Despite all the biochemistry, physiology, and wordsmithing in my book, Metabolic Transformation, the phrase most quoted back to me by readers is, “If-I-eat-another-chicken-breast-I’ll-puke syndrome,” as I described variety and creativity in crafting meals.  Dieters relate to that statement all too well.  Just yesterday a new client sat across from me and said intently, “If you make me eat eggs, oatmeal, or cottage cheese, this isn’t going to work.”  Luckily for him, the second pillar of my program is variety and flexibility.  The first, of course, is structure.  There is a right and wrong way to attempt to lose weight; metabolic physiology is a concrete science, but within the boundaries of that structure, there is a great deal of room for personal preference and allowance for a moving world.  Life happens, right?  If you’re someone who loves spending an entire day on the weekend planning and cooking your meals for the week, placing them in color-coded containers, writing the nutritional value on each, and carrying around a cooler every day, this article isn’t for you.  I’d love to have you as a client, but I’d also probably be afraid that when life throws you a curve, you will crumble.

            Another client emailed today and said, “Aren’t you going to give me a new menu to follow every day?”  No.  A big part of permanent success with weight loss and maintenance is learning how to eat foods we like and fit them into our plan.  It’s also important to learn how to flex with our changing schedule and life’s unexpected twists.  I remember a client saying, “I was at church all day setting up the Christmas play set, we hadn’t eaten all day, and then I got dragged to McDonalds.”  So?  “Well, I had a double quarter pounder with cheese and large fries.”  Oh, I guess they ran out of grilled chicken and salads that day?  Even when we get tossed way out of our routine, we have to know how to make the best of an “abnormal” day.  Hands on learning along the way, is not only way to not only survive, but to confidently stay on top.

            Let’s get some nutritional priorities lined out and I think you’ll see you have room for food that tastes good.  Regardless of the type of diet you chose, the first step toward success has to be food volume.  The number of calories and the grams of protein, carbohydrates, and fat have to be right, have to be tracked, and have to be consistent if you want to enjoy consistent weight loss.  The next factor of importance is how you structure that into your day.  Although your meal planning should spread nutrients out fairly evenly, this isn’t a rigid issue.  Some times you’re going to miss snacks, some times you’re going to be hungry and eat early, and some times you’re going to be high or low in one nutrient category.  A competitive bodybuilder looking to gain every ounce of muscle possible, should be more focused on things like exact protein intake and exact times, but for someone trying to be lean, healthy, and be able to eat “real” food successfully for a lifetime, see if you can follow my more elastic approach.

            I know you’ve heard that you have to eat protein every three hours.  I know you’ve been brainwashed to think you have to eat protein, carbs, and fat with every meal.  These may be the most effective ways to build muscle and may, I repeat, may, give you a tiny advantage with weight loss, but in a pinch or as part of a flexible plan, you’re not slowing your progress or ruining successful maintenance by ebbing food around your schedule that breaks these rules as long as it’s still within your daily food volume goals and it’s not a completely ludicrous pattern.  If you want 125 grams of protein per day, don’t eat 25 in one meal and 100 at another “just to get it all in.”   At the same time, you don’t have to have exactly 25 grams exactly 3.25 hours apart in exactly 5 meals.  I often tell clients to make sure they have a good protein source in at least three meals, preferably every other meal at a minimum.  If you don’t have much protein at breakfast, for example, you may want a small protein shake as a morning snack.  If you have protein for breakfast: a shake or maybe an egg white omelet, feel free to have a small carb snack midmorning to get you through to lunch.  Dare I even say that it’s ok to have a small carb snack late at night if you’re within your daily goal of carbs?  If that doesn’t make you think I’m a nutritional heretic, I think we’re on the way to liberating you from your obsessive/compulsive, tuna and broccoli mentality. 

