Hey everybody, welcome back to Concierge Weight Loss. Today we're talking about something that soundsā¦
practical on the surface, but honestly,
has a huge emotional component.
underneath it. That's meal planning.
Most women don't actually struggle with meal planning because
they're lazy. They struggle because they're overwhelmed. They're exhausted, they're trying to do it perfectly.
Ann? They're planning for a version of themselves that doesn't actually exist.
You know the version, the woman who meal preps every Sunday, cooks every night,
Never gets tired, never gets overwhelmed, never runs late, and never changes plans.
Always wants chicken and vegetables, because that's what's healthy.
And she has endless motivation.
Meanwhile, real life and mine,
Looks like getting home exhausted, forgetting to thaw something out for dinner.
Your schedule changes 100 times. You're grabbing food betweenā¦
Those events, those activities, the things that are changing, and you get into decision fatigue. You don't want to make another decision to save your life.
And drive-through dinners just seem easier.
Eating snacks while trying to figure out what sounds good.
Girl, I think one of the biggest reasonsā¦
That women feel like they can't
stay on track is because their plans
are completely unrealistic.
for their actual life.
I had a client who used to create these incredibly strict meal plans every single week. Every meal was planned, every grocery item organized.
Everything looked perfect.
On paper. And then one thing would go wrong, because it always does. One thingā¦
And then maybe, like, it was work ran late, or a kid needed something. She got tired.
Plans changed. She forgot something at the store, God forbid, right?
And immediately it became, forget it, just forget it. We'll just order pizza. I've already messed up.
It's not gonna work. Like, throw the whole plan out the window.
I used to do this, too. I would plan it all, and then as soon as something didn't work,
I quit making the foods that I had planned. I'd even had all the grocery to purchase.
Or then the next week, I would plan an entirely new meal and still have all those groceries from last week, and it would just keep building until eventually, I was like, Iā¦ I can't even have room in my fridge. I need toā¦
use this stuff up, because I kept thinking it needed to look right.
This is exactly what All or Nothing.
looks like around food.
Women think, if I can't do the plan perfectly, why bother?
So instead of adjusting, they abandon themselves completely.
I really want women to understand this. There is a huge difference between imperfect and failing.
Because life is supposed to require adjustments, that's normal.
I think women are trying to create meal plans.
that would only work during the calmest, most organized week of their entire year.
Because they think that's what it takes to lose weight.
They think that's what it takes, so that's what they want. They want weight loss, so they want to make it look perfect so that they can get what they really want, which is weight loss.
But then, they're shocked when real life interrupts it all.
One of the biggest mindset shifts I teach clients
is weight loss has to work in real life.
Not fantasy life, not ideal life.
Not perfectly motivated life, real life.
Real life includes stress and exhaustion.
Convenience foods, changing your schedule, your social events, nights that you just simply don't want.
to cook. And forgetting things, or days that you're emotional, a messy, hot mess, right? When you're just a hot mess.
Those kind of weeks.
That's normal. So instead of teaching women how to create perfect meal plans, I teach women how to create supportive systems.
That's very different. A support
happens.
So that you can survive your messy days. Perfection doesn't.
So, one of my favorite things to teach is
contingencies for the contingencies, right? We have a contingencyā¦ we have a backup plan for the backup plan.
So, we don't just play in ideal meals.
We also plan backup meals and fast options and convenience options, frozen options.
Restaurant options, low energy options,
all the options, because honestly, women who stay the most consistent are usually not the women who are doing any of it perfectly.
They're the women who know how to adjust without spiraling.
That is a real skill, and I think this is especially important because women often
wait to make decisions until they're already starving and exhausted and overwhelmed, andā¦
probably emotional, tired, right?
And then they're frustrated by the decisions that they make.
Decision-making gets way harder when your brain is exhausted.
So instead of waiting until, oh, babe, what sounds good?
Maybe we say, I want womenā¦
I want women thinking ahead just enough to support themselves.
rigidly or obsessively, not like you have to take a whole day to plan everything out.
