“MY FOOD IS SO PLAIN…”MY FOOD IS SO BORING”…”I MISS EATING CARBS”…”I CAN’T EAT 6 TIMES A DAY.” IF YOU’VE SAID ANY OF THESE PHRASES OUT OF FRUSTRATION THEN THESE TIPS ARE FOR YOU.

These phrases are some of the most common complaints I hear from people on why they fail to stick to their eating regimen. The sad part is that most of them don’t realize they can create a plan that works with a little help from a qualified nutrition professional.  A diet, in reference to the point i’m making, is defined as the kinds of food that a person, animal, or community habitually eats. The following 5 points  will drastically improve your ability to commit to your meal plan. Focus on long term, automate some food choices, plan your meal timing, keep meal prep simple and pay attention to how your gut feels. So let’s talk about your diet shall we…

The first element I want you to consider is that your regimen should be focused on your long term goals and have the distant future in mind. Focus on foods that are beneficial to eat on a consistent basis over a long duration.  Foods from the ground with minimal processing. Quality lean meats, fresh or frozen veggies, potatoes, rice, starchy squash and berries among many others. We are not in this for short term benefits like the ones crash diets provide. We want this to serve you for the rest of your life.

Let’s discuss how to encourage consistency as it’s imperative to your success. Most nutrition regimens fail due to a lack of consistency. To help you stay on track choose some foods that you are willing to eat everyday and that taste good. For example, if you know oatmeal, berries,  eggs and nuts work for you in the morning, then stick with that. This allows for less time wasted on deciding what you will eat and it ensures you will stick with it because you know you like it. It’s also easy to create variety by changing the types of nuts, berries and how you cook your eggs.  The same idea applies the rest of your meals.

The next order of business is planning your meal timing. This is another way to automate one more aspect of your day and further eliminate the possibility for deviation or failure. A large majority of us eat at similar times everyday. This is a great practice because it can rig your internal clock to expect feedings at these intervals. This way when it’s time to eat you actually want your  food and can enjoy it. Not just shovel it down because you have to. I realize that some people have hectic, ever changing schedules which makes meal timing tough but even 1 or 2 meal timings planned out is a step in the right direction.

That leads me to the topic of meal prep… “keep it simple!” The easier your food is to prepare, the more likely you are to consistently prepare it. At some point many of us come across pictures of “fit meals” on social media which look very pleasing to the eye. While they claim to be “quick meals” it still might take too long to prepare for your schedule. In order to make meals that I enjoy eating and that are fast to prepare I rely on premade spice mixes that can be picked up at your local grocery store which all taste great on basically everything. . Some spices that I love are Trader Joe’s everyday seasoning, Old Bay Hot seasoning,  jamaican jerk seasoning, whole foods all purpose latin seasoning. My all time favorite way to season is to use basic fresh herbs. Basic ingredients, with a little creativity thrown in, can make any fast meals taste delicious. Remember this…”there is no boring food, only boring cooks!”

Finally, be aware of any food on your plan that cause digestive distress. Even though some foods may be recognized as healthy, they still may not agree with you as an individual. Some common foods that cause digestive distress in adults are dairy, wheat, gluten, legumes, cruciferous vegetables and spicy foods. If, while on a clean eating regimen, you often feel bloated then look at the foods you eat rather than assuming something is wrong with you and that you need the doctor to prescribe medication. Digestive distress can give you a false feeling of being full. If left uncorrected for long enough It can also slow fat loss and reduce food assimilation due to the stress and potential damage to your digestive tract.

So, in order to improve your ability to commit to your meal plan make sure you are focused on long term adherence, keep your food choices simple, plan your meal times and pay attention to how your gut feels. If you apply these principles you’ll put yourself in the best position to succeed

If you have any questions email me at cpalmer@relentlessfitnessandnutrition.com. 

Until next time, be Relentless.