By: Julie Morin, Registered Dietitian, BSN, MAN, Reviewed & Edited by Level Nutritionists Team.
Outline:
- What is a meal plan?
- Difference between a meal plan and meal planning.
- Pros and cons of meal plans.
- Do the meal plans work? The verdict
Do meal plans work?
On the whole, there are two school of thoughts on eligibility of meal plans.
One, those who believe wholeheartedly in meal plans and feel it’s an effective way of meeting specific health and nutrition-related goals.
And two, those who feel that meal planning is too rigid and ineffectual to be sustainable in the long-term.
As registered dietitians and nutritionists, however, we feel the truth lies somewhere in the middle. Things are not so black-and-white. There is a time and a place for everything.
Before digging into the efficacy of meals plan take a closer look at the concepts of meal plan and meal planning.
What Is the Difference Between Meal Plans and Meal Planning?
What is a meal plan?
A meal plan is a type of plan prescribed by dietitians, nutritionists, as well as well as health coaches that lays out guidelines and specific meals typically to be consumed over a certain period of time and for a specific purpose.
For example, 7-, 14- and 30-day meal plans are commonplace. As are meal plans for weight loss, muscle growth, the management of specific diseases (diabetes, liver health, the lowering of cholesterol and dietary conditions)
What is meal planning?
Meal planning, on the other hand, is the act of planning meals for you or your family that helps to make organizing, grocery shopping and preparing meals more simple, efficient and productive.
Meal planning is also instrumental in helping you avoid unplanned and impulsive decisions that can lead to the consumption of less nutritious meals. This is no doubt a good thing.
- The whip hand of meal plans:
Meal plan benefits are many and varied. e.g.
1. Help reach specific goals
Personalized meal plans comprise foods, portions and guidelines that are geared towards your specific goal. In such a meal plan certain foods may be reduced, while others eliminated altogether.
A meal plan can also outline suitable substitutions.
In addition, it can provide practical tips and strategies to help avoid various pitfalls. Doing so gives you the best chance possible of reaching your specific goal(s).
2. Helpful in establishing various special diets
Developed by certified professionals, meal plans can help you transition to various special diets.
With the help of a registered dietitian, for example, you can develop a nutritionally-balanced meal plan for plant-based diet.
A plan or guide of this nature may be necessary to avoid nutrient-deficiency that can occur when people try to adopt these diets on their own. As such, it is a chief benefit of meal plans.
3. Save money
Meal guides help in saving money as well. Because meal plans are tailored to specific client needs, they are developed as per the individual budget.
4.Stress reduction:
Meal plans can and do help with decision-making, effectively reducing stress. This is a very important benefit of meal plans.
Learn more about how to reduce stress with nutrition.
5. Avoid making less nutritious food selections
Having a meal guide that provides a variety of nutrient dense choices for main meals and snacks reduces the chances of reaching for those less nutritious ones.
7. Control what ingredients go into your food
If you follow a meal plan or a meal guide, you retain greater control of the ingredients that go into making your food.
It’s also easier to omit certain ingredients, while finding more nutritious substitutions for others.
The cumulative effect of many of these ingredients can quickly undermine many health and wellness goals, and undo your resolve.
8. Provide variety of food choices
A well-designed and thorough meal guide offers plenty of choices for each meal, helping you to avoid the situation of impulsive decision making.
Related: diet and lifestyle basics for healthy living
9. Supply a variety of nutrients
A nutritionally-balanced meal plan developed by a qualified professional can ensure your body receives the required nutrients it needs. This is no doubt a significant benefit of meal plans.
Deficiencies in some nutrients may lead to diseases. For example, calcium deficiency may result in osteoporosis
When followed over the long-term, a meal guide can hence help reduce such risk.
Related: Nutrients deficiency guide
10. Reduce the risk of disease and other conditions
A balanced diet meal plan directly reduces the risk of various chronic diseases and conditions.
Meal planning no doubt plays a crucial role in facilitating such a diet.
According to Cooking Light, “overall diet quality increases as the number of weekly meals prepared at home goes up. This is why individuals who regularly prepare meals at home are more likely to have less body fat, a lower risk of developing Diabetes type II and even a longer life span.” Meal plans work in managing the chronic ailments, whether you’re being proactive or reactive, a meal plan can list foods you should avoid and those that you should eat to help prevent or improve the given disease or condition.
