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Meal Plans: Why they aren't the "Magic Pills" you think they are


The area of health psychology fascinates me. I love nutrition and natural health - it’s a core value that isn't going anywhere - but if a decade of working with clients has taught me anything, it’s this: It is less about what we eat and much more about how and why we eat. And after many years (and hours) of creating meal plans, I want to share with you why I almost never do them now, and what I do instead.


Before we dive in, a quick note: I’m currently undertaking further training in disordered eating. This post is for those with a "tricky" relationship with food, but if things feel a bit heavy or "triggery," let’s chat one-on-one instead. My door is always open for a free chat over a cuppa - book a free call, and please don’t persevere with the below all on your own.


So let’s be real: hardly anyone has a "normal" relationship with food 100% of the time. Food is so much more than "fuel." It’s memory, emotion, and connection. And if you’re treating your body like a machine that only needs fuel in a tank, there’s possibly something deeper going on anyway.





Today, I want to talk about Motivational Styles. A while ago, I was introduced to Gretchen Rubin’s "Four Tendencies" model, and it was a real lightbulb moment for me. (For the record: I’m a Questioner with a side of Rebel - read on to learn more!)


Understanding your type is like the "secret sauce" to making healthy habits actually stick.


So which one are you?


1. The Obliger: The "Accountability" Crew


Obligers are the kings and queens of external expectations. They’ll show up for a Park Run in the pouring rain if a friend is waiting, but might struggle to lace up their shoes if they’re alone. In my clinic, these are the clients who return weekly without fail; the "checking in" keeps them on track at least as much as the details do.



2. The Upholder: The "Disciplined" Crew


These are the clients that decide to do something and then... they just do it. Consistently. Without a drama-filled internal monologue. If they decide a habit is part of their identity now, it’s as good as done. The unicorns of my clinic, so to speak...



3. The Questioner: The "But Why?" Crew


(This is me!) Questioners only follow a rule if it makes perfect sense. If a meal plan feels arbitrary or "just because," they aren't doing it. They need the data and the logic, but once they understand the why - they are unstoppable!



4. The Rebel: The "Freedom" Crew


Rebels resist all expectations - both from others and themselves. If you tell a Rebel they "have" to eat kale, they might choose a doughnut just to prove a point. They succeed when they feel they are choosing health on their own terms.


Note: While we usually have one overarching style, we can fluctuate between severl or even all of them depending on the situation.





Ok, so now you have identified your type - what does this have to do with meal plans?


Let’s look at the classic weight loss group model as an example. No doubt this “new year, new you” you’ve already been pitched a whole bunch of them! So in this scenario, you show up, get weighed, grab a generic meal plan, and off you go. (I'm ignoring potential for feelings of shame, guilt, low self-worth etc. for a moment - that's for another post.)


  • The Obligers usually get great initial results because they feel accountable to the leader. But what happens when the weight is gone and that external pressure disappears? Often, the habits go with it. The meal plan just sits there fading on the fridge...


  • The Upholders are likely the best suited to this model and probably do quite well, assuming the plan is genuinely well-tailored to their unique physique, life stage and lifestyle. I still have concerns about their long-term health, but for now things are good and likely that meal plan is well imprinted in their brain.


  • The Questioners start to struggle the moment the plan stops making sense, if indeed it ever made sense. If they haven’t lost 5 lbs that week, they need to know why. If the logic doesn't hold up to their lifestyle, they’re out. Did they even make it to the end of the week on the meal-plan? Possibly not.


  • The Rebels? Well, they’re probably in the wine bar next door. Quite frankly, they aren’t going to do what they’ve been told to do just because a "plan" said so. So they may have gone to the first session (as long as it was their idea to go in the first place), but let's face it - that meal-plan was likely tossed straight in the bin!



The Problem With "Rule-Based" Diet Plans


Does that make more sense? Can you see which style or styles might be relevant for you? And perhaps now you can see why previous "meal plans" and programmes might not have worked?


My main concerns for even the obligers and upholders are that:


  1. The diet industry has made a fortune selling meal plans that ignore who you actually are. They don't account for your health status, your age, or your budget. They don't consider your tastes, who else might be living and eating alongside you, or account for your time availability - and they certainly don't care about your motivational style.


  2. It’s really hard to create a large enough meal-plan to encompass the variety of foods we really need to be eating in the long-term to optimise our intake of the nutrients our bodies need to thrive. This one is my biggest worry when it comes to getting great results with Upholders - because these personal factors like age and lifestage, they change with time, and with them, so do our body's needs.


If these one-size-fits-all plans actually worked, the industry would have gone bust years ago. The "science" would be settled, and I simply wouldn’t have a job! My work exists because health is individual. It’s about combining nutrition science with a deep understanding of your unique blueprint, and equipping you with the knowledge and understanding to create your own diet and meal plans (depending on your motivational style) or simply your own way of eating well, so that healthy eating is enjoyable, flexible and easy to maintain for life.


Ready to stop fighting your own motivational style and start to work with it instead? If you’re tired of a system that wasn't built for your personality, let’s change the game. Whether you need the external structure of an Obliger, the logical "why" of a Questioner, the freedom of a Rebel, or the lifelong strategy of an Upholder, I'm here to help you find a strategy that fits. Let’s get you off that rigid meal plan and start delving into a personalised approach to support your health - once and for always. Book a free initial call here.


Catherine x



Contact:

Instagram @the_health_alchemist

Phone / WhatsApp +46 70 638 34 33

Free 30-minute strategy call Book here 



 
 
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