oh the dreaded word, meal plan.
for anyone that doesn't know what a meal plan is then let me explain it to you, you basically have to eat around 6 times a day, breakfast, morning snack, lunch, afternoon snack, tea and supper.
When you're in hospital well in my case its certain foods, if you wanted a chocolate bar you couldn't have one, you had to have what was on the snack list, which was awful. like so bland, like a cup of milk, i don't like milk.
but when you are at home and recovering the meal plans are so much more flexible, you can pick your own snacks and everything and its just so much more freeing!
meal plans move up in calories (eugh i hate that word), you start off on a starter meal plan, which is basically designed to avoid re-feeding syndrome. its tiny amounts of food little and often, which is terrifying for someone just starting recovery.
when you move on with recovery it becomes a lot easier, your meal plans become increased or decreased due to how much weight you are putting on or losing.
at first yes i agree, eating is a chore. it basically is your medicine, once you are out of the extremely dangerous zone and you are starting to eat a little more then things look better.
like now i eat 6 times a day, sometimes more and that isn't a chore for me anymore, i enjoy it, i enjoy deciding what to eat, whereas previously i used to plan meals to choose something with the lowest amount of calories in but now i choose what i want and when i want. i still struggle yes, but my worst fear is going back to the starter meal plan and back to where i started.
never ever move back. you will find it 10x harder to move forward again.
no single person is on the same meal plan, everyone is at multiple stages, the worst thing you can do is compare yourself to somebody elses recovery journey. you will either feel badly about it that you aren't eating as much as them or that you're eating more than them. there is no winning, so just dont!
my meal plan to me was just guidelines, if anything it was the least i was going to eat in a day, so i add in food and eat more than necessarily just because i can!
for any of you perhaps wanting to start a new meal plan here is mine and what i usually eat instead of it:
7am breakfast:
-3 weetabix or 9 tbsp cereal, 300ml milk, 2 toast and jam.
-i usually have 3 banana weetabix, 300ml milk and 2 pieces of white toast and jam.
10:30am morning snack:
-any 100 calorie snack.
-but i obviously dont listen to that and i usually have honeydew melon, about 30 grapes and a bunch of strawberries!
12pm lunch:
-2 pieces white bread and filling of choice and a muller fruit corner yogurt.
-i have 2 half pittas (warburtons, they are fabulous) 6 slices of ham, ketchup (the god of all sauces) and salad! then i have either a chocolate bar or a yogurt. (mullerlights frozen are devine)
3pm afternoon snack:
-again this has to be 100 calories
-i use that as a baseline, i always try to have something higher, usually a kit kat chunky or wispa, (chocolate is queen okay)
5pm tea:
-protein portion, 6tbsp carbs or 3 new potatoes, vegetables and a muller light for dessert
-i am a huge fish lover so i either have like basa fillets, prawns and seafood sticks, haddock or chicken! i then have as much rice as i like (bulgur wheat is my fav) and then a heap of veg because veg is amaze.
-i then always have a muller light after for dessert.
8pm supper:
-2 weetabix, 200ml semi skimmed milk or any 200 calorie snack
-basically bullcrap, i have whatever i want, either a heaped bowl of cereal or porridge or something yummy!
thats my meal plan but i eat way more than that, about 10pm i usually have something like a kit kat chunky or a galaxy bar and a hot chocolate!
so recently i have done alot of research into minnie maud and the theory behind it all on www.youreatopia.com (very interesting if you havent read it then go go go) it basically says (in my case) to eat 3200+ calories a day, to repair all your organs and help speed up your motabolic rate.
it states that when recovering you have to eat more than the recommended intake because your body has to take in nutrients and repair all the damage you have done.
i totally believe this theory and i have been trying to reach a higher calorie intake daily, throughout the past 2 weeks i've been adding a lot of extras into my meal plan which was really hard for me as i have ocd so my meal plan was very regimented and it was safe to me, so eating above my meals was very challenging for me at first.
its so freeing, like omg being able to eat what you want, like usually i wait till my set times to be able to eat and eat in my calorie range but now i eat when i'm either bored or hungry, i still havent noticed my hunger cues and when to respond to them so i eat when i think its the right time to eat.
it also helps you overcome your fear foods, like i had so many and now im actually okay with eating chocolate bars, like omg im obsessed with chocolate, sometimes i wish i could bathe in chocolate and just be a giant bar of cookie crumble but anyway back on track, yea minnie maud, i recommend it.
i haven't committed to it fully yet but when i do i will be sure to inform you all of how its going and the benefits it has given me.
xoxo gossip girl
for anyone that doesn't know what a meal plan is then let me explain it to you, you basically have to eat around 6 times a day, breakfast, morning snack, lunch, afternoon snack, tea and supper.
