Creating a Food Protocol
Apr 13, 2022
A food protocol is a set of eating guidelines self-designed to accomplish your weight-loss goals.
Start off by documenting your protocol and commit to it for at least two weeks. When you create a protocol, consider what foods you will eat, which meals you will eat, how far apart the meals are, and how much you will eat at each. This protocol is your primary way of eating but does not mean you will never eat off the protocol. There are tools for exceptions and joy eats that I will discuss in a future post.
For a protocol to be effective, it must be sustainable. The foods that should be included are foods that you like that make your body feel good and satisfied and are compatible with eating patterns that work with your lifestyle. I recommend food protocols designed to fuel your body that are also satisfying. For weight loss, consider a plan that reduces the amount of insulin in your bloodstream. You can accomplish this through the types of foods you eat, meal timing and frequency, and the amount you eat.
Some general guidelines to reduce insulin include eating lots of vegetables, including healthy fats and adequate protein while limiting processed foods especially flour and sugar.
Here are some tools that you could consider using while you are creating your protocol. You do not need to include them all when you are designing your protocol:
- No Sugar, No Flour,
- Meals, No Snacking,
- Create Food Sheet (a list of foods you eat regularly),
- Time Restricted Eating/Fasting,
- Joy Eating,
- Planned Exceptions,
- Cycling,
- Committing and Planning,
- Journaling,
- Weighing Regularly (most I recommend daily).
Creating a protocol will allow you to decrease hunger, fuel your body, and help you to stop overeating permanently. It is good to revisit your protocol after two weeks but do not change too many things at once or you will not know what worked for you and what did not.
If you want to learn more about designing your food protocol, email me with “Protocol” in the subject line at [email protected] and I will send you my worksheets on protocol creation.
DISCLAIMER: Sarah Smith MD is a medical doctor, but she is not your doctor, and she is not offering medical advice on this website. If you are in need of professional advice or medical care, you must seek out the services of your own doctor or health care professional.
