What’s the deal with meal plans?

We are registered dietitians (RDs) who don’t give blanket meal plans. Doesn’t that seem crazy? Random people we meet find out that we are RDs and the first question they typically ask us is “what is the best meal plan for weight loss?” or “what meal plan will give my body the best results” after knowing nothing about this person. Over the years working as clinical and community dietitians, we realized meal plans don’t work for everyone.

But, why?

1. Meal plans don’t leave clients with long lasting results if the meal plans are not foods clients enjoy or if they are encouraged to eat less than they need. Restriction and dieting is a precursor for weight gain long term.
2. We don’t believe in blanket meal plans because we all have different bodies, food preferences, intolerances and reactions to food. We don’t want to assume your body tolerates cauliflower well recommending cauliflower crusts & rice when it will leave you with bloating and gas.
3. Meal plans don’t take into account your mood or cravings that day. You won’t enjoy your meal if you are eating something that a plan is telling you to eat that meal vs. you deciding what recipe you want to try that night.
4. Meal plans encourage listening to rules, guidelines or restrictions instead of listening to internal body cues.
5. There is no one blanket “perfect” meal plan that will work the same for everyone. We can put everyone in the world on the exact same diet and everyone would respond differently.

Instead of offering our clients a blanket meal plan, we believe in giving fun, easy and delicious recipes for you to try based on your mood, what ingredients are available at your home and food preferences. You can add, omit or change ingredients to your preferences and mood. We absolutely want to encourage you to try new foods and get curious with what foods work best for your body. Challenge yourself to try new things you might find a way to get your kids to enjoy vegetables they haven’t enjoyed before!

Love,

Your favorite intuitive eating dietitians Brooke & Alyssa Miller