break free from meal plans for weight loss
Are you feeling confused with all the different products and ways to lose weight? The weight loss industry makes a lot of money. Meal plans are surely just one piece of the pie.
Marketing is a huge reason why we might choose one option for weight loss over the others. But unfortunately that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s going to guarantee we lose weight.
The fact that it seems to cost money to be at a healthy weight or to learn how to manage my weight just doesn’t seem right. I know it’s God’s will for my life to be healthy. Surely God would make sure that I don’t need to pay up before I can learn the Truth about weight loss.
Digging to find the truth about weight loss helped me finally settle on what made sense for me. In this article, lets learn how we can break free from the constraints, costs, and limited long term success of meal plans!
Why do people choose meal plans?
Meal plans seem to be a convenient and foolproof quick fix to our weight loss woes. They can offer structure and a “plug and play” type of experience with weight loss. Sometimes we just want people to tell us what to do! If we take the guesswork out of the equation, and all we have to do is follow a plan, this can simplify the route to weight loss.
Pros of meal plans
1. Meal plans diminish fear
Meal plans cut out the aspects of counting macros that we tend to fear and be overwhelmed by- no tracking, and a meal plan or service that tells us exactly what to eat.
2. Meal plans keep it simple
Meal plans require little to no thinking on our part. Prepared grocery lists, and plans for what to eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks.
3. Meal plans help us feel in control
The planner in us LOVES meal plans. Being organized helps us to be efficient and having a plan helps us to feel we are in control
4. Meal plans are educational
When you have been eating however you have been eating, learning to eat within healthy guidelines can be a CHALLENGE. You may have no idea where to start, and a meal plan can give you a jump start on eating within those guidelines
Cons of meal plans
1. A meal plan or service requires our complete dependence.
Having to stick to a set meal plan with no flexibility is restrictive and often causes us to rebel. There’s no option to grab some candy or a homemade brownie. No flexibility to eat at Chik-fil-a or grab a McDonald’s soft serve cone.
Weight loss is typically a long term game plan. If you are hoping to lose 10 pounds and you plan for a realistic half pound a week weight loss, that is 20 weeks or 5 months! And plenty of us have more than 10 pounds we want to lose.
Over the time it takes to lose weight, not being able to enjoy the real life foods that we encounter at parties or have cravings for is likely to cause resentment. You may find yourself getting frustrated with your meal plan or giving up because travel or circumstances didn’t allow you to fulfill the plan as expected, thus compromising your weight loss.
2. Costs associated with purchasing meal plans
To actually have access to a comprehensive and detailed meal plan, especially one personalized for you will definitely cost you some money.
Depending on your financial situation, this could become burdensome or unreasonable especially over the long haul it takes to lose weight in a healthy fashion.
3. You may not prefer the foods
If the person who made the meal plan LOVES carrots and you’re not the biggest fan, it can make your weight loss journey less pleasant than it needs to be.
Also, especially to compensate for the inevitable inaccurate tracking, meal plans may undercut the calories to ensure your weight loss.
4. No flexibility
If you want to eat 5 meals one day, and 1 the next, meal plans don’t typically offer this type of flexibility. If you end up skipping a meal for whatever reason, this could throw you off and cause you to abandon the plan for the day and compromise your weight loss.
the alternative to meal plans: Macro counting
pros of macros
1. Complete accountability
Weighing our food with a scale offers us complete accountability for what we eat. Measuring cups and spoons and visual estimations from a meal plan can be grossly miscalculated, not offering TRUE accountability.
2. Complete flexibility
When you don’t want to stick to the plan, you have the flexibility to do that! As long as you are eating within your calorie and macro guidelines for the day – the world is your oyster! Even literally!
You can lose weight eating virtually anything. It’s up to you to stay within those guidelines and calorie deficit to stay on track to meet your goals.
3. Knowledge is Power!
Knowing HOW the service that likely planned your meal plans in the first place gives you a greater understanding of what it takes to lose weight and how it is done. With this information you are empowered to create your own “meal plans” if you wanted to, but for free 🙂
cons of macros
1. Intimidating
There is a reason why there are so many services that people pay money for in regards to weight loss, including things like Weight Watchers. There is just something about learning the nutritional content of all your food and weighing everything on a scale that just stresses us out and overwhelms us.
2. Emotional Barriers
Weight loss is quite the emotional journey, which can catch us off guard. You may find a lot of resistance in yourself personally. You don’t need to allow these emotional barriers to stand in your way.
3. Learning Curve
When you start counting, there is a lot to learn. And since you can technically eat whatever you want, the options are endless. You need to learn what foods in what quantity help keep you within your guidelines for your goals.
Macro friendly recipes and lists can help, but ultimately what you choose to eat and in what quantity is up to you, so you will need to find your own stride.
should I break free from meal plans?
Meal plans can be helpful as a way to get adjusted- but they aren’t an ideal long term solution. Ultimately, knowing how to count macros provides you with the flexibility, skills, and complete accountability you need to be successful on your weight loss journey. Good luck and God bless!
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