When you're in hospital well in my case its certain foods, if you wanted a chocolate bar you couldn't have one, you had to have what was on the snack list, which was awful. like so bland, like a cup of milk, i don't like milk.
but when you are at home and recovering the meal plans are so much more flexible, you can pick your own snacks and everything and its just so much more freeing!
meal plans move up in calories (eugh i hate that word), you start off on a starter meal plan, which is basically designed to avoid re-feeding syndrome. its tiny amounts of food little and often, which is terrifying for someone just starting recovery.
when you move on with recovery it becomes a lot easier, your meal plans become increased or decreased due to how much weight you are putting on or losing.
at first yes i agree, eating is a chore. it basically is your medicine, once you are out of the extremely dangerous zone and you are starting to eat a little more then things look better.
like now i eat 6 times a day, sometimes more and that isn't a chore for me anymore, i enjoy it, i enjoy deciding what to eat, whereas previously i used to plan meals to choose something with the lowest amount of calories in but now i choose what i want and when i want. i still struggle yes, but my worst fear is going back to the starter meal plan and back to where i started.
never ever move back. you will find it 10x harder to move forward again.
no single person is on the same meal plan, everyone is at multiple stages, the worst thing you can do is compare yourself to somebody elses recovery journey. you will either feel badly about it that you aren't eating as much as them or that you're eating more than them. there is no winning, so just dont!
my meal plan to me was just guidelines, if anything it was the least i was going to eat in a day, so i add in food and eat more than necessarily just because i can!
for any of you perhaps wanting to start a new meal plan here is mine and what i usually eat instead of it:
7am breakfast:
-3 weetabix or 9 tbsp cereal, 300ml milk, 2 toast and jam.
-i usually have 3 banana weetabix, 300ml milk and 2 pieces of white toast and jam.
10:30am morning snack:
-any 100 calorie snack.
-but i obviously dont listen to that and i usually have honeydew melon, about 30 grapes and a bunch of strawberries!
12pm lunch:
-2 pieces white bread and filling of choice and a muller fruit corner yogurt.
-i have 2 half pittas (warburtons, they are fabulous) 6 slices of ham, ketchup (the god of all sauces) and salad! then i have either a chocolate bar or a yogurt. (mullerlights frozen are devine)
3pm afternoon snack:
-again this has to be 100 calories
-i use that as a baseline, i always try to have something higher, usually a kit kat chunky or wispa, (chocolate is queen okay)
5pm tea:
-protein portion, 6tbsp carbs or 3 new potatoes, vegetables and a muller light for dessert
-i am a huge fish lover so i either have like basa fillets, prawns and seafood sticks, haddock or chicken! i then have as much rice as i like (bulgur wheat is my fav) and then a heap of veg because veg is amaze.
-i then always have a muller light after for dessert.
8pm supper:
-2 weetabix, 200ml semi skimmed milk or any 200 calorie snack
-basically bullcrap, i have whatever i want, either a heaped bowl of cereal or porridge or something yummy!
thats my meal plan but i eat way more than that, about 10pm i usually have something like a kit kat chunky or a galaxy bar and a hot chocolate!
so recently i have done alot of research into minnie maud and the theory behind it all on www.youreatopia.com (very interesting if you havent read it then go go go) it basically says (in my case) to eat 3200+ calories a day, to repair all your organs and help speed up your motabolic rate.
it states that when recovering you have to eat more than the recommended intake because your body has to take in nutrients and repair all the damage you have done.
i totally believe this theory and i have been trying to reach a higher calorie intake daily, throughout the past 2 weeks i've been adding a lot of extras into my meal plan which was really hard for me as i have ocd so my meal plan was very regimented and it was safe to me, so eating above my meals was very challenging for me at first.
its so freeing, like omg being able to eat what you want, like usually i wait till my set times to be able to eat and eat in my calorie range but now i eat when i'm either bored or hungry, i still havent noticed my hunger cues and when to respond to them so i eat when i think its the right time to eat.
it also helps you overcome your fear foods, like i had so many and now im actually okay with eating chocolate bars, like omg im obsessed with chocolate, sometimes i wish i could bathe in chocolate and just be a giant bar of cookie crumble but anyway back on track, yea minnie maud, i recommend it.
i haven't committed to it fully yet but when i do i will be sure to inform you all of how its going and the benefits it has given me.
xoxo gossip girl
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