This brings us to the quality of the nutritional categories; protein, carbohydrates, and fat.  I like to build within a healthy framework when creating for body comp changes.  Just because you want to lose body fat, don’t think you should give up the best foods.  “I can’t eat that fruit, it has carbs in it!”  Wrong.  Don’t tell anyone I told you this, but, ummm….it’s even ok to have juice once in awhile.  You read that correctly.  You can use a small glass of fruit juice as a carb source.  It may not fill you up as well and you may enjoy eating rather than drinking your carbs, but sometimes when the right opportunity is there or you just want something different, it’s ok.  When food is controlled carefully, a snack can simple be something that keeps blood sugar stable until the next meal.  If the amount of carbs isn’t too high, even a high-glycemic source won’t make you crash and burn.  It will simply raise blood sugar for a short time, keep energy stable, and take the edge off of hunger.  I often, with long-term approach general population clients, include a splurge meal per week.  I set up their program so they can lose weight and still have a moderate splurge meal once a week.  This allows a little pizza, dessert, or steak and dinner rolls – whatever they have been sacrificing, but in less than a gut-busting amount.  If you have portion control problems, this may take some practice.  But, what if you really, really, really want something not considered appropriate dieting fare and it’s not your splurge meal?  I say go for it, but it has to fit your daily goals.  If you have two cookies, they may take the place of another carb and fat source, but enjoy the cookies – maybe because of a socially appropriate event, and it’s not going to hurt your progress.  I promise.  Don’t make this a habit and undermine healthy food intake.  It’s not the best approach as a rule, but as an exception, like I mentioned earlier, it’s real life. 

Now, I’m going to take one sample of a female trying to lose weight and show some alternative meals and days.  This isn’t the right diet for everyone; each person has a metabolic rate, body type, and social considerations that make nutrition a very individual application, but this will simply show how you can bend with taste and still be on track. 

 

 

GOAL: 100 g of protein, 125 g of carbs, 25 g of fat

 

 

TECHNICALLY BODYBUILDER OBSESSIVE/COMPULSIVE PERFECT:

 

                                                                        Protein             Carbs               Fat

3 egg whites                                                     12                    0                      0

1/2 cup oats                                                     5                      27                    3

Cooking spray or ½ tsp oil to cook eggs           0                      0                      5

 

Ready-to-drink protein shake                           20                    3                      1

Small apple                                                       0                      20                    0

 

3 ounce chicken breast                         21                    0                      3

Low-carb tortilla wrap                          2                      10                    1

Salad (no bacon, cheese, croutons)                   0                      10                    0

 

Half-sized protein bar                                       15                    15                    5

 

4 ounce chicken breast or fish                           28                    0                      4

2 cups vegetables or large salad                        0                      15                    0

½ cup rice                                                        2                      22                    0

 

TOTAL FOR DAY                                          105                  122                  22

1,333 CALORIES

 

 

QAULITY-MINDED, BUT MORE REALISTIC:

 

1 cup high-fiber cereal                          3                      32                    0

½ cup skim milk                                               4                      7                      1

 

Ready-to-drink protein shake                           20                    3                      1

 

3 ounce turkey breast half-sandwich                  24                    12                    5

Cup of raw veggies                                           0                      6                      0

Small amount of veggie dip                                0                      4                      5

1 oz baked potato chips                                    1                      18                    1

 

Low-fat, no sugar added yogurt                        10                    20                    2

 

4 oz chicken breast                                           28                    0                      4

Large salad, light dressing                                 0                      15                    3

 

Rice cake with 1 tbsp peanut butter                   4                      11                    8

 

TOTAL FOR DAY                                          94                    128                  30

1,380 CALORIES

 

 

I WAS ON THE GO, NOT THE GREATEST, BUT OK DAY:

 

Apple (on the way out the door)                       1                      25                    0

 

Skipped snack – unexpected meeting

 

Starving at lunch:

6 inch chicken breast sub                                  24                    45                    7

 

Small energy bar at your desk                           16                    24                    7

 

½ bag small popcorn at son’s practice   2                      15                    5

 

Microwaveable “healthy” meal              21                    36                    12

 

TOTAL FOR DAY                                          64                    145                  31

1,115 CALORIES 

 

 

            The first example is textbook, diet-culture perfect.  The second is more relaxed in food choices and the third is a harried, hard-to-keep up day.  Without perfect quality foods, protein in every meal, and choices sometimes due to circumstance instead of choice, calories actually ended up lower and macronutrition volumes weren’t that far off.  Not, the best way at all to eat every day, but a salvaged day and no progress lost.  The key is to shoot for as many great meals as you can, plan well, allow yourself options, and always be prepared to have to just survive a day if you have to.  If you’re mentally prepared for all three, nutrition can be more enjoyable and confidence building than worrisome and paralyzing.  Don’t just stop to smell the roses in life, stop once in awhile and taste the pizza!