One of the most common assumptions people have about Dietitians is that we are masters of writing meal plans and that this is “what we do.” In fact, when I am asked by others what my job entails, most folks typically comment with something like “You must write a lot of meal plans, right?”
Well, one thing is true… we Dietitians can bust out and rock a meal plan to support and manage a clinical diagnosis. Or do you want a meal plan to nail specific macros for a particular calorie goal? Okay, sure. We can crank out meal plans all day like a factory line feeding the cheese puff bags.
Yeehaw.
Here’s the thing:
I’d like to teach you HOW to fish, rather than fish FOR you.
Meaning, teach you how to devise your own meal plans that suit your needs and health and performance goals, with the ebb and flow of your life. Rather than dictate hard-coded meal plans that are not flexible or realistic for how you live your life (or want to live your life).
Before you roll your eyes at me, don’t get me wrong. Meal plans CAN and WILL work for some athletes. Body builders and physique athletes almost always follow a meal and macronutrient plan due to their competition goals and timeline and the very nature of their sport requires extreme discipline and drive.
However, when I dig down deep with endurance athletes, I find you really, really, really don’t want to follow a strict meal plan and eat in robot fashion. You don’t want to deal with the pressures at social gatherings, bring your own food to parties or while traveling. Weigh and measure all foods? Nah.
Ultimately, we uncover that it is better to understand the “behind the scenes” piece. The what, why, when, and how of food and fueling patterns. And apply it to you, the unique-individual-athlete-human.
In the end, it’s not the meal plan that provides success.
Instead, it is taking ownership of your health, learning from a trustworthy and educated resource, and applying the knowledge and skills to your beautiful life… so that you can feed yourself for a lifetime.
-Dina