The modern world is not designed to help you meet your health and fitness goals. Most restaurants do not care about your waistline, and their food prioritizes taste and immediate gratification over long-term health. It’s a minefield. Which means, you have to take control of your intake either through better choices when you do eat out, or you have to prepare more of your own meals. This article will discuss the framework for meal planning for fitness goals.
As we discussed in this earlier post, your diet will actually contribute to 80% of your fitness goals. When you think about the type of food you want to prepare, you need to start with your goals.
Determine your goals
Based on the most recent data, over 70% of all people in the U.S. are classified as overweight. For most of you, losing weight and keeping it off will be the main goal. Falling within a normal weight range will make you a healthy exception to the rule.
You may already maintain a healthy weight range, in which case you may want to add muscle, improve performance for a specific sport or activity, or just look better.
Whatever your personal goals, you must make your objective clear so you can find the right meal plan to meet the needs of your body. It also helps for you to measure progress and make adjustments as needed.
Build your meals around protein
Regardless of your goals, protein will be the most essential nutrient. Protein builds muscle, keeps you feeling full, and is usually delicious – it is basically a wonder food.
According to the National Academy of Sports Medicine, you should aim for 0.75 – 1 gram of protein for each pound of your target weight, whether you want to lose or gain weight. For example, if you currently weigh 200 pounds and want to get down to 180, you should try to consume 135-180 grams of protein per day. If you weigh 150 and want to get to 175, then you should aim for 130-175 grams per day.
This amount might seem like a lot (1 lb of ground beef is about 90 grams of protein), but if you get close to these numbers on a consistent basis, it will be much easier to reach your goals. And remember you, have a few meals per day to hit these numbers.
From here, you can build your meals from this foundation of protein intake. If your goal is weight loss, you should limit your carb and fat intake so that you’re generating a calorie deficit each day. If your goal is weight gain, then you need to increase your carb and fat intake to create a caloric surplus each day.
To manage your fat and carb intake, you can click here to determine how many total calories you need to consume to maintain your weight. Then you can adjust your overall macros from there.
If you don’t want to count calories, here is a simple framework – you should weight yourself regularly (probably daily), and adjust your fat/carb intake downwards until you start to lose weight. The goal should be a downward trend of 1-2 lbs per week. The same principle applies for gaining weight. Keep adding carbs/fat to your daily intake until you start to gain 1-2 lbs per week.
Example Meals
With the level of protein intake required to hit your goals, you can create delicious, filling meals that are easy to make.
Breakfast
- 3 eggs (your preference) with chicken sausage and your choice of fruit – 30g protein
- Greek yogurt with berries – 20g protein
- Avoid – bagels and toast (unless you are trying to gain weight), muffins, cereal, hashbrowns, orange juice, sugary coffee drinks
Lunch
- Quarter rotisserie chicken with black beans and veggies/salad – 50g protein
- Double meat turkey sandwich – 30g protein
- 8 oz. chopped salmon, steak, or shrimp on a big salad – 45-55g protein (great use of leftover dinner portions)
- Avoid – chips, fries, fatty salad dressings (stick to olive oil and vinegar), anything fried, soda and sugary juice drinks; rice and roasted/baked potatoes are ok in moderation depending on your goals.
Dinner
- Baked fish tacos with avocado, fruit salsa, shredded cabbage, and corn tortillas – 40-50g protein
- 8 oz. steak with roasted sweet potatoes and vegetables – 55g protein
- Shredded chicken bowl with rice (adjust amount for your goals), avocado, salsa, corn, and shredded cheese – 65g protein (can use a store-bought rotisserie chicken)
- 8 oz. burger (go bun-less if you’re losing weight) with oven roasted fries – 45g protein
- 8 oz salmon, shrimp, or other fish, saut̩ed asparagus, rice Р50g protein
- Avoid – anything fried, excessive grains or carbs (unless trying to gain weight), sugary desserts (these should be a once in a while splurge), heavy cream sauces, fatty salad dressing, pizza (occasional splurge), booze (if you’re serious about losing weight, you need to limit this to 1-2 drinks per weekend night), sugary drinks and soda
Snack/post-workout
- Protein shake – 25-50g protein (optional – only necessary if you need to gain weight, otherwise time your workouts before one of your meals).
Keep it simple
As you can see from the meals above, eating like a man can be tasty and healthy. All of these recipes are simple to make. If you see something you like but don’t know how to make it, Google or YouTube can help you out tremendously.
Make sure you properly spice your meals. When in doubt, salt, pepper, and garlic are basic staples. Feel free to add other spices based on recipes or your personal tastes.
If you stick with the above framework, you’ll be able to hit 130g of protein in a day pretty easily. If you need more than this amount, you can add a protein-centered snack, protein shake, or slightly increase the intake per meal.
Maintain this simple framework of meal planning for fitness, and it will be much easier to make progress towards your goals. Get enough protein, avoid obvious junk food and sugary drinks, moderate your alcohol intake, and enjoy tasty meals that provide good fuel for your body.