A Word on Meal Plans
The concept of meal plans is a contentious one in the nutrition world.
On one hand, a lot of people come to a nutritionist expecting to receive a nutrition plan that they can just follow meal by meal for the foreseeable future.
On the other hand, that’s not necessarily going to be the best approach for most people, given the issues with sustainability: Can you imagine eating the same foods every day for the rest of your life? And if not, is a strict meal plan really useful long-term?
With that said, there can be some usefulness in meal plans, in that they give you a structured approach and starting point to what a day of eating could look like in order to hit your specific goals.
However, the trade-off is often that you don’t go through the process of learning the principles of nutrition, leading to a lack of adaptability and flexibility, and ultimately losing out on the potential to manage your nutrition by yourself.
Rather than seeing meal plans as a strict prescription to follow, a better approach would be to see them as rough examples of what your diet might look like - That’s the approach I use with the lads I work with.
Your meals should be made up of foods you enjoy, foods that are accessible to you, and should have an element of adaptability.
The tracking process (as outlined in the previous articles) tends to be a much more flexible and adaptable and sustainable way of approaching nutrition, it spite of its own downsides, including the extra time and care it takes to do it.
After a period of doing this, most people find themselves able to get to a point where they no longer need to track unless they’re going into a specific phase of changing their nutrition.
With all that in mind, you’ll find some example meal plans in this article.
Again, these are examples to give you ideas around what your day of eating might look like, but there are no specific foods that need to be included in your meals, nor foods that aren’t on this that you should avoid.
Spend some time creating your own example meal plan based on your own calorie and macronutrient requirements.
Even then, be completely open to this changing on a daily basis, using the food tracking process to include foods where needed based on what’s going on that day etc.
Also, if using the meal plans provided as examples, feel free to look at those below and above your own calorie targets to get some other ideas for meals you might include, simply adjusting ingredients up or down as needed.
Again, I can’t emphasise enough, following these meal plans strictly is not recommended.
They are simply ideas, and using the food tracking process in order to hit your specific calorie and macronutrient goals is recommended.
How to Plan Your Own Meals
Before looking at the example meal plans laid out, let’s look more generally about planning out your meals.
Given an athletes requirements for protein, fat, and carbohydrates, as well as fibre and micronutrients, you should be aiming to include some element of each of these in each of your meals.
A very simple way of approaching that is to pick 1 or 2 sources of each per meal.
You’ll find examples of each category in the example meals plans outlined.
The amount of each of the foods will depend on your exact calorie and macronutrient requirements, so weighing and tracking your food, at least for a period of time, in order to get an idea of how much you should be eating for your goals, is recommended.
Example Meal Plans
Below, find outlined some examples of what your daily meals might look like.
There are options for various rough calorie intakes.
Exact amounts of each food with their calorie and macro amounts have intentionally not been included in most cases, because the aim is to have enough flexibility to allow you to take aspects of each and adapt them to your needs.
You’ll be able to use those below as rough guides, and through tracking your daily intake and adapting, you’ll be able to get closer to your own specific daily targets.
Remember, these are examples, and there’s no need to think you have to follow them strictly.
It’s about finding a way of eating that works for your preferences while allowing you to hit your daily calorie, macronutrient, and micronutrient needs, and if the examples below help you do that, use them as needed, and if not, don’t.
1750 kcal
Breakfast: 3 poached eggs, spinach, tomatoes, 1 piece of toast
Lunch: Salad with lettuce, sweetcorn, grated carrots, chicken, light salad dressing
Dinner: Seasoned turkey mince with peppers, onions, and rice
Snack: Low-calorie jelly pot
2000 kcal
Breakfast: Porridge with banana and protein powder
Lunch: Bread roll with tuna, sweetcorn, and light mayo
Snack: An orange and grapes
Dinner: Chicken fillet with potatoes and broccoli
2250 kcal
Breakfast: Overnight oats with milk, protein powder, frozen berries, almond butter
Lunch: Baked potato with baked beans and low-fat cheese
Snack: Plain Greek yoghurt
Dinner: Chicken stir-fry with baby corn, mangetout, and rice noodles
2500 kcal
Breakfast: 4-egg omelette with ham, peas, mushrooms, hot sauce, and 2 pieces of toast
Lunch: Wholemeal wrap with chicken, chilli sauce, cheese, lettuce, and an apple
Dinner: Chilli con carne and rice
Snack: 2 rice cakes
2750 kcal
Breakfast: Yoghurt with banana, almonds, granola, and honey
Lunch: Quinoa salad with chicken, peas, baby tomatoes, cashews, raisins
Dinner: Salmon, sweet potatoes, broccoli, and avocado
Meal 4: Chicken Sandwich with lettuce
3000 kcal
Breakfast: Porridge with mixed nuts/seeds, blueberries, banana, protein powder, dark chocolate
Lunch: Pasta Bolognese
Dinner: Homemade chicken curry with rice
Snack: Bowl of cereal with milk
3250 kcal
Breakfast: Smoothie with oats, nuts, frozen berries, banana, protein powder
Lunch: Salmon, peas, sweetcorn, and rice
Snack: Banana and peanut butter on rice cakes
Dinner: Homemade burgers with homemade chips
Snack: Yoghurt with nuts and fruit
3500 kcal
Breakfast: 5 scrambled eggs with 3 pieces of toast, and avocado
Meal 2: Chicken stir-fry with noodles
Meal 3: Fajitas with onions peppers and rice
Meal 4: Protein oat pancakes with dark chocolate and honey
Article Written By Conor O’Neill
Conor O’Neill is a Nutritionist, Strength & Conditioning coach, Psychologist, and Author.
He has helped 1000+ everyday athletes to pursue excellence in their physique and performance through optimising their nutrition, training, and psychology.
You can find out more about The Everyday Athlete Program by going to everydayathleteprogram.com/coaching.