Are getting meal plans good for you?
In fitness we sell meal plans like there is no tomorrow. But are meal plans a great idea? I will first explain the positives of meal plans and then the negative.
Meal plans do end up helping many people reach their goals of looking fitter and healthier every day. The first positive thing that meal plans do for people is give them structure. Structure is more important today, than ever in society. We are so busy in life with work, taking care of kids, or our social lifestyles. This will make every decision much easier for an individual throughout their day to day life. If you look at the bodybuilding community it really helps to have a plan to help with muscle adaptivity and recovery. Structure is key. Just think of all the decisions you make eating, when you have no plan, and you are hungry. Most likely it is a bad decision. The second positive of meal plans and most diets is that most meals that are planned tend to be mostly whole foods. It’s hard to go wrong with whole foods, because your hunger cues will be right on point or closer back to normal. This alone can put you in a caloric deficit, which leads to weight loss. The third thing that really helps when you get meal plans is that it will allow you to get 4 to 12 weeks planned out with your goal. This allows you to reach your goal much faster and provide progress much quicker. Also it's usually in a time range when your body will adapt to what you are doing.
The first negative of many meal plans is that they do not offer an individual variance. What does that mean? An example of this would be if you are not processing a food well, that is considered healthy or causes gut issues. For instance, I don’t do well with almonds. They give me red bumps on my arms and brain fog. This leads to the second reason why meal plans fail, no consciousness. Many times, when people get meal plans, we ignore signals that our body will give us. We tend to force whatever people tell us to do instead of making adjustments that may be needed. I literally had this conversation today about this. Someone told a girl to eat 5 meals a day when they barely could eat 2 to 3 meals a day. In this instance it was a failure because the body was not ready for it. When using a meal plan it can do more harm than good when you don’t consider how your body is reacting to certain foods or meal frequency. The third reason it doesn’t allow for social life or when life happens. What happens when you are done with a meal plan? Do you just rinse and repeat? Nutrition is complex and there is not a simple answer. Revisit your goals and that will lead you to your answers.
How do you apply the pros and cons of meal plans? This is why coaching when getting a meal plan is important. A good good coach will individualize it and make sure to check in to help you read your body's signal. Let’s start with the positives again. Add structure. Yes, life happens but when you at least have a few meals in the fridge and things planned out it makes decisions so much easier for you. You will be less likely to make a high caloric decision and you will not want to waste food. Then take the whole foods approach, if you just add more whole foods your body will self-regulate, and your body will start craving more nutritious foods. Then plan should be according to your goals while adjusting. When you get to your goal and are 4 weeks out, adjust your meal plan with your new goal, fitness and health is constantly about adjustments and making the best of your situations daily/monthly. Be conscious and adjust and see what foods really make you feel better vs others that just may make you feel worse. This will allow you to make your plan better each time. Imagine just doing this for a year and keeping up with the way you eat the next thing you know you will make better unconscious decisions and then use meal plans to take advantage of your new found knowledge about yourself.
The most underrated part people do not acknowledge about meal plans is the mental and social aspect. Life happens regardless of whether you plan to eat something or not. Your meal plan must implement how you are going to handle family get-togethers, weddings, nights out and other social situations. Don’t let the mental, emotional and social game get in the way of meal plans, while having a life. This is the factor that gets most people. Start slowly and grow. You got this!!!
Summary
Take the best of both worlds
What’s good for meal plans
1. Structure
2. Whole Foods
3. A 4 to 12 week plan
What’s bad from meal plans and you should add
1. No individual variance – Individualize your plan
2. Consciousness – Think in the moment what food is doing to you.
3. Social life – Mental and social well being is just as important than physical well being
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