A question that seems to keep popping up lately is whether or not I write “meal plans” for clients. The short answer? No. I don’t.
And I’m most likely not ever going to, because it is something I feel pretty passionately about.
I understand why a meal plan sounds so appealing when you are excited and motivated to start your fat loss journey. After all, it tells you what to eat and when, provides your grocery list for you and puts you in an automatic calorie deficit, without you having to do any of the planning. It is all done for you.
All you have to do? Is follow it.
This is where my hang up is.
A meal plan will work… until it doesn’t. Which typically happens way sooner than if you are to simply track your “macros” instead.
A meal plan works because it puts you in a calorie deficit.
Yup, that’s it. It’s not because of the protein smoothie every morning or the chicken and rice for lunch every day.
It’s because you are in a strict calorie deficit.
That’s why tracking your “macros” and overall calories works too.
The only way to lose fat is to be in a calorie deficit.
Now you’re thinking, so what does it matter if I have a meal plan or if I track my macros then? If they ultimately work by the same concept?
You are thinking, “Why wouldn’t I choose the option to have it all laid out for me and take the guessing out of it?”
And while, yes, a meal plan makes it to where you do not have to put much thought into what you are going to make for supper and how that is going to translate in your food logs/daily goals.
Do you know what a meal plan doesn’t do?
Allow for life.
Or last forever.
You cannot and will not (100% of the time) stick to a meal plan perfectly for the rest of your life. It just isn’t going to happen.
Life happens. Plans change, and don’t go according to plan. And your meal plan does not allow for that fluidity.
Plus, if you have been following a meal plan up until plans change and life happens, then you are much less equipped to know how to handle that change in plans. It will be harder for you to know which foods will support your goals well and which ones are not so helpful.
Now you are probably wondering why you couldn’t just follow a meal plan short term- to lose the weight quickly, and then you can go back to normal. That is not quite how it ends up working though.
This is the same concept that goes for most forms of “dieting”.
Going back to normal is not going to support where you are now, with the weight lost.
It’s going to support where you were, when you started… before you lost the weight.
Enter stage left: Yo-yo dieting. A cycle of weight loss and gain. You diet to lose the weight, then “normal” brings it back, plus a few extra pounds.
It gets harder and harder to lose that same 10lbs each and every time.
Sustainable weight/fat loss means you make lifestyle changes… some/most of them? For life!
Tracking your “macros” and logging your food/drink intake daily not only allows you to be in a calorie deficit, without a rigid plan, but it also teaches you what is in the food you are fueling your body with. This is where the magic happens.
It can be really hard to know what is actually good for you with all of the controversy online around food. One day eggs are a cholesterol nightmare, the next they are nature’s vitamin. How are you supposed to know what to eat?
Tracking your macros and paying attention to how you respond to different foods will allow you the knowledge and freedom to hit your daily protein target and also eat the cookie. All while still being in a calorie deficit and inching closer to your fat loss goal.
Progress might be a bit slower. But do you know what it won’t be? Restrictive eating to the point of caving/binging.
Remember, the only way to lose fat is to be in a calorie deficit. That calorie deficit doesn’t need to be boring, repetitive and restrictive.
I do not write meal plans for any of my clients. And they are all still losing fat, gaining strength and transforming their bodies (click HERE to apply for coaching). They are also learning. Learning what they fuel with does matter and that while it matters, sometimes it is ok to indulge a little bit.
It takes some of them longer to learn what works, but at the end of it? When they do reach their fat loss goal? They will know what it takes to sustain that fat loss. They will have built a new “normal” that supports a healthier and stronger them.
Consistency is where change happens. Not perfection.
While a meal plan might look like perfection on paper, consistently following it for an extended period of time is where it falls short.
Take the time to learn about fueling your body. Your health depends on it.
Healthy and sustainable fat loss is not a quick fix. It’s a life changing experience.
And it sure doesn’t have to be as boring as the chicken and rice on that meal plan your looking into.