Stick to the Meal Plan!

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I’ve officially fell off this month. No bloggin, No serious workouts, No consistency, No accountability…you get it…Coaching, work, new baby, school and trying to save the world does add up to a very cranky Mikey.

So where do we go from here?

I’ve always said it “If you can workout like a beast and eat like one, you will end up at square one” Diet is king and 80% of the game.

The Simple Method

So here’s what I’ve done in the past, and what I’d recommend. Keep it simple.

1. Give it a break. Since I have kidney issues, I usually fast once a quarter (1 day fast , 2 day juicing) . This includes cranking up my water intake and juicing. I start of by weaning my self off of junk food and slowing introducing a lot of fruits and veggies. This works for me around spring when a lot of the fruits I like are in season.

2. Eat real, whole foods you love. Do NOT see this as a sacrifice. If you hate carrots or eggplant but you eat them because they’re somehow “virtuous” or you think that sacrifice is the only way to lose that fat, you’ll fail. You cannot stick to something you hate for very long. Instead, go for healthy foods you actually enjoy eating. For me, this is berries, fruits of all kinds, raw almonds, veggies cooked tastefully in stir-fries or chili or what have you. Your list will be different, and it could take some experimenting with different recipes you find online, in magazines or in cookbooks to find the healthy foods you like best. Main rule of thumb, though: try for real foods, not packaged ones (not even “healthy” convenience foods). In as natural a state as possible — meaning, not processed or extracted, not fried or smothered with cream or sauces.

3. Improve in iterations. Cut back a little at a time. You don’t have to go from Standard American Diet to a diet of Only Raw Carrots in one day (nor should you ever eat only raw carrots, but you know what I mean). Try a meal plan that’s a little better than the diet you’ve been eating for years — perhaps cutting out the liquid calories at first, or adding more fruits or veggies you love. As I said above, cut the calories just a little. This first meal plan doesn’t have to be perfect — just a little better. Then, once you get used to that, make a meal plan that’s a little better yet — maybe a couple hundred calories less, more veggies, less fatty stuff, less snack food, or more real food. With each iteration of your meal plan, get a little better. I’m still getting better at mine.

4. Look ahead for bumps, and plan. We all have those bumps in our routines: an office party, someone’s birthday dinner, going on a date with your honey, taking a trip, being on the road all day and not having access to your usual foods. The key is to think ahead — what’s going on tomorrow? How will I deal with it? Should I pack food, or find out what the menu is at the restaurant so I can pick something healthy, or should I use this as a cheat meal? Thing is, don’t just do cheat meals all the time — then you’re not on a meal plan anymore. More on that below. Again, plan ahead and prepare — as you keep doing this, you’ll get good at packing snacks or meals so you’re covered, no matter what the occasion. Tupperware will be your best friend by the end of the year trust me and don’t let guest come over and borrow them you’ll get pissed.

5. Make it public. Use your blog or Twitter/Facebook or a public forum or just email to let people know how your meal plan is going (I use blackfitnessblog, but that’s only one way to do it). Or get a partner and report to each other. Making it public or having a partner gives you accountability and motivation, and works like a charm. Don’t skip this step. They may not know it but my partners are here: Todd from PHITZONE.COM, runblackgirlrun.com, Patrice from LeadTheWayOut.com, Soul from nubiansoul.blogspot.com, Elle, and many others.

6. Cheat, & don’t feel guilty. Guilt often derails people from meal plans — they indulge and then feel like they failed, and so they stop. Don’t fall into this trap. You’re not going to be 100% compliant to any plan — shoot for 90% and be happy if you come close to that. Know that you’ll cheat sometimes, and make this part of your plan. However, learn to control the cheating: only do it a couple times a week, perhaps, and even then don’t just pig out. Eat reasonable portions of things you’d consider cheating, eat them slowly and enjoy them, and then move on. Get back to your plan. Over the long term, a little cheating won’t stall you, but a lot might. Be smart about it and do it after 6-7 PM and by no mean scrap the rest of the day, remember its a cheat meal not a cheat day.

