Just tell me what to do!

I know most of us have thought this when struggling to figure out what actions to take to reach our goals.

Especially when we feel like we’ve been working really hard to not see any progress, or such up and down progress, we want to give up.

There are truly so many options out there.

We just want a set DO THIS THING AND you’ll see results.

But what if this is actually the thought that is KEEPING YOU STUCK.

This idea that there is just one thing to do, one plan we can follow forever that will get us the lasting results we want?

Because honestly this thought of just wanting everything mapped out for us, does hold us back from making sustainable changes.

And I see this most often when it comes to meal plans.

So while meal plans can be a great way to start making changes, we have to recognize their limitations.

They do give us an idea of how to hit our goals – the portions we need, recipes we can use, ways to quickly and easily meal prep.

BUT they don’t teach us to include foods we will ultimately want to eat.

Or show us how to balance our actual lifestyle with our goals.

They’re a short term fix.

They are the reason we get bored or feel restricted or eventually fall off our habit changes…

Because we don’t learn.

So if we choose to use a meal plan, we want to realize it is meant to be a short term fix.

And as we implement it, there are some strategies we can use to transition over time to fully learning how to make those sustainable changes…

We can start by tracking the meal plan to see the portions to then make swaps with other foods we enjoy.

We can tweak the recipes in the plan or even take the macros and search for other recipes we like or already use that match, even adapting our current favorites to work.

We can include meals out where they work in.

But the key is we take that framework and see how we can slowly tweak it based on what is realistic for us.

Because we need to see making changes less as us forcing ourselves to fit a mold and more as there are different ways to use the mold to also fit our needs.

We have to balance doing the “right” habits with what we can also do consistently!

And this can even mean creating our OWN meal plan…

To create your own meal plan…

1. Track a current day to see where your ratios are at and build off of the foods you love.
2. Make one small change to a recipe to adjust macros
3. Try entering in a different recipe for a meal to help you hit your ratios while having fun
4. Create leftovers and meals you can prep ahead
    1. This also allows you to use this meal plan for a few days
    2. Even say use dinner leftovers as a lunch the following day with a different dinner meal so you can see how you can reuse meals in different ways
5. Map in meals out so you can even avoid meal prep but know how those things can be planned in
6. Keep things simple by prepping protein to use in a variety of different ways over the week.

The key is planning ahead and setting meals you all know work together to repeat. And then even as your ratios change, think in terms of tweaking them.

Maybe your taco bowl becomes tacos on one ratio or a taco salad on another!