11. Provide food portion guidance
A practical and thorough meal plan includes guidelines for food portions.
This, coupled with outlined serving sizes and the understanding of the nutrition facts label, can go a long way in instilling portion control and help prevent overeating.
12. Prevent hunger and avoid caving in to cravings
Plans that contain wholesome and nutritious meals can help you stay satiated.
A registered dietitian and nutritionist who develops the meal plan can include meals and snacks that contain protein and fiber–both of which can help make you feel full for longer. Doing so can prevent you from feeling hungry soon after a meal.
For example, if you eat a filling, nutritionally-balanced breakfast, you may be able to avert mid-morning hunger, experienced by so many.
Such a meal plan can also help curb cravings through a two-pronged approach.
One, the meal plan is designed to include meals and snacks that are made from whole, nutrient-dense foods.
Two, the meal plan includes nutritious replacements for some of your favorite comfort foods. For example, having a couple of dates with almond butter can help stave off cravings for sugary snacks.
Undoubtedly, these are significant benefits of meal plans.
14. Create awareness
Meal plans can also help bring awareness of your eating habits.
Our team of nutritional practitioners feels that this is one of the more fundamental meal plan benefits as it has a tremendous impact on our food choices.
At the onset of implementation, meal plans can serve as a useful guide to help gauge behavior around eating, identify various triggers that lead to certain food choices and shine the light on eating habits.
Related: Intuitive eating
16. Assist athletes reach their goals
These days nutrition plans form an integral part of the development of athletes at all levels: youth, recreational, competitive, elite and professional.
According to our sports dieticians, meal plans that are designed with specific goals in mind are instrumental in helping athletes build muscle, improve fitness, increase stamina, boost energy and enhance overall athletic performance.
This applies to virtually all athletes: team sport players, endurance athletes, strength trainers, weightlifters and bodybuilders.
Related: sports and athletic nutrition
Meal Plan Drawbacks:
The drawbacks of meal plans are:
1. Too generic
One of the most prominent problems with meal plans is their generic, one-size-fits-all nature.
Such meal plans are mass produced, reproduced and ubiquitous on the internet.
So, such meal plans not work very well as they are simply not personalized. Because we are all different, we cannot apply a universal method to accomplish a certain goal.
There are many factors that need to be taken into consideration when creating a specific and individualized nutrition plan.
Some examples: health history, medications, dietary conditions, allergies, intolerances and sensitivities, food preferences, cultural and religious restrictions, budget, accessibility and so on.
A generic meal plan circulated online rarely fully applies to your specific, individual situation. As a result, the fewer of the criteria it meets, the less effective it is in helping you accomplish your goal. It’s just that simple.
2. Short-term approach:
You must’ve come across 7-, 14- or month-long meal plans either online or produced by some nutrition coaches. We have certainly seen such meal plans a thousand times. Perhaps more.
While short-term meal plans provide some structure, they are not very useful in the grand scheme of things.
After all, what do you do when you have gone through the 7-day meal plan?
3. Too rigid
Related to the previous point, many meal plans are too rigid to fit into the reality of your daily lives. This is a major drawback of a 7 or -14-day meal plan, for example.
There are many more instances where rigid meal plans don’t work. After all, life gets in the way and we don’t always do things according to plan. That’s just reality.
4. Lack guidelines and actionable tips
Guidelines, tips and actionable strategies are vital, when making changes to your eating habits. Many meals plan we come across are devoid of these critical components.
To effectively change firmly embedded habits, you need practical tips for dealing with vulnerable situations like how to avoid common pitfalls.
Sometimes you also need in-depth explanations or illustrations, so the connection between action and goal is clear.
5. Do not include substitutions
Typically, meal plans outline specific foods and meals, supported by specific recipes. Frequently, many meal plans omit substitutions or similar replacements for certain ingredients or foods. Doing so can cause some people to decide not to make a meal simply because they don’t have one ingredient that can be easily substituted for something similar.
8. Prevent intuition
Do meal plans work to help you develop intuition, when it comes to eating?
Typically, not very well.
To nourish your body properly you are required to listen to the signals it sends. This is very important.
When you feel depleted, low on energy or simply hungry, you should replenish and refuel right then and there. You should not be confined to a schedule that indicates when to eat, at least whenever possible.
