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We just kicked off the 21 day fat loss programme at the DF studio, with the goal being for participants to lose 5-10lbs of body fat over the 21 days.
To guarantee these kind of results we needed to start off with the one thing I knew would do more to speed up the fat loss process quicker than anything else.
And the best bit? It’s something you can do right now. And it’ll only take you 15 minutes. Max.
What’s more, if you put 15 minutes each week in your diary to do this I’m confident you’ll see more progress in the next 30 days than you’ve seen in the past few months (maybe years).
You don’t need any special equipment. You don’t need hours of spare time. All you need is a pen and a piece of paper.
Can you tell what I’m talking about yet?
Yep creating a meal plan is your salvation. Think about those times when you fell off the wagon, or made choices that weren’t inline with your fat loss goals.
Did you have a written plan for what you were supposed to be eating? Or did you have to make a decision in the moment. And because there was no plan you’d committed to follow you went with what felt good at the time (and resolved to pay for it later?)
Look, losing fat can be really, really hard. It rarely happens by accident. So in the initial stages we need a plan to make it happen. “Eating healthier” isn’t a plan. It’s too vague. Too many loopholes for our creative minds to exploit.
Smoked salmon and scrambled eggs for breakfast is a plan. It’s specific. And having that (along with the rest of your meals) planned and written down will help you lose fat faster than most other things you can do.
for best results stick your plan on your fridge
Take this scenario. You get home from a hard day at work. The kids need feeding and organizing. And by the time you’ve done all that the last thing you want to do is to think up what you’re going to have for dinner. Let alone take the time to prepare it.
You’re hungry now. And you’re tired. Yes, you want to lose fat, but you also just want to sit down for 5 minutes and do nothing.
Whenever I talk through with clients when they’ve struggled it’s usually when they’ve been to busy, bored or out with friends/family. They didn’t have anything prepared and ready to go.
They didn’t have a plan of what they were going to eat. So they just grabbed whatever was close at hand, or whatever was on offer. And chances are this isn’t what they needed to improve their health and their body.
The problem is having to make a decision. You’ve left yourself the chore of having to decide what to have, at a point where you’re not in a great position to make a choice that’s inline with your goal. That means if there’s a quick, easy option we’ll take it.
And that option at best prevents us making progress that day. At worst it puts us back a step, and we have to do twice as much tomorrow.
When you’ve made the decision in advance about what you’re going to eat, 4 out of 5 times you’re going to stick to it. It’s much easier to see through a decision you’ve already made than to try make a decision on the fly. When you’re tired. Busy. And hungry.
So I want to set you a challenge. Schedule 15 minutes in your diary sometime today to plan what you’re going to eat at each meal for at least 3 days (7 days is best but 3 will get you started).
Once you do your plan you’ll realise something. You probably need to make a shopping list and go shopping (the second key to fat loss success… but that’s a whole other article).
The basics of meal planning are straight forward: create a grid (like the one below). Then fill in what you’re going to eat on each day and at each meal. I know you have enough knowledge right now about which meals will likely help you lose fat and which won’t. And I trust your judgement is good enough to get you started. Here’s what someone’s meal plan for fat loss might look like:
| Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | |
| Breakfast | Veggie Omelette | Scrambled Egg, Grilled Mushroom, Tomatoes | Protein Supershake |
| Snack | Protein Supershake | Greek Yogurt, Blueberries, Almonds | Cottage Cheese & Apple |
| Lunch | Greek Salad with Feta and Olives | Smoked Salmon & Roast Veg | Prosciutto & Mozzarella Salad |
| Dinner | Roast Vegetables with Grilled Salmon | Thai Green Curry & Cauliflower Rice | Bolognese with Courgetti Pasta |
Now, you’ll look at the plan above and start thinking “I don’t like grilled salmon” or “but I’m allergic to eggs”. And that’s cool. This isn’t about the specific foods in the plan. It’s about having YOUR OWN plan, with the foods you like to eat and have the time to prepare.
Depending on what stage you’re at in your fat loss journey will determine what your plan looks like. For example, If you’re just starting out you can probably get away with a bit more bread, rice, pasta and potatoes. If you’re further along in your journey -and want to see faster results -you’ll likely need to save those for after exercise.
Maybe you need food inspiration for ideas on what to put in your plan. If that’s the case check out a decent cook book like Gourmet Nutrition which is broken down into recommended breakfasts, lunches, snacks and evening meals (there’s a copy at the DF studio if you want to have a browse).
Pick up a copy from Amazon here: Gourmet Nutrition: The Cookbook for the Fit Food Lover
Scheduling 15 minutes to write your meal plan will have a huge impact on your progress towards better health, fitness and fat loss. So I’d like to challenge you to put time aside today to create your 3 day meal plan.
You maybe don’t have the time or inclination to be creative with your meals. And that’s cool. You just need to keep it simple and start with meals you can assemble without much fuss.
If you’re already planning, but you’re not seeing any changes in your body then it’s time to look at your overall fitness and nutrition plan. If you’d like our support we’d love to help. To get started book a complimentary consultation and working together we’ll get you moving in the right direction.
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