I just want you to support yourself.
Because I think women get stuck thinking meal planning means complicated menus, and cooking all day Sunday to prepare for the week.
Andā¦ and definitely eating boring meals all week. Noā¦
Flexibility or spontaneity.
That sounds miserable. That's not what I teach. I teach simple,
flexible preparedness.
Maybe that means a rotisserie chicken's available to you, or a frozen meal that you keep in the freezer for just in case.
Maybe you already have some protein options that are already cooked.
Um, easy snack foods, or salad kits.
some ideas in your backā¦ like, do a backup drive-through option list, right?
If we are definitely going through the drive-thru, this is what I'm getting. If we go to McDonald's, this is what I'm getting if we go to Wendy's, whatever your family's favorite places are, just have something
that already feels likeā¦ like it's what you would have picked on a day that you were trying to be intentional.
And use that as your backup list.
And definitely, have a list of things that take 10 minutes or less.
Things that you already usually have in your house, things that are already quick that you can just throw together, something that just needs heated up, if that.
So, a supportive plan should reduce stress, not create more stress. And another thing I seeā¦
All the time is women buying groceries for their fantasy self. They buyā¦
complicated ingredients.
healthy foods that they don't even like, butā¦
theyā¦ they heard, if you want to lose weight, this is what you gotta eat. They call them aspirational meals.
I am not Martha Stewart, and I don't strive to be.
So, I am looking for, you know, occasionally I like to try something new, but, like,
That's not every day. Uh, my schedule doesn't permit it. I don't have time for recipes that take forever, especially if I don't even understand what the words meant, or how to cook it in the first place.
And then, we get too tired to make any of it. So the groceries sit there, like I said.
They, umā¦ you feel guilty, or you order takeout anyway.
So, that guilt is exhausting. That is worse than trying to come up with the perfect meal plan, is dealing with that compounded guilt.
So one of the biggest things I teach women
start where you are, where you actually
actually are, not where you think you should be.
If right now, your life is busy, overwhelming, then your food systems need to reflect that.
That's your reality. Don't punish yourself for it.
I would much rather women create simple systems.
Supportive habits, flexible, consistency, right? If we can be consistent, we're gonna do it so much more often.
than trying to force perfection for 4 days, and then quit and overeat all weekend.
Consistency. It grows from that self-trust, and self-trust grows from proving to yourself.
canā¦ I can take care of myself. I can support myself even when life gets messy.
That matters so much more.
So, this is why I don't want women constantly waiting.
To start over, for the perfect day, for the right day, the day that's gonna be easier. Our lives are not necessarily easy, so let's just
figure out how to make everything else easier.
Women think I'll do better on Monday. I'll do better after a vacation. When work calms down, when life is stressful.
I don't know about you, but I want another vacation. There is a Monday every week.
I don't need to keep waiting and waiting and waiting for these things.
So, life keeps being life. It just does. There will always be stressful weeks, or busy seasons.
unexpected situations. Something that's got my emotions all riled up.
So instead of waiting for the,
perfect time when minis learn, how do I just take care of myself right now? How can I support myself today?
question changes everything.
It lets us look forā¦
Whatā¦ what'sā¦ what's available? Whatā¦ what is within my control? What is my best option? Maybe not my perfect, myā¦
My best option for right now.
What do I have? Sometimes the answer is definitely going to be those frozen meals, or the rotisserie chickens.
a sandwich. You know how long it had been since I just had a lunch meat sandwich?
We were coming home from our trip, and we stopped at Jimmy John's, and I thought,
God, I kind of do like a lunch meat sandwich every once in a while.
But I had gotten out of it. I was trying to focus on fiber, and I thought, man, sandwiches are quick and easy. We used to do that once a week.
Uh, when my husband and I were first married, we would have, like, lunch meat and chips as an entire meal by itself, and I thought,
probably would, like, swap out chips or maybe have some fruit with it instead of just chips in a sandwich. You know, I'm sure I would still add some veggies somewhere, or fruit somewhere in there, some fiber.
