DO YOU NEED A DIET PLAN TO LOSE WEIGHT?
It’s common for clients to ask for a diet plan, on the surface it seems like a logical thing to ask for. Pay for a diet plan. Be told what to eat. Follow it. Lose weight. So how come they rarely work? Why do so many people start following a diet plan with the best intentions only to fall from the wagon?
If you are reading this article then ask yourself the following questions.
What’s the number of diet plans you started and stopped over the years?
Then ask “why” you think the real reason is that you can not seem to stick to the diet plans you invested in?
Let us let you into a little secret.
It is not because you are a failure. You are not broken and you can achieve weight loss.
Often our clients think that there will be a magical diet plan we give them. One that they haven’t stumbled across yet.
The harsh reality is that a piece of paper with food ideas written on it does not solve people’s weight loss.
Why?
A multitude of reasons for honesty. But here is 8 of them for now.
Diet plans do not fit lifestyles. They do not cater for life’s events. Most people do not have time or want to spend their limited time cooking meals. Eating them from plastic boxes or turning up to work with cold food.
They lack variety and are designed around meals that the person writing it enjoys eating.
Not foods you eat or buy when you go to the supermarket.
They usually alienate you from family time.
They do not teach you anything.
Boring.
Rigid.
You get the picture.
While searching high and low for a meal plan is a waste of your time. Losing the weight you want to is not.
Instead of thinking you need a diet plan, what you need instead is a simple structure you can follow. One which puts you in control of any food situation that you find yourself in.
Imagine that.
Staying in control at Christmas, birthdays, Easter, weddings.
Not only staying in control but removing any emotion and guilt.
You can eat foods you enjoy. Eat on the go. Stay social and create a body you are proud of.
So how does it work?
THE 4 STAGES TO FOOD FREEDOM
Below are four stages for you to follow. The same as our clients work through. We call it the Ultimate Nutrition Structure. It is part of our unique Health Triad System.
STEP 1
Awareness is the state of being conscious of something. It is the ability to know and perceive, to feel, or to be cognizant of events.
The reason humans gain weight is when we are not aware of what we are doing. Think about the opposite of awareness, It is unaware. You can not change anything if you are unaware of what needs to change.
While this is not always your own fault that you are not aware of, it is your responsibility to become more aware.
This is why diet plans do not work. Think about it. If you are not aware of why you are not losing weight. If you were to be given the perfect diet plan it isn’t going to solve anything. Your old/current habits will continue to be destructive and derail your hard work.
Instead, when you work through the awareness section you can become aware of:
Your current daily decisions.
Aware of what you currently eat and drink.
How much is your environment dictating your results?
Is the workplace disruptive to your weight loss goals?
What about your home life?
Are you snacking on the kids’ dinner whilst cooking it?
What about your social circle? Are you aware of what you eat on the weekend?
This all falls into awareness.
Without assessing this you will find it hard to be successful with weight loss.
STEP 2
FPT. Fist, palm, thumb rule. It’s an easy-to-put-in-place system that keeps you in control of eating in any situation. This is why diet plans do not work. When you try to follow a diet plan and then get thrown into a social situation. You panic. Think you have f^cked up and either do not eat or press the f^ck it button and overeat.
THE SECRET OF FPT
This makes you feel guilty and stuck in a cycle of starting diet plans and stopping them.
With FPT you are always in control. It removes panic, emotion and frustration.
When you think about the game of getting in shape: the more you can stay in control of situations where foods are involved, the greater chance you have of losing weight and keeping it off. Which is another article in itself.
On top of this using FPT gives you an education so you know what foods to eat and how to put balanced meals together.
While you are not looking for a university degree in nutrition. People lack a basic understanding of what is in the food they eat. This boils down to education.
“If you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. If you teach a man to fish, you feed him for a lifetime. We use this phrase often when helping clients transform their body and brain. While it can sometimes be cheesy and quotes often lose their power this one always hits the nail on the head.
The same is true with weight loss and eating for weight loss. Diet plans do not teach you anything. So once you stop doing them you revert backwards.
What is the point? Even if you did have success with a diet plan to only end up six months down the line.
LET US SHARE WITH YOU THE BASICS OF FPT SO YOU CAN SCRAP THE BORING DIET PLAN AND START TO WIN THE WEIGHT LOSS GAME.
You get start with FPT by following these simple basics.
F = Fist.
This is for the amount of carbohydrates you need on a plate when you eat. The beauty of this is everybody’s fist size is individual to them. Think back to when we touched the environment earlier. It’s common for people who first start working with us to be eating the same food served as their partners.
If you are 5ft 2 and 10 stone. Eating the same carbohydrate serving size as your 6ft 2 and 16 stone husband is not going to help.
P= Palm
This is the amount of protein that you need on your plate . A huge problem we see made is people who are trying to lose weight and don’t eat enough protein on a daily basis. Protein keeps us feeling full. Critical if you want to win the cat and mouse game of weight loss. Eat too little food daily and you will be hungry and binge. Eat too much and you will not lose weight. Protein is the main food group to help you with this, you can keep calories low and feel full.
T = Thumb.
This is the amount of fat you need on each meal. Fat is often overlooked and seen as something that makes you gain body weight. This is not true. It stands side by side with protein and keeps you feeling full, satiated and satisfied.
Once you have this guideline you are ready to put balanced meals together. Instead of trying to follow the same boring meals from a diet plan.
STEP 3
The third stage of your ultimate nutrition structure is MACROS.
Now equipped with awareness and FPT. It is time to move on to food groups. This is what MACROs are. In a nutshell, MACROs are protein, carbs and fat.
So a diet plan is a piece of paper with MACROs on it. Understand this section and you have the flexibility to eat meals you like. Not meals that someone else has designed for you.
STEP 4
Which leads you into the final stage of the pyramid. Flexibility.
Once you arrive at this section you have the skill and knowledge to be self sustainable.
No more diet plans!
Learn the right way to get the result you want. Train and eat smart.
Need help doing that? Send us a message to get your Free consultation.
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