Different nutrition strategies and how to decide what is the best approach for you.
Within nutrition coaching, we have a number of strategies we can use to achieve weight-centred or performance related goals. How appropriate these strategies are and how effective they will be is highly specific to each individual is determined based on each individual’s history, lifestyle and goals.
Meal Plans: short-term strategy that provides a rigid eating structure to achieve a specific weight-centric or performance goal. The meal plan dictates food choices and portion sizes to ensure the consumption of macronutrient and energy requirements for health and performance. This method may be appropriate in cases where nutrition literacy is low or the goal has a specific short-term time frame.
Macronutrient Goals and Flexible Dieting: a more flexible approach that allows freedom of food choice and more allowance for ‘lifestyle-related’ eating. This approach involves prescribing a set of macronutrient targets (protein, carbohydrates, dietary fats, and fiber) to be met daily to achieve a specific goal. This approach generally requires a basic level of nutritional literacy (knowledge of basic macronutrient content of regular food choices) but provides guidance on how to meet essential nutrient targets for energy availability and general health.
Combination: a big part of creating freedom with food is improving nutritional literacy. In the initial stages, this might include using a combination of a meal plan structure with nutrient tracking to improve your overall understanding of your daily intake and lead you towards more food freedom with a flexible dieting approach.
As an Accredited Sports Nutritionist, it is my job to help you understand the options available to you and determine the most suitable approach to reach your health and performance goals. If you are interested in improving your health and physical performance, get in touch with us to book your initial consult!
- Bec Patterson (Accredited Exercise Scientist; Accredited Sports Nutritionist)