Why I won't make you a meal plan

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As a dietitian, one of the most common questions I get from people is ‘can you make me a meal plan?’. Knowing what to eat can be confusing, so I get it. But making meal plans is not something I do, and I’d advise you to steer clear of anyone that says they’ll make one for you.

Here's why:

They don’t teach you about nutrition: 

One of the reasons I don’t like meal plans is because they don’t teach you anything about nutrition. While dietitians are the nutrition experts, part of our role is educating others. This means sharing our knowledge and teaching people about good nutrition. If I make a meal plan for you, how will you learn for yourself?

Knowing how to make a balanced and nutritious meal is a key skill that will be come in handy for life. And while not every meal you eat will be balanced, having an idea of healthier choices will always be helpful. If you’re relying on the meal plans made by someone else, it stops you from thinking about meal choices.

I’d want to empower you to make your own healthy choices. This allows you to take charge of your diet and means you’ll be more independent when making meals.

I don’t know your preferences: 

A generic meal plan assumes that you like all the foods listed, you can afford all the foods listed, and you know how to prepare/cook the meals. This is a lot of assumptions to make for something that’s meant to make your life easier.

Everyone has food preferences, and food is very personal. It can be difficult for someone else to make a meal plan that suits you and meets all of your needs, because they aren’t you! You know yourself best. Having a generic meal plan made by someone else means that what you want might not be considered.

If I was to make a meal plan, I’d try to pick general meals that most people would like. But we all have our biases and tend to pick meals that we’re familiar with or that we would like. So having someone else make you a meal plan means you’re probably just getting an idea of what they want to eat.

Telling you what to do doesn’t always work: 

Also, although you may think it’s easier for someone to tell you what to eat, most people don’t like being told what to do. Being told what to do is normally a pain.

And psychology tells us that we’re more likely to stick to things that we come up with ourselves. With meal plans being no exception. In my previous role, helping people to lose weight, I found that making suggestions didn’t always work. Ideas that I had would be turned down by service users as it didn’t suit them. There’s no better person to tell you what to do than yourself.

Let's say I made a meal plan that told you to eat a green side salad at every meal, would you be able to stick to it? Would that be practical for you? Do you like salad? Instead, you could think about what vegetables you do like and how you like them cooked to add to meals. You’re more likely to stick to something that you know will work for you. And the best way to know if it’ll work is to come up with it yourself. 

It could also lead to feelings of guilt or failure if you can't abide by the meal plan you’ve purchased. You may feel bad for not being able to stick to it. And this isn’t a nice place to be.

So, because of all the reasons above, I don’t like making people meal plans. I understand you may be thinking, well, what do I eat then?

How to get started with making your own meal plans: 

It can be daunting to start meal planning. But starting small is a good idea.

Think about your needs: we all have different needs when it comes to food. Thinking of what will suit you is the best place to start. For example, does eating 3 main meals in a day work for you? Or do you like eating smaller meals more regularly? Does someone in your household have an allergy you have to accommodate for? Do you have a long commute to work so need quick meals? You have to consider your lifestyle and what’s practical for you.

Start with a few meals a week: it can help to start with planning a few meals for the week. You don’t have to have every meal for every day meticulously planned out. Think about meals you tend to enjoy and know how to make. These can be easy wins to add to your meal plan. You can then build on this and plan for more days when you’ve got the hang of it.

Think of easy go-to snacks: it’s also useful to plan snacks that you enjoy too. Having quick and easy snack options can help keep you satisfied until your next planned meal. Some snack ideas could be: a couple of boiled eggs, hummus and veg sticks, cheese cubes and apple slices, or banana with some nuts.

Aim for balance: trying to base meals around the food groups is a good way to get balance. You can aim for protein foods like meat, fish, dairy, and beans to be part of each meal. Carbohydrates give us energy and they should be part of meals too. Go for wholegrain versions for more fibre. Fat is satisfying so a serving of fat can really elevate a meal. Think a drizzle of olive oil over your meal or a slice of avocado. Fruit and veg should also make part of your meal. I really enjoy roasted veg, but you can find a way you like to cook vegetables.

Include less nutritious foods: it may seem silly but planning in when you’ll enjoy less nutritious foods can be really helpful. If you try and tell yourself that you’ll only eat ‘healthy’ food, it can make less nutritious foods seem more rewarding and create the forbidden fruit effect. By adding a takeaway or less healthy option into your meal plan every so often it normalises these foods. It also shows you trust yourself and can make balanced choices.

The Good Prep: 

If you want to meal plan, but don’t want to cook, you can use The Good Prep! The Good Prep is a meal plan delivery service that lets you pick the meals you want and then they cook it and deliver straight to your door. With The Good Prep you can incorporate all of the tips I suggested earlier. You can choose foods that you like, the meals are balanced, and they have some more indulgent options.

*You can have a look here.

Meal planning doesn’t have to be a burden. It can be tempting to get a generic one from someone else, but you know yourself best and can make a plan what works for you.

Key points: 

• Buying generic meals plans don’t teach you anything about nutrition, you might not be able to stick to it, they’re not personal to you, and they impose someone else’s ideas onto what you eat.
• If you want to try making your own meal plan you can: start small, think about what will suit your lifestyle, aim for balanced and easy meals, and include less nutritious foods sometimes.

 

I hope you enjoyed this post! I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

Bye for now! 👋

References:

We don’t like being told what to do: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4675534/

Benefits of meal planning: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28153017/

*Affiliate link