A few warnings

1. Watch out for sneaky calories. Liquid calories are a good example — sodas, teas, coffees, sports drinks, vitamin waters and more, all contain calories that many people don’t account for, and then wonder why they’re not losing weight. Other examples include salad dressings, sauces, little bites of foods that “don’t count”, smoothies, candies or chips you snack on from the break room, meals that are bigger than you realize. There are many others, of course. A rule of thumb for me is I don’t drink anything but water once I’m done detoxing. At most I’ll do lemon water, I make myself. It may not sound appealing but after a month of straight water this will be the best thing since slice bread.

2. Do not make it extreme. This should be clear from the above method, but I have to say it explicitly. People will try any diet if they think it’ll work — the Grapefruit Diet, the Cookie Diet, a liquid diet, a “cleanse” or “detox”, an 800-calorie a day diet, the Cabbage Soup diet, the Lemonade detox. Please don’t do these diets — they’re not healthy and you won’t get good nutrition. Remember: you’re in this for the long term. I’m not against them to jump start but after a day or two these diet to me = EPIC FAIL.

3. Don’t starve yourself. A little hunger is OK — I’ve learned that it won’t kill me to go slightly hungry for a couple hours. But if you feel like you’re starving, you might be reducing too drastically. Again, it’s best to reduce portions a little at a time, get used to that amount, and then reduce a little more. If you spread your meals out evenly you’ll find that the small meals are perfect. The problem arises when you skip that 10 o’clock snack between breakfast and lunch, by noon that small lunch will never be enough. Don’t fret remember you have another meal coming at 3 o’clock.

My 1800-cal meal plan

For most of the last year, I had a 2,000-calorie meal plan and have been sticking to it, varying it a bit when I get tired of the foods. The great thing is when your body becomes a efficient machine and you up your cardio or weights and maintain the same meal plan. Your body will demand more and you deserve it but this is when supplements kick in. (more on this some other time)

Calorie goal: You shouldn’t follow my calorie goal — use an online calculator to calculate your basal metabolic rate (or BMR — the amount of calories you need just to maintain each day), and then subtract perhaps 200-300 for your meal plan’s target. If you exercise, you’ll be adding to the calorie deficit, which is good, but even if you don’t exercise on some days, you’ll still have a 200-300 calorie deficit. My calorie goal is actually closer to a 500-calorie reduction of my BMR, but it’s usually best to start smaller and adjust as you get used to it and as you see results, after maybe 3-4 weeks. Please, don’t drop below 1,200 calories (women) or 1,500 calories (men) — it’s hard to get good nutrition if you go too low on calories. Remember, this is long-term, not a quickie fix.

Basics: For the most part, the meal plan is:

measured for my calorie goal
broken into 5 meals (although this can be varied to any number that suits you)
made of whole, real foods I love
pretty much the same every day — I don’t mind routine, though you might want some variety
flexible — I can eat out if I want without guilt

My plan: Here’s my current plan — please note that it changes as needed:

Breakfast: Egg whites and 1/2 cup oats or loaded oatmeal – whole rolled oats, blueberries, raisins, cinnamon, raw almonds, flaxseed + cup of coffee (Wednesdays) (450)
Snack: Fage yogurt or a fruit with scoop of peanut butter.
Lunch: Typically grilled protein ie chicken, fish or tofu with salad. On Wednesday and Sunday with brown rice (up the carbs for hump day) (400)
Snack: soy yogurt, berries, raw almonds or protein shake (350)
Dinner: Typically grilled protein in a low carb wrap with veggies (400)
Snack (whenever I get hungry): fruits & nuts or fruit smoothie (200)

You could use this if you like the foods, but be sure to measure all your foods at first to get the calories you want for each meal. For example, if you want a 1600-cal meal plan, you could cut 100 cals from two of the meals or skip the last snack. However, if these aren’t foods you love, don’t follow this plan — make your own or find one you like. This is provided for illustration only.