But a good sandwich on a weeknight, like, that could be an intentionalā¦
easy meal that I wouldn't even have to think about, right? That would be so great. Umā¦
I noticed that, like, I'll put protein snacks.
Uh, in my bag, or, like, you know, beef jerky, or a little packet of nuts, orā¦
Um, I keep aā¦
a protein drink. Those things make it so much easier. And I did the salad kits.
Where it's either if you'reā¦ it's just the two of us now, so usually one bowl's plenty, but if we have, you know, people coming over, I'll just go buy a couple of those Caesar salad
kits where you dump everything in the bowl andā¦
voila! It's done! Um, add the rotisserie chicken to that, and that's a complete meal right there. Umā¦
Yeah, justā¦ and then repeat it. Repeat those simple things.
We don't have to reinvent the wheel every single week.
Repeat. Repeat the choices when you go through the drive-thru, repeat
your simple meals at home. If you have 4 really great meals that your family loves,
Repeat those. All of that is important. It still counts.
One of the biggest things that women need to stop doing is dismissing
those choices that are supportive because they weren't perfect enough.
Because women will drink more water, make a better restaurant choice,
add some protein or fiber, or eat one slice instead of four.
just some kind of helpful, supportive adjustment. And thenā¦
Well, they'll do all of that, and that's great stuff, but then they'll ignore it because
Well, it was pizza.
Again, you know, I've talked before about confession.
you had pizza! You had a slice of pizza, but, like, look at all the other things you did, too.
But that mindset of not enough,
It canā¦ it destroys, completely destroys that consistency.
Those tiny choices, the tiny little supportive choices matter.
They build confidence, and those build that momentum.
They teach women, I don't have to spiral just because life got messy. I don't have to throw it all away and start over.
That's one of the most important skills.
in sustainable weight loss, not perfect eating.
But adjusting. My favoriteā¦
thought has always been pivot on that Friends episode with the couch. PIVOT!
So anytime, like, life gets messy, and you have to adjust,
Just think, pivot! Pivot!
That's in my head, rent-free forever.
So, this week, I wantā¦ I really want you asking yourself,
What does my real schedule look like?
What does it look like? What does your schedule look like?
What foods are realistic for your current energy level?
to be able to make. And definitely, what are some backup meals? If you think through this now,
And I already have these wrote down as ideas.
When it comes to making meal plans,
It's quick, because we're not having to reinvent the wheel. We already know what we like, we already know what's fast,
We already know what our family likes, we've already got a list of a few things.
So, you know, spend 15 minutes,
Today, this week, and write this down.
And then come back to it when you need to make a meal plan. And then maybe you have one meal a week that's exciting.
that you came up with a new recipe. If you have the time and feel like it.
So, to ask yourself what foodsā¦
Umā¦ are easy for me. What feels doable?
What would help me with my weight loss, or feel good, or taste good?
Find out where you're trying to plan this fantasy life instead of real life.
Um, just ask yourself, how can Iā¦
How can I make eating feel simpler instead of
adding to the overwhelm, right?
Lightā¦ because sustainable weight loss, it should feel supportive, it should feel easier, not harder.
Not like another full-time job.
Most women do not need stricter plans. They need simpler
They need a simpleā¦
system that works. So, when they're tired or busy, when life changes, whenā¦
things aren't perfect, because that happens most of the time.
That is real consistency.
That's exactly the kind of thing we work through in coaching.
Not perfection, or food policing.
not unrealistic meal plans. Real-life support for real-life women.
Women who are the overwhelmed and
exhausted and emotional eaters, that busy, struggling, you know, tired of starting over.
Together, we figure out what actually works for your life.
So, book a free call with me.
We're going to come up with some solutions for ya. Book that at www.coachingkara.com/freecall
And if this episode helped you, share it with a friend.
Who keeps trying to meal plan herself,
into her weight loss dreamland.
Alright, friend, I'll talk to you next week.
