I've been thinking a lot about "meal plans" and "experts" and "the right way" to do things. And I'll admit I have a really hard time with these concepts. Not because there aren't smart coaches or great programs out there, but because the ultimate consequence of the "dieting industry" is to delay sustainable results by keeping up the pretense that there's some Magic Meal Plan that once we find it, weight loss will be effortless. 

 

And frankly, I think that's BS. 

 

I have worked with several competitors who believed that the only way for them to "cure" their poor eating habits was to simply do another competition. Get a new coach. Get someone different to do their diet for them.

While coaching approaches do vary, any time we hire someone else to do the planning and prep work FOR us, we're not learning...we're deferring. We defer onus, we defer growth, we defer responsibility, we defer lasting results. 

Because no one can *really* know ourselves and our bodies as well as we do. Yet, we still believe that the answer to a lean, fit physique lies "out there." And while there's certainly always more you can learn about nutrition and training, you actually only need to know about a few key things in order to figure out how to get results on your own, and using your own noggin.

There are 2 ways you can approach nutrition and training:

1) Keep learning how-tos, tips, tricks, tactics, techniques and constantly brushing up on science, trends, diets, approaches, etc. 

OR

2) Learn how certain foods affect your body.

My experience is that most people do #1 exclusively, and try to fit themselves into the latest dieting "box" they've just learned (e.g. intermittent fasting, low carb, Paleo, vegan, etc) and don't stop to ask if that latest plan is actually effective for them.

And, because they are constantly looking outside themselves for "the perfect plan," they fail to realize that 90% of the solution lies INSIDE THEM (#2 above). The people who focus on #2 mostly, and loosely on #1 above are the most successful long-term because they've introspected enough to figure out what works for them.

So how to do you figure out how certain food affect you? 

Simple: you eat them and monitor how you feel and if you lose/gain or stay the same. Ask, how's my hunger? How are my cravings? How's my energy? How's my sleep quality? How's my stress? Am I losing fat? Am I gaining? 

Stop trying to hire a new coach, or hand over the reigns to someone else. All of that is a distraction. Because real, sustainable change ONLY comes about as a result of inspiration that originates INSIDE of us. Do it for you, not because of your latest short-term fix accountability to a coach. Works fine in the short-term, but eventually you'll need to turn inward (like anything else in life, I suppose :)) 

Thanks for enduring a little tough love and rambling today ;) Have a fabulous week!

In love and empathy always,

Ox, Jill