Back to Basics – Why to Not Follow a Meal Plan?

Trust me, I’ve been there. I’ve had my fair share of times when I’d plan to a T what I would be eating, drinking and exercising for an entire week, heck even an entire month (conveniently all starting on a Monday or 1st of the month), with resolutions that I would nail every target that was planned to perfect.

Sure enough, life would get in the way, plans and routines would change unscheduled events would arise and if I fell off the wagon on one day, well that was it. I may as well go hell for leather and start again the next week.

Given my passion for nutrition, I adored researching all the latest health news and articles about the latest superfood or trick that was the golden nugget of health. As such, with every meal, I tried to squeeze a superfood powder in or else it wouldn’t be ‘nutritious enough.’ Sure enough, I would end up running out of whatever expensively magical powder that could only be gotten in health food shops or the lemons for my lemon infused water would be gone and the stress of running out now to get it and sure then what was the point, I’ll start again properly next week.

The point is...

DRINK YOUR WATER. Start with the basics. Just DRINK THE WATER.

Go back to basics, take manageable steps and do it for a month. Then add in whatever sprinkles of bonuses you can. For most of us, we want to be told the holy grail of health, the plan, programme, eating style or superfood that can catapult us into optimal wellness. Yet, when told to go back to basics, that doesn’t sound like much fun does it?

But if we can’t handle the basics, that same on again off again mentality will just hit us again when we try to follow a plan to the letter.

Instead, get real with yourself and ask yourself:

Can you keep whatever diet plan you’re attempting up forever?

What happens when my magic powders run out on any given day?

Do I have an ‘all or nothing’ mentality?

What is my mindset when it comes to health, self-image and what wellness ‘looks like’?

Am I covering the basics?

What are the boring basics that I don’t have a grasp on?

-          Sleep

-          Caffeine

-          Moving your body a little each day

-          Taking time out

-          Drinking water

-          Making time to cook/prep food

-          Planning ahead

Take a look at your week / day and assess the basics before you jump into a million different goals and attempts to become the epitome of ‘health.’ Don’t get me wrong, all that can be done down the line if you so wish, but get the basics down first.

The more I studied nutrition, the more I understood the impact of stress and that stressing over every morsel of food can be more damaging that having the feckin’ biscuit.

Eat the biscuit, enjoy it and forget about it. The more you practice this, the more you won’t be feeling like you’re good or bad, healthy or not, and the more you can actually pay attention to your body.