How to Create a Meal Plan
Creating a simple meal plan or meal template can help you stay on track with your nutrition goals so that you can reach your body composition, fitness and performance goals. While you don’t need a strict meal plan, a loose template can help you create some structure within your nutritional plan to make it easier to hit your targets.
In this post, we will discuss some steps to help you create a loose meal plan that’s so simple and easy that you can actually stick to it.
Start with your Schedule
To create a simple meal plan, start with your schedule. Do you work days, evenings or overnights? When do you wake up in the morning? When do you take a break? Think about when it might be most convenient for you to have your meals and what schedule you might prefer. For example, I eat breakfast at around 8 am, lunch around 12 pm before work, a snack around 4-5 pm or any time I have a break at work, and I eat dinner when I am finished work between 8-10 pm. (And contrary to popular belief, eating late at night is not inherently “bad” and does not cause you to store more body fat than eating earlier in the day.)
Create Your Calorie and Macro Goals
Determining your calorie and macronutrient needs can help you create a simple, yet effective meal plan for yourself that actually meets your nutrient needs. A competent nutritionist or dietician can help you determine your daily calorie needs and macronutrients for your goals and how to structure them within a meal plan.
While professional and amateur athletes may need to tailor their nutrition around their workouts, most other people can simply split their calories equally between 3-4 meals per day.
For instance, let’s say you require roughly 2000
calories per day and roughly 60 grams of fat, 250 carbs and 115 grams of protein per day. You could break that into four 500 calorie meals, each with 20 grams of fat, roughly 75 grams of carbs and about 30 grams of protein.
You could then aim to create balanced meals that contain a rough balance of those macronutrients. Your meals don’t have to exactly hit your targets, but you can aim to come within striking distance.
Find Some Simple Healthy Recipes
To create your meal plan, aim to find some simple recipes that suit your needs. For instance, you can find simple breakfast options that will fit your rough calorie and macronutrient estimates. Good examples might include Greek yogurt with granola and fruit, eggs with toast and a banana, or whole grain cereal with two slices or turkey bacon and a skim milk latte. Good recipe options for lunch or dinner include examples like homemade vegetarian lasagna, any lean meat with potatoes and vegetables, or even pasta salad with shredded chicken or salmon. Snacks can be easy additions like a protein shake and fruit or a small turkey sandwich. These are just examples and you can consider your food preferences, cooking skills and available time to design or follow recipes that suit you.
Try to include different recipes that use a variety of different fruits, vegetables, grains and protein sources to increase nutrient variety in your diet. You don’t need to eat the exact same foods every day. But following a simple template that includes, for instance, some type of complex carbohydrate, some lean
protein and some healthy fat source can help you stay on track.
Plan for Treat Foods and Beverages
Planning for treats can go a long way towards making your meal plan more sustainable. For instance, you might wish to work 200-500 discretionary calories into your daily budget, depending on your calorie needs. You can work ice cream, alcoholic beverages, chips or any dessert item into your daily meal plan. If you have
body composition or weight loss goals in mind, measuring reasonable portions can help you incorporate treats into your diet without sacrificing on your goals. This can make your meal plan more sustainable, appropriate and enjoyable over the long term.
Create a Shopping List
After deciding on some healthy meals and snacks to include in your meal plan, create a shopping list that suits your preferences and budget.
You can also find easy shopping lists online, often for free. Buying fruit and vegetables in season can help reduce food preparation costs. Also, you don’t usually need to purchase organic ingredients. Purchasing off brand items and buying in bulk can often also save you money in the long run. Repurposing leftovers into tomorrow’s lunch or a whole new recipe can also help you reduce food waste.
Incorporating some treats and even prepared or processed food into your diet can also be a good choice, as long as you make sure that most of your diet contains whole and unprocessed foods. For instance, adding a reasonable portion of salad dressing to your salad can encourage the consumption of more vegetables. Occasionally eating canned soups or prepared meals can be ok too. In moderation, a diet soda here or there won’t kill you. As long as you generally consume adequate fiber, fruits and vegetables, eating white rice instead of brown rice does not make much of a difference. As long as your diet is reasonably healthy, I don’t think it’s that crucial to your health that you obsessively avoid anything processed or prepackaged.
I would also recommend you try not to fall prey to advertising claims. Just because a food item is “gluten free” does not mean it is healthier than a gluten containing alternative. You don’t even need to
avoid gluten unless you have a gluten allergy. Just because a food is “vegan” does not mean that you can eat unlimited qualities of it. Keep an eye out for nutrition buzz-words and try not to fall prey to them!
Cook Healthy Meals in Advance
Once you have done your food shopping, aim to cook a few meals in advance. You don’t need to prep food for an entire week if you don’t want to, but cooking a meal or two for tonight’s dinner and tomorrow’s lunch can help you stay prepared to follow your meal plan for the next couple days.
Keep your food fresh by immediately storing leftovers in shallow, air tight containers in the refrigerator. Most leftovers can be safely stored for a maximum of three to four days. Remember, if in doubt, throw it out!
Final Thoughts
Creating a meal plan can be a simple, effective strategy towards reaching your nutrition and fitness goals. A meal plan does not need to be complicated or strict. Instead, it can be a loose plan that helps you structure your meals and stay on track.
If you need help creating a meal plan, determining your macronutrient or calorie needs, why not schedule a
nutrition consultation to take the guess work out of your nutritional strategy?
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