How do you handle a client who wants a meal plan?

As a health and fitness coach, one of the most common requests you’ll hear from clients is, “Can you just give me a meal plan?” At first, this might seem like a simple and reasonable request. After all, if they eat exactly what you prescribe, they should get results, right? Not so fast.

While meal plans might seem like the perfect solution, they rarely provide long-term success. If you want to be an effective coach who truly helps your clients achieve sustainable results, you need to approach this request with the right mindset and strategy. Let’s break down why strict meal plans aren’t the best answer and how to handle a client who wants a meal plan.

Why Meal Plans Don’t Work

You must understand that meal plans don’t work, and are actually doing your client a disservice if you are to effectively handle a client who wants a meal plan. If you understand why they aren’t effective, and can communicate that effectively with your client, you are in a much better position to handle a client who wants a meal plan.

So why do meal plans not work?

1. Lack of Autonomy

One of the biggest drawbacks of meal plans is that they strip clients of the ability to make their own decisions about food. While it may seem helpful to tell them exactly what to eat, it ultimately prevents them from developing the critical skills they need to navigate real-world situations. Life is unpredictable, there will always be social events, unexpected schedule changes, and travel. If a client relies solely on a meal plan, they will struggle to adapt when circumstances don’t align perfectly with what’s written down.

Instead of handing clients a rigid plan, we need to empower them to make informed choices. Autonomy is one of the most crucial factors in long-term adherence. When clients feel in control of their own nutrition, they are far more likely to stick with it. Your goal as a coach should be to build their confidence in making decisions rather than relying on a pre-written set of meals.

2. Short-Term Thinking

Meal plans often encourage a short-term mindset. A client might follow a structured plan for a few weeks or months, but what happens when they’re left to their own devices or can’t follow the plan perfectly? More often than not, they return to old habits because they haven’t learned the fundamental principles of nutrition. They were simply following instructions without truly understanding why they were eating certain foods.

As a coach, your job is to shift their mindset from “What should I eat this week?” to “How can I build sustainable eating habits that support my goals?” This means teaching them how to adjust their intake based on their activity levels, how to plan for special occasions, and how to make smart choices without feeling restricted. If all they know is how to follow a meal plan, they will never develop the long-term habits necessary for sustained, long term success.

3. No Understanding of Nutrition

When clients follow a meal plan without any nutritional education, they miss out on learning the fundamental principles of healthy eating. Many people believe that meal plans are the solution because they eliminate the need to think about food choices. But this lack of understanding becomes a major issue when they inevitably deviate from the plan.

For example, if a client has been eating chicken, rice, and broccoli for lunch every day because that’s what their meal plan says, what happens when they don’t have those specific ingredients or have to eat out for lunch? Without understanding portion control, macronutrient balance, or calorie intake, they may struggle to make a suitable replacement.

Instead of encouraging clients to blindly follow a meal plan, educate them on why certain foods are beneficial and how to make adjustments based on their preferences and needs.

4. All-or-Nothing Mentality

One of the most damaging mindsets a client can develop is an all-or-nothing approach to nutrition. When clients rely on a meal plan, they often believe they need to follow it perfectly in order to see results. The moment they eat something off-plan, whether it’s an unplanned snack or a meal out, they feel like they’ve completely failed. This often leads to feelings of guilt and frustration, which can spiral into binge eating or giving up entirely.

To combat this, we need to help clients develop a more flexible mindset. Food is not “good” or “bad”, it’s all about context and balance. Teaching clients how to incorporate indulgences in a mindful way is far more effective than enforcing strict rules. Helping them understand that progress isn’t ruined by one meal allows them to build a healthier relationship with food.

5. Unsustainability

No one wants to eat the same meals every day for the rest of their life. While meal plans may work temporarily, they are rarely enjoyable or practical in the long run. People crave variety, and a rigid meal plan does not account for personal preferences, cultural foods, or life’s inevitable changes.

Instead of prescribing meals, help clients create a flexible framework that aligns with their lifestyle. Teach them how to build meals based on their preferences while still hitting their nutritional targets. This way, they can maintain consistency without feeling restricted or deprived.

