The Only Nutrition Plan I've Actually Stuck To
How I eat well without tracking macros, following a diet, or giving up the foods I love
No, this isn’t another post about meal prep (although I do touch on that) - this post is different. It’s not a full proof plan that ensures you don’t ever eat anything unhealthy; it’s not one that gets you to count macros but it’s something that I, personally, follow and would like to share with all my readers.
This is my Good Enough nutrition plan – a system and set of rules I follow that ensures I’m relatively healthy but at the same time I get to enjoy myself whenever I want. It incorporates my principles of being Good Enough (feel free to check out my article if you’re unsure about the philosophy) and adapts it to my lifestyle. It’s about finding the right balance between being healthy but also enjoying my meals while I can. It’s also unlikely you’ll be able to replicate it perfectly into your life – this is more about using the ideas and strategies that have worked for me, modifying and later adapting it in your life.
I wouldn’t recommend this for those who have a concrete goal of losing/gaining weight because of all the tolerances I’ve built into this system. It’s for those who have a priority to become healthy over achieving a certain weight or fitness goals.
Before we start, I’d like to define what healthy means to me: being healthy means choosing foods and habits that make me feel good and function well, not chasing a number on the scale or perfect discipline. It’s about making sure that I’m still active and sharp as I age and don’t be a burden on my family in the future. It should be sustainable, while also making sure I can enjoy myself.
If this sounds good to you - here goes.
Small changes to your mentality
This plan was devised for the sake of not having the pressure of being perfect. It’s not about eating healthily every day and at each meal. It’s about giving space to be imperfect, to give room for change and to let it be something more sustainable. There’s a reason why diet plans don’t always work and I think it’s for this reason. Those plans don’t give you any room, which is not realistic. It’s same idea I discussed in my article ‘What does Good Enough Mean?’, where you allow room in your calendar for unexpected events and so even with your nutrition plan, you’d want some breathing space for last-minute changes.
Another thing you can change is staying away from counting macros for each meal. This isn’t a bad idea, per se, and it works if you have serious weight or fitness goals, but this is realistic and sustainable. Everyone I know around me who has dabbled in this activity (including myself) has done if for a few weeks before quitting and continuing their old habits. Even with the introduction of AI, I don’t think this is a sustainable approach and can, in fact, cause more stress and anxiety. The idea is to be Good Enough and to have lasting change.
I kept the most important mentality change for the last - it’s recognizing that eating clean is better than following a low-calorie diet or focusing on one aspect e.g. reducing carbs or saturated fat. Here’s why: when you try to control one macro or nutrient, you often end up compromising other aspects of your diet. For example, a lot of people around me are trying to control their sugar intake and so at mealtimes, they opt for sugar-free drinks, which contain aspartame. I’m not claiming that aspartame is better than sugar or making any dietary claims – this is to say that personally I prefer to eat cleaner over substances that I don’t understand or there is some daunting research about. For this reason, I personally tend to skip over the products that contains ingredients I don’t recognize over those that I do. In the example I just used, I prefer a naturally flavored sparkling water over a soda/pop – but if I have to pick between Coke and SF Coke, I usually opt for Coke.
Minor Habits to Adopt
I’ll breeze past this section as I’m sure you’ve heard a lot of them but these are the current habits I’ve instilled in me to help me achieve my definition of being healthy.
Prioritize protein in each meal and that doesn’t always mean meat. It can be through eggs, chickpeas and even tofu. This helps you feel fuller, which naturally curbs hunger thus reducing your calorie intake.
Avoiding seed oils is the new TikTok trend that I’ve subscribed to. I try my best to ensure all my meals/snacks use non-seed oils, which is hard if you don’t plan in advance. I’ve felt less lethargic, although that could be from other habits I’ve adopted such as exercise and mindfulness.
Increasing fiber to help you feel fuller and to avoid any digestive issues/struggles.
No coffee on an empty stomach reduces my stomach acid issues and makes me feel less jittery.
Finally, Lego lunches are the latest habit that my wife and I have adopted. The idea is to freeze all the constituents of your meal i.e., carbs and protein into blocks that you can mix and match. You can use silicone, food-safe molds that keep shape even when you’ve removed them to make space for more meals. Except for vegetables, at any given day, my wife and I have a variety of cooked carbs (brown rice, quinoa and bulgar wheat) and cooked protein (salmon, chicken and beef) that just need to be defrosted and are ready to eat. For vegetables, I typically go for fresh roasted or some leafy vegetables like spinach and kale. I highly recommend checking out Lego lunch prep on your YT or TikTok to find out if it will work for you or not.
Well, that’s about it. This is how I make sure I’m eating healthy – a plan that is working for my lifestyle and is Good Enough. Be sure to check out my Good Enough Week guide on how to ensure you have enough time to prepare your meals in advance without compromising on other aspects of your life. The link to the guide can be found here.
P.S. Check out my healthy Chia Seed Pudding
Chia Seed Pudding (serves 3)
2.5 Cups of Milk (Dairy or Almond)
2 Scoops of Chocolate/Vanilla Protein Powder
4 TBSP of Chia Seeds
2 TBSP of Hemp Hearts
2 TBSP of Ground Flax Seeds
2.5 TBSP of Cocoa Powder
Pinch of Salt
¼ TSP of Vanilla Syrup
[Optional] 3 5mg Scoops of Creatine
Show your support
If you think my content has been useful to you in any capacity and would like to show your support, you can do so by clicking on the link below :)