In this blog, I will help you create the best meal plan for weight loss.
It will include everything you need to know to progress and stay consistent.
Below are some of my Online Clients who created meal plans that worked for them and their lifestyles. As a result, they were able to enjoy life and still reach their fat loss goals:
Jason crushed it. He made sure to stay ahead of the game by planning his meals in advance to help him stay on track and consistent.
Emily always ensured she had a plan, stayed consistent, and got back on track when needed. This allowed her to enjoy long weekends away with the family and enjoy some wine on the weekends with friends!
Ross the Boss! Ross still enjoyed his favorite foods, and you didn't feel the need to over-restrict or do extra cardio if the plan went off track!
I’m sharing these photos to let you know you are not alone. These individuals figured out a meal plan that would work for them to stay consistent and make progress, yet still, be able to enjoy life.
You can do it, too.
And I 100% believe in you and am here to help!
Let's find the right plan for YOU!
LET’S START HERE.
What is a calorie?
It is a unit we use to measure energy coming in and out of our bodies.
So if you eat a lot of calories, you could say you ate a lot of energy.
But here is my pet peeve, so listen closely!
There is no such thing as good or bad calories.
It’s just a freaking calorie. It is how we measure energy.
Just like how we use a mile to measure distance.
A mile swimming in water vs. a mile running on a track is still a mile, also, like how a pound is used to measure weight.
A pound of feathers vs. a pound of rock is still a pound.
A calorie from an apple is the same as a calorie from a donut.
You can lose weight by eating donuts, apples, chicken, broccoli, Big Macs, or even twinkies!
Seriously, a Professor ate twinkies (and a bunch of other treats) for 10 weeks and lost 27 pounds.
AND another Personal Trainer ate a Big Mac every day for a month and lost 7 lbs.
How?
Because in order to lose weight, you need to be in a calorie deficit. No matter where those calories come from, as long as you are in that deficit, you will lose weight.
There are no good or bad calories. You can still eat your favorite foods and still lose weight.
Embrace this because this is a huge help, especially when improving your relationship with food.
How Many Calories You Need a Day
To find your calorie target, start by taking your goal body weight and multiplying it by 11.5 and 12.5.
Suppose your goal is 200 lbs.
200 x 11.5 = 2300,
200 x 12.5 = 2500.
Your Calorie Target is to hit between 2300-2500 calories each day.
Meal Frequency and Timing
As far as how many meals to eat each day, that is your preference. Do whatever works best for you and your lifestyle!
But you need to figure out how to break up these calories best throughout the day.
If you have 3 meals a day, having about 20-30% of your calories per meal and saving a little room for some snacks works best.
If you have 2 Meals a day, 40-45 % of your calories per meal, saving a little room for snacks work best.
If you like a bigger dinner, have 15-25% of your calories for breakfast, 25-35% for dinner, and 35-50% for dinner with no snacks for the day.
This is your call. The number of meals does not matter.
What does matter is that as long as you hit your calories and are consistently in a calorie deficit, you will lose weight!
Do what's best for you!
And what I do suggest doing is making sure you eat at the same time each day.
When you set a consistent meal time each day, your body will naturally send hunger cues at those times. This can be super helpful when planning your meals and managing your hunger, where you can know when you will be hungry and need to eat.
So you can just eat however many meals you want in a day but aim to keep the meal timing consistent.
Creating Your Meals
Know this; no food is off limits.
Yes, all foods are a go, and it is essential to give yourself permission to eat whatever you want.
I could write a whole blog about this, but to make it short and sweet, giving yourself permission to eat whatever you want takes much of the pressure off yourself.
Plus, if you say you “can’t” eat donuts, all your going to think about is donuts, and then when you have a donut, you are going to feel like you fucked up and failed.
Yes, there are certain foods we will want to prioritize because it will make your fat loss journey a whole lot easier, but that doesn't mean you need to restrict yourself from other foods.
Why is Protein Good for Fat Loss?
- Protein is the most satisfying and filling Macronutrient compared to Carbs and Fats. So if you need help managing hunger when losing weight, eat more protein.