There are other reasons why meal plans don’t work, but these are some of the main ones. Understanding these, and being able to communicate them will help you to better handle a client who wants a meal plan. But what can you do instead?

What to Do Instead

Since meal plans don’t lead to sustainable success, here’s how you handle a client who wants a meal plan, while actually getting results and helping them long term:

1. Educate the Client

Clients need to understand why strict meal plans are not the answer. Instead of simply saying “no,” take the time to explain the pitfalls of meal plans and the benefits of a more flexible approach.

Engage in a conversation about their past dieting experiences. Have they followed meal plans before? If so, what were their struggles? What happened when they deviated from the plan? By helping them recognise patterns in their own behaviour, you can guide them toward a more sustainable and self-sufficient approach to nutrition.

One of the most effective ways to drive this point home is through relatable analogies. For example, compare meal plans to having a GPS for every single trip. Sure, it tells you exactly where to go, but if the GPS fails or you need to take an alternate route, you’re lost. Instead, you want them to develop an internal compass for nutrition, so they can navigate any situation without being dependent on a strict set of instructions.

Additionally, show them real-world applications. If they say they struggle with making healthy choices, break it down for them in a way that feels approachable. Provide examples of simple, sustainable eating strategies they can use in everyday life, whether they’re dining out, meal prepping, or navigating a busy workweek. The more they understand the “why” behind their food choices, the more confident they’ll become in making their own decisions.

2. Teach Flexible Nutrition

Instead of handing clients a rigid meal plan, teach them how to construct their own meals using fundamental principles. This way, they can eat foods they enjoy while still aligning with their health and fitness goals. Focus on:

  • Protein at every meal: Helps with satiety, muscle maintenance, and metabolic support. Encourage them to aim for sources like lean meats, fish, eggs, dairy, legumes, or plant-based alternatives.
  • Plenty of fibre-rich foods: Supports digestion, gut health, and fullness. Teach them about incorporating vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and legumes into their diet.
  • Healthy fats in moderation: Essential for hormone regulation, brain function, and overall health. Discuss sources such as nuts, seeds, avocados, olive oil, and fatty fish.
  • Carbohydrates based on activity levels: Rather than demonizing carbs, help them understand how to adjust intake depending on energy needs. Active clients may require more whole grains, starchy vegetables, and fruits, while less active individuals may focus on more fibrous, lower-energy options.

Make meal building as simple as possible by providing a framework instead of a list of specific meals. For example, teach them a “mix-and-match” method: select a protein, pair it with a fibre-rich carb, add healthy fats, and include non-starchy vegetables. This structure allows them to create hundreds of meal variations without needing to follow a restrictive plan.

Additionally, educate them on how to modify portion sizes based on their hunger levels and energy expenditure. Many clients worry about portion control but don’t realise that adjusting serving sizes naturally based on their needs is a better long-term strategy than rigid calorie counting or portion measuring. However, if you want to build an intentional eating system, some form of calorie and macro tracking can be a really phenomenal tool to learn a lot about nutrition.

3. Encourage Habit-Based Eating

Helping clients build lasting habits around food is the most effective way to ensure long-term success. Instead of fixating on specific foods or meal plans, focus on developing strong eating behaviours. Guide clients toward habits like:

  • Planning balanced meals ahead of time: Encourage them to plan their meals around their schedule. This could mean weekly meal prepping, stocking their kitchen with go-to foods, or simply thinking ahead about what they’ll eat that day.
  • Eating mindfully and listening to hunger cues: Teach them to recognise when they’re actually hungry versus eating out of boredom, stress, or habit. Slowing down during meals and paying attention to fullness cues can help them make better choices.
  • Staying consistent without feeling restricted: Emphasize the 80/20 approach: 80% of their diet should be nutrient-dense, whole foods, while the remaining 20% allows for flexibility. This way, they don’t feel deprived and are less likely to binge or “fall off the wagon.”
  • Adjusting their nutrition based on their goals: Show them how to tweak their intake for different circumstances. If they’re trying to build muscle, they may need to increase protein and calorie intake. If they’re trying to lose fat, they should be mindful of portion sizes while still prioritising nutrient-dense foods.

