Is “Just Follow the Plan” REALLY the Best Advice?

by | May 29, 2020

Want to know the single phrase I HATE the most in all of coaching??

Before I tell you, I have a gift.

Over 300 copies were downloaded of our brand new POP Recipe Book with over 40 recipes, macros listed, and a bar code for each recipe for easy entry into MFP!

If you missed it, grab your FREE copy HERE.

Okay, back to the phrase that still makes my blood boil every time I hear it … ?

“Just follow the plan!”

Why do I hate it so much?

It seems like sound advice, right?

In order to get results, you need to be consistent.

If you’re not following the plan, you’re not being consistent.

So .. “just follow the plan” makes sense.

BUTTTTT … what if the plan sucks or isn’t the right fit for you? What if the plan isn’t sustainable?

Most importantly, “just follow the plan” misses the WHOLE point of creating dietary freedom which is …

YOU SHOULD KNOW THE WHY BEHIND THE PLAN!

Is “follow the plan” always the best course of action?

I’ll never forget my first experience with being given a meal plan and grocery list with “good vs bad” foods.

We had a coaching call to kick off the program and I asked a simple question … “Why?”

The answer – “just follow the plan.”

I followed the plan to a disordered relationship with food.

I followed the plan to hate my body, and I followed the plan to end up in a vicious cycle of yo-yo dieting.

Now … was there a level of personal responsibility that I needed to take?

Of course. But, I want to illustrate the level of psychological manipulation that takes place in the diet industry.

When I started working for another company as a nutrition coach, we were told to tell anyone who wasn’t hitting their macros all the time to “just follow the plan.”

I saw people follow the plan to become obsessed with numbers and ignore their bodies.

Then, I saw people follow the plan to gain 50 lbs. when their goal was fat loss (not an exaggeration).

I saw people follow the plan to think they needed to train hours each day and get 25,000 steps per day to earn their food.

Now … was there a certain level of personal responsibility that those individuals needed to take?

Of course. But again, the psychological manipulation is real.

Let’s take a different approach

Being exposed to this on both sides of the equation is why “just follow the plan” is something I can’t stand.

It’s also why I vowed to do things differently.

Individualization.
Education.
Connection.

To work for POP, you MUST be as passionate about explaining the WHY behind what we’re doing as you are about actually getting people results.

Every one of my coaches shares this same philosophy.

It’s also why we created a library of courses that every single 1:1 client has access to:

Just EAT Academy (to learn intuitive eating and nutritional mindfulness)
Macro Mastery (to learn the science and application of macros)
Resiliency Academy (to learn the science and application of coping with stress)
The Art of Neurotyping (to understand the science and application of personality profiling)
We also add master classes centered around mindset, hormones, metabolism, and more.

If you wanted barking orders and to simply be told what to do without any context … we are certainly not the right fit for you.

If you want results that last a lifetime, knowing the WHY is pretty damn important :).

Do you have any bad experiences with “just follow the plan” coaching??

I’d love to hear about it.

Interested in 1:1 Coaching?

And let me know that you’re interested in the 1:1 signature coaching program.

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