Diet vs. Meal Plan, continued…

Last time I spoke about why I think diets don’t work and why I like to go with what I call a meal plan to either lose weight or maintain.  I don’t think it is very hard to develop a meal plan.  It takes the ability to read and understand the nutrition labels as well as the ability to control portions.  Portion control is key!  By averaging 300 calories 5 to 6 times a day (depending on how much you have to lose and your current body makeup) coupled with exercise, you will kick your metabolism into overdrive.  There are some foods you can easily find in your local grocery store.  Eggs, Old Fashion Oatmeal (not the flavored packet kind that is loaded with sugar) and Peanut Butter all have parts in my Meal Plan.  Peanut Butter makes a great mid morning and mid afternoon snack.  Two tablespoons by itself does the trick for me.  People I work with make fun of me for it, but it works.  It keeps me satiated so I’m not hitting the vending machine for a bag of chips.  It is also a food that is balanced in protein, fat and carbohydrates.  But remember, portion control.  I can’t stress that enough.  The only downside to Peanut Butter is that it has unsaturated fat, so too much Peanut Butter can work against you.  You may have to cut back on the size of the portions you normally have for Lunch and Dinner.  Dinner for me is actually my smallest meal.  By that time of day, I’m not usually very hungry.  And what about the person on the go?  There is one fast food place I will recommend, and that is Subway.  I know, I know, when you hear Subway you think of Jared…please stop laughing.  But when I was developing my Meal Plan 3 years ago, I found that several of their 6″ inch sandwiches fit in perfectly and there was a Subway right around the corner from where I work.  They post all the nutritional information online, so you can see not just how many calories, but all the nutritional information.  One word of advice, be careful of the condiments, they can be a killer.  Till next time, The Average Joe