Additionally, provide strategies to help clients handle real-life situations. How should they approach restaurant meals? What can they do when they’re travelling or attending social events? By giving them practical tools rather than strict rules, you empower them to make smart choices no matter the situation.

Another essential component of habit-based eating is fostering a positive relationship with food. Many clients struggle with guilt or anxiety around eating, especially if they’ve been conditioned to follow strict diet plans. Reinforce that no single meal will make or break their progress, and that consistency over time matters far more than short-term perfection. If they overeat at one meal, they can simply move forward without guilt rather than restricting or punishing themselves.

By reinforcing these habits, clients will develop the skills and confidence they need to maintain a healthy diet effortlessly, without ever needing another meal plan again.

4. Provide Meal Frameworks Instead of Plans

Instead of meal plans, offer structured meal templates that allow flexibility. A meal framework should provide general guidelines for portion sizes of proteins, carbohydrates, and fats while incorporating a diverse range of recommended food choices. This approach ensures that clients can mix and match foods according to their personal preferences, dietary restrictions, cultural backgrounds, and lifestyle, without feeling overly restricted.

How to Structure a Meal Framework

  1. Create a Protein Base
    • Encourage clients to choose a protein source for each meal, such as lean meats (chicken, turkey, beef), fish, tofu, tempeh, eggs, dairy, or legumes.
    • Educate them on portion sizes, such as a palm-sized serving or approximately 20-30g of protein per meal, depending on their needs.
  2. Incorporate Carbohydrates Mindfully
    • Guide them on choosing nutrient-dense carbs like whole grains (quinoa, brown rice, oats), starchy vegetables (potatoes, squash), and fibre-rich fruits.
    • Teach them how to adjust carb intake based on energy expenditure (i.e. more on workout days, less on rest days).
  3. Include Healthy Fats
    • Explain the importance of fats for satiety and health.
    • Encourage sources like avocados, nuts, seeds, olive oil, and fatty fish.
  4. Prioritise Vegetables and Fibre
    • Highlight the role of vegetables in digestion, satiety, and micronutrient intake.
    • Recommend filling half the plate with non-starchy vegetables.
  5. Hydration and Beverages
    • Emphasise drinking water throughout the day and limiting sugary or calorie-dense beverages.
    • Suggest herbal teas, black coffee, and electrolyte-rich drinks when needed.

A lot of clients do like to at least see how to structure a day of eating, so being able to provide some sort of framework and template has its advantages. It doesn’t have as many downsides as meal plans, although some clients can over-rely on the template, and treat it like a meal plan.

5. Address Emotional and Behavioral Aspects of Eating

Many clients struggle with emotional eating, stress eating, or binge eating, and these behaviours are often deeply ingrained in their daily routines. As a result of these issues, many clients think a meal plan is the answer. When in reality, a meal plan is the not going to help them, and may actually just make things worse. As a coach, recognising these patterns and addressing the root causes is crucial for helping clients build a healthier relationship with food. Rather than simply focusing on meal composition, calories, or macronutrients, it’s essential to dig deeper into the emotional and psychological triggers behind eating behaviours.

Understanding Emotional Eating

Emotional eating is eating in response to emotions rather than hunger. This could be due to stress, boredom, sadness, loneliness, anxiety, or even happiness. Clients often develop associations between food and comfort, using eating as a way to cope with difficult feelings. Understanding this relationship is the first step toward helping clients make meaningful changes.

How to Recognise Emotional Eating Patterns in Clients

  1. Identify Triggers: Help clients pinpoint the specific emotions or situations that lead to overeating. Ask them to keep a food journal, not just tracking what they eat but also noting their emotions before and after meals.
  2. Look for Patterns: Do they reach for sweets when stressed? Do they snack late at night out of boredom? Identifying consistent behaviours helps them recognise patterns and develop alternative coping strategies.
  3. Assess Hunger Cues: Teach clients to distinguish between physical hunger and emotional cravings. Encourage them to use the HALT method (asking if they are Hungry, Angry, Lonely, or Tired before eating).

