Meal planning is simple - but simple doesn’t mean easy, it takes work and thought from you as a nutrition professional.Here are the main steps to follow for your meal planning: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://courses.thehealthsciencesacademy.org/help/meal-planning-tips/">CLICK HERE</a>.&nbsp;Further personalisation strategies to consider when meal planning:Have you gone through the steps in the link above? Great, so let's continue...When we plan for the meals to include in a day, we also need to remember that some clients may not enjoy having breakfast other than a warm drink like tea, a coffee or a decaf, and incorporating breakfast may lead to overeating since they're not used to it. Or perhaps proposing snacks in between meals may trigger them to overeat calories. That's why it's important to have those discussions with the client, and personalise as much as you can based on their goals and your certification learnings.When selecting food items, we can be more specific and ask the client what they prefer. Let’s use carrots as an example. Will they be fresh or frozen? If fresh, carrot sticks or whole carrots? If your client is new to carrots, will they want to try all types and different ways to eat it (e.g. cooked or raw, grated or sliced, puree or soup)? Or do you want to keep it simple for the client and just write “carrots” (and let them decide when shopping)?Some clients may want as much specification as possible. While others may feel overwhelmed when presented with too much information and do better with just a couple of pointers.You’ll also get a sense for their likes/dislikes as you sit down with the client and walk them through their plan, which is their opportunity to ask questions, and for you to ask about any food preferences or special diets (e.g. for religious reasons), and provide more details or options. And you don’t have to have all the answers on the spot – it’s okay to say “I’ll look into that and get back to you.”Quite importantly, if you're running a multi-session program, that original meal plan will most likely be evolving and changing based on your client's needs, their schedule and their progress.Food availability is also important. So if we're proposing let's say a light homemade salmon salad lunch: will they really have access to an office fridge? Or will there be a nearby cafe they can buy it from? If not, we'll have to get creative and discuss with that client what to do instead - like having a delicious homemade salad that includes a protein-rich source like beans, quinoa or seeds, but without the salmon or anything that becomes a health hazard when outside the fridge for too many hours.&nbsp;In your client sessions, you can assist them further with the following:&nbsp;1. Inquire about their incorporation of new foods or meals:o how easy (or how hard) was it to add them in their diet, o and why was it easy (or hard)&nbsp;2. Inquire about their avoidance of junk foods:o how easy (or how hard) was it to avoid them, o and why was it easy (or hard)&nbsp;3. Discuss food preparation tips implemented:o what worked, o how it worked, o what didn't work, o and why it did (or did not) work&nbsp;4. Brainstorm alternative food options, food combinations, personal taste, personal preferences, preparation methods, necessary kitchen utensils or cookwareo List any necessary kitchen utensils or cookware that the client should look for or purchase o Talk about the different food types (e.g. fresh vs frozen) which can be part of their next groceries shopping o Brainstorm about new or alternative meal options and food preparation ideas&nbsp;5. Give client homework, such as:o Try 2 new recipes or 2 new meal ideas this week and report back o Ask them to record their intake in their daily food journal (including the new recipes or meals they tried this week)&nbsp;Other important considerations:&nbsp;Maybe there are a number of foods you want to put forward. How can we best distribute them among different meals for different clients?Deciding on breakfast, lunch or dinner options would ideally be the result of a consultation process with your client - rather than just you alone guessing all the foods and what they may or may not like. You can of course list these initially, but then definitely discuss them and agree with your client those foods they’d like to try next.Besides food options, there are other aspects you should consider during meal planning, such as:<ul><li>What’s your client’s work schedule? And exercise schedule?</li><li>When do they eat at home or at work?</li><li>What kinds of foods or facilities do they have access to?</li></ul>Maybe they don’t have a fridge a work, so preparing a perishable meal at home and not eating it for hours could be a health hazard.Other answers to explore include:<ul><li>Do they like a big lunch or a light lunch?</li><li>A light dinner or a big dinner?</li><li>Are they going to the gym in the morning, afternoon, or evening?</li></ul>For example, a breakfast meal right before high-intensity exercise may make them sick or given them gastrointestinal discomfort. So in this case a light breakfast (if that's what they like!) may need to scheduled at least an hour or two earlier to allow for digestion.Let's also remember not everyone wants (or needs) breakfast. Some clients thrive with breakfast, while others may feel lethargic or even hungrier immediately afterwards, no matter what they eat.And what if their physical activity takes place later in the day? While a competitive athlete may benefit from a light pre-workout meal an hour or two before training, most of us won't really need this if our muscles' glycogen stores are already filled up and ready to be utilised during our workout.So again, it's critical that we think of your client and what they need, and personalise those details, too.&nbsp;Your next steps!As you can see from these tips and strategies, we shouldn't force people to eat what we tell them to. If we want to ensure behaviour change, we need to be very consultative in our approach and let them make some of these decisions after we share the pros and cons.There's a lot of amazing information for you packed in this single article so take your time to go over everything in detail.Once you've done done, grab your favourite notepad and start mapping out how all this may look like in your client programs and your business!&nbsp;AUTHOR: Written by Alex Ruani, Research Director

Meal planning is simple - but simple doesn’t mean easy, it takes work and thought from you as a nutrition professional.

Meal planning strategies for your client programs

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Meal planning strategies for your client programs

Meal planning strategies for your client programs

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