A couple of weeks ago, I was stood in a petrol station queue behind a bloke buying his lunch.
Meal deal.
Ham sandwich.
Packet of McCoy’s.
Large Dairy Milk.
Bottle of Coke.
Then, just before paying, he spotted a sausage roll on the hot counter and added that too.
Call it £8 or £9.
Call it 1,500 calories.
Call it whatever you want.
But that’s how a lot of people end up overweight.
Not because they don’t know vegetables exist.
Not because they haven’t heard protein is important.
Because they got hungry and had no plan.
If I had a pound for every time somebody sat down in their first consultation and said, “I just don’t know what to eat,” I’d be retired by now.
It’s one of the biggest frustrations people have.
They think they need a meal plan.
Or a recipe book.
Or someone to tell them exactly what to eat every day for the next six months.
Most don’t.
They need five meals.
That’s it.
Five decent meals they can repeat without thinking.
Because here’s what usually happens.
Breakfast is rushed.
Lunch is whatever’s available.
Dinner turns into beige food from a packet because everyone’s tired and nobody can be bothered.
Then at 9pm you’re stood in the kitchen eating biscuits straight from the packet while wondering why the scales haven’t moved.
The problem isn’t knowledge.
It’s decision making.
Every time you leave food until you’re starving, you’ll make worse choices.
Not because you’re weak.
Because you’re human.
Nobody stands in Greggs at half one in the afternoon, absolutely starving, and suddenly orders a chicken salad.
So here’s my tip.
Stop trying to create the perfect diet.
Build yourself a shortlist.
Five breakfasts.
Five lunches.
Five dinners.
Done.
For example:
Breakfast:
Greek yoghurt, berries and a scoop of protein.
Three eggs on toast.
Protein shake and a banana.
Lunch:
Ready cooked chicken, microwave rice and salad.
Tuna pasta.
Ham salad wrap and a protein yoghurt.
Dinner:
Rotisserie chicken and potatoes.
Steak, home made sweet potato wedges and veg.
5% mince, rice and vegetables.
Nothing fancy.
Nothing sexy.
No celebrity chef is writing a cookbook about it.
But it works.
The mistake people make is thinking they need variety every day.
You don’t.
You probably wear the same ten outfits.
Park in the same place at work.
Order the same drink at the pub.
Food can be exactly the same.
The people who stay in shape year after year aren’t constantly searching for new recipes.
They’ve got a handful of meals they know fill them up, hit their protein and stop them picking at rubbish all evening.
That’s the real goal.
Not perfection.
Not meal prep Sundays with forty plastic tubs lined up across the kitchen.
Just having a few reliable options ready when life gets busy.
So this week, don’t overhaul your entire diet.
Pick one meal.
One.
Maybe it’s Greek yoghurt and berries for breakfast.
Maybe it’s chicken and rice for lunch.
Maybe it’s steak and potatoes instead of a takeaway on Friday.
Try it a few times.
If it works, keep it.
Then add another.
A month from now you’ll have your own shortlist.
And that’s when eating well starts to feel easy.
Not because you’ve got more willpower.
Because you’ve got fewer decisions to make.
-Ryan