Meal Plans: A Plan for Success or Not?

Are meal plans the ticket to your success? I think not.

What do I mean when I say meal plan? (just in case there is confusion)

A meal plan is a list of exact foods to eat quantities to consume and the time you should be sitting down to your meal.

Example:

Breakfast - 7:00 A.M.

3 whole eggs

1 slice whole grain toast

⅓ medium size avocado

1 cup water

Lunch - 12:00 P.M.

4 oz chicken breast

1 cup steamed brussel sprouts

1 medium size baked potato

2 cups water

And so on...

That plan looks okay (and it likely is) on a day when you wake up on time, your kids get off to school without a fuss, your cupboards and refrigerator are stocked, you meal prepped over the weekend, your spouse is in a good mood, and I think you get the picture.

How often does everything fall into place like that?

Meal plans simply do not account for your reality. You and I live in a world where “stuff” happens. And this stuff often seems to get in the way our plans, whether our plans were related to work, relationships or meal time. We often find ourselves in positions that require us to adapt and make adjustments.

With a set meal plan of exact meals at exact times in exact portions, you can feel overwhelmed and feel like you’ve failed if you do not have the opportunity to eat that exact meal.

Using the meal plan above as an example, you oversleep and do not have time to cook your eggs and cut up an avocado. But you do happen to have full fat greek yogurt in the fridge. Are you a failure if you grab the greek yogurt on the way out the door? Not at all. You demonstrated an understanding the your breakfast was primarily made up of healthy fats and proteins.

And lunch? Let’s just say things got busy and you did not have a chance to prep your chicken breasts and brussel sprouts before hand. But you do have a protein shake handy and also some leftover carrots and rice from last night’s dinner. Maybe not terribly exciting but hopefully you can see the the shake will replace the chicken. The carrots will replace the broccoli and the rice will replace the potato. What if you didn’t have leftovers available? How about a chicken salad and baked potato from Wendy’s? Real life requires being able to make substitutions and trade offs.

Meal plans do not take into account the psychology of behavioral change. In general, attempting a radical overhaul of one’s diet is a recipe for failure. Humans function best when we make small behavioral changes. Focusing on a few key behaviors at a time. These few key behaviors then will lead to new healthy habits. Thus, begins a cycle of building upon and refining existing behaviors and habits.

What if you are the type of person who is incredibly disciplined and motivated? Determined to follow an exact plan no matter what? Eventually, you will come to hate the plan. You will feel as if you are missing out on life, you will likely get tired of certain foods, and you will may even come to the conclusion that “healthy” eating is not for you.

That could not be farther from the truth. Truly healthy eating is for you. You just need to redefine what healthy eating is.

Instead of “must have” foods and “restricted” foods, it is reasonable choices and moderation.

Instead of eating foods that are on plan and not understanding why you are eating them, it is understanding the makeup of the foods you eat, i.e. their fat, protein and carbohydrate content.

Instead of eating however much you want of certain “good” foods, it is understanding how foods work together and portion control.

Instead of avoiding all sweets as if they were the plague, it is making tradeoffs to allow junk food occasionally without guilt.

Meal plans are the proverbial giving a man a fish. Healthy eating is learning how to fish and having a plan for a lifetime.