A 2 min Read So You Think You Want A Meal Plan? At PLT Nutrition we are regularly asked ‘Can I get a meal plan?’ & the answer I’m afraid is always ‘No’
Meal plans are all or nothing, they tell you to ‘eat this’ or ‘eat that’. If you can follow one, they work, but if you can’t follow it, they don’t work. There's only Plan A, no B Here’s why at PLT Nutrition we believe you don’t need a meal plan.
OK, so I don't want a meal plan, now what? What should I eat to meet my PLT Nutrition plan guidelines? Quite simply, you should eat the foods you do today, just in different portion sizes. At PLT Nutrition we believe your diet should remain as close to its current style as possible, then over time you build new habits and substitute some foods to improve your overall health. Tks Paul Leonard Founder A 4 minute read
The key to Success When following your PLT plan, the number one key to success is to eat your coach allocated calories. The best way to do this is to plan your day ahead of time, entering your food into your tracking app so you know what and how much to eat to meet your targets. Preparing food is an important part of your weekly process and a worthy investment of your time. You have likely seen on social media beautifully created meals that ‘fit your macros’ and dreamed of opening your fridge and finding neat containers stacked and ready for you to heat and enjoy….this is NOT required at all but as with anything, it’s down to personal choice… Whether you are cooking/prepping for just yourself or you have a family of ravenous active teen athletes to cook for the process is the same: PROTEIN FIRST! Protein is the nutrient you want to be sure you always have on hand as it is where you start your planning everyday; plan ahead spreading your allotted amount of protein throughout the day to keep you satiated and then add in carbs and fat according to your numbers. PLT has created two videos on how to plan your day. Please review the links below for your appropriate tracking app: My Macros+ My Fitness Pal What you cook is entirely up to you and your family’s tastes, PLT recommends you eat lean proteins when on a weight loss plan; here are some great suggestions to start the ball rolling:
CARBS…are vegetables carbs?? Why yes, yes they are but let’s start with our starchy carbs:
And now the ‘other’ very important carbs – VEGGIES! Not all vegetables store well when prepped ahead so PLT recommends purchasing convenient steam bags of fresh veggies from the produce dept. at your grocery store as they are great time savers on busy weeknights! Here are a handful of easy to prep ahead veggies that keep for several days at least:
So, how are you going to make all this food without it taking all day?
As your food cooks, break out your containers; there are two different ways to store your delicious prepped food: BULK STORAGE PROS:
PROS:
Although not actual food prep, having some basics on hand is the last step to ensuring a successful week. As with anything, this is down to personal preference and your individual nutritional needs but here are some goodies to always have on hand:
Happy prepping! Thank you, Patti A 3 min read
When we diet everything is about CALORIES and energy balance. Energy balance is the relationship between energy in (food & drink consumed) and energy out (calories being used daily). To lose weight we need to be in a negative energy balance. What is a negative energy balance? A negative energy balance is when you consume less calories than you use daily. Whether you do Weight Watchers, Keto, Atkins or PLT etc it’s always CALORIES. The other dietary systems just hide the numbers from you but you are still tracking and controlling your calorie intake. After calories, it’s MACROS which are important. Overlaying macros into the diet equation gives you a ‘better’ ‘healthier’ plate of food; macros help tailor your diet in a way that benefits your body more in daily life and as we diet helps the process. However, not all macros are created equal... PROTEIN This is the most important macro when dieting. It helps you stay full which avoids hunger, helps with diet fatigue and adherence. If you are fuller you are less likely to have BLTs and snack on chips etc. It also helps you retain skeletal muscle as you cut/lose weight. Often in maintenance, our clients will be set only a protein target their personal PLT coach will ask them to eat intuitively afterwards. The process of conversion of protein to fat is challenging for the body and very rare. So protein does has some magical properties** CARBS & FATS are somewhat interchangeable if losing weight is your goal. We each have a personal dietary style that will favor one of these 2 macros over over the other. We also find that when a person is overweight, they are likely more insulin resistant which often requires a lower carb/higher fat set-up. The process of conversion of carbs to fat by the body isn’t easy either and your body generally won’t choose that option as fat storage, despite the interwebs scary comments! When you eat more calories than your body requires, your body will rarely choose to convert carbs to fat, despite many interweb posts.. When we eat more calories than our body requires, the body will generally store FAT as FAT as there’s no conversion! ** So if you are very very hungry and need to go over your plan, protein should be your choice as it will do very little damage to your goal. Ensure you hit your protein every day, after which, eating to your calorie requirement will ensure you have great success Tks Paul |
AuthorI'm Paul Leonard, CEO & founder of PLT Nutrition. Categories
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