Why meal plans don't work
So You Think You Want A Meal Plan?
I am regularly asked ‘Can I get a meal plan?’ and the answer I’m afraid is always ‘No’
Meal plans are all or nothing, they tell you to ‘eat this’ or ‘eat that’. If you can follow one, they work, but if you can’t follow it, they don’t work.
There's only Plan A, no B
Here’s why I believe you don’t need a meal plan.
Meal plans are unsustainable. People often struggle to follow a meal plan more than a few weeks because they lack any flexibility
Meal plans are restrictive and we believe in flexible dieting. I am super flexible with the tracking, so asking you to eat specifically to a meal plan is somewhat contradictory.
The closer your diet is to your current diet the more likely you will adhere to it. When you start making large changes to your diet, it can become very hard to maintain the new lifestyle; a common reason why people are unsuccessful when dieting.
Following a meal plan doesn’t teach you how to eat. All it shows you is how to follow a plan. When the plan ends then what? I want to teach you about nutrition so when you leave us you are fully armed with knowledge and strategies to maintain your new weight & physique.
Our goal for our clients is for them to be able to look at food, whether it's in the grocery store or a restaurant, and understand its caloric and nutritional value.
Meal plans have a general theme to them, tailored by the author or to the specific diet; they’re not tailored to how you eat. I’m a chicken, rice & broccoli person, who would want to eat that every day?
Meal plans are generally a list of food items, they’re not a meal as such, they don’t form a plate of food.
What happens when you go out to eat or on vacation? Then what?
OK, so I don't want a meal plan, now what?
Quite simply, you should eat the foods you do today, just in different portion sizes.
I believe your diet should remain as close to its current style as possible, then over time you build new habits and substitute some foods to improve your overall health.
If you need help in this department, I offer macro based nutrition plans (4/8/12 week) as well as more custom 1-1 anti inflammatory guidance through an elimination diet and food re-introductions. If you are struggling with chronic and autoimmune diseases, cleaning up your diet is a must and is crucial to begin to heal.