Practical Strategies for Managing Emotional Eating

1. Practicing Mindful Eating Techniques

Mindful eating helps clients slow down, pay attention to their food, and become aware of hunger and fullness cues. Strategies include:

  • Eating without distractions: Encourage clients to eat away from screens (TV, phone, laptop) to focus fully on their meals.
  • Chewing thoroughly: Have them take the time to chew food properly to enhance digestion and satisfaction.
  • Engaging all senses: Encourage noticing the texture, flavour, and aroma of food, making meals more satisfying and reducing the likelihood of overeating.
  • Checking in mid-meal: Teach clients to pause halfway through a meal to assess their hunger and fullness levels.

2. Using Non-Food Coping Strategies for Stress Relief

Since emotional eating is often a coping mechanism, it’s crucial to help clients find healthier alternatives. Encourage:

  • Physical Activity: A short walk, stretching, or even a few deep breaths can reduce stress and curb the desire to eat emotionally.
  • Journaling: Writing down thoughts and feelings can be a powerful tool to manage emotions without turning to food.
  • Engaging in Hobbies: Encourage activities that bring joy and fulfilment, such as painting, reading, playing music, or gardening.
  • Practising Relaxation Techniques: Meditation, deep breathing exercises, or progressive muscle relaxation can help clients manage stress more effectively.
  • Talking It Out: Suggest connecting with a friend, family member, or therapist when emotions feel overwhelming.

3. Building a Support System for Accountability

Support plays a key role in overcoming emotional eating. Clients who have encouragement and guidance are more likely to stay on track. Strategies include:

  • Joining a Support Group: Groups focused on mindful eating or emotional wellness provide a sense of community.
  • Working with an Accountability Partner: Having a friend or family member to check in with can help reinforce positive habits.
  • Setting Up Regular Coaching Check-Ins: As a coach, you can directly follow up on emotional eating challenges, progress, and adjust the strategy as needed.

4. Developing a Balanced Mindset Toward Food

Clients with a history of emotional eating often feel guilt or shame around food. A key part of coaching is helping them shift their mindset. Teach them:

  • Food is Not the Enemy: All foods can have a place in a balanced diet, and restriction often leads to more cravings and guilt.
  • Progress Over Perfection: Slipping up is part of the process. Teach clients to get back on track without self-punishment.
  • Understanding True Hunger: Encourage intentional eating, and help clients trust their body’s signals rather than external rigid diet rules or a set meal plan.

5. Addressing Underlying Emotional and Psychological Factors

For many clients, food issues are deeply tied to past experiences, trauma, or ingrained habits. While coaches are not therapists, it’s important to recognise when a client may need professional help. If emotional eating is linked to deeper mental health struggles, encourage seeking guidance from a licensed therapist or counsellor specialising in eating behaviours.

By addressing the psychological aspect of eating, you can help clients build a healthier relationship with food that extends beyond just nutrition knowledge. They will develop the ability to cope with emotions in a way that does not rely on food or a meal plan, ultimately leading to a more balanced and sustainable approach to eating. By dealing with the emotional issues, you will drastically reduce their feelings of needing a meal plan.

6. Teach Clients How to Self-Assess and Adjust

One of the most valuable skills you can teach a client is self-assessment. Instead of relying on a coach to tell them what to do, empower them to:

1. Monitor Hunger and Fullness Cues

Helping clients recognise their body’s natural hunger and satiety signals is essential for fostering a balanced relationship with food. Many people eat based on schedules, emotions, or external cues rather than true physiological needs.

  • The Hunger Scale: Teach clients to use a simple scale from 1 to 10 to assess their hunger before and after meals. For example, eating at a 3 or 4 (moderately hungry) and stopping at a 6 or 7 (comfortably satisfied) can help prevent overeating.
  • Slow Down Eating: Encourage mindful eating practices such as chewing food thoroughly, putting down utensils between bites, and avoiding distractions like TV or smartphones.
  • Recognising Emotional Hunger: Help clients differentiate between true hunger and emotional cravings. Emotional eating often arises suddenly, whereas true hunger develops gradually.

