One of the aspects I have to deal with both in myself and when I counsel people on the program is the thought or attitude that "Close Enough Is Good Enough."
The surprising thing is that this attitude often manifests itself in the Lean and Green Meal, and NOT in the way of OVEREATING or adding TOO much to the Lean and Green meal in terms of protein and/or vegetables, but actually in the way of NOT GETTING ENOUGH nutrition at these designated and highly regulated meals.
First let me dispel with any myths that may be out there that "it really doesn't matter, as long as I'm eating some protein and some veggies I don't need to measure anything.
I will use myself as an example, something that just happened TODAY as a matter of fact, which is why I don't want anyone to think I'm singling them out in reinforcing this message, this recommendation.
I think we all tend to do it at one point or another, and today it nearly cost me my ON PLAN DAY!
I would have THOUGHT I was "100% On Plan" with my day, but not actually BEEN 100% On Plan.
So I purchased some pre-shaped ground-beef patties from Trader Joe's and the serving size on the label said "1 patty = 4 oz"
Ok! Good to know! So, my mind reasoned, 1 patty was 4 ounces of ground beef. That's "Close Enough" to 5 ounces, right? Too much trouble to go add another 1/4 patty, "close enough is good enough" right?
So I cooked it up. Then I weighed it out. Guess how much that "4 oz (uncooked) patty" actually weighed AFTER it was cooked? It weighed 2.3 ounces. That's right, 2.3 ounces.
So, first of all, that is LESS THAN HALF of my protein requirement for my Lean and Green. If I had not weighed the COOKED AMOUNT on a FOOD SCALE I would have never known that. I would not have known that, in actuality, it took 2.25 fully cooked hamburger patties simply to meet my Lean and Green protein requirement.
Going through the rest of my day THINKING I was ON PLAN would have really messed with my head for several reasons. Firstly, since I eat my Lean and Green at lunch I likely would have become CRAZY HUNGRY later on in the day, running the risk of eating off plan simply for hunger. Secondly, even if I stuck it out and remained "on plan" (since I would think I was), my result for the week would be hugely disappointing if I were doing that every day or even a couple times per week because my body would NOT have been getting the adequate nutrition it NEEDED for this program to work the way it is supposed to work.
I could have gone to my health coach as a result (yes I have a health coach too!) and given HER the information that "YES I was 100% on plan this week and didn't lose anything", and now SHE would be trying to trouble-shoot a problem with the incorrect assumption that I had been On Plan.
The moral of this story? Weigh your Lean portion of your Lean and Green in the "cooked" weight, and make SURE you are adhering to the guidelines as outlined in the Quick Start Guide. The program will not work optimally if you are NOT doing this. The Lean and Green is the ONLY variable in this program. Here's a tip provided for you on how to get it right so the plan will work optimally, you will lose weight, spare your lean body mass in the process, not be hungry and minimize your cravings. WEIGH your cooked protein every day on a food scale.
Rinse and Repeat!
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