I don’t like meal plans. They induce apathy towards eating (transforming it into a robotic, time-based chore), are often too big of a shift to conform to unless you have an enormous amount of will power and, unless individually prescribed, overlook the different tendencies and tastes of the ectomorph in question (you).
And for this reason I proclaim the death of meal plans.
But, I can’t leave people hanging obviously. Without meal plans what will an ectomorph do to eat enough food to reach their required calorie intake for the day?
- Simplify, simplify, simplify. Planning for meals invites one nasty bugger: complexity. On paper it’s easy to overlook that meals take preparation time and while a fancy omelet, home-made pizza, and a delicious protein shake may sound great, the practicality is far less inviting once you have to actually do the work to make the food a reality. Keep your meals simple by sticking to the basics and not trying to create world class meals all the time.
- Be mindful of hunger. Skinny guys find it easy to ignore their hunger – that’s the real truth behind being ectomorphic. For that reason start practicing mindfulness rather than operating on the schedule of a meal plan. Ask yourself regularly, do I feel hungry? If you have a tinge of hunger, go and eat something. Your body is out of fuel and needs sustenance.
- Eat more than nothing. The name of the game is to do better than zero. Don’t say to yourself “I’m going to eat a bajillion calories in this meal.” Instead, pick up a piece of fruit or pour a glass of milk and consume that. Get the ball rolling before anything else. Just eat something – not much, just something.
- Prepare double portions. Planning to boil two eggs? Boil four eggs. Not only is it scientifically proven that bigger servings will make you eat more, but adopting this “double the food” habit cuts preparation time in half and makes it easier to eat when you’re hungry rather than at a set time.
- Surround yourself. Be in the fantasy land of Homer Simpson: completely surrounded by food at all times. Have a small snack near your desk, or choose to read books or watch TV near the kitchen. Don’t make eating difficult for yourself, or require any effort that could persuade you to ignore the hunger.
- Think smaller, but frequent. The very notion of a meal is overwhelming. Meals are big, difficult to finish and take tons of time to prepare. Start thinking smaller as you do away with the idea of meal plans. Snacks are where you want to be. A can of tuna is a snack. A beef burger is a snack. A boiled egg is a snack. And none of these snacks are threatening or overwhelming. There’s no inner battle about whether your hungry or not, you just take a few bites and you’re done.
- Ease the pressure. Don’t commit to anything. Making a definitive decision can be a powerful thing that provides you with motivation, but for an ectomorph eating can be difficult enough without serving yourself a life sentence. Take each day as it comes, doing your best to eating food when your hungry, doubling your portions and striving for more calories from healthy foods.
Having an idea of what you plan to eat during the day is a good decision. What I really have trouble with is the box skinny guys can work themselves into when they try to stick to a specified meal plan.
Be fluid with your food choices throughout the day, and don’t be overly concerned if you stumble on occasion. Eating should be an enjoyable process that you work with, not for.
Photo: HikingArtist.com
