ONE of the InteKai Wave Diet’s mantras is ‘Plan, prepare, portion, package, partake’, among other systems for success, these essentials are scientifically proven and supported cornerstones of dietary management and is all structured upon planning.

Why plan?

Nutritionists, psychologists, researchers, and fitness experts everywhere agree on the importance of planning. Planning works towards building solid positive habits, in fact, the refusal and resistance against planning is a method of our enforcing solid negative habits, keeping us exactly where we have always been and along the path to much worse.

Planning can be, for some, immediately liberating, separating them from the most difficult aspects of positive change and for others, once maintained, it will minimise the dream defeating struggles, drastically increasing your chances for lifelong success.

Yes, planning absolutely requires discipline, but the good thing about planning is there are support systems such as InteKai, that will analyse your data and do it for you. You can also plan when your energy is up, your resolve is strong and your discipline is strongest, then the only task is to stick to your plan for success.

But plans

Planning is essential for all but the most driven among us with mindsets set in concrete, plans can fall apart. It is a researched, tried, tested, and proven fact.

So, let us say that you are embracing this fact, and you have got your plan from your coaches or have designed your plan, you are setting out with it in place, and the future looks brighter than ever. Whatever the heck else is going on you will get this one thing right in your life for sure, what can possibly go wrong, what could possibly happen?

Life, life can happen, unforeseen sudden changes, visitors, work, forgetfulness, the ugliness of old habits, if you cannot account for these disruptions, your healthy goals will be in trouble.

What can go wrong?

• Work or business demands;

• Conferences, workshops or training sessions;

• Friends or family come by or invited you out;

• Someone became ill or heaven forbid worse;

• Travelling, you had to go on a trip or vacation (usually this is planned, but who knows);

• You were running late;

• Didn’t get to prepare;

• Lost your discipline andor were forgetful;

• You do not have your meals and you are going to just grab something.

Any of these, and others, can devastate your plan.

Why is winging it and grabbing something a problem?

We already know that eating out often opposes weight management goals due to tempting menus, serving sizes, drink offerings, over enhanced foods or hidden calories. In fact, studies have been done showing the significant weight and health differences between people who prepare their foods and people who eat out.

You may believe that lunch at work cannot be that bad, well, a US study of 5,222 employees across the nation showed that the food from work does fall in line with the guidelines set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Another study shows significantly less worse health markers among people who routinely had food from work.

Generally, of course, if you have had weight challenges the built-in tendency is to default to higher calorie, starchy or sugary foods, this is the nature of habituation and addiction. This being true, what can you do if you have been pulled away from or your plan has fallen apart?

Your solutions to a disrupted plan

The first thing to remember is, you must eat; seriously, you will have to eat anyway, then, you will have only two choices, do you eat to help your health? or do you eat to hurt yourself? These are real, science-based choices. The second thing to remember is, departing from your wellness living is a losing game, never give up, never surrender.

There a few concepts you must understand:

1. Wellness living is not something you take a break or a day off from, just as an alcoholic cannot take a day off from sobriety, it will oppose your goals.

2. Be sure you have a general guideline for what you will eat, and know why, this will help you embrace your healthy living mindset, do your research, ask your coach.

3. There are risks of taking a break or winging it, so, do not wing it or take a break, your body will resume random cravings and routines.

4. Every unplanned meal you have is reinforcing your negative food habituations. Do not let two days much less a week get away from you. If you have a coach, speak with your coach, if you have a support group, get support before your habits take over.

5. Never give up, don’t be afraid to fail and get going again, and don’t stress over any of this, understand that you are worthy and deserving of a truly healthy life.

6. When it comes to foods, think about how it will make you feel after, not just during, after all, the after lasts many times longer than the doing.

So, embrace and adapt the following guidelines to work for you:

• If you cannot plan when you are going to eat make sure you have planned what you are going to eat.

• Never let unknown times translate into unknown foods, decide what you will have for the day and have them whenever you can, even at the end of the day.

• Always have a plan for when your plan falls apart.

• Decide which grab and go, plan friendly, foods you will keep in your house, then grab them and throw them in a bag for the day, and have them.

• If you didn’t get to eat all day have proper end of day foods available at home.

• Do not have floury or sugary foods or drinks in the house, it is not good for anyone, if someone else needs them, let them get it when they are on the road but never keep it at home.

• Evaluate all the food places available to you.

• Choose in advance where you can eat from and what you will get, remember to know your healthy eating lifestyle, make it your culture.

• Integrate your choices into current plan, always.

• Statistically, unplanned daytime or night-time eating is a threat to your health, even if you are having an ice cream outing, plan ahead to have it or/and account for it in your weekly plan

• Failing all that contact your system’s coach or your support group to help you make proper decisions.

• Remember, there is no judgement, supporting you is their only goal. Even if you already went overboard, they can give you the objectivity you will need.

There can be no pause button in the controls of your proper lifestyle change or in a true wellness mindset, if you imagin pausing is an option because of a change in plan or even travelling, lifelong wellness success will be forever a challenge for you.

You must plan ahead to at least maintaining your changes, regardless of what occurs, be it travel, tragedy, vacations, work, business, friends or family. Nothing must or can get in the way of your health, your better future, your best living. In any moment you are most important, even in your support of work or others.

As my grandfather used to say, ‘Expect the unexpected, and when it happens don’t be surprised’; we plan for changes in our plans.

Fitz-George Rattray is the director of Intekai Academy, which is focused on helping people live a healthy lifestyle through nutrition and weight management. If you are interested in losing weight or living a healthier lifestyle, give them a call at 968-8238, or visit their website at intekaiacademy.org