I believe meal plans are helpful

Having a meal plan has really helped me in my recovery and I would reccommend atleast trying to stick to a meal plan for anyone working on recovering from an eating disorder. If you try it and it doesn't work for you, that's fine, but I would at least give it a go as I don't think I could have progressed anywhere near as far as I have into my recovery without one. 

Since going on to a meal plan I have become less obsessed with the exact numbers of calories I am eating and no longer feel compelled to weigh all of my food. For example I do not feel as though I need to weigh each slice of bread that I have toasted for breakfast anymore. Sometimes the bread may be a little thinner, sometimes a little thicker but it really doesn't matter. Now I just see it for what it is, two slices of bread. When I spread nut butter on my toast of a morning, I no longer feel the need to weigh out the right amount of spread. I just spread it straight on until it is the thickness I like it. I dont know how many calories are in the nut butter I use and that doesn't bother me anymore. I just tell myself that I am doing the right thing as I am following my meal plan and this stops me feeling guilty for food choices I make.

My meal plan has allowed each meal to become more about the different food items I am eating instead of just the number of calories. Instead of thinking, 'I need to eat 2200 kJ at lunch time today,' I think 'what protein will I have in my sandwhich, what dairy dessert do I feel like and what big serving of fruit do I want for my lunch today?' Before I went on my meal plan, I literally felt like each thing I ate was just a number, now by following a meal plan I feel as though I am eating food that will provide my body with the energy It needs. I still know the approximate number of calories I eat but finally understand that it is not necessary to calculate my intake exactely.

I used to spend a lot of time thinking about food when I didn't have a meal plan. I could change my mind up to 10 times during the morning about what I wanted for lunch and this indecisiveness made me feel very anxious, allowing my anorexic thoughts to get stronger. I don't think about food anywhere near as much as I used to as I know what I will be eating for each meal. The reason I avoided going onto a meal plan for so long is because I though I would get really bored eating the same foods all the time but this definetely has not been the case. Meal plans do not need to be boring or 'set in stone.'

Make sure you include foods you really like and foods that are not too specific. For example, for morning tea I used to have some type of cake and some fruit. Sometimes I would have an apple and a lamington, other days I would have a chocolate muffin and two peaches. Now since increasing my meal plan I have some type of cake and an Up and Go. There are 5 flavours of Up and Go's and I enjoy all of them so I don't think I will get sick of them as long as I have different flavours. I honestly would get sick of eating the exact same foods for morning tea every single day but you don't need to do that while following a meal plan. Good meal plans have some flexibility.

Just because you typically stick to a meal plan does not mean that you can not eat something different if you feel like it. For example, even though I usually have a chocolate bar and a piece of fruit for Afternoon Tea nearly every day, sometimes I feel like something different. For example, I might have a tub of yoghurt instead of the fruit or I might have a nut bar instead of a chocolate bar if I feel like it. If I ever feel like something different then what is on my meal plan I have no problem with substituting foods as long as they will provide my body with approximately the same amount of energy as my usual food option would have. For example it obviously would not be acceptable to substitute the chocolate bar for another portion of fruit.

I have been able to increase my intake significantly since starting my meal plan and am eating more each day then I ever have in my life. I don't get as guilty or anxious about eating as I did before going on my meal plan as I feel as though I am eating exactely what I am supposed to. I no longer have the chance to beat myself up over food choices I make as I just follow my plan. Everytime I dont gain the amount of weight I need to, I find it so easy to just add another food item to one of my meals on my plan. This makes it easier for me to accept the increase and to continue eating the greater amount as I quickly become comfortable with the new food when I eat it everyday.

So these are the reasons why having a meal plan has been really helpful in my recovery. Please feel free to comment and share your opinion or experience of meal plans in recovery. :)