Fitness Friday: My New Meal/Eating Plan (From Hot Patrick)

It’s Fitness Friday, y’all and I’ve got the goods for you today! Specifically, I’m sharing the details of Hot Patrick’s new meal plan for me. It’s actually not anything weird or complicated – it is a little unusual though.

At my initial consultation with Hot Patrick, I told him all about how I had trained myself to eat 5-6 small meals (200-300 calories each) a day, generally every 2 ½ to 3 hours. I did share with him that this was working great though I had to force myself to eat in the morning (I have never been an “eat when you get up” person) and that I often struggled with eating a small amount at dinner. Dinner is the The Boy’s major meal everyday and he’s really hungry by that time so I would make a full meal and try to portion out only a small amount for myself. Sometimes it worked. Most often (especially when we went out to eat) it did not.

So Hot Patrick made a plan. Actually, he made TWO plans* in case I was worried about the first plan he pitched me (FYI: I was). In Hot Patrick’s first plan, I was to completely change the times that I ate and the size of my meals. Basically, he wanted me to do something that was a variation of intermittent fasting – basically, you only eat 2 meals a day and one snack and all your calories are in those meals. TOTALLY opposite of everything I had been reading in every fitness magazine ever. Hot Patrick argued that as long as you weren’t starving yourself and making sure to get the proper calorie count each day – who cares WHEN you eat them?

Image Courtesy of: Jennifer Melvin

Truth? This scared the hell out of me. I love food and I can eat a stunning amount in one sitting. I was terrified that this plan would cause me to overeat at each meal and gain a lot of weight. Part of what was appealing to me about the 5-6 meals a day plan was that I had to REALLY pay attention to what constituted only 200-300 calories. This really helped me with my tendency to gorge myself at every meal. But, I was starting a new job and thought – eh, what the hell? Can’t hurt to try it.

And you know what, y’all? I’M FREAKING LOVING IT! No more forcing myself to eat breakfast when I don’t feel like it, no more going to a restaurant and eating a small salad super slowly while The Boy eats a full meal at normal speed, and no more stressing out on weekends trying to fit in my mini meals while we’re on the go. Oh yeah, in the beginning I TOTALLY overate at every meal. No lie. But I’m getting the hang of it now and really pleased with how I’m completely satisfied only eating two meals a day. In fact, eating is enjoyable again! I can actually eat a real meal and not a teeny amount of protein with some veggies on the side. AMAZING!

Image Courtesy of: My Shakeology

Now, this plan may not work for everyone and I HIGHLY encourage you consult with a nutritionals or doctor before making any dramatic changes to your eating. And I’m putting it out there again and asking Team Tulle for your support for the next month. Bug me on Twitter, Facebook, check out my Fitness board on Pinterest, and be my friend on My Fitness Pal (I’m akbuilt – invite me to be your friend and I’ll add you to my group!). And please, please keep those practical fitness tips and nutritional suggestions coming – they are REALLY helpful to me.

*The second plan followed the traditional eating 5-6x a day routine but involved eating VERY clean foods and really pushing the minimum required daily caloric count for three weeks. I have done something similar in the past and had success but it is VERY difficult to stick to and really wipes you out physically and mentally.