY play out for most people:
Meal 1
1/2 cup oats, 4 egg whites.
Meal 1B
(aka “I feel restricted and deprived. Man, this sucks already”)
This is when the day begins to feel daunting and the meal plan feels very restrictive. Translation: Time to retaliate. Next stop – coffee shop for a latte and perhaps some fruit toast or a muffin.
Meal 2
100g of chicken, 1/2 cup broccoli, 1/2 cup mustard or salsa, 1/4 cup of I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter Spray (because gosh, those are “free” foods).
Meal 2B
(aka “I’m bored at work” or “I’ve been at the park/supermarket/library all morning with the kids, could really do with some time to myself/reward for not going completely insane”)
Lunch wasn’t very satisfying because you didn’t eat what you wanted. Plus, work is kind of slow and you’re bored. Nothing like some food to alleviate monotony! 3 handfuls from the lolly dish at work and a granola bar from the vending machine will do the trick. Or maybe at home, one of the “kids’” muesli bars, a square of dark chocolate, and a white bread sandwich with banana.
Meal 3
1 piece of fruit, 10 walnuts
Meal 4
Large salad with 1/2 cup pinto beans and 1/8 cup hemp seeds
Meal 4B (aka “I’m lacking stimulation right now”)
This is about the time when lack of stimulus kicks in. TV is dull, but the advertisements did remind you about all of the processed food you’re missing out on. It’s dark, your guard is down, and you can always start the meal plan again tomorrow. It might be the one part of the day you get to yourself. Maybe you spent a good part of the evening desperately trying to get the kids to eat THEIR dinner (which was markedly different from yours) and you feel not only vaguely hungry, but frustrated as well. Maybe you are just completely hanging out for a glass of wine or two, or a Baileys on ice.
So how about getting all of those cravings out of your system? I mean, you might as well. Those foods will be off limits starting at 6:00am again tomorrow. And besides, the only junk food you keep on hand is “healthy” like nuts, muesli bars and rice crackers.
Next stop – the freezer and pantry. I’m talking a ½ tub of “light” ice cream, 3 handfuls of multi-grain crackers, a bowl of “all natural” trail mix, a slice of bread with margarine and some veggie chips. That bounty will be consumed within about 30 minutes.
Yup. I said it. And it needed to be said.
New movie! Starring…you
Imagine this. Someone films a documentary of your life for one month, 24/7.
When you review this documentary, what do you think would stand out as something holding you back from your health and body composition goals?
Many clients tell their trainers or dieticians their biggest barrier is a “flawed” meal plan.
Survey says? Guess again.
It’s the big stuff that we tend to conveniently overlook.
• It’s finishing the kid’s leftovers (even though you just ate)
• It’s snacking on rice crackers while hovering over the sink
• It’s downing the muesli bar while standing in front of the pantry
• It’s the extra spoonfuls of “light” ice cream in front of the freezer
• It’s the lollies or chocolate at work
• It’s the coffee shop fare
• Its all the post dinner snacks with hubby
• It’s the three glasses of wine.- may as well finish the bottle now- from 5pm onwards.
• It’s the multiple lattes a day
This is all the non-meal plan stuff we block out. Then another month goes by and we don’t make any progress towards our goals.
What do we blame? The meal plan.
That stupid meal plan had an extra tablespoon of quinoa and piece of fruit! I’m sure that’s making me fat.
Your money and your waistline.
This reminds me of budgets. Many people feel like if they just set up the right budget each month, all of their spending woes would be alleviated.
We follow strict, line-item budgets about as well as we follow strict, colour-coded meal plans.
The people that attain monetary success seem to have a general awareness for budgeting and basic guidelines to follow.
What they don’t do is create unrealistic budgets and then retaliate with over-spending. They are reasonable.
Gosh – this really does sound familiar.
What on Earth should I do?
First, think about how YOU’VE responded to rigid meal plans. How does your mindset shift? Is it for the better? If not, consider the following.
Set up some reasonable eating limits
Think about how you treat your kids. You don’t put your kids on a strict meal plan (at least I hope you don’t). But you probably won’t let them have dessert every night or stand over the sink eating handful after handful of granola.
Avoid self-imposed eating restrictions, meal plan rules, and cheat foods
Eat like you know you should. Eat rationally. Eat foods you enjoy. Figure out what feedback your body is providing. If you feel a bit bloated, you probably ate too much. If you feel really deprived, maybe you’re eliminating too many foods you enjoy. If you are obsessed with your next meal, you are probably under-eating nutritious food.
Eat a reasonable amount of quality food each day
Rather than enforcing the idea that control of body weight is best managed by “manmade” interventions (e.g., diets, rules, and meal plans around food or external regulation), how about we develop a healthy relationship with food and our body? If we do this, we’ll have the body we were meant to.
A rigid meal plan might be the final ingredient in the recipe of disordered/compulsive eating.
You compete or you don’t
Finally, if you are getting ready for the state championship physique contest, then a detailed meal plan will be your best friend (at least in the short term). You’ll dedicate your life to it for 12 weeks, then peak for photos before going back to real life.
Many people say they want to “look like” they are going to step on a physique stage. Sorry, that doesn’t work. You compete or you don’t compete. Don’t try to live and look like a competitive physique athlete if you aren’t one.
Besides, a competitive physique athlete doesn’t walk around looking like they do in their pics. Trust me, I’ve trained them. I’ve been a part of that world. They look picture-worthy for about 12 hours. Once they drink some water and eat some real food, photo shoot time is over.
Further, guess what is on the mind of most physique athletes the minute the photos have been taken? Eating something not on the meal plan.
Why live like this?
Make moderate, rational choices every day. Purposefully choose foods that nourish and sustain you, savour them as you consume them, and toss the restrictive diet plans in the rubbish.
I work with my clients as much on mindset as nutrition, we also talk about daily “templates’ – which THEY construct to help give them a little bit of guidance of how to construct their awesome eating day. NB. YOU can do that too – just holler.
Eat, move and live… better. Together we can do this!
Nikki x