As a personal trainer, one of the most common questions I get is: "Can you write me a meal plan?" And to that, my answer is always "no, but I can teach you how to track your calories."
A meal plan may sound like a good idea in theory. But the reality is that most people do not follow them, almost ever.
Meal plans are not sustainable. The key to weight loss is having a sustainable diet that you can stick to consistently. Meal plans don't account for when it's your daughters birthday and the cake comes out. Or when it's a girls night and you want to get pizza. Life is ever changing and unpredictable and meal plans don't allow any flexibility. Typically, people may follow a meal plan for a week or two until they start craving a food that isn't in their plan or there's a special occasion.
I prefer to teach my clients how to track their calories and eat how they'd like to. This allows space for cake, or a family dinner out or morning tea in the office. If you know how to track your calories, you can quite literally eat whatever food you'd like to - if you allow calories for it in your daily intake. This sort of flexibility in a diet means clients are more likely to adhere to the calorie deficit - which in turn gets them closer to their goals.
There is so much power in understanding nutrition and how calories work. There is no education in a meal plan. A meal plan is a set of instructions and does not teach a client why they're doing what they're doing. Tracking your calories is freedom and flexibility and, gives clients an understanding of energy balance and macronutrients - which is imperative to their success in body recomposition.
If you are looking for help with fat loss and nutrition - please send me a message via the 'Personal Training' tab above