Monday, January 27, 2020

Meal Plan Monday


Meal planning is one of the most important aspects of any weight loss program that I’ve ever taken part in, and BLE is no exception. If you don’t plan ahead, then you set yourself up for failure when you’re scrambling to find something to eat.  With VIP, the meal plan was simple to follow because there was little to no variation, I ate the same thing for each breakfast, each lunch, and each dinner for the entire 6 weeks of each of the 2 challenges I did (so a total of 12 weeks). Again, the rule follower in me initially liked that about the plan, my brain didn’t have to think about what I was going to eat and buy at the store because it was all laid out for me, but once I was done with the program, it was hard for me to continue eating those same foods. I didn’t want to eat the same food over and over again; I didn’t learn how to make better choices.  Now, with the benefit of hindsight, I can see that the VIP meal plan wasn’t all that different than the BLE food plan, the biggest difference is how it’s framed in my brain.  I have rules to follow, and as long as I’m making food choices within the rules, then I can build in some variety.  Side note: yes, I’m aware that my own meal plan is rather repetitive, but that’s a function of me still trying to figure out what works within the plan and me liking certain foods. E.g. When I get sick of clementines, I know that I don’t have to keep eating them, I can and will buy something different.

The BLE program doesn’t necessarily have you meal plan for a whole week, as I have, in fact the program has you do it each night, but for grocery shopping purposes, I have planned out the weekdays so I have the right foods in my kitchen.  This way, I can switch some things around as the week progresses as I re-evaluate the plan each night.

What does your meal plan look like? Here's mine.






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