- Protein helps build and maintain muscle. When trying to lose weight, you want to ensure the weight you lose is from your fat tissue, not your muscles. So protein can help prevent muscle loss. Plus, muscle burns more calories than fat, so when you build muscle, you end up burning more calories when just chilling out (#freecardio, woo! Not really, but still, some extra calories burned never sucks).
- Protein has the highest thermic effect compared to carbohydrates and fat (our 3 macronutrients that makeup calories), which means that your body burns more calories during digestion, so I guess... free cardio, again? No, not technically, but again, some extra calories burned never sucked.
You want to get in at a minimum of at least .7 grams of protein per pound of goal body weight.
Let’s take that goal weight of 200 lbs.
200 x .7 = 140.
You aim to eat 140 grams (or more) of protein daily.
Check out some of my favorite protein options here:
LOAD UP ON FRUITS AND VEGETABLES
These are going to be the big bang for your buck.
What does that mean?
You can fill up on these foods for fewer calories.
All calories count when it comes to fruit and veggies, but anyone that says, “Fruit makes you fat,” tell them to politely f*ck off.
People don't say, “Oh, it was all the blueberries, apples, and oranges that made me gain weight…”
Fruit and veggies are going to help fill you up. But, with being able to eat them in higher volumes, they won’t make a massive dent in your calories for the day.
I mean, look at this:
2 cups of strawberries = 100 calories
1 pound of watermelon = 130 calories
2 Apples = 160 calories
10 oz of Asparagues = 50 calories
Half a pound of Broccolli = 70 calories
SNACKS
When it comes to picking snacks, this is also going to be your call regarding how many you want.
Do what works best for YOU!
It could be 1, could be 4, or could be none!
If you decide to include snacks in your plan, I would do this.
1 snack = 1 hand size.
AND aim for them to be fruit, vegetable, or protein options most of the time.
Apple, orange, banana, raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, carrots, celery, peppers, cucumbers, greek yogurt, cottage cheese, deli meat, a scoop of protein, etc.
BONUS TIP: Try to Minimize Drinking Your Calories.
I am not saying you can’t have a splash of cream in your coffee; I’m just saying it will be helpful to not waste your calories on drinks that don’t fill you up. So save most of your calories for food.
Instead of drinking fruit punches, soda, or the Starbucks caramel gronk spike expelliarmus macchiato with 12 pumps of vanilla, try to stick with water, seltzer waters, diet sodas, zero calories drinks.
WHAT FOODS SHOULD YOU AVOID?
Here are the foods you should avoid:
- Foods you don’t like
- Foods you are allergic to
- Foods that give you massive diarrhea
What foods should you eat?
Whatever the f*ck you want.
As I said earlier, no calories are good or bad, and no foods are off-limits.
Most meal plans that give you highly restricted rules to “eat this and not that” fail because they aren’t realistic.
Don’t overcomplicate it.
To lose weight, you need to be in a calorie deficit. So no matter where those calories come from, you will lose weight if you are in that deficit.
300 calories from donuts are the same as 300 calories from apples.
Think about that Professor who ate nothing but twinkies or the Personal Trainer who ate a Big Mac every day for a month and both lost weight to prove to you this statement.
Now, I don’t recommend doing something this extreme. It will make your fat loss journey a lot more challenging. But this lets you know you can still enjoy the foods you love guilt-free for celebrating holidays, vacations, or birthdays throughout the year.
Like Joey Tribiana says, "You can't have Thanksgiving without turkey. That's like Fourth of July without apple pie or Friday with no two pizzas.”
And I need my Fridays with Two Pizzas!
So when creating the best meal plan for weight loss, do what you enjoy the most, allows you to make progress, and works best for your lifestyle.
This perspective will give you higher adherence to the process, allow you to stay consistent, and make this journey much more sustainable and enjoyable.
That is the goal anyways, right?!
I hope this helps! If you're ready to get serious about weight loss, schedule a free, no obligation call with me. We'll talk about your goals and get you on track!
- Kevin
As I Am
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