7-Day Repeating Meal Plan No workout program is complete without proper nutrition, especially when that program is all about building size and strength. What you do in the kitchen and put in your body will make or break the results you see in the mirror. Here is your go-to-guide for a quick and easy meal plan that aims to promote muscle growth combined with burning fat. The meals you will see in this plan are very simple and straight forward yet have been calculated and measured to provide you with the protein, carbohydrates, and fat distribution that you will need to succeed. Basics: First, buy an inexpensive food scale from Amazon.com or a local retail store like Target or Wal-Mart. It will make it possible for you to know exactly how many calories you are eating. When measuring ingredients for a meal, assume the number of grams in the recipe refers to the cooked weight. Some foods like ground beef lose water weight when cooked. Our meal plan is designed to give you 2500 calories per day if you use three meals per day and two snacks per day. But, your individual calorie needs will be different. So you can use a food scale to adjust the ingredients so they come out to the target you are aiming for, which with either help you build muscle or burn fat. If you ate all of the meals in this seven-day meal plan, including two snacks each day, your total daily calorie intake would be 2500 calories per day (on average). You’ll notice some meals have more calories than others. However, during a seven-day period this will all average out to around 2500 cal per day. Some days you might eat a little bit more and some days a little bit less. That’s fine as long as you don’t skip any of the meals. Having the exact same number of calories each day is not necessary. It’s the average over the course of a week that is important. However, if you prefer to eat the same number of calories per day, you can pick and choose meals and snacks that add up to the goal you are aiming for. We’ve made that easy for you by listing the total calories for each meal. Pick and choose the meals you want from each category (breakfast, lunch, dinner, and two snacks each day). It’s fine to choose meals with higher calorie counts on days when you are particularly hungry. But just realize you’ll have to choose lower calorie meals and snacks on other days if you want the total calories to come out right by the end of the week. In other words, don’t repeat meals unless you are keeping track of your total weekly calories in your own food journal. You can also just use these meals as a way to learn how to eat with the right ratio of macronutrients (carbohydrates, fats, and proteins). You can adjust the amount you eat to fit any calorie goal you have. The chart below is just for reference. Don’t worry, we’ve done all the work for you. All you have to do is follow our instructions. Your meals will have the right combination of protein, fat, and carbohydrate. As explained in the nutrition program, each meal aims to have roughly 33% from protein, carbs, and fat. CALORIES FROM FOOD SOURCES 1 gram of fat = 9 calories 1 gram of protein = 4 calories 1 gram of carbohydrates = 4 calories 1 gram of alcohol = 7 calorie Let’s go through an example that shows you how to adjust a meal to hit your calorie goal. Calculating your calories per meal is easy. Let’s say you want to eat a total of 2500 calories a day. That would mean that you would need to eat 3 meals consisting of 600 calories and 2 snacks of 350 calories. Each meal has a different number of calories but can be customized to meet your needs. Take for instance the meal below which has a total of 448 calories. Meal 5: Chicken Burrito ( 1.66 cal/gram ) Food Description Whole Wheat Tortilla(10in) Shredded Chicken Breast Shredded Lettuce Shredded Cheese Salsa Sour Cream Totals Quantity 75 101 30 23 28 12 269 Unit g g g g g g g Calories 195 132 4 86 8 23 448 Protein 7 24 0 7 0 0 38 Carbs 35 0 1 1 2 0 39 Fat 3 4 0 6 0 2.5 15.5 To make this meal equal your needs of 600 you will have to adjust the quantities of each ingredient. To do this, simply divide your calorie needs (600 in this example) by the total calories listed in green at the bottom of each meal chart (448) and multiply that number by the grams of each food item: 600/448= 1.34 So it’s [desired calories] divided by the [total calories listed for the meal]. That gives you a number (1.34 in our example). That number is then used to adjust the amount of each ingredient you include in your meal. Food Description Whole Wheat Tortilla(10 in) Shredded Chicken Breast Shredded Lettuce Shredded Cheese Calculation 75 x 1.34 101 x 1.34 30 x 1.34 23 x 1.34 Quantity After 100.5 grams 135.4 grams 40.2 grams 30.82 grams Salsa Sour Cream 28 x 1.34 12 x 1.34 37.52 grams 16.08 grams If you want, you can double check your math by adding your total grams and multiplying by the original cal/g of the meal. You will see how many calories you’re eating which should be your desired calories Total grams calculated= 361.5 g x 1.66=600 calories For your convenience we have created a google spreadsheet containing all the recipes from the seven day meal plan. There you can easily calculate the quantities of ingredients to use based on your caloric needs. Click here to download it (Note, you must have an account with google to access google spreadsheets) Preparing Meals: Prepare your meals using the simple instructions within this meal plan as well as the directions indicated on the packages of your food. All meals can be eaten plain, but using seasoning from your local grocery store will definitely make things more enjoyable. For some added flavor, try adding things like salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder, and paprika. Pre-blended seasoning and herbs are great and can add quick flavor to any dish. Remember to do most of your cooking in advance. It makes it much easier to stick with your meal plan. Do the cooking in advance. Weigh your meal portions in advance as you dish them into microwavable individual-serving containers. For easy reference, we’ve divided the meals into four sections grouped together, breakfast meals, lunch meals, dinner meals, and snacks. When you get to the end of the week, repeat the same sequence of meals and snacks again. You can change up the order of meals to your convenience. But easiest is to keep the same order of meals Monday through Sunday once you have solidified it. Each week you’ll find food preparation becomes quicker and easier. That’s because the first time through, everything is new. But by the time you’ve used our meal plan for three weeks, you’ll barely even have to think about it. And you’ll be able to prepare the meals in less than half the time.
