I need help please. My meal plan is close but obviously needs tweaking.

K

karl78

0
I recently realized that what I've been eating lately (past 2 weeks at least) has only amounted to just over 1900 cals. Even though I am currently cutting this seems too low to me as I am active 6 days a week.

The problem is I am completely frustrated trying to add more calories to my day properly, I am drawing a complete blank. Any ideas would be helpful or maybe I don't even need anymore cals...

Here's my daily menu...
#1 - 3/4 cup Egg Beaters, Oatmeal w/ 1 tbsp Natural PB and 1/4 cup Natural Applesauce mixed in, 1/2 grapefruit
#2 - 1/2 cup Cottage cheese, 3/4 cup Kashi go lean (dry), Orange
#3 - 4 oz grilled chicken breast, 1 cup brown rice, 1 serv of a green vegetable (usually broccoli or brussel sprouts)
#4 - 4 oz grilled chicken breast, 3/4 Kashi, 2 cups salad (lettuce, tomato, carrot, cucumber, onion, no dressing)
#5 - 2 oz grilled salmon, 6 oz yams (boiled), 1 serv of green veg
#6 - 1/2 cup cottage cheese, 2 cups salad (this time w/ 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil), 1/2 grapefruit

Totals: Cals - 1913 / Pro - 169g / Carbs - 253g / Fat - 41g

Number 2 and 4 are the smallest but all of them are a bit lower than my target, with the exception of breakfast. Also my macro-nutrient ratios are pretty much where I intended them to be, except the protein is a little higher and the carbs a little lower.
 
Last edited:
karl78 said:
#1 - 3/4 cup Egg Beaters, Oatmeal w/ 1 tbsp Natural PB and 1/4 cup Natural Applesauce mixed in, 1/2 grapefruit
#2 - 1/2 cup Cottage cheese, 3/4 cup Kashi go lean (dry), Orange
#3 - 4 oz grilled chicken breast, 1 cup brown rice, 1 serv of a green vegetable (usually broccoli or brussel sprouts)
#4 - 4 oz grilled chicken breast, 3/4 Kashi, 2 cups salad (lettuce, tomato, carrot, cucumber, onion, no dressing)
#5 - 2 oz grilled salmon, 6 oz yams (boiled), 1 serv of green veg
#6 - 1/2 cup cottage cheese, 2 cups salad (this time w/ 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil), 1/2 grapefruit

Totals: Cals - 1913 / Pro - 169g / Carbs - 253g / Fat - 41g
.
Click to expand...
I think you do need more calories, as I'm cutting and I'm eating 1900!! Anyways, here are my suggestions (basically just making some serving sizes larger):

Meal 1 - have 2 T PB, and 1/2 cup applesauce (+150)
Meal 2&4 - have 1 cup Kashi (I'm not sure of the calories, +50?)
Meal 5 - have another 1/2 cup natural applesauce and have it on top of your yam - it's super tasty, especially with some cinnamon (+100)
Meal 6 - maybe add a protein shake with the cottage cheese, or at some other time during the day [pwo] (+110)

That's only about 2310 - it's not too much higher, which is good since your cutting - try it and see how you feel. Or you can tweak it elsewhere that you'd like to have some larger servings. Oh, and 1 ounce of walnuts or almonds (+200) are a super way to get in some healthy fats and dense calories.
 
Thanks Spock, I was hoping you would respond. That sounds great because everything you suggested I increase is the stuff I like to eat most anyways :D .

So you don't see any flaws in the meal plan itself? Besides the portions that is..
 
The majority of your meals are pro+cho, which could hinder some fat loss - but see how it works; everyone is different. If you do notice, in a few weeks, that you are plateauing, I would change 1-2 meals to pro+fat.
Otherwise, you are eating a healthy, clean diet that's full of fibre and fresh produce, and you're getting protein at every meal. You know what you're doing.
 
spockafina said:
I think you do need more calories, as I'm cutting and I'm eating 1900!! Anyways, here are my suggestions (basically just making some serving sizes larger):

Meal 1 - have 2 T PB, and 1/2 cup applesauce (+150)
Meal 2&4 - have 1 cup Kashi (I'm not sure of the calories, +50?)
Meal 5 - have another 1/2 cup natural applesauce and have it on top of your yam - it's super tasty, especially with some cinnamon (+100)
Meal 6 - maybe add a protein shake with the cottage cheese, or at some other time during the day [pwo] (+110)

That's only about 2310 - it's not too much higher, which is good since your cutting - try it and see how you feel. Or you can tweak it elsewhere that you'd like to have some larger servings. Oh, and 1 ounce of walnuts or almonds (+200) are a super way to get in some healthy fats and dense calories.
Click to expand...

1 cup of kashi has 140 calories
 
spock... could you point me to a good site where i could measure the calories i would need for a day? (dieting ang working out factored out) I would appreciate it ^_^
 
Then here's a dumb question...
If Pro + Carb = Not so good, and your supposed to have protein w/ every meal, how can this combination be avoided?
 
Last edited:
too high protein and carbs may not be good if you don't have too much muscle to maintain, but if you want to avoid losing muscle while cutting .. high protein and moderate carbs are good. You can go and say that the left over protein is converting into fat...but chances are, alot of it isnt .. as you say you are active... meaning that the extra protein is kicking in to retain you muscles after those grueling workouts or cardio sessions.

Just have to remember that simple equation ... calorie intake - calories burned = weight loss.
There's a reason almost all pro bodybuilders use these diets for cutting :p

karl from those other pics you posted you seem like you know what your doing, and like spock said, just eat more of what you already are eating.
As it seems you have already found a diet that suits your needs.
 
stalefish said:
karl from those other pics you posted you seem like you know what your doing, and like spock said, just eat more of what you already are eating.
As it seems you have already found a diet that suits your needs.
Click to expand...
Thanks stalefish, I know what your saying but I seem to have hit a plateau so I am doing some tweaking and adapting to break through it. Thanks for the tips also :)
 
karl78 said:
Then here's a dumb question...
If Pro + Carb = Not so good, and your supposed to have protein w/ every meal, how can this combination be avoided?
Click to expand...
Meals should be either pro+cho OR pro+fat. And Pro+cho isn't bad at all - it's quite fine - but when 5 of the 6 or 7 meals are pro+cho, one's diet isn't as well-balanced as it should be.
 
adding EFA's to your shake, if you decide to get one would be a route to consider. or just adding EFA's to your diet. on meals 3,4 and 5 you should use some olive oil, nuts, etc. also instead of Egg Beaters, I would just get regular eggs. I could have misunderstood the egg part. making a meal bar could also be usefull and is versital in difficult situations.
 
spockafina said:
Meal 6 - maybe add a protein shake with the cottage cheese, or at some other time during the day [pwo].
Click to expand...
Until I get protein shakes I have been adding 1/2 cup cottage cheese. That makes 1-1/2 cups a day total. I eat the Dean's 1%. I am still within my ratios but I wondered if this was too much dairy?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top