9. May be difficult to sustain
Generic and rigid meal plans can make it hard to stick to in the long-run. Frequently, this is due to having to eat the same thing for 7 days, as an example, and then having to repeat it.
This can especially occur when no room is left for tweaking or substitutions. When you introduce choice and variety, you can swiftly solve this problem.
10. May lead to disordered eating
Compulsive adherence to rigid meal plans that do not allow for choice can lead to the cultivation or exacerbation of an unhealthy relationship with food. Our dietitians for eating disorders certainly concur with this statement.
The belief that only eating strictly what is indicated on the meal plan over the long-term will help reach specific goals can be dangerous. Doing so can lead to the labeling of and negative feelings towards certain foods, self-deprivation, excessive restriction, anxiety and much, much more.
Related: Mental health nutritionist
In such cases, the effect on overall health can be disastrous.
11. May not address the root of the problem
Some people require only a little education and guidance, aided by a meal guide, and they are well on their way to reaching their goals in a sustainable way.
So, do meal plans work for these people?
More often than not, yes.
For others, however, things are more complicated.
Some, for example, tend to eat emotionally, when faced with life’s stresses. And let’s face it, there are many life stresses.
Related: Emotional Eating: Causes and How to Stop It
In these cases, people consume highly palatable foods as a coping mechanism. Foods that are high in sugar, salt and fat can simply provide temporary emotional relief.
Although a meal plan can outline more nutritious substitutions for certain ‘comfort foods’, the heart of the matter is stress. And you deal with stress with first, before you shift focus towards food and meal planning. We cannot underscore this point enough.
12. Take discipline to implement
Meal plans and meal planning take discipline. Scheduling, grocery shopping, prepping, cooking and so on, require dedicated time, organization and discipline.
At times the desire is there, but the follow through may be lacking. This is another matter altogether. These days we have life coaches who can help build good habits and install the required discipline.
So, Do Meal Plans Work?
Our verdict
When they are generic, rigid, and lack detail and direction, meal plans may not be very effective at helping instil healthy eating habits that are sustainable in the long-term.
Of course, exceptions exist. When designed with a specific goal in mind, they can assist you in reaching certain goals in the short-term. For example, they may be effective in helping you build muscle or lose weight.
Related: Weight loss nutritionists
Our recommendation
We feel meal plans should be designed more like meal guides. They should:
- be personalized: based on your food preferences, lifestyle, dietary conditions, budget, culture, religion et al.
- offer structure, but with choice and flexibility
- include a variety off foods to avoid boredom
- be thorough and detailed, providing an educational component
- provide guidelines, practical tips and strategies, aided by visuals when possible
- allow for adjustments
- be designed to teach positive eating habits that are sustainable, eventually requiring no need for the meal plan
Following these guidelines can ensure that the meal plan is an effective tool to help you reach your goal(s), while setting the stage for lifelong healthy eating habits.
Related: How to Create a Healthy Food Environment
Conclusion
It was our intention to provide an in-depth analysis of the degree of effectiveness of various meal plans, and answer the question do meal plans work?
Hopefully, the information presented here will help you make the decision on whether a meal plan is right for your specific situation, and if so, what type.
If you have any questions about our meal planning services, feel free to get in touch with us. You can also book a free phone consultation for an in-person appointment at one of our locations or engage our online dietitian and nutritionist services.
How dieting slows metabolism
Simply put, when you lose weight, the BMR slows down. This is entirely normal–you’re in a small body after all!
When you lose weight, you also usually, though not exclusively, lose muscle mass. As a result, you lower the BMR.
It seems that BMR slows more than is anticipated in people following crash or fad diets that lead to rapid weight loss.
Interestingly, slow and gradual weight loss does not seem to have the same effect on your metabolism. This is what makes slow and gradual weight loss something that can be maintained after it’s undertaken.
Why is nutrition important?
Here is the brief summary regarding the importance of nutrition.
- Reduced risk of many chronic diseases: type 2 Diabetes, heart disease, liver disease, kidney disease, hypertension, osteoporosis and some cancers.
- Maintenance of a healthy weight.
- Reduced risk of obesity
- Positive impact on our children who learn their eating habits from their parents
- Improved sense of well-being
- Increased potential
- Better sleep
- A boosted immune system
- Fewer visits to the doctors
- Improved mood
- Sharper brain function
- Better athletic performance
- And so, on