2. Adjust Portion Sizes Based on Energy Levels

Clients should be able to modify their food intake based on daily activity levels and energy demands.

  • Activity-Based Adjustments: On high-activity days, they might need larger portions, particularly of carbohydrates and protein, to support performance and recovery. Conversely, on sedentary days, a slight reduction in portion sizes may help balance caloric intake.
  • Listening to the Body: Encourage clients to assess how they feel after different portion sizes. If they consistently feel sluggish or overly full after meals, portions might need adjusting.
  • Practical Portion Control Techniques: Teach them to use their hand as a guide, with a palm for protein, a fist for vegetables, a cupped hand for carbohydrates, and a thumb for fats.

3. Identify Which Foods Make Them Feel Best

Every individual responds to foods differently, so it’s essential for clients to learn which foods work best for their unique body and lifestyle.

  • Keeping a Food & Mood Journal: Have clients record not only what they eat but also how they feel after meals, both physically (energy levels, digestion) and emotionally (mood, cravings). Over time, patterns will emerge.
  • Testing Food Tolerances: Some clients may experience bloating, sluggishness, or digestive discomfort from certain foods. Encourage them to experiment by removing and reintroducing specific foods (e.g., dairy, gluten, processed sugars) to determine what supports their well-being.
  • Optimising Meal Timing: Some clients function better with three larger meals, while others feel best eating smaller meals more frequently. Allow them to explore what timing structure keeps them energised and satiated.

4. Implementing Self-Reflection as a Core Habit

Developing self-awareness and adaptability is key to long-term success. Encourage clients to:

  • Set Weekly Check-Ins: Ask clients to reflect on what worked well, what was challenging, and what adjustments they can make moving forward.
  • Ask Themselves Key Questions: Examples include: “Did I eat when I was truly hungry?” “Did I stop eating when I felt satisfied?” “How did my energy levels feel throughout the day?”
  • Celebrate Small Wins: Progress is about consistency, not perfection. Reinforce positive changes rather than focusing on minor setbacks.

By instilling self-assessment skills, clients gain independence and confidence in managing their nutrition, ensuring long-term sustainability and success beyond their coaching journey. By teaching them the skills to manage their nutrition themselves, and building their confidence in their abilities, they will no longer feel the need for a meal plan. Ultimately, you will have given them a skill for life, rather than a meal plan to follow.

Final Thoughts On How To Handle A Client Who Wants A Meal Plan

Meal plans may seem like an easy solution, but they don’t lead to sustainable results. As a coach, your role is to guide clients toward a long-term approach to nutrition that empowers them to make informed decisions. By focusing on education, flexibility, and habit-building, you help them develop the skills they need to succeed for life.

So next time a client asks for a meal plan, take it as an opportunity to teach them something far more valuable:

  • the ability to make confident, informed choices about their nutrition every single day.

We have a lot of free content available in our content hub, if you want to learn more. We specifically have a lot of content for coaches in our Coaches Corner. If you want even more free information, you can follow us on Instagram, YouTube or listen to the podcast. You can always stay up to date with our latest content by subscribing to our newsletter.

Finally, if you want to learn how to coach nutrition, then consider our Nutrition Coach Certification course, and if you want to learn to get better at exercise program design, then consider our course on exercise program design. We do have other courses available too. If you don’t understand something, or you just need clarification, you can always reach out to us on Instagram or via email.

Paddy Farrell

Hey, I'm Paddy!

I am a coach who loves to help people master their health and fitness. I am a personal trainer, strength and conditioning coach, and I have a degree in Biochemistry and Biomolecular Science. I have been coaching people for over 10 years now.

When I grew up, you couldn't find great health and fitness information, and you still can't really. So my content aims to solve that!

I enjoy training in the gym, doing martial arts and hiking in the mountains (around Europe, mainly). I am also an avid reader of history, politics and science. When I am not in the mountains, exercising or reading, you will likely find me in a museum.