Why Meal Plan Dieting isn’t the Answer!
We work with a lot of people on nutrition, and I always get the question, “Can you just tell me exactly what to eat?”. That’s exactly the problem; you think that it’s going to be easier to have someone else do the thinking for you, but it’s actually going to hold you back. You know the old saying, “ You give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him to fish and you will feed him for a lifetime”.
It comes down to memorizing versus understanding: Meal plan dieting is just memorization—meaning you’re doomed to fail. True understanding is where long-term success lies. Now I’m not saying memorizing something is always wrong. In fact, you don’t have to look beyond a 2-year-old to see that memory is a fundamental tool in the learning process. In fact, we are taught from a young age that we need to develop our memorizing skills. That’s how school was for me, probably for you too. The problem was I didn’t retain half of the information I memorized.
This is because real learning doesn’t happen until we understand the information and then apply it to a new situation or experience. The more I learn about nutrition, the more I realize the importance of learning the science behind nutrition versus just memorizing what foods I should eat.
Learning nutrition allows you to truly understand the why behind what you’re eating, which will allow you to make better decisions in the moment and be more creative with your cooking, which will help you make healthier meals that still taste really good. It will also help you be more critical in your thinking and realize there isn’t one way to do things; sometimes trial and error with your body and your diet is a good thing, and the more educated you are the more you’ll be able to play around with what works for you and what doesn’t.
Meal plan dieting is precise and organized and specific and rigid—all of the things you think you need to lose weight.
Specific meal plans are what many people come to me looking for: “Just tell me exactly what to eat and when, and I’ll do it,” they promise. But the truth is, most people follow the plan for a while—a few weeks to a couple months maximum—and then they fall off, because most people aren’t wired to be that rigid all the time.
Then once they fall off, because then these people often have no idea what they should be eating, so all hell breaks loose in their lives. Their only tool was to follow a temporary plan, but now they can’t tell you why they should avoid lectins, or why it’s important to have fat with every meal and they’re not sure what to eat anymore.
A few ways to educate yourself if you don’t know where to begin:
Your coach
We’re always willing to sit down with you and give you all our nutrition secrets and information. So don’t be shy. Ask if you want help.
Our blog
We periodically post nutrition nuggets for your brain to digest!
Precision Nutrition
If you’re really serious, you could go so far as to take their Level 1 certification, but at the very least the Precision Nutrition website is a wealth of knowledge for you. Even their newsletters are helpful!
We’ll see you in health!
